Half-Way to #12book12months

With four books in the Warlock of Rochester series published, the first installment of Kasmai Cycle, and the first of Eoin O’Leary’s Paranormal Adventures, I’m half-way to my goal of twelve books published in twelve months.

And I feel like I’ve gone insane. 

My 15th release date won’t be reached in March. I can already see that as I’m conflicted between two titles. Either the second in the Kasmai Cycle or an original stand-alone will be released. I have one issue with each one. I’m hoping my beta readers can help me pick, but my marketing brain conflicts with my writer brain on this.

Worse comes to worst – I’ll call it half-way, knowing I still managed to publish six books in twelve months even if I don’t manage to publish another book in the next six. If worse stays “worse,” I’ll take a month or so off to stave off burn-out and reorganize the next six.

I will say – this whole process thus far has been helpful. I’ve written more, edited more, and plotted more in the last six months than I have in my previous years as an author. My sales are showing an uptick (I didn’t realize horror was so popular around Valentine’s Day), so here’s a few interesting facts I’ve found to be true for my books:

1. While KDP single titles sell better than non-KDP single titles, series titles sell better overall when comparing a first book in a series with two or more to a single title.

2. Kindle Create minimizes formatting issues, but it is a horrible program that obviously needs more time and consideration. Any non-fiction authors probably hate it with a passion based on how horrible it is with footnotes and links. I would be thrilled if they took PDF as that’s my cleanest format frankly.

3. $2.99 is a good selling point, but the first title at $0.99 and the others at $4.99 sells just as well as all titles at $2.99. If you really want to do $2.99 with the first at $0.99, that sell well, but it makes discounts not that dramatic (which can really take off with titles at $4.99.

4. Little to no marketing (beyond adjusted sales price, very inconsistent social media posts (less than once a month)) can still result in daily sales. BUT I plan on doing mass marketing come August/September (and the end of the 12 months), so we’ll see how dramatically that alters sales.

I’ll be interested to start the marketing months. Just writing means I don’t have time for more than observational data if I don’t want to fall too far behind. Also – as you guys know – this blog has suffered for it.

When March 15th comes around, I’ll make a post clearing the air – whether it be a new release or to set aside this self-challenge in part or full.

Wish me luck!