Coffee and a treat? Is there a better way to celebrate the release of my latest book? The Van Helsing Paradox has finally wound its way through various channels and is now available on multiple platforms for free!
Explore a hunter’s origins, as a child born before the dawn of the twentieth century. Witness her rigorous training, how she faces adversity, and fights in the Great War to become the derringer wielding flapper she is.
Throughout her tale, keep in mind that no matter the threat, a gal has to look out for herself after all.
I occasionally check Amazon, Smashwords, and Goodreads for new ratings and statistics, although I do avoid making it a habit. Yesterday, I was looking on Amazon and noticed that my rankings had improved. How? I have no clue, but its never been better!
Ranking on Amazon as of 15 Oct 17
There was also a positive review waiting for me, which is always nice. Perhaps I am generating some interest? Not bad since I cannot spend much time advertising my work.
Review made on Amazon on 14 Oct 17
This should help offset the bad review I got a month or so back. Perhaps in time the positives will outweigh the negatives!
The Grand has been officially out for about a week now. I posted the announcement was on my social networking accounts along with a few groups. This release also enabled me to dabble with some advertising campaigns on Amazon, Facebook and Fiverr, to gain some insight with the tools.
Since The Grand has been officially out, almost 400 copies of the book have been downloaded on both Smashwords and Amazon! The book is seeing much more traffic than The Portrait, which I expected since this is a new release.
Of note, 100 copies of the book were downloaded before the official release. The Grand has been available for almost a month of certain sites, enabling me to widen availability and make it free on every site before release. Despite there being no involvement on my part, the book was being downloaded regularly on sites where the book was free.
Another interesting anomaly The Grand was ranked at 7,861 (266 for Horror) on Amazon the day after it was released. Currently it is ranked at 16,518 (435 for Horror) even with a noticeable spike generated by an ad campaign setup through Fiverr. There seems to be no real correlation between ranking and downloads.
I’m also a bit curious as to why it is ranked under Gothic and Fantasy Romance on Amazon. Although I have a feeling the answer would blow my mind!
Even things that go bump in the night need a place to unwind
The Grand is officially out and available on multiple platforms, formats and even in print! From Amazon to Smashwords the eBook is freely available for your delight. So time to celebrate? At least get to enjoy the doughnut!
The Grand shown in multiple formats, including print
Now for a little something about the Grand.
Nestled atop a cliff overlooking a cursed valley and surrounded by foreboding mountains you will find The Grand. At this ritzy French palatial-style hotel where things tend to go terribly wrong for some. This hotel is not only for the rich and famous but a favoured destination for things that go bump in the night.
The Grand is a collection of Gothic horror stories that revolve around a town prosecutor who accidentally discovers a series of grizzly case files. Individual stories incorporate supernatural themes based in the Roaring Twenties to create a rich historical, linguistic and cultural backdrop.
Centred on victims of the Grand, each story brings a different point of view related to the hotel, their staff and esteemed guests.
Its been a good week for the Portait! A work which was released a little over a year ago.
On Smashwords the novel broke two-hundred (200) downloads, a definitive sign that even after a year listed the novel still generates some interest. In itself this is impressive, given that I spend very little time trying to advertise the work.
In other news, with the help of Moran Media the design got a makeover and its design was accepted by CreateSpace. Hence the Portrait is now available in print!
Unlike the Portrait of a Woman, this version is available in black and white. This change radically drops the book’s price; previous versions sold for close to 30$ USD whereas this one sells for under 7$ USD.
Additional distribution centres were not selected, since that would increase the base price of the book. I suppose if there were ever a demand to open up those channels I may consider it. Until then, better to make it affordable!
I was making sure that all of my storefront links to the Portrait were valid, when I noticed that my novel had reached 150 downloads on Smashwords. Well it is 151 because I was rather late in noticing the milestone.
My decision to target Smashwords seems to have been a good one. Here are some reasons why:
Smashwords has enabled me to target other sites such as Kobo, iBooks, Scribd and Barnes and Nobel without creating individual accounts.
Smashwords has a user community of its own and have left more comments than any other.
Smashwords has not buried my book under tons of new material. I still get views, even if the downloads have waned. I have to be realistic, pushing people to view and download a book can be a full-time job all by itself!
Last 30 Days of Statistics for the Portrait Page ViewsLast 30 Days of Statistics for the Portrait Downloads
While this is an achievement (albeit a minor one), I did not feel it was worth the effort or calorie intake to make a full-sized frosted cake. I will save that type of indulgence for later!
I am rather negligent when it comes to looking up my book on sites to see if someone has read the book and left a review. While Smashwords had a strong initial trend of views and downloads, it has since slowed down.
Screen capture of the original review and rating on Smashwords.
That is to be expected, since The Portrait has been out a while and I do not actively push the content. However, it has yielded some reviews over time and I came across this one today!
Any review that says the reader will grab my next book is a great news for me. So I thought it would be nice to share!
In February of this year, I released The Portrait. During its previous incarnation as The Portrait of a Woman, it saw little traffic and activity graphs conjured up images of a patient flatlining.
At least my decision to move away from Amazon‘s Kindle Direct Publishing sphere of influence and branch out into additional markets has breathed life into the project. On Smashwords, the novel has broken a hundred downloads (was 118 when I posted) and still sees daily views.
Last 30 Days of Statistics for The Portrait.
While downloads may be waning on the graphs, I prefer to not make draw any definite conclusions. The book is available through considerably more markets and is free! After all, what is the value of a novel if you cannot actually sell it?
Smashwords has also been wonderful in delivering my eBook to other markets. True you may have more control if you do it yourself, however for free novels this I feel this feature is invaluable.
Coffee and a treat? Is there a better way to celebrate the release of my latest book? The Van Helsing Paradox has finally wound its way through various channels and is now available on multiple platforms for free!
