In this week’s post I talk about my writing and marketing, plus I leave you with a little life advice!

BEFORE THE END – PRE-LAUNCH

This week I’ve been continuing to advertise both on Amazon in the US and throughout the world on Facebook. I’ve been trying out different ads, both boosting posts and creating a specific advert for IN THE END at the special offer price. If you haven’t got yours yet then…..

Here’s the ad I’m using for IN THE END.

I have also been advertising to get more mailing list subscribers and for pre-order copies of BEFORE THE END. The mailing list subscription ad had the most success.

On Wednesday I received a lovely review on Instagram from one of the people I gave one of my first print run hardbacks of IN THE END to.

Sales have been okay, but I’ve switched off my Amazon ads for this week. They are so expensive and I want to see how much of a difference they’re making. I expect to see the sales stall but we’ll see. Here’s the latest chart for Amazon sales in the campaign. Pre-orders have had a little boost but nothing to write home about.

Fate’s Ambition

This week I completed the self-edit of FATE’S AMBITION and once BTE is back (it’s due next week), I’ll send it off for copy edit. I’m also going to try out my editor’s blurb writing service. It’s about a fifth of the price of the service I use at the moment so we will have to wait and see what he comes up with. Details to follow of course.

I’m now working on OPERATION DAWN WOLF. When I wrote it three or four years ago, I sent it for manuscript assessment and copy-edit. Although I reviewed it at the time I didn’t get into the deal. So these last few days I’ve been taking in the great direction I received and I’ve formed a 64-point plan. It’s a list of things I need to address, or make decisions on, to get the novel ready.

It will at least require dumping one large scene and writing another, but I want it to be the best it can be, especially as it will be my free reader magnet for the two new series I’m releasing, starting with FATE’S AMBITION.

I’m a little concerned that the amount of extra work I have to do might effect my publishing schedule, but we’ll have to wait and see. The only pressure after all is from myself! I also have to keep reminding myself I have to work on the third IN THE END book so I can keep to publishing that in November 2020 and bring the series to a close (for now!).

Other News

My audiobook of IN THE END broke-even this week! It took six complete months for it to make the amount I paid for the production and I’m over the moon. So every sale from now on is profit, if you exclude all of the money that went into producing the manuscript in the first place of course. Due to this I’ve made the decision to produce all of the books I release in audio.

Looking back, over 40% of the cost was recouped in the first month, but then it slowed, making 2-12% per month. If my costs had been double what I paid I estimate it would take two and a half years to break even. Something I need to take into account when I negotiate the next agreements!

I’d like to leave you with little note this week. When you meet someone new and you get chatting, ask them what they’re into, rather than what they do. People are much happier to talk about their interests than their job.

This happened to me today. I went for a dental check-up and after making a quip about loving life because of my writing, I found out my dentist is just starting her writing journey. We ended up speaking for half an hour about writing and my books and ten minutes on what I was there for! I’ve been seeing the same dentist for most of my adult life and I never knew that about her. It just goes to show! What could you find out about a person you thought you knew?

Your comments and questions are welcome as always!