First of all, as you can see, I outsold last month! That is always fantastic :) So, June gave me a new record sales high.
My June sales totaled 27 units. That is about 128.5% of May. A 25%+ increase from the previous month is fantastic, I think! It may build slowly at first, but 25% really adds up over time!
Since I put my first book up for sale in February, I have sold 67 units. 40.29% of those were in May. My sales last month were 52.5% of my total, so the percentage has dropped. However, I still sold more units that last month, so that is great!
Last month I thought "Coward" exploded into the world with 6 sales in 5 days. Well, imagine my surprise when "Thief" sold 7 its first day! Then it picked up an eighth copy the next day. And a ninth about a week later :) It was well on track to being my top seller for the month, but "Cheat" caught up! (I am not complaining.)
In fact, the day "Thief" released has been my single highest day of sales. With 7 "Thief" sales, I had 6 other sales, for a total of 13 for the day... 48% of my sales for the month! :O
Now for some attributions... my excellent cover artist recommended me and swung a reader my way for 5 sales. I was featured on Daily Cheap Reads Jr. and saw three sales that day, one of each of the titles they listed. Finally, Man Eating Bookworm held a giveaway and that counted for 3 more. So 11 sales (40.7%) were the direct result of OTHER's work. Thanks guys!!!
21 of my sales (77.77%) of my sales came ON or AFTER "Thief"'s release (June 22nd). Do you see why I said swirling vortex of despair earlier? ;)
I sold less copies of "Shackled" where I get 70% royalties; more of my novellas, where I get 35%. But, I believe I still made about 40 cents more than last month. Yay :)
I lost my 5-day no sale streak :( In June I went a tortuous 14 days with no sales. Then another 7. Then "Thief" hit :) I would also like to mention that I changed the listings of my YA pieces to a broader category. I believe it contributed to more hits after "Thief" released.
In May I averaged .68 sales/day. In June, .9/day! Ooooh, so close!! :)
B&N stayed in the game this month. They accounted for 22.22% of my sales. Smashwords was 18.51% and Amazon 59.25%.
Best-selling rank so far:
#1 - Cheat, 23
#2 - Shackled, 13
#3 - Liar, 11
#4 - Coward, 11
#5 - Thief, 9
Onto conversions! Remember, I want at least 50% conversion, and I think 75% is fantabulous!
So, as follows:
Cheat - Liar; 23 - 11 (47.82%) I think this is great! It's shy of 50%, but I also understand people don't read everything they grab right away. I believe this number will improve. Currently, it is down from 58% in May.
Liar - Coward; 11 - 11 (100%) What do I even say to that?? It is the mystical 100% conversion. I couldn't be happier :)
Coward - Thief; 11 - 9 (81.82%) If 75% is fantabulous, then I am on a roll :) I am very satisfied with that conversion rate! Now we just need to keep that rate while increasing the numbers they deal with.. ;)
Final Notes:
I was utterly in crisis during the beginning of the month. I was very much in a "this is the end, woe is me" mood over my highly lackluster sales. Thanks everyone for turning my month around when "Thief" came out! It was a very nice way to end the month. I will try to keep it firmly in mind if I go two weeks without sales in July...
My June goals were 25 (achievable), 30 (happy) and 50 (excitement). I passed my achievable goal and almost reached my happy goal! I'm trying to take into account this month, and what I've learned. I also know that the boons I had this month may be nonexistent next month. I don't really want to set my goals lower than what I did this month, so with a bit of trepidation, here are my July goals:
Achievable: 30
Happy: 40
Excitement: 50
If you've read to here, thanks for reading! Please leave any comments you may have, because I'd love to know what you think about my June sales :)
My prediction is 63 sales in July, most after THUG goes live...
ReplyDeleteCan you fill me in on how you are marketing? In March & April I had my highest sales ever (somewhere around 20-30 total). Then dropped significantly in May. June picked up, but only slightly with 7 total sales. I’m trying to figure out how to maintain growth. I keep writing and self-publishing novelettes and short stories, with a novel planned by the end of the year.
ReplyDeleteHey, that's really great! Super happy for you.
ReplyDeleteInteresting how the multiple titles support each other, isn't it. Looks like the plan's coming together. :)
Ready for a completely wild an unexpected prediction? I foresee that upward trend line only continuing as your series continues.
How's that for prognostication, huh? Man, I should make my living as a psychic.
:)
Michael Kingswood
@Jeroen: Thanks! Any prediction that is positive is nice to hear :)
ReplyDelete@The-Time-Capsule: As for my marketing... I heard about Daily Cheap Reads, so I read their submission guidelines and submitted to be listed. Other then that, I have just met people who are really interested in the stories I have to tell, and are very RAH RAH about sharing! Sorry I can't be more informative... What works in marketing is a mystery to me. I just put my works on a schedule and try to provide an avenue to let people know they are available (mostly this blog).
@Michael: Oh man, you are TELEPATHETIC! I did NOT see that prediction coming! Here's to hoping you're not a sham ;)