Joker
Last Thursday, Protecting Bedlam came to an end on this blog. The summer into fall adventure of Cassidy and Lloyd didn’t really net much in terms of sales. Still, a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who read to the end, are still reading to the end, bought one of the previous adventures, and reblogged. I really appreciate that since this is a project I love writing, but seem to get little back for in terms of response.
This brings up the question of what to do next. I would normally be publishing Derailing Bedlam in February since it’s written and only needs to be edited and given a cover. Yet, this isn’t cheap and money is getting tight. 2018 will see the start of a new series and the stand alone from Legends of Windemere. Bedlam is in a category where people love the idea, talk about it when it’s on the blog, and then nothing happens in terms of sales to justify putting money behind it. Maybe I can just pay for the cover and do all free publishing. The problem there is that I such a thing would involve a lot of guest posts, but I’ll be having the first War of Nytefall book coming out in April and it might be too soon to be guest so close together.
I’m also trying to think about the pricing. Crossing Bedlam and Chasing Bedlam are 99 cents each. Do I keep that going or raise the sequel to $2.99? What if I do a third one?
Anyway, I’d be happy to hear what people think. I know I should be confident and publish my finished projects like many authors do. Yet, this is becoming an issue of funds and the previous books getting very little traction. So, what do people think?
Legends of Windemere 
Reblogged this on O LADO ESCURO DA LUA.
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Thanks for the reblog
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No comments??? I guess people don’t like giving career advice. I have no idea either. Enhanced League was 99¢, The Hat and Estivation will be 99¢. I don’t think it has anything to do with price these days. It’s all about finding an audience to target. In my case, I would be better off to stick to one genre and work on building that specific audience. That doesn’t work for me, as I like many things and want to play there. I think I would be content at this point to recover the cost of cover and Lisa art. I’m still building with Lisa and won’t abandon that project. It may be one of the few things I’ve done right, but it’s a long game.
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Starting to wonder about the genre too. Yet even fantasy is having trouble for me. It isn’t even career advice here since it’s Bedlam specific. I’m publishing the other series, but I wonder if this is a dead horse. People liked the blog story. Can’t do it again though.
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I enjoyed Protecting Bedlam and I’m planning on buying the other two soon, something I wouldn’t have imagined doing when I started reading it. I know that doesn’t help you decide what to do.
Maybe come up with a cover you could do yourself? I’ve seen some authors who just change the main color of the cover from book to book.
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That’s a possibility. Though I’ve no idea how to do it or make a new title. Talking to the cover artist, it was suggested I use 2018 to focus on the new series. Technically, I did 2 Bedlam stories this year.
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I would definitely publish Protecting as both a stand-alone book and as part of a trilogy. Then, I’d price them at 99c, $1.99, and $2.99 respectively, while I’d price the trilogy at $3.99.
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Except it isn’t really a trilogy and Protecting might not be full canon. Either way, I can’t afford the cover art and marketing to do it next year. That and I still don’t know if it would work to put Protecting as a stand-alone since it’s on the blog. Maybe add it to a future bundle, but charging for something I’ve given for free doesn’t seem like it would work in my favor.
Do $1.99 books work? I remember that being a dead pricing a year or two ago.
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I think it’s more a case of authors avoiding it because it has a 30% return, so few books are priced there. That’s reflected in the Howey/Data Guy stats.
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That may be. Though I do remember I was around 4 years ago when Smashwords did a study. There was just something about $1.99 books that made them sell less than the others. It wasn’t a deal like 99 cents and it didn’t catch the eye like $2.99/3.99. Almost like it was too cheap to be seen as good quality, but too expensive to take a risk. Soon after the report came out, the number of $1.99 pricings went down. I remember getting into a few debates then because I was trying to decide on the pricing for my third Windemere book and the report got brought up every time. Currently, it could be the return issue, but I think there’s this other underlying issue.
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Here’s an article that mentions it:
https://gigaom.com/2013/05/09/whats-the-best-price-for-a-self-published-ebook-3-99-smashwords-research-suggests/
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Thanks! I’ve been using $1.99 for my short stories collections, after having them at $2.99 for a while. Can’t say I’ve noticed any significant difference. When I advertise, I sell, no matter what the price. $2.99 has a nicer profit margin, of course.
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Amount of advertising probably changes things since quality concerns are a big factor. Those with low quality tend to not do a big professional push. I think most indies depend a lot more on free social media these days since sales are harder to come by all around, which hits the less stable price markets harder. Again, it can probably be off-set by a good promo push, which I wouldn’t have the money for unless I hamper one of my big series. As much fun as Bedlam is, it’s really a side project that I enjoy sharing.
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I swear at AMS, although it can be a hit-or-miss affair. Regardless, thanks for sharing Bedlam with us 🙂
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Blanking on AMS. American Missile System? Alabama Men’s Society? All Macaroons Suck?
You’re welcome. Right now, I’m considering doing a double-header book that contains Protecting Bedlam and Derailing Bedlam. Again, it just feels off to give a book away for free than delete and charge for it. Though i could keep it here if I don’t go KDP Select.
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Amazon Marketing Service. Although now I want a macaroon.
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Never been a fan of them. Too dry and never hit the spot. Same with the macaroons.
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😀
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