Ebook pricing $3.99 vs. $4.99

Notes:

This is pricing for novels.  I'm pretty firm at $2.99 for novellas and collections, and $.99 for short stories.  I've seen no reason to alter those prices.  Also, these are Epic Fantasy novels, other genres may have different results.  In addition, bookstores like Amazon change their algorithms more often than Jeff Bezos changes his underwear, so this information may be wrong before I even write it.

The Pricing Dilemma

Big publishers have people to figure out how much to charge for books.  They have tons of statistics and expense ledgers that tell them how much to charge.  The author usually gets paid the least out of that, of course. ;)

As an Indie Author, I have to figure all that out myself using the information given by other Indie Authors, companies that share any information, my own sales data, and sheer guesswork.   Out of those, sheer guesswork has been my primary strategy.

My Pricing Schemes So Far

When I first published Rojuun 3 years ago, I priced it at $4.99.  I thought it was a good price.  Half of what Traditionally published books went for, but a fair price for the work I put into it.  At the time, I hadn't researched what others were doing and were astonished to discover that $2.99 was the preferred pricing.  I lowered the price to $2.99 for a while, then went to $3.99.  Once I had a couple more books, I made Rojuun permafree to drum up interest for the sequels.  That's been my most effective sales strategy overall.

However, I've always struggle with whether to charge $3.99 or $4.99 for the sequels.  (My readers prefer $3.99, I'm sure. lol)  I've gone back and forth, testing.  I'd finally decided on $4.99.  Recently though, I came across a Smashwords post about $3.99 being the sweet spot for books.  In it, Mark Coker states:

"One surprising finding is that, on average, $3.99 books sold more units than $2.99 books, and more units than any other price except FREE.  I didn't expect this.  Although the general pattern holds that lower priced books tend to sell more units than higher priced books, $3.99 was the rule-breaker.  According to our Yield Graph, $3.99 earned authors total income that was 55% above the average compared to all price points."

You can find the blog post here:  http://blog.smashwords.com/2013/05/new-smashwords-survey-helps-authors.html 

So I changed my pricing to $3.99 for the second time in the last couple of years.

The Results

Both times I lowered the price, my sales remained level.  There simply hasn't been a quantifiable increase.  Keep in mind that when I lower the price, I make 50-80 cents less per sale.  So instead of making more money, I'm making less money.

At this point, I'd like to point out that I'm not trying to become rich (though I wouldn't turn it down), I'm trying to make a living off my writing and support my family.  If I can do that, then I can write every day and produce more stories for you to enjoy!

There was one other thing I was testing when I did this: the effect on a new release.  You see, when I released Wyvern, the book hit Amazon's hot new releases list and the sales did extremely well.   That was at $4.99.  It hit the list a couple of weeks after release, about when I reached 30 sales.  Books can only be on that list for 2 months.  The sales took a dive after that.

When I released the next novel, Liselle, the price was $3.99.  It reached 30 sales in the first week, however, it didn't hit the new release list. About 6 weeks after release, I changed the prices back to $4.99.  One week after that, Liselle went on the hot new releases list and sales spiked . . . for the 3 days it had before the 2 month time limit ran out. *sigh*  Oh, and I still had the sales dive after it went of the list. *doublesigh*

Now keep in mind I don't have any inside information as to how Amazon does things.  I'm basing all of these results on my own interpretation of my sales.

My Decision

I've decided to keep my novels priced at $4.99.  I believe this is a fair price for both me as the writer and for my readers.  I believe it maximizes quantity of sales along with profit.  The first books of the series are free, so readers can see whether or not they like my writing.  If they do, then they have an idea of what they're getting when they pay the $4.99.

I'm sharing this information primarily for other writers in the hopes that it will help them with their decisions, but I like to let my readers know my reasoning for the decisions I make too.

All my best,

John H. Carroll

Book sales data for John H. Carroll, Nov 2010 - July 2013.

Last year about this time, I reported how many sales I had in this post: http://ryallon.blogspot.com/2012/06/my-book-sales-data-nov-2010-april-2012.html

I've decided to do that again.  This time however, I'm not separating the numbers by store or month.  With 22 titles over 3 years, it's an insanely complicated process to do so.  

This is how many total sales I've had by title.  Each author is has different strengths and weaknesses.  Genre also affects sales.  I write fantasy, which does not have as large of a fan base.  If I were writing romance, then these numbers might have been two or three times as high . . . although I suck at romance, so they might have been worse.

One of my biggest strengths is the fact that I’m fairly prolific.  I've published these books and short stories in addition to having a full time job and spending time with my family.

I don’t market or social network anywhere near as much I should.  There are so many sites to request reviews, and forums to talk about your book, that a person could spend the rest of their life marketing one book.  I prefer to work on the next, so I do minimal marketing.

My primary form of marketing is "first book free" and free short stories.  This gets people to know my name and brings a steady trickle of sales to my other titles.

These numbers are increasing each day, sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly.  Also, there's no rhyme or reason as to the dates I chose to do the calculations.

Sales Master Sheet	June 1 2012	Oct 1 2012	July 31 2013
SALES (Date published)
Rojuun (Nov 2010)	295	299	344
Anilyia (Apr 2011)	692	1106	1982
Kethril (July 2011)	545	914	1724
Willden omnibus (Oct-2011, unpub Mar 2013)	659	1075	1075
Dralin (Oct 2011)	285	488	563
Ebudae (May 2012)	8	190	887
Pelya (Nov 2012)	0	0	716
Wyvern (Apr 2013)	0	0	421
Rain Glade (Sep 2012)	0	7	133
Emo Bunny Illustrated (Apr 2012)	6	21	62
Collection of Children's Stories (Oct 2011)	189	293	350
Alien Coffee (Aug 2011)	194	244	276
Emo Bunny that Should (Jan 2011, unpub Mar 2013)	147	148	148
Zachary Zombie, Lost Boy (Apr 2011)	62	62	144
Drippy, Peg-Legged Rainbow (Sep 2011)	15	17	25
Unholy Cow (Oct 2011)	21	21	57
Attack, Sugar Plum Fairies (Oct 2011)	52	52	111
Phairyphant (Mar 2013)	0	0	18
Naughty Nanoworms (Mar 2013)	0	0	9
Blue Haired Alien Girlfriend (Nov 2010)	37	39	91
Test Pilot (Dec 2010)	22	22	124
Don't Ever Change (Feb 2011)	44	44	67
Zachary Zombie, Wicked Worm (June 2013)	0	0	6
Storage Room in the Grey Void (July 2013)	0	0	4
Grand Total Sales	3273	5042	9337
FREE GIVEAWAYS (Date published)
Dralin (Oct 2011)	0	0	10592
Rojuun (Nov 2010)	22728	31105	45529
Emo Bunny that Should (Jan 2011, unpub Mar 2013)	64087	69095	96317
Zachary Zombie, Lost Boy (Apr 2011)	28852	29437	39487
Drippy, Peg-Legged Rainbow (Sep 2011)	12288	16582	25153
Unholy Cow (Oct 2011)	10845	18192	28963
Attack, Sugar Plum Fairies (Oct 2011)	23905	30606	57706
Phairyphant (Mar 2013)	0	0	5
Naughty Nanoworms (Mar 2013)	0	0	6
Zachary Zombie, Wicked Worm (June 2013)	0	0	11
Blue Haired Alien Girlfriend (Nov 2010)	23798	25455	32402
Test Pilot (Dec 2010)	12769	22538	33739
Don't Ever Change (Feb 2011)	23063	24931	36483
Grand Total Free Giveaways	222335	267941	406393

Heavy Increase in last giveaway column is largely due to 90,000 free giveaways via Apple being reported by Smashwords.  Overall, free giveaways are down.  In February of 2013, I decided to begin charging for most of my free stories due to the algorithms of most bookstore changing to minimize the power of free.  Dralin, Rojuun and Drippy the Peg-Legged Rainbow are the only ones that are currently free. I hope this provides small insight to others. All my best, John H. Carroll

What month Indie Authors get paid for ebooks

Pay schedules for Indie Author publishing.

Every once in a while, someone gets confused about when each vendor pays royalties for books sold.  This is a list for self-publishing through online stores like Amazon, B&N, Smashwords, Kobo and Createspace.  This is when U.S. residents get paid.

Note:  I do not directly publish to Apple, therefore I do not know their pay schedule.

Amazon KDP, B&N Pubit

With Amazon's KDP and B&N's Pubit you get paid every month if you've made $10.  It's usually on the last day of the second month after the end of the month.  Therefore:

January gets paid March 31st. 
February gets paid April 30th
March gets paid May 31st
April gets paid June 30th
May gets paid July 31st
June gets paid August 31st
July gets paid September 30th
August gets paid October 31st
September gets paid November 30th
October gets paid December 31st
November gets paid January 31st
December gets paid February 28th

Createspace

With Createspace, you get paid even faster, the last day of the first month.  You get paid after earning $10

January gets paid  February 28th.
February gets paid March 31st
March gets paid April 30th
April gets paid May 31th
May gets paid June 30th
June gets paid July 31th
July gets paid August 31th
August gets paid September 30th
September gets paid October 31st
October gets paid November 30th
November gets paid December 31st
December gets paid January 31st

Kobo

With Kobo, you only get paid after you've made $100.  Their pricing language states:

 

Payment will be issued on a monthly basis if your content has generated over $100.00 USD. If after 6 months, your content has not generated over $100.00 USD, we will deliver all of the earnings your content has generated at that point.

Now, I haven't earned enough to receive a check, but the wording indicates that you would get paid sometime in the month after you've successfully accumulated $100 worth of earnings, so the same schedule as Createspace.

Smashwords

With Smashwords you get paid quarterly.  You need to make $10 if you're getting paid by paypal or $75 if you're getting paid by check. 

January, February, and March get paid April 30th
April, May and June get paid July 31st
July, August and September get paid October 31st
October, November and December get paid January 31st.

If you distribute to Apple, B&N, Kobo and other stores, Smashwords updates the royalties as they receive them. I've been published with Smashwords for 2 years now and the frequency of updating has inconsistant (understatement). However, I have learned to take a long-term viewpoint with them as I plan to be a writer for the rest of my life. They do update, and they do pay, which are the important things.

International residents.

Note: This is if you live in the U.S. International payments are well . . . lets just say I'm glad I don't have to deal with the crap international writers do. From what I understand, you have to make $100 on Amazon and then you get paid a check (or if you're European, cheque), which is problamatic because most banks are no longer taking cheques across the pond.

Smashwords takes out 30% to pay to the U.S. IRS unless you go through a complicated, time-consuming and expensive process of filling out paperwork.



I hope this helps other writers.   If anyone should find any inconsistancies with this list, or have something to add, please feel free to mention it in the comments below. :)

All my best,

John H. Carroll

Book review: "Amulet" by Nancy Lee Parish

"Amulet" by Nancy Lee Parish 

Description:
 A different kind of fantasy adventure.

When Tristan finds an amulet, he has no idea how much his life is about to change. When his amulet awakens the evil of another amulet, long thought lost, it is all of Ranaria that hangs on the brink. The black crystal has stirred.
There are those who seek its power and there are those who seek its destruction. There are also those who know its secrets.
Even with dragons on his side, is there enough time for Tristan and his companions to stop that which has been unleashed?

With many twists and turns, a story unfolds that will keep you guessing until the very end.
Expect the unexpected. 

You can get it at Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Amulet-DragonBlade-ebook/dp/B0066HCK9K

Review

First let me say that I got this book because I loved the cover.  It's simple but powerful and elegant.  The gold over blue catches the eye and the artwork of the dragon amulet is perfect. :)

Amulet is a fast-paced book.  This story captures interest from the very beginning.  From there, the story unfolds with interesting characters and settings.  It took me a little while to get used to the shifting viewpoints where one paragraph would be from inside one character's head  and the next from another's.  The chapters are very short based largely upon switching locations, but I enjoyed this aspect.

The story is based around a young man named Tristan, but every character in the book is a vital part.  I like that it's not a one person save the world story.  An unusual character named Bub is one of the highlights of the story.

The best part is the dragons.  They each have their own unique personalities and strengths. The first appearance is filled with mystery and then you get to know them well.  My favorite is the big dragon at the end that's afraid of flying.

The humor and wordplay is a strength in the book with well written dialogue.  I enjoyed the characters, even the bad guys who were much more complex than just good vs. evil.

I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys fantasy, especially with dragons.

About the Author

Nancy Lee Parish, former matriarch of a tenting community, was appointed "Supreme Ruler" of all Canada Geese. Fiercely protected by her loyal followers, she was often heard asking the perplexing question, "Are we out of bread again?"
Now her endeavors include granting life or death at whim to the likes of dragons, bossy dachshunds and the occasional annoying bad guy.
Although the geese play a lesser role these days, they remain in the wings, so to speak, ready to protect their Supreme Ruler if need be.




Disclaimer

I have decided to review books that I enjoy.  I am an avid reader of fantasy, so most of them will be in that genre.  I'm not taking any requests, just reading what catches my eyes.  You'll find that most of these are from Indie Authors.  The way I figure it, David Eddings, Anne McCaffrey, Alan Dean Foster and Piers Anthony (my favorite authors) already have enough reviews, but Indies could always use a few more.

It is important to note here that while I am a writer, I am doing these reviews as a reader.  I also know a number of the authors I will be reviewing.  This is not an exchange of reviews, nor have I been solicited by those authors to write the review.  At no time will I ever accept any form of payment for a review.  When I say that I'm am doing this as a reader, I mean it.  I get nothing in exchange.

I have no idea what I'm doing

I'm clueless

To my readers and any writers that would be interested in my advice.  I would like you to know that I have no idea what I'm doing.

I really don't.

Not a clue.

I'm just making it all up as I go and hoping for the best.

Seriously

I like writing very much, and I think I'm pretty good at it.  I just don't know if I'm correct, or if I'm deluding myself.  I don't really care too much because I'm having a blast.

Writing is fun.  It's like daydreaming out loud.  I love daydreaming and always have.  I don't remember a whole lot about my childhood because I was constantly daydreaming.  It was much more enjoyable than all those classes or any chores I might have had.

I'm sharing my daydreams with you.  I've altered them a little bit, because in my daydreams, I'm always the hero, or emo kid watching the hero.  Yes, in my daydreams I'm emo.  It's a bit odd and I don't understand it.  I'm not in my books though.  Those are about other characters that are more interesting.

I don't know what I'm writing

My stories take a lot of twists and turns that I don't expect.  There are certain things that are solid and I know what's going to happen.  Everything other than that is a complete mystery to me.  I think the characters are going to go to one destination, but they end up somewhere completely different.

The worst thing is when I make up new friends for my main characters.  I introduce them and say, "Hey!  Check these guys out.  They're fascinating!"  And then my main characters end up having a problem with the new guys, or the new guys are complete jerks.  That sort of thing really pisses me off.

I don't know if my stories are any good.  I really don't.  I enjoyed writing them.  I really like the characters.  I did my best to get all the letters and punctuation in their correct places too.  There are some great reviews and a few terrible reviews of them, more good than bad.

All of the stories end up in weird places.  There is no save the world or happily ever after.  Each book is about an adventure and it ends when the adventure is done.  The characters go on living their lives and I may or may not write about future adventures.

To other writers

I really don't know what I'm doing.  I've been at this for two years now and I've achieved mild success in sales and downloads.  I've written a decent number of stories too.

Most of what I'm doing has been from reading what other Indies are doing.  However, I'm pretty sure they're just guessing most of the time too.  The ones that are successful are probably shocked about that fact, maybe even a little embarrassed, hoping that people don't realize that they don't know what they're doing either.

It really is fun though.  Each sale, each good review, each contact from a fan telling me how much they like my stories, is a thrill!  I would recommend it to anyone who likes to write.

I'll continue to share my experiences with self-publishing.  I'll tell you if I figure out something that helps me write a better book, or get a few more sales.  Just understand that I don't know what will happen in the future or if I'm even doing it right.

For all I know, I may be about to metaphorically drive off of a self-publishing cliff.  That's okay though, I like to pretend I'm flying.

In conclusion

It's a great time to be a writer.  Instead of gatekeepers choosing what we are allowed to write and instead of publishers keeping the lion's share of the income, writers get to write whatever they want and earn a good amount of each sale.

It's a wonderful time to be a reader.  You get to read whatever you want rather than being told what you're allowed to read.  You also have a limitless supply of stories.  To make things better, books are becoming affordable, even free in many cases!

So that's pretty much all I had to say.  I have no idea what I'm doing and just wanted to let you know.

All my best,

John H. Carroll

My book sales data, Nov 2010 - April 2012

This is how many sales I’ve had by title per month.  Each author is has different strengths and weaknesses.  Genre also affects sales.  I write fantasy, which does not have as large of a fan base.  If I were writing romance, then these numbers might have been two or three times as high . . . although I suck at romance, so they might have been worse.

One of my biggest strengths is the fact that I’m fairly prolific.  I’ve published these books and short stories in addition to having a full time job and spending time with my family.

I don’t market or social network anywhere near as much I should.  There are so many sites to request reviews, and forums to talk about your book, that a person could spend the rest of their life marketing one book.  I prefer to work on the next, so I do minimal marketing.

My primary form of marketing is free short stories.  This gets people to know my name and brings a steady trickle of sales to my other titles.  You may notice that sales jump in January 2012.  That’s when I made Rojuun free and it drew sales to my other fantasy novels.

I’m going to add total downloads for each of my freebies at the bottom.  Tracking how many were downloaded each month is impossible due to insufficient reporting.  Apple does not report downloads of free books at all.  Kobo has not reported free downloads since August 31^st.

Nov 2010  (Published “Rojuun” Nov 24 and “Blue Haired Alien Girlfriend” Dec 27)

Rojuun: 7 Smashwords

Dec 2010  (Published “Test Pilot” Dec 24)

Rojuun: 5 Smashwords, 2 Apple

Jan 2011 (Published “The Emo Bunny that Should” Jan 24)

Rojuun: 2 Smashwords, 3 Apple, 1 B&N

Feb 2011 (Published “Don’t Ever Change” Feb 24)

Rojuun: 2 Smashwords, 8 Apple, 3 B&N

Mar 2011 (Published Rojuun to Amazon March 26)

Rojuun: 8 Smashwords, 11 Apple, 8 B&N

Apr 2011 (Published “Anilyia” April 6 and “Zachary Zombie” April 19) (Published Anilyia to Amazon April 7)

Rojuun: 7 Smashwords, 3 Apple, 3 B&N, 3 Amazon

Anilyia: 7 Smashwords, 3 Amazon

May 2011 (Published “Blue Haired Alien Girlfriend”, “Test Pilot”, “The Emo Bunny that Should”, “Zachary Zombie”, and “Don’t Ever Change” to Amazon May 5)

Rojuun: 2 Smashwords, 1 Apple, 9 B&N, 31 Amazon

Anilyia: 2 Smashwords, 8 Apple, 2 B&N, 18 Amazon

June 2011

Rojuun:  2 Smashwords, 6 Apple, 7 B&N, 15 Amazon

Anilyia: 2 Smashwords, 5 Apple, 3 B&N, 16 Amazon

July 2011 (Published “Kethril” July 17)

Rojuun: 4 Smashwords, 4 Apple, 5 B&N, 58 Amazon

Anilyia: 4 Smashwords, 5 Apple, 3 B&N, 12 Amazon

Kethril: 5 Smashwords, 1 B&N, 7 Amazon

Aug 2011 (Published “Alien Coffee” August 31)

Rojuun: 2 Smashwords, 8 Apple, 22 Amazon

Anilyia: 1 Smashwords, 4 Apple, 1 B&N, 17 Amazon

Kethril: 1 Smashwords, 7 Apple, 1 B&N, 23 Amazon

Sep 2011 (Published “Drippy the Peg-Legged Rainbow” September 20)

Rojuun: 1 Smashwords, 4 Apple, 4 B&N 7 Amazon

Anilyia: 2 Smashwords, 2 Apple, 2 B&N, 6 Amazon

Kethril: 2 Smashwords, 3 Apple, 3 B&N, 29 Amazon

Alien Coffee: 2 Smashwords, 3 Apple, 3 B&N, 29 Amazon

Oct 2011 (Published “Unholy Cow” October 3, “The Complete Willden Trilogy” October 8, “Dralin” October 16, “A Collection of Stories for Demented Children” October 21, and “Attack of the Sugar Plum Fairies” October 21)

Rojuun: 1 B&N, 11 Apple, 9 Amazon

Anilyia:  6 Apple, 4 Amazon

Kethril: 1 Smashwords, 3 Apple, 8 Amazon

Alien Coffee:  2 Smashwords, 3 B&N, 13 Amazon

Willden Omnibus: 4 Smashwords, 11 Amazon

Collection of Stories for Demented Children: 13 Amazon

Nov 2011 (November suuuuuuucked for sales directly through Smashwords. I’m really not sure why.)

Rojuun: 2 Apple, 5 Amazon

Anilyia: 4 Apple, 3 Amazon

Kethril: 5 Apple, 2 B&N, 7 Amazon

Alien Coffee: 3 Apple, 4 B&N, 20 Amazon

Willden Omnibus: 3 Apple, 5 B&N, 10 Amazon

Collection of Stories for Demented Children: 1 Smashwords, 24 Amazon

Dec 2011 (Made Rojuun free on Smashwords. Once again, sales sucked through Smashwords.  I just don’t know why November and December were so bad there.)

Rojuun: 1 B&N, 2 Apple, 8 Amazon

Anilyia: 9 Apple, 1 B&N, 7 Amazon

Kethril: 11 Apple, 1 B&N, 5 Amazon

Alien Coffee: 1 Apple, 6 B&N, 20 Amazon

Willden Omnibus: 1 Smashwords, 6 Apple, 4 B&N, 10 Amazon

Collection of Stories for Demented Children: 2 Apple, 4 B&N, 39 Amazon

Jan 2012 (Amazon price matched Rojuun for free, Rojuun sales after this through Amazon are Amazon UK, which hasn’t pricematched.  You may noticed the jump in sales for the rest of the Willden Trilogy through Apple, B&N and especially Amazon.)

Rojuun: 4 Amazon

Anilyia: 3 Smashwords, 29 Apple, 7 B&N, 126 Amazon, 1 Sony

Kethril: 2 Smashwords, 22 Apple, 7 B&N, 91 Amazon, 1 Sony

Alien Coffee: 6 B&N, 24 Amazon

Willden Omnibus: 9 Smashwords, 39 Apple, 10 B&N, 84 Amazon, 2 Sony

Collection of Stories for Demented Children: 1 Smashwords, 9 B&N, 22 Amazon

Feb 2012

Rojuun: 3 Amazon

Anilyia: 1 Smashwords, 16 Apple, 19 B&N, 98 Amazon

Kethril: 1 Smashwords, 14 Apple, 16 B&N, 85 Amazon

Alien Coffee: 2 Apple, 2 B&N, 6 Amazon

Willden Omnibus: 7 Smashwords, 23 Apple, 17 B&N, 109 Amazon

Collection of Stories for Demented Children: 1 Smashwords, 5 Apple, 3 B&N, 20 Amazon, 1 Kobo

Mar 2012

Anilyia: 8 Smashwords, 27 Apple, 9 B&N, 72 Amazon, 1 Sony

Kethril: 5 Smashwords, 22 Apple, 7 B&N, 53 Amazon, 1 Sony

Alien Coffee: 1 Apple, 4 B&N, 14 Amazon, 1 Kobo

Willden Omnibus: 11 Smashwords, 27 Apple, 24 B&N, 77 Amazon, 1 Sony

Collection of Stories for Demented Children: 1 Apple, 2 B&N, 23 Amazon

Apr 2012 (Published “The Emo Bunny that Should - Illustrated Edition” April 6)

Anilyia: 27 Apple, 21 B&N, 53 Amazon, 1 Sony

Kethril: 7 Smashwords, 25 Apple, 19 B&N, 51 Amazon, 1 Sony

Alien Coffee: 1 Smashwords, 1 B&N, 15 Amazon

Willden Omnibus: 7 Smashwords, 34 Apple, 11 B&N, 90 Amazon, 1 Sony

Collection of Stories for Demented Children: 1 Smashwords, 2 Apple, 4 B&N, 16 Amazon

Illustrated Emo:  1 Smashwords, 4 Amazon

May 2012 (Published “Ebudae” May 13)

This data is incomplete, so I’m not going to add it.

These are my current totals of sales as of the date of the post.  There are a few Smashwords and B&N sales from May included.

Rojuun (sales)	295
Anilyia	692
Kethril	545
Willden Trilogy	659
Dralin	285
Ebudae	8
Emo Illustrated	6
Demented Collection	189
Alien Coffee	194
Total Sales	2873

Unexpected sales:

These are sales for books published to Amazon that I wanted to be free.  It takes a while for Amazon to pricematch.  These are legitimate sales for which I earned money, even though I wanted to give them away for free.

Titles that shouldn't be free
Emo Bunny	147
Zachary	66
Drippy	15
Unholy	21
Attack	52
Blue Haired	37
Test Pilot	22
Don't Ever Change	44
Total unexpected sales	404
Grand Sales Total	3277

In addition, I sold 250 books through Amazon in May that isn’t included in these numbers.  I don’t know how many I sold through Apple, but it’s been running 30-80 per month this year.

Free downloads

These are all the downloads of stories I give away for free.  Free books help readers to become accustomed to my name.  They also link readers to all of my other works.

Rojuun	22728
Emo Bunny	64087
Zachary	28852
Drippy	12288
Unholy	10845
Attack	23905
Blue Haired	23798
Test Pilot	12769
Don't Ever Change	23063
Total Free	222335

I hope all of this information will help other Indie Writers to understand what to expect.  Sales for most people start out slow and gradually increase. A big key is that the more you write, the more likely you are to sell books.

All my best,

John H. Carroll