Author: The Fantasy Writer

Yesterday was supposed to be the first day of my launch. Due to REASONS I pushed back the book by a couple of weeks. However, I did not push back the promotions.

I wanted to see the results of the book promotions on a preorder.

My goal for Day 1 of my launch was to sell 200 copies of my 99c book.

As of 31 December 2019 the book had 135 pre-orders.

As a result of the promotion I now have 232 pre-orders.

I managed to gain 97 pre-orders across 7 promotion sites. I’m happy with those results. I imagine they would have been better if the book had been live because of borrows in Kindle Unlimited but 97 pre-orders are still 97 new readers.

In absolute terms, the promotions cost me $232. For a 99c book, that comes out to $2.05 cost per book (adding in the $0.34 I make per sale). As a new author, I’m fine with having a loss leader for a first book if it means readers will pick up the second book (priced at $4.99). Assuming they do, I’d make $0.94 profit (after deducting for Book 1 costs). That’s not much but again, the books are part of a series and if they like my style they may choose to stick around with me.

It’s always important for you to highlight what your goal is when launching a book. Right now my goal is not to recoup the costs of the book but to find readers and get them to pick up a copy.

I’m happy that 97 new readers took a chance on me.

I’m going to use the same promotion sites in my next launch but I’ll be using them when the book is live to compare the results.

What are your goals for your next book launch?

I have 3 main goals for 2020. An important part of composing achievable goals is to make them SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely). I’ve outlined the ones that are the most important ones to me.

Publishing Goals

I want to publish 20 books by 31 December 2020.

One of my primary goals is to publish a 12-book series. The other books are set in the same world but are part of other series. Twenty books sounds like a lot but I have some of them written already. My publishing goal is tied directly to my daily writing goals.

Earnings Goals

I want to earn $100,000 by 31 December 2020.

That sounds like a lot but let’s break it down. $100,000 divided by 20 books is $5,000 per book.

At a $3.99 sales price ($2.29 royalty factoring in delivery costs) I have to sell 2,183 copies of each book to earn $5,000.

That still sounds like a lot, right?

My books will be in Kindle Unlimited which should help reach more readers and earn money without selling copies. I just need to have readers borrow.

This also leads me to my next goal…

Newsletter Goals

Get 3,000 readers on my newsletter list by 31 December 2020.

This one is ambitious because it’s difficult to get people to sign up for newsletters.

From what I’ve read over the years, I’ve come to the conclusion that people would rather pay 99c to get a story than sign up for a newsletter and get it for free.

I prefer organic subscribers but I don’t think I will reach my goal if I depend entirely on organic subscribers. My plan is to introduce three different reader magnets on sites like BookFunnel and StoryOrigin that will be entryways to the various series I will have published. I will be launching these in April once I have a few books out so that by then it would be a lucrative time investment.

Miscellaneous Goals

In addition to my publishing, earnings, and newsletter goals I have some other personal and professional goals.

I want to attend 2 conferences during 2020 and a writing retreat. I’ve already booked those. Attending writer conferences are important because they provide value in unexpected ways and yield results that show up months later. I can draw a line to several opportunities I’ve had over the past six months directly to meeting people in person.

The conferences also inspire me creatively, in addition to motivating me to write more.

I want to create new friendships and deepen my existing ones with other authors. I have a limited circle of fantasy author friends and I’d like to expand it. Having a support system in this career is important for both personal and professional reasons. Friends in the same space can help motivate and inspire you to achieve more and reassure you when plans aren’t going the way you’ve planned.

I want a solid team of loyal readers that I can rely on to provide feedback on early copies of books. Getting readers is the first half of the battle, maintaining them is a different story. I want to build a loyal fanbase that enjoys my stories. Readers are the reason I write. Money is the reason I publish. Readers are important and one of my goals is to have many of them turn into friends by year-end.

I want to learn how to learn how to run AMS and Facebook ads effectively. I’ve enrolled in two courses to help me learn this.

Those are my goals for 2020. We’ll see at the end of the year if these were realistic goals to put in place.

What are your goals for 2020?

A lot has happened since my last post. In a nutshell:

1. I formed a publishing company.
2. I went to a writers conference and had a fantastic experience.
3. I took down my old preorders and set up new ones.
4. I changed my publication schedule.

I Formed a Publishing Company

I’m really excited that I decided to take the step of forming a company. It was a spur of the moment decision and I had to get it done in two weeks’ time. It was a little stressful researching everything in a limited time but I was surprised at how easy it was create the company. I incorporated in Nevada and only had issues with opening a bank account. In the end, it worked out and for that I’m happy.

Owning a company is exhilarating and utterly terrifying.

The main reason I chose to create a publishing company was because it made financial sense. I weighed the pros and cons and realized it made more sense for me to do it now instead of further down the line. I have a lot to learn and there’s no time like the present to get started.

The thing to remember is that you don’t have to do it alone. I’ve decided to hire people to help me with company issues and taxes. I want everything to be above board and professional. And the people I hired have already helped me avoid so many issues so I’m grateful for their help.

And now I can’t treat writing as a hobby anymore. It’s officially a business. Shit just got real.

I Went to a Writers Conference and Had a Fantastic Experience

In November I went to a writers conference. It helped me reconnect with my author friends and make new ones. The conference also afforded me the chance to connect with people I wanted to work with.

You can say all you want about connecting with someone online, it will never replace real life engagement.

I’m glad I made the decision to go and plan on attending more conferences in the future. So far I have 2 planned for 2020 but hoping that 2021 will include more of them.

The more authors I meet the more I realize I want this to be my full-time career. I’m hoping 2020 is a great year and gets me closer to achieving that goal.

I Took Down my Old Preorders and Set up New Ones

Taking down my preorders was a conscious decision because I wanted a fresh new bookshelf. I could have transferred over my existing account by changing my tax information but I chose to create a new one for the business and shut down my old KDP account.

Goodbye hobby writing, hello professional writing!

I Changed my Publication Schedule

On my flight to the conference I realized a crucial flaw in my old publication schedule. One main goal of mine is to have a completed series by the end of May. The problem was that the series I was working on had nothing to do with the series I wanted readers to connect with in June. I had to shuffle the writing around to make sure it accommodated my marketing strategy. I also decided to jump into a trend that may or may not take off. We’ll see… I’ll discuss that more in another post.

For now I just thought I’d let you know where I’ve been for the past three months. Even though I know you’re the only one reading this right now, Chris, and you know exactly where I’ve been.

I’m redrafting my first book. It wasn’t hitting the notes I wanted so I changed the setting and the overall arc. It’s going to be submitted to my editor next week and I’ll have a better idea then if it requires further work.

This book isn’t going to be a masterpiece of literature. I just want the readers to enjoy a good story. I want them to get hooked into the story and devour every chapter. I want the book to be impossible for them to put down. That’s not too much to ask for, is it?

It’s so much harder to execute than it appears.

My process is strange, I write the book and then I read it and reread it and wait for the parts where I get bored or lose interest. A lot of my writing is instinctive. I can’t verbalize or explain breakdowns of arcs or character motivation or all that stuff. I suck at discussing craft. All I know is that “something feels off” and I have to figure out a way to fix it. I usually have a vague idea why it feels off and I keep fiddling with it until it starts feeling right.

I need the readers to love this book so that they pick up the next. I need them to love it because it also introduces a character that has a spinoff series in early 2020 and I’m going to put up the pre-order when this book goes live. I’ll be able to determine if I was successful in my pursuit of hookiness based on the number of pre-orders I get for Book 2 and Book 1 of the new series.

So this week is all about fixing the first book and rewriting the first chapter.