# Revenge of the kitchen sink that went big or went home - 90 day tail wagging



## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

[Added post at end re tail 90 days after]

My key takeaways from 30 days after the main promo ended, copied from a 12/26 update post:

*- Always apply to BookBub if you have a candidate book, and if they offer a slot, take it
*
I have talked with friends saying "I can't afford those prices" and try to convey that's crazy. Sure enough there's a cash flow impact (I paid for the BB in late October and haven't received resulting the Amazon $ yet) but that's the only downside.

*- Adding lesser promos before and after the big day, even having a lower return per $ than BookBub, can help establish a higher rank and longer tail
*
I'll never know how many sales can be attributed to the non-BookBub promoters but it seems likely that they contributed to staying longer in higher ranks as well as alsobot placements.

*- Evaluate the return over at least 30 days, not just on the main day.
*
I broke even on BookBub day (which seems to be the measure everyone watches very carefully because it's immediate and so obviously related to the BookBub promotion) but the dividend has continued. Over just the last 10 days at regular price it has paid for itself one more time (and it's all gravy)

*- If sales are humming, it could be good to stick at $0.99 for while*

I ended up sticking at $0.99 for 18 days longer than initially planned. I might have given away some revenue but definitely accrued more sales due to that.

*- Having more books would have been great for sell-through, but it still can work with only one book
*
For anyone having only one book, but it's a strong candidate for acceptance, it could be a good idea to go ahead and apply and get some value now if accepted. When the sequels are out, you can always apply again (and as a result of the first BookBub, will have more reviews).

*The numbers:
*
The Great Symmetry, Price $0.99 from 11/18 through 11/26, Amazon, Apple, Nook, Kobo

11/19/2015	Book Barbarian	15
11/19/2015	Book Zio	0
11/19/2015	My Book Cave	0
*11/19/2015	Result: 58 sales, Rank 5,829 in Kindle Store, #49 in Hard Science Fiction*

11/20/2015	Sicfi365.net	0
11/20/2015	OHFB	75
11/20/2015	Free Kindle Books and Tips	25
*11/20/2015	Result: 82 sales, Rank 2,834 in Kindle Store, #25 in Hard Science Fiction*

11/21/2015	BookSends	35
11/21/2015	eBookSoda	15
11/21/2015	eBooks Habit	10
11/21/2015	It's Write Now	10
11/21/2015	BookScream	3
11/21/2015	Book Lovers Heaven	0
*11/21/2015	Result: 104 sales, Rank 2,290 in Kindle Store, #23 in Hard Science Fiction*

11/22/2015	BookBub	410
*11/22/2015	Result: 2,432 sales, Rank 71 in Kindle Store, #2 in Hard Science Fiction*

11/23/2015	ENT	25
*11/23/2015	Result: 656 sales, Highest Rank 44 in Kindle Store, #2 in Hard Science Fiction*

11/24/2015	Books Butterfly 15
11/24/2015	Bargain Booksy	35
*11/24/2015	Result: 302 sales, Melting to 178 in Kindle Store, #3 in Hard Science Fiction*

11/25/2015	Fussy Librarian	16

Ending 11/25/2015 Goodreads Giveaway, 5 print copies
Ending 11/25/2015 LibraryThing Giveaway, 5 print copies

*11/25/2015	Result: 214 sales, Down to 348 in Kindle Store, #6 in Hard Science Fiction*

11/26/2015	- Tail day, no paid promotion
*11/26/2015	Result: 101 sales, Down to 494 in Kindle Store, #7 in Hard Science Fiction
Total during promotion as originally scheduled: 4252 sales
*

11/27/2015	- Unexpected bonus tail day, no paid promotion
(Can't end discount because Nook is not updating after 24 hours)
*11/27/2015	Result: 103 sales, Down to #715 in Kindle Store, #11 in Hard Science Fiction*

11/28 through 12/14: just decided to stick at $0.99 and see what happens
*Average 82 sales per day over 17 days
Included Patty's promo which added a weekend bump 12/5-6
Included Robin Reads on 12/13 (that's the day they offered)
5,753 eBook sales total during the discount promotion including extended tail
*

12/15 through 12/25: Return to $2.99
*Average 25 sales per day over 11 days*

Total spent: $704

Didn't hear back: The Midlist

The first graph provides a newsflash: BookBub rules. There is no way to determine the contribution of any promoter other than BookBub. It does look like 65 to 70% of BookBub sales happen on the day of the email, which may be useful info. The exact percentage can't be determined because the contribution of other promoters isn't known.










The second, and unscientific, "graph" lists the major events and source of sales for far this year.










- - -

The kitchen sink addressed them from the hilltop overlooking the 137 Day cliff. There was always a cliff nearby, it seemed. Far below, a pack of algorithms snarled and snapped, ready to devour any who might fall over the edge.

"Once again we sally forth to storm the castle of obscurity," the sink told everyone. "There is no going home. Only success, or -- that," the sink said, pointing down the cliff.

Not every member of the ragged troop was paying attention at first. They had heard it before. The cover preened in the mirror, thinking "does this typography make me look fat?" Nearby, the blurb waffled over whether to reverse the order of a pair of words. A minor character, destined to die in Part 7 without even being named, pondered his motivation.

The author was conspicuously absent. Having set the whole thing in motion, he had booked an event-filled day including a showing of Frozen on Ice, and had allowed his phone to be torn from his grasp.

A few alsobots had shown up to gloat, outselling the main title as they did, but then thought the better of it. Fortunes changed rapidly in this world, and you never knew when it would help you to be seen in someone else's alsobots.

The sink continued "There may come a day when our visibility fails. When we sink deep into the millions, and we don't show up even when a reader types in our exact title. But that is not this day. Today we promote!"

By now everyone was getting into the spirit. "Hear! Hear!" shouted the audiobook.

"I cannot promise victory," the sink told them. "We can set targets, we can pretend. But there is only one certainty. Only one thing that will definitely occur. And that is-" the sink paused for effect.

For this even the punctuation marks fell silent to hear the next words.

"There will be graphs."


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## Anonymously Anonymous (Sep 25, 2015)

Clever.


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## Azalea (Mar 22, 2014)

You have an audience.  

Looks like a good lineup. Well wishes!


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## Abderian (Apr 5, 2012)

Lol. Good luck, James.


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## Bbates024 (Nov 3, 2014)

Looking forward to see how it plays out. With it being anchored by a bookbub and an ENT I think you are going to have smashing results.


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

Thanks commenters for the well wishes. A little bit about goals, because it's important to have goals when you can't control the outcome.

1) Break even during the promotion time, defined as paying for the promotion ($674)cost plus expected average revenue that would have otherwise occurred (2.9 books per day recent average * $2/book = $5.8/day = $51), so need to make $725. Depending on the distribution of sales between sites, that's 2071 sales or less. Bookbub says Scifi average is 1540 sales so it's up to a combination of the other promoters and a little bit of Lake Woebegone syndrome to get the rest.

If audiobook sales exceed recent average of 3.4/day, the difference counts toward the breakeven.

2) Make measurable gains during the 30-60 days following, measured from a baseline of the recent average of 2.9 books/day.

3) Gain a bunch of readers, show up in alsobots, accrue some more reviews, screen capture the high water mark, all that good stuff.

4) Maybe this is the most important: With some good results, declare victory with Volume I and truly focus on Volume II, which is not coming along quickly. That's why I added every one of the larger promoters who would have me. Just spend it all at once and get the biggest possible result, so it won't be worth bothering with further paid promotions until Volume II. And, it certainly won't be worth bothering to check sales within each non-promotion day (what a useless activity!). My theory is that except for Patty's promo (a fun co-op thing), it's all about writing after the dust settles on this one.


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## Cricket (Nov 4, 2015)

Hehehe, if your book is as good as your post, I bet you make a killing!


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

James R Wells said:


> The kitchen sink addressed them from the hilltop overlooking the 137 Day cliff. There was always a cliff nearby, it seemed. Far below, a pack of algorithms snarled and snapped, ready to devour any who might fall over the edge.
> 
> "Once again we sally forth to storm the castle of obscurity," the sink told everyone. "There is no going home. Only success, or -- that," the sink said, pointing down the cliff.
> 
> ...


This. Is. Immortal.

To heck with the graphs, I want, nay, demand updates IN CHARACTER: i.e. James PLEASE continue the adventures of the bold Sink, whether it triumphs over the feral algorithms (highly probable with Bookbub ready to intervene from the clouds like Hera appearing to Odysseus) or struggles to a tragic defeat. I think you should also add another character: Prose, the modest but highly competent camp follower


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

Felix R. Savage said:


> This. Is. Immortal.
> 
> To heck with the graphs, I want, nay, demand updates IN CHARACTER: i.e. James PLEASE continue the adventures of the bold Sink, whether it triumphs over the feral algorithms (highly probable with Bookbub ready to intervene from the clouds like Hera appearing to Odysseus) or struggles to a tragic defeat. I think you should also add another character: Prose, the modest but highly competent camp follower


How can an author refuse such a demand?

But I'm not sure how Prose feels about being labeled as a "camp follower" with all that may imply. Of course, if Prose writes entirely to market, it may be on target.


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## RobertLSlater (Jan 27, 2015)

Looking forward to results and any sort of bumping up I can add!

My much lower investment is nearing break even point. Might even be there, but I haven't done all the data. Since the sale price is all November, and I don't have any heavy hitters, mine will be less exciting, I think.


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## CAAAllen (Nov 2, 2015)

I am addicted to promo posts, this looks great!


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

James R Wells said:


> How can an author refuse such a demand?
> 
> But I'm not sure how Prose feels about being labeled as a "camp follower" with all that may imply. Of course, if Prose writes entirely to market, it may be on target.


Prose is at the service of all the flashier adventurers. However, the whole enterprise would fail without her.


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## Nathan Van Coops (Oct 27, 2014)

This is going to be a really fun thread. What a fantastic promo lineup. I am actually running a sci-fi promotion these same dates so I'm sure we'll be in some of the same emails. Looks like you have it nailed down, especially anchoring with a Bookbub. Great job. 

Keep the updates coming. And the kitchen sink narrative was genius.


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

In preparation for Day 1 tomorrow:

Everything was set, the prices checked, double checked, and triple checked. Except for Google Play, who despite the name would not play ball. Quoth Streetlib to them, "Google Play Store works with a Wholesale model all over the world, so you cannot decide the final price of the ebook, since it is set by the store." And that price, for reasons that might remain ever shrouded in the deepest mystery, stood at $1.99. Google was likely out -- their first casualty. "We shall earnestly petition them, and endeavor to get more than an autoreply," declared the Sink.

The ragtag fellowship of eBook components, joined by the bonds by publication, set out on their journey. "Have fun storming the castle," called out one of the alsobots. "Don't forget about me when you're selling! Here's my ASIN."

Soon they found themselves looking up at an imposing stockade. Two strong wooden gates stood closed and locked. "How will we get in?" wondered the Cover.

As if in answer, a flock of bright, light-blue colored birds flew over, heading for the structure. "Tweets! My favorite!" exclaimed the Blurb.

"No, it's only Likes now," corrected the Cover.

The tweets described an intricate pattern of spirals in the skies above, tweeting all the while. "They're following each other! Now they're retweeting like mad!" continued the Blurb. "And look at those images going between them, for increased response rates. This is going to be great for their metrics."

"But not for us down here, alas," lamented the Sink. "It's just a giant circle tweet. The gates remain closed to us."

A sentry taunted from the walls above. "With your little birdies, you cannot even outsell an elderberry! I fart in your general direction!"

"Woe," cried out several minor characters at once. "We knew this was a bad idea. Let's go home."

"We have barely begun! Have you no spine?" rejoined the Sink.

"Well technically, since we're an eBook-" started Prose, pedantically.

"We have brought more than tweets. Far more. Behold."

From behind them, a muscular figure strode up, an axe held in one hand and a sizeable tome in the other, wearing a great horned helmet.

"Yay! The Book Barbarian! A book barbarian at the gates!"

"And so it begins," intoned the Sink.


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## Salvador Mercer (Jan 1, 2015)

CAAAllen said:


> I am addicted to promo posts, this looks great!


Ditto, P2F.


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## passerby (Oct 18, 2015)

Good luck, James.  I'll be cheering you on from the sidelines!


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## Lisa Blackwood (Feb 1, 2015)

I wish forums had a 'like' button.


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

Lisa_Blackwood said:


> I wish forums had a 'like' button.


Me too! Cheering on the whole band (and especially Prose, hurrah, she made it to the party!).


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## SasgoraBooks (Aug 27, 2015)

Good luck with the promo. I just added your book to my Kindle, decided to do it today as to not skew your graph tommorrow with a biased Kboarder sale.


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

DarkarNights said:


> Good luck with the promo. I just added your book to my Kindle, decided to do it today as to not skew your graph tommorrow with a biased Kboarder sale.


I'll take it on any of the days! Last promo I had some Sympathy Buys from KBoarders after the promo got off to a pathetic start. The promo did get better, and one of the KBoarders even posted a nice review.

This time I'll re-interpret to Support Buys.


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## TheLemontree (Sep 12, 2015)

Following

This thread is more fun than a ferret down your trousers.


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## scifi365 (Sep 12, 2014)

The plucky underdogs stared, unbelieving, at the edifice into which were engraved the names of the mighty. Awestruck at their own name appearing, their fearless leader did not dare point out that the Sculptor had made a spelling error.

"If SicFi365 is written, then SicFi365 we shall remain," he thought. It made him laugh. It was a sound borne of nerves. "How shall we compete with such behemoths," he said aloud. There was no answer. Only time would tell.


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

scifi365 said:


> The plucky underdogs stared, unbelieving, at the edifice into which were engraved the names of the mighty. Awestruck at their own name appearing, their fearless leader did not dare point out that the Sculptor had made a spelling error.
> 
> "If SicFi365 is written, then SicFi365 we shall remain," he thought. It made him laugh. It was a sound borne of nerves. "How shall we compete with such behemoths," he said aloud. There was no answer. Only time would tell.


The author faced a dilemma. Should the typo be corrected? It had become part of the narrative, literally sculpted into an edifice. With the passage of time, it might become a cultural icon, like "Have a taco" in The Last Unicorn. Or a future badge of pride - "Remember that time we helped The Great Symmetry become a massive bestseller and he couldn't even spell our site name?"


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## scifi365 (Sep 12, 2014)

The fearless leader pondered briefly. He recalled the statue of Moses with Horns at the church of Saint Peter in Chains in Rome. Removing the horns would have desecrated the art of Michelangelo. So it was with the edifice. "Leave it be. It will stand as a testament to the flaws of even the greatest of men," he said.


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

scifi365 said:


> The fearless leader pondered briefly. He recalled the statue of Moses with Horns at the church of Saint Peter in Chains in Rome. Removing the horns would have desecrated the art of Michelangelo. So it was with the edifice. "Leave it be. It will stand as a testament to the flaws of even the greatest of men," he said.


So be it. In the future, it will be recalled together in the same thought as Moses with Horns, having a taco.


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## angela65 (Oct 8, 2014)

Best. Thread. Ever. Good luck!


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## Azalea (Mar 22, 2014)

Bought The Great Symmetry, because if I could enjoy a thread this much, I'm sure I'll love the book.   

Onward!


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

Azalea Ellis said:


> Bought The Great Symmetry, because if I could enjoy a thread this much, I'm sure I'll love the book.
> 
> Onward!


Well it's a different genre, you know. Anyway, you're only out 99 cents. Plus risking a few hours of your life that you'll never get back.

Thanks and I hope you enjoy,


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

Short version: 50 sales as of 9:12 PM PT, paid cost $15 for the day (Books Barbarian). Current rank 5,829 in Kindle Store, #49 in Hard Science Fiction.

Epic Version:

The Book Barbarian strode forward to the gates.

"Isn't that the barbarian who just raised his prices?" Prose asked.

"Shhh, don't annoy him," the Sink replied. "And he's still worth it."

"He's going to hack the gate down with his axe!" exclaimed the Protagonist, who was always eager for action.

The barbarian looked back. "The axe? It's just for show. We will deploy our literary resources." He called out to the sentries above. "You must allow us entry to your town!"

"Never! We hear the endless entreaties from ones like you out in the forest. Buy my book! Buy my book! It's pathetic. Go away."

"You must allow entry," the barbarian persisted.

"And why is that?" a sentry asked.

"Because you have opted in." The barbarian raised up his tome and rapped it upon the gates, which slid open before them.

As they walked into the town, the barbarian called out. "Hey everyone, check out this awesome book! It's called, um, hang on" and he consulted his book. "Thursday, okay -- It's called The Great Symmetry! And it's awesome, because I say so! And it has at least ten reviews!"

The Sink asked all of the minor characters to gather for an important task. "You too," the Sink remonstrated at a straggler.

The character was mortified. "Hey, I'm commander of the entire space fleet in the Kelter system! I'm not minor!"

"But you only have six lines," the sink told him. "Now get over here with the rest. Minor characters, you may have wondered at times about your purpose. I'll tell you right now -- it's to sell books. Now get out there and peddle. The town is ours for the selling! We must make back all that we have spent, plus a bit left over for a scone."

"Can it be a blueberry scone?" asked the Sample. "In that case I'm in!"

And they sold.


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

Nathan Van Coops said:


> This is going to be a really fun thread. What a fantastic promo lineup. I am actually running a sci-fi promotion these same dates so I'm sure we'll be in some of the same emails. Looks like you have it nailed down, especially anchoring with a Bookbub. Great job.
> 
> Keep the updates coming. And the kitchen sink narrative was genius.


I saw you on eBookSoda this morning and got it plus your permafree. I hope your promo is great,


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## D-C (Jan 13, 2014)

James R Wells said:


> Short version: 50 sales as of 9:12 PM PT, paid cost $15 for the day (Books Barbarian). Current rank 5,829 in Kindle Store, #49 in Hard Science Fiction.
> 
> Epic Version:
> 
> ...


You win the internet.


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

D-C said:


> You win the internet.


Agree. Also, I love that "axe" and "tome" are now synonyms. Next time someone asks me about my WIP I will say "Oh, my axe? Yep yep, I think this one is going to be quite EDGY!"


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

Felix R. Savage said:


> Agree. Also, I love that "axe" and "tome" are now synonyms. Next time someone asks me about my WIP I will say "Oh, my axe? Yep yep, I think this one is going to be quite EDGY!"


To be clear, the axe and the tome are two separate objects. From a prior episode:



> From behind them, a muscular figure strode up, an axe held in one hand and a sizeable tome in the other, wearing a great horned helmet.
> 
> "Yay! The Book Barbarian! A book barbarian at the gates!"


And then:



> The barbarian raised up his tome and rapped it upon the gates, which slid open before them.


Because it turns out that the literary resources are mightier than the implements of overt physical destruction . . .

In other news, my wife says this entire thread is "The dorkiest thing I have ever read." It's always important to have a supportive spouse.


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

The skinny: 

71 copies as of 7:36 PM. A solid increase over yesterday, but definitely a lower ratio of sales/$ considering $100 spent today on OHFB and FKBT. Thanks to scifi365.net for a kind word in their email today.

The fat:

After they found all the willing buyers in town, the troupe reassembled and headed out into the countryside, along the road toward the castle that was their target. "We should get there by Sunday," the Sink pronounced. "Meanwhile there are many opportunities along the way. But we have to make good decisions. Many imagined allies are not what they seem."

The words proved prophetic. Soon after, they spotted dollars flying through the air on a strong breeze. "I wonder if there's one more place we should spend a bit on promotion," the author mused.

"Beware!" the Sink cautioned. "I smell trouble. Get down!"

At that moment, a small flattened can whizzed past. Then another.

As they crested the next hill, their worst fears were realized. The mechanical contraption was instantly recognizable. A swirling black void at its center sucked in dollars borne on the increasingly strong wind. A series of launchers powerfully hurled the flat cans of meat in every direction.

"It's a Books Machine!" cried the Cover. "What will we do?" The Cover was a big target, having brought the full resolution version of itself, a full 2000 pixels tall.

"Delete unopened, whatever you do," commanded the Sink. "Deploy your spam filter if you must. But we can't turn back now. Forward, and stay on the road."

One character was particularly resolute. Still smarting at being classified as minor, the space admiral drew upon his background and marshalled everybody forward until they were past the danger. "Well done," Prose admired. "I might have to find a bigger part for you in Volume II."

They looked down upon the valley, with the scattered hamlets, all dressed in black as was their wont. The day was alive with promise.

The Antagonist approached the Protagonist. "Shall we have a friendly wager?" he offered. "Let us see who can sell the most copies in the next village."

"But you're the enemy!"

"Enemy? We need each other. Face it, without me, you're pretty boring. Can't build an entire story about deciphering those old artifacts, can we?"

"I guess it's the conflict that sells," the Protagonist allowed. "But I'm still going to kick your butt in the next village. I'll sell twice what you do."

"You're on!"


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## PearlEarringLady (Feb 28, 2014)

Lordy lord, but this thread is fun.   And when it's all over, you can pretty it up (and correct typos ::cough and sell it on Amazon...


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## Salvador Mercer (Jan 1, 2015)

Saw a promo for Plains, how many days Pauline?  Good luck James, I'm seeing your book too, in fact saw both yours and Pauline's this morning in EbookSoda


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## PearlEarringLady (Feb 28, 2014)

Salvador Mercer said:


> Saw a promo for Plains, how many days Pauline? Good luck James, I'm seeing your book too, in fact saw both yours and Pauline's this morning in EbookSoda


Just 3 days: Fri, Sat, Sun. To be honest, I'd forgotten about it until Ebooksoda sent me a reminder email. Oops. But Kallanash has been free a bunch of times before, so I don't have high expectations. I'm just using up the last of my free days before Select renewal next week.


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

PaulineMRoss said:


> Just 3 days: Fri, Sat, Sun. To be honest, I'd forgotten about it until Ebooksoda sent me a reminder email. Oops. But Kallanash has been free a bunch of times before, so I don't have high expectations. I'm just using up the last of my free days before Select renewal next week.


Hi Pauline, I hope your use-up-free-days promo goes well, and I'm glad you are enjoying the adventures on the thread. The big day is tomorrow!


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## PearlEarringLady (Feb 28, 2014)

James R Wells said:


> Hi Pauline, I hope your use-up-free-days promo goes well, and I'm glad you are enjoying the adventures on the thread. The big day is tomorrow!


Yes, rooting for Sink and pals tomorrow! I love these Bookbub promo threads. 

ETA: Looking forward to the graphs, too.


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## Quinn Richardson (Apr 20, 2012)

Outstanding thread, James!  Crossing my fingers and will be watching your Sunday BookBub shenanigans.  Pour yourself a cold pint and kick back.  I'm sure you'll kill it.

Good luck!


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

Quinn Richardson said:


> Outstanding thread, James! Crossing my fingers and will be watching your Sunday BookBub shenanigans. Pour yourself a cold pint and kick back. I'm sure you'll kill it.
> 
> Good luck!


I've actually made plans to be busy with family for the heart of the day tomorrow, on purpose. Yes, we really are going to go see Frozen on Ice. I may have to surrender my phone. So the pint will wait until evening but I'll be ready for it. Thanks!


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

No silly narrative tonight but here we stand staring up at the walls of the real castle. 

99 Amazon sales so far today as of 9:39 PM (D2D doesn't show up until tomorrow) based on BookSends, eBookSoda, eBooks Habit, It's Write Now, and Bookscream for $73 on the day. Solidly past 1 sale per $ but not close to break even - that's BookBub's job.

Shoes shined: added two nice editorial reviews from other authors. Nothing else to be done.


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## SamuelStokes (Oct 11, 2015)

James R Wells said:


> More promo fun, with charting to come.
> 
> The Great Symmetry, Price $0.99 from 11/18 through 11/26, Amazon, Apple, Nook, Kobo, Google
> 
> ...


This is fantastic.


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## pwtucker (Feb 12, 2011)

Purchased a copy based just on how fun this thread is. Good luck today!


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## cvannatta (Jul 6, 2014)

I hope the charts will be suitably adorned with images of the noble kitchen sink, its minions, and its adversaries.

Congratulations on the BB and ENT placements, and I wish you every success with your promotion. I'd contribute, except your book is already on my TBR.

The Midlist, BTW, was bought by Harper Collins, and they seem to have dumped 90% of their non-HC offerings. I only know this from hearsay, though, because when I heard HC had bought them, I unsubscribed immediately, and told them exactly why.


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## T.K. (Mar 8, 2011)

I bought a copy based on this thread, too. And I can't wait to hear your results.


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

I had trouble sleeping because, you know. Everything seems to be off to a good start, numbers later.



pwtucker said:


> Purchased a copy based just on how fun this thread is. Good luck today!





T.K. Richardson said:


> I bought a copy based on this thread, too. And I can't wait to hear your results.


Thanks for pwtucker and T.K. Richardson, I hope you enjoy.



cvannatta said:


> I hope the charts will be suitably adorned with images of the noble kitchen sink, its minions, and its adversaries.
> 
> Congratulations on the BB and ENT placements, and I wish you every success with your promotion. I'd contribute, except your book is already on my TBR.
> 
> The Midlist, BTW, was bought by Harper Collins, and they seem to have dumped 90% of their non-HC offerings. I only know this from hearsay, though, because when I heard HC had bought them, I unsubscribed immediately, and told them exactly why.


Cvannatta, I remember your encouragement when I was bumbling around at the very start of trying to sell my eBook version, and I'm grateful. Not sure if I can meet expectations for artful images as that's not my forte. Graphs I can do.

Re the Midlist I figured that opportunity was likely gone. The only promoter I really wanted but didn't get within the promo period was Robin Reads, which offered December 13th (which I'll go ahead and do).

Now it is time for some gardening. Thoses Irises aren't going to dig up themselves.


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## wlbeas (Jun 8, 2015)

Lurker here, inspired by this thread to write my first post.  It's been great to watch this book from release through a cover change and blurb change to first small promo and now bookbub.  Great job! Bought my copy.


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## CAAAllen (Nov 2, 2015)

Very well played James! BookBub is sure to blow the roof off!


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

wlbeas said:


> Lurker here, inspired by this thread to write my first post. It's been great to watch this book from release through a cover change and blurb change to first small promo and now bookbub. Great job! Bought my copy.


Thanks for this perspective and welcome to non-lurking. I'm grateful for all of the help (including tough love at times) from KBoards that has helped me a great deal.

It also makes me realize that I haven't contributed that much so far to help others on the board. I think one big factor is that it has felt like arrogant presumption to offer advice after only a few months out of the gate. I will make a point of identifying the areas where I'm confident I have helpful info I can provide.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

I hope you haven't forgotten that the Sink er the Symmetry will be in the 5-6 December promo!

ETA I'm a scientist. I'm still waiting for the graph!


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

Patty Jansen said:


> I hope you haven't forgotten that the Sink er the Symmetry will be in the 5-6 December promo!
> 
> ETA I'm a scientist. I'm still waiting for the graph!


Oh yes, it's on the plan!

Re graphs the simple sales graph will look stupid as in: yadda yadda yadda BoobBub, so I'm going to have to come up with more imaginative graphs. I've got a few ideas.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

> BoobBub


I'm always so pleased that I'm not the only one who perpetually makes this typo!


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## Salvador Mercer (Jan 1, 2015)

James R Wells said:


> ... yadda yadda yadda BoobBub...


 

Think we know what's been on your mind lately...


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## T.K. (Mar 8, 2011)

Okay, I can't wait any longer! Are there ANY results?!?! I've been checking this thread all day. I so bad want a big win here.


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

T.K. Richardson said:


> Okay, I can't wait any longer! Are there ANY results?!?! I've been checking this thread all day. I so bad want a big win here.


It's been a big day! Now home from Frozen on Ice (which was really very good). I'll add to the epic saga after some chowder, but for now:

2,017 sales as of 7:21 PM PT, Rank 154 in Kindle Store, #3 in Hard Science Fiction.

Really, really hoping to unseat The Martian at #1, if only for a review cycle or two. There's some screen capture material for you.


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## Salvador Mercer (Jan 1, 2015)

Good luck with that! 

I was wondering where my nice little spike in reads/sales came from the last few days for my lone Sci-Fi book.  I'm on the 1st of 15 pages in the #5 spot for your also-boughts, so thank you sir for allowing a small ride on your coattails, hehe!


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

Salvador Mercer said:


> Good luck with that!
> 
> I was wondering where my nice little spike in reads/sales came from the last few days for my lone Sci-Fi book. I'm on the 1st of 15 pages in the #5 spot for your also-boughts, so thank you sir for allowing a small ride on your coattails, hehe!


We can do a little controlled experiment. If that single alsobot listing was really making a difference, you should see a bunch of extra sales today. Let's hope so for both your sales and also for collection of information.


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

8:33 PM, 2074 sales, #108 in the Kindle Store, #2 in Hard Sci Fi behind The Martian

They assembled before dawn in front of the grandest castle any of them had ever seen. "We have two missions today," instructed the Sink.

"To sell books!" called out a chorus of minor characters.

"Yes, that first and foremost," agreed the Sink. "And to help stop the Author from getting carpal tunnel years before he expected, due to excessive pressing of the refresh button."

"Why did we have to get up so early?" asked the Cover. "I don't look my best in this light."

"We must be ready at the time the Bub shall set" said the Sink. "Indeed, I have arranged the entire journey to be at this place, at exactly this moment."

"Didn't we hire the Bub?" asked Prose, always the logical one. "Why can't we set the time? And isn't it really named the BoobBub?"

As they stood, an enormous battering ram floated by magic over the horizon and flew toward the portcullis. The Bub, so named because "Grond" was already taken, was imposing in size and fierce in appearance.

But just as the Bub was about to land the first blow, the portcullis simply raised up, allowing the Bub and the motley collection of eBook components inside.

"Does it always just open like that?" asked the Protagonist. "Not very thrilling that way."

"At about 6:30 every morning," replied the Sink.

They walked in, gazing at the magnificent surroundings and vast crowds. The denizens didn't seem at all alarmed at the invasion.

"But the city is so big!" wailed a minor character. "We won't be able to sell to them all!"

"Today we will receive much aid," the Sink pronounced. "Behold."

Before their eyes, the Bub dissolved into approximately 1.47 million smaller components -- the Little Bubbas. Each little bubba zoomed over to a resident of the city, sometimes selling, often not, or being simply waved away unopened. Then each bubba simply melted quietly away.

"I don't understand," said the author in wonderment. "I thought you had to endlessly harangue for each sale, and then thumbscrews to get a review."

"If you have enough little bubbas, the numbers work all the needed magic," explained the Sink. "Welcome to the next level."


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## Abderian (Apr 5, 2012)

Woohoo! Nearly there. Rooting for you, James.


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

Abderian said:


> Woohoo! Nearly there. Rooting for you, James.


I think it's hopeless. I'm currently #108 in the Kindle store and the Martian is #24. That's a big climb on a fading BookBub.

In Books / Science Fiction, I'm number 4. Here are the books in front of me:

1. The Martian
2. The Martian
3. The Martian

That's the Audio, the Kindle edition, and the Paperback


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## PJ_Cherubino (Oct 23, 2015)

James R Wells said:


> I think it's hopeless. I'm currently #108 in the Kindle store and the Martian is #24. That's a big climb on a fading BookBub.
> 
> In Books / Science Fiction, I'm number 4. Here are the books in front of me:
> 
> ...


#2 behind The Martian?
I know now I am a poor writer because I can't find the words to tell you how glad I am for you. Totally effin' awesome. You sold a book to me also.

Keep it up and congratulations.

Thanks for sharing your success. Gives me something to strive towards.


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

PJ_Cherubino said:


> #2 behind The Martian?
> I know now I am a poor writer because I can't find the words to tell you how glad I am for you. Totally effin' awesome. You sold a book to me also.
> 
> Keep it up and congratulations.
> ...


It's just for a brief moment but I'm enjoying it thoroughly. As far as being second to The Martian, I'm realizing that it's a very distant second. The Martian is way, way up there. So for anyone who wants to get to their genre #1, choose a place where The Martian isn't.

Amazon sales for the day are a wrap at 2166 (although oddly, 35 sales showed up for the next day a few minutes after midnight). I won't get D2D info until tomorrow. So the dilemma is - sleep, day job tomorrow and all that, vs the pretty much zero chance of capturing that #1 moment.

As a so-called responsible adult . . .


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## kindler2 (Apr 21, 2014)

No 1 in Hard Sci-fi in the UK.

No martians in sight.


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## Indecisive (Jun 17, 2013)

Congratulations! That's one successful promo.


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## Bbates024 (Nov 3, 2014)

The book also looks like an amazing deal squeezed between and 8.99 and 6.99. Just saying.

All hail the Bookbub for 2k+sales.

Loving the promotion so far. Grats on hitting #2 that is just amazing! I can't wait to see how the rest of the promo goes.


One of these days I'll get a bub, maybe......


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

kindler2 said:


> No 1 in Hard Sci-fi in the UK.
> 
> No martians in sight.


I've heard that brits (especially around the Woking area) have experience dealing with martians.

Morning numbers:

2,168 on Amazon
Not sure if D2D is final yet but shows 264
Amazon so far this morning: 203
#44 in the Kindle store - not going to catch The Martian which is at #28
ENT coming today (but won't be able to separate out from BookBub Day 2).

And now --- Must. Do. Day. Job.


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## T.K. (Mar 8, 2011)

Congratulations! Those numbers are great. Huge win!


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

Quick update for the day after: 425 Amazon sales today so far, just over 3100 total for the promo. Today is ENT, but I suspect most of the sales are due to Day 2 of BookBub; I will never know.

Things are definitely slowing down later this afternoon. Sinking from #44 to #56 in the Kindle store, hopefully will hold on to #2 in Hard Scifi for a while.


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## Abderian (Apr 5, 2012)

In other words, a massive success. The kitchen sink got its revenge.


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

Abderian said:


> In other words, a massive success. The kitchen sink got its revenge.


Revenge, by living well!


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## SasgoraBooks (Aug 27, 2015)

Congrats on the huge accomplishment! Considering The Martian has a trad pub and a Riddley Scott film pushing behind it I'm not surprised it has become unbeatable, you shouldn't feel bad about that at all. I can't even walk through my grocery store without finding a copy of The Martian staring at me, so it is getting pushed hard.


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

DarkarNights said:


> Congrats on the huge accomplishment! Considering The Martian has a trad pub and a Riddley Scott film pushing behind it I'm not surprised it has become unbeatable, you shouldn't feel bad about that at all. I can't even walk through my grocery store without finding a copy of The Martian staring at me, so it is getting pushed hard.


It was just a dream - even getting to #2 wildly exceeded expectations. At closest point I was #44 while The Martian was #30. Seems close but I think the numbers get really big at that point so it's probably much further away than it appears. I'm doomed to slide to #3 in Hard Sci fi on the next refresh cycle.

I have 3371 sales for the promo as of this moment. With 131 more, I'll be at 5,000 lifetime sales of the book by my count.


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

Updated the numbers in the initial post; 157 sales so far today makes 3,489 for the promotion and just over 5,000 lifetime sales for the book. Mailing list requests trickling in, got 4 today.

One more paid promo day tomorrow with Fussy Librarian plus stragglers from the other promos, then one or perhaps more days beyond that still discounted (I got a note from D2D saying they're off work Thursday through Sunday, not sure if that affects pricing updates).

Next conundrum: I was at $2.99, basically the lowest sane price. Return there or live on the edge at $3.99?


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## Salvador Mercer (Jan 1, 2015)

My $3.99 titles sold better than my $2.99.  Not a scientific assessment, but if you feel fine with the higher price point, go for it.  I wanted to diff between my 77k & 65k books from the 115k book and threw the 85k book at $3.99 cause I liked the success with that price point (different genre).

I can't remember if your promo was a KCD, if so it will remain where it was for 14 days afterwards.

Good luck on your tail!


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## Salvador Mercer (Jan 1, 2015)

Nevermind, your book is wide, so no KCD.  Change away if you so desire ::holds breath::


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

Salvador Mercer said:


> My $3.99 titles sold better than my $2.99. Not a scientific assessment, but if you feel fine with the higher price point, go for it. I wanted to diff between my 77k & 65k books from the 115k book and threw the 85k book at $3.99 cause I liked the success with that price point (different genre).
> 
> I can't remember if your promo was a KCD, if so it will remain where it was for 14 days afterwards.
> 
> Good luck on your tail!


Thanks - I'm leaning toward $3.99 because why not try. It's about 100k.

Yes. wide therefore no KCD issue.


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## RobertLSlater (Jan 27, 2015)

James R Wells said:


> Thanks - I'm leaning toward $3.99 because why not try. It's about 100k.
> 
> Yes. wide therefore no KCD issue.


James,
Again, congratulations. AN impressive year you've had. I'm sitting around 1000 sales [combined physical/electronic] I think for ALL IS SILENCE and it's been out almost two years. Of course, almost all those sales are at or near list price.

I'm planning on putting ALL IS SILENCE up to $3.99, down from $4.99 and TOILS AND SNARES down to $2.99 from $3.99. I'm considering dropping STRAIGHT INTO DARKNESS to $5.99 from the $6.99 list price and it's currently at $4.99 and coming up on a KOBO NEXT promotion.

On page 116 last night and reading past my bed-time. Good job.
Rob

P.S. Your challenge to consider not buying a large amount of print books was accepted and approved. I ordered just enough from Ingram Spark to negate the $35 upload fees.


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

RobertLSlater said:


> James,
> Again, congratulations. AN impressive year you've had. I'm sitting around 1000 sales [combined physical/electronic] I think for ALL IS SILENCE and it's been out almost two years. Of course, almost all those sales are at or near list price.
> 
> I'm planning on putting ALL IS SILENCE up to $3.99, down from $4.99 and TOILS AND SNARES down to $2.99 from $3.99. I'm considering dropping STRAIGHT INTO DARKNESS to $5.99 from the $6.99 list price and it's currently at $4.99 and coming up on a KOBO NEXT promotion.
> ...


Yep - while I can boast 5,000+ sales now, less than a thousand of them are full price, and even that has been $2.99 for the eBook. Hopefully the BookBub tail will fix that.

In light of this experience, I recommend that you submit ALL IS SILENCE to BookBub every 30 days for a $0.99 promo until accepted, which could be a lot sooner than you think (we were about identical in reviews/ratings when I submitted, and I was accepted first try). It's perfectly placed as #1 in the series and the ending is set up nicely for the sequel. Give in on pricing for just a day or three and get a few thousand of them out there. Just do it!


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

Hurrah for the gallant Sink! And for the Grond, I mean the Bub. Well done James!! Now put it up to $3.99, it is a shame not to take advantage of the tail.


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

Felix R. Savage said:


> Hurrah for the gallant Sink! And for the Grond, I mean the Bub. Well done James!! Now put it up to $3.99, it is a shame not to take advantage of the tail.


$3.99 it shall be.

Tail day - no paid promotion today but still at $0.99 until I get everything wrangled to full price. Seems the biggest problem is Google via StreetLib, where the price doesn't adjust promptly. And then the Zon won't adjust until Google does as well as the D2D retailers (also D2D is on vacation, we'll see if price adjusments get processed automatically).

As of this moment 3,873 eBook sales, with an outside chance of making 4,000 for the promo. Anyway it's pretty much all over except for the ritual making of the graphs.

And now, the final installment of the saga:

- - -

The troop of eBook components strode through the countryside now, confidence brimming. Even the algorithms wagged their tails at them as they passed.

"They're friendlier in these parts," observed the Sink. "Still, they'll turn on you in as little as one refresh cycle if they get hungry. Don't pet them."

At a fork in the path, the Sink led them on to the more rugged and steep choice, to a chorus of complaints. "Let's go down to next the village on the main path," said the Blurb. "We might get over the 4,000 mark down there."

"You have to see this," said the Sink.

As they clambered up on to a rocky spire, indeed they saw it.

No mere castle, it was a city of the future. Cars flew effortlessly from place to place. The city was in the air, suspended only on faith in the market. And it was enormous.

The author was awestruck. "So many readers!" he exclaimed. "How do we get there?"

"I've been trying to tell you about this," put in Prose. "We don't. Not with what we have now."

"But we must! In such a place, we will never again fear the algorithms."

"To get there, we will need a sequel," instructed the Sink. "Get thee to a writery!"

"I'll be there!" volunteered Prose.

The author looked at the far off city and considered. "A sequel it will be!"


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## Lyndawrites (Aug 7, 2011)

Great stuff, James. Well done to the fair Sink, and all who travel with her!

Many congrats - and looking forward to the graphs.


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

Lyndawrites said:


> Great stuff, James. Well done to the fair Sink, and all who travel with her!
> 
> Many congrats - and looking forward to the graphs.


Graphs there will be, but I need to come up with a new kind because the BookBub numbers make everything else look microscopic.

Rolling up the sidewalks tonight, adjusting to the new regular price of $3.99 (we'll see how it takes). From D2D waiting on Nook to adjust (last one as usual) before I try to set Amazon (because Amazon likely wouldn't move until Nook does). Not quite going to make it to 4,000 copies sold during the 7 days of promo - looking back, the originally stated goal was 2071 sales, to break even, so we'll just say the goal was met.

A great day to be grateful.


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## baldricko (Mar 14, 2014)

Well done! My promo begins Black Friday. It's something of a minimal line up by comparison.


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## Nicholas Erik (Sep 22, 2015)

Congrats James, thanks for sharing your numbers. Your book really resonated with BookBub's readers. The best I've done with their ads is about 3500 (over a month, maybe), and that's with a box set. You should see good #s when you release the sequel. Think you're onto something with this series. 

+1 for style, btw. 

Nick


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

baldricko said:


> Well done! My promo begins Black Friday. It's something of a minimal line up by comparison.


I hope you have a great promotion. The BookBub was a bolt of lightning, now I'm sure it's back to Mundania.



Nicholas Erik said:


> Congrats James, thanks for sharing your numbers. Your book really resonated with BookBub's readers. The best I've done with their ads is about 3500 (over a month, maybe), and that's with a box set. You should see good #s when you release the sequel. Think you're onto something with this series.
> 
> +1 for style, btw.
> 
> Nick


The big unknown will be about the tail and other downstream results. I see some indications, like 6 Amazon reviews since the promo started, 6 ratings (one text review) on Goodreads, some mailing list signups, and also now showing 17 people "currently reading" on Goodreads, which is by far a record. I'll provide more results when I see the effects (or not) over the next few weeks.

The sequel has been going slowly but this is incredibly motivating.


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

Lyndawrites said:


> Great stuff, James. Well done to the fair Sink, and all who travel with her!


Looking forward to the sequel to the Sink's adventures, err I mean the sequel to the BOOK ... both actually


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

Two graphs added to the first post, also here:

The first graph provides a newsflash: BookBub rules. There is no way to determine the contribution of any promoter other than BookBub. It does look like 65 to 70% of BookBub sales happen on the day of the email, which may be useful info. The exact percentage can't be determined because the contribution of other promoters isn't known.










The second, and unscientific, "graph" lists the major events and source of sales for far this year.


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

Felix R. Savage said:


> Looking forward to the sequel to the Sink's adventures, err I mean the sequel to the BOOK ... both actually


The adventure is rather unexpectedly continuing. The Sink and friends are aimlessly wandering around the countryside, selling to whomever they see.

24 Hours ago, I sent the submittal to D2D to update the price to the new regular price of $3.99. All good things must end, right?

Everyone but Nook updated quickly. And here we wait. I can't update Amazon because price matching. So nothing for it but to sell more discounted copies, 75 so far today.

Getting ready for a multi-author (12 of us) signing event at B&N tomorrow which hopefully will go well. I appreciate our local B&N store providing a prime schedule spot on the black-whatever weekend.


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## IreneP (Jun 19, 2012)

This is awesome!


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

I updated the continuing saga at one point but it fell into a glome and was transported to another dimension. The actual event was a collision of universes triggered by a narrowly defeated alien invasion from another plane, while the cover-up and official story is "server crash." Yeah, right.

Following the happy accident that Nook were all slackers and didn't come to work over the holiday weekend, thus didn't update my price, thus I couldn't update Amazon, I decided to see what happens if you just leave the price at $0.99 for a while. Patty's promo was coming up 12/5-6 and Robin Reads offered 12/13. So 12/14 is now set as the day for the return to Mundania, a full 18 days after originally planned.

The results suggest that if you have a good sales rank at the $0.99 price at the end of a scheduled promotion, and are not constrained by the rules of a Kindle Countdown, it could be a reasonable option to just stay at the discount for a while and mop up some more sales. It's possible that going back up in price could have resulted in more revenue, but since the goal all along has been more sales, I'm really pleased with the choice.

Numbers:

11/27/2015 - Unexpected bonus tail day, no paid promotion
Coudn't end discount because Nook is not updating
Result: 103 sales, Down to #715 in Kindle Store, #11 in Hard Science Fiction

11/28 through 12/10 (and continuing thru 12/13): stuck with $0.99 to see what would happen

Result: Average 85 sales per day over 13 days, tailing down with last 3 days at 70, 58, and 63
Included Patty's promo which added a weekend bump 12/5-6
5,461 eBook sales total during the discount period including extended tail
Evening of 12/11: #1964 in Kindle Store, #21 in Hard Science fiction
Added 24 Amazon reviews since start of promo

Sales numbers above are from all channels; graph is KDP only.


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## scifi365 (Sep 12, 2014)

It's also a great book. I think that needs to be factored in for people wanting to replicate what James has done. More from the 'hitting the target market' perspective than any subjective viewpoint on good vs. bad writing.

Here's the thing: 'The Great Symmetry' hits the hard Science Fiction audience right where they live. This is a tough crowd, but if you deliver, they are yours forever. It also hits the softer part of the S.F market - there's a plot and characters and stuff. Oh, and there's world building which brings in all those SF/Fantasy cross-over types that get immersed in that kind of thing. 

The people that will buy the sequel out of the gate are the hard SF crowd. So the fact that James is wide rather than Amazon only is going to work to his advantage, long term. Those people are opinionated, they may have issues with Amazon or Google or whoever, but they're out there and buying eBooks and Mr Wells is delivering the kind of SF they want. The fact that he's related to a Sci-Fi God doesn't hurt either.

If you're an author and are reading this thread, you need to be aware of what you are selling and to whom. For example, if you were a military SF author, you might do better exclusively through Amazon because a lot of the best military Science Fiction is already exclusive to that platform and KU. If, however, you are writing serious SF - as is James - there is no value in being paid 1/2 cent per page read when your audience will pay realistic prices for good hard SF. 

In other words, $0.99 is too cheap!


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

scifi365 said:


> It's also a great book. I think that needs to be factored in for people wanting to replicate what James has done. More from the 'hitting the target market' perspective than any subjective viewpoint on good vs. bad writing.
> 
> Here's the thing: 'The Great Symmetry' hits the hard Science Fiction audience right where they live. This is a tough crowd, but if you deliver, they are yours forever. It also hits the softer part of the S.F market - there's a plot and characters and stuff. Oh, and there's world building which brings in all those SF/Fantasy cross-over types that get immersed in that kind of thing.
> 
> ...


Mark, thanks for your kind comment and I apprecaite the point about matching market strategy to a book's target readership.

I puzzled a fair amount about whether I was hitting the hard scifi tropes. The book has less "action" (i.e. violence) than most stuff I read these days, and considerable investment in social topics that some readers don't want to see. But at the end of the day I decided to go with what I care about.

For me that's a lesson: It's not a question of technical markers vs passion, it's a matter of getting the two to work together.

We will see how it all goes with Monday's return to the mundania of regular price and all promos done. With less going on, it will be good news for progress on Volume II.


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

My key takeaways from 30 days after the main promo ended:

*- Always apply to BookBub if you have a candidate book, and if they offer a slot, take it
*
I have talked with friends saying "I can't afford those prices" and try to convey that's crazy. Sure enough there's a cash flow impact (I paid for the BB in late October and haven't received resulting the Amazon $ yet) but that's the only downside.

*- Adding lesser promos before and after the big day, even having a lower return per $ than BookBub, can help establish a higher rank and longer tail
*
I'll never know how many sales can be attributed to the non-BookBub promoters but it seems likely that they contributed to staying longer in higher ranks as well as alsobot placements.

*- Evaluate the return over at least 30 days, not just on the main day.
*
I broke even on BookBub day (which seems to be the measure everyone watches very carefully because it's immediate and so obviously related to the BookBub promotion) but the dividend has continued. Over just the last 10 days at regular price it has paid for itself one more time (and it's all gravy)

*- If sales are humming, it could be good to stick at $0.99 for while*

I ended up sticking at $0.99 for 18 days longer than initially planned. I might have given away some revenue but definitely accrued more sales due to that.

*- Having more books would have been great for sell-through, but it still can work with only one book
*
For anyone having only one book, but it's a strong candidate for acceptance, it could be a good idea to go ahead and apply and get some value now if accepted. When the sequels are out, you can always apply again (and as a result of the first BookBub, will have more reviews).


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## Salvador Mercer (Jan 1, 2015)

Nicely done James, thanks for sharing.  I'm at 8 rejections now and counting, so we'll see.  I'd pay double for any Bookbub  (Shhh!)


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

Salvador Mercer said:


> Nicely done James, thanks for sharing. I'm at 8 rejections now and counting, so we'll see. I'd pay double for any Bookbub  (Shhh!)


Don't tell them that!

Your Bub will come - just keep accruing reviews and keep applying ...


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## Salvador Mercer (Jan 1, 2015)

James R Wells said:


> Don't tell them that!
> 
> Your Bub will come - just keep accruing reviews and keep applying ...


Will do, thanks for sharing, have a Happy New Year too!


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

Salvador Mercer said:


> Will do, thanks for sharing, have a Happy New Year too!


Happy New Year and I hope you have a Bubby and prosperous 2016.


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## RD (Dec 19, 2015)

scifi365 said:


> If you're an author and are reading this thread, you need to be aware of what you are selling and to whom. For example, if you were a military SF author, you might do better exclusively through Amazon because a lot of the best military Science Fiction is already exclusive to that platform and KU.
> [/quote
> 
> Good to know. I didn't lean towards KU for any other reason other than blind luck.


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## scifi365 (Sep 12, 2014)

There's a lot to be said for 'blind luck'! It sort of sounds counter-intuitive to suggest that authors of a particular genre should throw in their lot by competing with authors in the same sub-genre. But, with military SF - these people are voracious readers. So once they've finished with Christopher Nuttall, Saxon Andrew et alii, they are looking for something else. You need to be in the mix to be that 'next read'. 

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of KDP Select exclusivity, but if  I was writing in your genre, it makes perfect sense. The big military Sci Fi indies are in KU. That's where your audience is.  Give them something else to read. Profit. The end.


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

90+ days after the BookBub day, and 70 days after end of discount and all promo, here's the EKG, heading downward but taking its time. [Wide - the graph is Amazon + D2D].

My continued takeaway: Always apply to BookBub, always accept if offered, and don't evaluate breakeven just within the promo period.










The only bad news is continued struggles with Volume II. I have deliberately stepped away from any and all promo to focus on new content (a prequel short and the full length sequel) but it's still all in pieces on the shop floor. Boo.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Yeah, I had a Bookbub that wasn't particularly crash-hot, but I just added up the numbers, and I've made back the cost of the ad... on each individual platform alone in the past month.


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## C. Gockel (Jan 28, 2014)

Thank you so much for sharing this James! You are another sci-fi writer who is wide. How interesting ...


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

Patty Jansen said:


> Yeah, I had a Bookbub that wasn't particularly crash-hot, but I just added up the numbers, and I've made back the cost of the ad... on each individual platform alone in the past month.


Yes, I was surprised when I considered the improvement from (low) baseline over a couple of months - the tail actually matters more for ROI than sales on the big day.


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## James R Wells (May 21, 2015)

C. Gockel said:


> Thank you so much for sharing this James! You are another sci-fi writer who is wide. How interesting ...


I was on the edge of going into KU, but I read that BookBub preferred wide which although a lark at the time was enough to decide (and then a few days after applying - yay!). Underlying: the notion of caving in to the the exclusivity requirements kept making me hesitate and so it didn't take much to push me the other way.


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## PJ_Cherubino (Oct 23, 2015)

James R Wells said:


> 90+ days after the BookBub day, and 70 days after end of discount and all promo, here's the EKG, heading downward but taking its time. [Wide - the graph is Amazon + D2D].
> 
> My continued takeaway: Always apply to BookBub, always accept if offered, and don't evaluate breakeven just within the promo period.
> 
> ...


Wow! Great work.
Thanks for providing the excellent pro writing tips.

I do find it hard to split m attention between promotion and content creation. It feels like they use different and conflicting parts of my brain.

Makes my brainpan leak a little.


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