# Milestone: 2 Million Books Sold (now 5 million) & A Few Tips



## H.M. Ward (May 16, 2012)

I cannot even fathom that number. It means that over a million and half of those books were purchased this year. It's freaking nuts. Last summer I was banging my head into the wall trying to get some traction on my romance titles, but they were sucking up the charts and doing next to nothing. My paycheck was still shouldered by my YA PNR and I thought I made a horrible mistake. It's funny how radically things can change over the course of a year.

Someone asked me if pen names had something to do with it. I had a few pen names and still do. Those sales suck in comparison, even within the same genre AND telling people that I wrote them. It's interesting.

A few tips for people who are struggling to get some traction:

*Keep writing*: The titles that shot up the charts weren't the ones that I expected to react that way.

*More Visibility*: More books = more visibility. Everything I do is geared toward visibility and OMG, it helps. DAMAGED was created to be a loss leader, and act as a beacon to draw in new readers.

*Remember the Trifecta*: Cover, Title, Blurb - All three work in tandum to get readers to grab your sample. It's like a three-legged stool. If one leg is lacking, the whole thing falls over. You need all three to be solid.
*
Make Your Sample Kick Ass*: Remember the old saying, you gotta give a book 100 pgs to see if it's any good? Yeah, ppl with ereaders give it the length of the sample. That's it. Make it so good that they can't put it down.

*Write what you love, love what you write*: There's no way to make everyone happy and you'll go crazy if you try. Write about the things that you like, and don't worry about the rest. I threw a turkey vulture into one of my books, b/c I felt like it fit. I had no idea how the readers would react, but I loved it. So when I said it out loud, it sounded stupid. Actually, writing it here sounds stupid, but it's funny and who people interact with animals says something about their character, so I went with my gut and threw it in. The readers loved it.

*Take Risks*: The only way to find out of something works or not is to try it.

*Failure is a Good Thing*: Because we can learn from it. When things don't work it's b/c some variable is flawed. Keep hammering away at it until you figure out which variable isn't functioning the way it should. Sometimes it's one thing, sometimes its 5. The point is that when something doesn't work, you have the opportunity to fix it and that can make the difference between being a one hit wonder and building a book empire. 

Hope that helps someone! There's so much to publishing. Writing the book is the easy part, so it gives you an idea of how hard the rest of this stuff is.

----
Update: Passed 5 million this year. By the end of 2013, I'd sold 4 million.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Let me be the first to congratulate you.  Great tips too.


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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

Truly mind-boggling numbers!


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

I can't even imagine selling that many books! Wow and Congrats!


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## 9thChapter (May 6, 2013)

Some great advice!  Thanks and great work.


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## B.A. Spangler (Jan 25, 2012)

That is a big Big BIG Number - Awesome and thank you for the tips.


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## 9thChapter (May 6, 2013)

Forgot to ask... the sample.  Can you select what the "Look Inside" sample is?  I haven't published yet, but am shortly.


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## RBC (Feb 24, 2013)

WOOOW! Congratulations. Incredible number! 5 million is next!


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## legion (Mar 1, 2013)

Thanks for the lift Holly. And congrats!
You're quite an inspiration.


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## britrocker (May 16, 2011)

Congrats on that milestone and thanks for sharing your experience.


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## Gina Black (Mar 15, 2011)

Congratulations! And thanks for sharing your wisdom.


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## H.M. Ward (May 16, 2012)

9thChapter said:


> Forgot to ask... the sample. Can you select what the "Look Inside" sample is? I haven't published yet, but am shortly.


I think the Look Inside is different than the sample that kindle delivers. The thing I'm talking about is when a buyer hits the send a sample to my kindle option on the purchase page. It means you have them hooked 3/4 of the way and they'll buy the book if the sample is any good. It's typically 10% of the file size, at least that's my understanding. I buy my books to see where the sample cuts off to make sure it's in a good place and move things around if it's not (eg push the TOC, author's note, about, to the front or back of the book.)


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## Cheryl Douglas (Dec 7, 2011)

So thrilled for you, and that advice definitely helped me. Hmm, I think I will be re-visiting the big three today. Thanks!


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## Lanie Jordan (Feb 23, 2011)

2 million, huh? Is that all?   

Obviously kidding. But that's seriously...beyond words. Super huge congrats, hon. Here's to another million!


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## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

Congrats, Holly!


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## Shayne Parkinson (Mar 19, 2010)

Astonishing and marvellous! Huge congratulations, Holly. And thank you for sharing your hard-earned wisdom so generously.


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## Nihilist (Aug 9, 2013)

Congrats on 2 million books! Wow! 

I'm bookmarking this thread because that's great advice.


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## Jan Hurst-Nicholson (Aug 25, 2010)

Wow - big congrats   Thanks for sharing your advice - keep it coming


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## Bec (Aug 24, 2012)

Amazingly awesome  

Huge congrats. It really is amazing how fast things can change in this business!


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Congrats, Holly!!

Betsy


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## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

What a milestone! Congratulations, Holly!

That certainly secures you at the top of our sales leaderboard!
http://kboards.com/authors


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## Hugh Howey (Feb 11, 2012)

Super congrats, and thanks for sharing your wisdom.

I like hearing that your findings on pen names, as I don't think they're a good idea at all. Feels weird to be right about something. Journaling this moment.


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## 13893 (Apr 29, 2010)

In the last few months, I've felt like giving up (I won't, but...). Posts like this really do help. Thanks for being so generous with your experience!


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## RockyGrede (Apr 19, 2013)

Well done! A great mile stone indeed!


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## Liz Davis (Dec 10, 2011)

Wow!!! Congratulations and thanks for the great tips.


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## SEAN H. ROBERTSON (Mar 14, 2011)

That's wonderful,  Holly. Even more cool is that you're sharing your valuable tips with us. Thanks so much!! Congratulations!!!


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## Harry Manners (Jul 6, 2013)

An outstanding achievement. Congratulations, and thanks for the advice.


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## Joe_Nobody (Oct 23, 2012)

Go H.M. Go!!!

Agree with the tips 100% BTW, assuming the pen name thingie didn't apply to yours truly (I know you meant multiples).


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## Zoe York (May 12, 2013)

I love love love that you spend so much time getting the details right. I'm toying with a cover revamp myself.


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## AriadneW (Feb 16, 2013)

Congratulations Holly, that is so awesome and getting tips is great!


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## Sarah M (Apr 6, 2013)

Congratulations!  

It seems like just yesterday when you posted about hitting a million.


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## K.R. Harris (Jan 25, 2012)

Wow! Congrats and thank you for the tips! You are awesome!


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## Dee Ernst (Jan 10, 2011)

Great numbers and great advice.  Thanks.


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## WG McCabe (Oct 13, 2012)

Holly that is fantastic. Thanks again for all the advice.


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## MissyM (Jun 21, 2013)

Congrats and thanks for sharing the tips!


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## Scribbler (Apr 27, 2012)

Erm... like, wow!   Awesome stuff, congratulations. Great advice too.


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## JeanneM (Mar 21, 2011)

Holly, congrats on such a wonderful achievement!!  You must be so psyched.


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## EC Sheedy (Feb 24, 2011)

Absolutely stunning achievement! Thanks for sharing your success and your lessons learned along the way. They bring a huge dollop of hope. 

Congratulations, Holly.


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## TJHudson (Jul 9, 2012)

Just awesome, congrats. Thanks for the tips.


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## MsTee (Jul 30, 2012)

H.M. Ward said:


> *Write what you love, love what you write*: There's no way to make everyone happy and you'll go crazy if you try. Write about the things that you like, and don't worry about the rest.


I like this advice the best.  I've been wanting to be a copycat lately, and while I KNOW I can do it, my heart's just not in it at all. Time will tell though.

Anyway, super kudos and congratulations to such a spectacular number! *2,000,000* - Look at all of them 0's!


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## Nicole Ciacchella (May 21, 2012)

A huge congrats to you! That's a phenomenal milestone, so I hope you're throwing yourself a big ol' party because you certainly deserve it!

Thanks also for the tips. They're wonderful, and I'm going to take them to heart!


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## R M Rowan (Jul 13, 2011)

Alexia Stark said:


> Congrats on 2 million books! Wow!
> 
> I'm bookmarking this thread because that's great advice.


+1 (because I'm feeling lazy today) Seriously, though, your numbers are mind twisting in a very tantalizing way. Congrats and may your next million come quickly!


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## ER Pierce (Jun 4, 2013)

Congrats that is so awesome!!


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## Raquel Lyon (Mar 3, 2012)

Wow, what a milestone!   how are you planning on celebrating?

Posts like these are what keep me chugging away.


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## LG Castillo (Jun 28, 2012)

H.M. Ward said:


> I cannot even fathom that number. It means that over a million and half of those books were purchased this year. It's freaking nuts. Last summer I was banging my head into the wall trying to get some traction on my romance titles, but they were sucking up the charts and doing next to nothing. My paycheck was still shouldered by my YA PNR and I thought I made a horrible mistake. It's funny how radically things can change over the course of a year.
> 
> Someone asked me if pen names had something to do with it. I had a few pen names and still do. Those sales suck in comparison, even within the same genre AND telling people that I wrote them. It's interesting.
> 
> ...


you're amazing Holly! Congrats and thanks for the advice.

Note to self: add turkey vulture in next book.


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## 48306 (Jul 6, 2011)

You are truly amazing, Holly! Both for your sales and for being so awesome to share what you've learned. Super congrats! Those numbers boggle my mind!


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## minxmalone (Oct 28, 2012)

Congratulations!! Thanks for sharing what you've learned. It really helps to see someone who feels they didn't "get it right" the first time around but still got where they wanted to go.


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## Fast Typist (May 9, 2013)

Congratulations.  When someone sells that many books, it makes me happy.  That means there are at least a hundred thousand readers who have bought your books and will want to buy something else when they finish reading.  It gives me hope.  Thank you for sharing your numbers and your advice.


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## ScriptLand (Feb 9, 2013)

H.M. Ward said:


> *Write what you love, love what you write*: There's no way to make everyone happy and you'll go crazy if you try. Write about the things that you like, and don't worry about the rest. I threw a turkey vulture into one of my books, b/c I felt like it fit. I had no idea how the readers would react, but I loved it. So when I said it out loud, it sounded stupid. Actually, writing it here sounds stupid, but it's funny and who people interact with animals says something about their character, so I went with my gut and threw it in. The readers loved it.


Congratulations. I love reading your advice on here. I especially needed to read this part today.


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## Susan Kaye Quinn (Aug 8, 2011)

Those are jaw-dropping numbers.  

Congrats!! You work it all so hard, I'm not surprised at all. And fabulous advice all around!!

I'm glad to hear it about the pennames too - I'm committed to doing everything under my own name, just because women authors in SF have a history of being told otherwise. And I'm contrarian.

Congrats again!!


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## CJArcher (Jan 22, 2011)

WOW, Holly! That is an epic milestone. Congratulations! And thank you for the tips. The multiple pen names thing will probably come back to bite me on the butt.


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## JodyMorse (Jun 7, 2011)

Thank you for sharing these tips. Congratulations on your success!


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## Jan Thompson (May 25, 2013)

Congrats! And thank you for sharing the tips.


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## JDHallowell (Dec 31, 2012)

Congratulations! Numbers like that are almost beyond comprehension.


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## Dina (May 24, 2013)

Awesome tips. Thank you for sharing your wisdom. And CONGRATULATIONS!


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## journeymama (May 30, 2011)

Wow, what a huge milestone. Congratulations!


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## Writer1000 (Jul 28, 2013)

Congrats, Holly!  Thanks for sharing.


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## David Wisehart (Mar 2, 2010)

Congrats! And thanks a million for the tips. 

David


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## dalya (Jul 26, 2011)

Awesome news! Woot, a great reason to celebrate tonight with some ice cream.


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## dotx (Nov 4, 2010)

Hugh Howey said:


> I like hearing that your findings on pen names, as I don't think they're a good idea at all.


I feel the same way. No pen names for me.

And big congrats!


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## AgnesWebb (Jan 13, 2013)

Spectacular!  
Thank you for offering tips as well!


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## KevinH (Jun 29, 2013)

Congrats on reaching a tremendous milestone.


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## N. Gemini Sasson (Jul 5, 2010)

Sound advice as always, Holly. Thanks a million times over for sharing your experiences so the rest of us can soak it up and learn from it. May the good karma come back to you a thousand times over.


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## H.M. Ward (May 16, 2012)

Thanks guys!!! I celebrated by working. I'm not sure how that happened. I think I'm still in shock from the stuff that happened in Jan. hahaha.



Susan Kaye Quinn said:


> I'm glad to hear it about the pennames too - I'm committed to doing everything under my own name, just because women authors in SF have a history of being told otherwise. And I'm contrarian.
> 
> Congrats again!!


A lot of ppl ask me about pen names. Maybe someone got them to work at some point, but I couldn't figure it out. It creates a dichotomy (or more) along with branding issues. The better brand will always sell more. Idk, I wonder about it from time to time, like it's an egg that I can't crack. Then, I saw Rowling's book flopping under a pen name... I have a new theory. The inside of the egg is empty. Awh, snap! lol.

So, I wasn't supposed to work tonight and it's almost 10pm. How the frack did that happen?


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## Ben Mathew (Jan 27, 2013)

Amazing numbers. Congratulations!


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## trublue (Jul 7, 2012)

Wow! That's amazing! 

And thx for advise


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## jnfr (Mar 26, 2011)

I love that you threw a turkey vulture into your book because you felt like it should be there. I don't know why, but that made me even happier than your zillions of sales.

Congratulations!


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## Diane Patterson (Jun 17, 2012)

Honestly, this is a beautiful story, Holly. I hope you enjoy every second of it. You certainly have done above and beyond your part to give back.


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## Matt Ryan (Nov 16, 2012)

So much awesome here.

Are you the first indie to reach this milestone?


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## J.D.W. (Nov 10, 2008)

Holly--have the ice cream!  You deserve it. 
You are unbelievably generous with your time and advice--I always watch for your posts.  Gold nuggets every time!


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## Michael Buckley (Jun 24, 2013)

Congratulations, super numbers.


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## Linda Barlow (Jul 5, 2013)

Awesome news, Holly. Congratulations, and thanks for all the great advice!


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## johnlmonk (Jul 24, 2013)

Thank your the tips, and the living example of your own success


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## R.V. Doon (Apr 1, 2013)

It seems like a few months ago when you launched Damaged. Wow. Congrats!


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## Mel Comley (Oct 13, 2010)

Great advice, Holly as always. Super congrats on your fantastic milestone, it is mind-blowing that a mere Indie can achieve so much.


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## Scott Pixello (May 4, 2013)

Haven't posted for a while but I'm still here & still writing. Congrats on the numbers- pretty astronomical.

It's good to see basic KB wisdom boiled down to a few reasonable points. Reading the posts can seem sometimes like wading through Machiavellian plans for world domination.

What's interesting for me is the whole notion of visibility, which is something I posted about a while back. After a year of doing this and having published four books, I think it's fair to say that if you want anonymity, that's pretty much what you'll get. So the chronically-shy part of me is perversely quite happy. The less good part of the equation is that readers don't know about your work. If someone could just come up with some kind of invisibility cloaking device, then all my problems could be solved.


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## Susan Alison (Jul 1, 2011)

Woohoo! How totally fab. Great tips, too - thank you!


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## Lindy Moone (Oct 19, 2012)

You people are killing me! This is my first day really getting to know Kindleboards and I'm overwhelmed with good advice from kindly, massively successful authors such as yourself. Oh, and I can't count how many samples I've downloaded and books bought.

How does anyone get any writing done?

Does this get easier?

Will I stop feeling green and queasy soon?


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## Justawriter (Jul 24, 2012)

Congrats Holly!!! and thank you for sharing your tips...this info is much appreciated!


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## Kenosha Kid (Jun 23, 2011)

Thanks for sharing, Holly -- numbers and advice. These are some of my favorite threads!


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## Austin_Briggs (Aug 21, 2011)

Cool stuff, wow. I see your books all over Amazon, but I had no idea you were a fellow Indie  Congrats! Truly inspirational.

On the pen names ... I write historical drama, erotic romance, kids books, and now dipping my toes into horror. I was kinda thinking that I’d need a few pen names to separate my erotica from my kids books from my horror, to avoid the Wrath of Angry Moms on Amazon with their blazing and righteous 1-star reviews (a romance author penning children picture books? One star).

One trick I’ve decided to try out is a set of connected pen names. For example, by core brand is Austin Briggs which is all about Mexico as the setting. My flagship erotic romance titles, the ones set in Mexico, are by Austin Briggs and Leo Angelo. Then Leo Angelo branches out to write other erotica. 

My kids name is Max Candee. Now I’m writing a kids fantasy set in Mexico authored by Austin Briggs and Max Candee together. 

The idea is for the people to understand that Austin Briggs is all about quality lit. But expect unicorns when partners with Max, and expect well, other sort of creatures when he partners with Leo. Is that a dangerous strategy, I wonder?


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## Caddy (Sep 13, 2011)

Well done! Congratulations to you.


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## Lindy Moone (Oct 19, 2012)

About pen names: I love this idea! "One trick I've decided to try out is a set of connected pen names. For example, by core brand is Austin Briggs which is all about Mexico as the setting. My flagship erotic romance titles, the ones set in Mexico, are by Austin Briggs and Leo Angelo. Then Leo Angelo branches out to write other erotica." (  to Austin Briggs, somewhere above.)

As Lindy Moone, I have a few characters (in _Riding the Bull_, my WIP for adults) who are writing children's books together. One is a dog, an aspiring poet; the other learned to draw in Limbo -- he was sent there by mistake and spent many, many years teaching toddlers.  So my pen names for children's books are theirs: Words by "Louie the Ghost Dog", pictures by "Stinky Hemingway".


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

Congrats.

Btw I loved the turkey vulture.  It was hysterical.


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## Joseph Turkot (Nov 9, 2012)

Encouraging stuff! Congrats!


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## HRDoubleU (Jan 7, 2011)

Congratulations on reaching 2 million! If you don't mind my asking, are those 2 million paid purchases or does that number include free promo downloads? If so, what's the split? I'm curious because I would be interested to know if free promos have been integral to your success.


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## O_o (Aug 6, 2013)

2 million!  

That is amazing! Congratulations and thanks for the tips!


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## Bob Mayer (Feb 20, 2011)

Congratulations.


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## H.M. Ward (May 16, 2012)

Matt Ryan said:


> So much awesome here.
> 
> Are you the first indie to reach this milestone?


Honestly, I don't know. No one complies stuff for Indies, at least not that I know of. I've had 7 NYT bestsellers since Jan and thought that might be an Indie record, but I don't know. I'm kinda just rolling with it and seeing where I end up. 



HRDoubleU said:


> Congratulations on reaching 2 million! If you don't mind my asking, are those 2 million paid purchases or does that number include free promo downloads? If so, what's the split? I'm curious because I would be interested to know if free promos have been integral to your success.


All paid. I don't usually do free promos. I think I'm the only person who couldn't get them to work. lol. I did better with the 99 cent crowd, in terms of promos and sell through rates.


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## Kay Bratt (Dec 28, 2011)

So inspiring! Way to go and thanks for the tips. We all should know by now what to strive for, but reminders are always welcome!


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## Alexandra C (Jun 4, 2013)

Congratulations! I can't even imagine how excited you must be. I really appreciate and have learned so much from all of your tips. Here's to the next 2 million!


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## Romi (Apr 4, 2011)

Mind-boggling and amazing; congrats, Holly!


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## Sharon Cummin (Mar 19, 2013)

That is amazing. Congrats!!!!!!!!


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## Zelah Meyer (Jun 15, 2011)

Congratulations!  That's amazing!


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## MarcyB (Feb 10, 2013)

Truly inspiring!  (especially on these personal head-banging days!  ).  Enjoy the success!


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## John Hartness (Aug 3, 2009)

Congrats, Holly! That's awesome! So happy for you.


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## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

HUGE Congrats!!!!


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## Elizabeth Barone (May 6, 2013)

Wow, congratulations! That is a huge accomplishment. I'm so proud of you! Now to kick butt in the same vein...

Thanks for the tips!


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## Lisa Grace (Jul 3, 2011)

Congratulations.  You've always been so wonderfully helpful to indies, and it's been fun to watch your books take off through your process of discovery of how tweaking and visibility can work along with producing more like-books fast to take advantage of your momentum.


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## EthanRussellErway (Nov 17, 2011)

Thanks for the tips and encouragement.  Best of luck in the future!


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## Gerald Hartenhoff (Jun 19, 2010)

Well done.


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## Jonathan C. Gillespie (Aug 9, 2012)

Stellar and stupendous! Congrats! And thanks for the reminder that it is really all about content.


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## locoduc (Jul 23, 2013)

Congrats on a job well done. It is amazing to see what we - as authors - consider an underdog to turn around and sprout wings for a reader. Thank you for some of the information you've shared with us about hitting milestones such as the one you just made: pen names in particular.


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## Kitty French (Dec 3, 2012)

2 million? OMG! Holly, that's a fairy tale number. Well done.


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## mariehallwrites (Mar 14, 2013)

Congratulations, those numbers are   but that is so awesome!!


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## 69959 (May 14, 2013)

That's amazing! Congratulations!! Thanks for the tips.


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## bhazelgrove (Jul 16, 2013)

Unbelievable. Certainly you are right. The three points are critical and then there are price points. But nothing speaks louder than success. Congrats.


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## bhazelgrove (Jul 16, 2013)

And you must be a a good writer for them to come back for more. No small thing.


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## RuthNestvold (Jan 4, 2012)

Congrats, Holly, what an amazing milestone! The mind boggles.  

And thanks for sharing the wisdom you've gained from your experience.


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## H.M. Ward (May 16, 2012)

LisaGraceBooks said:


> Congratulations.  You've always been so wonderfully helpful to indies


lol. I totally think it takes mega guts to decide to self publish, so I can't help but cheer for people when they do it. I just told someone else they should look at it. There's still a 'ewe, you self pubbed' vibe, like we're icky or something. If you mention you're talking about wondering if you should self pub or not with a normal person, they usually think it equals failure. It's hard to do something that your friends and family think is failure. Mine still don't know what the hell I'm doing and ask why I haven't sold the books yet. I am selling books! To people! Don't even get me started. I'm a misunderstood middle child.  Maybe it's my control freak nature, but its so much better over here.

I haven't celebrated yet. The baby asked for ribs for dinner in his little baby voice last night, and it was so cute that we ordered ribs.  Tonight we eat ice cream!!!


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## authoryallen (May 4, 2012)

Congrats hun!!!! High 5!


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## AmberDa1 (Jul 23, 2012)

Super congratulations! That is just amazing and thanks for sharing the tips


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## GWakeling (Mar 23, 2012)

HUGE number, so many congrats Holly. Also, a BIG thanks for not forgetting us little'uns and coming back to share your advice. 

Geoff


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## Christa Wick (Nov 1, 2012)

Amazing and inspirational, Holly!

On the pen name thing -- each author should look at it on a case-by-case basis. We can point to JK/Cuckoo Guy, Stephen King/Richard Bachman, but then we can't ignore Roberts/Robb. I know at least 3 erotic romance authors (can't say their names!) who in the last 18 months added a new pen name, branded it strong from the start, and all 3 hit Amazon top 100 (2 hit NYT/USA). 

Yes, I have other pen names and collectively they make less than 15% of my sales, but they are all VERY weakly branded. They are my indulgence pen names and I don't cross their streams with Christa's. I also don't release frequently under them, which means I'm fighting against Amazon algorithms (and possibly those of other stores) and basic discoverability principles. But releasing most of their titles under Christa's brand would corrupt the brand and likely hurt my bottom line. So, pen names become, in part, a question of resources and returns, which will be different for each writer. If the only "return" I wanted was mo' money, I would kill those darlings in a heartbeat! But I love the stories and have learned to live with their poor sales. I also hope to bring more resources to bear on them in future, without sacrificing the resources I devote to Christa. At such time, the backlist is ready.


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## D.L. Shutter (Jul 9, 2011)

> Mine still don't know what the hell I'm doing and ask why I haven't sold the books yet. I am selling books!


Maybe when you have the house warming party at your new digs with your new vehicle out front they'll catch on. 

And when is _your_ CBS news piece airing

Congrats again on everything!


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## donnajherren (Mar 7, 2013)

Congratulations!  That's an awesome milestone.


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

Lovely news - congratulations. And thank you for the tips!


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## 28612 (Dec 7, 2010)

2 Million congratulations!  And thank you for the generosity in sharing your tips.

On to the next million!


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## Twenty in Paris (Aug 10, 2013)

Congrats Holly! That is an amazing accomplishment. I find the write often part to the hardest as I wrote a book with no follow-up. It is non-fiction piece which details the study abroad experience from start to finish. I do not know what more to write. Other than that, great advice and keep up the great work!


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## LilianaHart (Jun 20, 2011)

Fantastic, Holly!!!! That's amazing. Huge congratulations!


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## bellaandre (Dec 10, 2010)

Holly knows what a huge fan I am.  I'm just running to keep you over here!

 Bella


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## ThomasCardin (Mar 18, 2013)

Congrats and thank you very much for sharing your insights with us!


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## H.M. Ward (May 16, 2012)

bellaandre said:


> Holly knows what a huge fan I am.  I'm just running to keep you over here!
> 
> Bella


Likewise, chica!



LilianaHart said:


> Fantastic, Holly!!!! That's amazing. Huge congratulations!


Thank u! We gotta do something together at some point! Book signing or whathaveyou.


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## Silly Writer (Jul 15, 2013)

Wow. just wow. I love a Cinderella story! Thanks for always jumping in to help the rest of us with your encouragement via milestones and tips... And you have a baby!!?? All this with a baby? Unbelievable! Kudos to you.


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## NefretitiM (Apr 12, 2014)

Congrats.  Very happy for you, and thanks for sharing!!!


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## Keith Rowland (May 20, 2014)

Thanks for sharing these tips, every time I read something I learn something new and this can only make the decisions I make better.


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## KDMcAdams (Feb 14, 2014)

Amazing results, congratulations.

Thank you for continuing to share, your experience and knowledge are so helpful.


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## Guest (May 20, 2014)

I'm doing a happy dance for you. 

Those are fantastic numbers and it's good solid advice.  

Thanks for sharing.


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## sstroble (Dec 16, 2013)

H.M. Ward said:


> *Failure is a Good Thing*: Because we can learn from it. When things don't work it's b/c some variable is flawed. Keep hammering away at it until you figure out which variable isn't functioning the way it should. Sometimes it's one thing, sometimes its 5. The point is that when something doesn't work, you have the opportunity to fix it and that can make the difference between being a one hit wonder and building a book empire.


This piece of advice stopped me in my tracks because I know that it applies to me. Please elaborate on which flawed variables you had to overcome. Something tells me that you have some answers that I have been searching decades for. Get the feeling that you don't realize how much you are helping some of us out.
thank you


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## H.M. Ward (May 16, 2012)

sstroble said:


> This piece of advice stopped me in my tracks because I know that it applies to me. Please elaborate on which flawed variables you had to overcome. Something tells me that you have some answers that I have been searching decades for. Get the feeling that you don't realize how much you are helping some of us out.
> thank you


Variables change as the industry shifts. They also are different across genres. e.g. A girl in a ball gown holding a dagger screams YA PNR. Put the same girl on the cover of an NA and it's a mistake. IMHO, women don't sell NA, men do. Trads were still putting women on the NA covers like they were YA up until recently. No one cares about the girl! Anyway, it's stuff like that. Cover, blurb, title, intro, sample, end matter, front matter, etc. Each one is a cog in the system. If one is gunked up and not functioning well, it slows the others or totally breaks them. All those things work in tandem. It's a puzzle. Keep moving the pieces around until it's functioning at capacity.


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## AssanaBanana (Feb 1, 2014)

H.M. Ward said:


> *Write what you love, love what you write*: There's no way to make everyone happy and you'll go crazy if you try. Write about the things that you like, and don't worry about the rest. I threw a turkey vulture into one of my books, b/c I felt like it fit. I had no idea how the readers would react, but I loved it. So when I said it out loud, it sounded stupid. Actually, writing it here sounds stupid, but it's funny and who people interact with animals says something about their character, so I went with my gut and threw it in. The readers loved it.


I agree with everything you said, but this is the detail I find the most important. I may or may not be writing "for the market" but I'm writing something I love and it seems to be working out for me so far. So I will keep at it. 

Congrats on the new milestone!!


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## sstroble (Dec 16, 2013)

H.M. Ward said:


> Variables change as the industry shifts. They also are different across genres. e.g. A girl in a ball gown holding a dagger screams YA PNR. Put the same girl on the cover of an NA and it's a mistake. IMHO, women don't sell NA, men do. Trads were still putting women on the NA covers like they were YA up until recently. No one cares about the girl! Anyway, it's stuff like that. Cover, blurb, title, intro, sample, end matter, front matter, etc. Each one is a cog in the system. If one is gunked up and not functioning well, it slows the others or totally breaks them. All those things work in tandem. It's a puzzle. Keep moving the pieces around until it's functioning at capacity.


Your analogy is enlightening. While reading it, saw in my mind's eye an engine that had gears grinding because lubricant had broken down. Now it makes sense. Will try to bring in reinforcements for cover, formatting, editing, etc.
Thank you for being kind enough to answer.


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## KTaylor (Aug 4, 2014)

I'm new to KBoards and have been reading posts in the Writer's Café voraciously... Thank you SO much for sharing your success Holly, it is PHENOMENAL and  truly inspiring! Also thanks to everyone else who has been posting their tips for success.

I am forever torn between writing for adults and children (I am guessing that comes naturally as mom), so have 2 children's books (for 8-12 y/o's) that are almost ready to release, and am working on two different romances (one is the first in a series, and the other is a serial I'm co-writing with my mother), so am looking at three completely different author profiles I'll need to create/maintain on social media and web sites... (Dumb, right?)

Anyway, I have NO list, and a pretty limited pool of friends on Facebook (I've intentionally kept my list to ONLY close friends and family members)... Any advice on how to build a following as I start promoting my book(s)? 

Any advice is appreciated... 
~KTaylor 
A web designer who has always dreamed of being an author, and is finally doing it!


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## Amber Rose (Jul 25, 2014)

Inspiring! 

Also, I need to say that all this talk about turkey vultures in your books has resulted in Google Adsense  rendering  "Deals on Turkey Tours"  ads at the bottom of this thread. (I had to check....that's Turkey as in country  )


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## theaatkinson (Sep 22, 2010)

Just astounding! Congrats. A friend of mine just recommended your writing to me, and I kind of chuckled to myself because I knew you were a KBoarder and I remembered your posts from last year sometime when you started to shoot up the charts. It's been fun to watch. here's to selling another 5 mill


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## stevenbright (Aug 4, 2016)

Congrats! and thanks for sharing your experience.


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## KSRuff (Jul 14, 2016)

Congrats and thanks for the advice! Just out of curiosity, how do you determine the total number of books you have sold? I haven't seen a year end report from Amazon or CreateSpace and have ended up printing all the monthly reports and attempting to add all the numbers for each book in my series, but that's a huge time suck - time that is better spent writing and promoting my books. Surely, there is an easier way, perhaps a cumulative report that I am missing? Any insight or advice you may have on how to capture this data would be most appreciated.

Thanks!

Kimberly


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## H.C. (Jul 28, 2016)

necro'd this thread didn't we!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

KSRuff said:


> Congrats and thanks for the advice! Just out of curiosity, how do you determine the total number of books you have sold? I haven't seen a year end report from Amazon or CreateSpace and have ended up *printing all the monthly reports and attempting to add all the numbers for each book in my series, but that's a huge time suck -* time that is better spent writing and promoting my books. Surely, there is an easier way, perhaps a cumulative report that I am missing? Any insight or advice you may have on how to capture this data would be most appreciated.


As far as I know, that's the only way to do it, along with adding monthly results from other retailers if you're wide. If anyone knows of a better way to track all-time sales, page reads, and freebie downloads, I'd love to hear it.


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## Cherise (May 13, 2012)

Jim Johnson said:


> As far as I know, that's the only way to do it, along with adding monthly results from other retailers if you're wide. If anyone knows of a better way to track all-time sales, page reads, and freebie downloads, I'd love to hear it.


Book Report & Trackerbox


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## C.P-Bukowski (Jul 10, 2014)

Such a helpful thread, thanks so much for sharing your wisdom and insights. Reassures me I'm on the right track, and I just have to keep assessing what's working, and tweaking my process along the way.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

JessePearle said:


> I agree with everything you said, but this is the detail I find the most important. I may or may not be writing "for the market" but I'm writing something I love and it seems to be working out for me so far. So I will keep at it.
> 
> Congrats on the new milestone!!


^This.

And also a huge congrats.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Cherise said:


> Book Report & Trackerbox


I don't see a way with the freeware Book Report to get all-time results. Is that part of the paid version?


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## blubarry (Feb 27, 2015)

Jim Johnson said:


> I don't see a way with the freeware Book Report to get all-time results. Is that part of the paid version?


Book Report will do it if you go to Historical, then click on "All days with data". If you've been using Book Report since it came out, you'll be able to pull almost everything. Otherwise, it'll just have the last 90 days.


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## Marti talbott (Apr 19, 2011)

This is a good reminder that very few people make it on a first or even a tenth book. It takes time and a lot of effort. Always something new to try and learn.


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## harker.roland (Sep 13, 2014)

Herefortheride said:


> necro'd this thread didn't we!


My thoughts exactly 

Still inspiring for people to see again, but I picture Bruce Campbell dancing to little goody two shoes.


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## Michelle Hughes (Dec 12, 2011)

H.M. Ward said:


> I cannot even fathom that number. It means that over a million and half of those books were purchased this year. It's freaking nuts. Last summer I was banging my head into the wall trying to get some traction on my romance titles, but they were sucking up the charts and doing next to nothing. My paycheck was still shouldered by my YA PNR and I thought I made a horrible mistake. It's funny how radically things can change over the course of a year.
> 
> Kudos to you and your great success... love your books and I can see why they sell the minute they hit a virtual (or real) shelf.


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## Guest (May 27, 2017)

Wowee! I'm singing "You are the Champion ..." Congrats.


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## MonkeyScribe (Jan 27, 2011)




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## Gus Flory (Oct 13, 2009)

I have turkey vultures in my book!


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## Goulburn (May 21, 2014)

Congratulations. It is inspiring to read of your well deserved success.


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## ......~...... (Jul 4, 2015)

It would be interesting to see an update. I wonder why the rankings (on Amazon at least) have fallen so much?


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## CynthiaClay (Mar 17, 2017)

Far Out! Keeping going, Girl and all the best!


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