Just a brief reminder: KINDLE CREATION FOR CONTROL FREAKS will be be free on Saturday the 30th of November. That's tomorrow. Starts at midnight Pacific Standard Time.
Grab it up!
Friday, November 29, 2013
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
PROMOTION RESULTS
As I mentioned earlier, I had several book listed for free last week—the promotion running the full five days in a row.
My earlier experience with giveaways warned me I was going about this one in the most inefficient manner, but I had no choice. (I'd let the matter go too long before acting.)
This time, HOT STATUS was downloaded most on the first day: 67.6%. The combined first and second day was 82.8%. First three days: 91%. Limiting the free period to one or two days is indicated, once again—assuming the goal is to maximize the number of downloads. (And what else could it be, really?)
For THE EXPLODING WIZARD the total numbers were not quite one fourth the total of HOT STATUS. I think this indicates the relative percentage of interest between an adult thriller and a middle-grade chapter book.
Maybe. Another source of difference went uncollected. I sent both books to six promotion sites this time, but failed to check the sites to see which book made it to the Web. In the past, the adult book was posted more often than the kid's book.
For WIZARD, the percentages were: 41.7% for the first day, 61.1% for days one and two, and 72.2% for the first three days. Even if the book saw less promotion than the thriller, it appears folks are reluctant to select a free kid's book—not only in total numbers, but over time. For some reason it takes readers longer to give in and download the thing. Apparently.
The third book (KINDLE CREATION FOR CONTROL FREAKS) proved an interesting case. It was only free for one day, and I set up NO promotions for this one—a test of its stealth appeal.
In its one day it was downloaded 96% as much as HOT STATUS on its best day (Day One), despite the lack of promotion.
And I doubt restraint in promotion was the cause of this relative success.
It could be the nature of the book (non-fiction) put it more in demand than just another novel. I think, in general, non-fiction outsells fiction (at least, outside of the world of ebooks).
Might also be the price differential.
HOT STATUS has always only been sold at 99 cents (or for free). KINDLE CREATION was sitting at $2.99 before (and after) the freebie period. Perhaps folks perceived it as the superior bargain and went for it.
Even though it was not promoted.
(To be fair, I never checked to see if HOT STATUS was promoted at all—but it probably was.)
Maybe there was pent-up demand for KINDLE CREATION, folks visiting the details page repeatedly but unable to pull the trigger on the book because of its price. (Though I have had sales at the list price.) During its unannounced free period (well, it was announced HERE ) enough shoppers happened by (in hopes the price had fallen?) to grab the book for free. Their lucky day...
This brings up the haunting question: Is it possible to thwart sales for a book by pricing it too low?
Smashwords has released data showing their products make the most money in the three to four dollar range, with additional (lower) peaks in several (mostly ) higher zones. The lowest earning rate is in the one to two dollar range: less than 21% as lucrative as the highest rate. Since the royalty rate is fixed throughout (unlike Kindle), these numbers are not skewed by the royalty break point or delivery fees. In fact, books appear to sell twice as many copies at $3.50 as they do at $1.50.
Unfortunately, these data are for the complete range of books, not the same book sold at various prices. Perhaps the more desirable books are simply priced higher than lesser works. Or maybe better selling authors realize they can climb out of the pricing basement and still sell books; and in this case, even more books.
Author Dave Hendricks utilizes this pricing plan: All new books go up at 99 cents until they garner ten reviews. He then raises the price to the lowest available for a 70% royalty ($2.99). After that he bumps the price a dollar every two to four weeks, stopping only when the book's profits level off.
No freebies for him, apparently.
It will be interesting to see how the new Countdown promotion affects the number of freebies in the Kindle market.
My earlier experience with giveaways warned me I was going about this one in the most inefficient manner, but I had no choice. (I'd let the matter go too long before acting.)
This time, HOT STATUS was downloaded most on the first day: 67.6%. The combined first and second day was 82.8%. First three days: 91%. Limiting the free period to one or two days is indicated, once again—assuming the goal is to maximize the number of downloads. (And what else could it be, really?)
For THE EXPLODING WIZARD the total numbers were not quite one fourth the total of HOT STATUS. I think this indicates the relative percentage of interest between an adult thriller and a middle-grade chapter book.
Maybe. Another source of difference went uncollected. I sent both books to six promotion sites this time, but failed to check the sites to see which book made it to the Web. In the past, the adult book was posted more often than the kid's book.
For WIZARD, the percentages were: 41.7% for the first day, 61.1% for days one and two, and 72.2% for the first three days. Even if the book saw less promotion than the thriller, it appears folks are reluctant to select a free kid's book—not only in total numbers, but over time. For some reason it takes readers longer to give in and download the thing. Apparently.
The third book (KINDLE CREATION FOR CONTROL FREAKS) proved an interesting case. It was only free for one day, and I set up NO promotions for this one—a test of its stealth appeal.
In its one day it was downloaded 96% as much as HOT STATUS on its best day (Day One), despite the lack of promotion.
And I doubt restraint in promotion was the cause of this relative success.
It could be the nature of the book (non-fiction) put it more in demand than just another novel. I think, in general, non-fiction outsells fiction (at least, outside of the world of ebooks).
Might also be the price differential.
HOT STATUS has always only been sold at 99 cents (or for free). KINDLE CREATION was sitting at $2.99 before (and after) the freebie period. Perhaps folks perceived it as the superior bargain and went for it.
Even though it was not promoted.
(To be fair, I never checked to see if HOT STATUS was promoted at all—but it probably was.)
Maybe there was pent-up demand for KINDLE CREATION, folks visiting the details page repeatedly but unable to pull the trigger on the book because of its price. (Though I have had sales at the list price.) During its unannounced free period (well, it was announced HERE ) enough shoppers happened by (in hopes the price had fallen?) to grab the book for free. Their lucky day...
This brings up the haunting question: Is it possible to thwart sales for a book by pricing it too low?
Smashwords has released data showing their products make the most money in the three to four dollar range, with additional (lower) peaks in several (mostly ) higher zones. The lowest earning rate is in the one to two dollar range: less than 21% as lucrative as the highest rate. Since the royalty rate is fixed throughout (unlike Kindle), these numbers are not skewed by the royalty break point or delivery fees. In fact, books appear to sell twice as many copies at $3.50 as they do at $1.50.
Unfortunately, these data are for the complete range of books, not the same book sold at various prices. Perhaps the more desirable books are simply priced higher than lesser works. Or maybe better selling authors realize they can climb out of the pricing basement and still sell books; and in this case, even more books.
Author Dave Hendricks utilizes this pricing plan: All new books go up at 99 cents until they garner ten reviews. He then raises the price to the lowest available for a 70% royalty ($2.99). After that he bumps the price a dollar every two to four weeks, stopping only when the book's profits level off.
No freebies for him, apparently.
It will be interesting to see how the new Countdown promotion affects the number of freebies in the Kindle market.
Labels:
book promotion,
free books,
Kindle,
pricing strategy,
Smashwords data
Thursday, November 14, 2013
AND ANOTHER PROMO
I forgot to add to the previous post there's another book on the freebie list.
KINDLE CREATION FOR CONTROL FREAKS will be free tomorrow (Friday, the 15th).
More stuff later.
KINDLE CREATION FOR CONTROL FREAKS will be free tomorrow (Friday, the 15th).
More stuff later.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
NEW BOOK AND PROMOS
The script-to-novella project I mentioned a while back is complete and just went live on Amazon. Turns out it ran a bit under 24k words. (The script version was 20k.) I made no attempt to pump things up (or pad the text) in a quest for full-length status.
Click the cover image to the left (SALESMAN OF THE YEAR) to check out the details and maybe capture the free sample.
Also ongoing: HOT STATUS and THE EXPLODING WIZARD'S RIGHT-HAND BOY are both free through Sunday. I'm running all five days in a row (not the most efficient way to give away books) because I lost track of time and then ran out of it.
In the next Select period I plan to test-drive the new Countdown promotion. Maybe use HOT STATUS for free to juice-up MAD MINUTE (the sequel) in the countdown position. We'll see.
One detail I need to nail down. I understand you can run a Countdown for up to seven days, or for as short a period as one hour. If you only run for one day (or less), can you schedule the remaining time for other promos? Or do you get just one Countdown promo per 90-day period—no matter how short it runs?
Would be nice to be able to use all your allotted time. But consider their end: 168 one-hour promos per book per Select period. That's a lot of computing time for them. Would they really agree?
Till later...
Click the cover image to the left (SALESMAN OF THE YEAR) to check out the details and maybe capture the free sample.
Also ongoing: HOT STATUS and THE EXPLODING WIZARD'S RIGHT-HAND BOY are both free through Sunday. I'm running all five days in a row (not the most efficient way to give away books) because I lost track of time and then ran out of it.
In the next Select period I plan to test-drive the new Countdown promotion. Maybe use HOT STATUS for free to juice-up MAD MINUTE (the sequel) in the countdown position. We'll see.
One detail I need to nail down. I understand you can run a Countdown for up to seven days, or for as short a period as one hour. If you only run for one day (or less), can you schedule the remaining time for other promos? Or do you get just one Countdown promo per 90-day period—no matter how short it runs?
Would be nice to be able to use all your allotted time. But consider their end: 168 one-hour promos per book per Select period. That's a lot of computing time for them. Would they really agree?
Till later...
Labels:
Countdown promo,
free promo,
new book
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
EMBEDDED FONTS
It is technically possible to add custom fonts to your Kindle ebook, though Amazon will not be pleased. Not to mention: Embedding a font not only adds to your delivery fee, those spiffy new characters will only be available for kf8 applications (Kindle Fire and Paperwhite).
Furthermore, there may be legal implications. Using the image of a letter is probably safe, but inserting the actual code for a font into your mobi file is tantamount to the redistribution of that font – which may be expressly forbidden by the font’s creator. You may owe a licensing fee, at the very least. Or you might end up in court.
Finally, embedding a font could disrupt the reader’s ability to toggle the “Published fonts” switch on his or her device. In reality, this might be more of a problem if you attempt to switch out the font for the entire text of your book.
If you’re still determined to add a font to your book, I suggest you search for “open source” fonts on sites like Da Font and Font Squirrel. The listings on Font Squirrel contain icons representing the categories of permitted use available. That’s certainly helpful, but you still need to read the license agreement carefully. And don’t forget to acknowledge the font’s author on your copyright page.
That said, here’s how you embed a font. At the top of the <style> section add these lines:
@font-face
{font-family:"Name of Font", sans-serif;
src:url(Font-file-name.ttf);}
The name of the font is in quotes because it’s more than one word. The source of the file mentions no path because you’ve placed the font file in the same folder as the book’s HTML file. The second listing (following the comma) is a fall-back font – in case the new font is somehow unavailable. You can add a second fall-back font if you want. Some coders suggest you place this listing beneath a media call for kf8 (@media amzn-kf8). I haven’t found this to be necessary, but if you run into trouble, try it.
Now you need to add code for the actual application of the font. If, for instance, you want all your h2 headers to use the new font, add this code to the <style> section:
h2
{font-family:"Name of Font";}
If you’re using the new font for the big capital at the beginning of a chapter, add the font-family code to the span listing for initial capitals:
span.initial-cap
{font-family:"Name of Font";
font-weight:bold;
font-size:2em;}
And apply it in the usual way:
<p class="start"><span class="initial-cap">T</span><b>his is the first sentence</b> of the rest of [etc]</p>
You could add the font-family listing to your “dropcaps” or “bigcaps” span code. Kindle Fire and Paperwhite will sparkle; Mobi apps will revert to the machine’s default font.
Furthermore, there may be legal implications. Using the image of a letter is probably safe, but inserting the actual code for a font into your mobi file is tantamount to the redistribution of that font – which may be expressly forbidden by the font’s creator. You may owe a licensing fee, at the very least. Or you might end up in court.
Finally, embedding a font could disrupt the reader’s ability to toggle the “Published fonts” switch on his or her device. In reality, this might be more of a problem if you attempt to switch out the font for the entire text of your book.
If you’re still determined to add a font to your book, I suggest you search for “open source” fonts on sites like Da Font and Font Squirrel. The listings on Font Squirrel contain icons representing the categories of permitted use available. That’s certainly helpful, but you still need to read the license agreement carefully. And don’t forget to acknowledge the font’s author on your copyright page.
That said, here’s how you embed a font. At the top of the <style> section add these lines:
@font-face
{font-family:"Name of Font", sans-serif;
src:url(Font-file-name.ttf);}
The name of the font is in quotes because it’s more than one word. The source of the file mentions no path because you’ve placed the font file in the same folder as the book’s HTML file. The second listing (following the comma) is a fall-back font – in case the new font is somehow unavailable. You can add a second fall-back font if you want. Some coders suggest you place this listing beneath a media call for kf8 (@media amzn-kf8). I haven’t found this to be necessary, but if you run into trouble, try it.
Now you need to add code for the actual application of the font. If, for instance, you want all your h2 headers to use the new font, add this code to the <style> section:
h2
{font-family:"Name of Font";}
If you’re using the new font for the big capital at the beginning of a chapter, add the font-family code to the span listing for initial capitals:
span.initial-cap
{font-family:"Name of Font";
font-weight:bold;
font-size:2em;}
And apply it in the usual way:
<p class="start"><span class="initial-cap">T</span><b>his is the first sentence</b> of the rest of [etc]</p>
You could add the font-family listing to your “dropcaps” or “bigcaps” span code. Kindle Fire and Paperwhite will sparkle; Mobi apps will revert to the machine’s default font.
Labels:
drop caps,
embedded fonts,
Kindle ebooks
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