# What Worked For Me



## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

I've had quite a few messages in the past few days, since my story came out in the KDP newsletter, asking, basically, "How did you do it?" And although the answer really is, "I don't know," I did my best to put together the things that worked for me, all in one place. Which is a blog post. I'll link to it, but I'll also copy it in here, mindful of the strictures to try to stay on KBoards. So if this is long, well, I'm just trying not to run afoul of the cattle prod!

It's all pretty basic stuff for most folks here, I know, but hey, basic is all I really know!

http://www.rosalindjames.com/what-i-did-that-worked-i-think/

What I Did That Worked (I Think)

Since my publishing story was featured a few days ago in the KDP March Newsletter from Amazon, I've had a few authors ask me what I did that worked, and for advice on how to get their own books noticed. I should preface this by saying that (a) like many authors who sell pretty well, I really don't know "why," and (b) the way I did it was a little "too easy." In fact, that was my reaction when I sold well my first month out of the gate: "It can't be this easy." So I definitely got a bit lightning-struck, had some good luck I can't account for, and Your Mileage May Vary, and all that.

With that in mind, here's what I did, and some things that I think may have helped.

*1. Genre. *This may be super-obvious, but 25% of all books sold in the U.S. are romance. And romance readers are very generous and willing to try new authors, including self-published ones. So if you are inclined that way, it'll help. (Other genre fiction also does pretty well.)

*2. Self-Publishing.* If you do well at all, you'll make a whole lot more money self-publishing than going through a publisher (unless you hit the really big leagues.) I didn't have much of a choice, if I wanted to get started--no publisher or agent was interested. But I'm so glad they weren't! Amazon pays 70% on books priced over $2.99. Publishers don't. And nobody has the actual statistics, but it looks like a good half of books sold online in Romance, at least, are ebooks.

*3. Series.* By the time I made the decision to self-publish, I had three books in a series. (Not a "series" in the sense of the same story continuing, but stand-alone books set in the same "world.") And that's good, because (a) series sell, and (b) starting out with multiple books in the series is great, if you can manage it. Give readers something else to read, if they like the first book.

*4. Title and Series Title. *I think about half my success was due to titling the series "Escape to New Zealand"--and writing about New Zealand to begin with. You have to have something, some hook, that is special, that pulls a reader in and makes them pause and think, "huh, that sounds interesting." I also decided to make all the titles related. I knew I wanted to call the second book "Just Good Friends," so I decided to make all the books start with "Just." It's all part of branding--you want your titles, your covers, everything to look similar. Anything to help people remember that "those "Just" books" were written by you. I also wanted all my titles to be ironic. I thought they'd resonate a little more that way.

*5. Cover. *The other half of my success is probably due to my covers! I wrote a blog post that you can read here: http://www.rosalindjames.com/creating-your-book-cover/, about creating book covers (with the help of a cover artist, which I highly, highly recommend).

*6. Blurb. *You have seconds to catch readers' attention. Your cover and title are the first things. The second thing is your blurb. It takes TIME to get it right. Here's another post I wrote about writing a romance blurb: http://www.rosalindjames.com/how-to-write-a-romance-blurb/.
If you can't get it good enough yourself, you can hire somebody to do it, and it's worth it.
*
7. Editing and Formatting. *You'll sell a lot more if your book is properly edited and formatted. Some readers will forgive mistakes, sure, if the story is compelling enough, but why put barriers in their (and your) way?

*8. Website, Facebook Page.* Before I published, I had a website and Facebook page background created (using a WordPress template for the website, but hiring a wonderful web designer) to integrate with my covers and give me a branded author "look." Basically, I didn't want anything about my books--covers, blurbs, website, Facebook page--to look self-published. I wanted it all to look smooth and professional, and I do think it helped. I also wanted to offer a value-added experience--fun things a reader could read and listen to and watch about New Zealand after she read the book. I think it helped. As far as what I share on Facebook: I try to make a lot of it just sharing interesting stuff, not just "buy my book"! I try to listen and respond as well as talk. Just be myself, be nice, be open.

*9. Visibility. *Everything I did after publication had one main goal: Visibility. This is the key thing you need. There are about 2 million Kindle books out there. No matter how great your book is, people need to SEE it for you to sell it. So every marketing and publishing decision I made had that as its bottom-line goal: "Will this make me more visible"? Starting with:

*10. Free. *People love to beat up on the free-book idea. "You get what you pay for" and all that. Well, free books are the best way I've found to get visible. The difference between a (promoted) free book offer and a (promoted) 99-cent offer, for me, is ten to twenty times the number of downloads. I've had five-day "free offer" periods with up to 92,000 books given away. That's a LOT of eyeballs on your book, even if only 5% of them read the book right away. Here's a post I wrote about a recent free offer and how I promoted it: http://www.rosalindjames.com/kdp-select-promo-success-promoting-the-promo/
All I can say is, "free" is how I sold 2,000 books in my first month. I gave away 14,000 books a week into my "publishing career," and BAM, things took off from there. In my fifth month, January 2013, I did an offer and gave away the above-mentioned 92,000+ books. I sold 20,000 books for cash money that month. So, yeah, free worked for me, and it's still working. (I also use Countdown, and that's worked too, but "free" is still Top Dog in my book.)

*11. Blog Tour. *I did these early on (I use Reading Addiction Blog Tours) to help get reviews and, yes, visibility. And no, they aren't "bought," and they won't necessarily be positive! In fact, my blog review average is quite a bit lower than my reader review average. Bloggers read critically, and they're pickier! But you get real, credible reviews, and reviews help. I still do promo blitzes on the new books. They're not expensive, and, hey, visibility.

*12. Ads. *I tried a few ads, but nothing did that much, other than advertising my promos, which worked spectacularly. (If you've never heard of BookBub, look it up, because BookBub is The Bomb.)

*13. Pricing Strategy. *I started out with three books priced at $3.99 apiece, because that was where good-selling authors in my genre priced their books. Note: Pricing is very genre-specific. I wanted to send a quality signal without overpricing my books. (My books are also relatively long for my genre.) When I had Book 4 out, I lowered the price on Book 1 to 99 cents. (See "Visibility," above.) It was when I did the "Free offer," and then had the book at 99 cents after it came off Free, that my sales exploded. A month later, I lowered the prices on all the other books to $2.99, BECAUSE I was selling so well. I didn't want any barriers in the way of people buying my books. I kept the prices low like that for about 5 months, then raised them again to $3.99 on all but the first book. I will probably raise them to $4.99 pretty soon--because that's where VERY good-selling authors in my genre price, and, again, quality signal.

*14. Second Series. *I did what some people would call a stupid thing. With four books out and my books just taking off, I wrote the first book in a second series. I did that because that was the book I wanted to write, the book in my head, and I feared that if I waited, I'd be too scared to try something new. I was terrified that nobody would buy a "non-New Zealand" book, and indeed, my sales were only about 50% of the NZ books for the new book--UNTIL I published Book 2 in the series. Then they picked right up, and then some! And all the really good stuff that's come to me, came with the publication of that second series. That showed the people at Amazon and elsewhere that I wasn't a one-trick pony, that I could write other types of books. I'm very, very glad I wrote that second series. (Now I'm working on another book in the New Zealand series. Going back and forth also keeps me fresher.)

*15. Write What You Love. *As a corollary to the above--I think the only way a book will resonate with readers is if it first resonated with YOU. I'm sure writing to the market has worked for some people, but for me, I have to live and breathe my book. I have to love it for it to be any good, for the characters to come to life. (Maybe if you wrote more plot-based books, it'd be different.)

*16. Paperbacks and Audiobooks. *I sell hardly any paperbacks, but I think having them available gives you credibility. Plus, they look nice! Audiobooks--I just published my first one. It's sold OK in its first month, but again, I think you need multiple titles to start gaining momentum. (My second will come out next month.) BUT audiobooks are very expensive. I wouldn't have done it if I weren't already selling a LOT of ebooks. It's a pricey gamble--but again, more exposure, more credibility.

And that's pretty much it! That's all the stuff I did, what worked and didn't, my best advice, for what it's worth. I hope it helps!


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## SunshineOnMe (Jan 11, 2014)

Thank you so much for this awesome post Rosalind!


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

Sorry for all the stupid apostrophes that come out as funky marks. I don't have time to fix all of them, darn it, got some wine-tasting to do right now! Priorities! I'll come back & fix.


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## Mahalo (Feb 7, 2014)

Thanks Rosalind!


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## C. Gockel (Jan 28, 2014)

Thank you so much for your post. It's nice to see a successful romance without the typical "steamy" cover. I wonder if that helped with your success? People don't have to be embarrassed if someone finds their Kindle/Phone lying around. It's just an innocent starfish...

Also, I love your second series success story. I have a second series in my head. I don't think I will start it until I'm done with my current series, though. I expect my second series will only be about 3 books long. I wonder if I should publish them all within a few months of one another--or even all at once?


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## Cat Amesbury (Jan 29, 2014)

Thank you for your consistent generosity in sharing not just what has been working for you, but how you've thought about what you are doing.

It's nerve-wracking to step into self-publishing. You have always been very upfront about your path. For someone like me, who's making some hard decisions right now, that is a real blessing.

So, thank you.


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

Rosalind, I love that you went into so much detail. Thanks for taking the time to share.


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## Howietzer (Apr 18, 2012)

Great post, and good for you!


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## Guest (Mar 27, 2014)

Love ya, Rosalind!  Thanks for the extensive tips!!


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## Mark Feggeler (Feb 7, 2011)

Excellent information. Thanks for sharing.


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## Becca Mills (Apr 27, 2012)

This is wonderful, Rosalind. Thank you for sharing your strategies, and big congratulations on all your success!


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## A past poster (Oct 23, 2013)

Rosalind, I missed the KDP newsletter, so I'm happy that I caught this post. It's great! You've always been so generous in sharing your experience and your help. Thank you!


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## A.A (Mar 30, 2012)

I love that books set in New Zealand have done so well  Great tips


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Bookmark, copy, and paste......

Thanks for some great tips. I was already doing some of those things, others will have to wait a few months until I can devote more time.


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## RinG (Mar 12, 2013)

Thanks for this. Great post, and really useful.

Can I ask, do you do free promos on all the books in your series, or just the first ones?


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## Carina Wilder (Nov 12, 2013)

Congratulations and thank you for taking the time to post this. Massively helpful and always inspiring.


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## LeeBee (Feb 19, 2014)

Rosalind, you are so unfailingly positive and generous. Thanks for posting this.


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## Redacted1111 (Oct 26, 2013)

Has anyone mentioned how much Rosalind rocks?


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## Donna Alam (Mar 6, 2014)

It's good to know what has worked for others. Thanks for the detail, Rosalind!


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## BlankPage (Sep 23, 2012)

Comment removed due to VS TOS 24/9/2018


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## CJArcher (Jan 22, 2011)

Great post, Rosalind. Congrats on all your success.


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## EC Sheedy (Feb 24, 2011)

Great post. Thank you so much, Rosalind. I've got a free run coming up--after not doing one for a while--and I'm a little nervous about it. But it's the first book in my trilogy, so I thought, what the hey.  

You really are generous of spirit to write such a detailed and informative post. Again, thank you.


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

Rinelle Grey said:


> Thanks for this. Great post, and really useful.
> 
> Can I ask, do you do free promos on all the books in your series, or just the first ones?


I've done "free" on the first and second books of the longer series, and the first of the second one. I would only do free on the first, and maybe second, myself. Otherwise, you do run the risk of having people "wait for the book to be free," I think. Although even that's better than languishing in obscurity, no? Anything to get noticed, because getting noticed is how you ultimately sell books! (As long as it was for a limited period.)


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## RinG (Mar 12, 2013)

Rosalind James said:


> I've done "free" on the first and second books of the longer series, and the first of the second one. I would only do free on the first, and maybe second, myself. Otherwise, you do run the risk of having people "wait for the book to be free," I think. Although even that's better than languishing in obscurity, no? Anything to get noticed, because getting noticed is how you ultimately sell books! (As long as it was for a limited period.)


Thanks! That's what I've been doing too, so just curious.


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

I wanted to add, it was a post like this one by Darcie Chan that gave me most of my own early direction in self-publishing. Trying to pay it forward, since I can't pay Ms. Chan back. Hope mine will help somebody else the way that hers helped me.


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## von19 (Feb 20, 2013)

Thanks a ton Rosalind! This is both inspirational and informative. I just looked into Bookbub and saw that they dont accept short stories. Are there any similar sites but for shorter works?


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## unkownwriter (Jun 22, 2011)

Great post, Rosalind! Thanks for sharing. 

I think many, if not all, of these things would work for any genre. When I'm ready to get my books up, I'll need a plan to get them noticed, and this seems very doable. 

PS:  I love your covers.


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## PT Hylton (Dec 31, 2013)

Thanks for tips! I like your point about visibility. There are eight thousand promotion-related things any of us could be doing at any given moment. Taking it back that one question (will this make me more visible) helps.


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## JPMorgan (Mar 24, 2014)

Some great advice.

I'm sticking with 4.99 because at 90,000 words I think as a full length work it seems the right price point between quality and value for a full length (90K word) Novel. I'm not sure doing 99c or 2.99 on a book that length would do me many favours when so many books at those price points aren't as long as some of my chapters lol 

Anyway. 3 book sales in my first week with NO PROMOTION at all (I know. I'M DOIN' IT WRONG!). I mean none. zero. and 3 sales in it's first week at 4.99 (not even to friends and family. I haven't even told them!) I feel quite chuffed especially since my other half's books haven't shifted a thing all week and he's been at it 2 years and doing pretty much everything on your list but doesn't sit in romance so isn't blessed with so much readership opportunities.

Anyway I've taken note of your list, thank's for sharing. I'm genuinely clueless when it comes to marketing.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

To summarize your post, it all comes down to basics, doesn't it? The wonderful thing about your post is that you spell out the basics that have worked for you. Thanks for you generosity!


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## 58907 (Apr 3, 2012)

Great tips, Rosalind, thank you!!! Bookmarked. 

I do have a question, if you don't mind. When you have a new release, do you have it priced lower for a short period of time or do you come right out the gate at the higher price?


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## atthekeyboard (Oct 31, 2013)

..


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## zoe tate (Dec 18, 2013)

This is, *truly*, an awesome thread. Thank you *very* much, Rosalind. 



Rosalind James said:


> I've had quite a few messages in the past few days, since my story came out in the KDP newsletter, asking, basically, "How did you do it?" And although the answer really is, "I don't know," I did my best to put together the things that worked for me, all in one place.


I accept that you don't know, and can't tell whether "what worked for you" will also work for others. And your attitude in stressing that you "don't know" is both refreshing and commendable.

I venture to suggest that there are two *other* things which also "worked for you", which you very modestly haven't commented on much. One is your writing skill, and the other is your professional marketing and business background, which I believe led you in "all the right directions". 

Among the things you _did_ mention in more detail, my guess is that the most significant are:-



A.C. Scott said:


> *4. Title and Series Title. *


I've always been struck by these. You've done really well, there. And ...



A.C. Scott said:


> *5. Cover. *The other half of my success is probably due to my covers!


I don't doubt it for a second. Your covers are stunningly, astonishingly good. I notice this every single day I come here (and that's every single day). I'm honestly not sure I've *ever* seen an author (trade published or self-published) with better book covers. In short, there just aren't words to describe how impressive your covers are.

Again, *many* thanks for your post. Few people here won't learn something good from it.


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## Marie Long (Jan 11, 2014)

I love this post. Thank you for paying it forward, Rosalind!


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## Donna White Glaser (Jan 12, 2011)

zoe tate said:


> I venture to suggest that there are two *other* things which also "worked for you", which you very modestly haven't commented on much. One is your writing skill, and the other is your professional marketing and business background, which I believe led you in "all the right directions".


To these, I would add your generosity and all-around helpfulness to other authors. I first met you in the miles long Bookbub thread and your advice then (and now) was invaluable. Congratulations on the KDP nod! 
And thank you!


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## jackiegp (May 18, 2013)

Thank so so much for sharing! This is alll very interesting!


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## vrabinec (May 19, 2011)

What worked for you was some really good writing and THEN all that stuff you listed. Just clarifying.


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## Ben Mathew (Jan 27, 2013)

Awesome post. Thanks for sharing. And congratulations on your phenomenal success!


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## Joseph J Bailey (Jun 28, 2013)

Great post (and congratulations on your continued success)!

Posts like these are what bring people to Kboards... and make them stay.

Thanks!


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## nico (Jan 17, 2013)

What a great post! 

I do have a question for you, though. Do you work on multiple stories simultaneously? How do you plan your release schedule?


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## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

This is a great post, Rosalind. Thanks.


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## LG Castillo (Jun 28, 2012)

Great post. Thanks for sharing!


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## Redacted1111 (Oct 26, 2013)

It makes me think I should maybe hold back on releasing some of my books so that I come out of the gate stronger. I'm starting over under my real name and have zero back list. I'm kind of making the mistake of starting two series at once. I'm writing fast right now, so that's good. There isn't anything holding me back from keeping my books unpublished until I have several to put out, other than if I don't keep releasing, my income will probably die down. I need that income to pay my proofreader so it's a trade off. We'll see. My first one is ready to go to beta readers and I'm about 20% into the second. I've heard other people say that releasing several books at once is a good strategy one I'm going to take into serious consideration. It's too bad I have major instant gratification syndrome. 

Thank you again Rosalind. I bookmarked this thread.


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## Maria Romana (Jun 7, 2010)

LeeBee said:


> Rosalind, you are so unfailingly positive and generous. Thanks for posting this.


^^^^ Second this! ^^^^


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## Christian Price (Aug 3, 2012)

Thanks for taking the time to share, what has worked well for you.  I look forward to releasing my first book in a series within my next, 90 day select cycle.


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

JPMorgan said:


> Some great advice.
> 
> I'm sticking with 4.99 because at 90,000 words I think as a full length work it seems the right price point between quality and value for a full length (90K word) Novel. I'm not sure doing 99c or 2.99 on a book that length would do me many favours when so many books at those price points aren't as long as some of my chapters lol
> 
> ...


That's great, but . . . if you're writing in romance, $4.99 is quite high. That's where Bella Andre and Marie Force are pricing; very few other indies. You can of course do exactly what you want, but I'll just say that the shortest of my own books is 90K. The longest is 117K. I have three over 100K, and I had all my books priced at $2.99 or lower a year ago. I don't think price and length really correlate (other than really short stuff)--it's just about genre and where you're going to sell best, where to price to gain that following.

ETA: I know, opinions on price vary GREATLY, and many on here will tell you to keep the $4.99 price. I'm not telling anyone else what to do, I'm just saying, because we're discussing it, look at your genre, and try to separate price from what it's "worth," try to figure out first and foremost where it will SELL.


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

KVictoriaChase said:


> Great tips, Rosalind, thank you!!! Bookmarked.
> 
> I do have a question, if you don't mind. When you have a new release, do you have it priced lower for a short period of time or do you come right out the gate at the higher price?


You're guessing right! I price at 99 cents for a few days, give my loyal readers a chance to get the book first. Also gives me a better push out of the gate.


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## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

Rosalind James said:


> You're guessing right! I price at 99 cents for a few days, give my loyal readers a chance to get the book first. Also gives me a better push out of the gate.


This is true. I did that with my latest, told my (small) mailing list about it and sold about 120 copies in the first day. I also got onto the also-bought lists quicker than I normally do. I recommend it as a strategy if you have a few hard-core fans at least.


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## Lisa Grace (Jul 3, 2011)

Congratulations! I'm so glad you are seeing so much success.


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

nico said:


> What a great post!
> 
> I do have a question for you, though. Do you work on multiple stories simultaneously? How do you plan your release schedule?


I kind of wish I could, but I can't! I can only have one book in my head at a time. And it takes me weeks after publishing for the old book to leave, and for the new book to start its tentative arrival. (I do try to work on other stuff during that time--for the past month, it's been re-editing books, and proofing audiobooks, for example.)

I always think that maybe this time, I can get right to work on a new story, because I LOVE writing, but the "downtime" appears to be non-negotiable. Like the fallow period for a field, I guess--clearing my head.

I do know that it takes me right about six weeks to write a new book, two weeks to edit, so once I start, it'll be about two months. Right now, I have a book rattling around in my head, so I'm pretty sure it'll be out there around late May. That's as close to planning the schedule as I come, I'm afraid. I also MAY have an idea of which book I'll write after the one I'm working on, but it's vague, and very much subject to change! It's whatever book turns up!

Most writers seem to have a big boxful of ideas. Not me. I've had nine ideas, and I've written all of them! (Novella coming out next week.) Well, ten, because the new one, now.

Which just goes to show you, there isn't "one route" that authors have to take, that different approaches can work, and that you need to trust your own process, because that's the one that works for you.


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

I do want to say, about my covers: They cost me $80 apiece, plus the cost of the stock art. Plus hours of time searching around Dreamstime for images that convey what I'm trying to say, and the original hours of time googling and checking portfolios to find the love of my life, cover designer Robin Ludwig. Then I send those ideas to her with the blurb and a very short, sentence-long description of the mood and feel of the book, and she magically translates that into the perfect cover. For $80.

Robin may be charging a bit more now, and I've paid extra for the paperback and audiobook covers (my audiobook covers blow me away, and she just popped them right out), and I may have got a deal because she was doing one "look" at the time, and three covers, but my point is, good custom covers don't have to cost hundreds (let alone thousands) of dollars, especially not in Romance. (People tell me Fantasy requires special covers, but I think Robin's done Fantasy, and all her genres look pretty good to me.) So look around and inquire--the artist you like may not charge as much as you think. My second-favorite charged something like $300 apiece. But Robin's covers were better, for my money, so I went with her, and I've sure never been sorry!


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

Sheila_Guthrie said:


> Great post, Rosalind! Thanks for sharing.
> 
> I think many, if not all, of these things would work for any genre. When I'm ready to get my books up, I'll need a plan to get them noticed, and this seems very doable.
> 
> PS: I love your covers.


I'm sorry, I don't know. Maybe a short story collection? Or an anthology done with other writers? (I just did my first of those, wrote a novella as part of a "vacation romance" boxed set, coming out next week. It was a good challenge, and I think good to give readers a wide variety of styles, and get some cross-promotion from each other. Might be a thought for you, too.)

I do think single short stories are a harder sell--except in erotica, of course!


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## Philip Gibson (Nov 18, 2013)

Excellent thread, Rosalind!  Thanks for sharing what has worked for you. You are fully-deserving of your success.

I find it somewhat notable that you are one of the very few advocates of the benefits of staying in KDP Select and making full use if the 5 free days every 90 days, rather than going the Permafree route.

I had planned to ask you if you have considered putting out a box set, but you may have answered that in your last post... although that's not a box set of exclusively your own books, right?  I'd imagine box sets of your own books would go down very well.


Philip


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

Philip Gibson said:


> Excellent thread, Rosalind! Thanks for sharing what has worked for you. You are fully-deserving of your success.
> 
> I find it somewhat notable that you are one of the very few advocates of the benefits of staying in KDP Select and making full use if the 5 free days every 90 days, rather than going the Permafree route.
> 
> ...


I thought about doing a box set of my own books, Philip, when I saw all the people here doing them. I didn't because the individual books still sell really well. I figured I might just be cannibalizing my own sales. Plus, this way I can use the Free and Countdown promos on those individual books.

Who knows--you never see the lost benefit of missed opportunities, and this may be one. Just going with my gut, as usual!

(And part of the reason I don't put the books up everywhere and do permafree is that until a couple weeks ago, I was still revising them! Yep! I was! I've learned a LOT in the past couple years, and I wanted my audiobooks to be as good as they could be, so I went through and re-edited all the books. But I've done that a lot! Hopefully I'm done now.)


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## nico (Jan 17, 2013)

Rosalind James said:


> (And part of the reason I don't put the books up everywhere and do permafree is that until a couple weeks ago, I was still revising them! Yep! I was! I've learned a LOT in the past couple years, and I wanted my audiobooks to be as good as they could be, so I went through and re-edited all the books. But I've done that a lot! Hopefully I'm done now.)


Thanks again for all the great info.

I don't see how this is related, though. I suppose it's easier to update just one place, but there's no reason you can't revise books on other vendors besides Amazon or use perma-free and still issue revisions.


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

nico said:


> Thanks again for all the great info.
> 
> I don't see how this is related, though. I suppose it's easier to update just one place, but there's no reason you can't revise books on other vendors besides Amazon or use perma-free and still issue revisions.


Just more trouble to go around updating everywhere, I guess. And to manage promotions everywhere. The other benefit of Select, for me, is that doing promotions is so easy and painless, using the Select tools plus ads on a few sites. I've been able to focus almost all my time on writing rather than marketing/admin stuff, which has been huge for me, getting to do what I like, getting to keep my head in my book all the time. But that's just me.


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## Rich Amooi (Feb 14, 2014)

Hi Rosalind,

Thanks for sharing this. It's exciting to watch you do your thing, but I especially enjoy following your posts, since my wife and I both have your books on our kindles. Congratulations on your success.

By the way, you write your books fast! Six weeks for writing and two weeks more for editing? Wow! I've been editing for six weeks and I'm not even close to done!


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

Rich Amooi said:


> Hi Rosalind,
> 
> Thanks for sharing this. It's exciting to watch you do your thing, but I especially enjoy following your posts, since my wife and I both have your books on our kindles. Congratulations on your success.
> 
> By the way, you write your books fast! Six weeks for writing and two weeks more for editing? Wow! I've been editing for six weeks and I'm not even close to done!


I edit a lot--a LOT--as I go, so there isn't so much to do at the end, these days. Mostly just niggling around with word choices, not much rewriting.


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## Rich Amooi (Feb 14, 2014)

Rosalind James said:


> I edit a lot--a LOT--as I go, so there isn't so much to do at the end, these days. Mostly just niggling around with word choices, not much rewriting.


Since you work so fast, does this mean you don't use beta readers? Or do you have a critique group or partner?


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

Rich Amooi said:


> Since you work so fast, does this mean you don't use beta readers? Or do you have a critique group or partner?


I have lots of beta readers--eight now! Luckily, they read fast! I'm editing during the week they're reading, they get back to me, I revise, I check again, again, again, again, obsessively, and I'm done!

(My husband also reads as I go--my alpha reader. He has really good feedback.)


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## 58907 (Apr 3, 2012)

Rosalind James said:


> You're guessing right! I price at 99 cents for a few days, give my loyal readers a chance to get the book first. Also gives me a better push out of the gate.


Thank you for the response!


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## LBrent (Jul 1, 2013)

Thank you for this thread.

I've watched as your books were added to your sig and although I've always thought they were beautiful, up until today I hadn't gone to your website to read the blurbs, etc.

BIG MISTAKE. HUGE MISTAKE.

Seriously? Yummy tattooed rugby hunks

WTH, Rosalind. Now I have to fit in reading your books between writing my books. It's not fair.

[sigh]

But I suppose, as a gesture of goodwill towards a fellow writer, I'll simply have to suck it up and...take the team...Erm...take one for the team.

Just sayin.


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

LBrent said:


> Thank you for this thread.
> 
> I've watched as your books were added to your sig and although I've always thought they were beautiful, up until today I hadn't gone to your website to read the blurbs, etc.
> 
> ...


I LOL'd!


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## MissyM (Jun 21, 2013)

This is such a great post: thanks for sharing!


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## RosalieLario (Jun 21, 2011)

Wow, thanks so much for this detailed post! I found it very inspirational!


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## Rich Amooi (Feb 14, 2014)

Rosalind James said:


> I have lots of beta readers--eight now! Luckily, they read fast! I'm editing during the week they're reading, they get back to me, I revise, I check again, again, again, again, obsessively, and I'm done!
> 
> (My husband also reads as I go--my alpha reader. He has really good feedback.)


Eight! Are your beta readers good friends who love your writing, other authors, or a critique group? Curious how you found them. Eight is great.

And more curiosity...how long did it take you to write your novella that you have coming out?

Thanks for sharing!

Rich


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

Rich Amooi said:


> Eight! Are your beta readers good friends who love your writing, other authors, or a critique group? Curious how you found them. Eight is great.
> 
> And more curiosity...how long did it take you to write your novella that you have coming out?
> 
> ...


Family, good friends (many with publishing/writing/editorial experience, and some very critical), one person whom I met through the books, who's a big reader in the genre. Three men, five women. They all bring different things: line editing, developmental editing, etc.

It took me a week to write and edit the 11k novella. A good 10 days beforehand for the story to sort itself out in my head, though. Most of the work happens for me before I start to write.


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## Cherise (May 13, 2012)

Thank you for this, Rosalind. You are one of only a few successful authors who realize how big a part luck plays in all of it, and that makes you classy, in my opinion.


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## Sever Bronny (May 13, 2013)

Great post, thanks Rosalind!


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## C.G. (Jan 23, 2014)

Thanks for the fabulous post Rosalind!


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## DGS (Sep 25, 2013)

I love your posts, thanks for sharing what works for you, Ros. Very interesting on the second series..food for thought for sure. So if you had a low ranked 99 cent 1st in the series,  you think it would explode after being free and going back to 99?  How long would you keep it free? 

Thanks


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## Charmaine (Jul 20, 2012)

Yes, I have to say Rosalind, you don't give yourself enough credit guurrrrlll *insert sassiness* ;-*
Your books are Amazing!!!! Says someone who has read them.


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

DGS said:


> I love your posts, thanks for sharing what works for you, Ros. Very interesting on the second series..food for thought for sure. So if you had a low ranked 99 cent 1st in the series, you think it would explode after being free and going back to 99? How long would you keep it free?
> 
> Thanks


I don't really know--I just did the "five free days" thing through Select. It just kept the exposure level high after coming off "free," I guess, leaving the price low. But it was just sort of "magic," really. (It was after Amazon had changed the algorithms and "formerly-free" books weren't very visible, too. So it was doubly surprising. Just word of mouth, I think.)


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## DaniO (Oct 22, 2012)

Thanks so much for sharing this, Rosalind. It's great to hear what has worked for other authors. 
I love your covers!


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## Annette_g (Nov 27, 2012)

Wonderful post, Rosalind and I agree totally with the write what you love. I can't write something I myself don't like (sparkly vampires do nothing for me, LOL!) so even if it's a hot genre, if I don't like it, I can't write it.


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## Maia Sepp Ross (May 10, 2013)

Thanks for posting this, Rosalind!


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

Annette_g said:


> Wonderful post, Rosalind and I agree totally with the write what you love. I can't write something I myself don't like (sparkly vampires do nothing for me, LOL!) so even if it's a hot genre, if I don't like it, I can't write it.


I know! Kinda wish I could write erotica, but unfortunately, I can only "do" steamy once I really know my people . . . halfway into the book! Nobody would sit still for that in erotica!


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## Guest (Mar 28, 2014)

Rosalind James said:


> I know! Kinda wish I could write erotica, but unfortunately, I can only "do" steamy once I really know my people . . . halfway into the book! Nobody would sit still for that in erotica!


I *used* to write erotica. I'm happy to be focusing on monsters now.


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## hardnutt (Nov 19, 2010)

Marvellously helpful post, Rosalind. Thank you. Bookmarked!


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## LJ (Feb 14, 2014)

Thank you, Rosalind! I appreciate you sharing what you've learned. It's incredibly generous of you. xx


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## romanticauthor (Apr 17, 2014)

I've been lurking on kboards for awhile, but this post was enough to bring me out of the woodwork. It's very encouraging.

I am a fairly new author, but it wasn't until I went on an extended book tour that I really saw some sales. So I agree with this. Before the book tour (I used Fire and Ice Book Tours) I was in the 700,000 range, which was VERY discouraging. During the tour, I hit the bestseller's rank for the first time and actually stayed on it for awhile. Which was VERY encouraging. 

Just thought I'd share my experience. I guess you have to really have all all of the things mentioned and get a lot of exposure.


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## I Give Up (Jan 27, 2014)

Lots of good stuff here! I really like the pricing strategy you've outlined. Price versus Quality is one of those subtle things that a lot people don't realize influences them when choosing a book.


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## She (Apr 15, 2014)

Rosalind, I missed this thread until it turned up on the first page today! I just want to agree with everyone else and thank you for your generous advice. I love that there are authors like you willing to share your experience rather than squirrelling all the useful info away for yourself. You're awesome


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## Philip Gibson (Nov 18, 2013)

Rosalind, I remember you saying (when we were on that other board) that your marketing background had taught you that (paraphrasing) the time to double down and increase marketing/promotion efforts is not when a book's sales are falling, but when its sales are rising.

That was interesting as it seems somewhat counter-intuitive. Perhaps you could expound on that a bit more if you have the inclination. If not... never mind. 

I will still like you.


Philip


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

Philip Gibson said:


> Rosalind, I remember you saying (when we were on that other board) that your marketing background had taught you that (paraphrasing) the time to double down and increase marketing/promotion efforts is not when a book's sales are falling, but when its sales are rising.
> 
> That was interesting as it seems somewhat counter-intuitive. Perhaps you could expound on that a bit more if you have the inclination. If not... never mind.
> 
> ...


Hi, Philip. Just that you're riding momentum, taking advantage of it, instead of trying to reverse it. You've got buzz; that's when you go go go and do more. So when you do a bookbub, schedule more promos to follow for the rest of your sale period. Think how much more likely those sites are to feature your book if it's already high in the rankings. Think how much more likely a reader is to click on it. You're just capitalizing, rolling the ball along instead of struggling to push it up the hill. So that's when to do more ads and so forth--when you start getting traction. Instead, we all tend to get a bit of success and think, "whoo-hoo! I'm done!"

This principle is why I did a "rolling Countdown" (just ending)--free offer on book 1, then countdowns each week on books 2-5. To try to keep that momentum from the free run pushing even more for a month, get more visible, get my name recognized, because over a whole month, I figured, a lot more people would be looking at "sports romance" or "contemporary romance," and I'd start to look "legit" if I always had a branded title in that top 100. That's the idea. We will see if it works!

Hope that helps answer the question.


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## Philip Gibson (Nov 18, 2013)

Rosalind James said:


> Hope that helps answer the question.


It does.

Thanks.

Philip


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## 75910 (Mar 16, 2014)

Just saw this thread and want to say thank you for all the good advice!  <3


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## anniejocoby (Aug 11, 2013)

Yeah, thanks, Rosalind! You always give solid advice, and you're always so positive. I love reading your posts!

Definitely gonna take your advice about keeping the ball rolling. Have a BB ad scheduled for May 12, and I'm thinking I might schedule some promos for the freebie for the week after the BB ad runs or something, to keep it moving. Great idea!!!!

Congrats on all your success! You deserve it!!!!


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## Gene Bathurst (Dec 3, 2014)

This is great advice. Thank you!


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## RPJames (Jul 5, 2015)

Thank you for the good ideas and advice. As a new author, this was wonderful to read!


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## Amanda M. Lee (Jun 3, 2014)

Okay, no offense to Rosalind because she's flat out amazing, but what is with bumping ancient threads? Is there a reason today's threads -- or even yesterday's threads -- aren't good enough? It feels like a game. If it is, I'm not getting it.


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## Guest (Jul 8, 2015)

1) This: 10. Free. People love to beat up on the free-book idea. "You get what you pay for" and all that. Well, free books are the best way I've found to get visible. The difference between a (promoted) free book offer and a (promoted) 99-cent offer, for me, is ten to twenty times the number of downloads. I've had five-day "free offer" periods with up to 92,000 books given away. That's a LOT of eyeballs on your book, even if only 5% of them read the book right away. Here's a post I wrote about a recent free offer and how I promoted it: http://www.rosalindjames.com/kdp-select-promo-success-promoting-the-promo/
All I can say is, "free" is how I sold 2,000 books in my first month. I gave away 14,000 books a week into my "publishing career," and BAM, things took off from there. In my fifth month, January 2013, I did an offer and gave away the above-mentioned 92,000+ books. I sold 20,000 books for cash money that month. So, yeah, free worked for me, and it's still working. (I also use Countdown, and that's worked too, but "free" is still Top Dog in my book.)

2) This: Using Free and reducing price of the 2nd one to $0.99 is when sales exploded.

****

That exact thing is what John Locke and other indie authors used in the past to do super well.

It's so effective that Amazon HID the Top 100 Free Books List and changed associate rules so that anyone generating over 20,000 free book downloads without at lest 20% paid sales got ZERO associate income.

*****

You really should try 1st book Free, 2nd $1 for your series. It works. It worked in 2011, it worked in 2013, it works now in 2015.


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

As Amanda said, not sure why this got bumped, but to answer the above: I didn't do first book free, second at 99 cents. I did a 5-day free period via Select, and after that put that SAME book 1 at 99 cents. 

Perma free in my experience hurt me rather than helped me on Amazon. I stopped both perma frees a month ago, and the series did better as book 1 was visible. Just doing the 5 free days every 6-9 months and staying at 99 cents after that has worked well. 

I find that people who like book 1 enough to buy book 2 almost all go on to read all the rest of the books as well. So I think I'd have left a lot of money on the table with book 2 at 99 cents. I did experiment with a cheaper price for books 2 and 3, but it didn't seem to make a difference. My books are long though. 90-115k.


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## Guest (Aug 11, 2016)

This was a great read. 

Thank you so much. I bookmarked it. I will need to read it in more detail  

TG


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

OK, well, this is old, but since a few people are looking at it, here are the things I've done since I wrote this a couple years ago:

1) Gone wide, and then gone back into Select when KU 2.0 came out (I write very long, and my books have always been borrowed well even before KU. That seems to be idiosyncratic. Some authors do really well with Select & borrows, and others do better wide. Dunno why. Maybe because I have a slightly older, Mom-centric audience--an Amazon audience.)

2) Written a series for Montlake, branching into a new subgenre: real-deal romantic suspense. (A few of my other books are suspense, but they're much "lighter" on the suspense elements.) Book 4 of that series comes out next February. The series has done pretty well without setting the world on fire, but working with Montlake has been a very good experience. Their editing, for one thing, is excellent.

3) Had 3 books published through Amazon Crossing, and am in process of putting up 2 more books on my own (in German). The advantage of doing it yourself is $$ IF the books sell. The disadvantage is $$, too. Risky! My books cost close to $10K apiece to produce (translation and editing), because they're long. But Crossing markets books heavily, so I'm hoping to piggyback on their efforts. We will see.

4) Written another series in ANOTHER subgenre (almost-erotic romance, almost-billionaire romance). This is because Book 1 was a spinoff of my New Zealand series--a book within a book. Readers asked for it, and I thought, as usual, "what the heck," and did it. I discovered to my amazement that I loved writing in first person from hero and heroine's points of view, and it was fun to be as steamy as I liked without worrying about the emails I'd get! Book 1 did surprisingly well for surprisingly long after a free BookBub (5 days free); Books 2 and 3 have been . . . OK so far (still finishing Book 3), but again, I'd never written a "real" series before (same couple). Learning experience for sure. I initially wrote Book 1 as a standalone, and only came back with Book 2 a year later. Not the best plan!

I'd never and still have never read either (a) an erotic romance, or (b) a billionaire romance. Or, oh, wait, (c) a multi-book series about the same couple! Not enticed by the idea of any of those things. LOL. I figured I'd get it all wrong, but I just did it for the heck of it (with the help of two alpha readers who DO read those things, so they could tell me if the stories were working). The reviews are actually pretty good, so some people liked it. I don't write to market, though, and that's the shameful truth!

5) Done all but a couple of the books in 2 series in audio via ACX. That's been profitable. Again, though, it's a lot of money/risk. My books have cost up to $5500 to produce. There are cheaper ways to do it, but Audible has promoted me a fair bit, and I think that's because of the quality of the (expensive) narration.

6) Sold the rights to one series to Audible Studios. That, contrary to everybody's experience I know of, has been my LOWEST-selling audio series. (I also have a series, the Montlake one, done by Brilliance audio.) But it cost me nothing and the advance was good, so . . . no harm done. 

7) Finally started a mailing list. I have good open/click rates, but I can't honestly say that I've seen a giant difference in my sales because of it. I have about 7500 people on the list. 

 Hired an assistant who plans out and books my promo when I do it, handles things like contests and sending out signed books, sends out advance copies and checks that reviews were received, and runs a private Facebook group for ARC readers. (I have about 120 now, I think. About 40 of those are audio early reviewers--they get the free codes and do written reviews.)

What I don't do: Facebook ads, cross-promo, stay in the same subgenre--all things that other romance authors swear by. I spend probably mid three figures a month on average on promotion. I also pay my assistant, a formatter for both print and ebook, and a cover artist/graphics person (for things like Facebook headers). I try to farm out anything I don't like doing. 

I probably fly by the seat of my pants and trust my gut more than most people. Partly because I used to be a marketing person, and I know I have a marketing nose. Partly because I'm only doing this because I love it, so I want to do what I love. I might sell better if I did it differently, but I found, for example, that going wide exponentially increased the workload/worry load and stressed me out hugely, and it wasn't worth it. So for now, I take the easy route wherever possible. 

There you go. That's my road and what works for me. If you think I'm crazy and/or stupid--well, maybe so! To each their own. This business is YMMV in every way from what I've seen over the past four years.


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## RightHoJeeves (Jun 30, 2016)

Rosalind J said:


> I probably fly by the seat of my pants and trust my gut more than most people. Partly because I used to be a marketing person, and I know I have a marketing nose.


I think there is definitely a lot of value to people developing their "marketing nose". I've worked in PR for a few years, and I was quite astounded when I started how basically every aspect of it was totally common sense. It largely boils down to explaining the product well (in the case of books I suppose it would be cover and blurb) and putting it in the right place. And usually a "marketing nose" is determined by a marketer thinking hard and honestly about the person on the other end buying the product.

While I'm learning more about specific book marketing tactics (say, Bookbub), I've not come across anything that has surprised me. So yes, it's a good instinct to hone.


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## LifesHumor (Feb 5, 2014)

Thank you for the update, Rosalind. 

Personally, I love your Montlake audiobooks.


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

RightHoJeeves said:


> I think there is definitely a lot of value to people developing their "marketing nose". I've worked in PR for a few years, and I was quite astounded when I started how basically every aspect of it was totally common sense. It largely boils down to explaining the product well (in the case of books I suppose it would be cover and blurb) and putting it in the right place. And usually a "marketing nose" is determined by a marketer thinking hard and honestly about the person on the other end buying the product.
> 
> While I'm learning more about specific book marketing tactics (say, Bookbub), I've not come across anything that has surprised me. So yes, it's a good instinct to hone.


I've found the same thing, both as a marketing professional and in publishing. Most stuff is common sense. Yes, your cover matters, and it needs to look professional, not amateur, because people will assume (subconsciously) that the quality of the cover reflects the quality of the book. Yes, your blurb matters. I mean, sure, people SAY they don't decide based on the cover, but think about it. How are they even on your book page? Because they saw the cover and clicked on it. People's impressions of what they do is NOT what they actually do. I recall a book about that a few years ago--about how most of what we think about our decision processes is flat dead WRONG.


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

LifesHumor said:


> Thank you for the update, Rosalind.
> 
> Personally, I love your Montlake audiobooks.


Well, that's awesome! Thanks! I like those books, myself. They might not be trendy, but I think they're good! HOLD ME CLOSE is probably the best book I've ever written. And it's probably sold the least of the Montlake books! Way to choose offputting subject matter, Rosalind.


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## BlankPage (Sep 23, 2012)

_Comment removed due to VS TOS 24/9/2018_


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## BlankPage (Sep 23, 2012)

_Comment removed due to VS TOS 24/9/2018_


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