My (final) G.R.I.P.E. (Great Indie Pub Experiment)

Last year, I announced that I was going to take the plunge and, along with my husband, try out the new trend toward independent publishing--and that I'd post our results here for all to see.

As a reminder, here were the goals I'd set in my last post:

PREVIOUS PROJECTED GOALS (for Sep/Oct/Nov 2011)
Total available titles: 12
Total hours spent per week (writing not included): 5
Total sales projected: 500

A bold, but not crazy step up from my first-quarter goal of 6 titles available and a mere 30 copies sold for 40 hours work per week. Since my actual numbers wound up being better than this, happily, I adjusted the above projection accordingly.

So what happened? Did I make the goal?

Here are the results from September through November:

ACTUAL TOTALS
Total available titles: 28
Total hours spent (per week) on promotion/learning curve/production: 20
Total sales: 3,770

Well! Quite a lot more available titles than we'd planned. My husband and I buckled down and did more writing than anticipated the first two months of the quarter (and then took a break in November). However, this also meant a greater time requirement for production--four times as much. However, the return was seven times greater than projected, so overall we were still ahead.

Not too shabby for our little experiment, I'd say. I will mention that December saw our sales drop(ironically when holiday shopping is at its annual high), which we highly suspect was due to our November hiatus (no new content for a month). Still, we were quite pleased with the numbers overall, which have tallied close to 6k since we began.

With 2011 behind us, the official "Experiment" is over, and we have declared it a success. My husband is doing indie work exclusively and has largely stopped other business ventures in order to focus on it. I will still be writing for my publishers, but will keep doing indie stories as well.

I wouldn't have guessed this when I first started our experiment, but with the way our coming year's schedule has evolved, I've conceded that this must be my last post here at Nocturnal Nights. Sadly, some shuffling of time commitments was in order to keep the train rolling. I've truly enjoyed my time here and hope you all found some helpful (or, at least, entertaining!) info within my posts.

Happy 2012, and Happy Writing to all of you!

My Gr.I.P.E. (Great Indie Pub Experiment)

Last quarter, I announced that while I was quite happy with my current publishers, I'd decided to take the plunge and go "indie"...and that I would post the results right here for all to see.

After starting off by listening to quite a few authors who had already embarked on this journey, I made my goals small. I figured sales would start off quite slowly and build over time as backlist (and experience in target audience) grew. I also speculated that while sales would increase, time spent on promotion and production would decrease.

As a reminder, here were the goals from my last post:

PREVIOUS PROJECTED GOALS
Total available titles: 6
Total hours spent (per week) on promotion, learning curve, production: 40
Total sales projected: 30

Not too impressive, granted. I like to be realistic, and with no prior experience with indie publishing, I figured the first quarter would be high on up-front time investment and low on sales return. A sound concept, but I'm happy to report that there were greater returns for lesser time outlays than anticipated.

Here are the results from June to August:

ACTUAL TOTALS
Total available titles: 9
Total hours spent (per week) on promotion, learning curve, production: 10
Total sales: 375

Not bad! I spent 1/4 of the projected time to earn 10 times the sales. All in all, I was darn impressed by this, especially considering I spent less than one hour per MONTH actually promoting the titles. As expected, sales started quite gradually and have sloped upward. The bulk of sales came from two specific titles my husband wrote to target a high-selling market: cowboy erotica. Those two titles represent almost 75% of the total.

(Right: our best selling title thus far, Cowboy Comes Calling)

Next quarter, I plan to release some things I have sitting in the wings, but my husband and I will experiment more with some of the hotter-selling genres. While my time outlay was small, I need to decrease it further because of upcoming commitments. I am also going to try dropping all promotion of these titles, save a blurb on my blog when they are released. Crazy? Maybe. So here are my projections:


NEW PROJECTED GOALS:
Total available titles: 12
Total hours spent per week (writing not included): 5
Total sales projected: 500

What do you think? Can I hit the goal with no promotion?

My Gr.I.P.E. (Great Indie Pub Experiment)

Yes, good things still come in threes, and I’m starting an all-new series that will appear on this blog in three parts during 2011. They just won’t appear back to back.

After a variety of publishing experiences ranging from awful to awesome, the joy of saying “I told you so” to folks who told me that e-pub would never amount to anything, and years of “don’t go there” conditioning, I’ve decided to take my career in a direction I never dreamed I would.

I’m going indie. And I’m going to post the results right here for all to see.

Am I so dissatisfied with my writing career that I feel forced into self pub? Not in the least! In fact, my earnings have grown exponentially each quarter for the past year. So why take the plunge into the dark, scary world of indie?

I have a lengthy list of reasons for giving it a shot, but to wrap it up in one word, I’m interested in the POTENTIAL. The potential for books I’d back-burnered to see the light of day. The potential to control cover art and sales prices of my work completely—and to change them when I want to drive sales. The potential to pocket a much larger percentage of profits than even my generous publisher offers. The potential to get in on what is being likened to the California Gold Rush while the gettin’s still good.

So, I’ve decided to experiment with this idea and see where it takes me. Am I giving up on other publishing? Nope. In fact, I just started a 7-book series for my current pub, and have another book under consideration elsewhere. I’m merely seeking ways to expand my prospects.

Every quarter, in between each new three-part series, I will post the latest stats and info on how things are working with this experiment. My expectation is that things will start off very slowly, then build over time. My hope is to start seeing a modest, yet steady income from this enterprise within a year or so, and that posting about my journey will help some of you who might be considering this road.

Okay! Here are my starting point stats and goals for the next quarter:

Currently distributing on: Kindle, B&N, Smashwords

Titles currently out: 1. (An erotic short-short story written by my husband, who agreed to be my first guinea pig!)

Days available: 3

Total sales: 1 (A copy sold on Smashwords the first day, which surprised me. I heard that it takes time to get sales, and that they are far more likely to happen on Amazon than other distribs.)

Goals:
Total available by next quarter: 6
Total hours spent (per week) on promotion, learning curve, production: 40
Total sales projected: 30


Whoa! Hold the phone. Why on earth would I want to dive in with paltry projections like these? Patience, grasshopper. Patience. For one thing, at least two of the projected titles will be short stories, which don’t tend to sell as well as novels. However, they DO sell, and can later be bundled into a collection or offered free to entice readers. I’m also projecting low because of the expectation that it takes time to get things rolling, especially since these titles will be released under a number of different pen names (since I write different genres and will also continue putting out my husband’s work). Once I’ve got a substantial catalog of full-length work and bundled shorts, things should get far more interesting. Sales projections will rise each quarter, while hours spent on promotion/learning curve will fall. This is based on what I’ve heard from authors like JA Konrath and Selena Kitt who are making a good run at indie pub.

So wish me luck! And yes of course, you knew this was coming...I just have to give that first experimental indie title a plug here!

PRIVATE PARKING by Michael Jade
An erotic short story

As Annette heads for her car after a late night’s work, the last thing on her mind is the first thing she’s going to get.

When Annette’s longtime friend, Teddy, texts her about an unsatisfying date, mild “sext” flirting quickly gives way to a hot photo session right in the front seat of her parked car. But is she alone in the private parking garage?

Kindle version
Smashwords
B&N/Nook