Publishing checklist for my book files

This is a checklist for altering my file to publish at each distributor.  This is the way I do it, though it will be different for everyone.  I'm doing this partially because it may be helpful to others, but mostly because it'll be helpful to me for future books.  Sometimes it's difficult to remember all of this.

First of all, my books are already formatted as I write.  I write them one chapter at a time and then put each chapter in a master file.  I add the table of contents and hyperlinks to all my chapters.  I also have everything formatted for submission to Smashwords, so there will be a lot of steps that you may need to do that I've already done.

This is the process for altering an individual file to all the sites I publish to.  Perhaps I'll go through the details of settings for each site one of these times.

This whole process took me about 6 hours tonight, taking into account making dinner for the kids and running one to play rehearsal.

0. Beginning format

I have a chapter 0 that I use as a template.  I've formatted it and set the formatting as the normal style that all my files use.  When I go to write a new chapter, I change "Chapter 0" to "Chapter 1" and save it as that chapter name.  I have a master book file that I insert each chapter into when I'm done with them.  This is also based on the new normal formatting style.

I keep things as simple as possible with fonts and formatting so that the book looks uniform throughout all the stores.  This helps to avoid issues.

0a. I set the font as Times New Roman 12pt. This is a personal preference. Use what you like.
0b. Set your paragraph style. It's on your home tab, paragraph style.  It's also on the Page layout tab. There's a lot of info here.  I set alignment left, outline level body text. Left and right indentation 0, First line .33, though I'd recommend .3 or .5. The emo bunnies liked .33 best, so I went with it.  I set before and after spacing at 0.  There's also the option of not using indents.  You can do block style.  If you do, then adjust it so that it gives you a space between paragraphs.   While writing, I set line spacing at 1.5.  Most people will use 2.
0c. While writing, NEVER use the tab button.  Did I emphasize that enough?  Use first line indent.  Tabs mess up formatting.

0d. I set my margins at 1".  That really has no effect on formatting the book, it's just a preference.
0e. Use Heading style 2 for each chapter.  Edit the heading style.  Format it, center it, increase the size of the font. Remove indentations for the heading style. Another thing I've learned to do is add a page break before.  This removes the need to add them later.  I increase the size to 16 for chapters and I underline them.  It's a personal style preference.

When working on someone else's file, I do a number of things:

0f.  Get rid of tabs: Ctrl-h (find and replace): ^t, replace with nothing.
0g. Get rid of extra spaces after returns: Ctrl-h: ^p and a space, replace with nothing.
0h. Get rid of extra spaces before returns: Ctrl-h: space and ^p, replace with nothing.


Note:  I highly recommend using heading styles.  It makes all the difference in the world with navigation and with creating tables of contents in Amazon and Createspace.

On the master book file:

0f.  Use Heading style 1 for the title.  Format it, center it, increase the size of the font.  Edit the
0g.  Add your copyright information.  This is a sample of what it could look like.  I add any artwork copyright info for the cover or inside illustrations here too.

2nd Edition

Published by John H. Carroll at Smashwords

Copyright 2011, 2015 John H. Carroll

Cover Copyright 2011 John H. Carroll

Cover photography by Tracy Carroll

I keep it simple, but that's personal choice.  I recommend registering your copyright as well.
0h. Optional: add a dedication.

1.  Smashwords.

1a.  Ensure it says "Published by John H. Carroll at Smashwords". (This will be different for other people, in case you were wondering.)
1b.  Change spacing to single spacing.
1c.  Add author bio.
1d.  Link author notes to table of contents.
1e.  Check all links.
1f.   Remove hidden bookmarks.
1g.  Publish to Smashwords.

(Note - I distribute to B&N and other stores through Smashwords, so I won't be adding the process for those stores.)

Copy Amazon version of word document file to Amazon folder.
Copy Amazon version of word document file to Createspace folder. (If applicable)


2.  Amazon

2a.  Remove "Published by John H. Carroll at Smashwords".
2b.  Add page breaks before each chapter.  If you've adjusted your Heading Style to automatically add these before, disregard this step.
2c.  Remove all bookmarks except the TOC bookmark if you make your chapter headings click back to the Table of Contents.
2d. Delete your Smashwords table of contents.  Go to the references tab and select table of contents.  Use this to create your table of contents.  It's where heading style comes in handy.  I have a tutorial on how to do that here:  http://ryallon.blogspot.com/2013/02/how-to-add-table-of-contents-for-amazon.html
2e.  Replace author bio with Amazon author bio.
2f.  Publish to Amazon.

Copy the original word document to Kobo folder.

2.  Kobo.

3a.  Save file.
3b.  Save as 'web page, filtered'.  (html)
3c  Use Calibre to convert html to epub.
3cc.  (wait for Calibre to update *sigh*)
3d.  Open file to ensure quality.
3e.  Publish to Kobo.

(Note - If you do wish to publish to B&N directly, this process will work for that too.  You can even use the exact same file if you like.)




4.  Createspace

This is a whole lot more complicated.  *sigh*

4a. In the reference tab, click "Table of Contents" and then Remove Table of Contents
4b.  ctrl-a (select everything).
4c. ctrl-shift-F9 to remove all hyperlinks.
Delete ALL bookmarks.
4d.  change paragraph formatting to 'justify'.
4e.  Open the 'page layout' - 'page setup' box
4f.  Margins (for a 100k word novel)  top: .75, bottom: .75, inside: .75, outside: .50.  Gutter: .25 (left)
4g.  Set 'multiple pages' to 'mirror margins'.
4h.  On the paper tab, set size to 6 x 9.  *This will be different if you're publishing your book under a different size.
4i.  On the layout tab, select 'different first page' (so you don't number the first page) and set header and footer to .35.
4j.  Insert page numbers.  First page different so the title page isn't numbered.  While in footer, go to page layout and remove first line indent.  This will not effect the main text.
4k.  Center title page.
4l.  Change font style and size of title to whatever the theme is.  (In the case of my Ryallon books, this would be Fairydustb, size 36 for the title)
4m.  Center each chapter, change font style and size 26.  Make this Heading style 2 for this document.  That way you can have word Create the Table of Contents for you.
4n.  Make the first letter of each chapter theme font style and size 16.  Possibly add a space between the quotation mark and the letter if needed for the style.  Make certain quotation marks are the same size as the letter.
4o.  Embed the font.  file/options/save/embed font/only characters in document/do not embed common fonts.
4p.  Go through and search for section breaks  ***  with ctrl-f.  Center them all.  ctrl-e.
4q.  Make certain the prologue, epilogue and author notes are all centered and font style themes are applied.
4r.  Make certain the end ### is centered.
4s.  Make certain there are no blank pages.
4t.  Go to the reference tab, click "Table of Contents" and then add a new table.  You can modify how each heading style shows up in the table.  On this one, you need to add page numbers, but not hyperlinks.  This is why you have to do it last so all the page numbers are correct.
4u.  Go into the insert tab, bookmarks, click on hidden bookmarks so all the bookmarks show up.  Delete them all.
4v.  When you create the table of contents using Word's reference tool, it links to each of the chapter headers even though you told it not to.  To correct this, click ctrl-a, which will select everything.  Then click ctrl-shift-F9 to remove all hyperlinks.


This may or may not help you, but perhaps it will give some a little insight as to the work that goes into submitting files to the different sites for publishing.

All my best,

John H. Carroll

Book review: Aielund Saga, books 3 & 4

The Aielund Saga

The Aielund Saga is a series of books written by author and artist Stephen Nowland.  I first learned of him through a computer game called Neverwinter Nights.  It has a toolset that allows us to tell our stories through game modules using their game engine.  The Aielund Saga is a high-rated, award winning series of modules made by Stephen.  He's turned them into books that are even better.

You can find the module that includes the story for both of these books here: NWN Module

My reviews of the first two books are here: Book Review: Books 1 & 2 of the Aielund Saga

One of my favorite things about these books is that the author paints his covers.  Beautiful artistry. :)

Book 3, Ruins of Legend

Description:

Aspiring adventurers Aiden Wainwright and Pacian Savidge are tasked with tracking down an obscure relic, said to be capable of banishing the Kingdom's greatest enemy once and for all. But the two friends are at odds over Pacian's dire actions and their comrades are forced to choose sides as they scour the land for the lost artefact.

Along with their companions, both young men face challenges of such magnitude that the existence of entire cities are threatened. Only their valour and determination will see them through as they uncover ancient evils determined to assail their every move.
   

You can get it at Amazon
Or Smashwords

Review

Lots of adventure in this one.  The adventures split into two and the author does an excellent job of making you want to know what's happening in one thread while he switches to another.  As a result, you have to read quickly to get back to it!  Then you want to get back to the other thread.

One of the author's strengths is in making the characters seem real.  Aiden is a jack of all trades sort of character who the reader wants to succeed.  Pacian is a definite anti-hero, but the reader wants him to do the dirty work and enjoys it when he does.  The supporting characters all have distinct and enjoyable personalities.

Quests lead them in separate directions in an attempt to find an artifact to save the kingdom.  The locations they travel to are easy to imagine without being over-described.  Enemies and other characters they meet along the way are just as colorful and diverse as the primary characters.

Surprising events lead to an unexpected conclusion to this story and more questions to be answered in the next.  The characters must find new resolve against despair and danger.  It sets up the next one excellently.

As with the other books, the dialogue has humor scattered throughout, the battle scenes are vivid and intense.  If you enjoy rousing, epic adventures, this is an excellent series for you.

Book 4, Legacies of Fire and Steel

Description:

With Fairloch safe from the villains who sought to wrest power from the royal family, the resources of the city are diverted to a last-ditch effort to find a way to stop their implacable foe. Slow progress toward a solution is being made, until the immortal engine of destruction prematurely breaks free of its century-old prison and embarks upon a single-minded quest for domination of the land.

With the countryside awash with deserters and brigands fleeing the onslaught, Aiden Wainwright and his companions must face down old enemies and forge new alliances to aid the beleaguered country in the impending clash against their relentless enemy. But before they confront it, Aiden must learn the answer to a question of singular importance: How do you kill that which cannot be killed?            

You can get it at Amazon
or Smashwords

Review

"Legacies of Fire and Steel" is the culmination of the events in the first three books.  The world is on the brink of destruction from an indomitable enemy that has no human emotion or mercy for fate of others.  Aiden and Pacian are back together, along with newcomers while others have left, some in tragic circumstances.  New characters fill the vacancies nicely along with the core.  A few from books past also make appearances.

Dark happenings have had difficult effects on the characters.  Past events weigh heavily on some members while others have become stronger in spite of them.  The author weaves the different threads of each individual with a deftness that Fate would envy.

Moral dilemmas and the quandaries of what is right and what is wrong are considered and argued by the characters.  This is one of my favorite things to do as a writer.  I like having characters discuss issues and their feelings about it, even argue about it.  It's an excellent way at looking at problems.  I've learned a great deal from writing such things, and throughout my life by reading such things.  I find a good book to be one that makes you a little smarter just by reading it.

These conflicts could very well doom the mission and the very fate of the world.  Various entities our heroes meet along the way have their own agendas and goals to follow that prevent the quest from carrying on.

Then of course there are dragons, sandstorms, barbarians, armies, giant bad guys without weaknesses, priests, criminals and countless others who would like to interfere with the saving of the world.

Do they save the world?  Hmmmm . . . With Stephen's books you never know . . .

About the Author

I am often astonished by the sheer amount of ideas that go through my head. I have tasked myself to grab hold of as many as I can, weave them into stories, shaping them to my will, and like, writing them down, because people can't read thoughts.

I spent over fifteen years dealing with poor health, including chronic fatigue syndrome (a symptom of other stuff, but annoying nonetheless) which gave me ample time for thinking, but slowed me down in the way of actually writing.

My first novel was actually done back in aught three, but I didn't care for that sort of thing at the time, so I scrapped it and started writing a new story for Neverwinter Nights, that RPG video game thing you may or may not have heard of.

The story was so successful (filled with rich, creamy character development) that I lamented that only people playing the game would ever see it. In 2009, with my health improving, I resolved to novelize the stories I'd written, in addition to developing the world in which they exist, for fun and profit.

Thus was my first novel conceived, and lo, it was published online, for the enjoyment of all! The saga will be five books in total, with another 4-5 books after that as a second saga that's in the pipeline.

Oh, I also paint. Expect to see more cover art with each title, probably becoming more technically sophisticated each time.


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.  If I don't like a book, I won't review it.

All my best,

John H. Carroll

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

Book review: Priscilla the Great

"Priscilla the Great" by Sybil Nelson

http://www.priscillathegreat.com/

 Description

Meet Priscilla Sumner, an ordinary seventh grader with extraordinary gifts. As if middle school isn’t hard enough, not only does Priscilla have to fight pimples and bullies, but genetically enhanced assassins trying to kill her and her family. Armed with wit, strength, and a genius best friend, Priscilla must defeat the Selliwood Institute, an organization dead set on turning children into killing machines.

Add an older brother annoyingly obsessed with Christina Aguilera, mischievous baby twin brothers who could scare the sin off of Satan, and parents more puzzling than a Rubik’s cube in the Bermuda triangle and expect a smoking page-turner!  
            
You can get this book at

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WSQNZ2
Barnes and Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/priscilla-the-great-sybil-nelson/1100449649
Kobo:  http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Priscilla-the-Great/book-7KpQtrEyJUCaGRvNHj2VeQ/page1.html
Smashwords:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/58005?ref=johnhcarroll


My Review

If Nancy Drew had a child one of the X-Men, you'd have someone almost as awesome as Priscilla the Great.  This story is written for preteens through young adults, but it's an excellent read for all ages.  As far as why I chose to read it instead of one of my normal fantasy books, well . . . slight confession:  I've read all the Nancy Drew series, most of the Hardy Boys, all the Tom Swift, all the Cherry Ames . . . and lots of other books geared to young adult.  It's what I read before someone introduced me to my first Xanth book at the age of 14.  I've actually had this one in my Kindle for over a year now (along with a bazillion other books, or however many the Kindle holds)

I really, really, really enjoyed this book.  Priscilla is a likable character who goes through the standard frustrations of a 12 year old, but also has a few twists thrown in.  She's not without her personality flaws, but they're realistic and the reader can totally sympathize with them.  She's got a brothers that make her life difficult, as brothers are supposed to do, and an overprotective father.  Her mother is always absent, which upsets Priscilla more than perhaps anything.  A couple of boys and a best friend complicate matters, as they should.  That's their job after all.

Then information about the Selliwood Institute starts to appear.  I can't tell you too much without giving spoilers.  Mix in shady experiments, children, government plots and you get a story that's filled with adventure, danger and mystery.  There's no end to the suspense.  I started reading and didn't stop until I had finished the story a few hours later.

The only negative I found was that certain things stretch believability a little bit, but it wasn't enough to detract from the story, and it might not be a problem for it's target audience, which is probably people under the age of 40. *chuckling*

I highly recommend this book for preteens on up.  It's a great story with characters that the reader can relate to.  I've already purchased the next in the series and will be getting more as I finish each one.  Oh yeah, there's about 8 or so of them, so it's plenty to keep a reader interested.


About the Author

Sybil Nelson lives in Charleston, SC. She is a former math teacher and has a master’s degree in mathematics from the College of Charleston and bachelor’s degrees from Washington and Lee University. She is currently pursuing a PhD in biostatistics and continues to write in her spare time. To date, Sybil has completed eight novels.


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.  If I don't like a book, I won't review it.  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.

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