# Sagging confidence



## Nick Marsden (Jan 28, 2015)

I came to my usual place to write today (okay, Starbucks...), and I opened my horror/thriller to add some words and thought to myself, "This kinda sucks. I'm not feeling this today. I'll work on my other project." So I opened my other project, a YA superhero adventure, and I wrote a paragraph and thought to myself, "This kinda sucks. What am I doing?" I didn't even bother trying my epic fantasy.

I've been doing this writing thing seriously since 2011 (and dabbling with it since 1989). I've got 5 full novels to my name and three more in the works. I've never hit a block like this where I'm seeing everything as complete crap. I feel like, instead of getting better with each book I write, I'm actually getting worse. Soon I'll be writing, "Ugh Ugh Ugh" and calling it high prose.

My sales are crap. I hear about all these people who sell hundreds of copies a day, they break out when they have their 3rd or 5th book, or they're seeing good progress on their first or second books. I've got FIVE books and I get 1 copy sold a day MAYBE (not each book, just 1 copy period). I've run promos and Facebook ads, etc. I get a spike in sales (28 sales in a day, woot!), but then they drop to zero again and go on the way they were before the promo. I know I'm not working the marketing as much as I could be (currently unemployed and short of funds). But I feel like I'm not seeing the progress I should be. 

I have a sneaking suspicion that my books are bad. Not bad enough to actually sell a lot (Seems like the total crap sells best), but not good enough to get people to post reviews (even when asked!).

I've been thinking more and more of pulling four of the five books I have from sale and starting from scratch. But I don't know if that is an emotional thought stemming from my poor experience.

I guess maybe I've lost confidence in myself and my writing. That may be why I can't seem to find words today. I'm not going to call it writer's block, because it's not. I just look at my WIP's and think that maybe they aren't worth fighting through.

This is very much just a rant/release-of-steam. Any encouragement, support, similar stories of getting up from being down would be appreciated. Thank you!


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## Eden (Oct 30, 2014)

Hey there,

I'm sorry you're going through a rough patch. I hope it's temporary. I haven't read your books, so I can't speak to their quality, but consider reading up on story structure and using what you've learned in your next book. Pair up with another author in your genre to give each other honest, professional feedback. It looks like you're spreading yourself too thin working in multiple genres -- for now, just pick one, read the current bestsellers in said genre, read the reviews and see what the readers liked and what they didn't, and use that to help you improve. 

I wouldn't suggest taking down your published books, but if you notice a huge difference in quality with your next novel, consider releasing under a pen name.

Best wishes!


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## dianapersaud (Sep 26, 2013)

If your WIPs are "crap" and you are avoiding it, it means PLOT HOLES out the wazoo and that's why you're avoiding it. Been there...wait, I'm still there with one of my WIPs. 

I work on it some days and then abandon it to work on another when I get frustrated. Eventually I'll figure it out.

Read Chuck Wendig's How to Unstick a Plot (or something similar). His advice is entertaining. Be forewarned: he uses a lot of colorful language.


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## Nick Marsden (Jan 28, 2015)

Eden,
Thanks for the advice. I've done most of what you've said. I actually have a BA in screenwriting, so plot structure is not a problem for me. 

Diana,
You're probably right. I've outlined and rewritten and outlined again. I'll check out Chuck's article to see if there is soemthing i've missed.


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## Caddy (Sep 13, 2011)

Everyone's journey is different. It took me 9 novels and 3 1/2 years to have a year (this one) where I'm actually making a living from writing novels, and I don't sell hundreds a day. Nor do you need to sell hundreds a day to make a decent living. Going wide instead of just with Amazon has been beneficial for me, but it took a few years. 

Take the amount of money you feel you need to make monthly to feel you are making a living. Then figure out how many books you need to sell at whatever price your books at at. Divide that number by the number of books you will have (You say you have 5 and will have eight).  I'm not saying the sales will come by doing that, but it helps to know exactly how many books per day you need to sell to make your monthly goal. Then invest in solid advertising (bookbub, fussy librarian, free or bargain booksy, BKnights, etc).


For example: Say you want to make $6,000 month (remember to take taxes out) and your books sell at $4.99. You will need to sell approximately 1,800 books per month. If you have 10 books, that is 180 sales per month for each, or 6 a day. 

Keep in mind some books sell more than others, of course and some months will make more than your goal and some less. But you get the idea. 

6 a day each sounds possible, right?


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## Kylo Ren (Mar 29, 2014)

Question: did you have your books edited by a professional?


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## Nick Marsden (Jan 28, 2015)

bb-8 said:


> Question: did you have your books edited by a professional?


My last three books were line-edited. I've never had a developmental edit on any of my five books.


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Can I be honest with you? I love your covers so much that I keep clicking on them to check out the books, but then you lose me again because your blurbs are so long and detailed that I get lost and click away without buying.

This could be a very easy fix!


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## Salvador Mercer (Jan 1, 2015)

Hey Nick,

We usually email, but I'll add something here as a thought.  Amazon seems to favor NEW RELEASES imho and they do so especially if it's done every 90 days or less.  This is not fact, it's just my subjective opinion based on what I've seen with my own books and with others.

I'd suggest leaving the books you have there and plan for a book every 90 days if you can wing it.  Give the first one a push right out of the gate and then hit the KCD after the first 30-40 days.  Have your second book ready to go when the first gets close to 90 days.  Make sure you have a series or something related.  Also you don't need EPIC books over 100k words either.  Choose something fun, basic tropes and 60-70k in length so that 90 days are manageable.

Finally, again just my opinion,  your main series if pretty niche even though portal fantasy sounds big, I'm not seeing it when I browse Amazon.  Maybe the YA/Teen Dystopian type stuff with portals work better than Epic Fantasy where you mention a US city.  Take that into account, but you have good reviews, some of the BEST formatted books out there (you have skill my friend) and interesting story lines.  Personally I am still thinking it's the Amazon Algos working against you since there are so many new releases nowadays.  Also what Evenstar said about your blurbs (I mentioned that a few months ago as well).

Add your personal situation, and I'm sure it would be challenging for anyone to get past some mental hurdles in your case.

Hang in there and I'm rooting for you!

Regards,
SM


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## Abderian (Apr 5, 2012)

Nick, are their any writers groups in your area? They can offer support through these times. The writers group I attend has been invaluable to me in helping develop my writing, and it's great to be able to talk to people who really understand where you're coming from.


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## Cactus Lady (Jun 4, 2014)

Evenstar said:


> Can I be honest with you? I love your covers so much that I keep clicking on them to check out the books, but then you lose me again because your blurbs are so long and detailed that I get lost and click away without buying.
> 
> This could be a very easy fix!


I'm with Evenstar, I would shorten the blurbs, make them tight and punchy. I just won't read blurbs that long, they lose me.

Aside from that (and I'm not really one to be giving advice, but that one seems pretty clear to me):

I'm where you are right now. I've been writing off and on since 1990, 20-some novels (both fanfiction and original fiction) and a number of shorter works, and I've been studying writing and working on my craft, improving my writing and revising and editing skills (while you have your degree in screenwriting and been writing since 1989, so you're no writing newbie either), and my sales are pretty much the same as yours, and I see people hitting it out of the ballpark with their first or second or third novel and wonder what's wrong with me. My guess is that the "This is crap" that you're feeling isn't an accurate sense of the quality of your work, nothing so easily solved as getting an editor (assuming you can even afford one) as it is a "Why am I even bothering? No one cares" feeling. Feeling like you're working hard and doing your best and it just isn't what people want to read.

But here's the thing, that's also keeping me going - you're the only one who can tell those stories. If you don't tell them, no one else will. It could be that your audience, like I tell myself mine is, is a small, exclusive group of readers with discerning tastes (Yeah, that's what I keep telling myself  ), but for those readers, there are no stories like yours and no one else can write them.

So, yeah, cut those blurbs way down and make them short and grabby, plus there are some key differences between screenwriting and novel writing so you might look into those and assess if you need to work on those areas, and keep writing those stories no one else can write.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Man, seriously, join the club. I've got 20 books and haven't hit it yet. But you know what? My monthly income increases sneakily while I'm not looking. In some parts of the country, with no family, I could live off my sales.

There is only one solution: you must keep up the promotion activities.

Also, do change those blurbs to something short & snappy.


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## Susanne123 (Jan 9, 2014)

Maybe you need a wee break? Step away from the writing for a few days.


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## Guest (Aug 8, 2015)

I'm just here to tell you that you're not alone. I am taking a break from all writing and all business for the next week to clear my head. I'm going to be a reader on vacation. Don't give up. Most of us are in the same boat with you. Keep paddling and taking advice from the well meaning people and friends on this thread.


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## Lisa Grace (Jul 3, 2011)

1 to 10 sales a month on most books is not unusual. You're doing fine, just not break out level, but most aren't. I have readers that buy everything I write,  I get reader mail daily, yet nothing has been a break out hit. Just keep writing and building up your dedicated readers. Run ads or find bloggers that will post/interview about your books. Chin up.


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## Sara C (Apr 30, 2014)

Why would you think your books are bad?? That's not a reason for not selling (because people wouldn't know that they're bad), and the reviews you have seem positive. I know it's hard to be patient, but it really pays off in the end! I published my first book in 2009 (back when POD was the main thing to do), and didn't start making a full-time living until June of 2014....I'm glad I didn't let 5 years of little to no success stop me. 

That being said, I agree with the others on your blurbs. Your covers are awesome and very eye-catching, so I'm thinking that's the problem. Also, are you having much luck with KU? I recently tried putting a few new titles in, and it's just not the right thing for my books, apparently. Maybe shaking things up and going wide with a first in series permafree would be a good experiment. That's about all of the advice I have. Also, just bought your first Never-Born book because they seem right up my alley. If I think it's bad, I'll come back and be mean to you


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## Amy Corwin (Jan 3, 2011)

I'm in the same place you are, except I have 18 books.

It is discouraging, no doubt about it. But...you are trying to get better with each book and you probably are getting better. The thing is, you may just be letting your discouragement color your assessment of your writing. And I suspect you have really high standards, which means it is hard to write up to your own expectations. Been there. That's exactly how I feel. That's what I feel right this minute when I look at my sales and only see 1 sale (out of all the books I have out there...just 1 sale, total?)

I have gotten help from kindle board members and it has made me feel better. While I have followed everyone's advice and then some, it has had no impact on my sales at all. I hate to say this, but Amazon's algorithms cut both ways. Meaning that while they can really boost a book that is doing well, they can also really suppress a book, or group of books from one author, that has not sold a lot of copies. I've done free and $0.99 days, permafree on first books in series, $0.99 on first books in series, you name it. I've promoted and not promoted--nothing made much difference except for a small lift (mostly when a book is free and I get nothing from the sales except amusement) that evaporates quickly on the last day of the sale.

That said...

Don't pull your books.
One book a day is still a sale and it is still some money, even if all it buys you is one cup of coffee.

Refocus on what you are writing now. Stop checking sales (it will be a huge relief to stop looking at the train wreck, believe me.) Give yourself a break. Remember, the first draft is the first draft. It is almost always crap. So give yourself room to make mistakes and then fix them (whether you edit as you write or just write and then edit).

Most of all, we have to look at it this way: each book is a fresh work. We are writers--it is what we do--so we have to keep doing it. Write whether you feel like it or not. Writing more (not less) is the best way to get out of a funk. If you stop or pull back what you've done, it will be that much harder to continue.

Perhaps the next book is the one that will find your audience for you.
Perhaps not, but unless you put it out there, you definitely have no chance.

Each new book is a new day, a new chance. And it's what you do.

Don't give up. Don't pull back. If nothing else, writing will let you express yourself and get your characters and stories out of your head and onto paper (well, a bunch of electrons, anyway).

You can do it.

Just stop looking at your sales. Don't even worry about them. Just keep doing what you're doing, because it is who you are.


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## LeeD (Jan 16, 2014)

DWS challenged himself to write a short story every day in July. He wrote 32.

Today he started posting and explaining the blurbs he's writing for each story, under the title "Writing Fiction Sales Copy" here: http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/

With his usual confidence (based on 30+ years of making a good living from writing and related activities), he says: "[T]rust me, most of you need help writing sales blurbs. Not all of you, but most. It is a critical skill in this modern world, even if you are traditionally published. Two traditional writer friends of mine who know how to write sales blurbs write them for their publisher."


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## thesmallprint (May 25, 2012)

It happens at some point with every book. I have a niche series with more than 1,000 reviews - average four-star, and, feeling like you over my latest WIP, and after trying everything I've learned to turn it around, I just threw 27,000 words in the digital dustbin and started again. Sometimes it's the only answer. In the past I've rewritten - my last book had a rewrite when I was stuck at around the same mark - 30,000 words. I knew something was wrong, and discovered that I was writing in the first person (my usual style) when it was a third-person story. I rewrote in 3rd person and published and it's doing as well as my others. Sometimes there's a solution - sometimes there isn't.

There seems little wrong with your writing from what I can see. I think the problem might lie in your self-editing. My series was trad-published many years ago. When the rights reverted, I rewrote every book with a view to self-publishing. I started each rewrite with a single rule - if anything does not add to the story, driving it along, take it out.  In my most successful book - in its original format - (it was bought by Reader's Digest and published in their condensed book series) I learned the lesson the RD editor silently taught me and ended up taking 20,000 words out.  Those were 20,000 words I had originally thought essential to the story. 20,000 words a Harper Collins editor thought didn't need pruning...we were wrong: the story was much better without them.

Good luck. You have the talent, you just need to wield the technical tools and hone the stories. Be brutal on the first edit; come the fourth, you'll have learned surgery.


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## Ros_Jackson (Jan 11, 2014)

The feeling that everything you write is crap is a sign of a good writer. All first drafts suck, and I've heard plenty of experienced genre writers talk about the wall they hit about 2/3 of the way into the first draft, when everything seems awful. It's a psychological stage. 

I don't have any practical advice beyond reminding you that this is very common. Best of luck getting back into your writing groove.


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## William_Stadler (Nov 8, 2013)

Hey, Nick. I agree with everything everyone has said. Rare for me. Join a genre writing group. I love the one I'm in, just hearing them read triggers ideas. 

I literally make about $20 a month from writing. So yes, I could quit my job if I wanted to...bbbuuuutt my wife would be VERY disappointed with me. 

Here's my advice: DO NOT QUIT. You can't. You love it too much. 25 years of writing is a long time, and quitting now is absurd. Know that we are all in the same boat rooting for each other, and when your books do take off, we'll be around to celebrate with you. 

Oh, and see my signature. That's how many books I have out. Still, no success. It's discouraging, but the alternative is far worse, namely, not writing. 

Not to be cliché, but my lack of success has allowed me to tinker around with other genres. Aka steampunk. I know I would have never dabbled in steampunk had my fantasy taken off.


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## Kylo Ren (Mar 29, 2014)

William_Stadler said:


> Hey, Nick. I agree with everything everyone has said. Rare for me. Join a genre writing group. I love the one I'm in, just hearing them read triggers ideas.
> 
> I literally make about $20 a month from writing. So yes, I could quit my job if I wanted to...bbbuuuutt my wife would be VERY disappointed with me.
> 
> ...


The fact that you have that collection of books out and are not seeing any success is disturbing to me.


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## William_Stadler (Nov 8, 2013)

Bb-8, there are plenty of authors with a much longer list than mine with little results. If we were doing it for the money, we would have quit a llooonngg time ago. Do we want to get paid? Yes of course. But, I view it as a hobby that could possibly pay off—something that few other hobbies offer as readily. I'm a gamer as well, but I make NO money off of that. At least I can write books and make a little income.


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## Kylo Ren (Mar 29, 2014)

I think this needs to be linked to again as a lot of people need help writing book descriptions. I've seen a lot of good advice given on these boards, and I've seen that advice ignored time and time again.

Watch Libbie Hawker's video series on writing book descriptions and follow her advice. Do it.

And one thing I would add about blurbs that I don't think Libbie talks about in her videos: stop using phrases like "When thus and such happens, the hero does this..." Their overused. You can get away with it because, yeah, you see it all the time. But whatever. At the very least, you should be attempting to write your blurbs the way Libbie lays it out. Watch and learn.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

bb-8 said:


> The fact that you have that collection of books out and are not seeing any success is disturbing to me.


Success is not a given. You have to work at it.


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## Kylo Ren (Mar 29, 2014)

William_Stadler said:


> Bb-8, there are plenty of authors with a much longer list than mine with little results. If we were doing it for the money, we would have quit a llooonngg time ago. Do we want to get paid? Yes of course. But, I view it as a hobby that could possibly pay off--something that few other hobbies offer as readily. I'm a gamer as well, but I make NO money off of that. At least I can write books and make a little income.


You seem to have taken what I said as some kind of insult or attack. It wasn't meant that way AT ALL.

I meant it was disturbing (read: worrisome) to me, specifically, because I, for one, _am_ hoping to make a living at this eventually. And I'm hoping that having a lot of books will go a long way toward making that happen. When I see someone like you, with a lot of books with great, branded covers, and you're not making at least three figures a month (if not four), it worries me because it makes me think maybe having a large catalog of books has little to do with generating sales.

Hopefully, that makes more sense.


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## Kylo Ren (Mar 29, 2014)

Patty Jansen said:


> Success is not a given. You have to work at it.


Well, I would've thought writing a lot of books was working at success, but maybe not. A lot of people on these boards have said that the best way to sell a book is to write another, and another. I guess it's not really as simple as all that.

Maybe in the end, it just boils down to luck. God, I hope not. I've never been very lucky.

Patty Jansen, do you consider yourself successful or no?


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## KLRomo (Aug 1, 2015)

Amy Corwin said:


> We are writers--it is what we do--so we have to keep doing it. Write whether you feel like it or not. Writing more (not less) is the best way to get out of a funk. If you stop or pull back what you've done, it will be that much harder to continue.


I agree Amy. This is what I do - try to write more when in a funk. Get it out there on the screen, out of my head. The words will begin to flow again. And anyway, even if it didn't, I'd still be writing - as Amy said, it's what we do, and can't help doing.

Although almost impossible sometimes, try to enjoy the journey. I say it over and over to myself, and I will hopefully start to feel it.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

bb-8 said:


> Well, I would've thought writing a lot of books was working at success, but maybe not. A lot of people on these boards have said that the best way to sell a book is to write another, and another. I guess it's not really as simple as all that.
> 
> Maybe in the end, it just boils down to luck. God, I hope not. I've never been very lucky.
> 
> Patty Jansen, do you consider yourself successful or no?


There is a lot of stuff that you really should be doing besides writing another book. Once you have a bunch of books out, there comes a point that writing yet another book is a less effective use of your time than working out some decent promo methods.

Paid ads are just a very small part of the things you can do to put your book in front of potential readers.

As for myself, I have never had any kind of luck and have to work really hard for every effing sale. I am rewarded with people who love my series and a medium level of sales. As I said above, if I didn't have a family and lived in a cheaper part of the country I could live off it. Just.


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## gorvnice (Dec 29, 2010)

Hey, I read the look inside on your Legacy of Shatara and found the writing to be solid.

Plenty of worse writers out there who are selling, as you noted.

So if it's not the writing, then it's something else.  Cover, blurb, title, keywords, branding...do your books look enough like the other similar books that are selling well in your genre?

You need to not forget about it, as some have suggested.  I suggest you take some time and really analyze what the successful books in your genre are doing that you might not be.

But the writing, to my eyes, isn't the issue.  That said, as it goes on you could have plot or pacing issues--but that's different than your overall command of the language, which to me seemed more than sufficient.


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

I had a look inside book one and found a punchy one paragraph blurb for legacy. Try using that! Also would you like me to take a look at your keywords for you? Have you read the monster keywords thread? It can make such a difference. If not then pm them to me and I'll see if there are any helpful changes I can suggest.


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## Nick Marsden (Jan 28, 2015)

Thanks for all the words of encouragement and the advice! I love you guys.


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## Becca Mills (Apr 27, 2012)

Nick, have you tried permafree for your first in series? It's not a magic train to visibility, but free books are cheaper and easier to promote. I've never been able to sell my first in series in meaningful numbers, but I've given away hundreds of thousands of copies. While sell-through is low, percentagewise, it adds up because of sheer volume.


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## Nick Marsden (Jan 28, 2015)

Becca, I've done wide, perma-free, etc. Four of my five books are currently in KDP Select as a new way of changing things up. My first book is my reader magnet for mailing list signups, so is not in Select and is listed wide. I did a Countdown deal on The Book of Nepharid last month and will be doing one on The Unicorn Rider this month. Promo resulted in a few spikes in sales over the week, but the tail only lasted three days. I will probably go back to wide when the Select term ends.


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## Becca Mills (Apr 27, 2012)

Nick Marsden said:


> Becca, I've done wide, perma-free, etc. Four of my five books are currently in KDP Select as a new way of changing things up. My first book is my reader magnet for mailing list signups, so is not in Select and is listed wide. I did a Countdown deal on The Book of Nepharid last month and will be doing one on The Unicorn Rider this month. Promo resulted in a few spikes in sales over the week, but the tail only lasted three days. I will probably go back to wide when the Select term ends.


What happened when you had Book 1 permafree? Did you experiment with promoting the permafree?


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## Nick Marsden (Jan 28, 2015)

Becca Mills said:


> What happened when you had Book 1 permafree? Did you experiment with promoting the permafree?


Yes. I got download spikes, but the average downloads was still around 10/day with no sales of other books, and no further reviews. That's one reason I moved to Select. When I did the Countdown Deal (99cents), I got residual sales of the other books in the series. Not a lot, but more than I got during free promos.


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## Becca Mills (Apr 27, 2012)

Nick Marsden said:


> Yes. I got download spikes, but the average downloads was still around 10/day with no sales of other books, and no further reviews. That's one reason I moved to Select. When I did the Countdown Deal (99cents), I got residual sales of the other books in the series. Not a lot, but more than I got during free promos.


Yeah, even having to pay just $.99 for Book 1 makes people much more selective, so there's more chance that the downloaders will be people who've vetted the book carefully and are genuinely interested. But for many of us, the hugely increased volume of free downloads makes permafree more effective, even though many of the downloaders never read the book or turn out not to be part of your target audience (that is, they don't like it).

If you use permafree, you probably need to promote it regularly so that you get a really good number of downloads. You need volume to make up for the higher levels of indifference/inattention. I don't know if you've seen it, but C. Gockel has a terrific spreadsheet of sites where you can promote freebies. Over time, you can figure out your general sell-through percentage and then use it to make sure your promotion investments pay off. For instance, if you know your sell-through is 5%, and if you make $2 per sale on your paid books, then it's "safe" to pay $10 in promo fees per 1,000 downloads because you know you're very likely to make $100 back from that investment (1,000 x .05 x 2.0).

If you didn't promote your permafree effectively, it might be worth trying again.

Hang in there. Try different stuff. Hopefully you'll land on the combination that works for you.


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## David Tindell (Mar 3, 2013)

I've been training in the martial arts for many years, and one of the first things we learned, and often the hard way, is that this takes a long time. I think the same is true for almost every writer out there. How many "overnight success" stories wind up to be about someone who's actually been writing for several years, and now has broken through due to a combination of circumstances, some of which are out of his/her control? Another thing we learn in the martial arts is it's not about learning how to fight or getting in shape. Those are two very nice byproducts. The main purpose in our training is simply to train. The harder we train, the more good things seem to happen to us. Apply the same principle to writing. Always train, always strive to do better. Things will fall into place.


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

Nick,

Hitting a wall is a great time to just pull back and re-evaluate. It doesn't mean your books are crap or that you can't write, but maybe there are some things you can do to re-orient your longterm trajectory. (BTW I have no idea what those things might be!) It's just that if you're hitting a will, maybe some part of you wants to change something about your approach. Maybe, possibly, a change that could be beneficial in the longterm. I recently coined a phrase: #AuthorShame My own evolution has been nothing to make a post about on the kboards! I first published in August 2012, and almost reached a 1000 sales. (That was my heyday!) However, my books just weren't getting the traction or the reviews I wanted. In December 2013, I took a step back and re-evaluated. With the help of an amazing team, everything has been revamped and revised. Was that a good "the business of publishing" decision? In the short term it was not Will things change/improve for my books in the future? I can only hope. But at least I feel really great about the books that are out there. I have worked really hard on them...to the point of it almost being ridiculous, thus #AuthorShame = AMOUNT OF WORK vs. RESULTS, i.e. lots of work and no visible results!

I wouldn't advise anyone to take the path I've taken. It was emotionally painful and draining. But as of July 30th, I at least feel like I have a solid foundation to move forward. I love writing. I love my stories. I am one of those starry-eyed dreamers who will continue writing no matter what. But, yeah, sometimes it's just baffling when I see other books breakout from the get go. I've lurked on kboards, listened to podcasts, etc. I find I can't do that anymore. I'm writing my books, putting them out, and moving forward. Yes, I have #AuthorShame, but the bottom line is I am a teller of stories and I believe in that.

I wish you the best, and hope that out of this block you have some epiphany that reignites the fire within!


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## MissingAlaska (Apr 28, 2014)

I am in a similar place right now.  It's hard to keep plugging away when you haven't had much success.  In some ways, this reminds me of a definition of insanity - doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.  It sounds like you know what you're doing isn't working - but you can't figure out what the answer is.  As a result, you're procrastinating while you figure things out.  I may be projecting my own feelings onto your situation - but I think it is entirely reasonable to ask if you're doing something wrong that you've missed - and to take a break for a while until you figure out what that thing is. Outside perspective can help. Ask others to review your work and ask them targeted questions. Use their responses to better craft your next novel and avoid falling into the same pitfalls as before.

Don't just ask beta readers if they liked it.  Ask things like:
- Did the first page make you want to read more? Could you put it down after reading this?
- What does the cover make you think the book is about?
- Is the narrator someone you want to live with for 350 pages?  Is it a unique voice?
- Is this something lots of people would want to read? Or, is it a niche?  If it's a niche, who would want to read this?
- Where should I advertise this book? Are the right readers actually seeing the books?  Is your advertising targeted? 

In my case, folks on this board offered some good advice.  My covers were (and still are, honestly) poorly targeted. One of my books had no introductory hook (which I hope I've fixed). I also write stand-alones in niche genres - which are tough to sell at all.  As a result, I'm trying to re-calibrate my approach but find that it's like starting over. I question whether my new approaches will work too. Is all of this effort worth the time?  For me, it is as writing full-time is my dream.


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## William_Stadler (Nov 8, 2013)

bb-8 said:


> You seem to have taken what I said as some kind of insult or attack. It wasn't meant that way AT ALL.
> 
> I meant it was disturbing (read: worrisome) to me, specifically, because I, for one, _am_ hoping to make a living at this eventually. And I'm hoping that having a lot of books will go a long way toward making that happen. When I see someone like you, with a lot of books with great, branded covers, and you're not making at least three figures a month (if not four), it worries me because it makes me think maybe having a large catalog of books has little to do with generating sales.
> 
> Hopefully, that makes more sense.


Hey!! No. Sorry if it came off that way!! I definitely didn't take what you said as an insult. I was just saying how I justify my writing addiction. And honestly, I think anyone who keeps at it will gain notable success. Once again, sorry if I sounded offended, because I definitely wasn't.

And thanks for the compliment on the covers.


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## Kylo Ren (Mar 29, 2014)

William_Stadler said:


> Hey!! No. Sorry if it came off that way!! I definitely didn't take what you said as an insult. I was just saying how I justify my writing addiction. And honestly, I think anyone who keeps at it will gain notable success. Once again, sorry if I sounded offended, because I definitely wasn't.
> 
> And thanks for the compliment on the covers.


At least one of those is done by the same guy who does mine I think.


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## NoCat (Aug 5, 2010)

I think more books gives more chances to hit an audience, but yeah, alone? It isn't enough. You could have hundreds of titles and still not make sales or build audience if you don't also do a lot of things to help maximize the chances like advertising, working on stuff like keywords and branding etc to target your goal audience better, and other things like that. The business of publishing has a lot more facets to it than just the writing.

So I think it is good to sit back and evaluate if you aren't reaching goals you want. It can be frustrating and depressing, but the happy part is that you are in control and can switch things up or try new stuff. It might be that this series just isn't going to hit the audience you want and time could be better spent on other things. It might be that you just need to write snappier blurbs or run a couple big sales and mess with pricing for a bit. Might be that your covers aren't doing the trick. Plenty of things to think about.


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## bohemianedu (Jul 24, 2014)

Don't let that confidence sag too long. I like to say that if you keep trying till you die, you never fail, you just died before you reached success. You are not your writing. Writing is what you do, but it says nothing about your worth as a person, don't ever forget that. Write for yourself and for your potential fans, keep telling your stories until you get tired of telling them. In the end, this writing gig should feel good because it's a thing you do, or can't not do, even if you don't always feel good about it. But the not feeling good about it is based on expectations, is based on your ego self. Failure is a given on the way to success. You never fail if you keep trying till death. And if you quit, so what, if it suits you. Chin up and keep writing if you want to, but don't let it get you down. Please don't let it get you down.


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## Dobby the House Elf (Aug 16, 2014)

Lisa Grace said:


> 1 to 10 sales a month on most books is not unusual. You're doing fine, just not break out level, but most aren't. I have readers that buy everything I write, I get reader mail daily, yet nothing has been a break out hit. Just keep writing and building up your dedicated readers. Run ads or find bloggers that will post/interview about your books. Chin up.


This is how many writers start off. 1-10 sales a month. I made F-ALL in my first year. As you go along you'll gain perspective on what does and doesn't work. Experiment, mix things up, look at other books in your genre selling well and try to imitate the style (note I did not say copy), and work hard at marketing.

Sagging confidence in your writing is normal when you're not selling as well as you want. Don't be afraid to start all over again as you go along. I know so many authors who begin a new pen name, new genre, and they have amazing success. Publishing can equal a lot of emotional pain, but try to focus on the things you CAN influence, rather than the things you can't.

If it ain't working don't think '_it's me, I'll never succeed_' think instead '_*there's something about my books, and my work, that isn't hitting the market the right way*_'. It means you need to learn more, not give up, or beat yourself up.

Good luck!


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## Guest (Aug 8, 2015)

David Tindell said:


> I've been training in the martial arts for many years, and one of the first things we learned, and often the hard way, is that this takes a long time. I think the same is true for almost every writer out there. How many "overnight success" stories wind up to be about someone who's actually been writing for several years, and now has broken through due to a combination of circumstances, some of which are out of his/her control? Another thing we learn in the martial arts is it's not about learning how to fight or getting in shape. Those are two very nice byproducts. The main purpose in our training is simply to train. The harder we train, the more good things seem to happen to us. Apply the same principle to writing. Always train, always strive to do better. Things will fall into place.


David, I'm not in martial arts, but I'm a dancer. I love everything you've written here, and it's the way I think, also.


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## Tommy Muncie (Dec 8, 2014)

Hey Nick,

There's some pretty good advice here already, but I'll add the one thing that jumped out at me straight away: you mentioned in the opening post that you're currently unemployed. I know how that can make writing related lows even harder to deal with - I've been unemployed or doing only voluntary work and been worrying about money at the same time as having my writing totally suck and no sales. It's a bad combination, and I doubt I need to tell you because it sounds like you're already feeling that. 

Whatever work it is you usually do, or whatever you know how to do and are applying for at the moment, perhaps a break from the writing and constantly looking at sales figures not moving would be good so you could concentrate on getting back on your feet financially. Battling with both problems at once can be pretty tough. If you've got no available funds to put into your books, then my advice is deal with the job hunting first. Wanting to get back into work to give yourself funds to put into the book projects you love is a perfectly good motivator. If you have to work a job that sucks for a while, the thought that at least you're in business for yourself on the side works pretty well too (and even if you think your books suck, which most of us sometimes do, how many of your colleagues have written one?)

I like what Annie B said about how you get to try different things because you are the one in control. There's always that worry that even if one thing you're doing is working, another might not be. I sometimes get those thoughts like 'The new cover rules but the blurb is still garbage,' and then when I sort a better blurb out I wonder if my advertising is reaching the right people because they're getting to my website but never following the Amazon link. Hitting that perfect combination of stuff that leads to better sales is pretty damn tricky, but at least it is fun to play with once you hit those days where your mood is better and you get back to 'I CAN do this and I AM doing this!'


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## Guest (Aug 9, 2015)

Sorry that you are struggling. You are already an obvious success, you have novels under your belt already and that is an acheivment. I feel like this sometimes too, where everything you write, no matter how you write it just seems terrible. Best thing to do is write all of your ideas down. Get yourself a notepad and just jot them down, even if theyre full chapters. Then when your ready to go back, read through it. You may find a couple of great ideas and fuse them together or you may decide one is amazing. They may even trigger some other great ideas. Either way, good luck, you'll get your mojo back. Keep us updated!


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## SunshineOnMe (Jan 11, 2014)

Nick, I stink at giving the advice part. I just wanted to write because I could feel the discouragement in your post. I'm sorry. I've been there, you aren't alone.    (((big hug)))  Hang in there. You never know when it's all going to turn around.


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## PearlEarringLady (Feb 28, 2014)

Kyra Halland said:


> But here's the thing, that's also keeping me going - you're the only one who can tell those stories. If you don't tell them, no one else will. It could be that your audience, like I tell myself mine is, is a small, exclusive group of readers with discerning tastes (Yeah, that's what I keep telling myself  ), but for those readers, there are no stories like yours and no one else can write them.


Speaking as a member of Kyra's 'small, exclusive group of readers with discerning tastes', I have to agree with this. I've just positively inhaled her latest release and am now waiting for the next, and even if I'm the only person in the world like that, I desperately hope she never, ever stops writing those stories that no one else can write.

To the OP: you, too, have your audience, small though it might be at the moment. Sometimes there's just no explanation for why an author doesn't break through, even when they do everything right.

The only advice I would give to anyone who's tried everything else: if you're not selling much anywhere, then you may as well try the extra exposure from Select and KU. For novel writers, it's an attractive proposition now. But I see that the OP is already in KU, so I don't have any other suggestions to offer.

Except to repeat: don't EVER stop writing.


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## UnicornEmily (Jul 2, 2011)

Okay, I want to share with you something that an artist friend of mine told me years ago.

Every so often, she goes through patches where she thinks all of her work is terrible. Every part of it. If she quits drawing for a few weeks to get some space, the feeling disappears, and she starts to like her work again.

However, if she *pushes through and keeps on going,* in a few weeks, she will be suddenly make a HUGE improvement in quality. For her, those times mean she's about to make a breakthrough.

When you think about it, this makes perfect sense, because it means she's just started to notice a weakness she's had all along, but had been blind to. When she keeps on going, her bothered subconscious mind works on figuring out how to fix it. And one day, the fix just slips in naturally.

I've tried to pay attention to my own work, and I've noticed the same pattern. When I start to hate everything I'm working on or have finished, that's a sign that I'm about to make a huge jump in quality -- _if_ I keep on going. And knowing that makes it so much easier to keep on pushing through.

In other words, you can quit for awhile and readjust your perspective to what it used to be. (Not a bad thing.) Or you can keep on going and suddenly discover you've made a dramatic improvement. (I prefer this.)

Hugs for what you're going through, but also genuine encouragement: this might not be a bad sign at all. It may be the start of something great.


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## AltMe (May 18, 2015)

I've only read page 1 of this thread, then had a look at your books.

Why are you telling everyone on each of the trilogy that there's a compilation edition, when it isn't available? All this tells the reader is - wait, and at some point the 3 can be bought at once, cheaper.

I'd get rid of the author session on each blurb and stick to the basic blurbs. Its actually a serious deterrent.

If your trilogy pack really isn't available, get it off the site. Its a serious distraction to selling the individual books. If its supposed to be available, fix it so it is.

What categories are they all listed in? 

What keywords are you using? Its fantasy looking, so you should have every single fantasy keyword that fits your stories stuffed into each book.

They look good enough to me (without having read anything) that you should be getting better sales than you are.


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## Cactus Lady (Jun 4, 2014)

PaulineMRoss said:


> Speaking as a member of Kyra's 'small, exclusive group of readers with discerning tastes', I have to agree with this. I've just positively inhaled her latest release and am now waiting for the next, and even if I'm the only person in the world like that, I desperately hope she never, ever stops writing those stories that no one else can write.


Aw, Pauline, thanks  You made my day. I'm working on book 5 now!

Also, Pauline's books are awesome too.



UnicornEmily said:


> Okay, I want to share with you something that an artist friend of mine told me years ago.
> 
> Every so often, she goes through patches where she thinks all of her work is terrible. Every part of it. If she quits drawing for a few weeks to get some space, the feeling disappears, and she starts to like her work again.
> 
> ...


This makes a lot of sense. With kids, sometimes you notice they're going through a cranky spell, eating a lot and sleeping a lot and being really fussy, maybe their legs hurt and they just don't feel good, then one morning they wake up and they grew 3 inches overnight and everything's fine again. So maybe these artistic crises are signs of a growth spurt.


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## unkownwriter (Jun 22, 2011)

I figure that if a writer has a handful of books out, not horrible books, and they aren't seeing the sales they want, it's time to step back and evaluate.

Are the covers in line with the genre? Tastes and tropes change over time, so a new cover might be in order.

Are the blurbs effective? From your first book in the sig, I see a long blurb that wasn't that interesting.

Are the categories right for the story? I've seen lots of books in categories that don't fit at all. There's no benefit to putting books in front of the wrong readers.

Are the keywords getting the book into appropriate sub cats? Are they words/phrases that readers use to search for books like yours?

Are you writing in a genre that's too niche, or too odd, or that has low readership? If so, try writing something different, something targeted to a genre you feel you can write that sells.

Are you hitting too many genres? As fun as it is to write lots of different stories, readers don't typically cross over. (I do, but I'm apparently an odd duck who will read almost anything.) If you must write several genres, make sure to use different pen names, and build a brand readers can latch on to.

Are you publishing too slowly? Like it or not, the modern world of self-publishing works best if you can get books out frequently. I'd say at least three per year if you write one genre/pen name. Four per year would be better (every three months). If you bounce around, it's going to be harder to publish that often for most writers, to hit a good number of books for each pen name. Success can come to slower writers, but it will likely take longer, years even, before the readership comes.

If you love to write, if it's in your soul, you can't give up. It's just not possible. I've stopped writing for long periods, but I always come back to it. It's the path my heart knows. This time, I'm determined to keep putting the words out there, to make a living at the only work I've ever loved, the only thing I'm really suited to do.


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## Mart (Oct 13, 2012)

I really, really needed to stumble across this thread today. Nick, with a few exceptions, I feel like I could have written your post myself. Thanks for your post, and thanks to everyone else for your responses. I think I should take to heart much of the advice being offered.


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## valeriec80 (Feb 24, 2011)

I have not read the other replies. I'm just popping in to say that it was not until my eleventh book that things took off for me, and that I've been up and down since then. You only hear the stories about success because that's what prior cross people crow about. Nobody announces that they are going back to the day job. Anyway there have been tons of times when I could have written this post. Keep your chin up. The only way you fail in this business is if you quit.

Sent from my BLU ADVANCE 4.0 using Tapatalk

_corrected per Valerie's next post. --Betsy_


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## valeriec80 (Feb 24, 2011)

That should be people crow about. Haven't gotten the hang of this phone on the forum. 

Sent from my BLU ADVANCE 4.0 using Tapatalk


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## Kylo Ren (Mar 29, 2014)

You know I was recently a bit discouraged as well. Got in one of those funks where I'm like "This is all crap! What's the point?"

But then I picked up a print copy of one of my books and was like, "No way, this is awesome. Look at this thing. I made this." And then I went back to work.

You gotta believe in yourself.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

valeriec80 said:


> I have not read the other replies. I'm just popping in to say that it was not until my eleventh book that things took off for me, and that I've been up and down since then. You only hear the stories about success because that's what prior cross about. Nobody announces that they are going back to the day job. Anyway there have been tons of times when I could have written this post. Keep your chin up. The only way you fail in this business is if you quit.
> 
> Sent from my BLU ADVANCE 4.0 using Tapatalk


David Adams did announce that he was going back to work, very publicly.

As far as I know, he's doing much better now.

There are always going to be two camps in this discussion: those who pat on the head and say "look, you're writing and you're making art and that in itself is a goal" and those who care about trying to make this writing thing work financially at least as much as they care about the art side of things.

I think you need to figure out which camp you belong in before you take any action. It's possible to switch camps in both directions.

There could be a writer who sells well but burned out on a particular genre who wants to write something different knowing it might not sell as well.

Or a writer switching genres and approach because of poor sales.

Both approaches are valid, but which is going to be yours?


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## valeriec80 (Feb 24, 2011)

Perhaps I ought to have said very free people announce when things are going badly, not no one. Someone always takes exception when you use an absolute. Should have known better. 

Sent from my BLU ADVANCE 4.0 using Tapatalk


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## valeriec80 (Feb 24, 2011)

Few darn it. FEW. When's my internet coming back? Stupid phone.

Sent from my BLU ADVANCE 4.0 using Tapatalk


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

valeriec80 said:


> Perhaps I ought to have said very free people announce when things are going badly, not no one. Someone always takes exception when you use an absolute. Should have known better.
> 
> Sent from my BLU ADVANCE 4.0 using Tapatalk


LOL

But I agree with you. Most people whose sales collapse and have to go back to work slink off quietly. People here tend to report their successes, which, when you're not doing so well, can be kinda painful.


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## tommy gun (May 3, 2015)

Valeriec:  I LOVE your phone  

This is awesome advice through this thread and well worth reading.  I will forget it all by tomorrow of course.

When everything seems to be wrong and you have nothing going right (or that is how you feel, which is not reality) it can be hard to see anything working out.  Stop, look away and then try reviewing whatever it is with fresh eyes.

Sorry that was my pat 2 cents.

You are ahead of my sales and if my glitches keep coming I won't be having a hard time writing.  I will likely be sitting under my small desk crying (figuratively).

Keep going and you can do this.  You have already shown that.


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## Lisa Grace (Jul 3, 2011)

I just want to point out Hugh Howey didn't hit it big until his seventh work, which started out as just a simple short story. What if he had given up?
I know other authors who had five or six series out there, when finally something took off, which led to readers buying all the previous ones.  Don't give up, just keep building a solid body of work.


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## Big E OK (Aug 10, 2015)

First off, I'm a newbie to this section and fully empathize with what you're going through. My debut eBook is about the city of Tulsa, its history and its sports teams and sold next to nothing in the early going before gaining some traction (and that included going wide, as well). I totally agree with the suggestion about not looking at the sales totals. It'll drag you down, big time. Just continue polishing the product, whether through tighter editing or writing, but also keep in mind that the vast majority of writers won't make quit-your-day-job Benjamins. Hang in there!!


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## Nick Marsden (Jan 28, 2015)

UnicornEmily said:


> Okay, I want to share with you something that an artist friend of mine told me years ago.
> 
> Every so often, she goes through patches where she thinks all of her work is terrible. Every part of it. If she quits drawing for a few weeks to get some space, the feeling disappears, and she starts to like her work again.
> 
> ...


THIS is awesome!


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## Nick Marsden (Jan 28, 2015)

TimothyEllis said:


> I've only read page 1 of this thread, then had a look at your books.
> 
> Why are you telling everyone on each of the trilogy that there's a compilation edition, when it isn't available? All this tells the reader is - wait, and at some point the 3 can be bought at once, cheaper.
> 
> ...


The compilation is available.
http://www.amazon.com/Never-Born-Complete-Trilogy-Nick-Marsden-ebook/dp/B00NN4B0AO

The trilogy is listed in multiple fantasy categories. I've tinkered with keywords until my ears bled (figuratively).


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## Nick Marsden (Jan 28, 2015)

I'm not sure what everyone is talking about with the long blurb. The main blurb for The Book of Nepharid is two paragraphs. The rest is the Interview with the Author, an idea I got from Nick Stephenson, and I've seen on several other successful books. It's a relatively new addition (in the last few months) and it hasn't negatively affected my sales (that I've noticed). It's meant to talk more about the trilogy if the reader is interested, but the sales blurb is the first two paragraphs. If I hook a reader by then, whether they read the rest or not is irrelevant.


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## Kylo Ren (Mar 29, 2014)

Nick Marsden said:


> I'm not sure what everyone is talking about with the long blurb. The main blurb for The Book of Nepharid is two paragraphs. The rest is the Interview with the Author, an idea I got from Nick Stephenson, and I've seen on several other successful books. It's a relatively new addition (in the last few months) and it hasn't negatively affected my sales (that I've noticed). It's meant to talk more about the trilogy if the reader is interested, but the sales blurb is the first two paragraphs. If I hook a reader by then, whether they read the rest or not is irrelevant.


Actually, it's the two paragraphs after some kind of tag line and some kind of summary paragraph. I (just speaking for myself, not saying this is the end all, be all advice) would drop those two elements and get rid of the interview. Do prospective readers care about an author interview at this point? I doubt it. I know I don't. Also, I do think the blurb itself needs a rewrite. It's not bad, but it's plot focused rather than character focused. I strongly recommend watching Libbie Hawker's video series.

Having said all that, changing your blurb may not have the desired effect. Keep writing. Keep practicing your craft. Look for a day job. I know it sucks and is hard to find decent work these days. I'm in the same boat and unfortunately I live in a place where there's just not much work. Plus, I suck at working with and around people. Writing is pretty much my only hope. So, I may be screwed. 

Another thing I've been wondering about: I've maybe noticed something just by reading different posts on this board. And this is just a theory or an impression which may or may not be true: It seems like books that have strange names in their titles don't do that well. I mean, I could be way off, but I'm starting to think that having unusual names as titles isn't very attractive to readers. Has anyone else had similar thoughts or experiences? I'm probably just crazy.


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## Keith Blenman (May 31, 2009)

I just want to throw in how awesome everybody in these boards are. I'm going through a severe slump myself so reading through all of your comments and advice was inspiring. People in these forums are the best.


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## hunterone (Feb 6, 2013)

Nick Marsden said:


> I came to my usual place to write today (okay, Starbucks...), and I opened my horror/thriller to add some words and thought to myself, "This kinda sucks. I'm not feeling this today. I'll work on my other project." So I opened my other project, a YA superhero adventure, and I wrote a paragraph and thought to myself, "This kinda sucks. What am I doing?" I didn't even bother trying my epic fantasy.
> 
> I've been doing this writing thing seriously since 2011 (and dabbling with it since 1989). I've got 5 full novels to my name and three more in the works. I've never hit a block like this where I'm seeing everything as complete crap. I feel like, instead of getting better with each book I write, I'm actually getting worse. Soon I'll be writing, "Ugh Ugh Ugh" and calling it high prose.
> 
> ...


Nick I feel your pain.

It's even harder when you see some folks appear out of nowhere with 1 book or 3 books that are selling like hotcakes and turned into movies.

But for every case like that there are thousands who don't.

Some are barely scraping buy as authors, others doing fantastic

But it all comes back down to this at the end of the day ----- why do you write?

I write because I want to tell stories.

If I didn't believe that i would give up today.


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## AltMe (May 18, 2015)

Nick Marsden said:


> I'm not sure what everyone is talking about with the long blurb. The main blurb for The Book of Nepharid is two paragraphs. The rest is the Interview with the Author, an idea I got from Nick Stephenson, and I've seen on several other successful books. It's a relatively new addition (in the last few months) and it hasn't negatively affected my sales (that I've noticed). It's meant to talk more about the trilogy if the reader is interested, but the sales blurb is the first two paragraphs. If I hook a reader by then, whether they read the rest or not is irrelevant.


Its the interview with the author. If you really want it, take off the blurbs, and put it in your author comments on author central instead. This places it much further down the page where people are looking for review information.


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## Ros_Jackson (Jan 11, 2014)

bb-8 said:


> Another thing I've been wondering about: I've maybe noticed something just by reading different posts on this board. And this is just a theory or an impression which may or may not be true: It seems like books that have strange names in their titles don't do that well. I mean, I could be way off, but I'm starting to think that having unusual names as titles isn't very attractive to readers. Has anyone else had similar thoughts or experiences? I'm probably just crazy.


This is a very valid observation. If you look at a lot of the Big 5 published epic fantasy from the last few years (not counting series continuations that took off when it was okay to have strange worlds in your titles) it's very rare to see made up worlds in the titles. Even the blurbs tend to play down weird otherworldly names.

I'm a big reader of epic fantasy, but I'm also put off by otherworldly names in titles. It's not a deal-breaker, and I'm certainly happy to read about new worlds within the text, so this aversion seems illogical. The best way I can explain it is that I'm used to titles that don't start out with made-up names, and those that do have a 1980s vibe for me. And the made-up names have absolutely no meaning to new readers other than to signal that this is a secondary-world fantasy, and the blurb, categories and cover ought to be able to convey that information well enough. So it's a matter of fashion, and of getting the most juice out of the few words that make up the title.


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## Kylo Ren (Mar 29, 2014)

Ros_Jackson said:


> And the made-up names have absolutely no meaning to new readers other than to signal that this is a secondary-world fantasy, and the blurb, categories and cover ought to be able to convey that information well enough. So it's a matter of fashion, and of getting the most juice out of the few words that make up the title.


Exactly what I've been thinking. When I see a book that has a weird name as the title or part of the title, it really evokes nothing in me as a reader.


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## Lisa Blackwood (Feb 1, 2015)

Nick Marsden said:


> Becca, I've done wide, perma-free, etc. Four of my five books are currently in KDP Select as a new way of changing things up. My first book is my reader magnet for mailing list signups, so is not in Select and is listed wide. I did a Countdown deal on The Book of Nepharid last month and will be doing one on The Unicorn Rider this month. Promo resulted in a few spikes in sales over the week, but the tail only lasted three days. I will probably go back to wide when the Select term ends.


I feel your pain. My gargoyle series is really more like an Epic Fantasy, but the main characters ended up on present day earth, so Urban Fantasy. Oh, and it's a romance too.  Which makes it difficult to market--to put it mildly.

But don't give up. Write what you love. Maybe make those blurbs snappier(--I have no idea how to go about that. Good blurbs and I are not on speaking terms. Personally, I like longer blurbs, but the couple I checked out on Amazon seemed to have a little too much going on.)

And then save up and promote.
I just did a select free 4 day run on book one of my gargoyle series and did a KCD of book two at the same time. The free one was heavily promoted (several sites--there's a thread on it somewhere) and the KCD slightly promoted (SweetFreeBooks and Bargain Booksey).

I hadn't done the combo of Free/0.99KCD before, but it was a good promo. (6000 Free downloads/189 KCD @0.99) Which doesn't sound like a huge lot, but it's the best result this little prawn has ever had. A huge part was the boost in rank both books got from all the borrows...er...or is that pages read, now? Before the promo, I was selling like a book a week for that one. 

Don't pull your books and don't give up.

You have a mailing list I assume? (Mine is new, only about thirty so far, but growing. small steps.)


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## Bookmonkey (Mar 12, 2014)

1) Convert your first book in each series to free - forever. This is cheap advertising and gets people into the series. This will also get you more reviews over time. More reviews will get you more exposure -- more sites will promote the free book on their own (blogs, twitter accounts, etc.). More reviews will also influence more readers to download the book. 
2) Promote your free book using free sites or low cost sites - just roll those promos as you get them scheduled not on a specific day or week
3) Try pulling most of the names of characters out of the blurb other than the main character or two (take out the name of the master and the name of the sorcerer, etc.) because they just create confusion and are introduced in the book. Test the blurb and see if it reads a bit smoother and gets more hits.
4) Now that the first book is free, lower the cost of the trilogy to a better price point like $4.99 to push readers to download all three after they have read the first free book.
5) Have all of your books in a list/order on each book description
6) Eventually pull your free book out of KU if you plan on going wide and put the free book on the other sites even without a funnel. That way you will have readership on the other sites when you move the other books over.


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## L.B (Apr 15, 2015)

Bookmonkey said:


> 1) Convert your first book in each series to free - forever. This is cheap advertising and gets people into the series. This will also get you more reviews over time. More reviews will get you more exposure -- more sites will promote the free book on their own (blogs, twitter accounts, etc.). More reviews will also influence more readers to download the book.
> 2) Promote your free book using free sites or low cost sites - just roll those promos as you get them scheduled not on a specific day or week
> 3) Try pulling most of the names of characters out of the blurb other than the main character or two (take out the name of the master and the name of the sorcerer, etc.) because they just create confusion and are introduced in the book. Test the blurb and see if it reads a bit smoother and gets more hits.
> 4) Now that the first book is free, lower the cost of the trilogy to a better price point like $4.99 to push readers to download all three after they have read the first free book.
> ...


I'm hoping this is fantastic advice as it is exactly what i'm currently doing!


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## Drake (Apr 30, 2014)

Abderian said:


> Nick, are their any writers groups in your area? They can offer support through these times. The writers group I attend has been invaluable to me in helping develop my writing, and it's great to be able to talk to people who really understand where you're coming from.


I second this! My writers group gives me the confidence to keep working at it.


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## Kylo Ren (Mar 29, 2014)

Bookmonkey said:


> 6) Eventually pull your free book out of KU if you plan on going wide and put the free book on the other sites even without a funnel. That way you will have readership on the other sites when you move the other books over.


I'm confused. I thought the only way to make a book free was to have it be wide in the first place because Amazon won't make it free unless it's free somewhere else. Therefore, a free book couldn't be in KU to begin with. Am I wrong about this? Please tell me what you mean.


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## Bookmonkey (Mar 12, 2014)

You are correct... you have to go wide and free on the other sites to get Amazon to price match to free. It should have said pull your book out of KU... good catch.


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## Cactus Lady (Jun 4, 2014)

Kylo Ren said:


> Another thing I've been wondering about: I've maybe noticed something just by reading different posts on this board. And this is just a theory or an impression which may or may not be true: It seems like books that have strange names in their titles don't do that well. I mean, I could be way off, but I'm starting to think that having unusual names as titles isn't very attractive to readers. Has anyone else had similar thoughts or experiences? I'm probably just crazy.


If that's true, I am so doomed  I have the hardest time thinking up titles, and then they usually seem to contain a word from the world they're set in.


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## Kylo Ren (Mar 29, 2014)

Kyra Halland said:


> If that's true, I am so doomed  I have the hardest time thinking up titles, and then they usually seem to contain a word from the world they're set in.


It's just a theory. And I don't think it applies if the fandom is already established. For instance, the first book in Jim Butcher's fantasy series is _Furies of the Calderon_. That's fine because, as a reader, I know Jim Butcher's work, and I'm a fan of the Dresden Files. So, I'm buying _Furies_ on that basis.

But for an unknown, an unfamiliar word makes me think, "Meh, I don't know what that means." A title like _The Book of [Insert Made Up Name]_ doesn't really tell me anything. But if the title is _The Book of Doom_. Now, that gets my attention a bit more. See what I mean?

I only formulated this theory though based on the fact that it seemed authors on Kboards with titles like this were more apt to bemoan the fact their sales were poor. And I thought maybe this could be part of the cause. Or it could be total crap.


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## VClifton (Aug 12, 2015)

Have you considered approaching book blogs and offering review copies to their reviewers?  Getting the word out on social media is a good idea- having reviews posted  on Facebook and Goodreads could help.  I wish you luck!  Keep your head up.  

I only write as a by-product of my business (non-fiction, artwork), but when I'm in a creative slump, I usually just take a break and move on to other projects.


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## PearlEarringLady (Feb 28, 2014)

Kyra Halland said:


> If that's true, I am so doomed  I have the hardest time thinking up titles, and then they usually seem to contain a word from the world they're set in.


I'm another one who's doomed, then! Although I had one person comment that she liked my weird titles because they sounded very fantasy. So there's that.

But I do think that a short, snappy title that tells the reader exactly what the book's about is likely to do better than one that's a bit out there. I don't think it's a coincidence that, of my books so far, the best selling one by far is 'The Fire Mages'.


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## Cactus Lady (Jun 4, 2014)

Kylo Ren said:


> But for an unknown, an unfamiliar word makes me think, "Meh, I don't know what that means." A title like _The Book of [Insert Made Up Name]_ doesn't really tell me anything. But if the title is _The Book of Doom_. Now, that gets my attention a bit more. See what I mean?


Now I'm extra-super doomed  I'm totally unknown and one of my books is The Lost Book of [Made Up Name].  Maybe I should just unpublish everything until I think of better names. But it's so hard to think of titles that aren't boring and generic.

I'll stop derailing the OP's thread, and just go cry now.


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## Kylo Ren (Mar 29, 2014)

Kyra Halland said:


> Maybe I should just unpublish everything until I think of better names.


Now, you're just messing with me. Look I said it was probably just crap. It's not like somebody wrote an article in Writers Digest that said this.


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## Cactus Lady (Jun 4, 2014)

Kylo Ren said:


> Now, you're just messing with me. Look I said it was probably just crap. It's not like somebody wrote an article in Writers Digest that said this.


Well, I looked on Amazon, and all the bestsellers in Epic Fantasy do have titles with normal words. So maybe there's something to it. So I really did think about it there for about 5 minutes. But that would be a huge pain, and definitely falls under the WIBBOW rule; I would definitely be better off writing new books with good titles instead of messing with the old titles.


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

Hi Nick,

I took a look at your 'Look Insidie' on your first book, and in my opinion, you are a good writer. Am I an authority on writing? No, but know what I like when I'm looking for a book to read. If I was into fantasy and sorcerer type books, yours would have the kind of 'voice' I'd look for. I know. Small consolation.   

When I started writing my first book, my husband was out of work (height of the recession) and things looked bleak. I wish I had some magical bit of advice, but I'm only doing okay right now because I got lucky and had a couple of Bookbub ads this year. I think I tapped out that well though as since then, I've had three rejections on other books. 

I have a good writing friend who is feeling the same way you are and I feel so helpless because I'm not a big name so it's not as if I can recommend her book and people will listen. She's thinking of finishing her current WIP and then taking a break from writing because she's been doing this for five years and has about twice as many books as I do, and none of them have broken out.  She's a good writer, too. Very frustrating.

I'd be happy to feature your book on my blog--not that I have a ton of traffic. Just PM if you're interested.


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

Kylo Ren said:


> You know I was recently a bit discouraged as well. Got in one of those funks where I'm like "This is all crap! What's the point?"
> 
> But then I picked up a print copy of one of my books and was like, "No way, this is awesome. Look at this thing. I made this." And then I went back to work.


That is pretty awesome, isn't it?  When I got my first two books back from Createspace, I was kind of floored to actually 'see' my work in a tangible form. I just received the proof of my most recent book the other day, and the magic is still there.


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## C. Gockel (Jan 28, 2014)

> Also, do change those blurbs to something short & snappy.


I'm going to say this is correct. How often do you do free days? Do you see a sharp increase in sales after a free promo? (And do you PROMOTE during free days? I have a list of sites, the top ones you can hit up free of charge: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RuBvSzJuy5jFg4-58EkkQ0G1OIuXzjN54CW-_CavdCA/edit#gid=0 )
ReadCheaply and TheMidlist's free option are really great.

If you DO see an uptick in sales after free days, you should try going permafree. You can do that with your first book wide, but leave everything else in KU, so there are no "sudden" changes.

Best of luck to you.


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## A.A (Mar 30, 2012)

I do think your blurbs could use a little help, but all else looks good. Seems like the luck of the draw sometimes.

I hope things turn around for you. Having a first book perma free has worked well for me in the past, though I'm unable to do that at the moment 



William_Stadler said:


> Hey, Nick. I agree with everything everyone has said. Rare for me. Join a genre writing group. I love the one I'm in, just hearing them read triggers ideas.
> 
> I literally make about $20 a month from writing. So yes, I could quit my job if I wanted to...bbbuuuutt my wife would be VERY disappointed with me.
> 
> ...


I have cover lust over your covers.

This is where a lot of well-meaning advice on kboards falls flat. You have strong covers, your stories look strong and I had a look at your writing and it looks good.

Seems that there's a huge amount of luck involved and an indefinable X factor. I wish you good luck and hope your books take off in a big way


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## PearlEarringLady (Feb 28, 2014)

Kyra Halland said:


> Well, I looked on Amazon, and all the bestsellers in Epic Fantasy do have titles with normal words.


Yes, and look how generically unmemorable they are. Finding a title that a) uses normal words; and b) is memorable, is well-nigh impossible. And have you ever tried to search for a book with one of those generic titles?

Mark Lawrence made a wordle (graphic where word size correlates to frequency of use) from the titles of the 250 or so entries to the self-published fantasy blog-off. He commented that: _'It appears that the ideal ... or at least mode ... title would be "Dark Black City of Blood"'_

For title inspiration, here's the link (scroll down a bit to get the wordle):

http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/the-great-self-published-fantasy-blog.html


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## Quiss (Aug 21, 2012)

dianapersaud said:


> If your WIPs are "crap" and you are avoiding it, it means PLOT HOLES out the wazoo and that's why you're avoiding it. Been there...wait, I'm still there with one of my WIPs.


This is a good point. I am not a plotter, but I need to know where my story is going and what my characters' motivations are. If I don't feel it, then readers won't, so it feels like crap. Once I have more confidence in how things will pan out, the story starts to get interesting for me and the enthusiasm returns.


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## Nick Marsden (Jan 28, 2015)

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I have pushed through the block on my Thriller/Horror book, and I'm moving ahead with that. It's moving more toward horror, when I was trying to write a thriller, but I'm happy with that. I get to write about a lot of blood and scary situations. 

As for the books that are currently available, I will look at the blurbs. I still think the core blurbs are good, but I'll re-evaluate since everyone says they are not good. I might cut out the interview sections.

I like that there has been an arguement about book titles with world-specific names in them. My philosophy is a bit old school. Some of the top classic fantasy (which is what I'm trying to emulate) uses this technique.

Some words used in titles of popular fantasy works:
Hobbit
Shannara
Melinbone
Perdido
Ouroboros
Bartimaeus
Oz
Kushiel
Elantris

All these words were used by authors in their first or very early works, in many cases, these are the words that made the authors popular and became common words in the fantasy lexicon. When you ask a fantasy fan about "Shannara" nowadays, chances are they know exactly what you're talking about. That definitely goes for "Hobbit".

My point: For a fantasy fan, an odd word should not be deterrent to discovering more about the book if the cover and blurb are interesting. If you are put off by "Shatara", "Nepharid", and "Theolan", than you probably won't like my books anyway. <shrug>


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## MarkCoker (Feb 15, 2009)

Nick, I'm sorry to hear you're discouraged but glad to see a lot of great advice here.

The first thing to understand is that you're not alone in the boat. The truth of the matter is that most indies don't sell well.

I would second those who suggest a perma-free series starter. We recently compared our top 100 bestselling series with a free series starter against our top 100 bestselling series without a free series starter, and the results were startling. The free series starter group earned a median and an average that was 66% higher than non-free series starter group. In other words, for most authors a perma-free series starter is job #1. To get the best use of it, make sure the backmatter for each series title hooks the reader into the next title, and make sure you always have the next book in the series on preorder. A couple reasons for this: 1. Readers will be more willing to commit to a series if they see you're committed to delivering more books in the series. 2. Books born as a preorder sell better than books that are simply uploaded day of release (we've studied this too). To get the most out of preorders, you need to go wide. I've got a slide deck on preorder strategy here - http://blog.smashwords.com/2015/07/how-to-publish-ebooks-ebook-publishing.html

I think your covers are great.

I see you're in KDPS. This means you've put all your eggs in one basket. KDPS is a risky strategy. It works for some authors, but for others it causes them long term career damage. You're almost certain to sell more at Amazon with KDPS than you would otherwise, BUT you're assured that you won't sell well anywhere else because your books aren't there, and you've stunted your opportunity to grow your readership elsewhere because those readers have moved on to develop relationships with authors make their books available in their favorite non-Amazon stores. Even authors who cycle in and out of KDPS for short periods, and even if only for a small number of titles, are undermining their long term potential at the other retailers and increasing their dependence upon a single retailer. My advice is get diversified so you're not fully dependent on a single source. I'm a distributor, so of course I believe this, but I've also seen it proven time and again. Long term, non-stop diversification will help you grow your readership.

Beyond diversification, it's all about implementing and iterating on as many best practices as possible. The presentation deck above identifies 16 of the top best practices. Well-implemented best practices help you capture lightning in a bottle when luck strikes (turn one reader into more than one reader through word of mouth), and it will strike. It strikes all the time, but so many writers aren't prepared to capture it.

Here are a couple other posts you might find helpful, even if you stick with KDPS.

*How to survive amid a growing glut of high-quality low-cost ebooks:*
http://blog.smashwords.com/2014/11/ebook-publishing-gets-more-difficult.html

*How to do a self-assessment of what's working and what's not:*
http://blog.smashwords.com/2013/03/six-tips-to-read-reader-tea-leaves-how.html

No matter what you do, never give up. Good luck!


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## Cactus Lady (Jun 4, 2014)

Nick Marsden said:


> Thanks for all the advice everyone. I have pushed through the block on my Thriller/Horror book, and I'm moving ahead with that. It's moving more toward horror, when I was trying to write a thriller, but I'm happy with that. I get to write about a lot of blood and scary situations.
> 
> As for the books that are currently available, I will look at the blurbs. I still think the core blurbs are good, but I'll re-evaluate since everyone says they are not good. I might cut out the interview sections.
> 
> ...


Glad you're moving forward again 

I didn't mean to derail your thread with the title discussion, so I'm glad you found it interesting. I know most of those words you listed, have read a number of them, and as a fantasy reader for more than 40 years, I'm not put off by unfamiliar words. Earthsea, Atuan, Prydain, Hed - to me, the unfamiliar names suggested wondrous new worlds to be discovered. I think most dedicated fantasy readers aren't going to be put off by an unfamiliar word in the title. And you're right - if they are, maybe that book isn't for them anyway.



PaulineMRoss said:


> Yes, and look how generically unmemorable they are. Finding a title that a) uses normal words; and b) is memorable, is well-nigh impossible. And have you ever tried to search for a book with one of those generic titles?
> 
> Mark Lawrence made a wordle (graphic where word size correlates to frequency of use) from the titles of the 250 or so entries to the self-published fantasy blog-off. He commented that: _'It appears that the ideal ... or at least mode ... title would be "Dark Black City of Blood"'_
> 
> ...


hah, that's awesome  You're right, finding something unique and memorable that only uses normal words is very hard. So, for example, The Lost Book of Anggird, I could have called it just The Lost Book (boring), or The Lost Book of Magic (inaccurate, since it's a journal), or The Lost Book of Exploding Magic! (spoiler!) or The Renegade Professor (could be straight-ahead romance or erotica, which it isn't, and has no hint of fantasy to it). But The Lost Book of Anggird catches the reader with Hmm, a lost book, who's Anggird and why was his book lost? Then (in theory) since the cover also looks interesting, they read the blurb and go, Oooh, the most dangerous book of all! What's that about? And then (again, in theory) they buy the book  in theory.

I guess I'm rambling, but the point (I think) is that there are so many ways you can second-guess yourself, so many things we worry about if we're doing right or wrong and there are no (or very few) hard-and-fast, objective answers, so you just keep pushing forward, doing your best, fix the obvious stuff and don't worry about the rest, and write the next book.


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## Ros_Jackson (Jan 11, 2014)

MarkCoker said:


> I've got a slide deck on preorder strategy here - http://blog.smashwords.com/2015/07/how-to-publish-ebooks-ebook-publishing.html


I didn't realise that slide deck incorporated the 2015 Smashwords Survey data. That's awesomely useful, thanks for putting it together Mark.


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## SunshineOnMe (Jan 11, 2014)

PaulineMRoss said:


> I'm another one who's doomed, then! Although I had one person comment that she liked my weird titles because they sounded very fantasy. So there's that.
> 
> But I do think that a short, snappy title that tells the reader exactly what the book's about is likely to do better than one that's a bit out there. I don't think it's a coincidence that, of my books so far, the best selling one by far is 'The Fire Mages'.


Well I'm one who loves your titles and covers. They're awesome!! Always catch my eye when I come here.


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## PearlEarringLady (Feb 28, 2014)

Kyra Halland said:


> I guess I'm rambling, but the point (I think) is that there are so many ways you can second-guess yourself, so many things we worry about if we're doing right or wrong and there are no (or very few) hard-and-fast, objective answers, so you just keep pushing forward, doing your best, fix the obvious stuff and don't worry about the rest, and write the next book.


This is probably the sensible solution, but we're all going to do at least some second-guessing, aren't we? For instance, I read something that emphasized the importance of putting keywords into the title, and I looked at the proposed title of my next book - 'The Mines of Asharim' - and thought, hmm, not many keywords in there, and it doesn't even sound fantasy (could be scifi). Needs a fantasy keyword. And that, folks, is the true story of how my next book came to be called 'The MAGIC Mines of Asharim'.  Yeah, I'm not great at titles.


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## PearlEarringLady (Feb 28, 2014)

SunshineOnMe said:


> Well I'm one who loves your titles and covers. They're awesome!! Always catch my eye when I come here.


Thank you, CeeCee!


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## MarkCoker (Feb 15, 2009)

Ros_Jackson said:


> I didn't realise that slide deck incorporated the 2015 Smashwords Survey data. That's awesomely useful, thanks for putting it together Mark.


It provides a sneak peek at some of the survey data. I still haven't published the 2015 Survey yet. It's on my to-do list! Thanks.


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## unkownwriter (Jun 22, 2011)

The thing about blurbs is, they aren't about the author. I don't know you. I don't care about you. I don't know why I _should_ care about you. I might, if I like your books, and the only way that's going to happen is if the blurb makes me check out the Look Inside, and if what I see there makes me buy the book.

The blurb is advertising copy. That's all. It's not a keyword dump, or the place to slap down 28 reviews, or anything about the author. Yes, other people do it, and it seems to work. But, maybe it hurts far more than you'll ever know, because I'm not going to email you and tell you that the blurb turned me off a book I might have liked. I'm just going to move on.

The sad truth about writing is, we can do everything "right". The right book in the right genre, with the right cover, a fantastic blurb and more ads than you can shake a stick at. And the sales don't come. You can experiment with the book a bit, tweak things, and it still might not sell. Or maybe it will, years from now. Or maybe next week.

What can we do? Try a different genre, try a different subgenre, give up, keep writing what we are doing already, get lucky, buy more ads, try permafree, get in/out of Select, get in a bundle, and on and on.

All I know is, you have to step back and be open to see the possible problems, and what options there are to get you where you want to be. Something I've seen H M Ward say is, if a book isn't selling to look at what she calls the "trifecta of awesome":

Cover
Title
Blurb

I'd add Categories and Keywords, to come up with what I call the "fantastic five".

Food for thought, worth whatever you can take from it.


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## Becca Mills (Apr 27, 2012)

MarkCoker said:


> I see you're in KDPS. This means you've put all your eggs in one basket. KDPS is a risky strategy. It works for some authors, but for others it causes them long term career damage. You're almost certain to sell more at Amazon with KDPS than you would otherwise, BUT you're assured that you won't sell well anywhere else because your books aren't there, and you've stunted your opportunity to grow your readership elsewhere because those readers have moved on to develop relationships with authors make their books available in their favorite non-Amazon stores. Even authors who cycle in and out of KDPS for short periods, and even if only for a small number of titles, are undermining their long term potential at the other retailers and increasing their dependence upon a single retailer. My advice is get diversified so you're not fully dependent on a single source. I'm a distributor, so of course I believe this, but I've also seen it proven time and again. Long term, non-stop diversification will help you grow your readership.


Maybe, Mark. But for many of us, Select/Kindle Unlimited is pretty attractive, especially considering the recent changes to the system, which reward read-through of longer books.

I've been on all outlets since late 2012, but 70 to 80 percent of my sales are still on Amazon. Here's what July looked like:
Amazons: 426
Google: 61
iTunes: 47
B&N: 33
Kobo: 5
Scribd: 0
PageFoundry/Inktera: 0
Smashwords: 0
DriveThru: 0

Sales on iTunes have been slowly growing, which gives me some hope, but as you can see, Amazon is dominant to a startling degree. B&N seems to be withering. Google is amazing for free downloads, but sell-through is way low. Kobo ... not productive.

The book I'm selling is longish, so I think I probably would've exceeded those 146 off-Amazon sales through KU page reads, last month, perhaps by a lot. I don't like the idea of putting all my eggs in one basket, so I'm staying wide for now, but it's hard to resist. I suspect many of us feel this way.


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## George Donnelly (Mar 5, 2012)

This kind of slump happens to a lot of writers. It may mean you need to take a break for a few days, or do whatever you need to do to decompress.

Do you think crap writers doubt the quality of their writing? I suspect not. It takes a good writer to do that. You might also just be tired.

What else can you do but continue following your inner guide, keep writing, keep learning, keep improving, keep publishing? It will take as long as it takes.

Keep the faith.


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## Nick Marsden (Jan 28, 2015)

MarkCoker said:


> I see you're in KDPS. This means you've put all your eggs in one basket. KDPS is a risky strategy. It works for some authors, but for others it causes them long term career damage. You're almost certain to sell more at Amazon with KDPS than you would otherwise, BUT you're assured that you won't sell well anywhere else because your books aren't there, and you've stunted your opportunity to grow your readership elsewhere because those readers have moved on to develop relationships with authors make their books available in their favorite non-Amazon stores. Even authors who cycle in and out of KDPS for short periods, and even if only for a small number of titles, are undermining their long term potential at the other retailers and increasing their dependence upon a single retailer. My advice is get diversified so you're not fully dependent on a single source. I'm a distributor, so of course I believe this, but I've also seen it proven time and again. Long term, non-stop diversification will help you grow your readership.
> 
> Beyond diversification, it's all about implementing and iterating on as many best practices as possible. The presentation deck above identifies 16 of the top best practices. Well-implemented best practices help you capture lightning in a bottle when luck strikes (turn one reader into more than one reader through word of mouth), and it will strike. It strikes all the time, but so many writers aren't prepared to capture it.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the words of encouragement and the helpful advice/links. My presence on KDP Select is only the latest attempt to spur sales of my books. I wanted to have access to KU2 and Kindle Countdown Deals (at the advice of a friend). I've been wide since 2012 and my first book, The Legacy of Shatara, so I decided to change things up a little and at least get some Amazon ranking before returning to wide distribution. My membership in KDP Select was never meant to be permanent. Just another test and strategy to see what works.

That said, looking at my numbers for July, when I did a Kindle Countdown promo for The Book of Nepharid, I added up my KU pages and used the tentative per page of .0057 to guesstimate my sales. It looks like my KU borrows will amount to double what I got in sales for the month of July (tentative based on the final KU2 numbers). This is very encouraging. Also, the KU borrows ran the gamut of all my KU books, not just The Book of Nepharid. The Light of Theolan, which isn't part of my Never-Born trilogy, got in on the action (probably due to a concurrent Facebook ads campaign).

If this kind of thing continues, if my KU numbers continue to do well over the next two months, I might just stay in Select.


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## Amy Corwin (Jan 3, 2011)

Nick Marsden said:


> Thanks for the words of encouragement and the helpful advice/links. My presence on KDP Select is only the latest attempt to spur sales of my books. I wanted to have access to KU2 and Kindle Countdown Deals (at the advice of a friend). I've been wide since 2012 and my first book, The Legacy of Shatara, so I decided to change things up a little and at least get some Amazon ranking before returning to wide distribution. My membership in KDP Select was never meant to be permanent. Just another test and strategy to see what works.
> 
> That said, looking at my numbers for July, when I did a Kindle Countdown promo for The Book of Nepharid, I added up my KU pages and used the tentative per page of .0057 to guesstimate my sales. It looks like my KU borrows will amount to double what I got in sales for the month of July (tentative based on the final KU2 numbers). This is very encouraging. Also, the KU borrows ran the gamut of all my KU books, not just The Book of Nepharid. The Light of Theolan, which isn't part of my Never-Born trilogy, got in on the action (probably due to a concurrent Facebook ads campaign).
> 
> If this kind of thing continues, if my KU numbers continue to do well over the next two months, I might just stay in Select.


Thanks for that information. I am also moving a few books back to see if I can improve sales and so far, the borrows are making up for the loss of sales from other sources. If I move more back and see similar results then there is really no reason to have them in other markets.
We will see.
Please keep us updated.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk


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## hunterone (Feb 6, 2013)

I'm going through the same right now

I have no clue what i like to write and that is part of the problem

Sure I can see what is working for others, but there is no use thinking a market would work the same for another.

It seems as though the ones that do well, pick ONE market, hunker down and write book after book in that market 

Only thing with that is you have to like doing that.

I love so many markets i can't decide and hunker down in one, it gets boring for me. Especially if you have to write 250 odd pages over and over and over again with only a slight variation in the story but same characters. Nah thanks.

I prefer to have a new town, new characters, new world, new problems, new special powers etc.

I get bored very very fast with stories. In fact i rarely can sit through reading ONE story, let alone reading a series.

I prefer TV and Films.


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## Lady Q (Jun 27, 2015)

Nick Marsden said:


> Thanks for all the advice everyone. I have pushed through the block on my Thriller/Horror book, and I'm moving ahead with that. It's moving more toward horror, when I was trying to write a thriller, but I'm happy with that. I get to write about a lot of blood and scary situations.
> 
> As for the books that are currently available, I will look at the blurbs. I still think the core blurbs are good, but I'll re-evaluate since everyone says they are not good. I might cut out the interview sections.
> 
> ...


Most of the names on your list aren't recent, though. I think there are trends for titles, same as there are for covers. We just happen to be in one where madeup names aren't as popular.

The recent big epic fantasies all have regular words in their titles: Robert Jordan's _Wheel of Time_ and Martin's ASofIaF come to mind. Even Sanderson is going for names like _Way of Kings_ and _Words of Radiance_ for his Stormlight Archives.

However, if you're writing to appeal to those readers who liked the older style, your titles might be a good signal for, "Hey, if you loved Shannara, you might want to check these out."


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## Maggie Dana (Oct 26, 2011)

Becca Mills said:


> Maybe, Mark. But for many of us, Select/Kindle Unlimited is pretty attractive, especially considering the recent changes to the system, which reward read-through of longer books.
> 
> I've been on all outlets since late 2012, but 70 to 80 percent of my sales are still on Amazon. Here's what July looked like:
> Amazons: 426
> ...


My sales numbers are different but the percentages are pretty much the same. I've been steadfastly wide with my series (up to 13 now) since 2012, but am now seriously considering Select for books 1 to 4. The prequel is permafree so it will stay wide.


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## ElHawk (Aug 13, 2012)

Evenstar said:


> Can I be honest with you? I love your covers so much that I keep clicking on them to check out the books, but then you lose me again because your blurbs are so long and detailed that I get lost and click away without buying.
> 
> This could be a very easy fix!


Aha! I randomly clicked on one of your books, Nick (it happened to be The Unicorn Rider) and did a look-inside, just to see what your writing was like. Not necessarily my cup of tea (I'm not a huge fantasy fan) but the writing seems plenty solid and well edited. No major issues jumped out at me, and it was easy to read (no awkward sentences, etc.)

So maybe a big part of your troubles is indeed the product descriptions. Although I did a look-inside, I didn't read the description of the book at all.

Your covers look okay to me, given your genre, but product descriptions are a major part of packaging that often gets overlooked. That might be a big help, and it's something you can tweak without investing any money.

Although I generally think it's better to be wide than exclusive, maybe you might benefit from six months or so exclusive, to build up word of mouth. Get your descriptions slimmed down and streamlined, and make it clear which books fall where in your series, then start using free promo days and countdowns to get eyes on your books. It's worth trying!


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## Tony_A20 (Dec 8, 2011)

Hello Nick,

You've received lots of encouragement, support, and advice on this thread, and I'm sure you appreciate the kind words. How would you like some unbiased opinion concerning your books?

In your original post you say:



> I have a sneaking suspicion that my books are bad.


I'm not a fantasy devotee, and I've never read anything you've written except the Look Inside excerpts available on Amazon. So here is my first impression as a reader.

The front matter is excessive and uninteresting. I suggest replacing all of it with a simple title page, brief copyright statement, and only make a dedication/acknowledgement if someone has actually helped you create the story. Readers want a story to start without delay. Don't keep them waiting.

As has been mentioned in other replies, strange, unusual (and often unpronounceable) names of anything hinders reading flow and reader understanding. Make it easy for readers to follow the story.

From the Look Inside peek, I wouldn't jump to the conclusion your writing is worse than many, many other writers, but I found it rather amateurish. Perhaps it is the genre or the expected readership, but what I read would be better if it was clearer and more direct in the development of the premise and storyline. Readers want to know what is at stake and why.

My basic thought is that you have overreached your current writing and story telling skill by writing in such an imaginative and complex genre as fantasy. You might find it helpful to rewrite one of your stories, if only as practise, in order to highlight character development while solving the premise dilemma.

I will leave you with some hope. If you write because you want and expect fame and fortune, you have a very slim chance of success. Don't worry about book sales, write because you enjoy it-but learn to write well.

Just my opinion,
Tony


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## Nick Marsden (Jan 28, 2015)

Thanks for these latest comments, Libbie (Love your outlining book BTW) and Tony.

A little update: I stopped writing for a few weeks, partly because looking for a new job has been so stressful, and partly because I felt my creative well was dry (as a bone). I even stopped hanging out in here or reading posts. In the last week, I've picked up the "pen" (laptop really), and resumed work on my newest fantasy project (sequel to The Light of Theolan) and I feel good about it again. I've still been staying away from the KDP page and my sales numbers, as well as anything to do with marketing. That's more from fear and stress than anything else. I will be reworking the product descriptions for all my books this week (Thanks to inspiration from Bryan Cohen and Joanna Penn in her latest podcast episode). 

I think part of my renewed vigor when it comes to writing has been because I picked up a book on drawing and have been learning how to draw again. I've always sucked at it, but I thought channeling creativity in a new direction might help, and it did. So my writing time actually starts with drawing practice.


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## Lady Q (Jun 27, 2015)

Nick Marsden said:


> Thanks for these latest comments, Libbie (Love your outlining book BTW) and Tony.
> 
> A little update: I stopped writing for a few weeks, partly because looking for a new job has been so stressful, and partly because I felt my creative well was dry (as a bone). I even stopped hanging out in here or reading posts. In the last week, I've picked up the "pen" (laptop really), and resumed work on my newest fantasy project (sequel to The Light of Theolan) and I feel good about it again. I've still been staying away from the KDP page and my sales numbers, as well as anything to do with marketing. That's more from fear and stress than anything else. I will be reworking the product descriptions for all my books this week (Thanks to inspiration from Bryan Cohen and Joanna Penn in her latest podcast episode).
> 
> I think part of my renewed vigor when it comes to writing has been because I picked up a book on drawing and have been learning how to draw again. I've always sucked at it, but I thought channeling creativity in a new direction might help, and it did. So my writing time actually starts with drawing practice.


Nick, Glad to hear you're in a better place now. Sometimes, you really do need to step away from what's bringing you down. I had a severe case of burnout that lasted almost two years. I didn't write that whole time (well, except for that one manga-inspired 35K would-be webfic ) and felt no guilt about it. I needed the time off to learn to love writing again.

Finding another creative outlet is a great idea. When you do art for money, it's too easy to let your negativity about the business to affect the art itself. Having something else to do for the sheer pleasure of doing it is awesome. I have drawing fits, too. My latest one is for red pandas.

Wishing you all the best here!


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## suliabryon (May 18, 2009)

Nick Marsden said:


> I think part of my renewed vigor when it comes to writing has been because I picked up a book on drawing and have been learning how to draw again. I've always sucked at it, but I thought channeling creativity in a new direction might help, and it did. So my writing time actually starts with drawing practice.


I have long noticed that both myself, and every writer friend I have, including those in my critique group, usually have an additional creative outlet of some kind. I think it really helps keep the creativity flowing, and keeps us from burning out by focusing all of our efforts in one direction. I think of it like this: writing is not "just a hobby" for us. Regardless of our "day job" writing is a career we are putting every bit as much effort into, and everyone needs some form of escape or break from their job from time to time, even a beloved one.


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## Nick Marsden (Jan 28, 2015)

suliabryon said:


> I have long noticed that both myself, and every writer friend I have, including those in my critique group, usually have an additional creative outlet of some kind. I think it really helps keep the creativity flowing, and keeps us from burning out by focusing all of our efforts in one direction. I think of it like this: writing is not "just a hobby" for us. Regardless of our "day job" writing is a career we are putting every bit as much effort into, and everyone needs some form of escape or break from their job from time to time, even a beloved one.


This.


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## abgwriter (Sep 12, 2015)

I understand exactly what you are feeling. There's a lot of insecurity that comes with art, and writing is an art after all. I read an article where best-sellers were asked what they would tell people who wanted to become writers and their advice was: 


> Don't do it! There is no joy to writing whatsoever, and if you have another choice you should take it. Only when you know you cannot be anything else, you should choose to write.


That is very true. We are writers, you are a writer, not because we like it or because is profitable (God knows it isn't in most cases), but because we can't help it. Because the characters and stories are there and they will not be ignored. 
Yo are going to write anyways, so who cares if you don't sell. If you are in a point in which you are thinking about pulling out your books from the public then just leave them and publish even more. You are going to keep writing anyways. At the end, you are always going to keep writing. This way at least one person a day gets to hear what you have to say


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## AltMe (May 18, 2015)

> Don't do it! There is no joy to writing whatsoever, and if you have another choice you should take it.


I don't understand that. My writing has given me a great deal of joy, and especially at a time when I didn't know I could be a writer or not.


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## Nathalie Aynie (Nov 24, 2013)

TimothyEllis said:


> I don't understand that. My writing has given me a great deal of joy, and especially at a time when I didn't know I could be a writer or not.


I do understand. It shows how everyone is different.

I hate it! I hate writing! It's hard, gut-wrenching, stressful. I'd do anything to get a device that could go from my brain to Scrivener. I procrastinate.

I also cannot want to do anything else. This is all I can think about, from waking up to going to bed.

I'll probably never be a rich/successful/prolific/acclaimed/read writer---I don't publish enough to get traction.
That's okay. I still have to do this.


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## Nick Marsden (Jan 28, 2015)

Nathalie Aynie said:


> I do understand. It shows how everyone is different.
> 
> I hate it! I hate writing! It's hard, gut-wrenching, stressful. I'd do anything to get a device that could go from my brain to Scrivener. I procrastinate.
> 
> ...


I understand too, at least the sentiment. I do find joy in writing, usually after cracking a hard scene, finishing a draft, or clicking "publish". But the process can be hard and it's very easy to procrastinate and not finish projects when you hit that mid-book slog. What that quote means is that you can't become a writer. It has to be what you are. It is a calling. The work involved in learning, doing, and creating is some of the hardest work there is (mentally, at least). So you have to be like Nathalie: You cannot want to do anything else.


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