July has come and gone, and now it's time to assess my
performance. Once I got my act together, I published 22 titles from June 29th -
July 31st . (I’m including the last two days of June since this was the turning
point.)
Here is the list, in order of publication:
2. Alphabet
All-Stars: Trivia Time (
English)
3. Alphabet
All-Stars Flashcards (
English)
4. Alphabet
All-Stars: Animal Edition (
English)
5. Alphabet
All-Stars Academy Volume 1 (
English)
6. Taming
Your Pet Monster: An Operational Guide (
English)
8. Alphabet
All-Stars: Clever Cards (
English)
9. Mein
Kleiner Lieblingsdrache (My Little Pet Dragon) (
German)
10. Dos
Cuentos Antes de Dormir (
Spanish)
11. Deux
Histoires au Coucher (
French)
12. Mein
Verrückter Lieblingsfrosch (My Crazy Pet Frog) (
German)
13. The
Most Beautiful Flower (
English)
14. Adorable
Dogs: Beagles! (
English)
16. Adorable
Dogs: Labradors! (
English)
17. Zwei
Geschichten für Kinder (
German)
18. Due
Storie per Bambini (
Italian)
19. Alphabet
All Stars: Funny Flashcards (
English)
21. Adorable
Dogs: Bulldogs! (
English)
22. Adorable
Dogs Collection Volume 1 (
English)
So am I entirely pleased with my performance? No. Even
though I had my most productive month ever, I could have done more.
As I mentioned before, I made a few mistakes. I should have
written Secret Agent Disco Dancer and tied it to the promotion of
My
Crazy Pet Frog. I also should have tackled the sequel to
My
Little Pet Dragon at some point in July. I will not make that mistake
again.
Still, 22 titles is an impressive feat, even though these
are children's books and 8 of them are collections and/or translations. I
managed to grow my library 56%, and even though I didn't experience a 56%
increase in sales, I did lay down the groundwork for substantial future sales.
I suspect that the alphabet books will sell better once kids go back to school.
But don’t get me wrong, I'm proud of my achievement. So
while I’m in a good mood, let me hand out awards for my new releases:
Best New Cover
I did a decent job with cover design this month, producing
24 covers in all (22 were used in new releases). Although I'm pleased with most
of them, the one that stands out the most is
The
Most Beautiful Flower. It was trickier than it looks, and surprised me by
its overall simplicity. Easily the best cover that I put together this month.
Best New Series
Since I put together two new series,
Adorable
Dogs and
Alphabet
All-Stars, why not choose the best one? While
Adorable
Dogs was fun,
Alphabet
All-Stars was a great entry into the children's alphabet book market. Each volume
is different, and provides its own unique take on the alphabet. And while I
could have taken the easy route, I forced myself to make each as entertaining
as possible, while also being educational.
Clever
Cards was the most innovative, incorporating American Sign Language on each
card, while
Trivia
Time was the best overall release. So which one sold the best? The
Animal
Edition, of course. Kids love their animal alphabets!
Most Satisfying New
Release
Most of my friends would be surprised to hear me say that a
book about fairies was my most satisfying new release, but it’s the truth. I
enjoyed writing
Aveline.
It came together effortlessly, and pulled me away from the traditional picture
books that I’ve been writing.
At the request of a fan, there will be more books about the
adventures of
Aveline.
Here's a cover I put together for an eventual novelization:
Best Sales for a New
Release
Biggest Surprise of
July
Without a doubt,
the
German language version of My Little Pet Dragon was the biggest surprise of
the month. I gave away over 2,000 free copies during its promotional run, and
sold over 40 copies. Sure, these aren't big numbers, but I didn't make a single
sale in Germany the month before.
The lesson learned? Ignore the German market at your own
peril.
Best New Release
Overall
Taming
Your Pet Monster: An Operational Guide takes the grand prize as the best
new release for July. At 55 pages, the book is fairly long for a children's
picture book. It's also quirky, full of wacky humor and has memorable
one-liners. Readers seem to be excited about it too, giving it glowing reviews.
All in all, a very satisfying release. At $2.99, the higher royalty also helps.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it. The hard work paid off, and I was able
to turn my sales around. I'm really excited about August, and despite what I've
said, I'd like to put out even more titles next month. I will tackle everything
that I've been avoiding, and fit it into my schedule.
But I won't be turning off my creative mind anytime soon.
Smaller titles help tremendously with free promotions, and sell well when they
are bundled in collections. This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone; publishers
have been selling collections of short stories for centuries. Why would this
suddenly change?
So expect to see a healthy dose of yours truly this August,
along with plenty more blogging. Eventually I'd like to get back to making
$6,000 per month, and then later, $10,000.
Throwaway_Writer
averaged over $30,000 per month last January and February, so if he can do it,
I most certainly can.
And you can, too!
Scott Gordon
Part of the Indie Revolution
