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Rawr

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Do you think people are pre-programmed for sequels these days? What happened to the days when books left a few things up in the air & you just dealt with it. These days, folks want a FULL conclusion to everything.
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My answer was always going to be - write the next book in THE SERIES. I haven't put out a book since March. If I didn't have a 3 book series and instead just had my 5 separate books I think I'd be already in the 200-300k rank. But the series keeps things afloat, with intro book priced at .99 it keeps bouncing from 13-30k and pulls other books into 20-50k range.

So embrace this thing above. They want you to chew the things out for them? Great, easy to just expand on what's already there. They don't want to think anymore...at least this market doesn't imo, they just want someone to tell them the story ends well.
 
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ChickenHawk

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Do you think people are pre-programmed for sequels these days? What happened to the days when books left a few things up in the air & you just dealt with it. These days, folks want a FULL conclusion to everything.
To me, this sounds like a wonderful opportunity. Your readers are hungry for more of the story. Yay!
Write another book....sigh...I'll see what I can do.
Maybe you could split the difference and write a novella, something 20K words for 99 cents. And then put it in Kindle Select for borrows/ranking. Just an idea!
 

Rawr

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Great idea CH!!! And now they're paying $1.5, even if you have a .99c title.
 

britnidanielle

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Maybe you could split the difference and write a novella, something 20K words for 99 cents. And then put it in Kindle Select for borrows/ranking. Just an idea!

Yeah, perhaps. I'm the weirdo who gets all emotionally involved in her characters while I'm writing, so I'm kinda DONE with them when I'm done writing the book. LOL. It took me MONTHS to write a follow-up to my first book, probably not the best strategy, but I needed an emotional break from them.

Working on a short erotic romance I'm gonna launch under a new name (I think), and then...I'll see if I can dive back into Nola & Scout's life.
 
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britnidanielle

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jilla82

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Yup! Write another book. :)
Not even kidding. My breakout book (Book#1) peaked a full month after its release date, so you still have lots of time for your rank to climb naturally.

And...
My Book#1 didn't REALLY peak until a few weeks after Book #2 was released. If it were me, I wouldn't "waste" your effort on marketing just yet. Instead, I'd work your butt off to get another similar book out there asap. If it appeals to a similar market, it will pull up Book#1 naturally, and the momentum of both books will fuel each other, giving you a ton more bang for your effort.

My theory: You're actually better off if your current book doesn't hit the top 100 right now, because you have nothing similar to offer. If you have two books hit at the same time, however, you can make some SERIOUS progress.
I agree with this.

It reminds me of Grant Cardones 10X rule.
Right now your goal should be for everyone that is familiar w/ this niche in books to know your name.
The more you create, the more attention you will gain.
Its like a ball of snow rolling down a hill.
 
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britnidanielle

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Thanks!

I think borrows are a huge deal. I'm getting A LOT of borrows, sales too, but mostly borrows. I wish that payout was higher. I've seen a lot of folks on Kboard complaining about the payout, but I wonder how many people would have just passed the title by without the option to borrow under KU. I don't think every borrow would have been a sale, but I wish I had more sales:borrows.
 

Thriftypreneur

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Thanks!

I think borrows are a huge deal. I'm getting A LOT of borrows, sales too, but mostly borrows. I wish that payout was higher. I've seen a lot of folks on Kboard complaining about the payout, but I wonder how many people would have just passed the title by without the option to borrow under KU. I don't think every borrow would have been a sale, but I wish I had more sales:borrows.

Yeah. I think comparing borrows and sales is futile since there's no way to tell if a borrow is actually a lost sale or not. In my opinion, the best way to do it is to stop analyzing sales/borrows and analyze $ earned. Simply figure out if you make more with books in Select or out and it makes the whole thing a lot more simple.

To me, KU looks like the new perma-free. Use the first books in series to funnel traffic from KU to your paid titles.
 
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COSenior

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Don't look at me...the only times mine rank anywhere near yours are when my publisher does a Bookbub ad. The one in my avatar had a Bookbub ad on Saturday and is still at 99 cents. We hit #67 paid for a few hours and now it's floating back toward 1000 rank. You know what's funny? It's available as a KU. I think there are people like me who read voraciously and don't typically buy books who are flocking to KU for books they can't get at their local libraries, and people who want to own their books so they can re-read them. @Thriftypreneur's idea is a great one. I won't be leaving my books in KDPS once I've found a following...I'll put them there for one 3-month period and then branch out, because borrows don't pay as much as the royalty on higher-priced books, and I'm done with the $2.99 price point for anything over which I have full control.

BTW, you guys...it isn't a very good idea to do an 'accidental' series, especially not with the same characters. Two or three books down the road, it's going to break, because you haven't planned the elements that will hold it together. Just write another book, @britnidanielle, doesn't have to be in a series. If you do want the momentum a series gives you, write the first book in that series, but plan the series right. I highly recommend Holly Lisle's How to Write a Series course.
 
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britnidanielle

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BTW, you guys...it isn't a very good idea to do an 'accidental' series, especially not with the same characters. Two or three books down the road, it's going to break, because you haven't planned the elements that will hold it together. Just write another book, @britnidanielle, doesn't have to be in a series. If you do want the momentum a series gives you, write the first book in that series, but plan the series right. I highly recommend Holly Lisle's How to Write a Series course.

This makes a lot of sense @COSenior...but I'm a pantser, so the planning thing...sigh...I'm actually kind of planning my erotic series, though. Well...at least I have the titles...LOL
 

COSenior

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This makes a lot of sense @COSenior...but I'm a pantser, so the planning thing...sigh...I'm actually kind of planning my erotic series, though. Well...at least I have the titles...LOL
To funny...I've got the plans, but not the titles. Seriously, even if you're a pantser, there are several elements that go into a series that you have to line up for longevity of the series. Have a read of some of my mentor's stuff and see if anything resonates with you. http://hollylisle.com/
 
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britnidanielle

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To funny...I've got the plans, but not the titles. Seriously, even if you're a pantser, there are several elements that go into a series that you have to line up for longevity of the series. Have a read of some of my mentor's stuff and see if anything resonates with you. http://hollylisle.com/

I'll do just that. Thanks @COSenior!
 
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britnidanielle

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Rawr

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To funny...I've got the plans, but not the titles. Seriously, even if you're a pantser, there are several elements that go into a series that you have to line up for longevity of the series. Have a read of some of my mentor's stuff and see if anything resonates with you. http://hollylisle.com/

Uh, I can relate to this. So I have been taking a very long time not writing book 4 in the series. I am a pantser and what's been holding me back is I actually don't know where this story should go. I know the bad guy must die and the couple will be together, but what's in between and what do I do with extra chars I want to introduce in a mystery.. gonna be looking into your link.
 

britnidanielle

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So, I have calmed down--a little bit--on the obsessive checking of the rankings/sales every hour. BUT! I just checked and I'm at my lowest ranking to date!

As of Sunday, 9:30pm PST....

I'm alllllllmost in the hundreds. I hope I get there! I also spoke with one of my readers who had a TON of questions and requested a sequel by Christmas. lol. I'm gonna try to give it to her.
 

Gymjunkie

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So, I have calmed down--a little bit--on the obsessive checking of the rankings/sales every hour. BUT! I just checked and I'm at my lowest ranking to date!

As of Sunday, 9:30pm PST....

I'm alllllllmost in the hundreds. I hope I get there! I also spoke with one of my readers who had a TON of questions and requested a sequel by Christmas. lol. I'm gonna try to give it to her.

Congrats!!! This is awesome.

Question: one of my former clients had the same/similar genre books and she was doing great on Apple. How are you doing there? For her Apple brought more money for a while I think.. :)
 
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britnidanielle

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Congrats!!! This is awesome.

Question: one of my former clients had the same/similar genre books and she was doing great on Apple. How are you doing there? For her Apple brought more money for a while I think.. :)

Not on Apple yet. Launched this one in KU. Will branch out when my 90 days are up.

I had a few other books in Apple and pulled them. Weren't selling.
 

COSenior

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So, I have calmed down--a little bit--on the obsessive checking of the rankings/sales every hour. BUT! I just checked and I'm at my lowest ranking to date!
Heck, I'm still checking rank on something I published in late July, but not twice a day anymore :)

I learned from another friend on this forum that it could be useful to have ranking data on my books for comparison with future books. After mine fell into the depths of 100k+, it wasn't as much fun any more, but it is interesting to see what one sale or borrow can do for you at different levels. Someday, I'm sure it will all mean something.
 

Charnell

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I may be late to the discussion on making a series...but you could always turn it into a serial. Similar characters, similar setting, but one where you don't necessarily have to read books 1-4 to understand 5, 6, or 7.
 
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Gymjunkie

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britnidanielle

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Tiny update.

My book is still doing well, not AS well (I'm in the 1400s instead of being closer to 1000 like I was), but still VERY well almost 2 weeks later. I'm pleased!!

I also JUUUUUUST pushed publish on my first erotic romance serial (under a new pen name). It's an experiment of sorts. We'll see how this goes!
 

ChasingPaper

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Tiny update.

My book is still doing well, not AS well (I'm in the 1400s instead of being closer to 1000 like I was), but still VERY well almost 2 weeks later. I'm pleased!!

I also JUUUUUUST pushed publish on my first erotic romance serial (under a new pen name). It's an experiment of sorts. We'll see how this goes!
How are sales going?
 
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britnidanielle

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How are sales going?

Sales are going ok. Still more borrows, than sales, but that's been consistent since the beginning. I'm somewhere in the 6,000s/7,000s but I'm going to run a Bargain Booksky (and/or some other ads) around Black Friday & run specials on all my books that weekend.
 

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