Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Bob Mayer and J.A. Konrath have been preaching for some time that there's gold in the backlist. Especially now with e-books and POD, books never go out of print.
And little ole' me, who's only been indie publishing for fifteen months, has definitely seen the proof over the last four weeks.
On May 23rd, I uploaded a free Bloodlines short story, Zombie Confidential. While I intended it to be a 'thank you' to those readers who took a chance on me as a new writer last year, lots of other folks downloaded ZC as well.
And they obviously got hooked on Sam, Duncan and the rest of the Augustine crew at the rate e-books started flying off the virtual shelves. I could literally see people buy all four novels on my stats!
Then Saturday, I uploaded Alter Ego's second book. And damn, if that didn't trigger a spike in her sales on the first book over the last couple of days.
So the experts are right. Be patient, put out the best story you can, and start writing the next one.
I knew once readers got a taste of your Bloodlines series they would flock to get the others!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I bow to your superior wisdom, Ms. St. John! *grin*
ReplyDeleteI have to say the last month has been educational!
This is an exciting post, to read. Thanks for sharing & boogie boogie.
ReplyDeleteSam's adventures are addictive, what can I say? I'm *extremely* happy to know I'm not the only one...:)
ReplyDeleteIt's all about keeping the faith, Ivy.
ReplyDeleteNo, you're not the only one, Will!
ReplyDeleteThe demographics have been interesting though. The female fans want Alex's story (Blood Sacrifice coming this December). But the male fans want Sam (next book will be Zombie Goddess in 2013).
If I can sell enough books, I can quit the Day Job, then I'll have both done sooner. *grin*