It’s a new year, so that means it’s time to start fresh with new ideas and new plans and new hope, right?
Well, even if it’s not right, sounds like a good plan to me. I’m actually looking forward to 2015, as a writing year, as I think it will go much better than 2014. While 2014 wasn’t a bad year for my writing, per se, I don’t think I accomplished as much as I’d wanted. I had hoped to do much better in sales and that never really materialized.
The good news is that, as I look back over my year, I figured out where I went wrong. Simply put, I didn’t really have a clear set of goals and benchmarks last year. While I wanted to get out the two books I published last year (and I did), I didn’t have any other real writing-related goals. So, this year, I’m setting my bar higher and have a more rigorous publication and writing schedule. But, also I’ve got some benchmarks I’d like to meet in terms of sales. If I’m not meeting those benchmarks by a certain date, I’ve got a plan of some strategies I can take to meet those benchmarks. So, I think with that extra push of benchmarks, the year will be more successful for me.
I also intend to actively seek more reviews for some of my other books. While I was very gung ho about soliciting reviews for Life First, I’ve been less so about subsequent books. That was a mistake. Even though it’s a linear series that should be read in order, I needed to get the subsequent books more reviews so readers will think the entire series, not just the first book, is worth reading. So, definitely planning to work on that.
I’m also going to give Kindle Unlimited a try this year — as an author, I mean. For those unfamiliar, KU allows readers to pay Amazon $10 a month and get access to as many books as they want. Under that system, when a KU reader “borrows” your book and reads 10 percent, you get paid a fee set by Amazon (in the $1.30 – $1.80 range; the fee is the same no matter the price of your book). A fair number of well-selling authors have opted out saying the borrows have gutted their sales. However, I haven’t sold enough books to be in that position, so I’m going to give it a try to see if I can get to the point that I’m actually complaining about getting hundreds of borrows weekly or (worse?) daily. 🙂
The nice thing about 2015 is I’ve already had a few sales in this new year, so that’s lovely. And, for those who missed Saturday’s post, I’ve joined forces with some others to participate in a giveaway of a Kindle Fire HD or a $100 PayPal credit (whichever you want, if you win). You may enter the rafflecopter, if you’re interested. You can earn multiple entries in the competition. Please do the one to subscribe to my mailing list. If you’ve already subscribed to the list but not entered the contest, you can still subscribe as a method of entry. Just include your email address again (you won’t get two emails).
Well, that’s about it for me for today. So, what are your thoughts on 2015? Got ultra stellar plans for making this year awesome?
Best of luck in 2015.
Thanks, Charles.
“I’m also going to give Kindle Unlimited a try this year — as an author, I mean – I’m going to give it a try to see if I can get to the point that I’m actually complaining about getting hundreds of borrows weekly or (worse?) daily. 🙂 ” –
In the same camp RJ. Just let my first 90 days roll over to another round.
It’s gotten a little better for me each month, plus the advantages of so many folk in KU really helps getting people to try a book out.
Anyway, all the best for you 🙂
Thanks, Felipe. Good luck to you, too. And just for clarification, I should’ve said I’m going to try a regular story in KU. I have my short story collection in KU, but it doesn’t do much in sales or borrows. And I don’t think collections of shorts do as well as a standard novel. So, this year, I’m going to see if something more standard does better.