It was one year ago (Dec 2, 2009) that I launched my first novel, St. Peter’s Brewery, into the wild.
I will admit I had high-hopes for the book (I’m sure every author does) but at the end of the day only a “select few” will ever sell more than 100 copies (where’s that stat on Kevin’s website when I need it?). Kevin Hendricks points out that only 79% of all books will sell more than 100 copies.
Along the way, I’ve cemented the idea in my mind that there’s a thin line between great marketing and spamming folks (especially your friends and family) and I have a tendency to stay far away from that line when it comes to promoting my own projects.
I seem to have no problem promoting the great things others are doing, but I’m always leery of pushing my own stuff on others.
I’ve also realized a couple things along the way… there are gonna be those who are thrilled about your projects and buy them regardless, simply because of who you are… there are going to be those who tell you they’re thrilled and never buy a copy… and then there will be the random folks who don’t know a think about you or the project and will purchase a copy out of curiosity…
Moral of the story — pitch/sale your product to anyone and everyone. You never know who’s gonna buy the next copy (it could be YOU!).
While the majority of sales have slowed to a small trickle, I’m still selling copies of the book here and there and word continues to trickle out here and there as well.
In fact, a good friend just told me two weeks go that she finally borrowed a copy of the book, read it and really loved it. Adding that she didn’t know why it took her so long to read it.
I also know of at least two people who purchased copies for Christmas gifts this year (hint, hint!).
Which is the great thing about published works… they can have a longer shelf life than you’d ever imagine.
And if you’re wondering how many diapers I’ve been able to purchase with my royalty checks – here’s the latest break down…
10 copies sold via Amazon.com = $57.40
4 copies sold via Extended distribution (meaning ordered through a brick and mortar or other online source) = $10.96
26 copies sold via my E-Store = $157.16
8 copies sold for Amazon’s Kindle = $25.90
That brings total sales to 40 print copies and 8 digital copies for a grand total of $251.42. That’s only 960 print copies away from reaching my initial goal!
Laughable from a traditional publishing standpoint — but decent for a self-published book — especially considering my upfront costs were only $40 or so and I don’t have a box of 1000 copies of my book sitting in my garage somewhere.
So, would I do it again? Absolutely!
I think I’d organize my promotions and marketing a bit better from the start but I have a couple book ideas (fiction and non-fiction) rolling around in my head so hopefully I’ll have a chance to publish again.
I’m also almost 75% done with a couple e-book projects I’m working on for We Live Simply — so it will be interesting to see how they stack up against my novel.
If you’re still holding out on whether or not you should buy a copy of the book for yourself and the rest of your circle of friends…
Read what Stewart Cutler, Thomas Mathie, LC and John M. Blundell said.
Or you can read my interviews with Johnny Laird and Kevin Hendricks or listen to my interview with Chad Crawford and my mates from the something beautiful podcast.
Thanks again to everyone who’s purchased a copy and/or told someone about the book either online or offline. You’re greatly appreciated.
