I’d like to thank everyone who sent feedback, tweeted about and downloaded my book yesterday. I think by most accounts it was a pretty successful first day for a new book from an unknown author, so I’m very grateful for all the stars and hearts. Thank you. In case you missed it and have no idea what I’m talking about, here’s the launch post.
For the curious, I sold about 60 copies on Amazon yesterday from the US, Canada and the UK. For those who couldn’t find it in their region from the Amazon.com link, there should be a box on the right of the page with a link to your region. On Wattpad, my first chapter had over 50 reads on its first day, which is not too shabby for someone with no followers and no previous experience on that platform. Fun! I’ll have a new chapter up about the time I post this.
A friend posted a link to /r/scifi last night and that drove a few hundred people through here. Last night, I had nearly 1000 impressions on my blog and several hundred click-throughs to my Amazon book page. Several people were holding out for the epub version, so rest-assured, I’ll be setting that up very soon.
Now my main goal is figuring out my communications strategy. I think all of my primary messaging is going to continue through this blog. It’s easy and I get all the metrics that way. I may use my tumblr for secondary postings, random internet finds and animated gif reblogs – basically the same as I do now. It’s a handy backup with a convenient interface, but I get no data from it so it’s less useful.
I’m not ruling out doing some actual marketing at some point in the future, but right now I’m keeping it 100% grass roots and word-of-mouth, just to see how far it can go. If you’re a reader and like what you’ve read, reviews, stars and votes will really help me out, especially in these early stages. Referrals, recommendations and reblogs/tweets are hugely important. Also, since Christmas is coming up, if you know a reader of science fiction, preloading this on a Kindle makes a great gift. #justsayin! (santa.gif)
onwards!