This is really just me talking to myself, but you're more than welcome to listen in. For weeks I have had a manuscript on my back burner. I open it and look it over then close it again, afraid to really get started. Every time I finish a book that I am reading I think, Alex, open up that stupid manuscript, stop being afraid!
So why am I afraid, I ask myself as I contemplate opening the word document for the hundredth time today? I guess it is because I am afraid that 1. The story might really be good! 2. If it is good, then I should finish it up and publish it. 3. If I publish it then it is out there in the world for all to see!
I don't know how many of you out there are parents, but remember that first day of Kindergarten when your little one stepped through that school room door and you wanted to cry when no one ran right up and asked to be their friend. Or when your seven year old came home from the first day at a new school and said that no one wanted to play with him? Or when your eleven year old daughter who wants so badly to be popular talks to that popular girl at church over and over in hopes that she might be recognized? All those times as a mom or dad you just wanted to reach out and say, "hey stupid, my kid is great and if you just gave him/her a chance you would see that!" That is how I feel about my manuscripts. Every story is one of my kids being sent out into the world.
Now don't get me wrong. Sometimes we need experiences to help us learn and grow. We need people to not like us so we know what to do, and how to get over it. We need to work hard, and play hard, and put ourselves out there so that people can know who we are, and what we are all about, but that doesn't make it any easier. Sometimes knowing that we are going to have to stretch a little is almost scarier than actually doing it!
I guess in the long run, the only thing I have to be afraid of is myself. Can I write a story? Sure I can! Can it be really good? Yes it can! But it will never happen if I don't click on that little "W" at the bottom of my screen and write the silly thing!
So, to all of you out there who might be just a little afraid, or heck, a lot afraid, lets close our eyes together and click the Enter key and get on with the writing!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
A Huge Thank You!!
Also I need to thank my wonderful husband. He has worked so hard with me on this book, encouraging, editing, giving ideas and most of all marketing. Sweetwater Springs would have never existed without him, so thank you!!
Lastly, I have heard from some of you that you are anxious to read the next book and I assure you I am working hard to get it ready. So please be patient and you can hopefully expect to see something new in the next few months. Thanks again to all of you and all those who have helped me in any way; supporters, beta readers and family who have put up with this wonderful process of writing.
I love you all, and happy reading!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Very Happy with Early April!
It's the 5th of April, exactly 4 days after my free day with Sweetwater Springs. And I gotta tell ya - I'm happy about it. I have now passed my all time monthly high in paid sales, and it's only the 5th! Yeah! Plus - I'm getting more 'Borrows', then I've seen ever! And that's always good too. : )
I'd like to post just a note about some of the thing I'm learning.
#1 - Patience is the name of this game. I went into this reading lots and lots of success stories about big numbers and big money, and I guess I kind of expected the same, but more moderately. I posted Sweetwater Springs in early September of last year. sales trickled in the single digits for the first couple of months. But I persisted and tried and read and studied and now I'm seeing more results. Patience is truly the game here to wait for things to propagate and get to know the tips and tricks.
#2 - Speaking of Tips and Tricks. There are Millions! of them online. It simply takes time to find them and read them and find out how to implement them into your strategy. But therein lies the tip! Find, Read, Implement!
For example, I recently read about a trick to garner more attention and downloads when you run a free promotion on Kindle Select. The author of the article/blog/thread suggested changing the display price of the book up a few dollars more than it's normally listed for. Then when the book goes free, it looks like an even better discount. Who doesn't love a great discount!
#3 - Free Days on Kindle Select work wonders! Sure, you give away hundreds or thousands of books for free, but it generates lots and lots of 'talk' and increases your position in the ranking system. This, in turn, puts your book in front of more people, more often, which, after your book converts back to paid (and you change the price back to your 'normal' price), you'll see lots more sales. And sales I'm seeing! In fact, in another day or so, I'll have more sales in April than I'll have had in all the time I've had my book listed - combined!
#4 - Success is fleeting at best and the winds of non-control will always keep you on your toes. You can't change the internet. You can't change company algorithms. You can't control who randomly will love your book and choose to do an entire blog post on it (I'm still waiting on that one). And there are myriad of things you can't control. So don't try to. Go along for the ride and do your best at what you think you can do. With a little bit of #1 above, you'll see success.
#5 - Promotion. There are some authors that can get by without manually spreading their names much and I say good for them. The luck lands on them. But I'm not one of them. I update my blog semi-regularly, I tweet fairly often and I post on Kindle Boards. My facebook page is updated sometimes. Telling people about your book, without 'pushing it on them', can only do you good.
But in the end - patience with study and practice will get you results. But mostly patience. :)
Care to comment? You are welcome to do so in the comment area!
I'd like to post just a note about some of the thing I'm learning.
#1 - Patience is the name of this game. I went into this reading lots and lots of success stories about big numbers and big money, and I guess I kind of expected the same, but more moderately. I posted Sweetwater Springs in early September of last year. sales trickled in the single digits for the first couple of months. But I persisted and tried and read and studied and now I'm seeing more results. Patience is truly the game here to wait for things to propagate and get to know the tips and tricks.
#2 - Speaking of Tips and Tricks. There are Millions! of them online. It simply takes time to find them and read them and find out how to implement them into your strategy. But therein lies the tip! Find, Read, Implement!
For example, I recently read about a trick to garner more attention and downloads when you run a free promotion on Kindle Select. The author of the article/blog/thread suggested changing the display price of the book up a few dollars more than it's normally listed for. Then when the book goes free, it looks like an even better discount. Who doesn't love a great discount!
#3 - Free Days on Kindle Select work wonders! Sure, you give away hundreds or thousands of books for free, but it generates lots and lots of 'talk' and increases your position in the ranking system. This, in turn, puts your book in front of more people, more often, which, after your book converts back to paid (and you change the price back to your 'normal' price), you'll see lots more sales. And sales I'm seeing! In fact, in another day or so, I'll have more sales in April than I'll have had in all the time I've had my book listed - combined!
#4 - Success is fleeting at best and the winds of non-control will always keep you on your toes. You can't change the internet. You can't change company algorithms. You can't control who randomly will love your book and choose to do an entire blog post on it (I'm still waiting on that one). And there are myriad of things you can't control. So don't try to. Go along for the ride and do your best at what you think you can do. With a little bit of #1 above, you'll see success.
#5 - Promotion. There are some authors that can get by without manually spreading their names much and I say good for them. The luck lands on them. But I'm not one of them. I update my blog semi-regularly, I tweet fairly often and I post on Kindle Boards. My facebook page is updated sometimes. Telling people about your book, without 'pushing it on them', can only do you good.
But in the end - patience with study and practice will get you results. But mostly patience. :)
Care to comment? You are welcome to do so in the comment area!
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Free Day for Sweetwater Springs
I know this is coming terribly late in the day, and that I should have had this up early, early this morning. But I am just crazy busy.
Sweetwater Springs is FREE today for Kindle. You can 'buy' it here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005KYIZ76
This weekend is actually our 'Girls Weekend'. So I'm currently stuck in Denver waiting on a very delayed plane to get me back home. After a couple of very late nights up with the girls having a blast, I am very tired and I still have some 8+ hours before I'm back home in my own bed. Wish me strength!
Anyway - back to Sweetwater. I should have posted this this morning, but things are going well for this free day. I'm well over 2000 downloads and all signs point to plenty more downloads before the free day ends.
I am climbing in the rankings and that makes me happy. These free days provide great exposure and I'm excited for all of the people to read my book. I could sure use some more reviews though - So - hint, hint, those of you downloading and reading my book, I'd love to hear from you and hear your thoughts on Sweetwater Springs!
Sweetwater Springs is FREE today for Kindle. You can 'buy' it here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005KYIZ76
This weekend is actually our 'Girls Weekend'. So I'm currently stuck in Denver waiting on a very delayed plane to get me back home. After a couple of very late nights up with the girls having a blast, I am very tired and I still have some 8+ hours before I'm back home in my own bed. Wish me strength!
Anyway - back to Sweetwater. I should have posted this this morning, but things are going well for this free day. I'm well over 2000 downloads and all signs point to plenty more downloads before the free day ends.
I am climbing in the rankings and that makes me happy. These free days provide great exposure and I'm excited for all of the people to read my book. I could sure use some more reviews though - So - hint, hint, those of you downloading and reading my book, I'd love to hear from you and hear your thoughts on Sweetwater Springs!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Busy Times Ahead!
My life is going to get busy. Really Busy.
Tonight I start with Play Practice. Yes, I'm participating in the Local City-wide Play production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I'm excited to have the role of one of the brides. While that may be enough work for the next few months, I guess I'm a glutten for punishment because I'm also taking on the duties of Choreographer of 3 of the dances, including the crazy-intense challenge dance.
So life is now going to get very busy for me (and my family) and I'll have to cut back somewhere. That somewhere will be my cyber-social world. A serious lack of blogging, very little activity on Twitter and almost no blog hopping/reading.
But it's only for a few months! Besides, in my 'free time' (ha ha), I'll still be doing my best to keep up with the world of Facebook and the writing world too. My book will remain on sale for Kindle and I'll run a promotion or two as well. I'll try and remember to post on Twitter about the 'Free Day's for Sweetwater Springs, as well as maybe even finding time to post a blog post or two.
So anyway - for the next 3 or 4 months, life will be very busy. But busy is better than bored, right?
Tonight I start with Play Practice. Yes, I'm participating in the Local City-wide Play production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I'm excited to have the role of one of the brides. While that may be enough work for the next few months, I guess I'm a glutten for punishment because I'm also taking on the duties of Choreographer of 3 of the dances, including the crazy-intense challenge dance.
So life is now going to get very busy for me (and my family) and I'll have to cut back somewhere. That somewhere will be my cyber-social world. A serious lack of blogging, very little activity on Twitter and almost no blog hopping/reading.
But it's only for a few months! Besides, in my 'free time' (ha ha), I'll still be doing my best to keep up with the world of Facebook and the writing world too. My book will remain on sale for Kindle and I'll run a promotion or two as well. I'll try and remember to post on Twitter about the 'Free Day's for Sweetwater Springs, as well as maybe even finding time to post a blog post or two.
So anyway - for the next 3 or 4 months, life will be very busy. But busy is better than bored, right?
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Oh My Gosh! Something's Happening to Sweetwater Springs!
I thought it appropriate to let you know that something is happening with Sweetwater Springs! It's currently 10:30pm MST and my sales are really starting to move! (just to be clear, 'my' definition of 'move' is obviously different than everyone elses)
I meant to get on a day or so ago and do an update to my KDP listing of Sweetwater Springs, but found myself just too busy to get it done.
Consider this the update. :]
Somewhere between 5pm and 9pm today, I started getting sales. Ok, I've been getting sales since listing on KDP Select, but this is a significant increase in numbers. While I'm still not breaking the bank by any means, I'm very excited to see the moving of my baby, my book.
Just as a back notice, though - Exactly 2 weeks after I first listed Sweetwater on Kindle Select and did my 2 day free promotion (which was a great success), my ranking took a major nose dive (from the 20K-40K range all the way down below 100K range). So the next day I used the 'Price Pulsing' idea of dropping the listing price to just $.99 cents in hopes of gaining back some of my placement. It worked and the next day I was back up in the 20K range. Yeah!
So I decided that after having my baby at $.99 for a few days, it was time to move back to my $2.99 mark. So this morning I tweeted that this would be the last day at $.99 and I tweeted once more a little later in the day.
Then - between 5pm and 9pm, something happened and I saw 20 some odd sales. Between 9 and 10 I've gotten another 10 or so. Now, while it's currently listed at only $.99, the royalties aren't very big .... but ...
royalties aren't the big deal here right now - it's book ranking. Check this out:
Right now, my book is currently listed at about the 3500 ranking mark! YEA! AND - Even better -- I'm listed in 'Western Romance' at number 54! YEA!!! 54!
Now - for full disclosure, I've been trying to market my book for a while now and I recognize that success in the publishing industry is fleeting at best and tomorrow morning, things may look very different. But until then .... I'm enjoying my success.
What happened this evening to make this big change? I don't know, but I'm very, very happy about it and hope to see lots more of this success.
I meant to get on a day or so ago and do an update to my KDP listing of Sweetwater Springs, but found myself just too busy to get it done.
Consider this the update. :]
Somewhere between 5pm and 9pm today, I started getting sales. Ok, I've been getting sales since listing on KDP Select, but this is a significant increase in numbers. While I'm still not breaking the bank by any means, I'm very excited to see the moving of my baby, my book.
Just as a back notice, though - Exactly 2 weeks after I first listed Sweetwater on Kindle Select and did my 2 day free promotion (which was a great success), my ranking took a major nose dive (from the 20K-40K range all the way down below 100K range). So the next day I used the 'Price Pulsing' idea of dropping the listing price to just $.99 cents in hopes of gaining back some of my placement. It worked and the next day I was back up in the 20K range. Yeah!
So I decided that after having my baby at $.99 for a few days, it was time to move back to my $2.99 mark. So this morning I tweeted that this would be the last day at $.99 and I tweeted once more a little later in the day.
Then - between 5pm and 9pm, something happened and I saw 20 some odd sales. Between 9 and 10 I've gotten another 10 or so. Now, while it's currently listed at only $.99, the royalties aren't very big .... but ...
royalties aren't the big deal here right now - it's book ranking. Check this out:
Right now, my book is currently listed at about the 3500 ranking mark! YEA! AND - Even better -- I'm listed in 'Western Romance' at number 54! YEA!!! 54!
Now - for full disclosure, I've been trying to market my book for a while now and I recognize that success in the publishing industry is fleeting at best and tomorrow morning, things may look very different. But until then .... I'm enjoying my success.
What happened this evening to make this big change? I don't know, but I'm very, very happy about it and hope to see lots more of this success.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Follow up to Tracking My Kindle Book Sales
In follow up to this post: http://alextaylorwolfe.blogspot.com/2012/02/help-tracking-and-monitoring-my-kindle.html
I've noticed a change in the KDP reporting feature. This is better. It looks like Amazon has divided up the different methods of 'selling' the book into separate columns of reporting data. This change sure helps to see better what is happening.
The new columns I see are:
Units Sold
Units Refunded
Net Units Sold
Units Borrowed
Free Units - Promo
Free Units - Price Matching.
Previously, in my report, I only saw 'units sold'. This, of course, only provided a portion of the needed data to see what kind of money I was making and how many units I was moving. These new columns provide some important information for my tracking.
Most importantly, - Separation of 'Sold', 'Borrowed', and 'Free'. This was the biggest. With 2K+ 'sales' last week, it didn't tell me much of what was going on. Were they all free? Paid? How many of each? This new separation helps me see where my books are going.
So - a quick shoutout to the 'Reporting' team at Amazon for providing us authors with more information regarding our sales at the KDP.
What other benefits do you get from the new reporting layout?
I've noticed a change in the KDP reporting feature. This is better. It looks like Amazon has divided up the different methods of 'selling' the book into separate columns of reporting data. This change sure helps to see better what is happening.
The new columns I see are:
Units Sold
Units Refunded
Net Units Sold
Units Borrowed
Free Units - Promo
Free Units - Price Matching.
Previously, in my report, I only saw 'units sold'. This, of course, only provided a portion of the needed data to see what kind of money I was making and how many units I was moving. These new columns provide some important information for my tracking.
Most importantly, - Separation of 'Sold', 'Borrowed', and 'Free'. This was the biggest. With 2K+ 'sales' last week, it didn't tell me much of what was going on. Were they all free? Paid? How many of each? This new separation helps me see where my books are going.
So - a quick shoutout to the 'Reporting' team at Amazon for providing us authors with more information regarding our sales at the KDP.
What other benefits do you get from the new reporting layout?
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Authors: I'm looking for a new book to read.
Inspired by this post: http://plottingprincesses.blogspot.com/2012/03/i-heart-books-by-kathy-ivan.html
In between being a mom and writing, I regularly find time to read (almost exclusively now on my kindle). I'm on the hunt for another great novel to read. Authors, feel free to post in the comments your suggestions for a new title for me to read.
Please keep in mind I lean more to the 'Clean' side of romance (no 'bodice-rippers' and/or explicit sex). If you have a book available on the kindle that you think I might enjoy - please feel free to post it in the comments below. FREE publicity for your book!
Format:
Title: Sweetwater Springs
Author: Alex Taylor Wolfe
Available on: Kindle (free to prime members)
Description: In the spring of 1900, Katie O’Hare returns to Sweetwater Springs ten years after being orphaned by a murderous act that left her with nothing but an old pocket watch and scattered memories. Reluctantly she begins to fall for Tyler Reynolds, a rugged young cowboy with a troubled past. As their romance deepens, they find themselves tragically connected to a secret that puts their love and their lives in danger.
Your Turn:
Title:
Author:
Available on:
Description:
In between being a mom and writing, I regularly find time to read (almost exclusively now on my kindle). I'm on the hunt for another great novel to read. Authors, feel free to post in the comments your suggestions for a new title for me to read.
Please keep in mind I lean more to the 'Clean' side of romance (no 'bodice-rippers' and/or explicit sex). If you have a book available on the kindle that you think I might enjoy - please feel free to post it in the comments below. FREE publicity for your book!
Format:
Title: Sweetwater Springs
Author: Alex Taylor Wolfe
Available on: Kindle (free to prime members)
Description: In the spring of 1900, Katie O’Hare returns to Sweetwater Springs ten years after being orphaned by a murderous act that left her with nothing but an old pocket watch and scattered memories. Reluctantly she begins to fall for Tyler Reynolds, a rugged young cowboy with a troubled past. As their romance deepens, they find themselves tragically connected to a secret that puts their love and their lives in danger.
Your Turn:
Title:
Author:
Available on:
Description:
Top 5 Favorite Books - #5
As part of a series of posts, documenting my top 5 favorite books of all time. What they are and why I love them.
#5 : The Giver
Description:
Why I love it: I love the concept of this book, and it is so well written. If you want a book that will make you really think about the world around you, this is it!
What are your top 5 favorite books of all time?
#5 : The Giver
Description:
Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear of pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the community. When Jonas turns 12 he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.
Why I love it: I love the concept of this book, and it is so well written. If you want a book that will make you really think about the world around you, this is it!
What are your top 5 favorite books of all time?
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Help! Tracking and Monitoring my Kindle eBook Sales.
Please help me learn of better ways to track this data. It seems the KDP reporting feature is somewhat lacking. Currently, to track my number of sales and my current ranking, I'm having to quickly wear out my 'Refresh' button. That doesn't seem right.
How do you track your sales on KDP?
How do you track your ranking position?
Please post in the comments (anyone can comment) the ways you track your sales and rankings in KDP. I appreciate the help.
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