Friday, October 29, 2010

FTF Kindle report card


This graph represents Fairy Tale Fail's sales figures on the Amazon Kindle Store in its first six months. It's not at all at the level of quitting my day job, but for an indie publishing experiment you can probably see why I'm excited. I don't know what accounts for the spike, but my theories:

- Changing the price from $1.89 to $0.99
- Tina at One More Page's review
- Joining Goodreads and the Goodreads Filipino group
- Amazon reviews from Laura and Vicki Tyley
- Amazon UK's Kindle Store opening in August (but based on figures, this isn't significantly the cause)
- Releasing a more expensive paperback ($7.99) drove people to purchase the ebook
- Amazon's recommendations algorithm

Maybe it's a combination of all of the above, only Amazon really knows, but this makes me want to release that next book project now. There just might be a market for it after all!

BTW - for FTF's early adopters who purchased at $1.89, you will be getting the next ebook project free from me. Working on it now. :)

Monday, October 25, 2010

Fairy Tale Fail paperback live in Manila - another experiment

A small batch of Fairy Tale Fail paperbacks are now here in Manila, and for sale.

Price: P350.00
Pickup point: Salcedo St, Makati City.
Email minavesguerra[at]gmail[dot]com for details and other possible pickup points. :)

The batch is small because, frankly, as a reader I am a cheapskate and I rarely pay P350.00 for books nowadays. I'm not sure how many people would buy it at this price when it's already on Smashwords and the Amazon Kindle Store for less than P100 or P200 (depending on your format preference).

But I was told that people love paper, let's see...

If you purchase the paperback, you will also get:
1. A free copy of the ebook version
2. A free copy of my next ebook (when it comes out)

If you've already ordered the paperback from Amazon, email me at minavesguerra[at]gmail[dot]com and tell me -- so you can still get the free future ebook. :)

Monday, October 4, 2010

Getting Pinoys back on more reading lists

There's some interesting talk going on at different Filipino book blogs about local publishing, genres, marketing books via social media, and then some. Jump in via Tina's post at One More Page and follow the links like breadcrumbs.

Their topics are things that have been floating around in my head for a while, especially in the past year or so, since I was first published, and since I started deliberately reading more work by Filipino authors. Others are finding it difficult to start the reading bit, because of a lack of variety in genres that interest them.

That's true in my case too -- I've read one generational epic (about oppressive landowners and oppressed workers and Martial Law and People Power), one drama about the immigrant experience and family, two classics about all our social ills, and the very modern-meta take on it all which won the Man Asian... so now I feel I've come full circle, and any books I find that are about any of those topics I wouldn't read unless highly recommended.

I do like contemporary lit though, and the way it's emerging in local publishing is via chick lit. I've voted with my wallet, and they seem to be coming out with more of it, so it's not just me telling people to read this stuff. (I also LOVE ZsaZsa Zaturnnah and Trese to bits -- buy them!)

In terms of new material, I do hope publishers explore this more. Like YA, which is the "gateway drug" for so many young readers (me included), and I've read a number of short stories that could have been their own cool Pinoy YA novel if someone just pushed and demanded more from the author.

For writers who encounter some resistance, please consider publishing for the Kindle. It's work (on top of the work of actually writing the thing, I know), but getting it out there is such a wonderful learning experience. If you believe in your story that much, then give me the chance to "sample" it! And by all means, find a way to promote it online, via book blogs and online groups. Summit Books did such a great job marketing My Imaginary Ex when it came out, but it's been a year, and if I get any new sales at all I believe it's because of the community of readers who talk about it online. They're a force!