This past month I did a lot of fixing of things, and we’ll get into that. First, I wrote 107,381 words, putting me up to 214,895 words for the year. For comparison’s sake, that’s 27,498 less than 2014 and 69,696 more than 2013, which was when I began keeping track.
For the month I put up 60 blog posts, breaking down like so:
I also sold 91 books this month, 27 of them print books. I had 14 borrows as well, with Amazon’s KDP program. Overall, book sales were down 20% from last month and down 16% from this time last year.
Oh well, soldier on. Here’s the monthly report.
For the month I put up 60 blog posts, breaking down like so:
- Political Blog: 25
- Writing Blog: 22
- Montana Blog: 7
- ESL Blog: 6
I also sold 91 books this month, 27 of them print books. I had 14 borrows as well, with Amazon’s KDP program. Overall, book sales were down 20% from last month and down 16% from this time last year.
Oh well, soldier on. Here’s the monthly report.
D2D Replaces Smashwords
One area that I hit up hard this month was D2D, or Draft 2 Digital. I mentioned several times over the past month or two about getting my books off Smashwords and onto D2D. I wanted to do this so I’d get paid each month, and have more tracking abilities for those books. So far I’ve gotten a few sales, and all of the books but my perma-free books off of Smashwords.
It’s pretty easy moving things over, and it stimulated me to update all my books. This was needed, as I didn’t have my Big Sky Words logo on the front title page, nor any updated “Also By” links. I also updated the photo in the “About the Author” section and even put some better teasers for certain books.
All in all, it was a lot of work, but needed work. eBook spring cleaning, if you will.
It’s pretty easy moving things over, and it stimulated me to update all my books. This was needed, as I didn’t have my Big Sky Words logo on the front title page, nor any updated “Also By” links. I also updated the photo in the “About the Author” section and even put some better teasers for certain books.
All in all, it was a lot of work, but needed work. eBook spring cleaning, if you will.
Hitting up Createspace
I really made an effort this month to get books onto Createspace so they can be in print format. How I did this was by getting many books into the Createspace 6x9 template. When I did that I knew what the page count would be so I could get a PDF print cover. I got those from a guy on Fiverr for $5 each.
When I had that I could get the book finished, and I just got some proof copies in the mail this week of several books. Those are going to be going live here pretty soon, and I’ll announce it on the site. Besides that, I have a few more, shorter novels coming.
When I had that I could get the book finished, and I just got some proof copies in the mail this week of several books. Those are going to be going live here pretty soon, and I’ll announce it on the site. Besides that, I have a few more, shorter novels coming.
Updating Some ESL
I’m updating an ESL book, or combining two books to be more precise. You might remember I had two books that profiled 25 PowerPoint ideas for English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers. The first one sold about 30 copies but the second only sound about 3. I figured, why not get that book up to shape?
So I added fifty PPTs to them, hoping I can get more sales. And it’s a realistic hope – English Rocks has sold more than 300 copies, about 50 of them in print. That book has made me more than $2,000 since I put it out.
And that’s why I write ESL books and try to make my existing ESL catalog better. These books make money, and when you add up all the moneymaking books, you have quite the income.
So I added fifty PPTs to them, hoping I can get more sales. And it’s a realistic hope – English Rocks has sold more than 300 copies, about 50 of them in print. That book has made me more than $2,000 since I put it out.
And that’s why I write ESL books and try to make my existing ESL catalog better. These books make money, and when you add up all the moneymaking books, you have quite the income.
Acquiring Cover Art
This month I got on the ball when it came to eBook cover art. I got a new image for the John Colter novel I’m working on and I got some design work started for my Warring States series of novels.
I’m not even going to fool around anymore – the eBook and the print book will come out at the same time. I’m going to go over the print books to catch any extra typos, as this works for me. And then everything with that book is done – none of this going back and fixing things, which has taken a whole month this year.
Getting cover art is a great idea, and I even say it’s better than getting premade covers. I’m taking a new approach this year, one that focuses on what works and skipping what doesn’t. Crappy covers just don’t sell.
I’m not even going to fool around anymore – the eBook and the print book will come out at the same time. I’m going to go over the print books to catch any extra typos, as this works for me. And then everything with that book is done – none of this going back and fixing things, which has taken a whole month this year.
Getting cover art is a great idea, and I even say it’s better than getting premade covers. I’m taking a new approach this year, one that focuses on what works and skipping what doesn’t. Crappy covers just don’t sell.
Plowing into Montana History
I got a very strong start to my Montana history book this month, and I wrote about it a bit in a post called Feds and Farmers Will Be Out in March. Toward the end of the month I got sidetracked on it, and that’s because of work.
A guy in Australia hired me to write a book about the history of the American transportation system, including the railroads, trucking, and sea transport. I’ve done the first two already, and I like this because it turns into things I need for my next volume of Montana history.
For instance, I’ve already done the 1956 Federal Interstate Highway System, something I need to include for Montana. I learned a lot more as well, things I can use for the 6th volume of this history.
But it has slowed me down. I’m sitting at about 45,000 words and I need more detail. I need a history of radio and I need more on the war. I need a lot, actually, and sometimes it seems impossible. But I have to remind myself that I’ve written four books already, and people buy them. More than 250 people have bought my Montana history books, and that feels nice. Just one person has reviewed them, however. That can go both ways – maybe they’re so bad people are doing me a favor, or maybe it just means people in Montana don’t like to write reviews…who knows.
I do know that this book will be out in March. I hesitate to say that now, especially since March has began, but when I get rolling on these books, they get done. Be sure to read the Montana blog for updates.
A guy in Australia hired me to write a book about the history of the American transportation system, including the railroads, trucking, and sea transport. I’ve done the first two already, and I like this because it turns into things I need for my next volume of Montana history.
For instance, I’ve already done the 1956 Federal Interstate Highway System, something I need to include for Montana. I learned a lot more as well, things I can use for the 6th volume of this history.
But it has slowed me down. I’m sitting at about 45,000 words and I need more detail. I need a history of radio and I need more on the war. I need a lot, actually, and sometimes it seems impossible. But I have to remind myself that I’ve written four books already, and people buy them. More than 250 people have bought my Montana history books, and that feels nice. Just one person has reviewed them, however. That can go both ways – maybe they’re so bad people are doing me a favor, or maybe it just means people in Montana don’t like to write reviews…who knows.
I do know that this book will be out in March. I hesitate to say that now, especially since March has began, but when I get rolling on these books, they get done. Be sure to read the Montana blog for updates.
Getting Rid of Montana Politics
I decided to stop writing my 2014 Montana Election Blog this month, for many reasons.
First, it was taking up too much time. I’m not writing on “money-making” projects, like my books that don’t sell, or even paying work from other people;
I think the Montana blog has better posts already, and I’ll focus my efforts there. If you don’t like this, I’m sorry, but you never really commented much anyways, so what can I say?
First, it was taking up too much time. I’m not writing on “money-making” projects, like my books that don’t sell, or even paying work from other people;
- Next, despite getting up to 100 views on some posts in a day or less, no one really comments or shares, so it feels like I’m wasting my time;
- Then, it takes a lot of energetic anger to write about politics all the time, and I was getting sick of the heartburn and high blood pressure;
- Finally, I have a Montana blog that is terribly neglected, and that serves as a perfect forum to write better posts than those the political blog had.
I think the Montana blog has better posts already, and I’ll focus my efforts there. If you don’t like this, I’m sorry, but you never really commented much anyways, so what can I say?
Looking Ahead to March
What will happen in March? I have some awesome cover reveals planned for you, and I’ll be getting more books out in print format. There’s the new Montana book and I think a novel will be coming out too, either John Colter or Flight 370. So it’s a western or a thriller for my fiction fans. I’ll also begin working on a sequel to Dulce Base very soon here.
I’d like to write more fantasy and writing-related news on this site this month, so look forward to that. I may also get up the nerve to write another Montana famous celebrities post, so check that out. You can be sure that I’ll put up about 10 to 15 blog posts on the Montana blog, and about 25 to 30 on the writing blog.
Other than that, it’s just keepin’ on keepin’ on, so thanks for hangin’ in there!
I’d like to write more fantasy and writing-related news on this site this month, so look forward to that. I may also get up the nerve to write another Montana famous celebrities post, so check that out. You can be sure that I’ll put up about 10 to 15 blog posts on the Montana blog, and about 25 to 30 on the writing blog.
Other than that, it’s just keepin’ on keepin’ on, so thanks for hangin’ in there!
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