It took several months for the book to become available on Amazon. Six months in fact.  Having emailed Lulu support several times during that wait period and after getting no help, I decided to give up on the project and I retired the book immediately.  It loaded to Amazon anyway though and while I have never promoted it, I did go ahead and load it to the Kindle where it has been downloaded enough to gain a sales rank in genres such as Writing Skills and Authorship.

Since the project was retired, but live on Amazon, I also expected never to collect any royalties from the sale of hard copies.  My fault for letting my anger get the best of me. But that’s where good ole Lulu didn’t fail me…at least I hope they didn’t fail.  To date, I’ve collected royalties for a total of just 5 copies: 3 in the US and 2 in the UK!

After much inner debate, I’ve decided to “unretire” the book.  With that decision, I’ve lowered the list price of the paperback to just $9.50 on Lulu and the E-Book to just $4.50, cutting most of my royalties. This may or may not affect the current list price at Amazon where the book is $12.50, but can be purchased starting at $9.50 from third party marketplace sellers. I don’t care.  More than anything, I want the book to be available to those who need it most…indie authors who may not have a lot of money to invest in their work, but have a lot of heart already invested in it. And may just need some help in the right direction.

The information presented in this book has not been changed.  In fact, I have reviewed it against Amazon and the information is still as current today as it was a year ago when I compiled it.  While I’m sure I could build upon the material, the purpose of the book was always to be a “quick” reference for indie authors.  I do not feel the need to broaden it, and I believe it can be a very important “go to” book for authors who are out of money and looking for quick ways to market their own book on Amazon.com, the world’s largest online book seller.

So, to kick off the “rebirth” of my POD Pocket Guide, I’m offering ten free copies!  That’s right!  Ten free copies!  To be eligible, just leave a comment with your email address on this post. On June 30th, I’ll pick ten winners at random. Yes, there’s a catch.  First, you must live in the United States.  Second, you must commit to leaving a review of the POD Pocket Guide on Amazon.com once you’ve read or used it.  If you can meet these two requirements, then leave a comment on this post to enter the raffle.

Can’t wait till June 30th for a free copy?  Buy or download it right now at Lulu.com!

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It all starts with sales reported to me from Lulu.com.  In order to keep the price of my book affordable, I opted for a lower royalty, just 67 cents per copy sold through a distribution channel outside of Lulu.  Here are the total copies sold through Lulu and the total money I made from each as of June 8, 2009.

Lulu:

23 copies sold through distribution channels – Amazon  (67 cents each x 23 = $15.41)

2 copies sold through UK distribution channels (67 cents each x 2 = $1.34)

3 Ebook downloads direct from Lulu ($4.00 each x 3 = $12.00)

1 print copy sold direct from Lulu ($3.86)

That’s a total of $32.61 earned direct from Lulu.com the first year.

Sad, isn’t it?  Not really.  Obviously, I sold more copies through Amazon than I did direct from Lulu. Perhaps I could have done more promotion.  Perhaps I could have directed more people to Lulu instead of Amazon to increase my earnings per copy.  However, the majority of readers are more likely to buy through a site they know and trust, such as B&N or Amazon, rather than buying direct from my Lulu bookstore.  Had I never once mentioned the book was available on Amazon, and had I only directed people to Lulu, maybe my earnings would be better…maybe not.

But don’t frown.  That’s just Lulu.  Let’s take a look at Kindle E-reader sales for the year.  For the sake of price changes, discounts, and the various number of copies sold per month, I’ll just show you how many copies sold each month and then give you the grand total of my earnings from Kindle alone.

Amazon Kindle:

June 2008: zero copies sold

July 2008: 2 copies sold

August 2008: 23 copies sold

September 2008: 25 copies sold

October 2008: 25 copies sold

November 2008: 29 copies sold

December 2008: 22 copies sold ( December/January show a decline in sales probably due to the holidays.)

January 2009: 17 copies sold

February 2009: 24 copies sold

March 2009: 73 copies sold (Release of Kindle 2)

April 2009: 33 copies sold

May 2009: 43 copies sold

June 2009: 7 copies sold as of June 8th

Grand total earned from all Kindle sales: $1044.80.  Not too shabby.

I invested in a total number of 30 author copies.  The majority of those copies were given away to friends and family or included in marketing kits.  I did sell five copies to coworkers and through the Amazon Marketplace at $10.00 each.

Total earned from direct author sales: $50.00

Last, we have sales through Smashwords.  A total of 23 copies have been downloaded since I published the book here back on February 18th, 2009.  However, I’d like to point out that I used Smashwords mainly as a marketing tool to help gain Amazon reviews.  Here, my book was offered for free in exchange for an Amazon review.  I only gained royalties from three sales totaling $5.81.  I have not yet been paid for these sales since Smashwords has a minimum requirement of $25.00 in earnings before they pay out.

This brings my total earnings across the board to a total of $1133.22.

That’s a far stretch from being able to afford my cost of living for one year.  Not really even enough for one month.  It is 3 car payments though; it’s even enough to pay my utility bill for 16 months.  As I reported in my last diary entry, almost all of this money was invested in marketing and review copies. But I have no debt as far as this project goes, which is more than some self-published authors can say.

Now, let’s take a quick look at reviews.

To date, I have 10 reviews on Amazon. Nine are from people I have never met face to face.  That’s important because reviews from friends and family are nice, but they are always going to be positive. The first review came from an Amazon Top 500 Reviewer who I sent a review copy to.  Three of the reviews were a result of my free Smashwords Ebook give away. And two of the reviews were cross posted from other review sites. My current Amazon rank is at 1.2 million, but has been as high as 101,000 although it fell fast. My current rank on the Kindle is 104,705.

My first review outside of Amazon came from Rainbow Reviews.  I was sorely disappointed in this review, not because it only gave me three stars, but because the quality of the review itself is horrible.  The reviewer just reposted my book blurb, then pointed out three paragraphs he liked and wrapped up the review with two sentences which pretty much anyone could have come up with just by reading a few pages.  Thankfully, this review was not cross posted to Amazon.

The second came from Floyd M. Orr at PODBRAM.    Floyd cross posted a version of the review to Amazon for me.  I have to admit its a nice critical and well rounded review, just as a review should be.

The last review I received outside of Amazon was from Cheryl Anne Gardner at PodPeep. Cheryl was the first to really point out a lot of my subliminal underlying tones of the book and to really embrace the humorous aspect of the story. Cheryl also cross posted the review to Amazon for me.

And this is where my year ends.  It’s certainly not where my story ends.  Like I said in my last post, this is a good place to end the diary even though my journey as an author is far from over.  I’m not going to recap my mistakes or what I’ve learned from this diary.  I’ll leave those things up to you to find out for yourself in all my previous posts. I have no philosophical words of wisdom to share with you. The diary speaks for itself. I’ll still be sharing news and thoughts about self-publishing in general from time to time on LLBR, but this is where the POD Diary comes to a close.

What’s next for me, you ask?  Well, I’ve often referred to myself as a literary medium.  There’s always another character or storyline in my head waiting to be born, usually several at a time actually.  I’ll still be promoting my book and seeking out reviews, and checking my Amazon rank every other day, and wait eagerly for more Kindle royalties, but it’s time to put my focus into something new.  Another story, another character is calling and I’ve ignored the messages long enough.

For the readers out there who took time to read my book, I thank you.  And for the writers out there who have followed my diary this past year for information or inspiration, I say to you what I say to every author I encounter who takes the self-publishing path:

Don’t give up!

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In the past, Amazon has usually paid out around the 27th of the month and only once have they been any later (for me).  So, when June 1st came and I still had not been paid, I sent an email to DTP (Digital Text Platform) Support asking when I would get paid.  By the way, their email address is dtp-feedback@amazon.com but don’t expect an immediate response as it appears only one person is running the show.  After sending the email, I also looked for information on the Community Forums and started participating in this discussion concerning the delay of payment and the fact that June sales had not started showing up on the sales report screen. As usual, threats of civil lawsuits and breech of contract bantar ensued (Amazon terms state they pay out in approximately 60 days). DTPAdmin finally replied to the discussion on June 4th with this…

Hello,

The problem with the the sales report for June has been fixed and you should be able to view them in your account.

Further, payments for the month of the March, 2009 have been processed this week. Please note, it can take up to five business days for the funds to appear in the available balance of your bank account. It will be paid by bank transfer directly into your bank account. Please allow until after that time before reporting your Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) payment as late or missing.

If you have not received payment for the months prior to March, please write to us at dtp-feedback@amazon.com so that we can research further. Please make sure to write to us from the e-mail address associated with the DTP account.

Thanks!

Also, on June 4th I received a similar reply to my email stating the same thing.  As of today, June 6th, I still have not received payment. Luckily, unlike some authors, I have always been paid on time in the past when my sales equaled at least $25.00 for the month.  Many authors report in the forums that they haven’t seen payment in over 90 days, but I have a feeling some of these didn’t reach the $25.00 benchmark and may not be aware of it.

Late royalty payments definitely make for some grumpy authors, and lots of b*tching in the forums.  Unfortunately, the forums are pretty much like a lonely ship on an angry sea with no captain.  There are more soap boxes than there are stars to flag what may be useful to you.  Also note that even when you sign into the archaic DTP Admin screen to check your sales, it still says “beta” at the top left and has for over a year now.  Even notifications of follow-ups to forum posts are emailed to you from Jive Adminstrator (null@amazon.com).  I can’t help but wonder, just how jive is he?  And yes, administrator is misspelled in the email.

This also puts a big damper on Amazon’s integrity, if they have any left.  In the forums, authors are already saying they are pulling the plug on their books on the Kindle.  Overall, it’s just another way of Amazon saying they can do what they want and when they want it because of how big they are.  The approximately in their 60 day payment terms pretty much leaves us at their mercy no matter how much of a bad taste it leaves in our mouths.  And yes, authors, it is just one more way that Amazon has “failed” you.  Just search “#amazonfail” on Twitter to learn more.

For me personally, yes, I am a bit disgruntled over the situation mainly because my own Kindle sales averaged $248.50 for the month of March, my biggest royalty yet.  (Hey, maybe Amazon is waiting for their own deposit to clear so they can pay all of us?) I could definitely put that money to good use.  I could also update my POD Diary budget for you before the diary comes to an end in just two more days.

So, with that said, let’s update the figures anyway just to show you where I am.  My last budget post was dated April 28th and reported the following…

Total money invested on this project to date (after book sales only): $62.69 (debt)

Profit made to date on this project after all sales and services: $503.68

As you can see, the March Kindle royalties will finally bring me out of the red! Once I receive that deposit, my self-publishing debt on this project will be erased, and it only took a year to do it!

My total profit after book sales only: $185.81

My total profit to date after all sales and services: $752.18

Now that book sales number is nothing to frown at.  I was never in this for the money, so I am not disappointed in the least.  Remember, I turned around and invested most of my earnings over time in more author copies, marketing materials, and the like.  I gave away free E-book downloads to gain more reviews at Amazon.  I invested in a fancy book cover software program in the beginning to improve my book cover.  I used the program to help other authors for a tiny fee, but the software was soon paid for. I also intentionally kept my Lulu royalty low to make the book affordable.

Check back on June 8th for my final POD Diary post.  My book was published one year ago on June 8th, so I think that is a good place to end the diary even though my journey as an author is far from over.

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Occasionally, I’ll check my sales rank over at Aaron Shepard’s Sales Rank Express.  This site only presents the basic information you can already find on Amazon’s product page, but it’s quicker sometimes than navigating through Amazon, finding your book, and scrolling down to the product description, and also not getting distracted by ads or by surfing for things you want to buy like I usually do when I go to Amazon.

Rankforest is a free site that will track your book over time if you want to see how the numbers fluctuate.  The free service part will update every 4 hours for you.

RankTracer is also another that has come highly recommended to me, but a three month track of your book will cost you $6.00 here. Books & Writers will do the same thing for two books for just $10 a year.

If you aren’t concerned with how much your sales rank changes by hour, then I suggest checking your book’s page once a day either in the morning or the evening and write down that number on a calendar every day.  Note when there’s a big spike in the number.  Did someone review your book around that time?  Did you post a comment on a blog or website the day before? Note the spikes in sales over time and what might have caused them.

Some authors have tried to affect their sales rank by holding a buying promotion.  Whether it works or not, I don’t know but this is where you email or contact as many people as you can and request them to buy your book from Amazon on a certain date and at a certain time.  The spike in sales will definitely affect the sales rank, but you have to consider that not everyone might purchase your book at that specific date and time.  If you ask everyone who did participate to email you back and let you know they bought your book, you might be able to better obtain an exact number as to how many copies sold during your promotion and helped you achieve whatever rank you earned that day.

Check out these numbers from Rampant Techpress.  Supposedly, a major publisher tracked 25 of their books over a six month period and compared Amazon sales rank to the number of books they sold.

Amazon        Actual
Sale Rank     Books Sold per week
———     —————–
75-100         250-275/wk
100-200        225-249/wk
200-300        150-200/wk
450-750         75-100/wk
750-3,000        40-75/wk
3,000-9,000      15-20/wk
10,000+            1-5/wk

Morris Rosenthal, author of Print-on-Demand Book Publishing, has a slightly different opinion and reports the following figures…

So, why are we obsessed with our Amazon Sales Rank?  Well, no matter what the number may be, if the number is rising it means a sale, which means a royalty payment in the end.  It might not be much of a payment, but keeping your book at a higher sales rank definitely increases exposure, which hopefully increases sales and increases money in your pocket.

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Total money invested on this project to date (after book sales only): $62.69 (debt) I subtracted the $86.45 in Kindle sales only from the previous total.  Note this figure will be wiped out when March Kindle sales pay out in May!

Profit made to date on this project after all sales and services: $503.68 I added the $86.45 to my previous total.

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I think I’m now falling fast to 500,000.  Hey, that’s not bad.  It was fun while it lasted and I’m anxious to see how many copies sold once the sales show up on Lulu.

In other news, I’ve also gotten a few more emails from my Amazon discussion about the free ebook.  I’ve emailed about 3 more links out and I’m hoping to see at least one more review pop up on Amazon before June 1st from that.

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The Tag My Book on Amazon campaign also continues to work, slowly pushing my book higher into the top ten of both the gay fiction and gay romance community.   I’m currently #4 in gay fiction and have passed Armistead Maupin.  Two more votes will move me to the #2 spot.  Let’s hope the exposure pays off in sales!

And for those interested in my free book campaign, you can download Stealing Wishes totally free at Smashwords.  In exchange, I only ask that you post a review of the book at Amazon.

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