tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5142930702674170471.post7224084853597785633..comments2023-02-21T00:26:51.051-08:00Comments on Why Isn't My Book Selling?: Malice: A Supernatural ThrillerVictorinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06052077366367623323noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5142930702674170471.post-28260109414465196212012-06-06T12:53:06.370-07:002012-06-06T12:53:06.370-07:00Great point. That's exactly what I'll do. ...Great point. That's exactly what I'll do. Thanks Victorine!Griffin Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15714245710245191478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5142930702674170471.post-69016726329797290522012-06-06T08:19:42.838-07:002012-06-06T08:19:42.838-07:00I do like the cover, but it is possible it is tell...I do like the cover, but it is possible it is telling people "Horror" when that's not exactly what the book is. It wouldn't be too terrible to change to a different cover, one that says "Thriller" instead, and then see how sales go. You can always change it back if you want.Victorinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06052077366367623323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5142930702674170471.post-32353381051217818072012-06-06T07:33:55.035-07:002012-06-06T07:33:55.035-07:00Hi thank you for your comment. Lots of self-publis...Hi thank you for your comment. Lots of self-published books are priced at $2.99 and many of them aren't very good, so maybe this is why. You're certainly not the only one to suggest bumping up the price. I've tweaked the book description as some have suggested here. In addition I'm re-editing parts of the book to address issues some have raised and when all that's done, I'll definitely be bumping up the price. <br /><br />The one question I have, for any of you who are still reading this, relates to Anonymous' statement above: <br />"The cover is definitely NOT the problem, it's amazing - and if this were my preferred genre I would buy the book just because of it."<br /><br />The problem I suspected Malice was having is that the cover says "HORROR" while the audience I'm aiming for is more supernatural thriller. Some people on blogs have commented that they find the cover too disturbing or scary which is why I've wondered if it alienates the intended audience (yes the book is a bit scary, but also has lots of mystery etc.). Anyway, I'd love to hear people's thoughts on this. <br /><br />Really appreciate all the great comments!Griffin Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15714245710245191478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5142930702674170471.post-38537027822332345752012-05-30T13:52:15.812-07:002012-05-30T13:52:15.812-07:00The cover is definitely NOT the problem, it's ...The cover is definitely NOT the problem, it's amazing - and if this were my preferred genre I would buy the book just because of it. <br /><br />There is something about the $2.99 price as a reader (I'm no writer) that does turn me away. A $.99 is a quick guilty pleasure read, if it is terrible, it wasn't even $1. A higher priced items gives me the feeling of quality. $2.99 is kind of like, eh, must not be that great, so it's not worth my $3 bucks. I have no idea why I think that way about $2.99 books.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5142930702674170471.post-84249220021794614152012-04-30T08:34:12.856-07:002012-04-30T08:34:12.856-07:00Thank you for all your great comments! I'd toy...Thank you for all your great comments! I'd toyed with changing the cover since I felt it was too horror rather than supernatural thriller, but I'll hold off for now. Thanks!Griffin Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15714245710245191478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5142930702674170471.post-68024472728135184412012-04-24T04:56:57.001-07:002012-04-24T04:56:57.001-07:00The cover is great the way it is and the blurb is ...The cover is great the way it is and the blurb is pretty good. <br />However, when I read the blurb, I was immediately reminded of Jude Deveraux's Wild Orchids. It's romantic suspense and not horror thriller, but the premise is very similar. <br /><br />The opening is a bit choppy for me. It takes away the menace of the stranger's presence. I prefer something smoother, slicker, like evil seeping into the room. Not that I read that sort of thing, but if I did, I'd want to be scared right off and I'm not. It doesn't take much to scare me and the fear just wasn't there.<br /><br />Frankly, I think you're selling very well.Margarethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04832055618604176686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5142930702674170471.post-39330477979044102132012-04-23T19:42:09.954-07:002012-04-23T19:42:09.954-07:00I wouldn't change anything, personally, except...I wouldn't change anything, personally, except maybe raise the price to 4.99 or 5.99. Then go write the next book. The cover, blurb, and sample are all really good. It may be this book will sell better at a higher price (it looks good enough to warrant it) and it can't hurt to have more books out to propel visibility of your name.Annie Bellethttp://www.overactive.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5142930702674170471.post-17171094610398300562012-04-23T12:42:16.317-07:002012-04-23T12:42:16.317-07:00If you experiment with the price, experiment with ...If you experiment with the price, experiment with raising it, too. I'd suggest trying $3.99 or even $4.99 for a while. I put mine to $4.99, gave it one free day at that price, and then proceeded to sell as many copies in the next few weeks at that price as I had at $3.50. You have to sell ten copies at .99 to be worth as much to you as one copy at $4.99, so unless you can get ten times as many readers at that price, it's not necessarily worth much. <br /><br />On your real blurb (the one at Amazon), I'd suggest getting rid of some of the quotes at the top. Personally, as soon as I start to read gushing praise, I stop reading. I wouldn't even have made it to the product description. <br /><br />And lastly, 400-500 sales over six months actually sounds pretty good. Dean Wesley Smith suggests somewhere that 100 copies/year for a first book by a self-published author is a reasonable number. To me, the cover, blurb (as shown here, not the one on Amazon), and first few hundred words look really good. I'd keep writing, keep publishing, and not worry too much about sales. Just count on that number growing over time.Sarah Wyndehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02208314684112329427noreply@blogger.com