While there may not be many members who have been published here (traditional and/or self), I am not one who loathes telling how many copies I've sold. I mentioned etiquette in an earlier post. It is similar to walking up to a person and asking, "Hey, buddy, how much money did you make last year?" Even if a person asks, the odds of getting an answer aren't necessarily that great. I will say that with my first novel thus far, the quarterly royalty checks have been enough/equivalent to make or help make payments on my truck. One can infer numbers based on that if they choose. If a member here succeeds in getting published, they may do far better or far worse than my writing has thus far. As was stated earlier, by Mammamaia I believe, one cannot gauge or anticipate success based on what success another had. Maybe if one had a similar novel with the same publisher, published at roughly the same time if year (and a number of other factors)--one might get a ballpark figure. Publishers struggle to determine the proper print run for novels, and they estimate sales numbers regularly as part of their business. Beyond that, Mammamaia, your statement quoted above certainly shows respect for the few published authors who do visit this forum. Really encourages writers who have had some measure of success to hang around.
I apologize to the regulars here. I never meant to cross lines of writer etiquette. Remember I did say I was a beginner. Best wishes. Chris
Hi, I'm self published on Amazon's kindle, and my book Thief is heading towards thirty sales thus far - I don't have a truck but if I did I don't think the royalties would really make much of a dent on its repayments! I would imagine that if I actually tried marketing it I might make a few more sales, and I know on the kindle some of the authors have sold in excess of five thousand copies. Some of them also have more then a dozen books self published as well. My thought would be that if you get picked up by an agent and then published through traditional routes, sales figures would be far higher, since that's the only way you'll get your book on shop shelves. Having said that, e-books are growing in market share all the time, and things may change. Cheers.
How many copies can a first time writer expect to sell? You might as well ask 'How long is a piece of string?' I suppose it all comes down to: What you have written How well it is written Is it in a strong marketable genre e.g. crime. A publisher or agent should be able to tell you what they expect your book to do sales wise. Good luck! Let us know how you eventually get on.
Exactly. I have self-published one book, which deals with an academic subject of high specialization, and I did it because I had to to get my degree. It is available on Amazon and some other sites, it is overpriced (I didn't actually set the price), and I expect overall sales of about 5 copies maximum. To my knowledge it has not been sold, since I got enough free copies to shower friends, family, and colleagues with. It's not important, because selling it wasn't the point of publishing it. Publishing it was the point, it's a mandatory requirement for some degrees, and you might as well put it somewhere where it can be bought just for the opportunity. I now have a novel, which I believe will sell, and I will gladly give you sales statistics once it is published.
Agreed. In particular, it seems like most of the people on the WritingForums who've been published are short story writers (at least the ones I've talked to). There certainly don't seem to be that many people who've published multiple books, although I know of a handful who have a finished manuscript and are currently sending it to agents or editors. @TWErvin2: I don't think it's at all disrespectful. We both have spent enough time on the forums to know that a max of 20 out of every 100 members has much experience, either with the craft overall, or with publishing. If any money were involved, I'd hedge the bet to perhaps 1 in 20 members being experienced. That's not a bad thing; if everyone knew all there is to know about publishing, there wouldn't be much reason for these forums to exist. So I don't think it's rude to point this out. Blunt, maybe, but not rude. It's sillier to pretend that there aren't two or three self-published (and often simply bad or otherwise amateurish) book authors for every TWErvin2 or mammamaia here.
My experience is limited -- my first novel was self-published just a month ago -- but I have sold 23 copies thus far with no marketing to speak of yet. And, to satisfy those who look down their noses at self publishing, only two of those copies were purchased by friends. All other friend and family copies were gifts and not counted in the sales numbers. In the coming weeks I have two book signings scheduled, and will be interviewed for an article on self-publishing in a local newspaper. Those activities should further stimulate sales.
That is exactly what you have to do, Terry. When my first novel was self-published, I had a two large articles in local press, including a very positive review. I also donated a few copies to give away in a competition, and donated several copies to public libraries, none of which would make me money of course, but it would mean that my novel was reaching people, which was always the main objective. More recently, I was able to have my book reviewed (and happily it was a glowing review) in a national publication with a dedicated readership of many thousands, which provided another temporary sales boost. I suspect that my sales are now over, as the book is no longer being promoted or advertised anywhere (although it still has an Amazon listing in the US and UK), and ultimately it has probably cost me a little money rather than made any, but it has been a very worthwhile experience.
Congratulations! If I sell 23 copies of my first novel when it's out, I am going to be extremely proud of myself. Also thanks for the ideas about book signings and newspaper reviews - how did you organize those?
It's good to read about your positive experience with self-publishing. Too often the knee-jerk reaction is negative. The costs associated with POD publishing have really dropped, making it much easier to be profitable (I'm already in-the-black and make a profit on every sale). There is a lot of good stuff being self-published out there.
I gave a gift copy of my book to the owner of a local bookstore for his review, then followed up a couple of weeks later to see if he would be interested in hosting the signing. He jumped at the chance. The second signing was actually the idea of someone who bought my book through Amazon. he approached a local bookseller about an hour away from where I live, and then contacted me. As far as the newspaper article goes, I contacted the 'Features' editor of our local paper to gage his interest on an article about a local author (me) and found that he was alreadu planning a piece about self-publishing, so he was very interested in an interview. Many people are interested in authors and the act of writing, all you have to do is reach out to them. You also must have a marketable product. I worked very hard on my novel to make it the best it could be. If that bookstore owner had not liked what he saw in the copy I dropped off, he never would have ordered more copies, or agreed to the signing.
I tried buying a copy - never have received it. The self published works I have bought from people off here have made some fantastic reading.
if that is a sarcastic slam, tw, please explain how you think it makes any sense... i was simply stating what is a fact, not casting aspersions on anyone here... nor can i see how what i said would be scaring away anyone... [note: there are currently 25,442 site members... how many of those do you think have had books published?... and up to what number would you consider 'a few'?]
Thanks Terry for sharing your experience. I believe you are the first person responding to my orginal post with actual numbers from your own experience. I understand that every case is different but I find hearing what others have experienced, particularly those who have gotten published, very interesting. Good luck with future sales!! Chris
Mammamia, I was referring to this quote. The point isn’t that there are scads of published authors on this forum. Quite the opposite, and who is disputing that? I pointed out the etiquette of numbers. I did not see you posting specific numbers when the thread came out. Rather, you posted that numbers of one author or another were irrelevant. Later, you come back to indicate most of the published authors here would be loathe to give any specifics. To use me as an example, I am one of the described few published authors on this forum. And by implication by not sharing, since the vast majority of silent ones won’t give numbers, I’m likely one of those who loathes to reveal the fact that my writing, although published, isn’t selling to the point of embarrassment. Whether you or others want to see it or not, it can easily imply that if one on this forum is published and isn’t giving numbers, odds are they are among those who loathe to. Beyond that, the point is not that any author would be ‘scared’ away. It is more along the lines of why bother? Me, I’m not a Major League author. More like a Double or Triple A level (as has been said before in other threads). I’m still working to improve to work my way up—whether I am successful in the end? Who can say? And much like you, Mammamaia, I don’t visit and spend time on the forum here in hopes of making sales—yes, there are a small number of members who have purchased my novel, and my novel was a book of the month club choice, both of which and I am very grateful for. None yet have been disappointed, but I know it’s impossible to please everyone. The bottom line for me is that I come to this forum to share from my experiences (as an editor, author and a few other things) and help other writers along. I believe there are more than a few here who do have potential. But if I am numbered, for example, among ‘the loathed to tell,’ even by implication, then what I say (for example: with respect to what works to make sales) matters little. Every writer here has only so much time, and every minute (such as the fifteen or so that have gone into this reply with an estimated five more to go) is time away from focusing on and completing my own work in progress. If my posts have little perceived value to members, why spend the time? Maybe I’m rambling a bit, so I’ll work towards the end with saying that I pointed out an etiquette in the publishing/posting of numbers. Of the authors I know, it’s generally the way it is. My sales in comparison to some of the authors are quite lame—even if I am not always shared with/told. I know of their sales success for example, because their works are in their second and third print runs with major publishers. Or they live off if their earnings from writing. Others, with smaller POD publishers do quite well by my information and estimation. But why would they visit this forum, follow what they believe be proper professional etiquette, only to be numbered among the ‘loathed’? And you know what? Even the ‘loathed to tell’ writers have experience to share. And maybe it is the use of the term ‘loathe’ and all that it implies is part of the rub. Maybe my experience with fellow authors differs from the experience of others? If anyone wants to know of a forum where one can get ‘numbers,’ PM me and I can direct you to them. But who is to say the numbers here or there are true? Heck, I could easily have lied in a previous post. Maybe I only sell well enough to pay for the air pumped into my truck’s tires. Everyone who visits this thread can either agree with me or not. A good discussion here is what it’s all about. Apologies to the OP if I’ve dragged your intent for this thread way off course.
