[PROGRESS THREAD] ChickenHawk's Self-Published Fiction EBooks

[Vigilante]

Here's to wishing MJ had done more than a two week ban. That will give you all enough time to use the ignore poster feature. He can come back to an audience of himself.

 

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[Almantas]

I am not taking any sides, but it's inspiring seeing so many united forum members defending a forum member who has obviously been insulted.

I totally understand where Devine is coming from, but there's a more polite way of conveying same information.

I am sure if you told your clients "use unique diet designed by me or stay fat, ugly and probably die in your own fart dust within 3 months" wouldn't work as good as "by using a tailored diet designed by me exclusively for you, you'll change your life by transforming your body and mind within just 3 months".

 

[MJ DeMarco]

He can come back to an audience of himself.

I'm expecting his return to be 1 post chalked full of intellectual superiority and condescension in which time the ban will become permanent.

 

[ChickenHawk]

A couple side notes to all of this...

About My Mistakes...
It would be wonderful to come here every time and announce that I did an amazing job, that I did everything perfectly, and was raking in gobs of money. But when I make mistakes, I try very hard to own them.

I share these mistakes here, because this forum has literally changed my life. After all the help and encouragement I've received here, I owe you that -- to tell you what I did right and AND share what I did wrong, in hopes it might prove helpful to others.

It would be very easy to blame my lackluster year on market forces, but in my case, it was the result of poor decision-making, along with several unrelated distractions that made this year harder than normal on the writing front. Hopefully, those are in the rear-view, which should help immensely.

And About My "Flops"...
I should also clarify something. Even my "flops" ranked in Amazon's top 1,000 and gained me new readers, new additions to my mailing list, and new Facebook fans. When I started out, I would've been THRILLED to "only" make nearly six-figures, working from a beautiful mountain retreat, with no boss, no co-workers, and no TPS reports. By any normal standards, my year was a fine success. The only thing that makes it "lackluster" for me is the fact that I KNOW I can do better, which I plan to do in 2017.

 

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[Vigilante]

A couple side notes to all of this...

About My Mistakes...
It would be wonderful to come here every time and announce that I did an amazing job, that I did everything perfectly, and was raking in gobs of money. But when I make mistakes, I try very hard to own them.

I share these mistakes here, because this forum has literally changed my life. After all the help and encouragement I've received here, I owe you that -- to tell you what I did right and AND share what I did wrong, in hopes it might prove helpful to others.

It would be very easy to blame my lackluster year on market forces, but in my case, it was the result of poor decision-making, along with several unrelated distractions that made this year harder than normal on the writing front. Hopefully, those are in the rear-view, which should help immensely.

And About My "Flops"...
I should also clarify something. Even my "flops" ranked in Amazon's top 1,000 and gained me new readers, new additions to my mailing list, and new Facebook fans. When I started out, I would've been THRILLED to "only" make nearly six-figures, working from a beautiful mountain retreat, with no boss, no co-workers, and no TPS reports. By any normal standards, my year was a fine success. The only thing that makes it "lackluster" for me is the fact that I KNOW I can do better, which I plan to do in 2017.

Winners concentrate on winning.

Write faster.

 

[Boyd]

@ChickenHawk

Your success has been inspiring, your failures are equally enlightening. I, for one, am grateful that you had the courage to come here and humbly admit your mistakes. It gives those of us still struggling to get into this business assurance that these challenges are real and not just the critic in our head telling us we're not good enough.

Please continue to update us as often as you can. I look forward to hearing about any course corrections you make and the potential future success you will have as you push through these struggles.

 

[COSenior]

I totally understand where Devine is coming from, but there's a more polite way of conveying same information.

Those of us who defended her understood that the 'same information' was completely misdirected as well as conveyed in an unacceptable manner. He not only failed to understand @ChickenHawk's purpose in exposing her mistakes and making her observations, he picked the wrong person to assume knew less about the subject than he did. And then he had the nerve to insult the founder as well. Unbelievable gall.

I'm not here often, but I've been around for a while, and anyone who's been here for more than a day or two should know better than that. He's earned a well-deserved consequence, but I doubt he'll learn from it. SMH

 

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[Almantas]

Those of us who defended her understood that the 'same information' was completely misdirected as well as conveyed in an unacceptable manner. He not only failed to understand @ChickenHawk's purpose in exposing her mistakes and making her observations, he picked the wrong person to assume knew less about the subject than he did. And then he had the nerve to insult the founder as well. Unbelievable gall.

I'm not here often, but I've been around for a while, and anyone who's been here for more than a day or two should know better than that. He's earned a well-deserved consequence, but I doubt he'll learn from it. SMH

I see where you're coming from. I think no matter who you are, founder or a respected member, we should treat others as we want them to treat us. It's a simple principle to live-by that makes this forum more than just a forum, but a group of people who support & help each other to achieve goals.

I am sure the guy had a bad day and fired his comments while in emotionally aroused state. Let's hope he comes back few weeks older and wiser.

 

[B V Marlon]

It would be wonderful to come here every time and announce that I did an amazing job, that I did everything perfectly, and was raking in gobs of money. But when I make mistakes, I try very hard to own them.

I think it's great when people share their mistakes and things that didn't go so well.

It's a natural tendency for us to only want to report the good stuff, but life isn't all unicorns and rainbows, all of the time. Only showing what goes great can demoralise others, particularly if they're suffering their own frustrations, and all they read about is success.

It's also great to share from a learning perspective - you can amplify the benefit of your mistakes by sharing, because others can learn from them as well as you. Learning from others mistakes is as valuable as learning from your own.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I am sure the guy had a bad day and fired his comments while in emotionally aroused state.

No, he is like that in pretty much every post.

Like others have stated, he "generally" has some decent advice but it's so salty and holier-than-thou, it becomes unpalatable. Throw in the fact that he is completely anonymous with ZERO evidence of credentials, success, or track-record, it has me wanting for less. And less is what we shall now have.

 

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[G-Man]

Kind of fitting that your profile picture is now Clint Eastwood.

 

[Andy Black]

I think it's great when people share their mistakes and things that didn't go so well.

It's a natural tendency for us to only want to report the good stuff, but life isn't all unicorns and rainbows, all of the time. Only showing what goes great can demoralise others, particularly if they're suffering their own frustrations, and all they read about is success.

It's also great to share from a learning perspective - you can amplify the benefit of your mistakes by sharing, because others can learn from them as well as you. Learning from others mistakes is as valuable as learning from your own.

I didn't see any mistakes by @ChickenHawk tbh.

I saw a decision to write a couple of books based on customer feedback.

A realisation after launch that one was a flop, but the persistence to complete and release the second book knowing it too was going to be a flop - purely because she believed her credibility would be damaged if she didn't follow though on her word.

Chickenhawk then realised she's lost ground on a book that could have been a success, because of the time spent on the two flops.

These are learnings imo, and Chickenhawk has diagnosed why her earnings fell and what she will do less of, and more of, in the future.

"Failures" show us the way by showing us what's *not* the way.



Persistence is the most valuable trait of an entrepreneur.

Anyone want to bet against Chickenhawk bouncing back?

I won't take that bet.



Equally impressive is how Chickenhawk is able to be grateful for what she already has, and how far she's already come.

Always be grateful for what you have, and proud of what you've already achieved.



The squiggly bits on the map are the fun parts of the journey.

Or, as a line I remember from childhood: "A stream with no rocks is a stream with no song."



Thank you Chickenhawk for sharing your journey, squiggly bits and all.

 

[Liberty T. Vance]

@ChickenHawk your thread was the first thread I read when I came to TMF and as a result I looked around and stuck around.

I don't contribute much to the forum but thought you should know I'm another person who you've touched through tmf for the better.

I don't write books and am still stuck in the slowlane but your journey is inspirational and your recent 'mistakes' can help anyone who is an entrepreneur no matter their business.

Thank you.

 

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[Polarbeans]

@ChickenHawk Thanks for the update The obstacles are very real with the change in Algorithm. I recall this were discussed on the forum about a year ago (a little more?) in another thread about Amazon Pub. and we kind of concluded that the market would consolidate.

I think that Amazon is not moving with the intention to make it harder for everyone (they are) but rather to establish quality.

I love to follow your progress so please keep it up and persevere. You will come through

Amazon is in a changing mode and as with everything; marketing and fans are the name of the game.

 

[Sean P]

Amazon is always in testing mode, as every business should be - that is one big reason for its success. Others become complacent when they grow very big and resist change, thinking what they do is going to be the right thing for along time to come.

ChickenHawk's thread is great as an inspiration for anyone who wants to self-publish and also a good way to see what works and what doesn't - very few people will tell you what did not work for them.

Devine - I have read some of your posts and know that you do post a lot. But an important part of being part of a community, is to learn to disagree agreeably. Hope you're able to take the temporary ban as an opportunity to correct yourself.

 

[ChickenHawk]

Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts and encouragement on this. It's one of the reasons I love this place!

Creative ventures are a weird thing, because we can't always know which products will resonate with the audience. This extends beyond writing. Take successful movie producers, actors, playwrights, whatever. Even AFTER they've "made it," they still have "flops."

Here's a scary truth: Even after my lessons of this past year, odds are pretty high I'll see more "flops" in the future. Why? Because I plan to get up to bat as often as possible. Sometimes, I'll hit a home-run. Sometimes, I'll strike out. Sometimes, I'll hit a single. Here's how it's stacked up so far, starting with my very first book a decade ago.

My Books, Color-Coded by Basic Success-Level. Pink=happy results. Blue=disappointing results.

• Book #1, Mystery/Romance: A promising failure. Got picked up by a hotshot New York agent, but no publisher wanted it.
• Book #2, Mystery/Paranormal Romance: A total failure. It was so bad, apparently, that my agent dropped me after she read it.
• Book #3: An Illustrated Kids Book for Middle Schoolers. Made a few hundred bucks, but ultimately wasn't worth the effort.
• Book #4: A Picture Book for Little Kids. Made nearly nothing.
• Book #5: An Illustrated Kids Book for Middle Schoolers. Made a few hundred bucks, but that's it.
• Book #6: Another middle school book. Made a few hundred bucks, but that's it.
• Book #7: Romance. THIS WAS MY BREAKOUT BOOK. A "holy crap!" home-run.
• Book #8: Romance. A Grand-slam. Hit the Amazon top 30, pulled the previous book up with it, and earned me a spot on the USA Today List.
• Book #9: Mystery/Romance (Rewritten version of book #1). A strong single. This was a disappointment. Sales weren't terrific, and sometimes, in the dead of night, I almost wondered, "Oh crap. What if I'm a one-hit wonder...? What if that breakout book(s) was a fluke? What if it was just luck or something?" But I kept going, because I wasn't going to let one disappointment deter me.
• Book #10: Another home run. Hit the Amazon Top 100.
• Book #11: Home run. Also hit the Amazon Top 100
• Book #12: A strong single.
• Book #13: A strong single.
• Book #14: A double, maybe? It's still too early to tell for sure.

A few observations. Not all of my books will be home-runs. Some will strike out. Some will be a nice single. Some will be extra-frustrating, because they could've been a home-run, if only I'd swung at a different time. But one thing is for certain. In order to hit a home-run, I must get up to bat, over and over again. Swing for the fence. Rinse, analyze, and repeat.

Of course, there's also the chance that I'll never hit a home-run again. But I will surely hit more singles and doubles. And unless something drastically changes, it will be enough to continue to give me the kind of freedom we all dream of. I think that's the lesson in all of this: Keep Swinging!

Ultimately, @Vigilante is 100% correct. The most important thing I can do is write faster. Time to say it again. Must write faster!

(And, of course, I'm already working on my next book, so there, hah!)

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

• Book #1, Mystery/Romance: A promising failure. Got picked up by a hotshot New York agent, but no publisher wanted it.

• Book #2, Mystery/Paranormal Romance: A total failure. It was so bad, apparently, that my agent dropped me after she read it.

• Book #3: An Illustrated Kids Book for Middle Schoolers. Made a few hundred bucks, but ultimately wasn't worth the effort.

• Book #4: A Picture Book for Little Kids. Made nearly nothing.

• Book #5: An Illustrated Kids Book for Middle Schoolers. Made a few hundred bucks, but that's it.

• Book #6: Another middle school book. Made a few hundred bucks, but that's it.

• Book #7: Romance. THIS WAS MY BREAKOUT BOOK. A "holy crap!" home-run.

• Book #8: Romance. A Grand-slam. Hit the Amazon top 30, pulled the previous book up with it, and earned me a spot on the USA Today List.

• Book #9: Mystery/Romance (Rewritten version of book #1). A strong single. This was a disappointment. Sales weren't terrific, and sometimes, in the dead of night, I almost wondered, "Oh crap. What if I'm a one-hit wonder...? What if that breakout book(s) was a fluke? What if it was just luck or something?" But I kept going, because I wasn't going to let one disappointment deter me.

• Book #10: Another home run. Hit the Amazon Top 100.

• Book #11: Home run. Also hit the Amazon Top 100

• Book #12: A strong single.

• Book #13: A strong single.

• Book #14: A double, maybe? It's still too early to tell for sure.

Meh, shortcuts! (LOL)

 

[Vigilante]

Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts and encouragement on this. It's one of the reasons I love this place!

Creative ventures are a weird thing, because we can't always know which products will resonate with the audience. This extends beyond writing. Take successful movie producers, actors, playwrights, whatever. Even AFTER they've "made it," they still have "flops."

Here's a scary truth: Even after my lessons of this past year, odds are pretty high I'll see more "flops" in the future. Why? Because I plan to get up to bat as often as possible. Sometimes, I'll hit a home-run. Sometimes, I'll strike out. Sometimes, I'll hit a single. Here's how it's stacked up so far, starting with my very first book a decade ago.

My Books, Color-Coded by Basic Success-Level. Pink=happy results. Blue=disappointing results.

• Book #1, Mystery/Romance: A promising failure. Got picked up by a hotshot New York agent, but no publisher wanted it.
• Book #2, Mystery/Paranormal Romance: A total failure. It was so bad, apparently, that my agent dropped me after she read it.
• Book #3: An Illustrated Kids Book for Middle Schoolers. Made a few hundred bucks, but ultimately wasn't worth the effort.
• Book #4: A Picture Book for Little Kids. Made nearly nothing.
• Book #5: An Illustrated Kids Book for Middle Schoolers. Made a few hundred bucks, but that's it.
• Book #6: Another middle school book. Made a few hundred bucks, but that's it.
• Book #7: Romance. THIS WAS MY BREAKOUT BOOK. A "holy crap!" home-run.
• Book #8: Romance. A Grand-slam. Hit the Amazon top 30, pulled the previous book up with it, and earned me a spot on the USA Today List.
• Book #9: Mystery/Romance (Rewritten version of book #1). A strong single. This was a disappointment. Sales weren't terrific, and sometimes, in the dead of night, I almost wondered, "Oh crap. What if I'm a one-hit wonder...? What if that breakout book(s) was a fluke? What if it was just luck or something?" But I kept going, because I wasn't going to let one disappointment deter me.
• Book #10: Another home run. Hit the Amazon Top 100.
• Book #11: Home run. Also hit the Amazon Top 100
• Book #12: A strong single.
• Book #13: A strong single.
• Book #14: A double, maybe? It's still too early to tell for sure.

A few observations. Not all of my books will be home-runs. Some will strike out. Some will be a nice single. Some will be extra-frustrating, because they could've been a home-run, if only I'd swung at a different time. But one thing is for certain. In order to hit a home-run, I must get up to bat, over and over again. Swing for the fence. Rinse, analyze, and repeat.

Of course, there's also the chance that I'll never hit a home-run again. But I will surely hit more singles and doubles. And unless something drastically changes, it will be enough to continue to give me the kind of freedom we all dream of. I think that's the lesson in all of this: Keep Swinging!

Ultimately, @Vigilante is 100% correct. The most important thing I can do is write faster. Time to say it again. Must write faster!

(And, of course, I'm already working on my next book, so there, hah!)

Overnight success.

Gold post.

 

[Jon L]

Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts and encouragement on this. It's one of the reasons I love this place!

Creative ventures are a weird thing, because we can't always know which products will resonate with the audience. This extends beyond writing. Take successful movie producers, actors, playwrights, whatever. Even AFTER they've "made it," they still have "flops."

Here's a scary truth: Even after my lessons of this past year, odds are pretty high I'll see more "flops" in the future. Why? Because I plan to get up to bat as often as possible. Sometimes, I'll hit a home-run. Sometimes, I'll strike out. Sometimes, I'll hit a single. Here's how it's stacked up so far, starting with my very first book a decade ago.

My Books, Color-Coded by Basic Success-Level. Pink=happy results. Blue=disappointing results.

• Book #1, Mystery/Romance: A promising failure. Got picked up by a hotshot New York agent, but no publisher wanted it.
• Book #2, Mystery/Paranormal Romance: A total failure. It was so bad, apparently, that my agent dropped me after she read it.
• Book #3: An Illustrated Kids Book for Middle Schoolers. Made a few hundred bucks, but ultimately wasn't worth the effort.
• Book #4: A Picture Book for Little Kids. Made nearly nothing.
• Book #5: An Illustrated Kids Book for Middle Schoolers. Made a few hundred bucks, but that's it.
• Book #6: Another middle school book. Made a few hundred bucks, but that's it.
• Book #7: Romance. THIS WAS MY BREAKOUT BOOK. A "holy crap!" home-run.
• Book #8: Romance. A Grand-slam. Hit the Amazon top 30, pulled the previous book up with it, and earned me a spot on the USA Today List.
• Book #9: Mystery/Romance (Rewritten version of book #1). A strong single. This was a disappointment. Sales weren't terrific, and sometimes, in the dead of night, I almost wondered, "Oh crap. What if I'm a one-hit wonder...? What if that breakout book(s) was a fluke? What if it was just luck or something?" But I kept going, because I wasn't going to let one disappointment deter me.
• Book #10: Another home run. Hit the Amazon Top 100.
• Book #11: Home run. Also hit the Amazon Top 100
• Book #12: A strong single.
• Book #13: A strong single.
• Book #14: A double, maybe? It's still too early to tell for sure.

A few observations. Not all of my books will be home-runs. Some will strike out. Some will be a nice single. Some will be extra-frustrating, because they could've been a home-run, if only I'd swung at a different time. But one thing is for certain. In order to hit a home-run, I must get up to bat, over and over again. Swing for the fence. Rinse, analyze, and repeat.

Of course, there's also the chance that I'll never hit a home-run again. But I will surely hit more singles and doubles. And unless something drastically changes, it will be enough to continue to give me the kind of freedom we all dream of. I think that's the lesson in all of this: Keep Swinging!

Ultimately, @Vigilante is 100% correct. The most important thing I can do is write faster. Time to say it again. Must write faster!

(And, of course, I'm already working on my next book, so there, hah!)

Thank you for posting both the good and the bad of your business. I, for one, learn much more from the failures of others than their successes. Especially when they document how they're climbing out of those failures.

Question for you that may not have an answer: Is there anything that created those successful books that you didn't do for the 'strong singles?' Here's a random list of things that might have affected the success of a particular book:

• Mindset
• Events in your life
• People in your life
• Place where you wrote
• Time of day when you wrote
• Topic of the book
• Publishing method
• (etc...I'm not a writer, so I'm sure you can come up with stuff that's more relevant)

 

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[ChickenHawk]

Is there anything that created those successful books that you didn't do for the 'strong singles?'

Ah, that's the million-dollar question, isn't it? Funny to think that even the giant publishers with a ton more experience can't predict a hit. But you're still onto something. There were a few differences.

LOGISTICAL DIFFERENCES

• Timing. This is a biggie. One of my disappointments was launched right after the beginning of Kindle Unlimited, which lets readers borrow, rather than buy, books. During the earliest phase of Kindle Unlimited, long books were REALLY hosed. And then, as far as this year, my most-recent book was hurt by timing in a different way. If I'd released it a year earlier, it would've done a ton better, because it would've capitalized off my momentum in that particular series.
• Frequency. Another biggie. If you wait too long between releases, you lose momentum and visibility.

CREATIVE DIFFERENCES: But I think what you're really asking is whether or not there any writing patterns result in different results. Funny, there actually are a few patterns.

• Writing Speed. The books I wrote the fastest did the best. Probably, I took more chances, kept up the flow, didn't obsess over the little things.
• Level of Caring. Hilariously, the books I cared least about (other than financially, of course) were the ones that performed the best. My breakout book? I wrote it fast and hard, not making the slightest attempt to create good literature. My only goal was to dip my foot into the water, see if I could sell a few hundred (if I was lucky), and get a handle on the romance market. In contrast, the books I took more seriously, gave more careful consideration to the characters, etc., well, they didn't do as well. Funny, huh?
• Low-Grade Despair. This year was pretty rough in the mindset category. Thankfully, my own personal life was really nice. But other things, including events on a national and international scale, weighed me down all year long. Since this is a political-free zone, I won't go into details, but I spent much of the year really troubled and worried for the future. Even though I was able to push out three books during this timeframe, I found very little joy in it. Who knows? Maybe that somehow came through in the writing.
• Side Ventures. Oops! Almost forgot one. During this past year, we had a few real-estate things going on. These took a ton of my husband's time, which meant that more of my time was consumed by non-writing things on the family & household front. He's a small-business owner, too, so there was a lot of juggling going on to keep everything running smoothly. But happily, those are winding down, too. Thank goodness!

 

[Jon L]

Ah, that's the million-dollar question, isn't it? Funny to think that even the giant publishers with a ton more experience can't predict a hit. But you're still onto something. There were a few differences.

LOGISTICAL DIFFERENCES

• Timing. This is a biggie. One of my disappointments was launched right after the beginning of Kindle Unlimited, which lets readers borrow, rather than buy, books. During the earliest phase of Kindle Unlimited, long books were REALLY hosed. And then, as far as this year, my most-recent book was hurt by timing in a different way. If I'd released it a year earlier, it would've done a ton better, because it would've capitalized off my momentum in that particular series.
• Frequency. Another biggie. If you wait too long between releases, you lose momentum and visibility.

CREATIVE DIFFERENCES: But I think what you're really asking is whether or not there any writing patterns result in different results. Funny, there actually are a few patterns.

• Writing Speed. The books I wrote the fastest did the best. Probably, I took more chances, kept up the flow, didn't obsess over the little things.
• Level of Caring. Hilariously, the books I cared least about (other than financially, of course) were the ones that performed the best. My breakout book? I wrote it fast and hard, not making the slightest attempt to create good literature. My only goal was to dip my foot into the water, see if I could sell a few hundred (if I was lucky), and get a handle on the romance market. In contrast, the books I took more seriously, gave more careful consideration to the characters, etc., well, they didn't do as well. Funny, huh?
• Low-Grade Despair. This year was pretty rough in the mindset category. Thankfully, my own personal life was really nice. But other things, including events on a national and international scale, weighed me down all year long. Since this is a political-free zone, I won't go into details, but I spent much of the year really troubled and worried for the future. Even though I was able to push out three books during this timeframe, I found very little joy in it. Who knows? Maybe that somehow came through in the writing.
• Side Ventures. Oops! Almost forgot one. During this past year, we had a few real-estate things going on. These took a ton of my husband's time, which meant that more of my time was consumed by non-writing things on the family & household front. He's a small-business owner, too, so there was a lot of juggling going on to keep everything running smoothly. But happily, those are winding down, too. Thank goodness!

Awesome. Its interesting how much this applies to other businesses, too. I write custom business software, and I can see some of these same patterns with my business.

So...my thought is that there is obviously stuff you can't control, but you can use some of the other things as a check-valve. If you find yourself writing too slowly, or caring too much about detail, for example, that's an early warning sign. If you're doing the opposite, you know you should keep going in that mindset.

 

[Andy Black]

Interesting.

I thought "Write faster." just meant release books quicker.

Maybe a faster rhythm also helps create a better book? Maybe you're having more fun? Maybe that comes across somehow?


Another thought... When I was a coder my boss warned me of "creeping elegance". It's the wrong end of the 80/20. You broke the back of it on Monday and it's good to go, but you tinker with it from Tuesday to Friday.

Maybe it's not just that I'd spent a week instead of a day to release it, but maybe what I could have released on the first day was better anyway?


I'm reminded of another favourite line:

"Good things happen when you move at pace."


It's like an onion...

 

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[Liberty T. Vance]

Thanks for the rep+ @ChickenHawk

 

[MTF]

@ChickenHawk, don't worry about being unable to repeat the success of your most successful books. I think that everyone here knows you're not a one-hit wonder. I believe it takes a lot of time and many more tries than just a few to publish another hit. It's just the nature of this business for people like us (people like Tim Ferriss are the exception; their new books are pretty much always a guaranteed hit).

About 80-90% of my income comes from just one bestselling book (and most of that from the audiobook, not the ebook). I've released four books since my biggest bestseller and none of them performed even 10% as well as my biggest bestseller (in fact, most were flops). Curiously enough, I've also noticed that the more I focus on the book (I write it carefully, try to make it as perfect as possible, cover every single issue), the less copies it sells. I honestly believe that my biggest bestsellers are badly written (when compared to my new releases), but it's the sales of my new releases that sucks so there's that.

I guess that's just the way it is; you can never predict which book is going to be successful and which one is going to be a failure (despite your certainty that it's your best book yet, as it is in my case). The only solution is to keep going until you have another hit.

I'm not sure how lucrative it is in fiction, but I would strongly consider turning all of your books into audiobooks and paperbacks as well. It's always another source of income, even if it's not that much in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Andy Black]

@ChickenHawk, don't worry about being unable to repeat the success of your most successful books. I think that everyone here knows you're not a one-hit wonder. I believe it takes a lot of time and many more tries than just a few to publish another hit. It's just the nature of this business for people like us (people like Tim Ferriss are the exception; their new books are pretty much always a guaranteed hit).

About 80-90% of my income comes from just one bestselling book (and most of that from the audiobook, not the ebook). I've released four books since my biggest bestseller and none of them performed even 10% as well as my biggest bestseller (in fact, most were flops). Curiously enough, I've also noticed that the more I focus on the book (I write it carefully, try to make it as perfect as possible, cover every single issue), the less copies it sells. I honestly believe that my biggest bestsellers are badly written (when compared to my new releases), but it's the sales of my new releases that sucks so there's that.

I guess that's just the way it is; you can never predict which book is going to be successful and which one is going to be a failure (despite your certainty that it's your best book yet, as it is in my case). The only solution is to keep going until you have another hit.

I'm not sure how lucrative it is in fiction, but I would strongly consider turning all of your books into audiobooks and paperbacks as well. It's always another source of income, even if it's not that much in the grand scheme of things.

By coincidence I've literally just finished listening to Ryan Holiday's book "Growth Hacker Marketing".

Towards the end of that audio/book he talks about how he worked with Tim Ferris to help the launch of "The 4-Hour Chef".

Obviously Tim has a big fan-base to start from, but they also reached out to lots of blogs and used BitTorrent too.

Gary V promoted his AskGaryVee book long before it was launched, and until he was blue in the face.

I haven't read this thread from the beginning so might have missed this, but are you both actively promoting or marketing your newer books?

Is there any difference to how the successful ones have been marketed to how the lower performing ones were marketed?

(Sorry if dumb questions - this type of marketing is out of my lane...)

 

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[ChickenHawk]

Thanks so much, @MTF, for your encouragement and insight on this! I really appreciate it, because when I look at your progress thread, I'm always in awe of your well-earned success. It's heartening to realize that I'm not the only one who sees uneven results, along with that weird disconnect between the books we consider our "best" and the ones that are best-selling.

The only solution is to keep going until you have another hit.

This is SO true!

I'm not sure how lucrative it is in fiction, but I would strongly consider turning all of your books into audiobooks and paperbacks as well. It's always another source of income, even if it's not that much in the grand scheme of things.

Good point! I should've mentioned above that I've been doing this for the past couple of years. For me, the paperbacks and audio books represent only a small portion of my income, but it definitely helps, especially because the hardest part is writing the book. It's a nice bonus to capitalize on that work by releasing it in more forms -- so you're absolutely right!

 

[ChickenHawk]

I thought "Write faster." just meant release books quicker. Maybe a faster rhythm also helps create a better book? Maybe you're having more fun? Maybe that comes across somehow?

Great points! My mantra of "Must Write Faster" did mean to release books quicker, as you said. But it's funny to note that writing fast might actually produce a more compelling product. This is definitely food for thought!

Another thought... When I was a coder my boss warned me of "creeping elegance".

That's really thought-provoking, and hits on something. When writing, I sometimes obsess sometimes over the little things. Maybe all that obsessing is doing more harm than good, and wasting time in the process. More food for thought!

Are you both actively promoting or marketing your newer books? Is there any difference to how the successful ones have been marketed to how the lower performing ones were marketed? (Sorry if dumb questions - this type of marketing is out of my lane...)

Hah! Never a dumb question. The market has really changed in the last two years. My best-performing books had zero advertising, at least not out of the gate. (I did some advertising on them a year or so afterward though, which definitely helped my income.) In hindsight, it's actually pretty funny to realize that when I launched my breakout book, I did zero advertising, had no Facebook page, no Web site, and not even any mailing-list subscribers. Now, I have the benefit of a decent sized mailing list (4,000 subscribers), and I do a lot of Facebook advertising. A funny thing I've noticed: Some books just don't want to move, even with advertising. And some books practically sell themselves. Now, and in the future, I'll probably always advertise, and it definitely helps. I just need to write books that make advertising a better investment.

 

[MTF]

By coincidence I've literally just finished listening to Ryan Holiday's book "Growth Hacker Marketing".

Towards the end of that audio/book he talks about how he worked with Tim Ferris to help the launch of "The 4-Hour Chef".

Obviously Tim has a big fan-base to start from, but they also reached out to lots of blogs and used BitTorrent too.

Gary V promoted his AskGaryVee book long before it was launched, and until he was blue in the face.

I haven't read this thread from the beginning so might have missed this, but are you both actively promoting or marketing your newer books?

Is there any difference to how the successful ones have been marketed to how the lower performing ones were marketed?

(Sorry if dumb questions - this type of marketing is out of my lane...)

I actually promoted my most recent releases more than my bestsellers. They were still flops, while my biggest bestsellers were launched with much less advertising (and a much smaller list). I'll try a new strategy for my next release (much more noise prior to launch) and see if it makes a difference.

It's heartening to realize that I'm not the only one who sees uneven results, along with that weird disconnect between the books we consider our "best" and the ones that are best-selling.

In the end I'd rather have books that sell well than "great" books. Maybe it makes me sound like a hack, but I care much more about the business side of it than art/my feelings about my writing, etc.

 

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[ChickenHawk]

In the end I'd rather have books that sell well than "great" books. Maybe it makes me sound like a hack, but I care much more about the business side of it than art/my feelings about my writing, etc.

Funny, I feel the same way, so we're both hacks! And oddly enough, this isn't only because of the money. (Although, who am I kidding? It's definitely the primary reason.) Still, in terms of impact, it's nice to provide value/entertainment/whatever to lots of people, as opposed to just a few...or worse, only to myself.

 

[Lex DeVille]

Funny, I feel the same way, so we're both hacks!

I feel like I'm addicted to both yours and MTF's posts and every time you submit something I can't help pushing the like button.