So far on Smashwords, I have sold 2 copies of FTV and had 12 downloads (preview of the first 20%) and one 4 star review.
I appreciate the 4 star review very much. Thank you.
Book 2 is in the works, but it's taking a back seat to a short story I am writing. The short story is a thriller/horror story that may never see the light of day. Here's why: as in FTV, I like to explore the alternative to what is expected and what is generally accepted.
Not too many "good" things happen in my world. I prefer exploring the shadowy, dangerous regions. My short story is so "out there" that I fear it may break decency laws in all 50 states and I'll have the FBI knocking on my door. Only time will tell. After I attempt to publish it, I'll get back to Book 2 of the Guild of The Five.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Free Epic Fantasy at Smashwords
Here's the coupon code so you can download Five Times Vengeance for free. It can be downloaded through Monday, February 4th.
FS25G
Just enter that code here:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/276881
FS25G
Just enter that code here:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/276881
Saturday, January 26, 2013
My Smashwords Experience (Part 1)
OK, after waiting 3 months for my Amazon KDP contract to expire, I published Five Times Vengeance on Smashwords. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/276881
Actually, it was surprisingly easy. The one thing that had me worried was their "meatgrinder" technology that automatically vetted your book for formatting errors. Too many errors, and your book was excluded from their "Premium Catalog." Whatever that means. But hey, I wanted in...not sure what it was that I wanted in to, but I like the word "premium."
A few days later, I was approved. Simple as that. Follow their formatting rules, and you're in. I used the "Nuclear " method. Basically, you copy your book to notepad and it strips out everything. Paste it back into a Word document that is set up accordingly, and you have a perfect book.
So far, I have been in the Premium Catalog for 4 days and sold a whopping 2 books at 99 cents and had 10 samples downloaded. Those 2 books made me $1.60. If I sold 2 on Amazon, I would have made a paltry 70 cents.
I'm going to look into this "Coupon Code" that Smashwords has.It will give anyone visiting this site a code to download my book at a discount..or for free. I'll let you know.
All in all, so far, I give Smashwords a grade of a solid A.
Jason Lee
Actually, it was surprisingly easy. The one thing that had me worried was their "meatgrinder" technology that automatically vetted your book for formatting errors. Too many errors, and your book was excluded from their "Premium Catalog." Whatever that means. But hey, I wanted in...not sure what it was that I wanted in to, but I like the word "premium."
A few days later, I was approved. Simple as that. Follow their formatting rules, and you're in. I used the "Nuclear " method. Basically, you copy your book to notepad and it strips out everything. Paste it back into a Word document that is set up accordingly, and you have a perfect book.
So far, I have been in the Premium Catalog for 4 days and sold a whopping 2 books at 99 cents and had 10 samples downloaded. Those 2 books made me $1.60. If I sold 2 on Amazon, I would have made a paltry 70 cents.
I'm going to look into this "Coupon Code" that Smashwords has.It will give anyone visiting this site a code to download my book at a discount..or for free. I'll let you know.
All in all, so far, I give Smashwords a grade of a solid A.
Jason Lee
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Amazon KDP Select vs Smashwords.
The Battle Royal is about to begin.
After 3 months of exclusivity on Amazon's KDP Select, I have sold under 10 copies of Five Times Vengeance.
Now that the contract has ended, I will be uploading the novel to Smashwords. This upload will have a few inaccuracies corrected that were pointed out to me.
It will be interesting to see what happens after 3 months on SW. Smashwords distributes to multiple retailers, and hopefully that will result in more exposure, and more sales.
I will be devoting the same amount of marketing effort now as I have been in the last 3 months with Amazon so as not to skew the results.
As always (and I'm sure this is why I sold less than 10 copies) I refuse, I refuse, I refuse to pay for reviews. Not that I"m a cheap skate, but to me, it seems kind of sleazy. Sure, it could be said to be a form of advertising, but I'm not ready to advertise that way.....yet.
10 copies and honest vs 20,000 copies and sleazy..........hmmmmmmm. For now, I'll just rely on the court of public opinion and not slip a few bucks under the table to get the court to rule in my favor.
I'll keep you updated on the SW progress.
Jason Lee.
After 3 months of exclusivity on Amazon's KDP Select, I have sold under 10 copies of Five Times Vengeance.
Now that the contract has ended, I will be uploading the novel to Smashwords. This upload will have a few inaccuracies corrected that were pointed out to me.
It will be interesting to see what happens after 3 months on SW. Smashwords distributes to multiple retailers, and hopefully that will result in more exposure, and more sales.
I will be devoting the same amount of marketing effort now as I have been in the last 3 months with Amazon so as not to skew the results.
As always (and I'm sure this is why I sold less than 10 copies) I refuse, I refuse, I refuse to pay for reviews. Not that I"m a cheap skate, but to me, it seems kind of sleazy. Sure, it could be said to be a form of advertising, but I'm not ready to advertise that way.....yet.
10 copies and honest vs 20,000 copies and sleazy..........hmmmmmmm. For now, I'll just rely on the court of public opinion and not slip a few bucks under the table to get the court to rule in my favor.
I'll keep you updated on the SW progress.
Jason Lee.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Status Report
Wow, what 2 sales will do to one's Amazon ranking.
Last week, Five Times Vengeance was languishing right around the 800,000 rank. As of today, it skyrocketed up the charts to 122,000. I checked the "Reports" tab on Amazon and learned that I sold 2 books.
Well, that's 70 cents that I didn't have yesterday. But let me be clear, it's not about the money. Really. If it was all about the money, I'd be buying 5 star reviews like a madman, as countless other authors have been doing.
Scouring the internet, I found that it is quite a racket--paying others to give your ebook a 5 star review. It's really a win-win situation. A "reviewer" gets a fee (I saw fees as high as $99) and they give your book an in-depth, glowing 5 star review. Buy enough of these "reviews" and watch your book zoom up the charts--and your bank account grow.
There are stories of authors becoming millionaires employing such a method, and "reviewers" (they usually never even read the book--they're too busy writing reviews) earning 6 figures a month!
I refuse to stoop to that level (I"ll probably never crack the top 100,000 as a result), and that's why my book only has 3 reviews.I"m relying on YOU.
Speaking of reviews, my last review was only 2 stars, but you know what? In a weird way, I value that 2 star review more so than my 5 star review. Nothing against the person who gave the 5-star (You made me the happiest I've been so far), but the 2 star review really addressed issues with my book. Issues and problems that I will not repeat with the sequel. As the old saying goes, you only learn from your mistakes.
Thanks for reading,
Jason Lee
Last week, Five Times Vengeance was languishing right around the 800,000 rank. As of today, it skyrocketed up the charts to 122,000. I checked the "Reports" tab on Amazon and learned that I sold 2 books.
Well, that's 70 cents that I didn't have yesterday. But let me be clear, it's not about the money. Really. If it was all about the money, I'd be buying 5 star reviews like a madman, as countless other authors have been doing.
Scouring the internet, I found that it is quite a racket--paying others to give your ebook a 5 star review. It's really a win-win situation. A "reviewer" gets a fee (I saw fees as high as $99) and they give your book an in-depth, glowing 5 star review. Buy enough of these "reviews" and watch your book zoom up the charts--and your bank account grow.
There are stories of authors becoming millionaires employing such a method, and "reviewers" (they usually never even read the book--they're too busy writing reviews) earning 6 figures a month!
I refuse to stoop to that level (I"ll probably never crack the top 100,000 as a result), and that's why my book only has 3 reviews.I"m relying on YOU.
Speaking of reviews, my last review was only 2 stars, but you know what? In a weird way, I value that 2 star review more so than my 5 star review. Nothing against the person who gave the 5-star (You made me the happiest I've been so far), but the 2 star review really addressed issues with my book. Issues and problems that I will not repeat with the sequel. As the old saying goes, you only learn from your mistakes.
Thanks for reading,
Jason Lee
Friday, December 21, 2012
2nd Review came in. 5 STARS!
The good news is, I have 2 reviews now. The 2nd one was a 5 star review, no less. Thanks a ton, you made my week!
The sad news is, Five Times Vengeance is slipping further into Amazon's ranking abyss--and I even lowered it to 99 cents. I'm getting to the point that I'd rather have decent reviews than sales. At least that is some validity that I can write an entertaining story.
It's less than a month before I can break away from Amazon's chains. As I understand it, I can't put my book for sale on any other website until my 3 month term expires from the Lending Library. Man, I can't wait to give FTV some more exposure.
I have been busy writing, both the sequel to FTV and a short story, which is turning out to be a rather long short story. I decided that I would break it up into several smaller parts and then set it loose.
It's not a fantasy, though. It's more along the lines of horror/thriller. It's so blatantly offensive and shocking, that I don't think it will ever see the light of day. I'll try, though.
Merry Christmas,
Jason
The sad news is, Five Times Vengeance is slipping further into Amazon's ranking abyss--and I even lowered it to 99 cents. I'm getting to the point that I'd rather have decent reviews than sales. At least that is some validity that I can write an entertaining story.
It's less than a month before I can break away from Amazon's chains. As I understand it, I can't put my book for sale on any other website until my 3 month term expires from the Lending Library. Man, I can't wait to give FTV some more exposure.
I have been busy writing, both the sequel to FTV and a short story, which is turning out to be a rather long short story. I decided that I would break it up into several smaller parts and then set it loose.
It's not a fantasy, though. It's more along the lines of horror/thriller. It's so blatantly offensive and shocking, that I don't think it will ever see the light of day. I'll try, though.
Merry Christmas,
Jason
Friday, December 14, 2012
I got my first review on Amazon!!!!!!!
After two months on Amazon, I got my first review (3 stars) for my first book. I'm not sure if it's appropriate to name the person (you know who you are) so I won't, but I give a heartfelt THANKYOU to you for your review.
I must confess that there really is no feeling like reading one's first review--a very exciting few minutes.
I honestly am happy that the reviewer went into such depths in outlining the "cons" of my story, as that's the only way I will grow as a writer. I appreciate the honesty.
I will keep in mind everything the reviewer said when writing Book 2. It will, without a doubt, yield a tighter and more believable story.
Thank you.
ADDENDUM: It seems I have two more free promotion days to offer my book on Amazon. I will offer it for FREE on December 15th and 16th (Saturday and Sunday). Please download it and tell me what you think.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009T6VKHS
Jason Lee.
ADDENDUM: It seems I have two more free promotion days to offer my book on Amazon. I will offer it for FREE on December 15th and 16th (Saturday and Sunday). Please download it and tell me what you think.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009T6VKHS
Jason Lee.
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