Just before Christmas in 2010, I e-published my first novel, The Emperor’s Edge. Encrypted and a short story collection followed. Next came Flash Gold, a novella I never would have written if I’d been thinking of getting published under the traditional paradigm. 18,000-word stories just don’t sell. But with ebooks…there are no rules on length. (For more on that, see previous posts How Does Short Fiction Sell in Ebook Form? and Novellas and Short Stories–Ebooks Not Just for Novels.)
In June, I published Dark Currents, a novel-length sequel to The Emperor’s Edge, and in August, I published Hunted, a followup to Flash Gold. I just finished a major editing pass of the third EE book, Deadly Games, and I’m hoping to get that out by the end of November.
Looking back, it seems like I’ve been doing a heck of a lot of writing and publishing! I did have Encrypted, Emperor’s Edge, and the short story collections finished before I thought of turning to self-publishing, but I’ve still done two full-length novels and two novellas this year. In other words, I’m writing a lot more than I was before self-publishing. Before that, I was on-again-off-again with my writing (EE was five or six years in the making, with larges gaps in the middle where I wandered off to play games like World of Warcraft instead of doing any writing at all, ahem). What’s changed?
Well, a couple of things. I always dreaded the idea of querying agents (and stalking them into the bathroom at writing conventions to pitch my story to them from the next stall over…), so I didn’t bother. E-publishing isn’t easy, exactly, but its barriers are ones that I didn’t mind. Learning how to get an ebook online and promote it were more my cup of tea (I’ve been making a living online, one way or another, since 2003).
So, as a self-publisher, I was able to get my first book out. As for what’s prompted me to write so much this last year, there were a couple of things. First, it’s the difference between nobody reading your work and lots of people reading it (and asking for more, thank you, good readers). Also, I have to admit it’s motivating when you’re actually making money from your writing.
Ah, yes, the numbers…
I always waffle back and forth on whether I want to talk about this stuff or not, but I know folks are curious. There may be a point when I decide not to, but since I’m still making less than my teacher buddies, I don’t think it’s too uncouth.
Though I’m not a bestseller (and with my quirky sense of what’s amusing and what isn’t, probably never will be), I’ve been fortunate to find some success, even though I ignore many of the book promotion tactics that don’t fit my personality (see my post on: book promotion tips for hardcore introverts).
Since I released Dark Currents in June, I’ve been selling more than 2,000 ebooks a month, and I’ve steadily broken the $2,500/mo mark. August was my best month to date with earnings bumping into the $3,000 range, though sales dropped in September (about $2,500 again).
Amazon made one of my short story collections free in August, and I believe that’s what gave me a boost there (authors interested in trying this, see my video on How to Get Your Ebook Listed for Free at Amazon / Barnes & Noble), albeit a temporary one.
Some of you guys may be thinking I’d make more if I charged more for my ebooks. Maybe so (though I’m sure I’d sell fewer copies, so who knows if things would even out), but it’s a crummy economy all around, and, for now, I prefer to keep my ebooks affordable, rather than experimenting a lot with price. My highest priced ebook is Dark Currents at $3.99. I have the same philosophy with print publishing, and I made my paperbacks as inexpensive as I could without losing money.
So, what’s next?
As I mentioned, the third Emperor’s Edge book should be out next month. I’ve heard from many authors that their sales tend to increase across the series as they get more books out in the sequence. I know that was the case when I released the second book, and it’s also been true for the Flash Gold novellas. It’ll be interesting to watch. I admit, I’m always a tad jealous when other indie authors come onto the scene with one or two books and start out selling thousands of copies a month (of one title) right off the bat (I’ve yet to break 1,000 a month with any particular book).
As far as blogging goes, some of you know that I was writing a lot about self-publishing and book promotion here (sharing the things I was learning along the way), and I recently decided to break that off and start a self-publishing blog. I figured people who find this site and want to contact me about my books might not be particularly interested in those topics.
Of course, that’s left me not entirely sure what to blog about over here. If you have any thoughts or suggestions for topics, let me know. Of course, I’ll chat up my books now and then (if you’re reading this, and it’s not yet October 7th, you can still win signed paperback copies of Emperor’s Edge and Dark Currents), and you’ll probably get some travel talk as I’ve been selling off most of my stuff so I can go on some extended trips. (One of the perks of being an author/blogger is that you can work from anywhere in the world.)
But as for the rest, I guess I’ll figure it out as I go along.
Whoo hoo! Lindsay, I’m so happy for you! And I’m thankful that you talk numbers, and what works and doesn’t – either here or at the other blog. It lets other authors starting out get a more realistic view of what’s possible. As for what to write on your own space…Not sure how much help I can be. I’m currently doing a chapter a week serial, which might be fun for book 3 (Sic sneak peaks can’t hurt!)
Yeah, I saw your chapters up over there! I might do a couple once I get them edited. Teasers! 😉 I’ll also have some cut scenes with this one, so maybe I’ll stick a couple up on the blog (or at the back of the book).
That is impressive. I’ve been following your blog from the start and I knew you were selling well but I didn’t know you were doing that well. It is time for me to stop reading about writing and publishing and actually get a book written and published.
Thanks, Andy! It’s easier to make money with non-fiction (you can get into that whole information product realm), but it’s nice that we geeky fantasy authors can make a living self-publishing these days. 😉
Emperor’s Edge sequel next month! Woohoo!
Thanks for sharing this insightful information.
Haha, I see what’s important to you guys… 😉
Heh, it’s always very cool to see what goes on ‘behind the curtain’ to see how the all the magic happens 😉 I love your “Success” graphic lol.
Thanks, Jon! I stole it from a buddy. That does seem to be the route most people take to “success” though!
Woohoo! EE3 out soon!
As for book-related topics to talk about. I’m curious about how you “met” (I suppose that’s a good enough verb) your characters? They’ve been brain-residents for many years now you say, but it’d be interesting to hear about how things started?
Hm, behind the scenes stuff, eh?
The EE crew has been in my head for a while. I originally had the group of guys running off on adventures and someone said I needed a female in the group. That’s when I added Amaranthe. Things got more fun when I decided to have her be in charge. 😉
Cats aside, this is the kind of stuff that I want to hear about. Writer stuff, yes, but writer stuff that readers are curious about. Like how did a lady-leader change the book in your mind?
Or embarassing excerpts from early drafts! 😀
Ask and ye shall receive. I found a cut scene from Dark Currents to post for tomorrow. I’m thinking it might be fun to do a call out for reader questions and answer a batch of them. Thanks for the ideas!
Lol. I’m sure they’re rather sad to remember their days without Amaranthe. *amused*
Also, are you a manga fan? In manga often they have interviews with the characters… Put up a spotlight and ask embarrassing questions (of course if the questions are spoilers they get a get-out-of-jail free card). It might be rather fun to do! Especially since the crew are all so fun (and funny) and unique.
Hmm, I did start an interview with Maldynado at one point. I wonder what I did with that…
I’m not sure I could get Sicarius to talk to me though. There’d be a lot of silent stares. 😛
Ohhh do it, do iiit! I’m sure Maldynado would appreciate the extra time in the limelight. 😉
Also, even just receiving Sicarius’ stares would be hilarious. Amaranthe isn’t the only one to find him amusing… 😀 Though perhaps if we let Amaranthe pose the questions we’ll get more out of him. Hmmm… exploitation…..
Personally, I’d like to hear more about your cats. 😉
I was thinking of figuring out how to add some I Can Haz Cheeseburger captions to the family pet pics…
Wow. Congrats on your numbers! I found this post very inspiring. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
I’m glad for your success. And happy that the next EE book is going to be out sooner than I’d expected. Yay!
You could blog about how you developed your stories. What media has inspired them the most? How old were you when you first realized you wanted to be a writer?
Now it sounds like I’m interviewing you, lol…
There’s an idea. Lindsay could collect interview questions and answer one a post. That could go on for… eternity!
Hmm, okay. I’ve answered some of those questions on other people’s blogs for interviews, but probably not on here. Maybe I can have a send-in-a-question about anything day. 😉
You could always collect the related questions from interviews you’ve already done elsewhere and post them collected together here! It sounds like less work for you and it will give us somewhere to start….
Ahh, recycle and reuse, eh? Very eco-friendly. 😉
Gotta be resourceful! Hehe.
I’ve been a fan of this blog since I stumbled on EE, which in my opinion is potentially the best buy I’ve ever made with my Kindle. Though the self-publishing was great (and I’m an avid lurker on the other blag as well), I’d really like to see some inspirations for the EE universe. If you receive fanart you could post that (with the artists permission of course), or short vignets that never made it into the series and probably wouldn’t be published otherwise. I’d be interested to see just about anything with Amaranthe and Sicarius haha.
Thanks, Mel! I do have a fan page started (https://www.lindsayburoker.com/book-news/fun-fan-stuff/) with a couple of things, but no art yet. I’d be happy to post some if any artistically inclined types wanted to send something. Hm, maybe I should publicize that a little more…
Lindsay–Your blog is one of the most useful I’ve found about epublishing! Thank you for writing it. I’m struggling to finish my first novel and to learn the technical and marketing aspects of epublishing. When I get my first ebook reader this Xmas, I will be sure to buy one of your books. I forwarded this particular blog post of yours to another writer who’s struggling. I said, “This is our inspirational reading for today!” — Cara O’Sullivan, Provo, Utah
Thanks for visiting, Cara, and for sharing my site. There is a lot to learn, but it’s a fun road. 🙂 Hope you finish your book soon and all goes well!