March was rather slow for me.
Why?
Well, I had little work to do and didn’t do much on my own stuff either, or at least is sure seemed like that most of the time.
So what did I do? Just this:
Let’s take a look at these things so you can get an idea of what a professional writer does.
Why?
Well, I had little work to do and didn’t do much on my own stuff either, or at least is sure seemed like that most of the time.
So what did I do? Just this:
- Low Word Counts;
- A New Box-Set;
- A New Novelette;
- One Guest Post;
- A Blog Tour;
- Two Kindle Worlds Novellas;
- A New Short Story Collection;
- Poor Health.
Let’s take a look at these things so you can get an idea of what a professional writer does.
Low Word Counts
This month saw my lowest word count of the year, just 107,837 words, bringing me up to 316,416 words for the year.
Now, that might seem like a lot to some of you, but you have to figure I put out 118,000 and 134,000 in January and February, respectively. And last March I did 141,491 words, so I’m way off compared to that.
So why was my output so much lower? I think one of the main reasons is because I wasn’t doing much writing work for people. In fact, I only had 4 projects the whole month.
One of those projects was a 50,000 word sci-fi novel, however, and that paid well. That was why I didn’t need to do a whole lot of other work. It was nice.
Now, because of that big project, I didn’t do as much work on my own books. For instance, I wanted to put out SEO and 80’s Movies as well as Bilingual English this month. Both did not happen.
Still, I made lots of progress on my other stuff, and I think I might be putting out some good titles next month.
I also managed to post a lot to my blogs – 23 posts on this Writing Blog, 17 posts on the Montana Election Blog, 3 posts on my ESL Blog, and 2 posts on my Montana History blog for a total of 45 posts.
And I discovered that 413,228 people and counting have liked my site on Facebook. I don’t even have a Big Sky Words page on Facebook. Something must be wrong - I can't believe it!
Now, that might seem like a lot to some of you, but you have to figure I put out 118,000 and 134,000 in January and February, respectively. And last March I did 141,491 words, so I’m way off compared to that.
So why was my output so much lower? I think one of the main reasons is because I wasn’t doing much writing work for people. In fact, I only had 4 projects the whole month.
One of those projects was a 50,000 word sci-fi novel, however, and that paid well. That was why I didn’t need to do a whole lot of other work. It was nice.
Now, because of that big project, I didn’t do as much work on my own books. For instance, I wanted to put out SEO and 80’s Movies as well as Bilingual English this month. Both did not happen.
Still, I made lots of progress on my other stuff, and I think I might be putting out some good titles next month.
I also managed to post a lot to my blogs – 23 posts on this Writing Blog, 17 posts on the Montana Election Blog, 3 posts on my ESL Blog, and 2 posts on my Montana History blog for a total of 45 posts.
And I discovered that 413,228 people and counting have liked my site on Facebook. I don’t even have a Big Sky Words page on Facebook. Something must be wrong - I can't believe it!
A New Box-Set
I kind of forgot about this until I was typing up my monthly email newsletter (which is about to become bi-monthly). See, I bundled together my three Amazon marketing books and got my old Design Your Book cover altered to work with it.
What does that mean? Just that you can get three books to help you sell your own book, and for just $9.99. Pretty good deal, huh? I’ll let you be the judge, but if you’re one of the many struggling authors visiting this site, it might be worth your time.
When I think back on it, I probably could have saved a lot more time by buying a few Amazon and Kindle “How-To” books. With that time I could have written more short novellas, which I’m doing now.
More products equals more sales, and if you’re diversified across a wide-range of genres and niches you just get more.
Anyways, start thinking of time/money constraints and what they’re worth to you, because pretty soon you’re going to have to look the best deals out there which give you the highest possible amounts of both.
What does that mean? Just that you can get three books to help you sell your own book, and for just $9.99. Pretty good deal, huh? I’ll let you be the judge, but if you’re one of the many struggling authors visiting this site, it might be worth your time.
When I think back on it, I probably could have saved a lot more time by buying a few Amazon and Kindle “How-To” books. With that time I could have written more short novellas, which I’m doing now.
More products equals more sales, and if you’re diversified across a wide-range of genres and niches you just get more.
Anyways, start thinking of time/money constraints and what they’re worth to you, because pretty soon you’re going to have to look the best deals out there which give you the highest possible amounts of both.
A New Novelette
I released Ale Quest on March 17, St. Patrick’s Day. That was tight, getting it done the day I wanted, but I pulled it off.
And like all my books, it got about 3 sales and then nothing. I am very consistent on writing books people do not want to read.
And like all my books, it got about 3 sales and then nothing. I am very consistent on writing books people do not want to read.
One Guest Post
I had a guest post on Elizabeth Spann Craig’s site. The post was fun to write and got 23 comments (half of them mine), which is much better than this blog gets.
The post is called “Whales, Mermaids, and Your Publishing Long-Tail” and you should read it if you want to be a serious writer, not just some hack that gives up after a year.
The post is called “Whales, Mermaids, and Your Publishing Long-Tail” and you should read it if you want to be a serious writer, not just some hack that gives up after a year.
A Blog Tour
I did a blog tour with Goddess Fish Blog Tours this past month, and it was pretty good.
I got lots of comments (pretty much because I was giving away a $20 Amazon gift card), and also got my name out there a bit more.
The tour was for Tarot Card Killer and I was hoping to get a couple sales. So how many did I get? Well, I got none.
Yep, not a single sale for my blog tour. I did get a sale in France a couple weeks later, but I’m not sure that’s related.
So will I be doing anymore blog tours? Actually, I’ve got one scheduled from April 1 to 15 with Sage Blog Tours.
I got lots of comments (pretty much because I was giving away a $20 Amazon gift card), and also got my name out there a bit more.
The tour was for Tarot Card Killer and I was hoping to get a couple sales. So how many did I get? Well, I got none.
Yep, not a single sale for my blog tour. I did get a sale in France a couple weeks later, but I’m not sure that’s related.
So will I be doing anymore blog tours? Actually, I’ve got one scheduled from April 1 to 15 with Sage Blog Tours.
Two Kindle Worlds Novellas (Marketing Advice Here!)
I was very happy last Wednesday when I went to the Kindle Worlds page and saw the new G.I. Joe world was open.
If you’ve visited this site recently you know that I’ve been working on some Joe stories, with a series planned at 10 books, or about 110,000 words.
Right now there’s only 6 Joe books on sale, and my two are in the rankings for War & Military, a small category with fewer than 5 books. I chose that category (you only get 1 with Kindle Worlds) because Action & Adventure had more than 40 titles, so I probably wouldn’t have ranked as visibly.
If you’ve visited this site recently you know that I’ve been working on some Joe stories, with a series planned at 10 books, or about 110,000 words.
Right now there’s only 6 Joe books on sale, and my two are in the rankings for War & Military, a small category with fewer than 5 books. I chose that category (you only get 1 with Kindle Worlds) because Action & Adventure had more than 40 titles, so I probably wouldn’t have ranked as visibly.
I am ranking now because I had some sales. I’m very lucky to have a guaranteed buyer for all my books – my dad. That means each time I release a book it will get at least 1 sale and therefore have some ranking info.
For instance, some of those Joe books have no sales, and thus aren’t on those charts, even when they have fewer than 100 books. This is a huge error.
I’m sure you’ve seen books that say “no sales data” where usually there’d be a number.
If you want to get visibility fast I’d encourage you to find that one guaranteed sale. And that means you can get on the Top 100 charts. And if you do your keywords and categories right, you’ll get on a list that ensures you have sustained visibility.
With my two G.I. Joe books I will have this for months, even if they have no sales. That is my marketing for those books, which let’s face it, are too short to be marketed elsewhere.
For instance, some of those Joe books have no sales, and thus aren’t on those charts, even when they have fewer than 100 books. This is a huge error.
I’m sure you’ve seen books that say “no sales data” where usually there’d be a number.
If you want to get visibility fast I’d encourage you to find that one guaranteed sale. And that means you can get on the Top 100 charts. And if you do your keywords and categories right, you’ll get on a list that ensures you have sustained visibility.
With my two G.I. Joe books I will have this for months, even if they have no sales. That is my marketing for those books, which let’s face it, are too short to be marketed elsewhere.
A New Short Story Collection
A week or so ago I announced that I’d be giving a free short story collection to all of my email subscribers.
Now, I have two types of people on my email list – those that are interested in my ESL (English as a Second Language) books, and those interested in my other books (primarily the novels – I think).
For the ESL folks I have the perma-free book Teaching English and now for anyone who wants an idea of my fiction I have this free collection.
All you need to do is sign-up for my email list and you’ll get the link to the book, in whatever format you want. That link will direct you to my ESL website, which I use for files I don’t want everyone to access. On this site there’s a search bar at the top of each so you can find anything easily.
In fact, why not type in something you’re thinking about now? I bet there’s something on this site about it that might help you along.
Now, I have two types of people on my email list – those that are interested in my ESL (English as a Second Language) books, and those interested in my other books (primarily the novels – I think).
For the ESL folks I have the perma-free book Teaching English and now for anyone who wants an idea of my fiction I have this free collection.
All you need to do is sign-up for my email list and you’ll get the link to the book, in whatever format you want. That link will direct you to my ESL website, which I use for files I don’t want everyone to access. On this site there’s a search bar at the top of each so you can find anything easily.
In fact, why not type in something you’re thinking about now? I bet there’s something on this site about it that might help you along.
Poor Health
Well, besides all that I got real sick for the last few days of the month and really didn’t get much done. I still wrote each day, just very little.
I also continually have pains in my left arm, which I think is from sitting too much. I may also have a propensity to lean over on my left side, as I also have some lower-abdominal pain. Don’t get me started on hemorrhoids.
Pain, numbness, and tingling in my left arm is not good. Here’s an interesting list of forearm pains from keyboarding and one from a writer about Carpal Tunnel. It could be that I really need to get a new desk and chair as well.
I am expecting a pretty decent federal tax return (something I never had for the 5 years I was in China), so those two things are high on my list.
Well, that’s it. Onward to April.
I also continually have pains in my left arm, which I think is from sitting too much. I may also have a propensity to lean over on my left side, as I also have some lower-abdominal pain. Don’t get me started on hemorrhoids.
Pain, numbness, and tingling in my left arm is not good. Here’s an interesting list of forearm pains from keyboarding and one from a writer about Carpal Tunnel. It could be that I really need to get a new desk and chair as well.
I am expecting a pretty decent federal tax return (something I never had for the 5 years I was in China), so those two things are high on my list.
Well, that’s it. Onward to April.
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