I published Infinite Vampire I: BLOOD 4 LIFE on May 7, 2017.
I told about 15k people about it, and had 150 people buy the book! (1%). As of this writing, approximately five weeks after publishing, BLOOD 4 LIFE has 33 reviews and an average rating of 4.8 stars. Next week I’ll be publishing the sequel, Infinite Vampire II: QUEEN’S GAMBIT, and I’m very excited.
Each new book–and all the effort put into the launch and marketing–helps boost the first book.
So far, any income generated has paled in comparison to the money spent on actually making professional books, let alone marketing them. So if you’re wondering how financially successful I’ve been, the answer is me sighing and taking another sip of my coffee. I’d have to sell about 15,000 books just to break even with what I’ve spent so far.
But that’s not how I’m judging success. After all, if I wanted to make a quick buck, trying to launch a career as a science fiction and fantasy author would be a poor choice of a money-making vehicle.
My goals are as follows:
- Introduce myself to the scene with work I’m proud of–with work that stands up to the pros
- Connect with my audience and give them something special and new
- Release a solid series of books and claim a piece of author street-cred
- Field test my author platform and my marketing strategies
Making money isn’t on there. That said, I DO need to make money, but I’m hoping that accomplishing these goals will put enough cash in my pocket to get by. Until then, I’ll continue to live off savings, dried beans (beans are cheap), and the weekly specials at the local grocery.
I will tell a secret though: I’m nervous about QUEEN’S GAMBIT and the response it will get. It’s very different from the first book in the series, and I’ve read that changing up a style mid-series is a recipe for disaster. In the story of the series, the different style makes perfect sense. That said, I dread the reviewer that buys it without reading the description and is disappointed. An early negative rating can really hurt a book, so I’ve got my fingers crossed the book will only pleasantly surprise my readers.
I guess we’ll see.
I’m at my local coffee shop right now, listening to some new Lorde music and drinking delicious locally roasted coffee. When I’m done here, there’s much more to do back in the home office. Today I’m fixing some formatting issues in the print edition of SOPHIA’S JOURNAL, preparing for the audio version of SJ, and starting the first of three proofreads of book 3, MAELSTROM.
Oh, and I need to download all the images from this weekend’s adventures in Charlotte, NC where I attended HeroesCon; I’ve got some social media posting to do!