# This is it... my biggest (and best) launch ever (thanks to you)! UPDATED BK 3!



## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

Back in the summer, I was at a place where I had to make a choice to take a month off writing and do some research on writing to market. You would've thought that after 3 years of publishing, I would know what I was supposed to be doing. But, no. I kept making the same mistakes over and over again, not quite hitting the right mark with any of my releases. And, there were a few.

You guys were so encouraging when I posted to say that this might be my last chance before I have to find a different full time job. You also helped me when I posted my ideas for the new series.

Well, after all your input, I'm finally ready to release my new UF series on Tuesday. So, I thought I would share my launch plans and document how it goes. I'm really nervous, but really excited too. I just have a gut feeling that this just might be the one. Fingers crossed!

Release date: 28th Nov

ARC's sent out: 28th Oct
Pre-order book 1 went live: 07th Nov
AMS Ads went live: 11th Nov
Pre-order book 2 went live: 17th Nov
Series page created: 22nd Nov
Paperback went live: 20th Nov
Paperback and Book 1 linked: 23th Nov
ARC review request email: 24th Nov
Also-boughts kicked in: 25th Nov

Pre-orders -
Book 1: 142
Book 2: 27

Reviews on release day: 47 with 4.7* (A lot of these were new ARC readers too!)

Release day and week 1 promo:
My newsletter, various author NL swaps, Thunderclap campaign, AMS and FB ads.

Week 2 promo:
A couple more newsletters, I love vampire novels, ebooksoda, bargainbooksy, Fantasy book deals, Romancing the dragon, Booksends, ereaderIQ, bookscream, other free sites. A couple of cross promo's.

I'm feeling so humble and thankful to everyone who is helping with my launch and those who helped me to get this series as good as I can.

I will update this as the release happens with numbers and ranks etc. 
Wish me luck and thank you! 

*RESULTS:*

DAY ONE: 
Newsletter swaps, my newsletter, FB and AMS ads (always only small budget).
Sales: *125*
Page Reads: *1004*
Pre-orders book 2:* 50*
Best Rank: *#1200*

DAY TWO:
Newsletter swaps, FB and AMS ads.
Sales: *110*
Page Reads: *5896*
Pre-orders book 2: *27*
Best Rank: *#1334*

DAY THREE:
Newsletter swaps, FB and AMS ads.
Sales: *64*
Page Reads: *3836*
Pre-orders book 2: *18*
Best Rank: *#1194*

DAY FOUR: - Not a good sales day at all. Not sure if this is Amazon reporting or it's naturally dropping off already.
Newsletter swaps, FB and AMS ads.
Sales: *26*
Page Reads: *4513*
Pre-orders book 2: *17*
Best Rank: *#1455*

DAY FIVE:
Newsletter swaps, FB and AMS ads.
Sales: *42*
Page Reads: *6829*
Pre-orders book 2: *22*
Best Rank: *#2400*

DAY SIX:
Newsletter swaps, Author FB group, FB and AMS ads.
Sales: *58*
Page Reads: *6262*
Pre-orders book 2: *20*
Best Rank: *#1900*

DAY SEVEN:
Bargain Booksy, FB and AMS ads.
Sales: *60*
Page Reads: *6829*
Pre-orders book 2: *17*
Best Rank: *#1800*

DAY EIGHT:
Booksends, Fantasy book deals, Speculative Fiction Showcase. FB and AMS ads.
Sales: *52*
Page Reads: *4515*
Pre-orders book 2: *21*
Best Rank: *#1900*

DAY NINE:
One NL and ads.
Sales: *20*
Page Reads: *5935*
Pre-orders book 2: *13*
Best Rank: *#2400*

DAY TEN:
ILVN and ads.
Sales: *36*
Page Reads:* 5391*
Pre-orders book 2: *9*
Best Rank: *#2200*

DAY ELEVEN - 
Bookscream and ads.
SALES: *19*
KENP: *5236*
RANK: *#3700*
PRE-ORDERS FOR BOOK 2: *11*

DAY TWELVE - 
FKBT, ereaderIQ and ads.
SALES: *51*
KENP: *5960*
RANK: *#2400*
PRE-ORDERS FOR BOOK 2: *13*

DAY THIRTEEN - 
Romancing the dragon and ads.
SALES: *26*
KENP: *6127*
RANK: *#1900*
PRE-ORDERS FOR BOOK 2: *12*

DAY FOURTEEN - 
ebooksoda and ads.
SALES: *33*
KENP: *4547*
RANK: *#2500*
PRE-ORDERS FOR BOOK 2: *12*

----
DAY FIFTEEN - 
My NL and ads.
REVIEWS BY DAYS END: 64
SALES: *43*
KENP: *6729*
RANK: *#2300*
PRE-ORDERS FOR MAGICALLY BONDED: *43*
----

DAY SIXTEEN - 
Ads.
SALES: *13*
KENP: *5569*
RANK: *#2500*
PRE-ORDERS FOR MAGICALLY BONDED: *17*

*RESULTS:*

All in all, this is the best release I've had by far! I've sold almost 1,000 copies and had over 80,000 page reads in just over 2 weeks. I've also got almost 350 pre-orders for book 2.

Having the two weeks promo did help to keep the book sticky. I just hope that now it's full price, it can stay that way. I'm trying not to panic that sales and rank will drop!

I've saved the bigger promo sites to use for book 1 when book 3 comes out in February. Fingers crossed that will breathe new life into the series too.

I'm astounded and grateful to my mailing list for producing over 60 ARC reviews over the first week of release. I was so shocked considering a huge amount of them weren't regular fans. I was also really worried the book wouldn't be good enough, like most of us are when releasing a new series. However, I was very pleasantly proved wrong.

I've been approached by Tantor and will be signing a 3 book audio contract for this series! This is really exciting as I've never worked with them before!

So, in conclusion, writing to market in a genre you enjoy really does work. I don't know if I can keep doing this full time, although if I can keep the book sticky until book 2 comes out, then I should be able to!

I'm going to start a new series along a similar thread when book 3 is written to try and keep that momentum. Fingers crossed I can launch it in the spring.

I've tried to plan for the release of book 2, but it's not been as easy. If anyone has any good tips for those next book releases, I'd appreciate them!

And, lastly, thank you so much to all those who shared my book, grabbed my book, gave me advice, gave me encouragement. I really couldn't have done it without you.

For those of you struggling, keep going, keep learning and listen very carefully to what those who are successful are trying to tell you. For some reason, I never quite did what people on here and in groups were saying. It really is simple:

Write a good book that's in your genre market, but not a carbon copy.
Get an amazing cover that fits with your genre.
Write an amazing blurb.
Build a mailing list.
Plan your release in advance.

Thanks for coming along on my ride with me! Fingers crossed I don't fall off the horse. 

-----

*UPDATE: 27/02/2018*

Yesterday was the release day of book 3 in this series. It's been a fantastic 3 months since the launch of Magically Bound. Here's some thoughts and figures:

Sales of the whole series: Almost 3k
KENP: Almost 1.1 mil. 
Reviews: Book 1 - 79, Book 2 - 47, Book 3 - 32.

Thoughts:

1. My ARC team/mailing list are amazing. I've kept the NL engaged twice a month, asked their opinions on what I'm working on etc, and it's worked wonders. I had 32 reviews on book 3 by the end of release day yesterday!

2. I didn't have much budget for AMS or FB ads, but I still used them. I would certainly have used even more money if I'd had it. I think that may have made a difference in getting me over the 1k threshold with book 1. Book 3 managed to get to 3k yesterday with mainly KU borrows.

3. Newsletter swaps with authors in your genre are really good!

4. Sales and reads did go down in Feb, which means the 30 day cliff set in. Luckily, I released on the 60th day, so it's been boosted again. I plan to release book 4 in 6 weeks and book 5 (the final book) 6 weeks after that. The whole series will be out by the end of May. Quick releases do keep income up in this case.

5. All books have been full price for 2 months now. This makes me happy as I have a lot of room for promo's when book 5 comes out.

6. After Tantor bought the rights to my first 3 books, I approached them when I decided to do another 2 books to complete the series and they bought the rights for those too. Dream come true!

Final heartfelt thought. In August last year, I gave the universe and myself an ultimatum. I had been living off nothing for 2.5 years and things were getting tight and stressful. I decided that if I wasn't making enough money to live on by January 2018, I would cut back on writing and go to get a full time job doing something else. After a lot of hard work, December was my first trout month (trout is earning low 4 figures). Jan was double what I earned in December. Feb has gone down, but I'm still a trout! Which means I'm making enough to live on, yay! I'm hoping that having the whole series out and getting another one out will nudge me up to mid-4 figures so I'm more secure in what I'm earning. I'm so grateful to have the pressure lifted! I've got my whole year's worth of books planned and I'm super excited!

Thanks again everyone!


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## anniejocoby (Aug 11, 2013)

Wishing you all the best! Be sure and update us on how it goes!


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## CarolynVMurray (Mar 13, 2015)

I think the worst thing we do as authors is just toss our latest title out without any kind off thoughtful preparation. You really have a well thought out plan, and I'm sure it will make a huge difference in your sales numbers. Good luck.


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## PearlEarringLady (Feb 28, 2014)

Fingers crossed for a great launch! I'll be watching with interest.


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

That's fantastic Rachel! Really well laid out plan. I like how you've released the paperback and got everything in place before the ebook release.

Where on earth did you find all these new reviewers? That's off to a fantastic start! Will be watching with interest.


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## Fleurina (Nov 13, 2017)

Good luck with it, Rachel - the book covers are gorgeous - piqued my interest.


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## Talbot (Jul 14, 2015)

You're certainly not alone in getting it wrong the first time. Good luck!


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

Thanks so much for your encouragement everyone, I really appreciate it.  

Evenstar, I put a call out to my mailing list after asking them to help me decide on the cover and blurb. They've been fantastic!


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## Guest (Nov 26, 2017)

Good luck! Thanks for the details and looks like you're going to do great.  🤞
Over 100 pre-orders & 34 reviews on book 1 at 4.7 stars with 2 days until it goes live! 
And those are terrific covers. 
They're on my to-read list now.
I hope you post details as it goes. Looks like you have a smart plan. ...I'm going to be copying a lot from Izzy Shows and you on my launch 😏


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## T E Scott Writer (Jul 27, 2016)

Looks like you're going to nail it, well done!


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

Looks like a great launch ahead for you! Please keep us updated on results.


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

Thanks, guys!



Luke Everhart said:


> They're on my to-read list now.
> I hope you post details as it goes. Looks like you have a smart plan. ...I'm going to be copying a lot from Izzy Shows and you on my launch &#128527;


Thanks, Luke! I will post details as it goes. Luckily, I'm going to a concert in Brighton (UK) on release day, so I won't be refreshing for a few hours (which might save my sanity), but will update everyone the next day and onwards.

I actually spoke to Izzy and took some of her advice, so there's a lot of that in my plan too!


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## wingsandwords (Nov 1, 2016)

rachelmedhurst said:


> Thanks, guys!
> 
> Thanks, Luke! I will post details as it goes. Luckily, I'm going to a concert in Brighton (UK) on release day, so I won't be refreshing for a few hours (which might save my sanity), but will update everyone the next day and onwards.
> 
> I actually spoke to Izzy and took some of her advice, so there's a lot of that in my plan too!


Don't worry, I'll be refreshing plenty for you!  You've done so much and I'm so excited to see how it goes for you. Totally stalking this launch.


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## CynthiaClay (Mar 17, 2017)

Congrats and may your luck continue to hold. If you do more please let us know so we can learn from you.


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## LittleFox (Jan 3, 2015)

You're rocking it! It's going to be amazing, I'll be cheering you on


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## C. Gold (Jun 12, 2017)

Ooh well done! Super grats and hope you sell lots!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Congrats on the launch! Keep at it and don't forget to get cranking on book 2 and 3 and beyond.


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## dpwoolliscroft (Sep 8, 2017)

Good luck! Really interesting to see your launch plan. Looking forward to the updates.


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

Thanks so much, guys! I'm pretty nervous for tomorrow, but confident too! Will update the pre-order final tomorrow morning.


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## achick (Sep 26, 2016)

Thanks for sharing along the way, Rachel! I'm totally stalking this launch. Can't wait to see how well it goes!


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## SA_Soule (Sep 8, 2011)

Thank you for sharing. 

Lord knows I've made my fair share of mistakes as a self-publisher. Best of luck!


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## MaryArdine (Nov 25, 2017)

Sounds like a well-thought out plan. Wishing you great success. 
Mary


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## KitSarge (Apr 1, 2015)

Good luck!


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## Rose Andrews (Jun 1, 2017)

Just stopping by to wish you the best, Rachel! Your covers look amazing! Crossing fingers for a wonderful launch and growth (and the avoidance of a job not writing lol).


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## Kristy Tate (Apr 24, 2012)

Watching with interest. Good luck!


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## Guest (Nov 28, 2017)

Well rockin it so far! Noonish my time of day 1 live release and you're at #2121 paid with 51 reviews.  

(PS: I tweeted you about the book & launch, a public tweet @ your hashtag. Hope you don't mind(?) Just a congrats/authors-mutual-support-society type tweet.)


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

Thanks, Luke,  that's completely fine to send me a tweet. I've been out all day and my battery died on my phone so I've just come home to find I'm at #1400 and 55 reviews! So many amazing people have shared it, I'm so grateful!! This is the best release ever. 😊


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## Berries (Feb 5, 2015)

Congrats! I hope the momentum continues!!!


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## antcurious (Jun 2, 2017)

Rachel you're killing it right now


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

Thanks, Berries and Ant, I'm losing rank now but it's still so nice being up there.


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## Boswser (Jul 21, 2017)

This is awesome! I'll have my fingers crossed for you  

I'm a bit new to this and have a question if I may--you mentioned "also-bought kicked in" on 11/25, 3 days before release. I just want to make sure I'm understanding how that works--was this triggered by the pre-orders, then? And what qualifies as "kicked-in", that the also bought section appears on your book(s) Amazon page(s)?

Even just seeing your process is so helpful and gives me lots of hope and direction. Thanks so much for sharing!


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

Thank you so much for all your support everyone. I'm finally at my laptop after two days of going to concerts. On release day my phone battery died around lunchtime GMT so I had no stress of watching what was happening! I recommend it for those who constantly refresh on release day. Anyway, here's the results for the first two days:

DAY ONE: 
Newsletter swaps, my newsletter, FB and AMS ads (always only small budget).
Sales: *125*
Page Reads: *1004*
Pre-orders book 2:* 50*
Best Rank: *#1200*

DAY TWO:
Newsletter swaps, FB and AMS ads.
Sales: *110*
Page Reads: *5896*
Pre-orders book 2: *27*
Best Rank: *#1334*

Total so far:

Sales: *384*
Page Reads: *7825*
Pre-orders book 2: *102*

Reviews:* 59 - 4.6**

I'm so excited and happy for how well the first two days have gone. I couldn't have done it without all the help from so many people, so I'm very grateful!! I'm trying not to get paranoid that it's all going to go away haha.

Thanks again!


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

Boswser said:


> This is awesome! I'll have my fingers crossed for you
> 
> I'm a bit new to this and have a question if I may--you mentioned "also-bought kicked in" on 11/25, 3 days before release. I just want to make sure I'm understanding how that works--was this triggered by the pre-orders, then? And what qualifies as "kicked-in", that the also bought section appears on your book(s) Amazon page(s)?
> 
> Even just seeing your process is so helpful and gives me lots of hope and direction. Thanks so much for sharing!


Yes, the also-boughts are triggered by pre-orders. And kicked-in means that they appeared on the my book page instead of the also-views. Good luck with your future releases!


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## DIAMONDSINTHESKY (May 14, 2017)

Hi Rachel, wishing you the very best of British luck with all this and good to see a fellow Surrey writer on here, I originally hail from Surbiton near Kingston Upon Thames. 

I read this with a really keen interest as I have my own launch coming up. Sounds like you have made a good start this time around. I am equally nervous and you have a wealth of experience in this arena compared to myself as publishing is a completely new field to me. I'd be interested in hearing what you did differently this time around, and some of the don'ts you have learned from your previous attempts.


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## A Woman&#039;s Place Is In The Rebellion (Apr 28, 2011)

Glad it's going well, Rachel. Hope they stick!


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

DIAMONDSINTHESKY said:


> Hi Rachel, wishing you the very best of British luck with all this and good to see a fellow Surrey writer on here, I originally hail from Surbiton near Kingston Upon Thames.
> 
> I read this with a really keen interest as I have my own launch coming up. Sounds like you have made a good start this time around. I am equally nervous and you have a wealth of experience in this arena compared to myself as publishing is a completely new field to me. I'd be interested in hearing what you did differently this time around, and some of the don'ts you have learned from your previous attempts.


Hello fellow Surrey writer! I'm from South East Surrey, right on the border of the county. 

In regards to what I did differently this time, here are a few things:

1. Got an amazing cover that cost money, but it makes all the difference. I used to budget more and also didn't go with the trends as much.
2. Worked on my blurb a lot. Asked others opinion. I used to do one or two rounds of editing a blurb then think it was okay. 
3. Researched tropes and genre to make sure my book would hit the market. But, I also had my own uniqueness instead of copying.

Don'ts (this is what I've learnt not to do, it's different for everyone):

1. Release before a book is 100% ready.
2. Write in different genres, even if your books/series' are all fantasy. Stick to the same sub-genre. 
3. Skimp on covers. It's possible to get a really decent cover for a couple hundred dollars, you don't need to spend thousands, but don't spend too little either. Quality will earn your money back much quicker in the long run.
4. Be too unique. If you want to write to market, write to market. Mixing fantasy genres have not worked in my case. Uniqueness should still be within the genre.

Do's:

1. Talk to your mailing list about the release. I showed my list 2 concept covers and asked them to help me choose. I also asked them for help on the blurb. And, then I sent them teasers. This built up excitement and inclusion.
2. Reviews - This isn't for everyone. I sent an email to my whole list (10.5k) and asked if anyone wanted an ARC copy a month and a half before release. I had over 200 replies. So, I ended up having 125 people download the ARC copy (I didn't give the link out to all of those replies). This could be risky because a lot of those readers were from Instafreebie, so there's no guarantee they're going to post a review, let alone if they're going to like your book and leave a positive review. I'm happy to say that this really worked well for me. By the end of day 2, I was at 59 reviews with 4.6 average. I'm so grateful to those ARC reviewers who have left a review and they'll all get priority for book 2. 
3. Set up tons of author newsletter swaps with authors in your genre so you get good also-boughts.
4. Choose a launch price that works for you. 0.99 was my pre-order and launch price. Book 2 is also on pre-order for 0.99 and it has over 100 pre-orders already. I'm putting both books up to full price after 14 days of promo from launch.

I'm sure there's plenty more, but that's what I've done differently this time. I hope it helps in some way.


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## dpwoolliscroft (Sep 8, 2017)

Those are great pieces of advice Rachel. I’m planning the launch of my first novel in the new year so words of advice are helpful. Having that newsletter base is awesome. I think that is going to be my focus for the next few months even though the book will be ready before then. Thanks for the update and congrats on the successful launch. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## DIAMONDSINTHESKY (May 14, 2017)

Hi Rachel,

Well glad to see I've scored three for three on your first list!

Extremely helpful advice thank you and I wish you continued success with the launch.


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## Pandorra (Aug 22, 2017)

Gratz Rachel, you're doing awesome!!!


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## Becca Mills (Apr 27, 2012)

Way to go, Rachel!


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

Thanks, guys! I've been hit with the pre-order/free book/reporting thing going on, but hopefully Amazon rights itself soon!


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

Here are day three results. Things dropped off a bit. The rank stayed nice and high so fingers crossed I got some borrows.

DAY THREE:
Newsletter swaps, FB and AMS ads.
Sales: *64*
Page Reads: *3,836*
Pre-orders book 2: *18*
Best Rank: *#1194*


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

DAY FOUR: - Not a good sales day at all. Not sure if this is Amazon reporting or it's naturally dropping off already.
Newsletter swaps, FB and AMS ads.
Sales: 26
Page Reads: 4513
Pre-orders book 2: 17
Best Rank: #1455

It's amazing when you get up quite high how sad it is to see it dropping off lol!


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## Not any more (Mar 19, 2012)

The reporting is really delayed and then hitting in bursts. Went to bed last night at 11:30. In that last half hour, revenues doubled according to Book Report. I have promos going on this month, and it's impossible to track what is happening. Have a book with 0 sold and 800 pages read with $8 in revenue. Sure wish page reads paid that much.


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

brkingsolver said:


> The reporting is really delayed and then hitting in bursts. Went to bed last night at 11:30. In that last half hour, revenues doubled according to Book Report. I have promos going on this month, and it's impossible to track what is happening. Have a book with 0 sold and 800 pages read with $8 in revenue. Sure wish page reads paid that much.


Yes, I'm seeing weird amounts against sales so that's happening to me too. However, rank is showing me that sales are down. I've got more promo planned though, so hopefully I get back up there again!


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## Not any more (Mar 19, 2012)

rachelmedhurst said:


> Yes, I'm seeing weird amounts against sales so that's happening to me too. However, rank is showing me that sales are down. I've got more promo planned though, so hopefully I get back up there again!


Rank bounces around, and it's dependent on what other people are doing, also. You could sell 200 copies and lose rank because someone in your genre has a BookBub. What I'm waiting to see is what happens in January after the second book is released. I think you're going to rocket.


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

brkingsolver said:


> Rank bounces around, and it's dependent on what other people are doing, also. You could sell 200 copies and lose rank because someone in your genre has a BookBub. What I'm waiting to see is what happens in January after the second book is released. I think you're going to rocket.


I keep forgetting that what others are doing will make a difference to my rank. I've never been this high before, but I'm enjoying it! I hope you're right about book 2. Can't wait to get it out.


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

DAY FIVE: 
Newsletter swaps, FB and AMS ads.
Sales: *42*
Page Reads: *6829*
Pre-orders book 2: *22*
Best Rank: *#2400*

Day five picked up a bit but my rank hasn't recovered from day 3's drop. Will be interesting to see how the promo sites do in a few days.


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## PearlEarringLady (Feb 28, 2014)

Still going well, though - this is a great launch.


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

PaulineMRoss said:


> Still going well, though - this is a great launch.


Thanks, Pauline, it's my best ever release and I'm so pleased!


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

A fantastic author let me post about my book in her Facebook group yesterday and it was a great lesson to see how having an active group that pay off. I think my 2018 goal is to cultivate an active FB group. She's inspired me! 

DAY FIVE:
Newsletter swaps, Author FB group, FB and AMS ads.
Sales: *58*
Page Reads: *6262*
Pre-orders book 2: *20*
Best Rank: *#1900*


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

Here's the last two days update. I thought I'd add some thoughts and overalls. 

DAY SEVEN:
Bargain Booksy, FB and AMS ads.
Sales: 60
Page Reads: 6829
Pre-orders book 2: 17
Best Rank: #1800

DAY EIGHT:
Booksends, Fantasy book deals, Speculative Fiction Showcase. FB and AMS ads.
Sales: 52
Page Reads: 4515
Pre-orders book 2: 21
Best Rank: #1900

It's been a week overall that the book has been released. Here's the overall stats after 7 days:

Sales @ 0.99 (including pre-orders): 682
KENP: 42,895
Book two pre-orders: 218
Reviews: 64 - 4.6*

It's been so exciting to check my dashboard in the mornings. I do feel like there's a little drop happening, especially in rank. I'm hopeful that some of my last promo's will boost the book before it goes full price. I'm scared that it's all going to go away when the book goes full price. Book 2 will be out on the 28th December, so fingers crossed that will give it a good boost. However, I'm not as clued up at launching a second book!


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## wearywanderer64 (Jan 27, 2013)

Loving this! Keep us informed.


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## dpwoolliscroft (Sep 8, 2017)

Sounds like its going great. Fingers crossed for you that this continues once it goes full price


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## KitSarge (Apr 1, 2015)

Yes, this is very helpful. I'm gearing up for a launch next week on my HF 355 and have some smaller sites lined up. I'll definitely be following along as I have no idea when to return it to full price. Good luck!


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

Thanks, guys, glad it's helpful to see how my release is panning out!

Here's the last couple of days:

DAY NINE:
One NL and ads.
Sales: *20*
Page Reads: *5935*
Pre-orders book 2: *13*
Best Rank: *#2400*

DAY TEN:
ILVN and ads.
Sales: *36*
Page Reads:* 5391*
Pre-orders book 2: *9*
Best Rank: *#2200*

I probably wouldn't do an I love vampire novels promo again. It was $77 and I only got 36 sales for the day. It's not worth the cost.

It feels like things are starting to tail off a bit now. Fingers crossed my page reads will keep building, especially when it goes up to full price in a few days.


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

The last few days update. Only today left of promo and then the price goes up!

DAY ELEVEN - 
Bookscream and ads.
SALES: 19
KENP: 5236
RANK: #3700
PRE-ORDERS FOR BOOK 2: 11

DAY TWELVE - 
FKBT, ereaderIQ and ads.
SALES: 51
KENP: 5960
RANK: #2400
PRE-ORDERS FOR BOOK 2: 13

DAY 13 - 
Romancing the dragon and ads.
SALES: 26
KENP: 6127
RANK: #1900
PRE-ORDERS FOR BOOK 2: 12


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## PearlEarringLady (Feb 28, 2014)

rachelmedhurst said:


> RANK: #1900


Ooh, going out with a bang! This has been great to watch - congrats!


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## ThrillerWriter (Aug 19, 2012)

Thanks for posting this--what was the pricing on Book 1? Sorry if I missed it!


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

Thanks, Pauline!



David Beers said:


> Thanks for posting this--what was the pricing on Book 1? Sorry if I missed it!


The price of book 1 has been 0.99 from pre-order to 2 weeks after release. Book 2's pre-order has also been 0.99 for two weeks. Both go to full price tomorrow.


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

DAY FOURTEEN - 
ebooksoda and ads.
SALES: *33*
KENP: *4547*
RANK: *#2500*
PRE-ORDERS FOR BOOK 2: *12*

I have one last NL to send out as a reminder to get the books at 0.99 each before the price goes up tomorrow. I'll update with all stats when it's done.


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## KitSarge (Apr 1, 2015)

Congratulations on a great launch! Hopefully the momentum continues when you raise it to full price!


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## Secret Pen Pal (Dec 27, 2013)

Great job! Thanks for sharing your plan and results. I've steered clear of ILVN. I appreciate the confirmation. It's been a long time since I've seen a good report about them. Wishing you ongoing success.


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## Kyle Alexander Romines (Aug 31, 2017)

You are killing it, Rachel! This is awesome. Best of luck with book two!


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

Someone mentioned sending out an email to my list to let them know that the price of both book 1 and 2 are going up to full price in 24 hours so I did that yesterday. It was a great idea as you can see below:

DAY FIFTEEN - 
My NL and ads.
REVIEWS BY DAYS END: 64
SALES: *43*
KENP: *6729*
RANK: *#2300*
PRE-ORDERS FOR MAGICALLY BONDED: *43*

The price is going up first thing tomorrow UK time so I'll post results for the whole promo then.

*On another really exciting note!!!! - I've had an offer from Tantor to do the audio books for the first three books in the series!!  *


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## Craig Andrews (Apr 14, 2013)

rachelmedhurst said:


> Someone mentioned sending out an email to my list to let them know that the price of both book 1 and 2 are going up to full price in 24 hours so I did that yesterday. It was a great idea as you can see below:


We talked about this elsewhere, but I think it bears repeating. I stole this idea from Chris Fox or Mark Dawson (I can't remember who), but to maximize the effectiveness of my ML during any new release, I send out three emails. The first is your standard "The book is live, go buy it!" email, but then I follow it up a few days later with a "Thank You" talking about how well the book is doing and why my readers are the only reason why, then finally with a "Last Chance to get it on sale" email. The latter only works if the new release is discounted, but it doesn't have to be discounted to $0.99 like Rachel's. It can be a Book #3 release that you're releasing at $2.99 as a thank you to your ML before you move it to full retail.


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

RESULTS:

All in all, this is the best release I've had by far! I've sold almost 1,000 copies and had over 80,000 page reads in just over 2 weeks. I've also got almost 350 pre-orders for book 2.

Having the two weeks promo did help to keep the book sticky. I just hope that now it's full price, it can stay that way. I'm trying not to panic that sales and rank will drop! 

I've saved the bigger promo sites to use for book 1 when book 3 comes out in February. Fingers crossed that will breathe new life into the series too.

I'm astounded and grateful to my mailing list for producing over 60 ARC reviews over the first week of release. I was so shocked considering a huge amount of them weren't regular fans. I was also really worried the book wouldn't be good enough, like most of us are when releasing a new series. However, I was very pleasantly proved wrong.

I've been approached by Tantor and will be signing a 3 book audio contract for this series! This is really exciting as I've never worked with them before! 

So, in conclusion, writing to market in a genre you enjoy really does work. I don't know if I can keep doing this full time, although if I can keep the book sticky until book 2 comes out, then I should be able to! 

I'm going to start a new series along a similar thread when book 3 is written to try and keep that momentum. Fingers crossed I can launch it in the spring.

I've tried to plan for the release of book 2, but it's not been as easy. If anyone has any good tips for those next book releases, I'd appreciate them!

And, lastly, thank you so much to all those who shared my book, grabbed my book, gave me advice, gave me encouragement. I really couldn't have done it without you. 

For those of you struggling, keep going, keep learning and listen very carefully to what those who are successful are trying to tell you. For some reason, I never quite did what people on here and in groups were saying. It really is simple:

Write a good book that's in your genre market, but not a carbon copy.
Get an amazing cover that fits with your genre.
Write an amazing blurb.
Build a mailing list.
Plan your release in advance.

Thanks for coming along on my ride with me! Fingers crossed I don't fall off the horse.


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## writerc (Apr 15, 2016)

Marvellous stuff, all your hard work paid off!

Thanks for sharing x


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## Victoria Wright (Oct 9, 2015)

This has been pretty epic to watch, thank you for sharing your launch experience. If you don't mind my asking, have you reached the point where you've broken even with regard to invested costs yet? Totally cool if that's not info you want to share, just curious.


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

Victoria Wright said:


> This has been pretty epic to watch, thank you for sharing your launch experience. If you don't mind my asking, have you reached the point where you've broken even with regard to invested costs yet? Totally cool if that's not info you want to share, just curious.


Thanks for the question, Victoria. I've not quite broken even during the release promo period, but I'm not far off. That's including cover, editing and advertising. I will have made a nice profit by the end of the month.


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## Not any more (Mar 19, 2012)

rachelmedhurst said:


> I've tried to plan for the release of book 2, but it's not been as easy. If anyone has any good tips for those next book releases, I'd appreciate them!


Congratulations, Rachel! 

Check out this thread. My second book did better than the first.
https://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,247847.msg3462001.html#msg3462001


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## JenOrtiz (Nov 9, 2015)

This really looks like a very well-thought out launch! Congrats!!!


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## Fleurina (Nov 13, 2017)

Rachel, on your website, when I clicked the Amazon link on your 'My Book at your Favourite Retailer' page I got a photo of a dog, and a message in the style of, 'Sorry page not found'. I just thought you'd like to know. And congrats on such a successful launch - you have put a lot of work and thought into it.


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

Thanks, guys, still doing well, which is great!

Thank you for letting me know about my site, Fleurina!


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

*UPDATE AFTER BOOK 3 RELEASE: 27/02/2018*

Yesterday was the release day of book 3 in this series. It's been a fantastic 3 months since the launch of this series. Here's some thoughts and figures:

Sales of the whole series: Almost 3k
KENP: Almost 1.1 mil. 
Reviews: Book 1 - 79, Book 2 - 47, Book 3 - 32.

Thoughts:

1. My ARC team/mailing list are amazing. I've kept the NL engaged twice a month, asked their opinions on what I'm working on etc, and it's worked wonders. I had 32 reviews on book 3 by the end of release day yesterday!

2. I didn't have much budget for AMS or FB ads, but I still used them. I would certainly have used even more money if I'd had it. I think that may have made a difference in getting me over the #1k threshold with book 1.

3. Newsletter swaps with authors in your genre are really good!

4. Sales and reads did go down in Feb, which means the 30 day cliff set in. Luckily, I released on the 60th day, so it's been boosted again. I plan to release book 4 in 6 weeks and book 5 (the final book) 6 weeks after that. The whole series will be out by the end of May. Quick releases do keep income up in this case.

5. All books have been full price for 2 months now. This makes me happy as I have a lot of room for promo's when book 5 comes out.

6. After Tantor bought the rights to my first 3 books, I approached them when I decided to do another 2 books to complete the series and they bought the rights for those too. Dream come true!

Final heartfelt thought. In August last year, I gave the universe and myself an ultimatum. I had been living off nothing for 2.5 years and things were getting tight and stressful. I decided that if I wasn't making enough money to live on by January 2018, I would cut back on writing and go to get a full time job doing something else. After a lot of hard work, December was my first trout month (trout is earning low 4 figures). Jan was double what I earned in December. Feb has gone down, but I'm still a trout! Which means I'm making enough to live on, yay! I'm hoping that having the whole series out and getting another one out will nudge me up to mid-4 figures so I'm more secure in what I'm earning. I'm so grateful to have the pressure lifted! I've got my whole year's worth of books planned and I'm super excited!

Thanks again everyone!


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## T E Scott Writer (Jul 27, 2016)

Thanks for the update, really glad your hard work has paid off.


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## PearlEarringLady (Feb 28, 2014)

rachelmedhurst said:


> Which means I'm making enough to live on, yay!


This awesome news! Congrats, and long may it continue.


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## EllieDee (May 28, 2017)

Awesome!  You must have worked really hard to get here and I'm glad to see it paying off.  Please keep updating, it's been interesting (and inspiring) to see the effects of each new book on your sales and ranks.


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