# Book sales figures for MAY 2011 - how did you go? How will June be?



## MrPLD (Sep 23, 2010)

Awful, just AWFUL month for me - but then I didn't do any promo - had to go back to electronics/programming/www-sites/artwork to make some money.

About 50 sales all up... at least that's more than the 1-a-day club, though not by much.


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## HeidiHall (Sep 5, 2010)

Sales were down for me as well.

ADoR (Romantic Suspense, released 4/1/11) = 81 + 2 UK (50 while at $3.99 and 31 over the weekend when I dropped the price to $.99 for a Memorial Day sale)
AUO (Hot Romance, released 10/1/10) = 271 + 2 UK ($2.99)

(I'm posting with full disclosure because it has really helped me in the past to know how others in my genre(s) are doing, what they're pricing their books at, how long they've been on the market, etc. I blog about twice a week, tweet sporadically and post in various forums. I have not yet paid for any sponsorships, nor have I sent either of my books for review. Hope this info helps.)

ADoR is up from April, but that's only because of the sale, I was on target to sell less. AUO is down from April. I keep hoping I'll see that slow climb each month (even by a few books), but unless I have a sale, they seem to be evening out (or slowing, as they have this month). Fingers crossed that when school lets out and people start going on vacation, they'll pick up again.

I'm furiously writing my next book and hope that will only make things better. I'm blaming the slow sales on Gaga, all the free books and missing tags (I have to blame something/someone... it can't be that I'm a horrible writer ).

*There is still an hour and a half until 6/1 here, maybe I'll sell a thousand more copies before May shudders to a close.


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## MrPLD (Sep 23, 2010)

Elita (the writer in this family  ) is naturally worried about sales - but I do try to push the emphasis to her that it's more important that she just keeps on writing and writing what -she- wants to write (not what she thinks people want to write, which she knows, but we're all prone to being influenced).  A couple more books to the list and I think thinks will tend to grow naturally.... especially for that Zombie book


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## CraigInOregon (Aug 6, 2010)

Well, I finally get to post in a thread like this!  Yay!

Let's see...

MOST LIKELY was uploaded and went live on May 24, so I had eight days of availability in the month.

On Nook, I sold 1 copy. So that'll carry over to June sales, if I can make enough in June to get paid. ($1.94 pending)

On Smashwords, I had 11 downloads... 4 of them (so far, I'm expecting 1-2 more to come in eventually) were giveaways I handed out to spread the word and solicit reviews... the balance were just samples. So, no pay pending.

On Kindle, I have 5 confirmed sales before deadline. That's $10.45, so I'm not sure if that's enough to generate a payment, or if the balance will carry over to June. I chose to be paid by EFT so I think $10 is the tipping point. Which means, after the minor deductions Amazon makes for delivery fees, if I still am over $10, I get paid for May... sometime in August, right? It's not a lot, but I'll take it!

So...

TOTAL FULL-BOOK SALES, PAID AND UNPAID
Nook    Smashwords    Kindle    TOTAL
1        4                    5            10

TOTAL INCOME GENERATED IN MAY 2011
Nook    Kindle    TOTAL
$1.94  $10.45  $12.39

Not terrible for a first-time author's first book with virtually no PR yet, no reviews, not ratings, nothing... 

Predictions for June? Umm... better than May, hopefully?

NOTE: I believe my Amazon sales are missing 2-4 early sales just after my book went live, when lots of people were having trouble with KDP numbers not updating properly. KDP Support has a ticket on the issue but hasn't responded yet with what they found. So I may have done a little better, but I imagine any correction will, at this point, be added to June's numbers... I'm guessing...


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## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

May was a weird month, what with DEAD(ish) going free for most of it.

Sales on Amazon over the other 5 books: 300 (US), 222 (UK), and 0 (DE).

The vast majority of those sales are the other two books in the DEAD(ish) series.

Last month: sold around 150 over 4 books. (why yes, I did manage to release 2 books this month)

Next month: I predict somewhere between 300 and 700 sales on Amazon... just depends on whether the flow-on effect from the freebie continues or dries up. Probably over 200 in the UK, as DEAD(ish) hasn't been free there before - lots of new bargain-hunter eyes on the series.


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## Will Write for Gruel (Oct 16, 2010)

I sold about 240 copies of my smut across Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords. I may have sold some on other channels, but I don't know yet. 

May was down a bit from April. I didn't put anything new up in May and I think that hurt me. I really need to publish 2-4 short works every month.


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

I'm pretty happy with the May sales for my novelette but then it's only been out a couple months and I'm hoping the numbers will continue to build.

Amazon - 558
B&N - 29
Smashwords - 2

I'm making my goal for June 600. That'll be just a tad more than I did this month so I can call it progress. I'm also scrambling to finish my next two novelettes.


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## philvan (May 26, 2010)

My novelette went live on the 18th, around 9pm (Eastern), so 13 days. Sold 14 on Smashwords, of which 1 was for cash, the others were coupons, so I count 1. Sold 10 on Amazon US and 2 on UK. Grand total of 13 sales over 13 days. Plus 13 giveaways.
Looking at other's figures June should do better than 1 a day, though up til now it has been steady rather than a climb.


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## indie.ebooks (Mar 30, 2011)

Dara England said:


> I'm pretty happy with the May sales for my novelette but then it's only been out a couple months and I'm hoping the numbers will continue to build.
> 
> Amazon - 558
> B&N - 29
> ...


Thats pretty good going for just a couple of months I thought. You must be happy with that.


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## Mel Comley (Oct 13, 2010)

I'm slightly down this month Just over 5100 on Amazon but I did have sales elsewhere this month that I haven't had previously.

Smashwords 3
Apple 1
B&N 41
Kobo 48
and Sony 65.

I really need to get my third book out!  

Today I've raised my prices to $2.99 so they're bound to sink now! lol


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## Ben White (Feb 11, 2011)

36 sales total across six books, I'm happy with that number   For June, hopefully one or two more, that'd be nice.


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## Guest (Jun 1, 2011)

The first full month on the market for Fire Season. Not good sales, but then I'm actually thrown because Fire Season did much better in paperback on shelves according to the month's royalty statement. It seems most of my market don't buy ebooks. 

Fire Season ebook: Amazon US: 6 UK: 7 
The Docks*: Amazon UK 1, Smashwords sales: 64 (downloads 83)
Arrival (free): Smashwords 230

*The Docks was released on 29th May, so that's better than expected. The price for Fire Season is going up today, so I'm not sure I'll sell any on Kindle next month.


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## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

Hi all,

Since I first started lurking on Kindleboards in March, I wondered if I would ever get to post in one of these threads.

I released my first e-book on May 4 & my second on May 21 - both short stories.

Full breakdown:

If You Go Into The Woods (on sale since May 4)

Amazon 88
Amazon UK 15
Amazon DE 1
Smashwords 4

Total 108

Transfection (on sale since May 21)

Amazon 40
Amazon UK 2
Amazon DE 0
Smashwords 3

Total 45

*Total Total 153!!!

*That total includes 13 copies gifted through Amazon but doesn't include free downloads on Smashwords or copies given away through other means.

I sold 153 e-books in my first month. Amazing! Far, far more than expected. Especially seeing as I am not in the Premium Catalogue yet. The first e-books is only 4,000 words and the second one is only 5,700 words.

It gives me a lot of hope that (a) there is a market for short stories at this price, and (b) a longer work could do well too (preparing to release a novel, plus more stories, this summer).

I don't know what kind of target to set for sales for June. If I can release my non-fiction title (which I should do), then I should aim for 250 minimum.

Dave


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## Philip Chen (Aug 8, 2010)

_Falling Star_

I was hoping to meet or exceed my April numbers (944), but only made 715, across all platforms. Not that I'm complaining mind you.

_There is Strangeness in the Universe_

Released in May, I had 14 sales.


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## Tara Shuler (Apr 24, 2011)

I released book one for $0.99 on April 26th, and sold 25 copies in the 5 days from the 26th through the 30th.

Then I released book two in the series for $2.99 n May 1.

Here are my figures for May:

Amazon: 448 (309 book one, 139 book two)
B&N: 30
Smashwords: 1

Total for both books for May: *479*

Not bad at all for my first month! 

I sure was hoping to see 500, but I did break 500 if you count those 5 days in April.


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## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

Tara Shuler said:


> I released book one for $0.99 on April 26th, and sold 25 copies in the 5 days from the 26th through the 30th.
> 
> Then I released book two in the series for $2.99 n May 1.
> 
> ...


That's amazing Tara, well done.


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## Mel Comley (Oct 13, 2010)

Tara that's fantastic for your first month.

You too, David, especially as I'm always hearing that short stories don't sell too well.


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## Lexi Revellian (May 31, 2010)

I think the UK was an easier marketplace than the US last month. My second novel took off, and helped sales of my first, so this was a good month for me.

_Remix _UK 2,572
_Remix_ US 327
Smashwords 2
Total 2,901

_Replica _UK 4,143
_Replica _US 152
(Haven't bothered with Smashwords as _Remix _sales via SW are poor)
Total 4,295

Both books total for May: 7,196

Lexi


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## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

Mel Comley said:


> Tara that's fantastic for your first month.
> 
> You too, David, especially as I'm always hearing that short stories don't sell too well.


I'm delighted because with both releases there was an initial burst of sales, then a slump (prob friends and family) and then it slowly picked up again as promo efforts kicked in.

Makes me even more frantic to get the novel out!


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## NickSpalding (Apr 21, 2010)

Had my best month ever.

Just over 2500 total sales at Amazon UK, with 100 or so at Amazon US.

Had a really big bump at the start of the month with the release of my second book and sailed along in the top 100 for a couple of weeks.


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## Tara Shuler (Apr 24, 2011)

dgaughran said:


> That's amazing Tara, well done.


Thank you!

You're doing very well, too! You must be really excited!

I've already had one sale at Amazon and one at B&N, so no BBoS for me. I had my first sale on Amazon for the month before I ever loaded it.


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## JRainey (Feb 1, 2011)

82 sales across all platforms for These Hellish Happenings in May. My second best month, and I didn't have any delusions of beating April (Pixel of Ink sponsorship).

I'm pleased with May, but now sales have dropped off the face of the Earth. I haven't had one in over 24 hours, and that makes me kinda glum. I'm afraid I'll be spending some quality time with the BBoS this month. Hopefully my KND sponsorship on the 8th will be a bit of a pick-me-up. Fingers crossed!


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## CJArcher (Jan 22, 2011)

Sales are up this month but not by a huge amount.  Last month I sold around 1,700 and this month it's 2,117.  Amazon US only.  I had a handful of sales elsewhere but they're not worth counting.  While it's not a huge increase I'm very pleased because I increased the price of last month's bestseller, Honor Bound, from 99c to $2.99.  I noticed an immediate impact on sales, in a bad way, but I'm determined to leave it at this price.  It certainly earns more now and that's more important to me than rankings.  I also haven't done a proper push of my latest release, A Secret Life, as I'm waiting for the new cover, so I think June will be better if I can make it more visible somehow.  Here's a breakdown:

The Mercenary's Price (novella) - 989 - $0.99
Honor Bound (The Witchblade Chronicles #1) - 599 - more than half at 99c and the rest at $2.99
Kiss Of Ash (The Witchblade Chronicles #2) - 347 - all $2.99
The Adventures of Miss Upton and the Sky Pirate - 158 - all $2.99
A Secret Life (Lord Hawkesbury's Players #1) - 24 - all $2.99 - released on the 12th.

So there you have it, laid bare.  1 sale for June already so here's hoping for more


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## rsullivan9597 (Nov 18, 2009)

Ridan's Science Fiction authors rocked in May.  Ridan held 40% of to 10 in Science fiction including spot 1.  This resulted in:

Nathan Lowell - Over 5,800 books across three titles (Full Share which just released 12 days ago sold just over 3600 - that's 300 books a day!

Marshall Thomas - Beat all Ridan records with over 17,000 books across 6 six titles (beating Michael's 11,500 books across 5 titles set in January of this year.

As for Michael...his sales continue to be slow as we are in a "book freeze" (can't release the latest title due to deal with Orbit).  He's still making excellent money due to the $4.95 and $6.95 price points but his sales have fallen to 3,300.


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## MonkeyScribe (Jan 27, 2011)

17,220 sales for May. Down a little from April, but I'm not complaining. About 11,500 of those sales were for The Righteous, but I had four books clear 1,000 for the month.


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## MonkeyScribe (Jan 27, 2011)

rsullivan9597 said:


> Ridan's Science Fiction authors rocked in May. Ridan held 40% of to 10 in Science fiction including spot 1. This resulted in:
> 
> Nathan Lowell - Over 5,800 books across three titles (Full Share which just released 12 days ago sold just over 3600 - that's 300 books a day!
> 
> ...


That's amazing what you guys are doing. Maybe I ought to talk to you about publishing my high fantasy series.


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## rsullivan9597 (Nov 18, 2009)

MichaelWallace said:


> That's amazing what you guys are doing. Maybe I ought to talk to you about publishing my high fantasy series.


We can talk 

What I'm most proud of is I'm able to hit big numbers with price points of $4.95. Nathan's been #1 on Amazon Sci-fi for several days now and with his current sales his ONE BOOK brings in over $1,000 a day!! We also see a ton of cross sales - so as people start to trust the Ridan name for quality speculative fiction they buy several author's works which is a nice perk.


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## kcmay (Jul 14, 2010)

Overall, May was my best month ever. Kinshield sales almost tripled. Venom sales were way down, though. Sold 3393 books total across all genres and retailers. Kinshield alone accounted for over 2000 of that.


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## Guest (Jun 1, 2011)

I was around 7k for the month, and adding a title at $4.99 was a huge difference-maker. I'll get the exact count early this afternoon once I'm finished writing for today. Priorities!

Edit: 7122


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

The month was horrible until Amazon made one of my books free. That made sales of my second book take off. I hope it continues, but no way to know yet.


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## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

Some phenomenal US numbers here from people, and Nick & Lexi are kicking some serious ass in the UK!


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## Dawn Judd (Jun 8, 2010)

Total sales for May was 139.  I was pretty happy with this month, even though I sold less than last month.  Last month I was on Pixel of Ink and made half of my April sales in one day.  The best month I had before that was in November when I sold 63, so I've more than doubled that.  If the last week is any indication, June should be even better!


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

The sales for three of my books were pretty stable or slightly up, but my bestseller was down by just under 30%. 

April total 3110
May total 2342


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## Erica Sloane (May 11, 2011)

This was my first full month. Here are my sales to date:

*APRIL (two weeks on the market)*
Amazon sales: 23
Smashwords sales: 18
Total for two weeks in April: 41

*MAY*
Amazon sales: 93
Smashwords sales: 18
OmniLit sales: 81*
Total for May: 192

Total books sold in six weeks: 233
*Books have been "live" on OmniLit for only two weeks so far


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## destill (Oct 5, 2010)

May sales began poorly, then surged before and through parts of the Memorial Day weekend, and then tapered off the last two days of the month. I ended up with exactly the same number of books sold in May as April. 

I seem to have plateaued around the 750-800 sales per month range. That said, I've clung to the top 100 humor/essays list for yet another month. And despite increasing my 99-center to $2.99, sales have remained consistent. So I can't complain.


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## Christine Kersey (Feb 13, 2011)

I am very pleased with the direction my sales are going.

Feb: 242
April: 371
May: 667


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## valeriec80 (Feb 24, 2011)

My best month ever, as I finally made it into the thousand sales a month club. 

My total number of sales (over nine titles) was 1062. 

This is up from 273 last month, so it's a HUGE jump, and I couldn't be more pleased (and wowed.)


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

2700+ total for all three books on Amazon.com and .co.uk. 

An 18% increase over last month and my first month selling over 1000 of one title, which it appears I had two books hit that mark if you include B&N.  So yay! Happy camper.


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## kCopeseeley (Mar 15, 2011)

May was a tough month for me.  I got a cheapereads mention, which boosted my sales for 2 weeks.  I was honestly on track to double my sales this month, then everything crashed for two weeks.  Between the free book glut and Lady Gaga, I was pretty much sunk and made no sales.

This last week has made up for it enough that, I sold exactly ONE book more than last month. hahahaha  I cracked up when I saw that this morning.

Six Keys: 118

My other book is a new release this month and I'm pleased to say it did better than Six Key's first month out and it's about a dollar more expensive:

Compis: 23

I also made my very first UK sale.  Seriously.  I've sold books everywhere else (including Germany), but never ever in England.  

So even with the rough middle, a good month.


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

The free giveaway played havoc with my spreadsheets, but I've done my best to weed 'em out to still count legitimate sales.

Finished at just shy of 15,000 sales, not counting another 28,000 giveaways through Amazon. Freaking amazing month.

Weight: 451
Cost: 735
Death: 619
Shadows: 882
Sliver: 871
Omni: 850
Cloaks: 5529
Blades: 4407
Guardian: 314
Ash: 273

Total: 14,931


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## wildwitchof (Sep 2, 2010)

May was a roller-coaster for my sales. Big picture: my 99c erotic novella on Amazon sank like a stone. My new romantic comedy (2.99) is finding readers across all platforms, sales up from its release in late April, but too soon to see if it's got momentum.

99c novella Quick Study: 68 (mostly on Amazon US)
2.99 novel Love Handles: 77 (mostly on BN)

Not what I had hoped, but I'll take it. I had 10 sales in the UK, which was new for me. However, it's hard to watch a 3-month old title sink from 40 copies/week to 40 copies/month.

Working to release a third full-length book before September, then a novella before Christmas.

Thanks everyone for posting your numbers--it's very helpful and inspirational. Carry on!


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## WilliamEsmont (May 3, 2010)

4787 for the month, not counting stuff distributed through Smash.

The Patriot Paradox - 4131
Self Arrest - 559
Fire: Elements of The Undead, released on 8 May - 97


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## Steven L. Hawk (Jul 10, 2010)

kcmay said:


> Overall, May was my best month ever. Kinshield sales almost tripled. Venom sales were way down, though. Sold 3393 books total across all genres and retailers. Kinshield alone accounted for over 2000 of that.


Congrats, K.C.! Glad to see Kinshield doing so well. Great book.

As for me, May was my best month ever, as well. Releasing book #2 in the trilogy was a real boon.

Peace Army - 3,868
Peace Warrior - 3,936

*Total sales: 7,804*


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## terrireid (Aug 19, 2010)

May was not as good as April for me:

Amazon US -
Never Forgotten:          1660
Good Tidings:              1204
Loose Ends:                1983  
G of NO:                      632

UK:
Never Forgotten:            192
Good Tidings:                214
Loose Ends:                    550  
G of NO:                          24


Amazon Total:                5997 

Pubit:    Total:                199    

Total sales -                    6196


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## Saffina Desforges (Dec 8, 2010)

Well, ours are MOSTLY UK Kindle sales, no I don't know if it counts, but May is:

2 books (well, one really! Same book, just re-written for US market!) - 17,375. 1 book = 17, 259! Book1 priced at 71p/99c.

Bit down on April, but pushes our total sales since Jan to just short of 63,000, so quite pleased with that.


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## jnfr (Mar 26, 2011)

One short story, published in May. A grand total of 3 Amazon US sales, zero at B&N. It's a freebie on Smashwords and had 23 downloads there. I'm planning to get a second story out this month.

Love everyone's success stories, though. It's inspirational!


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## Sarah Woodbury (Jan 30, 2011)

Whenever I mention my numbers, I feel like a Gaga incident occurs and crashes my sales, but so as not to become superstitious:  2937 on Amazon US, mostly of my series, though the other two are coming along slowly.

Just for comparison, since many people on this boards just put their books up in April and May and might be feeling like their books are never going to sell:

Jan:  22  (6 by either me or my daughter)
Feb:  50
March:  272
April:  2038
May:  2937


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## D Girard Watson (Apr 4, 2011)

Wow, Sarah, that's an amazing increase!  Very inspirational.

I put my book out in the first week of May and here are the numbers so far:

Amazon: 34
Amazon UK: 6
B&N: 1

Not sure whether that's ok for a first month, but we'll see what June brings.  The BBoS is soooo depressing...


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

Unfortunately I won't be getting paid for it, but I had over 41,000 downloads of No Good Deed since it went free on May 26th.   I'm hoping that will translate into increased sales of March Into Hell (so far it has, but I don't know how long that surge will last.)


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## Debbiek (Aug 7, 2010)

1557 B&N
2080-amazon us
2-amazon DE
154-amazon UK

Total: 3,793

across 26 books, 2 @ .99 the rest 2.99 

May is slightly less than April.  April I made about 7,800 and this month I am looking at 7,600 but May had more days.


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## Arthur Slade (Jan 20, 2011)

I had a drop in sales for May. Like others have noted it started about mid month.

In April my kindle sales were 419 spread out over 5 books 
May = 186 spread over six books.

The sales began to pick up again the last few days of May, so I'm hoping this is a glitch. I have now officially put up the last book of my backlist.


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## BarbraAnnino (Jan 27, 2011)

I can't see a report for May yet. Is there a specific time that they get uploaded?


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## BarbraAnnino (Jan 27, 2011)

Actually, I do have the report from B&N. 

Totals:	
74: 1 book @ 2.99, 2 shorts @.99

Just don't seem to be doing well over there.   but I'm looking forward to the Amazon numbers.


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

Not What She Seems - 7,483
The Overtaking - 57

Total - 7,540

Still a slowdown from the last few months, but I think it's leveling out now. I'm excited to see how The Overtaking does this month, I am working on more promotion.

Vicki


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## Jon Olson (Dec 10, 2010)

I had my best month ever, still embarrassingly low by most standards -- less than 200 over two books. Just enough to have hope.


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## Bob Mayer (Feb 20, 2011)

12,223 sales US Kindle
3,451 sales UK Kindle
4,483 PubIt
and some sales in other places


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## Christopher Bunn (Oct 26, 2010)

May was a good month. 712 AmazonUS, 18 AmazonUK, and 2 at AmazonDE (I'll take 'em). 99% of those are from the two books of my trilogy (third to be published this summer). April was 300, and March was 100, both right on the nose, so this upward curve is very encouraging.

I don't check Smashwords or B&N anymore. If I'm lucky, I'll sell one or two a month at those places.


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## Julia March (Feb 22, 2011)

Net of the Magician, alas, sunk beneath the surface like a stone. I think people dislike the protagonist. 

Murder in the Philosophy Department, however, did quite well in its first 2 weeks & has several good reviews. When I say "well" I mean I've broken even. So it's all profit from here. I'm hopeful about it for June. 

I have never sold a single DE copy of anything.

A lot of you are doing enviably, & congrats!


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## Paul Hardy (Mar 11, 2011)

Sarah Woodbury said:


> Just for comparison, since many people on this boards just put their books up in April and May and might be feeling like their books are never going to sell:
> Jan: 22 (6 by either me or my daughter)
> Feb: 50
> March: 272
> ...


This is a much needed tonic for those of us who are newbies and looking at barely double digits. So much thanks! (and what wonderful thing happened in April?)

The Last Man on Earth Club went live on the 22nd. The rest of the month went like this:

Amazon US - 4 ($2.99)
Amazon UK - 8 (£1.99)
Smashwords - 2 ($2.99)
Total - 14

(edited due to temporary lack of numeracy - 14 sales, not 12. Duh!)


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## AnnetteL (Jul 14, 2010)

My best month yet. No massive numbers, but they keep going up steadily, so I'm happy.

Even better, no brown bar of shame when I first checked this morning! Yay!


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## RachelAstor (Apr 2, 2011)

Things are on the uptick, so no complaints here.  April was my first month.

April: 83
May: 146 with my _Bridesmaid Lotto_ selling over 100 of these

No BBoS this morning, yay! Would love to see another increase in June.

Rachel


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## Vivi_Anna (Feb 12, 2011)

Had a good month.  I'll take it...thanks to Pixel of Ink

Glimmer
Feb - 40
March - 46
April - 51
May - 163

Dawning
April - 23
May - 45

I need to put more stuff out.  I think that is part of the magic formula to put out something new every 3-4 months.

I have a KND in June, so hopefully that kicks it into gear


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## KatieKlein (Dec 19, 2010)

2,702

During the month of May, _The Guardian_ sold 147 Amazon US copies, 1 Amazon UK copy, and 31 through Barnes and Noble, for a total of 179.

_Cross My Heart_ sold 2,380 Amazon US copies, 14 Amazon UK copies, 2 Amazon DE copies, and 127 through Barnes and Noble, for a total of 2,523.

To date, I've sold 4,186 ebooks (December-May)


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## John Hartness (Aug 3, 2009)

All sales Amazon US, combined sales other places total less that 100 units.

Hard Day's Knight - 1,664 @.99
Back in Black - 702 @ 2.99
The Chosen - 262 @ 4.95

Making a total of 2,628 for the month! Almost double last month and another huge jump! 

For those keeping score at home, this year looks like - 

January - 45
February - 85
March - 155
April - 1397
May - 2628

I have no idea what caused the jump in April - maybe everything just had time to click together. But here's hoping it keeps going!


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

May was my best month yet!  A total of 444 books sold.  420 of my novel RIG alone.  I have never sold that many copies of ANY book - print or ebook - before.  The biggest thing was finding Kindleboards and becoming an active participant.  If I could have a barbecue and bring everyone on this forum over as a thank you...I so would.


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## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

smreine said:


> I just put my first book up on Amazon for $2.99 at the very end of April, so I sold about 60 copies for May. It's embarrassingly low in comparison to some, but it's still better than I expected to do, so I'm optimistic for the future.


60 is a GREAT start, especially for a $2.99 novel. Well done.


----------



## CraigInOregon (Aug 6, 2010)

smreine said:


> I just put my first book up on Amazon for $2.99 at the very end of April, so I sold about 60 copies for May. It's embarrassingly low in comparison to some, but it's still better than I expected to do, so I'm optimistic for the future.


Feel good about that, seriously. That's like 2 a day. Not bad just starting out.

I had 8 days in May and sold only 5 confirmed units on Amazon... and one on Nook.

If I can reach your numbers in June, that'd be solid growth for me!


----------



## VegasWriter (May 25, 2011)

Now that all my friends and relatives have purchased my work, sales have reached the bottom of the bottomless pit. June has to be better.


----------



## Lambert (Nov 12, 2010)

I just started Kindle publishing about six months ago. Each month has been better so far. Sold 271 books in May.  I'm pretty happy so far. Hope thay keep going up
Lambert


----------



## Amy Corwin (Jan 3, 2011)

I'm really, really pleased. My first indie book (The Vital Principle) sold 200 copies in May and I'm getting ready to release the next one in a couple of weeks. It's so ironic--my indie book is outselling all my legacy publisher/small press ebooks combined by a huge margin. I truly believe it's pricing (in my humble opinion) since I priced my first book at $.99.

Guess I'll find out next month as the next book will be the standard $2.99.


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## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

smreine said:


> Is it good? I really have no idea. Everyone on here seems to be selling in the thousands (or at the very least, better than one per day), so I feel teeny tiny in comparison.  All the authors who are eager to share their sales figures are doing much better than I am. Of course, I'd think most people who sell like me aren't going to be shouting it from the rooftops.


I made roughly the same as you in dollars, and I'm shouting it from the rooftops 

It's your first month. This will build.

As a contrast, John Locke made $47 in his first 6 months.

You are doing just fine


----------



## Kimberly Van Meter (Apr 22, 2011)

It's so encouraging to see so many different numbers and outcomes for a range of genres. Kudos to those pulling down serious numbers, and likewise to those in the trenches happy with a slow but steady increase. I count myself in the slow and steady race. I went live at the end of March so my first check was $12. Wowza! But for May, happily my numbers hit 155, for my vampire novella, which was a happy bump from my April sales. So, next month's check will be nicer than $12 (nothing like the AMAZING checks some of you lucky people are pulling but nice nonetheless).

Kimberly V.


----------



## JodyWallace (Mar 29, 2011)

Not so good sales for the indie, but I got a nice check from my small press to soothe the wounded career-ego.


----------



## Josh_Stallings (Mar 18, 2011)

90 (25 paperback 8 nook 57 Kindle) Feeling good for my second full month. Today I hit Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #10,683 best yet!  So all is trending in an upward motion.  I'm proud.  People we never met are reading and enjoying our books, we should all be happy!


----------



## MeiLinMiranda (Feb 17, 2011)

Sixty-nine cross-platform. Lower than April. Analyzing sales figures, the novel sold more units than in previous months after a long plateau and brought in a lot more money as well, but my shorts fell through the floor.

Boy. Re-reading that is all kinds of wrong.

Anyway, I'm expecting June to continue with slow but steady advances for the novel and not much going on for the short stories. I'm hoping to release another set of shorts, so that may boost the low end a little.


----------



## Sandra Edwards (May 10, 2010)

I had around 4,000 sales on Kindle and Nook for both pen names.

Sandy


----------



## Javier Gimenez Sasieta (Feb 18, 2011)

I´ve sold out 150 Books in May (140 US, 5 UK, 1 DE, 4 Paperback)

A bit more than April. Having in mind it´s a Spanish written book, and that I published it in March, I´m happy.

I´ve noticed sales fluctuate a lot. I can sell 8 units per day during 3 or 4 days, and some other weeks just sell 1-2 per day. :-S

I also noticed that  my competence is doing well (or better than me): Compared with April, I I´ve sold more books in May, but I get worse ranking....


----------



## Sarah Woodbury (Jan 30, 2011)

See!  I knew it!  I knew it!  I say something about how great my sales have been and they tank!  It could be the 'sunshine sale' or merely the proof of my superstition, but I've sold 1/3 of the books I might normally sell on any given day.  Bleh.


----------



## MrPLD (Sep 23, 2010)

My goal this month - retain the BBoS for all 3 countries!


----------



## Kimberly Van Meter (Apr 22, 2011)

MrPLD said:


> My goal this month - retain the BBoS for all 3 countries!


Heh. I'm well on my way for Germany. Can't seem to break into that market. *sad sigh*

Kimberly V.


----------



## MrPLD (Sep 23, 2010)

Germany doesn't bother me - it's like the comfort of your deranged alter-ego that you keep hidden in the basement.


----------



## Kimberly Van Meter (Apr 22, 2011)

MrPLD said:


> Germany doesn't bother me - it's like the comfort of your deranged alter-ego that you keep hidden in the basement.


LOL! Well, that's looking at the bright side...;-)

Kimberly V.


----------



## jnfr (Mar 26, 2011)

MrPLD said:


> My goal this month - retain the BBoS for all 3 countries!


You and me both!


----------



## MrPLD (Sep 23, 2010)

Half expecting one sneaky person to buy something just to ruin my big plans!


----------



## jnfr (Mar 26, 2011)

Don't tempt me


----------



## jessepet (Apr 4, 2011)

Over five books:

Kindle (including US, UK and DE): 1112 (most for ROGUE FOR A NIGHT)
Nook: 170

Total sales: 1282

Pretty happy with that! Putting out another book in July, August, September, October, November and December, so by the end of the year I'm hoping to see numbers which reflect the larger catalog.


----------



## Michael Robertson Jr (Feb 24, 2011)

Here are my sales for REGRET -- 428 in May.

Timeline:

Feb: 51
Mar: 42
Apr: 53 (Dropped to 99 cents middle of month and had DCR feature soon after)
May: 428

Michael


----------



## JamieDeBree (Oct 1, 2010)

Finally got mine all added up - these numbers are across all platforms including Smashwords, but none of the stores SW distributes to. I sold 2 print copies of Tempest as well...it always surprises me when I sell print copies, for some reason. LOL

Tempest (rom. suspense novella, .99): *168*
Desert Heat (RS novel, 1.49): *21*
The Entertainer (erotic romance novelette, 1.49/.99):* 89*
The Bouncer (erotica novelette released this month, .99): *205*

*Total: 485*

Makes me want to hurry up and get more erotica out. LOL I have erotica novelettes scheduled to release every other month for the rest of the year, and a new rom. suspense novel for July. Was hoping to get a thriller short out in June, but apparently I'm not super-writer. Dang it anyways...


----------



## Katherine Pine (Apr 18, 2011)

This was my first full month, and it was amazing. I sold 202 copies of "After Eden" on Amazon (it's a 99cent ya paranormal romance novel). I never dreamed I'd sell that many my first full month. Well...okay actually I did dream, but I didn't think it would happen. The number of books I sell varies a lot day to day, so if I don't sell as much next month I'm not going to be surprised.

I'm on B&N through Smashwords, so I don't think I have those numbers yet (or at least I can't find them). I also sold a few copies on Smashwords, but I don't remember how many. I think it was like 4 or something.


----------



## jonathanmoeller (Apr 19, 2011)

104 this month. Of course, 65 of those were for my Linux book The $0.99 Ubuntu Beginner's Guide. Apparently highly technical nonfiction has way more appeal than sword and sorcery.

So, a grand total of 126 since my first book Demonsouled went up on April 17th.

I'm pretty happy without how things have turned out. 126 is a much better number than zero, which was the number of books I sold since Demonsouled went out of print back in 2007.

-JM


----------



## JamieDeBree (Oct 1, 2010)

Katherine, that's an awesome first month - congrats!! 

and this:



> 126 is a much better number than zero,


Indeed. Great sales for 6 weeks or so, to be sure!


----------



## Tom Junior (Apr 4, 2011)

MeiLinMiranda said:


> Sixty-nine cross-platform. Lower than April. Analyzing sales figures, the novel sold more units than in previous months after a long plateau and brought in a lot more money as well, but my shorts fell through the floor.
> 
> Boy. Re-reading that is all kinds of wrong.
> 
> Anyway, I'm expecting June to continue with slow but steady advances for the novel and not much going on for the short stories. I'm hoping to release another set of shorts, so that may boost the low end a little.


d
FYI Scryers Gulch looks right up my alley when it comes to fiction. I'll probably be purchasing that..once I finish my current reading list!


----------



## nawilliams (May 27, 2011)

I sold 3189 in May on Amazon, not sure what from BN/Smashwords yet, but certainly nothing to get excited over. 

My aim high goal for June is to double my numbers like I did from April to May, but I think a forty-fifty percent growth rate is attainable.

Congratulations to everyone! I'm amazed by the success so many indie authors are experiencing. There's not a day that goes by that I don't thank my lucky stars for Amazon!


----------



## markedwards (Jan 20, 2011)

Just catching up - looks like a mixed month for everyone. Ours was very good:

Killing Cupid jumped from selling 540 in April to 1900 in May. (It's currently sitting in the top 30 in the UK and selling just over 150 a day).
Catch Your Death was published in the middle of May and sold 320 by the end of the month with no promo, so very happy with that.

Total 2220, 90% in the UK.

I don't even bother checking my sales on other platforms!


----------



## Sara Pierce (May 15, 2011)

I unfortunately have nothing constructive to add to this post but I wanted to say how awesome it is that you guys are so transparent with your sales figures! I read so many places where traditionally pubbed authors, agents, editors etc talk down on self-publishing saying nearly everyone tanks in their endeavors and then I see posts like this. 

Of course, my assumption is that since you're here on KB bettering your craft and promoting yourself (or at least involving yourself with this community) you may be ahead of the many people who upload a book they hurriedly wrote, slap on a cheap cover, then stare at the bars cursing the fact nobody's buying. *shrug*


----------



## J. Carson Black (Feb 27, 2011)

I'm almost afraid to say this, because it scares the * out of me.  Bear in mind, in February I sold a total of 135 books.

May:

DARK HORSE: 412
DARK SIDE OF THE MOON: 4430
DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN: 12829
DARKSCOPE: 762
PONY RIDES (short story): 206
THE DEVIL'S HOUR: 18716
THE SHOP: 36161

73,516 total.


----------



## Lexi Revellian (May 31, 2010)

Wow. What's your secret, J?

Lexi


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## jonathanmoeller (Apr 19, 2011)

> May:
> 
> DARK HORSE: 412
> DARK SIDE OF THE MOON: 4430
> ...


That is weapons-grade cool. Congrats!


----------



## ashel (May 29, 2011)

J. Carson Black said:


> I'm almost afraid to say this, because it scares the * out of me. Bear in mind, in February I sold a total of 135 books.
> 
> ...
> 
> 73,516 total.


Hahaha. Yay! White knuckle it all the way.

That is really, really fantastic. Congrats.


----------



## J. Carson Black (Feb 27, 2011)

Lexi Revellian said:


> Wow. What's your secret, J?
> 
> Lexi


Lexi, you're doing exceedingly well yourself. Having several books is good. But I also think goals, big and small, are important. Some people think that's silly, but it works for me. I keep thinking of the pilot who got on the PA system and said to the passengers, "I don't know where we're going or when we're going to get there." No, he/she says, "Our destination today is Seattle and flying time will be approximately 2 hours."


----------



## Lexi Revellian (May 31, 2010)

J. Carson Black said:


> Lexi, you're doing exceedingly well yourself. Having several books is good. But I also think goals, big and small, are important. Some people think that's silly, but it works for me. I keep thinking of the pilot who got on the PA system and said to the passengers, "I don't know where we're going or when we're going to get there." No, he/she says, "Our destination today is Seattle and flying time will be approximately 2 hours."


Thanks!

*writes in ink on wrist, _goals, big and small_...*

Lexi


----------



## indie.ebooks (Mar 30, 2011)

J. Carson Black said:


> I'm almost afraid to say this, because it scares the * out of me. Bear in mind, in February I sold a total of 135 books.


I remember getting your interview and posting it. I thought at the time that your whole approach was totally professional
and that you had everything right in the way you were marketing your books.

Congratulations!

Isn't it surprising when all the hard work pays off. I can only imagine your excitement as you saw your sales skyrocket this month.
Thank you for sharing your sales numbers.

Cheers
Nadine


----------



## kathieshoop (Feb 18, 2011)

May 1 was my release date for The Last Letter (first book) and I've sold:

Amazon: 1251
B&N: 56
Smashwords: 3

How will June go? I'm not sure...I don't have any experience to say. I'm hoping sales increase--just as everyone else does!


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## Richardcrasta (Jul 29, 2010)

markedwards said:


> Just catching up - looks like a mixed month for everyone. Ours was very good:
> 
> Killing Cupid jumped from selling 540 in April to 1900 in May. (It's currently sitting in the top 30 in the UK and selling just over 150 a day).
> Catch Your Death was published in the middle of May and sold 320 by the end of the month with no promo, so very happy with that.
> ...


Congrats. With 2220 books sold, I wouldn't be checking sales on other platforms either. Are UK readers very price sensitive in your experience?


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## aaronpolson (Apr 4, 2010)

*sneaks into thread*

(I sold 125 books... good for me, but...)

*sneaks out of thread*


----------



## DavidRM (Sep 21, 2010)

Well, my May (25 sales) was better than my April (22 sales). Though as numbers trickle in from Smashwords, both months's numbers will change.

My May sales--in fact all 9 months of my sales--are posted on my blog:
9 Months of Indie Publishing

-David


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## J. Carson Black (Feb 27, 2011)

That was a fun interview, Nadine!


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## NickSpalding (Apr 21, 2010)

Richardcrasta said:


> Congrats. With 2220 books sold, I wouldn't be checking sales on other platforms either. Are UK readers very price sensitive in your experience?


In my experience... yes.

My book Life... With No Breaks dropped straight out of the top 100 even with a brief price increase from £1.49 to £1.72.

It's a pity, but it appears you need to be at the lowest price point to sell very well in the UK right now.


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## Sara Pierce (May 15, 2011)

indie.ebooks said:


> I remember getting your interview and posting it. I thought at the time that your whole approach was totally professional
> and that you had everything right in the way you were marketing your books.


Just curious, what the link to that interview?


----------



## J. Carson Black (Feb 27, 2011)

Ladyeclectic said:


> Just curious, what the link to that interview?


http://indieebooks.blogspot.com/2011/04/shop-by-j-carson-black.html


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## SpearsII (Jan 16, 2010)

This month was the second month of decline for _I Serve_. It is not a huge decline so nothing to get to excited about. We sold 572 US Kindle, down from our peak month of Mar with 778. I can hardly wait till Sept. when we launch the next book. It is so hard to see all the other authors with their overflowing signature lines . Congrats to those tearing it up and if not, hang in there.


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## Mike McIntyre (Jan 19, 2011)

May was my best month ever: 433 sold (vs. 89 in April).

The bump was probably largely due to a temporary price drop to 99 cents for The Scavenger's Daughter (although Grace Krispy of MotherLode weighed in with a lovely 5-star review in the midst of the surge, which no doubt helped).

When I raised the price back up, I went all the way to $4.99, and it's been selling better than when it was priced at its original $2.99.


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

aaronpolson said:


> *sneaks into thread*
> 
> (I sold 125 books... good for me, but...)
> 
> *sneaks out of thread*


What was that, *Aaron Polson*? How many books did you say? 125? Awesome job, *Aaron Polson*! Way to go!

I am David, and I confer -20 to sneak skill.


----------



## B. Justin Shier (Apr 1, 2011)

Zero Sight released on March 28th.

March:  02 sales            
April:    83 sales  -- also-boughts showed during week 2; 3 five-star reviews appeared by mid-month
May:  172 sales  -- six more positive reviews; started getting emails from people I didn't know

As of June 1st, I am now selling 15 books a day...and trying to remain calm.

Congrats to everyone!

B.


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## Guest (Jun 2, 2011)

lol at DD and big congrats to J. Carson Black. Those are some killer numbers right there. Wowzer.


----------



## B. Justin Shier (Apr 1, 2011)

smreine said:


> That's a fabulous increase! Any suggestions?


I wish I had some sage advice to offer, but I think it's been mostly word of mouth. I haven't even gotten out of the queue at any of the review sites I submitted to (not their fault, the backlogs are enormous); I've kept the price at $2.99; I haven't even figured out how to do any good giveaways; I only have 15 twitter followers and 53 facebook followers; and GoodReads/LibraryThing really haven't picked up my book yet.

I did follow Konrath's advice and really invested some time and energy into creating a good blurb and cover, made sure to do beta reads (lots of beta reads), and followed the advice of all the veterans on this board. That's about it.

B.


----------



## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

J. Carson Black said:


> May:
> 
> DARK HORSE: 412
> DARK SIDE OF THE MOON: 4430
> ...


Wow, now those are the kinds of numbers we all dream about. I remember reading somewhere about your experiences with NY publishing though, so I gotta say you've definitely earned the success you're enjoying now.


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

J. Carson Black said:


> I'm almost afraid to say this, because it scares the * out of me. Bear in mind, in February I sold a total of 135 books.
> 
> May:
> 
> ...


(Bows down in admiration.)


----------



## Guest (Jun 2, 2011)

I sold five $.99 short stories and one $2.99 novel.  But I uploaded the novel on May 31st, and so far this month it's sold 8 copies--wheee!!!

Here's looking up to the rest of you, and hoping I'll be joining your ranks before too long!


----------



## Decon (Feb 16, 2011)

J. Carson Black said:


> I'm almost afraid to say this, because it scares the * out of me. Bear in mind, in February I sold a total of 135 books.
> 
> May:
> 
> ...


Holy s..t, I think since my last article on your sales, I need an updated article. Gotta say, since you appeared on my blog, the hits have kept rising on my 'Creating a Buzz' page and the article, but not my sales  Just kidding my sales are okay and 30% up at 300. I really must get them on smashwords. Hopefully my new cover and blurb on Survival Instinct should make a difference. Congratulations.


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## deanfromaustralia (Mar 24, 2011)

Awful month for me - 9 copies sold.


----------



## lacycamey (Apr 25, 2011)

@ J. Carson Black-I'm so happy for you! You quoted this, "_But I also think goals, big and small, are important. Some people think that's silly, but it works for me. I keep thinking of the pilot who got on the PA system and said to the passengers, "I don't know where we're going or when we're going to get there." No, he/she says, "Our destination today is Seattle and flying time will be approximately 2 hours." _

I believe in having goals 100%, as well. Congrats on all your hard work! It's very inspiring! Thanks for posting your numbers!


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## J. Carson Black (Feb 27, 2011)

Thanks, guys (gals) 

The reason I post my numbers (other than being a complete notice box) is because the Writer's Cafe taught me what was possible. The first thread I saw when I got here was one where people showed their numbers and how they changed from month to month. And I saw a lot of this:

(these are my numbers since January)
77
135
1258
14045
73,516

I loved that thread! It told me anything was possible. Before I got here, I had no idea that you could start in one place and end up in a completely other home altogether. The first 7 months was a wash - I went from 1 book a month to a high of 17 books a month in November.  It was discouraging, so I didn't put much into it.  Then someone suggested I come here---I started on this board just about the time I hit the 135-mark.  So I'm here to say that there are many factors that go into this, but it's possible.  Seeing what other writers have done made a difference to me.  Knowing that it can happen is a good thing. So, thank you.


----------



## jimbronyaur (Feb 9, 2011)

J. Carson Black said:


> Thanks, guys (gals)
> 
> The reason I post my numbers (other than being a complete notice box) is because the Writer's Cafe taught me what was possible. The first thread I saw when I got here was one where people showed their numbers and how they changed from month to month. And I saw a lot of this:
> 
> ...


I love hearing these stories!!!!


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## Doug DePew (Mar 26, 2011)

To answer the original two questions:

Not as well as I'd like.

Hopefully better.


----------



## JETaylor (Jan 25, 2011)

April -total Amazon sales for all books: 25 

May - total Amazon sales for all books: 62

More than doubled.  

Two days in June has produced 105 total sales - so this month is looking up!


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## DanaG (Feb 13, 2011)

I suspect that you are doing so well because your writing is The Awesomeness. Really enjoying your books so far! You are one of my favorite new discoveries.



J. Carson Black said:


> Thanks, guys (gals)
> 
> The reason I post my numbers (other than being a complete notice box) is because the Writer's Cafe taught me what was possible. The first thread I saw when I got here was one where people showed their numbers and how they changed from month to month. And I saw a lot of this:
> 
> ...


----------



## Michael Kingswood (Feb 18, 2011)

Let's see.  May....

Sold 2 short stories.

Yep, that's it.    It's ok though.  I'm just about done with post-production of my novel, and that'll be up in a couple weeks.  I'm sure I'll probably sell 3 copies in June.  



I'm having a good time with it so far, and at this point that's mostly what I'm shooting for.


----------



## gatehouseauthor (Apr 22, 2011)

Hard to say for me.  May was my first full month of sales, and I only have one novel released on Kindle at this moment.  But I think I did all right for my first full month, especially considering I had a dead week in there with zero sales at all!  I hit 65 on Amazon.  2 on Nook. 2 on Smashwords (released on SW for only a few days in May).  I'm cautiously optimistic that June will be my first 100 sale month.


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## Cheri Schmidt (Apr 15, 2011)

I’m currently only selling ebooks on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I really need to  do Smashwords.... I’m totally dragging my feat on that one. 

April 8th released Fateful for 2.99. Sold 76 in April.

May - lowered Fateful to 99 cents.
May 4th - Fair Maiden release for 2.99
May 29th, Fractured (book#2 in Fateful) released for 2.99

End of the Month -  2371 total sales.
Fair Maiden - 93 sales
Fateful - 2234 sales
Fractured - 44 sales

Right now for June I'm sitting at 228 sales, mostly Fateful. I'm hoping to see this trend continue for the month.


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## jnfr (Mar 26, 2011)

Michael Kingswood said:


> Let's see. May....
> 
> Sold 2 short stories.
> 
> ...


Keep at it, Michael. Even those of us just starting out have a world of possibilities ahead.


----------



## scl (Feb 19, 2011)

I sold 2 in April and 4 in May.  If the trend continues I'll be extremely happy.
For now I get excited every time my sales tick up by one.


----------



## Cristian YoungMiller (Mar 3, 2011)

Does anyone have any experience with OmniLit? I saw one person report numbers from there. Theirs were similiar number to their Kindle numbers.


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## Cristian YoungMiller (Mar 3, 2011)

modwitch said:


> I have my two novellas up on ARe,


What's "ARe"?


----------



## JamieDeBree (Oct 1, 2010)

ARe is All Romance eBooks, the romance wing of OmniLit. I have all four of my books up there - the erotica sells better there than on Amazon for me.


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## HeidiHall (Sep 5, 2010)

J. Carson Black said:


> I'm almost afraid to say this, because it scares the * out of me. Bear in mind, in February I sold a total of 135 books.
> 
> May:
> 
> ...


Awesome! Congratulations and well deserved!


----------



## Cristian YoungMiller (Mar 3, 2011)

JamieDeBree said:


> ARe is All Romance eBooks, the romance wing of OmniLit. I have all four of my books up there - the erotica sells better there than on Amazon for me.


Thanks Jamie. I think I will do a little uploading tomorrow.


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## Aynoit Ashor (Mar 15, 2011)

Both novellas are priced 99c

Total sales for May:
I Wish I Would've    136
Sixty-7                  13
Total                      149

Up about 80% from April.


----------



## Ruby Andrews (May 25, 2011)

Published first novel, Flash Crash, on 16 May and so far have sold:

2 on Amazon US
1 on Amazon UK
1 on Smashwords

Slow beginnings so far, but reading this and other threads in Writers´ Cafe have shown me that anything is possible!

PS. Just checked my reports and can see I sold another on Amazon US yesterday - can only hope it´s a good omen for June.


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## Karly Kirkpatrick (Dec 13, 2010)

This month was the first full month with my new title out (Bloody Little Secrets). Into the Shadows has been out since November 2010. I sold a total of 126 copies of the 2 books in May, with sales pretty split between the 2 titles. I have averaged 2 books of each a day (4 total a day) for most of the month! We're getting a little more visibility, not only just me but also the girls at DarkSide, so I'm hoping summer numbers will improve. Plus, I'm off all summer so I can focus more on writing and promoting. Got lots of things in the works!

Also interesting, I'm pricing at $2.99 (ITS) and $3.49 (BLS), so even though not huge sales numbers, the profits are decent!


----------



## Camilla (Jun 3, 2011)

This month was my first full month. I have one book, published May 1st, and it sold 81 copies (44 Amazon, slightly more US than UK and the rest on Smashwords). I'm pretty delighted with that as a start!


----------



## cidneyswanson (Feb 1, 2011)

I sold for the last couple days of May: 6 copies.  But I was tickled!


----------



## indie.ebooks (Mar 30, 2011)

Camilla said:


> This month was my first full month. I have one book, published May 1st, and it sold 81 copies (44 Amazon, slightly more US than UK and the rest on Smashwords). I'm pretty delighted with that as a start!


That is a great number for your first month, Congratulations!



cidneyswanson said:


> I sold for the last couple days of May: 6 copies. But I was tickled!


Hopefully we can get your book some more attention this month


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## TWGallier (Apr 21, 2011)

I put my first story up middle of May.  

1 sold.

I may have to wait a bit for Amazon to send my that 35 cents.


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## Lisa Scott (Apr 4, 2011)

TW, have you thought about putting your book in your signature line?  That may bring along a few more sales for you.


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## TWGallier (Apr 21, 2011)

Lisa Scott said:


> TW, have you thought about putting your book in your signature line? That may bring along a few more sales for you.


I was planning on doing that this weekend. I know I frequently click on those signature line links.


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## TWGallier (Apr 21, 2011)

And I need a much better blurb.  And figure out all this tagging and taglines...and tag I'm it.  

I have a LOT to learn.  This board seems like a great place to learn the ropes, though.


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## Wren Emerson (Jan 15, 2011)

I'm so excited to get to join in one of these threads for the first time.

I Wish... went live on May 15th on Amazon (I still haven't uploaded it anywhere else or formatted it for POD yet- bad author doesn't get a cookie!). Even without having it available I managed to sell 105 copies in those 2 weeks. It's a YA paranormal at 60k words and priced at $.99. 

So far the only thing I've done to promote it was to give away free copies during the first week of my debut. I've done a couple of interviews on smaller blogs and kept a consistent blogging schedule, although I never plug my book on my blog. I spend a lot of time on Twitter and will sometimes post a joking promo. I find it incredibly hard to promote my book with any kind of earnest seriousness.


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## Amera (May 22, 2011)

I managed just shy of 60 copies in two weeks in May at $4.99, which doesn't seem too bad. It's been pretty consistent with a couple a day, and I have been fortunate enough to get a few (good) reviews, also. 

Hard to believe it has only been two weeks; it feels like a lot longer. This business will teach you patience if nothing else.  And it is still about a billion times faster (and more satisfying) than waiting on agent queries/responses.


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## Susanne O (Feb 8, 2010)

May was a weird month for me. I have 7 books on Amazon Kindle in the chick-lit, contemporary historical and crime genres.

My US sales plummeted in all genres last month and I sold a total of 318 there (that figure had been more than twice that since Christmas) and the first few days of June tell a similar story; US sales continue to sink.

But on Amazon.co.uk, I sold an amazing 3054 books, 2842, of which was 'Fresh Powder', a chick-lit novel set in a ski resort in the French Alps. This book was published in paperback and I only e-published it as an afterthought when I got the rights back. I have been amazed (and delighted), not to say gobsmacked, to see this book rise in the charts and it's now #35 overall in the UK. No promotions or marketing plan, it just happened. Which proves what a lottery it all is.


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## Mel Comley (Oct 13, 2010)

Susanne OLeary said:


> May was a weird month for me. I have 7 books on Amazon Kindle in the chick-lit, contemporary historical and crime genres.
> 
> My US sales plummeted in all genres last month and I sold a total of 318 there (that figure had been more than twice that since Christmas) and the first few days of June tell a similar story; US sales continue to sink.
> 
> But on Amazon.co.uk, I sold an amazing 3054 books, 2842, of which was 'Fresh Powder', a chick-lit novel set in a ski resort in the French Alps. This book was published in paperback and I only e-published it as an afterthought when I got the rights back. I have been amazed (and delighted), not to say gobsmacked, to see this book rise in the charts and it's now #35 overall in the UK. No promotions or marketing plan, it just happened. Which proves what a lottery it all is.


Wow, congratulations Susanne, hope it continues for you.


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## Susanne O (Feb 8, 2010)

Thanks, Mel. I have no expectations that this will last. I mean, who would have thought a novel set in a ski resort in the middle of winter would be a bestseller in June? But I'm hoping this will spread to my other books later on.

Just enjoying the moment, though.


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## Mel Comley (Oct 13, 2010)

Susanne OLeary said:


> Thanks, Mel. I have no expectations that this will last. I mean, who would have thought a novel set in a ski resort in the middle of winter would be a bestseller in June? But I'm hoping this will spread to my other books later on.
> 
> Just enjoying the moment, though.


   
It will lead to further sales on your other books Susanne. Congrats again.


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## Susanne O (Feb 8, 2010)

Thanks again, Mel. I hope you're right.


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## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

I went from 17 sales in November 2010 (my first month; one book) to 332 in May 2011 (four books; last two published in May). I sold my 1000th book on June 2nd.
I'm really bad at self-promoting, and marketing is a foreign language to me.
I noticed a bit of a slump in the beginning of this month. Could this be due to the Kindle Sunshine Deals Amazon is plastering on our book pages? Anyway, with only seven months of experience it is hard to speak of trends or predict anything.
I know some people are waiting to buy _Bonds of Hate_ because it is the first part of a trilogy. I hope to publish the final part by the end of this month.
I look at it this way: I doubt I could have _given_ away 100 copies of my books before the Internet and e-publishing, let alone _sell_ 1000.


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## Remi Michaud (Apr 24, 2011)

In April, I sold 9...9. It's my first book and April was release month so I wasn't too disappointed.
In May, I ended up with 137--132 US and 5 UK. Much better. I was thrilled.
June seems to be the big story for me. Inside a week (May 28 and June 3) I got two five-star reviews (for a total of 3). And this morning, I discovered I'm now in the top 100 for epic fantasy. I've now sold 51 copies in the first three days of June. I hope that keeps up. 500 copies in a month would elate me.


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## Lexi Revellian (May 31, 2010)

Remi Michaud said:


> In April, I sold 9...9. It's my first book and April was release month so I wasn't too disappointed.
> In May, I ended up with 137--132 US and 5 UK. Much better. I was thrilled.
> June seems to be the big story for me. Inside a week (May 28 and June 3) I got two five-star reviews (for a total of 3). And this morning, I discovered I'm now in the top 100 for epic fantasy. I've now sold 51 copies in the first three days of June. I hope that keeps up. 500 copies in a month would elate me.


Looks promising to me, Remi - and what a good cover.

Lexi


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## Doug DePew (Mar 26, 2011)

Susanne OLeary said:


> I have been amazed (and delighted), not to say gobsmacked, to see this book rise in the charts and it's now #35 overall in the UK. No promotions or marketing plan, it just happened. Which proves what a lottery it all is.


That's incredible, Susanne! I'm sure it will help with your other books, also.

I'm going to be on vacation in Alaska for a pretty good part of June. We'll see how things go with absolutely no promotion from me at all. I won't even have access to a computer.

Going to Alaska is one of my life-long dreams, so the book can survive on its own for a while. Who knows? Maybe I'll hit the lottery while I'm gone and come back as a best-seller?


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## LiteraryGrrrl (Jan 24, 2011)

I'm afraid to say this and annoy the sales gods, but...

May sucked the big one, but June's starting off GREAT.  

I've made nearly as many sales the first 4 days of June as I made in ALL of May. 

*Runs and hides from the angry sales gods.*

Shana


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## B. Justin Shier (Apr 1, 2011)

Remi Michaud said:


> In April, I sold 9...9. It's my first book and April was release month so I wasn't too disappointed.
> In May, I ended up with 137--132 US and 5 UK. Much better. I was thrilled.
> June seems to be the big story for me. Inside a week (May 28 and June 3) I got two five-star reviews (for a total of 3). And this morning, I discovered I'm now in the top 100 for epic fantasy. I've now sold 51 copies in the first three days of June. I hope that keeps up. 500 copies in a month would elate me.


Good to hear, my also-bought kinsman. Looking forward to seeing you at the top


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## Wren Emerson (Jan 15, 2011)

LiteraryGrrrl said:


> I'm afraid to say this and annoy the sales gods, but...
> 
> May sucked the big one, but June's starting off GREAT.
> 
> ...


That's awesome! My June numbers have picked up too so maybe it's a trend? People aren't in school and are taking vacations so they have more time to read maybe? But I don't want to over think it. I'm just going to enjoy the sales.


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## Holly A Hook (Sep 19, 2010)

Only had 245 for Amazon this month (April I had 430.)  Sales seem to be steadily declining for me, even though I'm trying promotion to pull out of it.  

June isn't looking too good either.  Didn't sell anything for the first two days and am only up to 14 sales so far.  This time last month I'd sold about 50-60.  

But that could be partly due to my mistake in making my second book a middle grade book, and those don't sell well, so it never helped the sales of my first book any.  Luckily, my next two releases will be a YA fantasy (Tempest sequel) and an adult urban fantasy I'm co-writing with my sister, so we'll see how that goes.


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## Remi Michaud (Apr 24, 2011)

modwitch said:


> Betcha I can tell you what happened. You've made it onto the first page of "hot new releases" in epic fantasy . http://www.amazon.com/gp/new-releases/digital-text/158580011/ref=zg_bsnr_nav
> 
> In my experience, hitting that list for contemporary fantasy was a big deal, and really helped move my sales up. If that's the key driver, you'll start to see a bunch of other books from that list hitting your also boughts.


 
I had not noticed that! That is so cool! Thanks for letting me in on it! Now, I'm feeling a little giddy.


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## Amera (May 22, 2011)

modwitch said:


> Betcha I can tell you what happened. You've made it onto the first page of "hot new releases" in epic fantasy . http://www.amazon.com/gp/new-releases/digital-text/158580011/ref=zg_bsnr_nav
> 
> In my experience, hitting that list for contemporary fantasy was a big deal, and really helped move my sales up. If that's the key driver, you'll start to see a bunch of other books from that list hitting your also boughts.


Hmm, I need to move up on that. I seem to be at #68 (didn't know that list even existed).


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## B. Justin Shier (Apr 1, 2011)

Amera said:


> Hmm, I need to move up on that. I seem to be at #68 (didn't know that list even existed).


Me neither. Apparently, Zero Sight is #14 for contemporary fantasy. Modwitch knows all.


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## J.A. Marlow (Dec 18, 2010)

[Post content removed to protect my content and data because I do not agree to or accept VerticalScope's new Terms of Service. I hereby reject said terms and retain all copyrights to my information and content.

I disavow any association with the new ads that now exist that may be tasteless, racist, demeaning to women, sexist, or exploitative in any way.]


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## Shayne Parkinson (Mar 19, 2010)

modwitch said:


> Betcha I can tell you what happened. You've made it onto the first page of "hot new releases" in epic fantasy . http://www.amazon.com/gp/new-releases/digital-text/158580011/ref=zg_bsnr_nav
> 
> In my experience, hitting that list for contemporary fantasy was a big deal, and really helped move my sales up. If that's the key driver, you'll start to see a bunch of other books from that list hitting your also boughts.


Hey, thanks for posting this, Debora! I just checked the list for historical fiction, and mine are all there - in the top 10 when I looked. I had no idea!


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