Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Barnes and Noble's Six Book Problem

My neighbor from up the street emailed me last week.  He'd walked into my local Barnes and Noble and asked an employee to help him find my books.  After all, I live 4 miles from the store and my books are on both the Amazon and iTunes bestseller lists.  Of course the employee explained that Barnes and Noble doesn't carry my books in stores but could special order them.


Not wanting to wait, my neighbor contacted me directly and I sold him two full sets of my trilogy. I don't mind BN kicking customers my way.  It's happened before and I make more on direct sales.  But the incident got me to thinking about the future of my local bookstore.


See, losing a six book sale isn't a big deal.  It's maybe a couple of bucks of profit.  But when you think about how many self-published books are out there, including the backlists of traditionally published authors, it isn't a stretch to think that this is happening at every store across the country on a regular basis.  Add that to the popularity of self-publishing and that many serious readers are now also writers, and you can see how fast a six book problem can become a six hundred thousand book problem.


It would be unrealistic to think that BN would or could carry every title on their shelves. No one expects that. But if it were my business, I would have the community relations person in each store become more involved in reaching out to local authors and writers groups. Barnes and Noble could be more welcoming, maybe developing a process and/or criteria for carrying indie books. Another idea is a local author bookshelf. Or incorporation of POD machines, such as the Espresso book publishing machine.


I sincerely hope my local Barnes and Noble is still there ten years from now. I'm a bookstore person. I enjoy going there and I still occasionally buy hardcover.  But I can't help but think that my BN just trained a customer to check Amazon or the author's website first before driving to their store. And, in my opinion, that type of policy has long term and far reaching consequences.


Monday, July 23, 2012

Milestones: Better than Gallstones


I've reached a few milestones this month that warrant a blog post.  I'll be honest- I am uncomfortable with self-promotion and I've procrastinated writing this. But I know there are many writers out there who find it encouraging to read success stories, so here goes.

Milestone 1: 50,000 in sales.  

BUT GP, you say, I thought you passed 50,000 a long time ago? This 50,000 is different. This 50,000 includes only books 2 and 3 at 2.99 and 3.99 respectively.  It does not include any 99 cent or free downloads (or other sales) of The Soulkeepers (book 1).  For me, this is a more accurate sales figure because these are not promotional sales.  You don't read book 2 without already reading and liking book 1. I'm super excited about the 50,000 milestone but there's another even more exciting....

Milestone 2: 1,000th 5 star review on iTunes 

This month The Soulkeepers earned its 1,000th 5 star review in the iBookstore. I couldn't be happier with how readers have connected with the series. In fact, it's a dream come true. Thank you readers for the support and encouragement you give me every day.

Milestone 3: I'm incorporated!

For a number of reasons, I incorporated my writing business and Carpe Luna, LTD now publishes the Soulkeepers series.  I'm expecting to release two more books this fall, including the first book in a new paranormal romance series for adults and the first in a new young adult trilogy. More to come on these titles in the future.

So, to all of my readers, THANK YOU!!! And to all of my fellow authors, you can do it! Keep going! And thank you for all of your support this year.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

New Covers to Love!

July has been a great month for covers.  Have you seen these updates!










This isn't a new cover for Angela but a new release
coming Fall 2012. I just slipped it in here because it is yummy!









Beautiful yes?  I think so.  And really good books too!

Friday, July 6, 2012

Free Kindle Books and Tips

Just a quick note to let you know that The Soulkeepers is featured today on Free Kindle Books and Tips.  If you have a kindle, please get to know this site.  It's a fabulous source for free Kindle books as well as useful information on getting the most from your eReader. I came across it through a friend and highly recommend.


Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Dog Days of Summer

I haven't been working much the last week.  Having a new puppy is a lot like a new baby. Jack doesn't sleep through the night yet and he requires constant supervision.  Until today.  Today, I took Jack for a two mile walk after breakfast.  Here is a photo journal of what happened next.

9:00 AM

10:30
12:30



3:30

Got a lot done today but I think I broke my dog.  Have to take it easy on him tomorrow.

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