Movie Monday

I wouldn't say I'm a sucker for musical to movie adaptations--I've seen a few, haven't seen others. I'm pretty excited about this, though:

So . . . you won't be surprised that I've gone through spells of listening to this on repeat:

You also won't be surprised to know that I found inspiration for a certain character of mine in Gerard Butler. (sigh) Love me some Gerard Butler. I'm sorry, but that's one sexy phantom.

This is such a random Monday Post, I know, but thought I would share (for the eye candy, if nothing else). . . .

Some movies that I've seen lately and enjoyed (I'll just link the trailers so I don't clog the 'netz with all of these files.)

You 18 and below-ers, use discretion with these trailers/selections. Some of these are meant to appeal to an older *cough, cough* crowd. That's your friendly warning. :)

Jeff Who Lives at Home

21 Jump Street

Sherlock Holmes 2

Friends with Kids

The Adjustment Bureau 

Limitless

Being Flynn

And I know I'm late to the game, but I watched this last night. So Good. :)

That is all!

Friday Links!

Hi Guys!

I'm passing on a few links today. 

1. First is the link to Stephanie Laurens's Romance Writers of America 2012 Keynote Address, given yesterday (July 26) in California. I'm linking this because she discusses the different pathways one can take as an author, and how online publishing is changing the most important connection in the process (author to reader). 

Love this quote:

"Another point: what is the definition of success in our business? Recently I've heard some contend that success for an author is getting published. Really? Getting published is you handing your manuscript over for transmittal - how can that be success? No - we're entertainers, and as an entertainer's success is measured by their box office draw, our success is measured by the number of readers lining up to buy our next book. Not the book that just went out, but our next book. Our success is measured by the size of our already captured audience."

The rumor coming out of the conference (going on now) is that self-pubs will soon be eligible for membership to RWA if they've reached a certain point in earnings. The number I've heard thrown around is $5,000. 

2. Also, Konrath posted a great blog a few weeks ago, Zero Sum, where he discusses ebook pricing and how, even if the "bestsellers" start lowering their ebook prices, it means readers have more money to spend on (indie) books.

Quote: "If all ebook prices came down, more ebooks would be sold across the board."

3. Gossip coming out of the publishing industry these last few weeks: Penguin has acquired Author Solutions (the king of vanity presses?). Why this is bad. And why this is bad.  

Finally, authors can upload their books directly to Kobo, now (Kobo Writing Life). I'm not sure how big the Kobo market share is at this point, but I went in last weekend and uploaded my books, anyway. 

Let me just say: this is the easiest publishing interface I've used so far. The downside? I'm still waiting for Cross My Heart to publish (after one week). The others were up within a couple of hours. So . . . I may have to go in and re-publish this weekend. Still, it's a small sacrifice to reach potential readers. :)

That is all!

Enjoy your weekend!

~K~

Am listening to "We Are Young" by Fun

 

Monday Links

Hi Everyone!

I wanted to link to a fantabulous post on The Season Blog. It's called The Tale of Two Publishing Roads and was written by Beverley Kendall. In addition to discussing the reasons she chose the self-publishing path,  she also includes some marketing strategies (i.e. what worked and what didn't).  As a teaser: Facebook/Goodreads ads don't usually fly, blog tours help, and a big giveaway (such as a free Kindle) usually draws a decent crowd.

Also, from R.S. Guthrie: Are You Still Trying to Sell A Million EBooks?

To quote: "I still believe that on average, in the long run, talent and hard work WILL GET YOU THERE. But it won’t be fast. Not for the majority of us."

And finally, a fantastic post from Zoe Winters: "Evidence I Still Don’t Get the “Long Tail” of Indie Publishing"

Love this quote: 

"So while I would like a book to break out and I hope it does someday, it could be any book I haven’t written yet (or technically any book I have as well), there is more than one way to gain momentum. One of those ways I have control over and one of them I do not.

"I have no control over the momentum or sales velocity of a book. Yes, I can do some promotion. Yes I can drop a bunch of money on advertising, but at the end of the day if a book doesn’t catch fire, all the advertising in the world won’t change it because only the advertising will prop it up. When the advertising stops, if a book isn’t a “catch fire” book, it slows down and sells at the pace it would have sold without the ads."

The point?  

Keep Writing

That is all!

~Katie~

Am listening to Rachmaninov Piano Concerto #2

 

Friday Links!

I am SO behind on the links, you guys, so if you've already seen these, I'm sorry for not being ahead of the curve (or at least curving with it). If you haven't, though, here are some indie-related/publishing links you may find interesting. 

1. First, a post from the always fabulous Kris Rusch: The End of the World as We Know It

Quoting: "So I would think that point 4, the point no one in traditional publishing really wants to think about—not the Scott-Turow type bestsellers, not the writers who are too frightened to leave their publishers, not the editors, reviewers, traditional publishing executives, and CEO of publishing companies—is that selling an indie book is more profitable and better business for the writer."

2. Another post by Kris: Hurry Up. Wait.

If you're on the fence about traditional vs indie publishing, this post breaks down the benefits/cons of both. 

Quoting: "So indie writers who promote their book instead of writing the next book are wasting their time. The more books you’ve written, the more books you’ll sell."

And: "So the key is to give readers what they want. What do they want? Good stories. And the readers will differ as to which of your stories are 'good.' So give the readers a lot of stories to choose from. That’s what traditional publishers do. That’s why they release a new set of books every month. Because they’re giving the readers a choice all the time. You have to do that too, no matter how you publish the books."

3. There are a few ebook/readership-related projections this article: What Will the Global eBook Market Look Like By 2016?

Spoiler Alert: PricewaterhouseCoopers is projecting 50% ebook readership. Not a bad number. :)

That is All! 

(Not Really--I have so many "starred" links in my inbox it's not even funny. But I'll worry about those later.)

Enjoy your weekend!

~K~

Am listening to "Fake Plastic Trees" by Radiohead

Amazon Sales Rank--What does this MEAN?!

Remember the double rainbow guy from YouTube? What does this MEAN?! Yeah, that's what I thought of, too.

Makes me laugh EVERY. TIME. :D

Anyway . . . this post might actually mean more to traditional authors than indies. . . .

I remember WAAAAY BACK when I was first published. My title went up early on Amazon for pre-orders, and, on the day of release, I debuted around 10,000. Dudes, I was SO stoked. This was 2009, by the way (yeah, the whole Way Back thing was me being sarcastic). :) After that I slipped back, hovered in the 40ks, and then higher, and then the 200ks . . . no big deal. My current ranking? 1.9 million. Yeah. Good times.

And no, I'm not telling you the title. I like my secret identity just fine, thanks. However, should I ever regain those rights, I might be tempted to re-release as an Indie. We shall see.

Anywho, all that to say this: I had NO CLUE what Amazon rankings meant because I didn't have access to sales numbers. Fast Forward to 2012: I keep a notebook to track my daily sales. I micromanage the highs and lows. (Not always a good thing, but I digress.) Now that Indies are micromanaging, though, we have a pretty good idea of what needs to be sold to reach those milestones (breaking 10k, 5k, Top 100, etc.). 

(Granted, these are always subject to change with Amazon's ever-fluctuating algorithms. . . . )

So . . . 

Treat the following as: "If your Amazon ranking is _____, then you are selling ______."

8,500 to 40,000 = 1 to 10 books a day

3,500 to 8,500 = 10 to 30 books a day
2,000 to 3,500 = 30 to 55 books a day
1000 to 2,000 = 55 to 100 books a day
200 to 1000 = 100 to 300 books a day
80 to 200 = 300 to 550 books a day
65 to 80 = 550 to 650 books a day
20 to 65 = 650 to 1,100 books a day
10 to 20 = 1,100 to 2,000 + books a day

5 to 10 = 2,000 to 3,500 books a day
1 to 5 = 3,500+ books a day

(This data comes from Theresa Ragan, btw, from her personal experience/Kindleboards info. Please drop by her blog and show her some love, if you have time. The original post to this data is here.)  

This is pretty consistent with what I've been seeing--give or take a few sales. Cross My Heart has been hovering between #700-900 the last few days, and I'm seeing between 90-100 sales a day.

So, if you're watching your ranking, and want to know what it takes to see number X, this gives you a pretty good idea of the number of sales needed. 

(Disclaimer: the information could change at any time, and does not weight ebooks that are listed as FREE. This is for paid sales only.)

Either way, I hope this helps shed some light.

Knowledge is power!

(I'm saying that a lot, lately.)

~K~

Am listening to: "Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve.

 

Hot New Release from Elle Strauss!

A teen swim athlete discovers a merfolk world that threatens to keep her out of the ocean forever.
 

Dori Seward can’t wait to get out of Eastcove, a sleepy fishing village on the border of New Brunswick and Maine. She bides her time by hanging out with friends, attending swim club, and holding her biggest competition, Colby–who wants more than just friendship, at arm’s length. Then Tor Riley comes to town and he has everything Dori dreams of in a boyfriend–looks, athleticism and mystery. But Tor also has a tantalizing secret and Dori is determined to find out what it is. The truth is crazier than her wildest imaginations and more dangerous, too. Dori has new fantastical enemies , and they will do anything to get to her. Her life, her dreams and her love for Tor are all weighing in the balance. Will Dori risk it all in order to have it all?

 SEAWEED is FREE for a limited time on Amazon! It's also free on itunes and smashwords.



Elle Strauss writes time travel and merfolk chic-lit, light SF and historical YA fiction. To ward off writer's butt she does a bit of hiking, biking and yoga. Elle is married with four children and divides her time between British Columbia, Canada, and Germany.

Social Network Posting Times

Quick post!

For those of you who are promoting yourself (indie author, traditional author, or otherwise), I thought you might find this interesting (thank you, Jessie Harrell, for sending this out)!

Bit.ly crunched the numbers for us, and posted some optimal times for sending out tweets, updating statuses, etc. so we can reach the most people/see the most impact.

Twitter
•    Post 9am-3pm ET, Monday through Thursday
•    Especially post 1-3pm ET, Monday through Thursday
•    Avoid posting after 8pm ET during the weekends
•    Avoid posting after 3pm ET on Friday and at all on weekends

Facebook
•    Post 1-4pm ET during the week
•    Especially post midweek 1-3pm ET
•    The very best time is Wednesday at 3pm ET
•    Avoid posting between 8pm ET and 8am ET during the week
•    Avoid posting on weekends

Tumblr
•    Post from 4pm ET onward
•    Especially post from 7pm-10pm ET onward, with Monday and Tuesdays
being good
•    Post on Friday evenings

The full report/analysis can be found here.

Knowledge is Power!

~K~