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Question about e-book publishing

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SMBowles
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Question about e-book publishing

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This question is for self-published e-book authors. I am wondering how long it may have taken to sell the first copy of your book as well as how long it may have taken for you to receive your first review? Any other facts and figures about your success with self-publishing an e-book would be welcome as well.
MaryBeard
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Re: Question about e-book publishing

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I am a new author and just published my first book through amazon on March 6, 2013. I sold my first book the first day it was available because I let all of my Facebook friends know about the book and some of them bought copies. I just got my first review yesterday because I asked some of my friends to go review it. Your friends can be a great ally when publishing a book because word of mouth helps tremendously. I hope this helps.
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Busygirlbooks
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Re: Question about e-book publishing

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I published my paperback version in October and got the Kindle version up in November. Like Mary, I sold several copies to friends the first week and have had a smattering of sales since then. I have had a couple of paperback reviews which were great, but no reviews yet of the ebook version, although both reviews show on Amazon as I have the versions linked. I currently have it listed with KDP or Kindle Direct Publishing which is an agreement to list it online only there for 3 months. Kindle prime members can download a copy for free and theoretically I receive more attention with their members. I think 40 or so versions have been downloaded that way. This was a no-brainer since I have been too busy to reformat for Nook or get hooked up with smashwords yet, so agreeing to keep it exclusive with Kindle for a few months until I could find the time to get those things done made sense. I also have offered it on a free promotion through Kindle twice so far and in each of those promotional periods had a couple hundred readers take advantage of the free download. This seems worth it to me to generate some word of mouth and hopefully build a following. The most attention I have found so far was through a paperback giveaway I have just completed on goodreads.com. I offered 5 copies and had 349 readers ask to be included in the contest. Of that number almost half added it to their "to read" list. If even only 10% of those who put it on their list purchase a copy I will recoup the costs of the giveaway and earn an additional $50. I'm hoping, of course, that more than 10% will buy a copy :)
Please check out "The E Word" at: http://www.amazon.com/The-word-entitlem ... t_ep_dpt_1

My book is about my successful journey to recognize and overcome a false sense of entitlement and how I have seen this challenge affect the lives of others.
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JeremyBenson
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Re: Question about e-book publishing

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hmm. I sold my first copies of my first e-book the first month that it was out. Plan on selling more :) You have to work hard, promote, and make friends though. It takes platform building, and some basic marketing skill.

You can learn a lot by studying business. From there you just give it a go :)
Check out 'Philosophies of Self-Publishing: Better Business' a truly unique read for self-publishing enthusiasts.
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rchapman1tewantin
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Re: Question about e-book publishing

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Its very hard to write, edit, publish, promote and market! If you are not on Smashwords.com yet I would advise you to offer it for sale there (as long as you are not in KDP Select, which is exclusive). Smashwords makes it available to all e-readers whereas Amazon is only for Kindles. I have not had great success and like Busygirlbooks I have had more success with the paperback version, through Amazon's CreateSpace. It is easier to promote a hard copy somehow (and great to have one in your hands!).
Rita Lee Chapman
Author of the Anna Davies Mystery Series
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cindymcqt
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Re: Question about e-book publishing

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My book, The Guardian (The Gifted, book 1) went live March 27, 2013. I started on Smashwords, then put it on CreateSpace and KDP. Then I went to publit for BN. As for sales, just like Mary, I too posted on my Facebook page. Several of my friends bought the kindle version with as soon as it was available. I am hoping that, by spreading the word, the book will pick up some momentum but seriously, the number of books out there to choose from just blows my mind. As a reader, I seek out the $0.99 books - given my limited funds - and I hope there are others out there seeking the same.
LK11
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Re: Question about e-book publishing

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I have an ebook out, Would You Rather Be BORING or WEIRD? and in my free giveaway days I gave away about 250. I posted on facebook to about 90 friends and only one bought it and it has been about 6 weeks and no reviews. I did learn something for people who don't own Kindle devices and that is that there is a free Kindle download for PCs, Macs, tablets, and some smart phones. There is a link on the Amazon Kindle ebook site that has a "free reading apps" in small print across the top of the page and I reposted my book on FB and had a couple more sales. All in all, quite disappointing for all the work I did.
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TheWizard
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Re: Question about e-book publishing

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I put an eBook out on Create Space and Nook, and leveraged it to a publishing deal.

There are more than 10,000,000 titles on there I believe. Most of it is crap. Most people know it. Your book is nearly impossible to find.

You have to be out talking about it. The forums where you can suggest it, putting a reference to it in your email signatures, there are unlimited options for you, but you have to take them.

eBook is survival of the fittest in its truest form - you have to go out and work for your success, but you can have it
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notepro
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Re: Question about e-book publishing

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I just published my first book earlier this month. I had some sales immediately but mostly because I already had a following of people that read my writing on another site. Some of those people left reviews for me, but I'm hopeful more will do the same.

It's good to have a call to action right at the end of your book asking people to consider leaving a review if they liked your book. Another thing you can do is offer to trade reviews with another aspiring author.

I can tell you as someone with a background in business that often you just don't know where a big break will come from. The best thing you can do is get out there and beat the bushes. Sooner or later (if your product is good) things will begin to snowball. Hang in there!
Chris Humphreys
Author of "Four Seasons, Four Lessons: A Parable About Changing One's Fortune"
This is a simple tale with profound lessons about value, growth, leverage, and wealth.

I also write here under the pen name "Bach".
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tressaire
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Re: Question about e-book publishing

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I published several ebooks this year on Amazon and other online book stores. (I have a small publishing company). We reached the Amazon top rankings in a few days and have had consistent sales of several hundred books each month. The key is online promotion and understanding how online bookstores work. Include strong metadata. And, of course, you must have a quality cover and content.
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