# I used to make 6 figures from my books; now I barely make 5 figures. Help!



## Unicorn (Jun 12, 2016)

Hi Kboards,

A few years ago I quit my job to write full-time. My best month, I earned over $25,000. My best day, I earned over $1,000. This was back in 2014. I made most of my money writing steamy billionaire romance. I guess I lucked out, because I wasn't doing any advertising at all. Writing serials and setting the first one to permafree was all the advertising I needed.

But then things changed!

Unfortunately, my mindset didn't.

*I am pigheaded and stubborn*

I kept doing what I'd always done, because it had worked in the past. I thought all I needed to do was be more prolific, so I wrote more. Eventually I began to concentrate on full-length novels. I went into KU hoping for increased visibility. But as it stands now, I'm only making about $1,000 per month. I'm just...lost. So I'm here to ask for help.

*My ebooks*

*- 9 new adult romance novels (Pen Name #1) *(Think dark romance, alpha male, billionaire, high drama type stuff)
*- 4 contemporary romance novels (Pen Name #2) *(Less dark than Pen Name #1, think Women's Fiction type stuff)
*- 3 paranormal cozy mystery novels (Pen Name #3)* (This is a new endeavor but so far, so good...it's just slow to gain traction)
*- 75+ erotica shorts, 5,000 words each (Pen Name #4)* (Is it worth my while to go wide with them, or is it a waste of time in 2016?)
*- A few other romance novels on now-defunct pen names* (Most were early attempts at novels, so I've kept them separate in case they suck)

Pen Name #1 is the one that was the most successful. It still brings in about half of my income. I have 1,200 mailing list subscribers but I don't see the big boost on new releases from them that I used to. I still publish to this pen name every couple of months, and I try to write what's popular. Billionaires, badboys, that sort of thing. Reviews are mostly positive.

Pen Name #3 is my newest endeavor and the one I'm most passionate about. I got sick of romance, so I decided to turn my attention to cozy mysteries. I tried to pick a subgenre that seemed popular (paranormal). I write standalone novels in a series. My reviews on this name are all 4 and 5 stars, and I get a decent amount of page reads. I think my biggest hurdle now is just getting more eyes on my work.

*Going Wide*

I'd really like my old books to perform better while I focus on writing new ones. Everything was in KU, but when borrows turned to page reads it really took a toll on my earnings. I have now pulled everything aside from my top earners out of KU with the intention of going wide. I have an old unused Google Play account, so my plan is to throw most of my stuff on there as well as D2D.

I am toying with the idea of making one book on each pen name permafree. Back in the day, permafree was what shot me into 6 figure territory. Since then, I've heard some rumblings that permafree has lost its luster. Thoughts?

*Paid Advertising*

I get it now. This isn't 2014 and I need to spend money to make money. I was able to get a Bookbub spot once, which gave me a nice boost. But after a month or two, my sales dropped off again. I'm starting to understand that promotion needs to be constant. So far I haven't been able to snag a second Bookbub ad, so I've been researching other options.

My plan is to use these as based on what I've read here on Kboards, they seem like the best bang for your buck:
- Freebooksy
- Awesome Gang
- Digital Books Today
- Robin Reads

I have two pen names I want to keep alive (one romance and one cozy mystery). What would you do in my position? Should I set a budget and schedule promotions each and every month? Should I just focus on one book per pen name, or promote a different book each month? How much do you spend on advertising and which sites do you use?

*Reviews*

This is another problem of mine. My reviews are mostly positive on all pen names...but it takes time for them to happen organically. I know some people have massive ARC teams these days. How do you go about setting one up? I've tried reaching out to my mailing lists. In one case, I had an enthusiastic response but 90% of the people just took the free book and didn't bother leaving a review. In the other case, very few subscribers even responded. Should I be turning to Goodreads to find reviewers or what?

I will stop here, as I've already written plenty. If you're able to offer any insight or advice, I would very much appreciate it. A couple years ago I was elated that I could make a living off my books. Now I'm completely demoralized and beginning to panic about my future. But I know if anyone can help me, Kboards can! Thanks for reading.


----------



## LadyG (Sep 3, 2015)

Well, you are currently making more per month than I made with my books all last year, so any suggestions from me are probably pretty worthless. But it seems to me that you're spreading yourself awfully thin. With all those pen names in different genres, isn't it hard to focus? I would think it might be more productive to pour all of your time, energy, and advertising budget into perhaps two or three areas instead of quite so many.

Then again, as I said, I'm barely stumbling along with a few dollars per day, so take anything I say with a grain of salt. 

I hope you're able to find a solution and get your sales back up to what they used to be.  Best of luck to you!


----------



## BeMyBookBaby (Apr 18, 2016)

I think you're being too hard on yourself. It's understandable, as you have a quantifiable yardstick upon which to beat yourself with, but if you look at from the point of view of not how much money has changed but how much you have?

You know where you're going wrong.


Unicorn said:


> I am pigheaded and stubborn[/b]
> 
> I kept doing what I'd always done, because it had worked in the past.


You've at least realised that the market has changed and you are willing to adapt, instead of flogging the same poor horse. So maybe you aren't as pigheaded as you think.

You found a new genre niche that you like, and you admit yourself that people seem to enjoy it, too. Good for you, stick with it.

You need more eyeballs, yet you've never done any advertising, but you're ready to start. Awesome, once again you are being proactive and adapting and LISTENING TO ADVICE and learning. I think that's great, not something to berate. There are too many people in the world who think they are special enough to be discovered without hard work. I am one of them. So go you, for being strong enough to realise that you're a special snowflake but so is every other damn snowflake, so you better make sure you're the big one that sticks, and not the flurry that disappears on the wet sidewalk.

Permafree may have lost its certainty but it's still a good means of drawing eyes to a series, especially if you use an ad as well, and if you have a few books in the series. Would you look at that? You're nailing that too!

I won't give you proper advice, regarding advertising etc, because I'm not here yet, and all of the above is what I have learned from stalking this forum night and day, and reading posts from The Big Dogs back in 2012, but I hope you see all the things you are knocking out of the park. I'd love to be in your position, knowing that I can create a full, intriguing story that people buy and enjoy and ORGANICALLY REVIEW without me lurking outside their bedroom window, whispering "you're a strong, independent women who enjoys reviewing romantic suspense novels about strangled women..."

I mean, I'm sure it works but I gotta be honest, ive got a bad back and climbing all of those drainpipes is doing nothing for my reputation.

Apologies for spelling and autocorrect mistakes. Phones are fantastic but not The One for forum inspirational speeches.


----------



## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

My sales have recently trended in the other direction, so I can share a bit about what a writer without a large fan base (since it looks like you've lost your fan base) can do.

1. Mailing list. Aggressively recruit people by giving freebies and advertising and taking part in cross-promos that concentrate on mailing list building. Once they're on this list, mail them regularly. Don't assume that they already have everything you've written. Let them know about all your books. Then email them if any of them are on special.
2. Ads. Basically Bookbub. The ones you mentioned are good, too, but just submit something to Bookbub whenever you can. Rejected? Submit something else. And again, and again, and again, as often as they allow you. They ask for 4 weeks between submissions of the same book. If you have 28 books, you can submit something to them every day.
3. Cross promos. SPRT are running a romance one. I'm sure there are others in the Romance genre.

Once you start feeling comfortable again, you may need to look at making your books look fresh with new covers.


----------



## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

ETA I'm also a great fan of being wide and permafree.

You can go to my Amazon page and will see that the top rankings on my books aren't really crash hot, but that is because my sales are spread very wide. I make as much in Amazon UK as US (except UK sales don't contribute to US ranking). I sell decently in Germany, too. 

Amazon US is only about 25% of my sales.

Many of my series have a permafree. Permafree + long series + Bookbub = magic.

I had one last month, and had a thread here, but I stopped updating it because I was afraid that if Bookbub read it, they'd yank up their prices


----------



## Unicorn (Jun 12, 2016)

LadyG said:


> But it seems to me that you're spreading yourself awfully thin.


You're right. Going forward, my plan is to only focus on two pen names: 1 romance and 1 cozy mystery.



LadyG said:


> I hope you're able to find a solution and get your sales back up to what they used to be. Best of luck to you!


Thank you! Best of luck to you, as well.



BeMyBookBaby said:


> I think you're being too hard on yourself.


Maybe. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, because I know I was super fortunate to do as well as I did in the past. But this is my full-time job, and I'm no longer making a full-time income from it. So that's why I'm starting to get anxious!



BeMyBookBaby said:


> You know where you're going wrong.


Yes, I think so. I made a terrible mistake by not paying for advertising sooner. I've always been very slow to react whenever anything in this industry changes. I didn't cash in on KDP back when it was first introduced, either. I feel like I'm okay at writing books and making covers, but I'm pretty clueless about marketing! Hindsight is 20/20, right?



BeMyBookBaby said:


> I'd love to be in your position, knowing that I can create a full, intriguing story that people buy and enjoy and ORGANICALLY REVIEW without me lurking outside their bedroom window, whispering "you're a strong, independent women who enjoys reviewing romantic suspense novels about strangled women..."


LOL! Maybe _that's_ what I ought to be doing!!

From one special snowflake to another, I just want to say thank you for the laughs and the nice pep talk. It's much appreciated!


----------



## Unicorn (Jun 12, 2016)

Patty Jansen said:


> 1. Mailing list. Aggressively recruit people by giving freebies and advertising and taking part in cross-promos that concentrate on mailing list building. Once they're on this list, mail them regularly. Don't assume that they already have everything you've written. Let them know about all your books. Then email them if any of them are on special.


What do you mean by cross-promos, exactly?

Contacting subscribers regularly is an interesting approach. In the past, I've only ever emailed them about new releases. I was afraid they would get annoyed otherwise. But I do know some authors mail out excerpts and teasers on a regular basis. I'm a bit intrigued by that method!



Patty Jansen said:


> 2. Ads. Basically Bookbub. The ones you mentioned are good, too, but just submit something to Bookbub whenever you can. Rejected? Submit something else. And again, and again, and again, as often as they allow you. They ask for 4 weeks between submissions of the same book. If you have 28 books, you can submit something to them every day.


Yes! I keep submitting to Bookbub as often as their FAQ says I can. My newer releases don't have many reviews - I suspect that's why I keep getting turned down. That's where I'm hoping some smaller promos will help me.



Patty Jansen said:


> 3. Cross promos. SPRT are running a romance one. I'm sure there are others in the Romance genre.


I had to google to find out what the acronym stands for, but now that I know I will definitely check them out!



Patty Jansen said:


> Once you start feeling comfortable again, you may need to look at making your books look fresh with new covers.


I didn't mention this in my OP, but I actually did try revamping my romance covers a while back. In my completely biased opinion I think they look good, and they fit their genre. (Think: muscular, tattooed torsos and that one font that's on 90% of book covers). If it had any effect on sales, I didn't notice. But thank you for the suggestion!


----------



## Unicorn (Jun 12, 2016)

Patty Jansen said:


> Many of my series have a permafree. Permafree + long series + Bookbub = magic.


Perfect, this is exactly the sort of advice I was looking for! Thanks for taking the time to reply, and congrats on your success!


----------



## Rachel E. Rice (Jan 4, 2014)

Hi, 
You said you had about 75 erotic shorts, don't waste them. Place them wide in as many channels as possible. Use your Google account for them. People are begging for a chance to publish on Google. 
I wrote as many erotic shorts as you did, and published them wide when KU1 or is it KU2 came into play. My short erotic romance books are in a small subgenre and they sell nicely. I boxed the shorts and placed the first one in the series for free. However, I discovered that you can't make all the first ones in the series free for long periods because some individuals will take the free ones and never purchase any if you give away too many. That happened on Google.
Nevertheless, it may take time to build up a readership on D2D but you will make money there.


----------



## Sara C (Apr 30, 2014)

I agree with permafree and focus on series. I'd maybe go with whatever pen name is doing the best, and keep producing under that one. IMO, it's probably easier to build a solid readership with one pen name, rather than focusing on so many (though I've never written under a pen name, so I can't really say for sure). Even if the genres are a bit different, readers will cross over. I write YA UF, adult UF, and Epic Fantasy, and have had many readers cross over between each of the series.


----------



## batmansero (Oct 10, 2014)

Unicorn said:


> What do you mean by cross-promos, exactly?


It's when you send a newsletter to your mailing list that points them to a group promotion and the other authors in the promo do it as well. You cross promote to each others readers. It's become a very popular way to get new genre-specific eyesballs on your books. This is how the SPRT promo works. You can find the details for our upcoming romance promo here: http://selfpublishingroundtable.com/the-self-publishing-roundtable-sprt-multi-author-cross-promo-giveaway-romance/


----------



## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

> What do you mean by cross-promos, exactly?
> 
> Contacting subscribers regularly is an interesting approach. In the past, I've only ever emailed them about new releases. I was afraid they would get annoyed otherwise. But I do know some authors mail out excerpts and teasers on a regular basis. I'm a bit intrigued by that method!


There are a number of cross-promos, E.B. Brown runs one, that concentrate on getting mailing list signups for participants. This thread: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,227874.0.html I *think* they include romance.

Emailing subscribers regularly: I work under the following assumption: these people sign up for you to send them stuff. So send them stuff. Most authors are waaaayyyy too timid with their lists. Man, these people WANT to hear from you, and the author is going Um, excuse me, I'm trying really hard not to annoy you, but I'll only email you when I have a book out, cross my heart. Seriously.

I've outlined what I've done in this thread. It's a bit long in the tooth because I'm selling a lot more than I was back then, but this is how it all started: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,231169.0.html


----------



## Unicorn (Jun 12, 2016)

Rachel E. Rice said:


> Hi,
> You said you had about 75 erotic shorts, don't waste them. Place them wide in as many channels as possible. Use your Google account for them. People are begging for a chance to publish on Google.
> I wrote as many erotic shorts as you did, and published them wide when KU1 or is KU2 came into play. My short erotic romance books are in a small subgenre and they sell nicely. I boxed the shorts and placed the first one in the series for free. However, I discovered that you can't make all the first ones in the series free for long periods because some individuals will take the free ones and never purchase any if you give away too many. That happened on Google.
> Nevertheless, it may take time to build up a readership on D2D but you will make money there.


You're right. The thought of uploading 75+ shorts is exhausting, and I guess I just wasn't sure if it was worth my time when I could be writing romance/mysteries instead. But it feels silly to let them just sit there not earning anything at all. Boxing the shorts is a great idea - I remember when bundles sold for $6.99 on Amazon (ahh, those were the days). I will have to do some forum lurking and Google Play stalking to get my bearings, since I've been out of the erotica game for so long. And thanks for the tip about permafrees!


----------



## CCrom (Jan 13, 2016)

You need to promote your work more and work on building your lists.


----------



## Unicorn (Jun 12, 2016)

Sara C said:


> I agree with permafree and focus on series. I'd maybe go with whatever pen name is doing the best, and keep producing under that one. IMO, it's probably easier to build a solid readership with one pen name, rather than focusing on so many (though I've never written under a pen name, so I can't really say for sure). Even if the genres are a bit different, readers will cross over. I write YA UF, adult UF, and Epic Fantasy, and have had many readers cross over between each of the series.


Yes, I agree I was definitely spreading myself too thin. I'm going to stick with 1 romance name and 1 cozy name. (I can't really combine them, as the content is very different. The romances are quite explicit and the cozies are very wholesome!) I appreciate you sharing your experience!



batmansero said:


> It's when you send a newsletter to your mailing list that points them to a group promotion and the other authors in the promo do it as well. You cross promote to each others readers. It's become a very popular way to get new genre-specific eyesballs on your books. This is how the SPRT promo works. You can find the details for our upcoming romance promo here: http://selfpublishingroundtable.com/the-self-publishing-roundtable-sprt-multi-author-cross-promo-giveaway-romance/


Thank you for explaining, and for the link. I have a lot to learn!

One question: I see the site uses Amazon gift cards as an incentive for people to sign up. Are authors getting the _right_ eyes on their books? By that, I mean are they getting attention from people who actually purchase ebooks and enjoy the genre?



Patty Jansen said:


> There are a number of cross-promos, E.B. Brown runs one, that concentrate on getting mailing list signups for participants. This thread: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,227874.0.html I *think* they include romance.
> 
> Emailing subscribers regularly: I work under the following assumption: these people sign up for you to send them stuff. So send them stuff. Most authors are waaaayyyy too timid with their lists. Man, these people WANT to hear from you, and the author is going Um, excuse me, I'm trying really hard not to annoy you, but I'll only email you when I have a book out, cross my heart. Seriously.
> 
> I've outlined what I've done in this thread. It's a bit long in the tooth because I'm selling a lot more than I was back then, but this is how it all started: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,231169.0.html


Wonderful, thank you so much! I love reading about what works for others. And I'm glad to hear you're selling a lot more these days - good for you!


----------



## Vinny OHare (May 3, 2013)

What do you think about taking 2 or 3 shorts and making it a box set? Let that be your loss leader at free and get new people on your mailing list. Like it was said above by Patty when people sign up they expect to hear from you.


----------



## Unicorn (Jun 12, 2016)

Vinny OHare said:


> What do you think about taking 2 or 3 shorts and making it a box set? Let that be your loss leader at free and get new people on your mailing list. Like it was said above by Patty when people sign up they expect to hear from you.


That's an interesting idea! I don't have shorts anymore (other than erotica). I reworked my romance serials into novels. But I could take a day or two to write something new (maybe a novella) and offer it to subscribers as exclusive content. You've planted a seed!


----------



## Rachel E. Rice (Jan 4, 2014)

Unicorn said:


> You're right. The thought of uploading 75+ shorts is exhausting, and I guess I just wasn't sure if it was worth my time when I could be writing romance/mysteries instead. But it feels silly to let them just sit there not earning anything at all. Boxing the shorts is a great idea - I remember when bundles sold for $6.99 on Amazon (ahh, those were the days). I will have to do some forum lurking and Google Play stalking to get my bearings, since I've been out of the erotica game for so long. And thanks for the tip about permafrees!


I put 20 of my shorts for $9.99 and readers bought them. I'm going to do 20 more and sell them until I have all 100 shorts in bundles. Everything you do in this business is exhausting until the books sell themselves.


----------



## Donna White Glaser (Jan 12, 2011)

Do you mind telling us if the change was sudden or gradual? Can you pinpoint a cause or was it just atrophy over time?


----------



## Unicorn (Jun 12, 2016)

Rachel E. Rice said:


> I put 20 of my shorts for $9.99 and readers bought them. I'm going to do 20 more and sell them until I have all 100 shorts in bundles. Everything you do in this business is exhausting until the books sell themselves.


Good point! And good strategy!


----------



## Unicorn (Jun 12, 2016)

Donna White Glaser said:


> Do you mind telling us if the change was sudden or gradual? Can you pinpoint a cause or was it just atrophy over time?


It was gradual. I went from making $25,000 one month...then a few months later it was $15,000...then $10,000...then $7,000. I didn't mind because it was still crazy good money! I kept working, though not at the same pace as before. I had been a complete workaholic, so I took some time off. Then in August Amazon introduced KU2 and I took a real hit. But rest assured, my sales didn't dry up overnight.


----------



## Unicorn (Jun 12, 2016)

emilycantore said:


> Wow, you could be me!
> 
> Regarding erotica and the dark romance/billionaire names - we all know there is a degree of censorship going on in these genres. Some of it is overt (blocking, adult dungeon) and some of it is more subtle (rank manipulation). I was happily writing erotica and dark romance stuff too and getting frustrated at the high wall I was being forced to jump over due to censorship. So I wrote a cozy mystery and was blown away by the rank it hit and the money it was making.
> 
> ...


I remember seeing your "Emily Cantore" pen name everywhere a few years ago! I'm so glad you posted - it's so encouraging to hear that someone else has been in a similar situation as me and successfully reinvented herself as a cozy author. I agree with you 100% about the censorship. You've given me some great food for thought here. As you say, maybe I should do cozies 100% of the time from here on out. It definitely seems safer. And bonus: I could even tell my SO's ultra-religious and ultra-conservative grandma what I write, LOL! I'm glad to hear you're doing well with your cozies!


----------



## batmansero (Oct 10, 2014)

Unicorn said:


> One question: I see the site uses Amazon gift cards as an incentive for people to sign up. Are authors getting the _right_ eyes on their books? By that, I mean are they getting attention from people who actually purchase ebooks and enjoy the genre?


There will always be people who just want the prize or the free ebooks, but since we're leading those who are already engaged and in that genre to the promo, so you have a good chance with them. We recommend adding the subscribers to a separate list and contacting them to see if they're interested. I invite them to unsubscribe if they have no interest but a large number stick around.


----------



## Unicorn (Jun 12, 2016)

batmansero said:


> There will always be people who just want the prize or the free ebooks, but since we're leading those who are already engaged and in that genre to the promo, so you have a good chance with them. We recommend adding the subscribers to a separate list and contacting them to see if they're interested. I invite them to unsubscribe if they have no interest but a large number stick around.


Thanks for your reply!


----------



## NoCat (Aug 5, 2010)

I'd advise not spreading yourself thin either. Pick something that is doing well (the NA or the cozies from what I can tell from your post?) and go with that. Devote your energy to building that list and that name until you are on financially better ground.


----------



## anniejocoby (Aug 11, 2013)

I feel your pain, believe me. I made over six figures the past two years, and this year...well, I had a good BookBub and a really bad BookBub (which is still something), so I'm not doing too poorly. But, yeah, this month isn't going so well. I can't remember the last time I made less than $6000 in a month, but this month is shaping up to be that. So, I know the frustration of producing and producing and producing and slipping and slipping and slipping.

Emily Cantore has encouraged me, though. She said that she switched to cozies and is doing gangbusters again. I'm hoping I can do the same - stop my slide with a whole new genre and new pen name and new outlook on life. That's the good thing - if you made six figures, you know that the talent is there. You just have to figure out a new direction. We're all in this together, trying to figure it out. You aren't alone, trust me. 

I wish that I had some decent advice for you, though. I don't, because I'm trying to figure things out too. It seems like KU (both KUs) destroyed a lot of us. But it is what it is, we just have to figure out how to squeeze the golden goose in a different way. We'll figure it out!!!! 

Anyhow, just wanted to tell you to hang in there! Hopefully I can come up with some solid advice once I figure things out again!!!!


----------



## Unicorn (Jun 12, 2016)

emilycantore said:


> From a commercial point of view, I'd rather be selling cakes than trying to run a shop selling vibrators.


Ha, great analogy! I'm so happy to hear you didn't let the censorship discourage you. In fact, it sounds like you're doing better than ever! The more I think about it (and the more times I reread your post), the more I feel like I should focus on cozies. Thanks again for chiming in, hearing your perspective has been really helpful!



Annie B said:


> I'd advise not spreading yourself thin either. Pick something that is doing well (the NA or the cozies from what I can tell from your post?) and go with that. Devote your energy to building that list and that name until you are on financially better ground.


I think you're right.


----------



## Unicorn (Jun 12, 2016)

anniejocoby said:


> I feel your pain, believe me. I made over six figures the past two years, and this year...well, I had a good BookBub and a really bad BookBub (which is still something), so I'm not doing too poorly. But, yeah, this month isn't going so well. I can't remember the last time I made less than $6000 in a month, but this month is shaping up to be that. So, I know the frustration of producing and producing and producing and slipping and slipping and slipping.
> 
> Emily Cantore has encouraged me, though. She said that she switched to cozies and is doing gangbusters again. I'm hoping I can do the same - stop my slide with a whole new genre and new pen name and new outlook on life. That's the good thing - if you made six figures, you know that the talent is there. You just have to figure out a new direction. We're all in this together, trying to figure it out. You aren't alone, trust me.
> 
> ...


Thanks so much! It's nice to know I'm not alone, though I'm sorry to hear you're experiencing some of the same frustrations as me. I will be sure to update to let people know what I end up doing and how it pans out. Everyone here has been so helpful that I'd really like to try to be of some use to others...and it sounds like at least a few of us are in the same boat. Good luck to you!


----------



## Nathan Elliott (May 29, 2012)

If you've got 20-ish novels, it sounds like you are a pretty productive writer.  I would focus on one series, whatever you think is potentially the most lucrative for now.  Then I'd make the first one permafree with a link in the back to your webpage where you give away book 2 for free as well in exchange for subscribing to your mailing list.  Thus you build your mailing list very quickly and when you launch book 3, 4, 5, ... you have a massive launch b/c of the mailing list.  Amazon takes notice and helps you some more.  This can be supplemented by FB ads (see Mark Dawson) and/or Google AdWords, etc.  Then make that series fairly long--for each person you get started on the series (either with your permafree, or by an ad on FB or somewhere else), you'll have a decent chance of selling them the rest of the series.  That way you can afford to pay a fair bit for each new lead you get through ads.  

I think that would be my plan if I were in your shoes.

Also, maybe don't forget audio.  Some people make out well there.  Look into how people in your genre make out with audio.  It might be worth it.  (But it takes a lot of time, so if you are short on time, I would focus on writing the series and getting the ebook sales before I'd worry about audio.)  

Good luck!


----------



## Guest (Jun 13, 2016)

What is glaring to me is the 75 erotic shorts. Quite a few people took advantage of KU 1's "glitch. 10% page reads and you received royalties. This made writing erotic shorts highly profitable. But as I suspected, it was not to last. Amazon got wise and changed it to page reads. This had a dramatic impact on the earnings of those producing the shorts. I can still remember the frantic posts complaining about the change and that it would kill their income. I also remember thinking that when you are cashing in on a glitch in a system, you had better bank your money while it lasts.


----------



## C. Gockel (Jan 28, 2014)

Hi Unicorn ... I'm so sorry about the crash in your income, but you have such a solid foundation, I think with a little love you can hop right back up again. I've never made as much as you, but I make a very steady income--not at 75k yet, but maybe someday. I've done this after not having released a novel length ebook in 8 months. (I know, I know! But Noa's Ark is with the editors, so it should be out end of June or very early July.) I have released two "novellettes" in two separate multi-author anthologies. They've been very good to me.

I agree with what people have said about focusing on two pen names. Make sure the ones you enjoy writing the most too!

Okay here's the advice bit.

*Advertise every month. *Your advertiser list is way too short. Here's mine: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RuBvSzJuy5jFg4-58EkkQ0G1OIuXzjN54CW-_CavdCA/edit#gid=0 And like Patty said, submit to BookBub every month. Also, permafree makes this slightly easier.

*When you start earning some money, invest a little in learning the ropes of Facebook. *I got a book from a library and just came here to ask book specific questions. I neglected to return the library book on time and wound up paying a fine of about $5. It was completely worth it. There are also a lot of free tutorials online. I try to give all advertisers 6 months between runs. On months when I don't have a lot to use, I use Facebook. Facebook is NOT the end all-be-all. About a week before Thanksgiving in the US it becomes impossibly expensive. I think around Mother's Day prices went up too. I'm trying to decide if prices are high right now because of Father's Day or if I've just exhausted my particular audience.

*If you're not good with advertising yourself start a box set with authors with books similar to yours.* Someone in the set will probably be a marketing whiz--let them handle it and in return handle the covers, formatting, whatever you're good at.

I don't think there is one silver bullet anymore. I think you have to try a bunch of different things now to make this thing work.

All the best ~


----------



## VirginiaMcClain (Sep 24, 2014)

You mentioned struggling to get organic reviews and, despite not being a very big seller myself, I feel that's the one thing I can respond to.

Getting books into NetGalley prior to (or even after) release can be hugely helpful for garnering reviews. Paying the full price that NetGalley requests for a six month listing is a. way too expensive and b. much too long a period of time to be listed usefully. However, there are lots of ways to buy slots on NetGalley that are far more affordable and you can cut down to a one or two month listing. I recommend a group called BroadUniverse for this. For only $45 a month you can list your title on NetGalley and get as much exposure as your cover and blurb can provide with a decently high return on reviews. BroadUniverse manages the run for you and approves or declines reviewers based on their genre interests and track record for providing feedback. They will send you stats at the end of your run so you can see who requested the book and who was granted it etc.

If leveraged correctly this can work very well for getting your book honest reviews from bloggers etc. in advance of publication. I would also recommend a blog tour over blogs that review your genre before the next launch. Again, all of this is just to start with more reviews, hopefully making the bookbub ad slots easier to get etc. Not sure how much of it will directly help sales, but it certainly adds to the prelaunch hype. http://broaduniverse.org/learn-more/reach-book-reviewers/

I'm afraid that's all the advice I have, and keep in mind I am making dozens of dollars a month, not even hundreds or thousands, so feel free to safely ignore my suggestion. But I hope it's in some way useful. Best of luck with honing in on one pen name!


----------



## UnicornEmily (Jul 2, 2011)

C. Gockel said:


> I got a book from a library and just came here to ask book specific questions. I neglected to return the library book on time and wound up paying a fine of about $5. It was completely worth it.


Oooh, what book did you get out of the library?



C. Gockel said:


> There are also a lot of free tutorials online.


Any tutorials you found particularly useful?


----------



## Shelley K (Sep 19, 2011)

This_Way_Down said:


> What is glaring to me is the 75 erotic shorts. Quite a few people took advantage of KU 1's "glitch. 10% page reads and you received royalties. This made writing erotic shorts highly profitable. But as I suspected, it was not to last. Amazon got wise and changed it to page reads. This had a dramatic impact on the earnings of those producing the shorts. I can still remember the frantic posts complaining about the change and that it would kill their income. I also remember thinking that when you are cashing in on a glitch in a system, you had better bank your money while it lasts.


It wasn't a glitch. And how about let's not start this old saw again, especially since it does zip to address the OP's concerns. The time for gloating's pretty well past, don't you think?


----------



## C. Gockel (Jan 28, 2014)

> Any tutorials you found particularly useful?


I don't have links ... but there was one on how to set up a MailChimp mailing list signup directly in FB so peeps don't feel like they're going to a dangerous site.

The book was Facebook for Small Business.


----------



## Guest (Jun 13, 2016)

Shelley K said:


> It wasn't a glitch. And how about let's not start this old saw again, especially since it does zip to address the OP's concerns. The time for gloating's pretty well past, don't you think?


Glitch, weakness, loophole, whatever. The market was suddenly flooded with short erotica and the people putting it out made a bundle. And were I gloating, I would have said something mean. As it stands I would think that there is a lesson that is important to learn. If your career is based on a single program subject to almost certain change, then you are counting the minutes until it comes crashing down. When it does, recalling the warnings can help you avoid future mistakes. Because the established writers who earn a living repeatedly gave warnings. And they were repeatedly shouted down or ignored. But that's nothing new.


----------



## Crystal_ (Aug 13, 2014)

I don't have any problems with jumping through hoops with my steamy romance but then it's not labeled as erotica. Romance, especially steamy romance and especially new adult, is super competitive right now. People are pricing at .99, relying on KU, and spending thousands on Facebook ads to launch. You can still make a lot of money but it's getting hard to do so without an aggressive advertising strategy. You may be right to switch to another genre.

However... you do have nine full length novels in dark romance. Are they all dark romance? One series, standalones, etc? I still see a lot of dark romance doing well on Amazon, especially in KU, but you have to be careful with the words you use to describe it. Billionaires are not as big as they were this time last year, but my billionaire books still respond fantastically to advertising. I think the more cheery billionaires are more popular now. They may still have BDSM elements but they aren't dark romance.

My main advice would be to write in a series and to look into KU. Stick with one pen name and one niche (and, ideally, one series for a while), two if you insist.

Income does swing. And it does ebb and flow. It's all normal, but you want to be faster to catch it in the future so you can change your strategy faster. I was hitting five figures consistently for a few months, then my December release flailed. Multiplying that by the declining borrow rate and things were ugly by February (still no new releases). I knew I had to do something so I tired Facebook ads. Between that, releasing book three in my other series, and a BookBub of book one in said series, my sales exploded. They've been going strong since (only in month three of that but I'm optimistic *knock on wood*), but it hasn't been out of nowhere. I've been advertising like mad. I had another BookBub, did another Countdown Deal, and, mostly, spent another five-figures on Facebook ads.


----------



## Unicorn (Jun 12, 2016)

Nathan Elliott said:


> If you've got 20-ish novels, it sounds like you are a pretty productive writer. I would focus on one series, whatever you think is potentially the most lucrative for now. Then I'd make the first one permafree with a link in the back to your webpage where you give away book 2 for free as well in exchange for subscribing to your mailing list. Thus you build your mailing list very quickly and when you launch book 3, 4, 5, ... you have a massive launch b/c of the mailing list. Amazon takes notice and helps you some more. This can be supplemented by FB ads (see Mark Dawson) and/or Google AdWords, etc. Then make that series fairly long--for each person you get started on the series (either with your permafree, or by an ad on FB or somewhere else), you'll have a decent chance of selling them the rest of the series. That way you can afford to pay a fair bit for each new lead you get through ads.
> 
> I think that would be my plan if I were in your shoes.
> 
> ...


Fantastic idea, thanks so much!

And you know, I've actually never looked into audiobooks (or paperbacks). So far I have only done ebooks. Something to think about for sure!


----------



## Ebooksforfreeinc. (Jan 1, 2016)

I am sorry to hear things have gone down...we are a new free/99c ebook promo site - and yes - we also have to do regular paid advertising! Which is why all our services can't be free, but we do accept free book submissions for Kindle promotions, so if you ever want to promote your free/99c deals in more places, please do fill in our form here - you can choose the free option at the bottom of the form:

http://ebooksforfreeinc.com/authors-signup-form/


----------



## Unicorn (Jun 12, 2016)

This_Way_Down said:


> What is glaring to me is the 75 erotic shorts. Quite a few people took advantage of KU 1's "glitch. 10% page reads and you received royalties. This made writing erotic shorts highly profitable. But as I suspected, it was not to last. Amazon got wise and changed it to page reads. This had a dramatic impact on the earnings of those producing the shorts. I can still remember the frantic posts complaining about the change and that it would kill their income. I also remember thinking that when you are cashing in on a glitch in a system, you had better bank your money while it lasts.


Why is that glaring to you?

I was actually focusing on erotic shorts before KU came into existence. It was profitable back then too, as readers were willing to pay $2.99 for a short story. I was able to earn a living from that, but certainly not 6 figures. As I mentioned, the vast majority of my income came from romance serials.


----------



## Unicorn (Jun 12, 2016)

C. Gockel said:


> *Advertise every month. *Your advertiser list is way too short. Here's mine: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RuBvSzJuy5jFg4-58EkkQ0G1OIuXzjN54CW-_CavdCA/edit#gid=0 And like Patty said, submit to BookBub every month. Also, permafree makes this slightly easier.


This is so helpful, and very eye-opening! Thank you!


----------



## Unicorn (Jun 12, 2016)

Crystal_ said:


> My main advice would be to write in a series and to look into KU. Stick with one pen name and one niche (and, ideally, one series for a while), two if you insist.


I think you're spot on about writing a series. I had character crossover in some of my dark romance books and readers seemed to enjoy it. But then I made the mistake of moving on from that. If I could do it over, I'd have a much more consistent, focused catalog with recurring characters. As it stands now my books have varying degrees of "dark" and some bad boys are more intense than others. Hopefully my mistakes can help prevent others from doing the same thing!



Crystal_ said:


> I've been advertising like mad. I had another BookBub, did another Countdown Deal, and, mostly, spent another five-figures on Facebook ads.


Wow, I had no idea people were spending that much on advertising! But it sounds like it's working out very nicely for you. Congrats!


----------



## Guest (Jun 13, 2016)

Unicorn said:


> Why is that glaring to you?
> 
> I was actually focusing on erotic shorts before KU came into existence. It was profitable back then too, as readers were willing to pay $2.99 for a short story. I was able to earn a living from that, but certainly not 6 figures. As I mentioned, the vast majority of my income came from romance serials.


It's glaring because of the timing. You aren't the first writer I've heard saying this. If you were making six figure with romance then it dried up, I would wonder what happened for certain. I know several romance authors who do very well with little advertising. Mainly because they have an establish fan-base. Most have seen a few lean times. But nothing that equates to what you are describing. 
If I'm right, and you were seeing six figure earnings due to the flaw in KU 1, don't think I'm bothered by it. Hey...make money while you can. But it wasn't and never will be a long term solution to the problem of stability.


----------



## Unicorn (Jun 12, 2016)

This_Way_Down said:


> It's glaring because of the timing. You aren't the first writer I've heard saying this. If you were making six figure with romance then it dried up, I would wonder what happened for certain. I know several romance authors who do very well with little advertising. Mainly because they have an establish fan-base. Most have seen a few lean times. But nothing that equates to what you are describing.
> If I'm right, and you were seeing six figure earnings due to the flaw in KU 1, don't think I'm bothered by it. Hey...make money while you can. But it wasn't and never will be a long term solution to the problem of stability.


You couldn't be more wrong, actually.


----------



## DaniO (Oct 22, 2012)

I'm sorry to hear sales have slowed down. It really is a precarious business. I hope you can turn things around and be back in six figures soon. I'm guilty of spreading myself too thin over pen names and not advertising enough. This year, I'm concentrating on two.

Thank you for sharing your advertising link C. Gockel 



C. Gockel said:


> *Advertise every month. *Your advertiser list is way too short. Here's mine: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RuBvSzJuy5jFg4-58EkkQ0G1OIuXzjN54CW-_CavdCA/edit#gid=0 And like Patty said, submit to BookBub every month. Also, permafree makes this slightly easier.


----------



## Lucey Phillips (Aug 31, 2015)

*Advertise every month. *Your advertiser list is way too short. Here's mine: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RuBvSzJuy5jFg4-58EkkQ0G1OIuXzjN54CW-_CavdCA/edit#gid=0 And like Patty said, submit to BookBub every month. Also, permafree makes this slightly easier.

[/quote]

That list  Thanks for sharing!!


----------



## Crystal_ (Aug 13, 2014)

I know writers who spend a lot more on marketing than I do. I think most of the people in romance who are hanging out in the top 100 (especially in the top 50) are spending at least five-figures on that launch. It's a really competitive genre, but there is plenty of money to be made outside of the bestseller lists. You'll still need to advertise and build a loyal fanbase.


----------



## Ebooksforfreeinc. (Jan 1, 2016)

C. Gockel said:


> Okay here's the advice bit.
> 
> *Advertise every month. *Your advertiser list is way too short. Here's mine: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RuBvSzJuy5jFg4-58EkkQ0G1OIuXzjN54CW-_CavdCA/edit#gid=0 And like Patty said, submit to BookBub every month. Also, permafree makes this slightly easier.
> 
> All the best ~


We're a new site but growing rapidly - consider adding us to the list:

http://ebooksforfreeinc.com


----------



## Ashlynn_Monroe (May 24, 2012)

Don't feel too bad. You are doing much better than I am. Heck, I work two jobs besides writing. I think you have a great plan. I suggest trying more social media activities. Decide what works you want to promo the most, a series maybe, and start a Pintrest board devoted to this. You could make a Goodreads group too. If you can go in and get people to interact with games and such people will think of you a book buying time. Like I said, you are much much better than I am in the finance department so you are doing something better than I am. Congrats!


----------



## Athena Grayson (Apr 4, 2011)

emilycantore said:


> I really just got sick of the censorship. I saw my own titles take lurching drops that made no sense. Same sales every day yet suddenly 10K rank drop? Hmm. Books that had been up for a year suddenly get the blockhammer thrown at them. Stuff on the level of Fifty Shades thrown in the dungeon.
> 
> Erotica and billionaire romance used to be a big money-maker but I don't think it's a long-term proposition. From a commercial point of view, I'd rather be selling cakes than trying to run a shop selling vibrators.
> 
> ...


One thing you and the OP might try is to put your erotica into AllRomanceEbooks. Most people forget about them because they don't provide a device or an app on their own, but they sell kindle/epub/pdf/PC versions of their books. They're a true independent bookstore in the sense that they are platform-independent and run by humans (so it might take a little time to get set up with them). But their email blasts always include super-hot reads, they have no problem with most of the hawthawthawt stuff (they sell from almost all the erotica epubs still around), and their readers love the hotter stuff. I'm always consistently surprised to learn that I've had a basket of downloads and a handful of sales from them every 6 weeks or so, as I really consider them just gravy (but I don't write the super-hot stuff). But if you're looking to find an audience, they may have it, and if your hot shorts aren't doing anything in the dungeon there, they might be very happy (or at least making you income) at ARe.


----------



## A. N. Other Author (Oct 11, 2014)

You have such a huge backlist, I'd suggest taking a look at the facebook ads for authors. I never signed up for it as it looks like you need a big list to get anywhere. Steep outlay at first, but from everything I've heard, when you nail it you really nail it. Not only the sign ups and freebies either - people put series into box sets and advertise those . . . takes a lot of experimenting apparently, but I'd definitely consider looking at the free videos and see if it's for you.

If that's a bit steep, maybe consider taking a few books wide and see if you can crack that. It'll be slow at first, but the guy who runs Kobo says you can do very well there with box sets. As long as they look like good value, you can charge a fair amount there, too - they don't like the 0.99 pricepoint very much.


----------



## Shelley K (Sep 19, 2011)

This_Way_Down said:


> Glitch, weakness, loophole, whatever. The market was suddenly flooded with short erotica and the people putting it out made a bundle. And were I gloating, I would have said something mean. As it stands I would think that there is a lesson that is important to learn. If your career is based on a single program subject to almost certain change, then you are counting the minutes until it comes crashing down. When it does, recalling the warnings can help you avoid future mistakes. Because the established writers who earn a living repeatedly gave warnings. And they were repeatedly shouted down or ignored. But that's nothing new.


A lot of people had been writing and profiting from shorts long before KU came along. Short erotica writers worked within the system Amazon set up. I think most people dismissed the "warnings" from not-erotica writers because they usually went beyond "hey, have a backup plan" to the implication and sometimes outright statement that erotica writers were cheating them out of something. Nobody with sense thought it would last forever. And the OP has pointed out that the shorts aren't that big a factor here.


----------



## Gentleman Zombie (May 30, 2011)

Shelley K said:


> A lot of people had been writing and profiting from shorts long before KU came along. Short erotica writers worked within the system Amazon set up. I think most people dismissed the "warnings" from not-erotica writers because they usually went beyond "hey, have a backup plan" to the implication and sometimes outright statement that erotica writers were cheating them out of something. Nobody with sense thought it would last forever. And the OP has pointed out that the shorts aren't that big a factor here.


Shelly K. is correct. Erotic shorts used to sell for $2.99 before KU. And plenty of erotica and erotic romance writers were selling well & often topping the sales charts. Even then they were under attack from those upset that short erotica sold well @$2.99. Then KU came along and the market became flooded. KU2 attempted to correct that. Whether or not it was a success varies by viewpoint.

Where we're at now is that Romance, Erotica, & Erotic Romance are over saturated. The demand is still high - but the churn is incredible. It takes a lot of marketing skill to stay on top now - and even a top book has a short lifespan. I'm seeing many long term romance writers (many who've been around for 6 or more years) branch off into other genres.

I wouldn't advise anyone to go into erotica or erotic romance right now. Sure there are still some amazing successes, but it takes a lot of marketing smarts to get noticed now.

Good luck to the OP as it sounds like she (?) has made a smart plan to move forward/


----------



## Guest (Jun 13, 2016)

Shelley K said:


> A lot of people had been writing and profiting from shorts long before KU came along. Short erotica writers worked within the system Amazon set up. I think most people dismissed the "warnings" from not-erotica writers because they usually went beyond "hey, have a backup plan" to the implication and sometimes outright statement that erotica writers were cheating them out of something. Nobody with sense thought it would last forever. And the OP has pointed out that the shorts aren't that big a factor here.


I have no doubt that there was a good number of erotica writers doing quite well before KU. But you can't deny that when the KU1's 10% read became widely understood that the market was quickly flooded with basically what amounted to pamphlets. And free erotica was appealing to many subscribers. The warnings came that Amazon would catch on and change the system. But they were largely ignored. 
The OP may not fall into this category. But the timing is right. And the idea of making that amount of money with no ads, seven pen names, over multiple genres, is hard for me to believe. If it happened, and it was not primarily income from the erotica shorts, it would be the first time I've seen it. I suppose it's possible...but highly unlikely.


----------



## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

Interestingly, my one and only almost-erotic romance is by far the easiest sell for me of all my books. It's the only book for which Facebook ads work, and Amazon ads work better on it by a factor of 2. It's performed the best of my recent BookBub ads, and the borrows after the ad were phenomenal, to the tune of 400 a day. It's still chugging along pretty well all by its standalone self without ads and almost a year after publication. So much so that I wrote a sequel which will be out in a week and am writing Book 3. (I've never done that before--the mutiple-books-same-couple deal.) 

My own bottom line takeaway is that Sex Still Sells, and it always will. But I think your presentation has to be really good to stand out, and it's better if you have some hook. (In my case, the hero is Maori, and I think that helps.) 

ETA: As others have said, I think that if you don't already have quite a large following, you really have to advertise. I also think everything's become more competitive in terms of writing and presentation. Stuff that was OK in 2012 or 2014--lack of editing, not-so-great covers, plot holes, whatever--doesn't work now, because the bar is simply higher. Because I can't see the OP's books, I'm not making any assumptions about those things; just offering that up as general advice. Also, the problem with writing trendy stuff is that you don't seem to get as much author loyalty. So that's the downside to that writing plan. 

If you like writing cozies better, that's a good plan! Write them WELL, even if it takes a little longer. Present them well. Advertise them. Etc.


----------



## BeMyBookBaby (Apr 18, 2016)

I thought the OP wanted advice on how to move forward, not waste time making assumptions about her past.

Did I ever mention that I wrote REALLY BAD Harry Potter fan fiction? Let's talk about that for a few posts, rather than offering ideas on how to pursue a cosy-paranormal audience while also trying to make a living from a full-time job that has effectively stopped paying her.




(Sorry that I just assumed you were a 'her'. I'm a hypocrite. But my Harry Potter education tells me that Unicorns are always effeminate, so really, who is the fool here?)


----------



## Crystal_ (Aug 13, 2014)

BeMyBookBaby said:


> (Sorry that I just assumed you were a 'her'. I'm a hypocrite. But my Harry Potter education tells me that Unicorns are always effeminate, so really, who is the fool here?)


I thought the horn was a phallace and unicorns were usually male.


----------



## BeMyBookBaby (Apr 18, 2016)

Crystal_ said:


> I thought the horn was a phallace and unicorns were usually male.


Where are the damn Moderators when you need them? HALP! I'm being bullied for making a ridiculous assumption about mythical horses!

(But in all seriousness, settle down, Crystal_, you big unicorn pervert. Everyone knows the masculine form of a unicorn is a rhinoceros. Stop throwing dirt in my face and read 'Fantastical Beasts and Where To Find Them'. That's why females live longer than males, because unicorn hair makes us stronger and rhinos have a short life expectancy.)

Disclaimer: Do not google any of the above facts which are genuinely true and #science. Just trust me, this random Unicorn Expert, and go about your day.


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Male or female, all unicorns end up badly:



In other news...
Let's stop the speculation about something that the OP has already answered. There's no point in arguing how many angels are dancing on the head of a pin. As a friend of mine says about these type of arguments--"Was you there?"

Move on. You're derailing the thread. Future posts continuing the argument will be removed and the posters risk being placed on post approval.

PM me if you have any questions.

Betsy


----------



## Elizabeth Ann West (Jul 11, 2011)

BeMyBookBaby said:


> I thought the OP wanted advice on how to move forward, not waste time making assumptions about her past.
> 
> Did I ever mention that I wrote REALLY BAD Harry Potter fan fiction? Let's talk about that for a few posts, rather than offering ideas on how to pursue a cosy-paranormal audience while also trying to make a living from a full-time job that has effectively stopped paying her.
> 
> (Sorry that I just assumed you were a 'her'. I'm a hypocrite. But my Harry Potter education tells me that Unicorns are always effeminate, so really, who is the fool here?)


I wrote really bad Harry Potter Fan Fiction and Twilight.  Just sharing in some camaraderie. /endthreadhijack


----------



## BeMyBookBaby (Apr 18, 2016)

Elizabeth Ann West said:


> I wrote really bad Harry Potter Fan Fiction and Twilight.  Just sharing in some camaraderie. /endthreadhijack


Was you there, though, Elizabeth?

Was. 
You. 
There?

In all seriousness, I miss reading HP fan fiction but it is a hole I cannot fall back down. I used to wake up in the dead of the night wondering if people had posted a new chapter, and sneak into my dad's office to check. I imagine it was similar to heroin addiction, except much much worse as we had dial-up internet back then.


----------



## Guest (Jun 14, 2016)

Rule # 1ish: Write what you are good at writing. If you rock at science fiction,  write science fiction.


----------



## Unicorn (Jun 12, 2016)

I'm sorry that I don't have time to reply to everyone individually tonight, but rest assured I've read every post.  I'm so grateful for the outpouring of advice and encouragement!  I should have asked Kboards for input sooner, because you people know your stuff!  I've found out about advertising and marketing opportunities I didn't even know existed, and I've gotten a lot of great suggestions on how to proceed.

My plan for now is to focus on the cozies.  I will try to publish frequently and I will dedicate time and money to advertising.  As for my backlist, I am going to gradually go wide.  I will likely also experiment with making some books permafree.  I promise to come back and update.  I can't thank the people who've taken the time to reach out to me enough.  You're awesome!

P.S. Though it's true that we're an excellent source of sparkles, I hear unicorns taste horrible.  (Can our self-appointed Unicorn Expert confirm?)  Please don't eat me!


----------



## BeMyBookBaby (Apr 18, 2016)

Queen_of_Shorts said:


> *tries to join in*
> 
> I used to write V fan fic and was involved in written V roleplay. It was lots of fun, even when we lost the plot and it all turned into erotica scenes. My fan fics were real stories though before I got into the roleplaying. *sighs* I miss those days.


Did I misread this or are you telling us about your orgy adventures? BETSY COME BACK!!! I'm AFRAID!  

Unicorn, I am honoured that you have rightfully, obliviously, chosen me as the Master Of All Unicorns and as such, will grant you the answer of your one wish. Unicorns taste delightful but that's only if you baste them in the rarest of ingredients, the purest of condiments, the one, the only, Holy Jack Daniels sauce. Otherwise, as the myth tells, your eyeballs pop out and your insides shrivel.

Unless you buy that canned stuff Betsy is advertising above but, just between you and me, that's actually food colouring and chicken, and I heard she's running one of those Ponzi Pyramid schemes where her and Ann from Arlington get rich, buy an island, and open their own Costco, and leave all you poor fools in the dust.

However, I do have a voucher that gets you half off on these magic beans I've been selling.


----------



## Sarah Shaw (Feb 14, 2015)

Unicorn flesh can actually be poisonous, but only during the season when they're grazing on poison ivy and deadly nightshade. You can recognize when that is by the fact that their usual rainbow scat turns a garish lime green color.*

*See my peer-reviewed scientific article on the subject that I'm just about to post on Wikifreedia- THE source for outlandish claims and joke conspiracy theories that go viral and become the source of new religions and part of the platforms of major political parties everywhere. 

*Disclaimer: All unicorns are different and special and nothing said here should be taken as applying to unicorns who post on k-boards. They have a separate, protected status. Poachers will be shot.


----------



## Unicorn (Jun 12, 2016)

People were so helpful when I made this post that I figure I owe an update. I'm only expecting to make $200 - $300 more this month than in previous months. I wish the update was more impressive than that, but I think/hope I'm headed in the right direction. In case anyone's interested, I'll briefly go over the advice I've taken.

*Going Wide*
This was a no-brainer and frankly, I should have done it sooner. I pulled everything out of KDP Select in June, so some of it just came out this month. I'm already making more money from Apple, B&N, etc. than I was from pages read on Amazon. I'm hoping the books will continue to gain some traction on other sales channels. My actual sales on Amazon are about the same as before. I've literally made one sale on Google Play...I'm not sure why books that sell elsewhere aren't moving there.

*Focusing on One Pen Name*
When I mentioned I was writing in multiple genres on multiple pen names, people suggested I was spreading myself too thin. I agreed, so I abandoned my steamy romance pen name in favor of the new cozy mystery one. Since I last posted, I've released two new books and have a third one nearly completed. I revamped my web site and all my book covers. I channeled all of my time, energy and advertising money into my cozy mystery brand.

*Advertising*
As per the suggestions here, I made the first book in my cozy series permafree. I moved my mailing list signup link from the back of my books to the front and offered Book 2 to new subscribers for free. I'm now steadily getting a few new subscribers every day. I've run a few paid ads and I was satisfied with the results. Book 1 in my series is closing in on 100 reviews and currently has a 4.3 rating. I'm hopeful I'll eventually be able to get a Bookbub spot; I apply every four weeks like clockwork.

*Getting Mileage Out of Old Pen Names*
I bundled up some of my old erotica shorts from 2012. Frankly I don't think it was worth my time as I've had very few sales. A contemporary romance series on a now-defunct pen name has generated a bit of money now that I've taken it wide. A steamy romance novel from my main romance pen name had surprising success on Apple...I'm actually contemplating writing some steamy romance again because of that.

*The Plan Going Forward*
My tentative plan is to continue focusing on my cozy mysteries, and likely to branch out. I'd like to have multiple series going that are all set in the same world. I think having more permafree books gives me more opportunities for advertising. As I mentioned, I may also dabble in romance again...but if I do I will make sure to prioritize the cozies. I'm frustrated that I haven't seen a more significant increase in sales, but I'm trying to be patient, read a lot about what works for other people and work smarter. As always, suggestions/advice are more than welcome!


----------



## Nic (Nov 17, 2013)

Unicorn said:


> Why is that glaring to you?
> 
> I was actually focusing on erotic shorts before KU came into existence. It was profitable back then too, as readers were willing to pay $2.99 for a short story. I was able to earn a living from that, but certainly not 6 figures. As I mentioned, the vast majority of my income came from romance serials.


These shorts still sell. It depends on subgenre, content and quality however.


----------



## Small Town Writer (Jun 11, 2014)

Unicorn said:


> People were so helpful when I made this post that I figure I owe an update. I'm only expecting to make $200 - $300 more this month than in previous months. I wish the update was more impressive than that, but I think/hope I'm headed in the right direction. In case anyone's interested, I'll briefly go over the advice I've taken.
> 
> *Going Wide*
> This was a no-brainer and frankly, I should have done it sooner. I pulled everything out of KDP Select in June, so some of it just came out this month. I'm already making more money from Apple, B&N, etc. than I was from pages read on Amazon. I'm hoping the books will continue to gain some traction on other sales channels. My actual sales on Amazon are about the same as before. I've literally made one sale on Google Play...I'm not sure why books that sell elsewhere aren't moving there.
> ...


Thanks for the update! Glad to hear things are starting to turn around for you!

Your new plan sounds a lot like my current plan. It just sounds like you have a lot more books under your belt already  I just went wide and sales are...non-existent outside of Amazon, but I'm still learning the best way to market myself.

I love the idea of diversifying. Across platforms, formats (paperback, audio, ebook), and series. Having multiple entry points for series that you continue to write in will likely lead to a successful and somewhat stable income. That's the plan, at least.


----------



## C. Gockel (Jan 28, 2014)

Thanks for checking in; I'm sorry it isn't going better for you as fast as you might like--but glad things seem to be improving even if it's just a little bit.

There are lots of people doing box sets and they really are helpful for sales. Have you considered putting your NA / Paranormal in one? Perhaps your Cozy in another? It helps you connect with other authors and gives value to your customers.

Also, you might want to privately ask someone in doing well in your genres if your covers are appropriate. Might not be something you can change right away, but down the line something to think about. I expect I'll probably change my covers every four years--even though I like my current covers a lot. Trends change.


----------



## Unicorn (Jun 12, 2016)

Nic said:


> These shorts still sell. It depends on subgenre, content and quality however.


I'm sure they do! Maybe my stuff misses the mark.



David Neth said:


> Thanks for the update! Glad to hear things are starting to turn around for you!
> 
> Your new plan sounds a lot like my current plan. It just sounds like you have a lot more books under your belt already  I just went wide and sales are...non-existent outside of Amazon, but I'm still learning the best way to market myself.
> 
> I love the idea of diversifying. Across platforms, formats (paperback, audio, ebook), and series. Having multiple entry points for series that you continue to write in will likely lead to a successful and somewhat stable income. That's the plan, at least.


I feel good about diversifying and not being quite so vulnerable to Amazon's whims. About 40% of my income is now coming from outside of Amazon which is a nice feeling. I agree with you about multiple entry points - I'm going to have to look into paperbacks and audio books at some point!

Good luck with your plan. I hope it works out for you!



C. Gockel said:


> Thanks for checking in; I'm sorry it isn't going better for you as fast as you might like--but glad things seem to be improving even if it's just a little bit.
> 
> There are lots of people doing box sets and they really are helpful for sales. Have you considered putting your NA / Paranormal in one? Perhaps your Cozy in another? It helps you connect with other authors and gives value to your customers.
> 
> Also, you might want to privately ask someone in doing well in your genres if your covers are appropriate. Might not be something you can change right away, but down the line something to think about. I expect I'll probably change my covers every four years--even though I like my current covers a lot. Trends change.


Hopefully my next update will be better. That's my goal, anyway!

I've never done box sets, but it's something I've been thinking about doing recently. I think you're absolutely right!

I know what you mean about covers. I've already updated my romance covers once to reflect changing trends. I _think_ my cozy covers are appropriate for the category (they have a similar look to other books in the subgenre) but you're right that it can't hurt to get a second opinion.


----------



## Cherise (May 13, 2012)

Put your mailing list info front AND back. Back is more effective. Not sure why you took it out of the back matter of your books.


----------

