Wow, has it really been one month since The Blue Man was published? What a ride these past four and a half weeks have been! Let’s look at all things good and all things bigger-picture. Book marketing is an ongoing learning journey for me, so let me share the highlights and things I’ve learned along the way.
Author interview in Jaffa Reads Too
You can read my latest author interview, hosted by Jo, on Jaffa Reads Too. It’s a fun interview styled as an author picnic, and was fun to answer. Thanks to Jo for having me on her site. A forthcoming review of The Blue Man will be appearing on Jaffa Reads Too – more on that when it happens.
Bargain Booksy promotion
My book is featured today on Bargain Booksy under literary bargains. Last month on release day it was featured under horror. The difference? The Blue Man is both: ghost horror and literary fiction. The difference in sales? Literary fiction ads seem to work better for me, probably because there’s a bigger readership on Bargain Booksy than horror, so maybe it’s reaching more readers. I’m not sure, just guessing.
Making the Top 10 in Amazon’s Hot New Releases chart for Ghost Horror
My insomnia really paid off as I awoke in time to see my book at #10 on Amazon’s Top 100 Hot New Releases for Ghost Horror on 26th August, the highest ranking I’d reached. The chart updates hourly, so even by lunchtime, I’d moved to twelfth place. However, I stayed within the Top 100 for an entire month, an achievement I’m proud of. By the end of the month I was at #66 by the time I disappeared off the list, no longer a new release. The ‘newborn’phase is only for one month.
Reaching #55 on Amazon’s Top 100 Horror chart too
I also made it onto Amazon’s general horror chart, reaching #55. Considering what a broad category this is, encompassing countless tens of thousands of new horror books, this was another celebration-worthy achievement. I only landed on this list for one day, but I was up alongside some best sellers in horror that I love, so that was a great moment too.
Not to mention #190 for Ghost Horror in the Best Sellers Rank!
The more niche your book category on Amazon, the higher you can reach on the sales ranking. For example, my poetry collection, A Model Archaeologist reached as high as 27 in British and Irish poetry. However, Ghost horror is a relatively broad area, as horror generally is quite popular. Reaching 190 out of how many thousands of books out there was a happy moment for sure.
One month publishing summary: advertisements and sales
Amazon sponsored ads have been my biggest driver of sales for this book, which is different from The Buddha’s Bone which saw most sales through Bargain Booksy. Overall though, same as with The Buddha’s Bone, my hardcovers are selling the best through Ingramspark, with eBooks second and paperbacks third. I have no insider bookselling knowledge, so I can’t say why this is the case – maybe some of those hardcover sales were bought as library listings, as they were nearly all in the US?
The importance of reviews for new books and Indie authors
As any author knows, reviews help readers to find books, and I’m happy that readers and book bloggers have posted on Goodreads and Amazon. So if you’re one of the readers who has left a review for my book, thank you as your feedback matters. I read every review and value your thoughts!
Leilanie Stewart 