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The solution? Continue publishing my children's books at a
high rate while also editing my manuscript. And to torture myself even more,
throw in this blog for good measure.
I think I need an aspirin.
Everything feels daunting at the moment, and slowly I'm pulling
myself together. That's why I haven't published anything in the last couple
days. My process is changing, and now I must invest every waking moment into
either editing Enura or writing a new children's book. Yay!
Puppy Power
At the end of last month, I took a week and published five
children's picture books about dogs (all right, four if you exclude the
compilation). I'm not sure what possessed me to do them in the first place,
but once I got started, I couldn't stop. Before I knew it, I'd written four of
them, and was able to package them up in a compilation on the last day of July.
I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of sales. I didn't do
a heavy amount of market research beforehand, I just told myself, "Hey,
that's cute. I think that will sell," and dove right in.
To my surprise, Adorable
Dogs: Beagles has sold well this month. In two days, it's sold seven copies
(six in the U.S. and one in the U.K.). These aren't big numbers by any means,
but I wasn't expecting any more than a couple sales, even though I gave away
about 2,000 copies the month before.
But the real surprise is Adorable
Dogs: Labradors. This is a project that I wrote for my friend Lucinda and
the Lab Rescue of the LRCP. She
suggested that I put together a book that illustrates what abandoned dogs go
through while in captivity and the role her organization plays in finding new homes
for them. The result is a moderately long picture book (about 50 pages) that
took nearly as long to write as the other three combined. Apparently she likes
it, because she told all her friends and I saw nine quick sales today. Again,
not mind-blowing numbers, but this is how it starts.
It's also possible that her organization will get behind the
book and help promote it. Wouldn't that be exciting?
Magic Butterfly
Another day, another new project, right? I stumbled across
the artwork for Magic Butterfly today and couldn't believe my eyes. I knew that
I had to make time for this one because it has real potential. Even better,
this will my fourth children's book targeted towards girls. Finally I can put
together Four Fantastic Stories for Girls, which will include Bubblegum
Princess, Aveline,
The
Most Beautiful Flower and Magic Butterfly.
In addition, I will be putting together another collection
called Four Fantastic Stories for Boys and Girls, which will include Magic
Butterfly, Ninja
Robot Repairmen, Aveline
and Taming
Your Pet Monster: An Operational Guide.
Suddenly one release turns into three new products. This is
the cornerstone of building your backlist. Once these three products are
released, there will be three new ways for customers to find me, not to mention
the free promotional days that I get when I enroll them into KDP Select.
Final Thoughts
July was a decent month overall. I sold 1,657 e-books and
had 379 borrows. August needs to be a lot better, and I suspect sales will
improve at the end of the month since children are headed back to school. I
would love to sell at least 2,000 e-books this month, but I might have to be
content with holding my ground. If I stay focused and keep publishing great
content in a timely manner, things will dramatically improve. It also helps
that I'm choosing my projects more carefully this time.
I also plan to go back and overhaul two titles that I'm not
entirely pleased with: Bubblegum
Princess and Count
Those Critters: Deep Sea Edition. Expect new versions of each this month
along with follow-up content in the future.
As for my S.E. Gordon pen name, I plan to publish the first
of my three short stories in The Sweetest Stalk series. Originally, I intended
to sell the collection only, but since the project has stalled, it's time to
get something out the door. The first short story will go on sale in early
August for 99 cents (the story is written, it just needs a new cover and bonus
content).
Things are piling up already and I still have Enura to contend with. I must stay
focused and productive if I hope to achieve all my goals this month. I know
what I must do. I have no idea how I'm going to get there (besides hard work),
but I'll figure out a way.
More than anything, wish me good health. Luck will follow.
;D
Scott Gordon
Happily Insane Indie Author
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