# Science Fiction and Fantasy 99c sale on 1 January 2015. Huge promo event



## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

I must be totally nuts.

I just got approved for a 99c ENT ad for my novel Ambassador (in sig file) for 1 January and I thought we could share the joy and do a bit of our own advertising and join up with a bunch of SFF people and cross-promote.

This is the promo page: http://pattyjansen.com/blog/mad-science-fiction-january-sale/

Many books are already 99c. Go check them out.

The promo is now closed. There will be other opportunities later.


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

Just so happens that The Cleansing is on $0.99 promo from 23rd December to 8th January as a lead-in to publication of its sequel on 9th January. It's post-apocalyptic science fiction. I've submitted.


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## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

What is SPAG?


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Vaalingrade said:


> What is SPAG?


SPelling And Grammar


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## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

When you've put this together, Patty, let us know, so we can promote the sale at the Speculative Fiction Showcase.


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## SB James (May 21, 2014)

I think I might be interested, and the only reason I'm even having second thoughts is because I just had a month-long sale on my book 1, and that is truly the most appropriate book for me to promote at 99 cents. Ah, WTH, maybe I can do it for that one weekend...
If it was only changing Amazon's price, I'd jump right in, but because I feel I'd need to change the price on all my other vendors (except Google, IDK if they ever look at what I'm priced anywhere...) and with all the taking the week of Christmas off, etc, will D2D even be around to change my price?


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

It's only Amazon. *I* will be changing my price everywhere because of the ENT ad, but no one else has to do that, because I know it can cause all kinds of issues.


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## Sever Bronny (May 13, 2013)

Sounds very interesting! I'm just going to read up on how the KDP promotions work recently published so never done them before), but I should be in


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## Robert Dahlen (Apr 27, 2014)

Signed up with Monkey Queen Book One! Thank you, Patty!


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## Sever Bronny (May 13, 2013)

All right, signed up, let's give this thing a whirl!


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

I've got a bundle of signups and am in the process of putting them all on a page. 

I'm thinking about giving each of the signup authors a blog entry (in addition to the main sale page) where you can put more information about the book or yourself. I'll be emailing people separately for this. There will also be a number of non-KB authors taking part, and I'm quite excited about this.

I will give everyone Twitter and Facebook posts to send out, and am investigating places to get some ads.


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## Michael McClung (Feb 12, 2014)

I've signed up as well


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## RinG (Mar 12, 2013)

Is Sci-fi romance ok?


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

RinG said:


> Is Sci-fi romance ok?


Go for it.


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## Harry Manners (Jul 6, 2013)

Signed up my post-apocalyptic novel, Ruin. Sounds like a great plan, I look forward to it.

Like I said in my message, just let me know if there's anything I can do to help. 

Best,
Harry


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

OK, we have a page!

http://pattyjansen.com/blog/mad-science-fiction-january-sale/

These are all the the books that will be in the promo so far. I'm really happy to see some quality stuff in there, also from non-KB people. CN Lesley, for example, is a writer I've known (under another name) from SFF-OWW for many years and I've seen various iterations of her book. It's definitely worth 99c.

I've had word of some other exciting non-KB people joining the sale.

Thanks also to those who have PMed me with promo suggestions.

I'm going to send an email out shortly asking each participant to contribute a blog post (500 words max) about yourself or about your book. This is optional. You don't have to do it.

Meanwhile, keep sending your books.


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

You've accepted mine - thank you!


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Sam Kates said:


> You've accepted mine - thank you!


Aw, Sam. The more the merrier.

Just to be clear: I'll do an extremely cursory check on the sample. I'm not really going to read in detail, but I'll check for the most obvious quality issues.


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## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

I'll be signing up the Complete Vol 1 of The Descendants later tonight.


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## Michael McClung (Feb 12, 2014)

Wow, this is shaping up to be pretty awesome, Patty


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## NicWilson (Apr 16, 2011)

I can put something in; I've got three titles that might work, though I need to verify that my coauthor on the last one is OK with the timing. Either way, I've got something to contribute. I can also help with sharable graphics, or if you want to do any physical swag giveaways.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

We also have a Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1486730158238244/

I think you can "join". I intend to use it for communication with participants, not primarily as promo venue. I'll post links here and other stuff you can copy & past for cross-promoting.


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## 69959 (May 14, 2013)

I filled out the form. As luck would have it, I already have a 99c promo on one of my PNRs that day.


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## Felix R. Savage (Mar 3, 2011)

Entered! Thanks for doing this, Patty. As regards advertising, I had great results a while back with Ebookbooster's $0.99 book package. It costs like $25.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Latest update has been done.

A.E. Williams, you're right in that I wanted longer works. If you have a serial novel and sell chapters at 99c each, that ends up being an expensive novel.

Your support is appreciated, though.


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## Marina Finlayson (May 2, 2014)

Patty Jansen said:


> SPelling And Grammar


Glad someone asked. I knew it couldn't _really _be anything to do with spaghetti ...


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## Guest (Dec 13, 2014)

Thanks for selecting my book!


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Everyone is about to get an email... uhm... after dinner, I think. Husband is just coming back with the chips.


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

I've signed up - hope it's what you're looking for.


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## scottmarlowe (Apr 22, 2010)

I tossed one into the ring. Thanks for putting this together.


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## Nicholas Andrews (Sep 8, 2011)

Thanks for putting this all together, and for accepting me. I hope it works out for everyone!


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## Nigel Mitchell (Jan 21, 2013)

I'm submitting "Operation: Masquerade."


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## Kristy Tate (Apr 24, 2012)

Hey! Thanks for including my book! Tell me what to do to cross promote and I'll be there.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Holy-crap-a-mole! I've got some really, really good entries to come up.

Unfortunately, I've got some other stuff to attend to today. Edits, and real life stuff. I'll start on the publicity tomorrow. It's hard to get replies out of businesses on Sunday anyway.


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## A.E. Williams (Jul 13, 2014)

Patty Jansen said:


> Latest update has been done.
> 
> A.E. Williams, you're right in that I wanted longer works. If you have a serial novel and sell chapters at 99c each, that ends up being an expensive novel.
> 
> Your support is appreciated, though.


Actually, they are Episodes, each containing two Chapters, and run a minimum of 31 pages to over 70 pages.

The series is at almost 400 written pages, currently.

And that is for only Nine out of Ten Episodes, which will comprise Volume One. (Approaching 110,000 words...)

So, $9.99 for ten chapters.... which was the ebook price for most things for a long time.

Of course, the 'Zon royalty rates change based on pricing, which is why I am going Omnibus in January for Volume One.

No worries, though! 

I will certainly reconnect if you do this next year, though, once I get Omnibus out...

And, if you need a link to your sale from my site, my pleasure!

A.E. Williams


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

I would love to include an omnibus. 

I might do this again in April or so, coinciding with the title I've entered in ForeverGirl's 99c promo event.


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## Cactus Lady (Jun 4, 2014)

I signed up, I hope I'm not too late. I'm happy to reblog, tweet, facebook, etc.


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## Michael Buckley (Jun 24, 2013)

I submitted Our Turn. It can be listed as a thriller. If it does not make the cut I will understand.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Michael Buckley said:


> I submitted Our Turn. It can be listed as a thriller. If it does not make the cut I will understand.


I'll look at submission later, but I didn't know you wrote science fiction or fantasy?


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## Michael Buckley (Jun 24, 2013)

I write dystopian mostly and that falls under sci-fi. If it does not make it that's okay. It never hurts to try. The book is as one person told me a thriller/romance/shoot them up type of book.


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## scottmarlowe (Apr 22, 2010)

Got the confirmation email. Thanks, Patty.


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## 10105 (Feb 16, 2010)

Patty, I have not received an e-mail. Did you send them out?

Thanks for offering this opportunity.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Al Stevens said:


> Patty, I have not received an e-mail. Did you send them out?
> 
> Thanks for offering this opportunity.


I did, but stoopid Word goofed up my mass email. I will re-send it.


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

Thank you very much, Patty. Will reply to your email soon.


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## Pauline Creeden (Aug 4, 2011)

Nice! Signed up


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## Raquel Lyon (Mar 3, 2012)

I submitted. Hope you got it.


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## Nicholas Andrews (Sep 8, 2011)

If you didn't get the email, check your spam folders. That's where mine went.


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## KimKOHara (Aug 28, 2014)

I would like to participate, but the original link for submitting didn't work for me. Is that still where I need to go to submit? Or is there another way now?

I have a futuristic scifi thriller that involves an alternate timestream, a missing boy, a ring of blackmailers, and a bit of romance.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

I disabled the form, because I'm snowed in with submissions. I may re-open briefly when I've dealt with all the work I still have to do.

SciFIFreak will be featuring us.


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## KimKOHara (Aug 28, 2014)

Exciting! I hope you open it again!


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## Marina Finlayson (May 2, 2014)

Me too! I'll be publishing my first book in the next few days, and I'd love to be part of this. It's an urban fantasy set in Sydney featuring dragons, werewolves and a heroine with amnesia -- all my favourite stuff!


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

OK, I've just done a buttload of updates. I'll re-open the form tomorrow morning (my time, not yours. Guess that's about lunch on Monday in the US), and will make a cut-off at some point, because I want to be prepared and don't want to spend New Year's Day doing last-minute additions.

See the titles so far here:

http://pattyjansen.com/blog/mad-science-fiction-january-sale/

Many are already 99c, so get in early!

We'll be featured on Scififreak, I'll put some paid ads on Project Wonderful. Jen Minkman has offered to boost a Facebook post to her gazillion fans.

I'll provide participants with a "media package" that includes tweets about the sale, a Facebook update, the header image and relevant links to re-blog.


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## 10105 (Feb 16, 2010)

Thanks again, Patty, for all your work on our behalf. I still haven't received your e-mail. If it's urgent, try a PM here.

How long after Jan 1 do you wish the price to remain at $.99? Or do you "suggest" might be a better question.


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

Patty - I've not received an e-mail, either.

Again, thank you for this!


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## Pauline Creeden (Aug 4, 2011)

Hi Patty!

Did my book get rejected  I know I filled out the form before you closed entries...but I also didn't get a conformation email. 

If you're too full, I completely understand! Thanks for being willing to put on the event! And I'm happy to help promo, too on FB and Twitter if you send me a media package, too


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Pauline Creeden said:


> Hi Patty!
> 
> Did my book get rejected  I know I filled out the form before you closed entries...but I also didn't get a conformation email.
> 
> If you're too full, I completely understand! Thanks for being willing to put on the event! And I'm happy to help promo, too on FB and Twitter if you send me a media package, too


Gaaahhh!! I thought I did yours. Oh well, back to the salt mines.

I've re-opened the form for the last stragglers, but I will close it for good tonight, because I have to start making the promotional material and I can't do that if I have to spend my time putting up new books. The support for this has taken me by surprise. And all of this because ENT gave me a crummy date. We'll now see if Bookbub comes to the party to share the crummy date with them.

I'll resend the emails tonight, because it seems that, apart from the people I emailed separately, no one got the mass email that Outlook so gloriously effed up. If I do this again (and I might), I'm going to need a mailchimp account for this.


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## Marina Finlayson (May 2, 2014)

Guess I won't make it in time, then. Am reviewing the .mobi file from the formatters today.

Never mind. There's always April if you do it again, and good on you for setting this up and taking on the extra workload just before Christmas. I hope the sale is a great success for all involved!


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

Thank you so much for doing this, Patti.

I've sent an email with my (new) blurb, which I kept editing. This is really exciting.


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## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

Submission away, ma'am.


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## Sever Bronny (May 13, 2013)

And Patty, I'll certainly help promote it beyond twitter


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## Pauline Creeden (Aug 4, 2011)

Thanks Patty!  Looking forward to helping promo the event!


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Last offers!

Entries close in five hours.


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## Pauline Creeden (Aug 4, 2011)

Just making sure you do have my submission? Or do I need to fill out the form again?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

I've got it. I'm doing some updates and your is in the queue.


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## Pauline Creeden (Aug 4, 2011)

Awesome! Thank you!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Michael Buckley (Jun 24, 2013)

Good luck everyone, sell a ton of books.


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

Patty - I got this e-mail. Thank you!


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## Gone To Croatan (Jun 24, 2011)

Ack. Didn't even see this until now. Good luck!


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## JGrover (Aug 10, 2011)

This is awesome! Thank you Patty. Can't wait. My title will switch to 99 cents right after Christmas and I plan to promote the event on Facebook, my website and my newsletter.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

I've just closed the form. I left it overnight because frankly I forgot. I have some writing to complete ASAP, and I was putting up blog posts.

There are a few of you whose email keeps bouncing despite the fact that I've responded individually (as in: NOT using the Cc or Bcc fields, but copy & paste into individual emails--count the books and see how many emails I've sent).

For those people whose book is listed, this is the relevant part that's important right now:

(you can use the forum's message function to send this to me, and we'll work out a way to get any pictures across if there are pictures)

I am giving you all the opportunity to let readers know a bit about why they should be buying your book and who you are in a single blog post dedicated to you or your book. This is not mandatory.

Most importantly of all, this is ad copy. Try to sell your book, convince people that it’s worth their time. Don’t simply copy & paste the blurb. Add interesting stuff about yourself or why you’re in a position to write this. Add some quirky detail about your book or anything. I’d like to get something of 300-500 words in length. Copy it into the body of the email and send it to this address.

There is no need to re-send the cover of the book, but if there are any photos (or yourself, of a location in the book, whatever) you’d like to share, attach them to the email. Don’t forget to include your website link.

I’ll be putting up these posts in the days prior to the sale.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

The very last books have been added, as well as a header graphic.

http://pattyjansen.com/blog/mad-science-fiction-january-sale/

I've applied to a buttload of free sites that allowed me to submit a non-single-book link. If anyone here has suggestions on places that feature the sale, reply here.


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## 10105 (Feb 16, 2010)

Patty Jansen said:


> I am giving you all the opportunity to let readers know a bit about why they should be buying your book and who you are in a single blog post dedicated to you or your book. This is not mandatory.


Would you prefer the blog posts in first or third person?


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## G. (Aug 21, 2014)

Patty, okay to use that header graphic of yours on my website to promote the event?


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

G. said:


> Patty, okay to use that header graphic of yours on my website to promote the event?


Yup. The image is the right size for a Facebook header. Go for it.

But this is the time for planning, not yet too much posting or promoting. The collective memory of a web event is about 24 hours, so we shouldn't start doing much mentioning or promoting until the 30th at the very earliest. What you could do, of course, is use the image as Facebook header or post it somewhere on a sidebar of your blog. Actually, I should make a tall graphic for that purpose.

The other news is that bknights is coming to the party!


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

The promo page looks great. And bknights, too. Excellent.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

I forgot to say that the promo will be mentioned on scullerytales.com thanks to a member here.

Everyone, feel free to send me a PM with SF/F-related sites I could try. Better still, if you have any contacts with such sites, contact them yourself and report here.


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

Patty, if we are going to mention it on the Speculative Fiction Showcase, when would you like the post to go up?


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

I've scheduled all the blog posts I've received so far.If you want to grab the opportunity to say something about yourself or the book that's in the promo, send it to me asap.


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## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

I'll have something for you tomorrow night.

Puttin' on my Barnum hat.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Promo graphics now available!

If you go to this page:

http://pattyjansen.com/blog/promo-goodies-page/

You'll find a whole bunch of graphics that you can download and use for the promo, including a skyscraper banner that has room to paste your own book cover which you can put in the sidebar of your blog. You can see how this works on my blog (http://pattyjansen.com/blog/) in the right-hand column. The promo page itself doesn't have a sidebar.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Update:

These are the writers whose posts I have received and scheduled on 30 or 31 December:

Nigel Mitchell
Geoff Jones
Sam Kates
Robert Dahlen
Jessica Rydill
C.N. Lesley
Rinelle Grey
Jen Minkman
Andrea Hoest


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## Aurora Springer (Dec 21, 2014)

Hi,
Do you have room for another SciFi book? 
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K1N951Q
Sorry, I'm new here and just found this thread. 
Aurora


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Aurora Springer said:


> Hi,
> Do you have room for another SciFi book?
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K1N951Q
> Sorry, I'm new here and just found this thread.
> Aurora


Sorry, I really can't. When the entry form closed, a number of people missed out. It would not be fair to them to accept new entries.

However, if this promo goes well, I'll do it again, maybe in March.


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## Aurora Springer (Dec 21, 2014)

Thanks for the quick reply. 
I'd be interested in another opportunity if you hold one. I'm sure it is a lot of work.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Aurora Springer said:


> Thanks for the quick reply.
> I'd be interested in another opportunity if you hold one. I'm sure it is a lot of work.


It is a bit of work, but I'm also trying to finish a novel. Just keep an eye on the KB for future promos. Set up your Facebook and Twitter and blog so that you're ready for the cross-promo thing.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

One more thing about the blog posts. They'll go up on 30 and 31 December.

But. (big but)

Please realise that 30 December in Australia is 29 December in the US

Message: Get those suckers in ASAP.


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## scifi365 (Sep 12, 2014)

So, does this mean that the promotion is also 1st January 2015, Australian time? Or is it going to be 1st Jan 2015, EST or GMT?


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

scifi365 said:


> So, does this mean that the promotion is also 1st January 2015, Australian time? Or is it going to be 1st Jan 2015, EST or GMT?


It will go for any time that it's 1 January somewhere in the world. Many of the books are 99c already, including mine, because I had to get the price change early with D2D so Apple could change it before the holidays. Mine will stay 99c until a bit after book 3 comes out 

My point with the blog posts was that if I set them to auto-post on those days, the first posts will go live when it's still the 29th for many people.


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## JGrover (Aug 10, 2011)

Huh, that's strange. I sent my blog post to you last week.  I'll resend now.


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## hs (Feb 15, 2011)

Patty Jansen said:


> Update:
> 
> These are the writers whose posts I have received and scheduled on 30 or 31 December:
> 
> ...


Hi Patty, I re-sent you my blog post. Please let me know if you still haven't received it.
Thanks for organizing this!

-- H.S.


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## Nicholas Andrews (Sep 8, 2011)

Any hashtags you want us to use for Twitter? I'm scheduling my posts today.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

I've just tweeted this:

Giant sale of SFF books 1 January. All 99c bit.ly/13hRcvJ #scifipromo

You can either RT (@pattyjansen) or modify


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## scottmarlowe (Apr 22, 2010)

Patty Jansen said:


> I've just tweeted this:
> 
> Giant sale of SFF books 1 January. All 99c bit.ly/13hRcvJ #scifipromo
> 
> You can either RT (@pattyjansen) or modify


The cat's out of the bag now. I have a blog post ready to go and will gladly RT, post on Google+, etc.


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## Michael McClung (Feb 12, 2014)

Retweeted and blogged  I'll send out a message to my mailing list tomorrow.


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## G. (Aug 21, 2014)

Now that tweets are away, banner is now live on my website.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Really awesome, people!

Expect something from me later today. Once I've sent this novel off to the editor. GRRR


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## Cactus Lady (Jun 4, 2014)

Patty Jansen said:


> Update:
> 
> These are the writers whose posts I have received and scheduled on 30 or 31 December:
> 
> ...


I've also re-sent mine, in case you're still able to use it. Thanks so much for all your hard work with this!


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

Patty Jansen said:


> I've just tweeted this:
> 
> Giant sale of SFF books 1 January. All 99c bit.ly/13hRcvJ #scifipromo
> 
> You can either RT (@pattyjansen) or modify


Cheers, Patty! I've blogged and tweeted, and will RT yours tomorrow.


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## Robert Dahlen (Apr 27, 2014)

Patty Jansen said:


> I've just tweeted this:
> 
> Giant sale of SFF books 1 January. All 99c bit.ly/13hRcvJ #scifipromo
> 
> You can either RT (@pattyjansen) or modify


RTd! I'll be blogging about it on Tuesday 12/30, and I'll try to Facebook it (and DeviantArt just for kicks) then.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Authors now scheduled:

Al Stevens
Nigel Mitchell
Harry Manners
Geoff Jones
Rinelle Grey
Sever Bronny
Kristy Tate
Stacy Claflin
Sam Kates
Jen Minkman
Robert Dahlen
Kyra Halland
Jessica Rydill
Elizabeth Baxter
John Grover
C.N. Lesley
H.S. Stone
Andrea Hoest

This is the reverse order in which they will go off.


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## Sever Bronny (May 13, 2013)

Exciting, thanks for doing this, Patty


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## RinG (Mar 12, 2013)

Thanks for organising this Patty. I'll be setting up tweets and a FB post to go live on the 1st (in Australia!)


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## PhoenixS (Apr 5, 2011)

************


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

This is all awesome!

I have just sent every one of the participants an individual email (because if I do a Bcc, a lot of them bounce). There is one person whose email keeps bouncing. For the benefit of that person and others who might want to cross-promote, here is the email:

Dear 99c promo author,

We're almost ready to roll and here are a few things for you to use in the promotion. It's a cross-promotion, so the more we each cross-promote, the better.

I've done a few things:

The promo will be mentioned on the bknights website
The promo will be mentioned on the ScifiFREAK website
Also the Scifi365 website

A few promo participants have kindly offered to post the promo on sites with a good reach.

Below you will find a bunch of links and tweets or Facebook updates that you only need to copy & paste. I also have a bunch of promo graphics on the website that you can download and use.

Before you head over to the link section below, here is a checklist of things you can do:

-	Blog about the event, or simply re-blog the page.
-	Tweet to your followers
-	Post an update on your Facebook account (personal pages is better than author pages), and don't forget to share this post in any groups where it is relevant.
-	Post on goodreads, Tumblr, Google+ or anywhere else you have a following
-	If you see a book in the promo that you like, buy it!

And please do check your links let me know if anything is amiss! I'm not a professional promo-person, I'm doing this for the first time, and I'm not being paid.

Let's have fun.

Patty

LINKS AND OTHER STUFF:

The promo page: http://pattyjansen.com/blog/mad-science-fiction-january-sale/ 
Shortlink: http://wp.me/P3P8B7-138

Page where you can download graphics: http://pattyjansen.com/blog/promo-goodies-page/

Update for Twitter and Facebook (of course you can modify this):

Giant sale of SFF books 1 January. All 99c bit.ly/13hRcvJ #scifipromo


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## Sever Bronny (May 13, 2013)

Got your email, Patty! Will do my part


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Promo is ready to roll!

The first author blog posts will start going off within a few hours. I'm just doing a final check for formatting (for some reason copy & paste from emails often results in huge gaps between paragraphs).


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## Sever Bronny (May 13, 2013)

So exciting! I'm super curious to see what people wrote too


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## jenminkman (Mar 2, 2013)

Thanks for doing this Patty! I scheduled a newsletter to go out on the 1st (I'm in Glasgow by then, so I probably won't have time to manually send out anything) and I scheduled a FB post on my personal page as well.


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

Very excellent! Thank you, Patty. I've posted the links up on my (personal) Facebook page and a couple of groups. I'm looking forward to reading what other people wrote too.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

One of the things that I've learned but probably shouldn't surprise me:

How some people wrote nice and captivating background posts about their work or themselves, and some barely had anything to say (which strikes me as odd, writers being people of words and all that). I get that people get pressed for time and have mindblanks, but I keep a number of files and interviews just for this purpose.

Lesson 1 (not lecturing, also note to self): keep a bunch of background material/interview-style paragraphs in a file somewhere so that you can quickly whip out something that sounds half intelligent when asked for a piece about you, about XYZ series or whatever else. Or just an inspiring story. People love inspiring stories.

Also, I'm frankly baffled by how many people didn't send anything at all. Is this because they get overcome with impostor syndrome that surely people won't want to read about meeee? 

Lesson 2: If it's free, why not take advantage of it? You never know who will see it. No time? For future's sake, keep something prepared (see lesson 1)

Lesson 3 (for me): I'll keep working with people who respond. No matter if you have 100 Twitter followers and 40 Facebook friends or 100,000 Twitter followers and 4000 Facebook fans, if you are willing to do your bit, then you'll end up somewhere.

Hmm. Actually, I feel a recap post coming on. Anyway, I think I'll be doing this again.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

jenminkman said:


> Thanks for doing this Patty! I scheduled a newsletter to go out on the 1st (I'm in Glasgow by then, so I probably won't have time to manually send out anything) and I scheduled a FB post on my personal page as well.


This is awesome, and I will totally be getting your book. Fantasy based on the Netherlands should be awesome (btw off topic have you read Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt?). I sort-of did the same with my latest fantasy series.


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## Michael McClung (Feb 12, 2014)

I'm one who didn't submit a post. It was just a personal decision for me. I'm very happy to help in other areas of promotion   Speaking of which, I sent you a PM a few days ago, Patty. Did you receive it?


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Michael McClung said:


> I'm one who didn't submit a post. It was just a personal decision for me. I'm very happy to help in other areas of promotion  Speaking of which, I sent you a PM a few days ago, Patty. Did you receive it?


Yes, I did. Urgh, I don't like the PM system here that doesn't seem to automatically record your replies.

And as a reply, because more people have asked me the same question: no, I don't really want money. I paid for a few ads, but meh, I don't care. I would have taken those ads out anyway.

It's a cross-promotion, so I want you all to put on your thinking caps and do whatever you can. I'm not delivering a service, like bknights. We are the service together. So, promote! And if you are really looking for ways to part with money, but some books! Mine, or someone else's, I don't care.

Anyway, my blog tells me that post 1 (Andrea Hoest) has just gone live. And Andrea, if you're listening, can you tell me how to do those *&^&$ annoying things over the o in your name? I've just used the lame-arse option.


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## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

Patty Jansen said:


> Lesson 1 (not lecturing, also note to self): keep a bunch of background material/interview-style paragraphs in a file somewhere so that you can quickly whip out something that sounds half intelligent when asked for a piece about you, about XYZ series or whatever else. Or just an inspiring story. People love inspiring stories.


Yeah, I could have done much better, but I didn't have time over the holiday to contact you for some spitballing.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Vaalingrade said:


> Yeah, I could have done much better, but I didn't have time over the holiday to contact you for some spitballing.


I've often pulled my hair out over things like this. There are also promo sites that require you to completely re-write your blurb, AND rewrite your bio, AND enter a whole bunch of stuff about "why you wrote this book". That's honestly a bit too much for me.

Anyway, you're in.


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## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

Patty Jansen said:


> Yes, I did. Urgh, I don't like the PM system here that doesn't seem to automatically record your replies.
> 
> And as a reply, because more people have asked me the same question: no, I don't really want money. I paid for a few ads, but meh, I don't care. I would have taken those ads out anyway.
> 
> ...


I'm not Andrea, but the HTML code for those is ö

BTW, a post about the sale at the Speculative Fiction Showcase just went live: http://indiespecfic.blogspot.de/2014/12/science-fiction-and-fantasy-mad-january.html


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

> BTW, a post about the sale at the Speculative Fiction Showcase just went live: http://indiespecfic.blogspot.de/2014/12/science-fiction-and-fantasy-mad-january.html


Thanks, Cora - was just posting this but you beat me to it!


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

This is awesome!

I'm also seeing some interesting things about how well covers work. Would people be interested in a discussion some time in January about how covers influence how often a book gets clicked (Because I'm seeing huge differences). Would people like knowing (privately) how their book fared?


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## Michael McClung (Feb 12, 2014)

> I'm also seeing some interesting things about how well covers work. Would people be interested in a discussion some time in January about how covers influence how often a book gets clicked (Because I'm seeing huge differences). Would people like knowing (privately) how their book fared?


I'd be very interested.


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## PhoenixS (Apr 5, 2011)

************


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## Sever Bronny (May 13, 2013)

Phoenix Sullivan said:


> Did someone say "data"?!


lol


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## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

I'd be very interested how my 'Special Edition for the Fans' simplistic cover is working for people who aren't the normal target for it.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Phoenix Sullivan said:


> Did someone say "data"?! Always interested. We had an Ammy -- ooh, sorry, Amazon  -- mail go out for one of the boxes today, and our second box is coattailing on a mail for another box, so no way for me to know how many sales might be due to the promotion today or the first part of tomorrow. Either that or we've gotten 475 sales and 155 sales on .com from this promo today


Data is cool. The box sets will be a little bit different because they're obviously a better "deal" and people can tell by looking at the image.

Similarly, I cannot tell the difference in the sales of my own book, because I've used the same link that I'm also using everywhere else. I could have set up a separate link, but then I think the results would still be skewed because I'm running the promo. I know my sales across the board have been really good the last few days, but they're of all books, not just this one.

I'd like to talk about effectiveness of covers and people clicking on them without giving people advice they didn't ask for... hmmm... that's a KB requirement. I can discuss these things on my blog. Hmmm. Don't know. What do you think?


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

Patty Jansen said:


> This is awesome!
> 
> I'm also seeing some interesting things about how well covers work. Would people be interested in a discussion some time in January about how covers influence how often a book gets clicked (Because I'm seeing huge differences). Would people like knowing (privately) how their book fared?


Absolutely. It would be welcome, whether on here or...elsewhere! >.>


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## Claire Frank (Jul 28, 2014)

I'm watching this promo with lots of interest! (And hoping, hoping, hoping you do it again!). I'd be interested in the covers discussion as well, if that is okay, since my book isn't playing this time. 

I hope it goes crazy for everyone!


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## 10105 (Feb 16, 2010)

Patty Jansen said:


> This is awesome!
> 
> I'm also seeing some interesting things about how well covers work. Would people be interested in a discussion some time in January about how covers influence how often a book gets clicked (Because I'm seeing huge differences). Would people like knowing (privately) how their book fared?


Please do that. Thanks.


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## PhoenixS (Apr 5, 2011)

************


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## Geoff Jones (Jun 20, 2014)

> Would people like knowing (privately) how their book fared?


Yes please. I'm always interested in any other feedback about my work that you (or anyone else) might offer. Consider yourself solicited. Publicly, privately, whatever.

Thanks for doing this. I hope it goes well for all involved.

Best, 
Geoff


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Phoenix Sullivan said:


> Your affiliate data will be nice to know, Patty. Your website should give you the CTR for each book and the affiliate sales will help tell us conversions. I see the tweet url traffic is mainly from AU so far. This is interesting for me as the group promos I've ever run mainly targeted .com. Having more of a non-US focus before the 1st is pretty cool.


All my shortlinks take people to the appropriate Amazon store wherever in the world they are.

The affiliate data will take a day or two to filter in. I do know that the SF box set has already sold since I listed it a week or so back. In fact, it's been a fairly steady seller though my affiliate link since I first mentioned it on my blog. Ironically, I mentioned it in a negative way (because there are no female writers in it) LOL. That all goes to show that there is no such thing as bad publicity and that if ever someone wanted to do a SF box set that includes female writers then I'm all ears. /end making eyes


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## Michael McClung (Feb 12, 2014)

> if ever someone wanted to do a SF box set that includes female writers then I'm all ears.


I think a SF box set that was* all* female writers would be a good draw. Fantasy, especially urban and paranormal would be easy, of course, but I'm talking all SF, be it hard SF, swords and lasers, military, what have you.

I'd buy that.


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## PhoenixS (Apr 5, 2011)

Patty Jansen said:


> All my shortlinks take people to the appropriate Amazon store wherever in the world they are.
> 
> The affiliate data will take a day or two to filter in. I do know that the SF box set has already sold since I listed it a week or so back. In fact, it's been a fairly steady seller though my affiliate link since I first mentioned it on my blog. Ironically, I mentioned it in a negative way (because there are no female writers in it) LOL. That all goes to show that there is no such thing as bad publicity and that if ever someone wanted to do a SF box set that includes female writers then I'm all ears. /end making eyes


That was a fair criticism for #1. It's #2 in the promo, though, and G.S., Chris and Autumn are females -- or do you know something I don't?


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## G. (Aug 21, 2014)

Patty Jansen said:


> Would people like knowing (privately) how their book fared?


Oh, yes please.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Phoenix Sullivan said:


> That was a fair criticism for #1. It's #2 in the promo, though, and G.S., Chris and Autumn are females -- or do you know something I don't?


Duh. I knew I was missing something. I had seen that before--that was actually why I selected it... but my lame excuse is that I have been very busy with completing a new novel and this promo and oh yeah there was this thing called Christmas, too


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## hs (Feb 15, 2011)

Patty Jansen said:


> This is awesome!
> 
> I'm also seeing some interesting things about how well covers work. Would people be interested in a discussion some time in January about how covers influence how often a book gets clicked (Because I'm seeing huge differences). Would people like knowing (privately) how their book fared?


I'd like to know too. Privately or publicly, it doesn't matter. 
It would also be helpful to know which covers got the most clicks, if those authors don't mind the revelation.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

I'm thinking that next time I might include this option in the form. But any public discussion (or maybe I should create a private Facebook group?) would not include sales figures, only effectiveness in getting people to click covers.

Oh, well.

Anyway, when it's all done, I'm happy to give people some details privately.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

All the author posts are now being released, one new post every 2-3 hours.

Want to see all of them?

Use this link: http://pattyjansen.com/blog/tag/january-99c-promo/


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## Raquel Lyon (Mar 3, 2012)

Patty Jansen said:


> I'd like to talk about effectiveness of covers and people clicking on them without giving people advice they didn't ask for... hmmm... that's a KB requirement. I can discuss these things on my blog. Hmmm. Don't know. What do you think?


You can never have too much data!


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## Raquel Lyon (Mar 3, 2012)

Patty, I have a confession to make. When I filled out the form for this promotion, I said my book might have a new cover before the 1st. Last week I changed my covers, and while I was over at Smashwords, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and make the book free, as it was my intention to go permafree with it in the new year. I thought it would take a while for the price to reflect at the other retailers and that I would have a long road ahead to get Amazon to price match it. (My prequel took four months of begging.) I was convinced I'd be safe for this promotion.
I nearly fell over this morning when I checked my reports and saw all the free downloads. They've done it really quickly and without me reporting it.

Even though my book is still 99c in most countries on Amazon, I'm so sorry this has happened, and I totally understand if you want to pull my book from the promotion before the big day.

I will, of course, continue to promote the sale regardless.


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

Patty Jansen said:


> All the author posts are now being released, one new post every 2-3 hours.
> 
> Want to see all of them?
> 
> Use this link: http://pattyjansen.com/blog/tag/january-99c-promo/


I've been sharing them in the UK/EU timezone, Will try to spread them out.

I'd be very interested in feedback on my cover's click-through rate. I can see sales but it would be fascinating to know what, if any, interest it attracted.


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## 10105 (Feb 16, 2010)

Just an observation: If anything's going to hurt this promotion, it's the poor performance of the server. It usually takes longer than people are willing to wait for the server to respond with the page. Users will typically lose patience and click on to something else. This morning it's taking 40 seconds and longer. When the traffic goes up as folks pitch it to their friends and followers, I worry that the bandwidth will suffer even more.


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## Robert Dahlen (Apr 27, 2014)

Just blogged, Facebooked, Tsued, and even DeviantArted. (Hey, it couldn't hurt.)


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## Sever Bronny (May 13, 2013)

Don't forget to retweet each other, people 

Has everyone publicized their twitter account here?

Mine's @severbronny


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

Yes, please, I'd like feedback. And any advice will be gratefully received. (I may not always follow it, but I'll listen to it.)

Just shared to FB and Twitter. (I'm here: https://twitter.com/_Sam_Kates_)


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

This is really great. All these people keeping the promotion going while I'm asleep.

Yup. The server can be slow. I need a new one, but don't even know where to begin looking, and the idea of moving all my sites across gives me nightmares. It's handled a lot worse than this, though, so I doubt it will crash. It's just not very fast.


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## JGrover (Aug 10, 2011)

Patty Jansen said:


> All the author posts are now being released, one new post every 2-3 hours.
> 
> Want to see all of them?
> 
> Use this link: http://pattyjansen.com/blog/tag/january-99c-promo/


Hi Patty,
I don't see my blog post? According to the previous list I should have followed C. N. Lesley but I didn't. Do you know when my book will be featured?
-John


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## JGrover (Aug 10, 2011)

AH....never mind...I see it now. That's totally strange. Maybe it just wasn't in the archives.


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## Kristy Tate (Apr 24, 2012)

So cool! How did I get so lucky to be #1? Just "liked" and tweeted and I'm happy to retweet (or do anything else that's legal.) I'm @kristyswords


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## 10105 (Feb 16, 2010)

My blog post has not shown up, either. I'll check back later.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Yours is one of the very last ones to go live, Al.


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## Sever Bronny (May 13, 2013)

Trying assorted relevant hastags. I tweeted this:

Fellow authors participate in a massive #fantasy 99 cent #kindle #amazon #books SALE. http://pattyjansen.com/blog/tag/january-99c-promo/


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Sever Bronny said:


> Trying assorted relevant hastags. I tweeted this:
> 
> Fellow authors participate in a massive #fantasy 99 cent #kindle #amazon #books SALE. http://pattyjansen.com/blog/tag/january-99c-promo/


Awesome. I have a self-professed hatred for hashtags, probably to my own detriment


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## 10105 (Feb 16, 2010)

They used to be called "pound signs." I don't know why.


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

Ok, I've tweeted (@razumova) and shared on Google+ and Pinterest.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

JessieCar said:


> Ok, I've tweeted (@razumova) and shared on Google+ and Pinterest.


Thanks Jessica. I'll do a bit more tomorrow. A participant who is not on the KB suggested making a google+ post and sharing that on Twitter. I'll do that tomorrow, too.


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

Sounds good to me, Patty! I've also mentioned it on Chris Graham's Google Group Fantasy Writers.


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## Michael McClung (Feb 12, 2014)

Just sent out my newsletter  

I've tweeted a couple of times, I'll tweet a couple more. My handle is @mcclungmike


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Great.

I'll be off for tonight to the fireworks, so I'll see you all again tomorrow.


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

Happy New Year, Patty!

We've got a few hours to go in this time-zone. And then - bye bye 2014! A bloody awful year in many ways.


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## scottmarlowe (Apr 22, 2010)

I've mentioned the event on Twitter, my blog, and Google+ so far. I'll mention it here and there throughout the day and tomorrow.


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## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

Happy New Year, Patty. Enjoy the fireworks at the Harbour Bridge (which we'll be seeing in the 7 o'clock news tonight).


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)




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## Pauline Creeden (Aug 4, 2011)

A public discussion would be fine with me, as we can learn more by comparing data with each other. Thanks again for opening the promo up for everyone. I too was overwhelmed by the holiday and couldn't come up with a creative post. But preparing something ahead of time -- why didn't I think of that? Live and learn.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

Stunning photo, Patty. Happy New Year!


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## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

Tweeted and will be mentioned on my front page tonight.


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

I'm off to a New Year's Eve party so will promote like mad tomorrow as early as my hangover allows. 

Happy New Year to all!


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## hs (Feb 15, 2011)

I posted on Facebook and Twitter. 
Happy New Year, everyone! And thanks again for organizing the promotion, Patty!


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## Harry Manners (Jul 6, 2013)

Tweeted and facebooked. Thanks again for organising this, Patty. That photo of the harbour is truly amazing. Happy New Year, all!


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

kurzon said:


> Stunning photograph Patty.
> 
> Have blogged (and Sherwood Smith has also mentioned the post on her blog).


Thanks

I've got a lot of links coming in from your site.

So far, the page has had about 400 views, with 368 clicks on the buy links for all of your books*. Most books are at 10+ clicks now. Sales... well, we'll know when Amazon associates updates, because the figures I have are two days old. Normal click vs sale is a few %.

* My book is excluded from the linkstravaganza because I already had a self-hosted smartlink and those clicks are mixed up with other promos (lesson for me: next time get a dedicated smartlink)


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## Nigel Mitchell (Jan 21, 2013)

In regards to the promo post, I sent one, but wasn't really sure what to write. Kicking myself now that I see the other authors writing interesting and personal posts. I will write up an article (press kit) for my novels in the near future.

Oh, I'm @nigelgmitchell


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Today is the day!


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## 10105 (Feb 16, 2010)

I added a post to my facebook personal page. I hope both my friends see it.


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## scifi365 (Sep 12, 2014)

Well, the Scifi365.net promotion has gone live via our mailing list about 4 minutes ago, so hopefully you'll all do well out of that.
http://us8.campaign-archive1.com/?u=2b55d70cb2f2413dcf7d7079b&id=5cc2dae4b7&e=ccabb05dd1

Happy new year one and all.


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## PhoenixS (Apr 5, 2011)

************


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## Craig Halloran (May 15, 2012)

Excellent!


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

scifi365 said:


> Well, the Scifi365.net promotion has gone live via our mailing list about 4 minutes ago, so hopefully you'll all do well out of that.
> http://us8.campaign-archive1.com/?u=2b55d70cb2f2413dcf7d7079b&id=5cc2dae4b7&e=ccabb05dd1
> 
> Happy new year one and all.


Thank you Mark - and Phoenix! Happy New Year, everyone.

Has anyone sold anything yet?  I seem to have sold 0 today (referencing Nigel Molesworth).


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## Robert Dahlen (Apr 27, 2014)

JessieCar said:


> Has anyone sold anything yet?  I seem to have sold 0 today (referencing Nigel Molesworth).


I hope that's just a reporting glitch.  I've sold 4 this week, 2 of them today.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Robert Dahlen said:


> I hope that's just a reporting glitch.  I've sold 4 this week, 2 of them today.


Yes, the associates report shows those sales. Those reports are at least two days old, so I'm expecting more to come in tonight or tomorrow morning. Most links to Amazon now have 20 or more clicks. What happens after that is really up to the book itself.

It was a bit of work setting it up, but this is really cool.


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## Robert Dahlen (Apr 27, 2014)

Patty Jansen said:


> Yes, the associates report shows those sales. Those reports are at least two days old, so I'm expecting more to come in tonight or tomorrow morning. Most links to Amazon now have 20 or more clicks. What happens after that is really up to the book itself.
> 
> It was a bit of work setting it up, but this is really cool.


And I thank you for all your work! Even if the sales don't go my way, I appreciate the exposure and the promotion.


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

Robert Dahlen said:


> And I thank you for all your work! Even if the sales don't go my way, I appreciate the exposure and the promotion.


That goes for me, too. Huge thanks, Patty.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Don't forget: share the link in any magic Facebook groups that you're in! Share it on Google plus or any other social media.

Ah, and the bknights ad just went off!


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## Geoff Jones (Jun 20, 2014)

> Don't forget: share the link in any magic Facebook groups that you're in!


I don't know if they are magic, but I posted in the FB groups below. Search (where it says "Search this group") for "_Science Fiction and Fantasy New Years Day sale_" to find the post and then *share* or *like* or *comment* if you think it would help.

Thanks again for organizing this Patty. Best of luck and Happy New Year to everyone,

Geoff

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ebooksrock/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/241846582600572/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/AmazonBookClubs/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/passionforbooks/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/177830275661611/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/443014452450161/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/scififan/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/179494068820033/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/BOOKS.READERS.and.AUTHORS/


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

LOL there were some groups that I also just posted in, but also some new ones, so that is good.

The first book links have just hit 40+ hits. It looks like the smarturl thingie has stopped updating. My page shows more than 520 clicks on smarturl links just for today. That's in addition to the 400+ we got yesterday.


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

Robert Dahlen said:


> And I thank you for all your work! Even if the sales don't go my way, I appreciate the exposure and the promotion.


Yes. totally second this! I've had sales in the run-up to the promo (and undoubtedly thanks to the promo). And I did share it on a couple of FB groups.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

JessieCar said:


> Yes. totally second this! I've had sales in the run-up to the promo (and undoubtedly thanks to the promo). And I did share it on a couple of FB groups.


Yes, I'm reasonably sure you're also on the associates report


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## PaulLev (Nov 2, 2012)

I'm not even part of this sale, but I'm in such a good mood today - selling copies of The Silk Code (Phil D'Amato series Book 1) and The Plot to Save Socrates (Sierra Waters Book 1), also on sale - that I just tweeted your great sale to 10,000+ with automatic relay to 5000 more on FB https://twitter.com/PaulLev/status/550776529303523328 Best luck with this - hope all you all sell a zillion copies!


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

PaulLev said:


> I'm not even part of this sale, but I'm in such a good mood today - selling copies of The Silk Code (Phil D'Amato series Book 1) and The Plot to Save Socrates (Sierra Waters Book 1), also on sale - that I just tweeted your great sale to 10,000+ with automatic relay to 5000 more on FB https://twitter.com/PaulLev/status/550776529303523328 Best luck with this - hope all you all sell a zillion copies!


Awesome, thank you!

I'll be doing another one a bit later in the year (maybe Mad March? That has a nice ring to it) and you're welcome to take part.


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

Patty Jansen said:


> Yes, I'm reasonably sure you're also on the associates report


Yay! I must stop checking my sales page obsessively.


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## PaulLev (Nov 2, 2012)

Patty Jansen said:


> Awesome, thank you!
> 
> I'll be doing another one a bit later in the year (maybe Mad March? That has a nice ring to it) and you're welcome to take part.


I definitely will - thanks! (The only reason I didn't this time is that I didn't want to mix people up too much with the sale I had already planned.)


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## Sever Bronny (May 13, 2013)

Thank you Paul!


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

JessieCar said:


> Yay! I must stop checking my sales page obsessively.


Nothing wrong with that!

Today, I've got an interesting experience. Normally I give away around 80-100 freebies a day. Today, my red line is in danger of catching up with the green one. I'm going to be obsessively checking my reports today.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

PaulLev said:


> I definitely will - thanks! (The only reason I didn't this time is that I didn't want to mix people up too much with the sale I had already planned.)


You're welcome!

It was a spur of the moment, screw Bookbub thing, but it's fun and not that hard to do, and it's been awesome to see how people have taken the baton and run with it.


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## PaulLev (Nov 2, 2012)

Patty Jansen said:


> You're welcome!
> 
> It was a spur of the moment, screw Bookbub thing, but it's fun and not that hard to do, and it's been awesome to see how people have taken the baton and run with it.


It's fabulous that you're doing this! Cheapskate that I am, I just hate paying for promotion, and Bookbub's in the stratosphere.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Just for grins, I put a link out onto my Google+ page just now to see it will drum up any traffic. It may or may not, but I figured, what the heck ....

https://plus.google.com/u/0/+GeoffreySnyder/posts/hUomd4PQ9ZD


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

Patty Jansen said:


> You're welcome!
> 
> It was a spur of the moment, screw Bookbub thing, but it's fun and not that hard to do, and it's been awesome to see how people have taken the baton and run with it.


It has been fun. It will be good to compare notes afterwards. It's a shame we can't all nip down the pub! (Second what Paul says about BB).


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

PaulLev said:


> It's fabulous that you're doing this! Cheapskate that I am, I just hate paying for promotion, and Bookbub's in the stratosphere.


I would pay for Bookbub every month if they'd have me. They accepted me twice, but have since decided that they hate me. That won't stop me from submitting. Even if a 99c ad costs $350. I have $350 and would gladly spend it on a Bookbub ad. I don't mind. It's just the randomness of being knocked back all the time that spurred me on to do this. I'm hoping to get to the stage where I can say "Bookbub? Who needs Bookbub!"


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## Pauline Creeden (Aug 4, 2011)

Liked, shared and retweeted everywhere I could 😀😀


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Geoffrey said:


> Just for grins, I put a link out onto my Google+ page just now to see it will drum up any traffic. It may or may not, but I figured, what the heck ....
> 
> https://plus.google.com/u/0/+GeoffreySnyder/posts/hUomd4PQ9ZD


Awesome. Apparently, some magic goes on when you share a G+ post on Twitter. I posted to G+ last night, but I'm such a G+ noob that I couldn't figure out how to share the post to Twitter. Maybe someone else can do this?


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## Pauline Creeden (Aug 4, 2011)

Also, according to KDP, I've sold 8 today and had 2 borrows thus far. I shared on my personal FB page and Twitter so far. Will tweet again and post on my author page in an hour or so. Peak view time on my page is 8 pm.


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

Patty Jansen said:


> Awesome. Apparently, some magic goes on when you share a G+ post on Twitter. I posted to G+ last night, but I'm such a G+ noob that I couldn't figure out how to share the post to Twitter. Maybe someone else can do this?


I still find G+ baffling LOL. I'll go and have a look. I think maybe you can set it up to cross-post to Twitter?


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

JessieCar said:


> I still find G+ baffling LOL. I'll go and have a look. I think maybe you can set it up to cross-post to Twitter?


I get my Twitter updates crossposted everywhere. I'm a Twitter gal.


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

Patty Jansen said:


> I get my Twitter updates crossposted everywhere. I'm a Twitter gal.


Well, I posted to G+ but I couldn't figure out how to share it on Twitter either...


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

JessieCar said:


> Well, I posted to G+ but I couldn't figure out how to share it on Twitter either...


Sometimes I think it's just me being dumb. Basically I have zero patience for gadgetry and sites that aren't easy to use. But I'm glad to have it confirmed that I'm not a total dunce.


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

Patty Jansen said:


> Sometimes I think it's just me being dumb. Basically I have zero patience for gadgetry and sites that aren't easy to use. But I'm glad to have it confirmed that I'm not a total dunce.


Well, I poked around in the settings a bit...looked at the shares (?) - and not a clue! xD


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## Robert Dahlen (Apr 27, 2014)

Robert Dahlen said:


> I hope that's just a reporting glitch.  I've sold 4 this week, 2 of them today.


Up to 5 today, a new one-day high for me. The exciting part is that I sold my first copies outside of North America - one to a UK buyer and to a Brazilian. I'm international now!


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

PaulLev said:


> I'm not even part of this sale, but I'm in such a good mood today - selling copies of The Silk Code (Phil D'Amato series Book 1) and The Plot to Save Socrates (Sierra Waters Book 1), also on sale - that I just tweeted your great sale to 10,000+ with automatic relay to 5000 more on FB https://twitter.com/PaulLev/status/550776529303523328 Best luck with this - hope all you all sell a zillion copies!


Fantastic - thank you!

ETA: I've posted today on FB, Twitter, Amazon UK and US, Google+, Goodreads. I don't think I have enough followers on any site for my posts to make a huge difference, but hopefully every little helps.


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## JGrover (Aug 10, 2011)

Thanks so much Patty for organizing this! I've posted on faceobok, in at least 10 groups, also on Goodreads, myspace ad linked in. 
I'm about to send out on my newsletter as well.

Happy Selling everyone!


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## PaulLev (Nov 2, 2012)

Sam Kates said:


> Fantastic - thank you!
> 
> ETA: I've posted today on FB, Twitter, Amazon UK and US, Google+, Goodreads. I don't think I have enough followers on any site for my posts to make a huge difference, but hopefully every little helps.


My pleasure! And I also just posted to G+ https://plus.google.com/113940323539945773323/posts/Sg8ojX7ty5N


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## PaulLev (Nov 2, 2012)

Sever Bronny said:


> Thank you Paul!


Any time!


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## PaulLev (Nov 2, 2012)

Patty Jansen said:


> I would pay for Bookbub every month if they'd have me. They accepted me twice, but have since decided that they hate me. That won't stop me from submitting. Even if a 99c ad costs $350. I have $350 and would gladly spend it on a Bookbub ad. I don't mind. It's just the randomness of being knocked back all the time that spurred me on to do this. I'm hoping to get to the stage where I can say "Bookbub? Who needs Bookbub!"


You have a better attitude than I would have about that - I'd stop submitting to them after the first time they turned me down. But what you're doing now is a much better approach - an author's cooperative.


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## PaulLev (Nov 2, 2012)

Geoffrey said:


> Just for grins, I put a link out onto my Google+ page just now to see it will drum up any traffic. It may or may not, but I figured, what the heck ....
> 
> https://plus.google.com/u/0/+GeoffreySnyder/posts/hUomd4PQ9ZD


And just re-shared this on G+, with an #ICYMI tag. By the way, as I as I know, there is no way to automatically relay G+ posts to Twitter.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

This is so huge! We just passed 1000 clicks on the smarturl links.

I see lots of links coming in from Facebook, Twitter, Google + and people's individual pages.


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## 10105 (Feb 16, 2010)

Al Stevens said:


> I added a post to my facebook personal page. I hope both my friends see it.


I guess they did. I sold two books yesterday.


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## Pauline Creeden (Aug 4, 2011)

Thank you, Patty, for putting together an awesome promo! This was really fun and I'm sure everyone gained a lot of exposure, too.


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## Cactus Lady (Jun 4, 2014)

Pauline Creeden said:


> Thank you, Patty, for putting together an awesome promo! This was really fun and I'm sure everyone gained a lot of exposure, too.


Yes, thank you! I didn't have huge sales but it was a pretty good day for me, and it was a lot of fun too!


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

Kyra Halland said:


> Yes, thank you! I didn't have huge sales but it was a pretty good day for me, and it was a lot of fun too!


Absolutely second this. The promo was fun and it did boost my sales. There was also a bit of feed-through (is that the word?) to the other titles. Patty, it was a great idea, and hopefully something you will do again. Many thanks!


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Ambassador topped out at #3990 yesterday.

(I know it's not much for some of you, but I sell like crap on Amazon, so let me have my moment in the sun, right? I'll do Kobo battles with you any day)

The associates figures are just in, and we clocked up 100 sales. Some are still trickling in. Yesterday, there have been another 200-odd clicks on the links, so I'm going to leave the page for a bit longer.

Another lesson: the "tails" on both ends of the promo are important. If you can leave the book at the set price for longer, that could help. Mine will be low until a week or so after book 3 comes out.

For people who have requested their numbers, I'll send individual responses. What sales I've recorded will be lower than the actual sales, because some people will have seen the promo page, but arrived at the sales page in a way that different from clicking on the link. Maybe because they had already listed the book on their wish list.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

I'm 2/3rds through Ambassador #1 and have really enjoyed it so far. Well done and I tend to be picky. I bought it before the first after reading the start of this thread


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Thank you!


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## NicWilson (Apr 16, 2011)

Thanks for putting this together, Patty. I had it on G+, Twitter, and FB, and had my coauthor pulling for it, too. We put our book on sale a little early, and are keeping it a few days later. So that tail's all good for us.


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## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

Thanks for this, Patty!

The Complete Volume 1 of Descendant sis going to stay at 99 cents for the weekend to catch the tail. Sold 4 copies including someone who bought the night before.


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## 10105 (Feb 16, 2010)

As a consequence of this promotion (two sales), I have changed my cover. I do not know my hit rate, but learned folks have been banging on me for a while saying the lady conveyed a different kind of book. I studied the covers of amazon's "Best Books of the Month" SFF titles...

http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=s9_dnav_bw_BoSFF_b?_encoding=UTF8&node=4919319011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-4&pf_rd_r=1SDNF2RY1BXQS248ERKT&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=2014126802&pf_rd_i=390919011

...and tried to be influenced by them. I don't think I was very much but, it is what it is.

I divorce my book from that model with great reluctance. 

I consider this promotion a success because not only did I learn from it, but I added to my TBR list.

The new cover ("Annie Somewhere") is in my sig.


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## Pauline Creeden (Aug 4, 2011)

Al Stevens said:


> As a consequence of this promotion (two sales), I have changed my cover. I do not know my hit rate, but learned folks have been banging on me for a while saying the lady conveyed a different kind of book. I studied the covers of amazon's "Best Books of the Month" SFF titles...
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=s9_dnav_bw_BoSFF_b?_encoding=UTF8&node=4919319011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-4&pf_rd_r=1SDNF2RY1BXQS248ERKT&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=2014126802&pf_rd_i=390919011
> 
> ...


I'm just one person, but I like the new cover better! Also I know how hard it is to give up a cover your fond of, I did it for my book Sanctuary, because it, too had a female model on the cover, and everyone said it made the book lighter and more YA than the dark story within, so I changed it. And it did help with sales as well as getting a bookbub slot


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Amazingly, I'm still getting hits from this promo, but towards the end of the week, I will close the page and I will have the number of clicks available for people who requested the data. 

After that, I might do a First in Series Free cross-promo that gives people the opportunity to list books on other sites. Because I'm going to have to hand-code all the links, I may put a limit on the number of participants. Still thinking about that. Would there be interest in doing this?


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## Sever Bronny (May 13, 2013)

Patty Jansen said:


> Amazingly, I'm still getting hits from this promo, but towards the end of the week, I will close the page and I will have the number of clicks available for people who requested the data.
> 
> After that, I might do a First in Series Free cross-promo that gives people the opportunity to list books on other sites. Because I'm going to have to hand-code all the links, I may put a limit on the number of participants. Still thinking about that. Would there be interest in doing this?


Absolutely! Count me in


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## Pauline Creeden (Aug 4, 2011)

Patty Jansen said:


> Amazingly, I'm still getting hits from this promo, but towards the end of the week, I will close the page and I will have the number of clicks available for people who requested the data.
> 
> After that, I might do a First in Series Free cross-promo that gives people the opportunity to list books on other sites. Because I'm going to have to hand-code all the links, I may put a limit on the number of participants. Still thinking about that. Would there be interest in doing this?


I'd love to if you'll have me  (provided that a novella series is okay) and cross promo on my Twitter/Facebook as well!


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## Michael McClung (Feb 12, 2014)

> After that, I might do a First in Series Free cross-promo that gives people the opportunity to list books on other sites. Because I'm going to have to hand-code all the links, I may put a limit on the number of participants. Still thinking about that. Would there be interest in doing this?


*raises hand*


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## RinG (Mar 12, 2013)

Thanks for organising this Patty. I had a good week of sales. Not sure how many were a result of the promo, but I'm happy anyway! (Would love numbers if you have them.) I posted on Twitter and my personal Facebook, but I don't have huge numbers of fans!


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

RinG said:


> Thanks for organising this Patty. I had a good week of sales. Not sure how many were a result of the promo, but I'm happy anyway! (Would love numbers if you have them.) I posted on Twitter and my personal Facebook, but I don't have huge numbers of fans!


The good thing about cross-promo is that individual members don't need huge audiences, but it's the cumulative effect that makes it worthwhile.


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## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

Patty Jansen said:


> Amazingly, I'm still getting hits from this promo, but towards the end of the week, I will close the page and I will have the number of clicks available for people who requested the data.
> 
> After that, I might do a First in Series Free cross-promo that gives people the opportunity to list books on other sites. Because I'm going to have to hand-code all the links, I may put a limit on the number of participants. Still thinking about that. Would there be interest in doing this?


Most certainly!


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## Kristy Tate (Apr 24, 2012)

Vaalingrade said:


> Most certainly!





Patty Jansen said:


> Amazingly, I'm still getting hits from this promo, but towards the end of the week, I will close the page and I will have the number of clicks available for people who requested the data.
> 
> After that, I might do a First in Series Free cross-promo that gives people the opportunity to list books on other sites. Because I'm going to have to hand-code all the links, I may put a limit on the number of participants. Still thinking about that. Would there be interest in doing this?


 Oh, pick me! (Thanks for doing this! It's been a great ride.)


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

Patty Jansen said:


> Amazingly, I'm still getting hits from this promo, but towards the end of the week, I will close the page and I will have the number of clicks available for people who requested the data.
> 
> After that, I might do a First in Series Free cross-promo that gives people the opportunity to list books on other sites. Because I'm going to have to hand-code all the links, I may put a limit on the number of participants. Still thinking about that. Would there be interest in doing this?


Me too, please!


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

OK, some general numbers:

Page views as recorded by the blog counter: 1082
Clicks on links: 1624
Sales: 126

The majority of the books recorded at least one sale through a click on a link (there will have been more sales, but recorded in a different way). Seven books did not record a sale. Three books recorded four sales. 
The click-through vs sale percentage was all over the place. Ironically, some of the lesser-clicked books sold better. Because people knew what they wanted? I don't know.

Anyway, as I said, this is a percentage of total sales, because some people will have arrived at the Amazon page through a different path.

Overall, I'm happy with the way this went. Cross-promo seems a viable way of promoting.

I've now disabled the page, and will be looking at a different cross-promo soon-ish. But first! New book launch.


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## Sever Bronny (May 13, 2013)

Thanks for that, Patty!! Interesting, I may have mixed your sale results with one of my paid AD blitz's when I was reporting the numbers. I'll have to go back and check the scheduling of my promo ads. I was flying by the seat of my pants with them so got a little muddled


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## Howietzer (Apr 18, 2012)

Thx so much for all your hard work, you're greatly appreciated.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

Yeah, I read about the promo here and clicked on your sig link so that's not counted and probably not uncommon


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Just to be clear. When you click on the page link, you don't get a 404, but I've stopped linking the page from the site's menu. I've also put up a line that the promo is over, but all the books are still up. There were four further sales yesterday.

So the lesson is that the ramps on both sides are important, and that it's worthwhile manually leaving the book at the promo price rather than doing a one-day Countdown blast.

I have some ideas for the next promo, which will go over a much longer period of time (want to do another 99c blast in April, to coincide with ForeverGirl's promo). 

But first: Ambassador 3 book launch.


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## Robert Dahlen (Apr 27, 2014)

Patty Jansen said:


> OK, some general numbers:
> 
> Page views as recorded by the blog counter: 1082
> Clicks on links: 1624
> ...


Patty, is it too late to get this data for my book as a PM? I sold nine total during the promo period, which is good by my standards. I had one sale of the second book a few days later, so I guess there was a bit of carryover.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Robert Dahlen said:


> Patty, is it too late to get this data for my book as a PM? I sold nine total during the promo period, which is good by my standards. I had one sale of the second book a few days later, so I guess there was a bit of carryover.


Done.


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## Robert Dahlen (Apr 27, 2014)

Patty Jansen said:


> Done.


Thanks! As you can tell by my PM, I was a bit surprised... Anyway, I don't think I'm ready to set the first book in my series to permafree yet, but I'd be interested in another 99 cent run in April.

And thank you for setting this all up! I appreciate all the work you put into this. I hope everyone gets big juicy ramp sales from this promo.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Chad Winters said:


> Yeah, I read about the promo here and clicked on your sig link so that's not counted and probably not uncommon


OMG this is the first time I'm seeing a book of mine in the KB signature thingie. Not just one, but two books! You are awesome.


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

Hi, Patty. I would like to know my stats, too, if any. Sorry if I should have PM'd you


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## G. (Aug 21, 2014)

Robert Dahlen said:


> Patty, is it too late to get this data for my book as a PM? I sold nine total during the promo period, which is good by my standards. I had one sale of the second book a few days later, so I guess there was a bit of carryover.


Patty, if you have the data handy, I'd appreciate a PM as well.


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

Good luck with the launch, Patty!

May I add myself to the list asking for my stats? There was definitely some impact!


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## 10105 (Feb 16, 2010)

I sold two books and bought three. I consider that being ahead of the game.


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