It’s that time of month again.
Well, August was the month where things actually started to happen, in terms of getting material of my own out there.
At the start of the month, I launched Something in the Cellar, a collection of two short stories, to test the water and to try out different marketing methods in the build up to my debut novel launch. You can purchase that from Amazon.com and Amazon UK, all for cheaper than an ice-cream, albeit slightly less delicious. It’s good to be honest, right?
I pulled the book from Smashwords and tried out KDP Select, to generally positive results, as you can see from the attached image. Number 2 in the free charts!
I did encounter a hiccup at the end of the month when Amazon decided to make my book free without my consent, but that soon sorted itself out, and doesn’t seem to have had a detrimental impact on sales.
Overall, I sold significantly more copies of Something in the Cellar in the UK than in the rest of the world. This is interesting, seeing as the bulk of my marketing has been rather general in its focus, so it’s something I will have to look into in the future.
How much money have I made? Well, I’m not rich off it, that’s for sure, but I’ve made a profit. Granted, Something in the Cellar was an ultra-low budget release, but still, profit is profit, and it all goes into the big piggy bank.
As for writing: I’ve been working on an ultra-secret new project, which I’ll explain in a moment. I also did an interview with Creative-Bloc, so feel free to check that out! Was a lot of fun.
For writers: I spoke about running successful giveaways and using your free days wisely over at the blog last month, as well as a lot of social media chat, including three essential types of tweets, and why self-publishing does not mean inferior quality, contrary to popular belief.
What We Saw status
What We Saw is still currently being professionally edited, but I feel confident in targeting a 26th November release date now. That gives you time to stock up on copies for Christmas, and treat your entire family. If anything changes, I’ll let you know well in advance, but for now, I feel quietly optimistic about meeting that launch date. Exciting!
I might drop the sample of What We Saw from Something in the Cellar on the website sometime soon, so you’ll be able to revisit it without having to open up your Kindle.
Silhouette: A New, Sci-Fi Short Story
Yes, after the success of Something in the Cellar, I’m dropping another short story in September! It’s called Silhouette, and follows Brian, a scientist who discovers a way to revisit past memories from his life. In these past memories, Brian notices a suspicious grey figure lurking in the shadows. Who is this figure, and why are they everywhere in Brian’s past?
It’s around 6,500 words, so much longer than my last release, and quite a departure from my other stuff too. That’s why I love short stories! They offer so much freedom. Anyway, I expect it will be out over the next couple of weeks, so I’ll give you a heads up a few days before launch.
Have a great September! Winter is coming…