Weekly Statistics
Week 6 = 72 Visits to www.Charles-Matthews.com (trend down), daily average = 10.3 visits
Week 7 = 70 Visits to www.Charles-Matthews.com (trend down), daily average = 2.8 visits
Yes - there has been a downward trend of traffic to the website, but it was to be expected. With all my time occupied on getting the proof completed, there wasn't a whole lot of time (on my part) trying to get the word out. I like to think of it as the quiet before the storm.
THE BOOK IS LIVE! I don't know whether to scream it from a roof top or hide in the corner. Maybe I'll scream from a corner of my roof. It was officially available on Amazon this past Wednesday, March 24th.
What I've Been Up To
As I write this, I'm gazing at some flowering trees starting to bloom just outside my window. I know that in a week's time the trees will accent the scenery like no other time of the year. The sad part is, it will only last 3 or 4 weeks tops, so in order to fully enjoy them I have to pay attention to the moment. OK. OK. I promise to stay away from writing poetry. But I am (trying to) draw an analogy here. Any new book to hit the shelves has a peak time as far as sales are concerned and that time is in the first year. So I need to get busy - fast.
This week I completed an interview with my publisher which can be viewed at SF Varney's Blog or SF Varney's Amazon Page.
Also, I managed to create an Author page established at Amazon Author Central. This will provide additional information about the author or Pinesport Divide (me) for anyone who looks up the book. There are some other advantages, but I'm still learning about the process. It will take another week for Amazon to get the page up and running.
If you are out there, please feel free to join me at my newly created Facebook Page.
As Always
If you are a fellow writer, or even a reader, please feel free to leave comments/suggestions here on the topic of Becoming An Author.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Week 5 : The Proof is in the Publishing
Weekly Statistics
Week 5 = 110 Visits to www.Charles-Matthews.com (14% decline), daily average = 15 visits
Not bad considering the book is not out yet, and I really didn't have much time to devote to website activity this week.
2nd Proof is On Its Way!
This is the behind-scene-process involved in getting a perfect looking product (at least that is the goal). There are a lot of little aspects and decisions to be made for the publishing of the book that you may not have considered. Fonts, margins, paper quality, size of book, and layout are all things for you and your publisher to consider, and they aren't necessarily easy decisions. Consider the size, for example. The book should be big enough so that your cover is marketable both in a bookstore and online. But you don't want it to be so big that it is clunky to hold. Then, there is the cost factor to consider; a smaller book equals more pages equals higher cost. For my book, we went with a compromising size of 5.25" x 8" so that the book will look nice displayed in a bookcase, but the cost will not break the bank.
My first proof looked surprisingly great; although I suppose I had nothing to base it against. Nonetheless, I am extrememly excited by the look of the book.
After buying two proof copies, I read through the book (for what felt like the zillienth time) to see if I could catch all those little grammer mistakes that have yet to expose their sneakly little selves. My mother received the privililedge of reading through the other one. Between the two of us, we managed to clean up the last of those buggers for what I hope to be a squeeky clean novel.
The book will not be turned on (i.e. released for sale) until I receive a clean looking proof, so we have ordered our second set of proofs with high expectations of going live in the next week. Very exciting!!
Lessons Learned
I found it to be an extremely huge difference editing my work on paper. I don't know exactly why this was so, but it was much easier finding problem spots. Perhaps the temptation to edit on the spot was taken away from me. Whatever the reason, it is definitly a practice I will continue in the future. In doing so, I promise to plant a couple of trees for each novel I write. ;)
Week 5 = 110 Visits to www.Charles-Matthews.com (14% decline), daily average = 15 visits
Not bad considering the book is not out yet, and I really didn't have much time to devote to website activity this week.
2nd Proof is On Its Way!
This is the behind-scene-process involved in getting a perfect looking product (at least that is the goal). There are a lot of little aspects and decisions to be made for the publishing of the book that you may not have considered. Fonts, margins, paper quality, size of book, and layout are all things for you and your publisher to consider, and they aren't necessarily easy decisions. Consider the size, for example. The book should be big enough so that your cover is marketable both in a bookstore and online. But you don't want it to be so big that it is clunky to hold. Then, there is the cost factor to consider; a smaller book equals more pages equals higher cost. For my book, we went with a compromising size of 5.25" x 8" so that the book will look nice displayed in a bookcase, but the cost will not break the bank.
My first proof looked surprisingly great; although I suppose I had nothing to base it against. Nonetheless, I am extrememly excited by the look of the book.
After buying two proof copies, I read through the book (for what felt like the zillienth time) to see if I could catch all those little grammer mistakes that have yet to expose their sneakly little selves. My mother received the privililedge of reading through the other one. Between the two of us, we managed to clean up the last of those buggers for what I hope to be a squeeky clean novel.
The book will not be turned on (i.e. released for sale) until I receive a clean looking proof, so we have ordered our second set of proofs with high expectations of going live in the next week. Very exciting!!
Lessons Learned
I found it to be an extremely huge difference editing my work on paper. I don't know exactly why this was so, but it was much easier finding problem spots. Perhaps the temptation to edit on the spot was taken away from me. Whatever the reason, it is definitly a practice I will continue in the future. In doing so, I promise to plant a couple of trees for each novel I write. ;)
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Week 4 : Time to Let Go!
Weekly Statistics:
Week 4 = 129 Visits to www.Charles-Matthews.com (unchanged), daily average = 18 visits
Like the housing market, I think I may have plateaued (there's a spelling bee killer for you). Let's hope this trend holds, and in fact begins to rise once the book is published.
BIG NEWS!!
I sold an eBook this week! Let's see, to date, that makes one. At least I won't have to hire an accountant any time soon. No worries - I'm still expecting to see some activity on the Kindle once the book is out. But I don't want to belittle this news. This is a HUGE turning point in my life, as I believe this would make me a professional. Time to update the old tax return - one can never have too many deductions!
Weekly Activity:
With most of my time focused on reviewing the Proof I received last week, I haven't had a whole lot of time to fiddle with the website, but I did make a couple of adjustments. I could tell you what they are, but then you won't have a reason to check it out. I need my visits people!!
I posted a new short story here.
My challenge now is being able to let go. To give you an example of my personality, the last TV I purchased for my home, it took me about 2 weeks, 20 store visits, and about 200 websites to make my final purchase. And that was just a TV people. This book practically screams 'JUDGE ME NOW WORLD', which is why I am now probably on my twentieth review of it. My worst fear is that I'm one of those people that auditions for American Idol who has absolutely no clue that they should not be there. But I will hand it back over to my publisher this weekend and wait for my Simon Cowell review.
Week 4 = 129 Visits to www.Charles-Matthews.com (unchanged), daily average = 18 visits
Like the housing market, I think I may have plateaued (there's a spelling bee killer for you). Let's hope this trend holds, and in fact begins to rise once the book is published.
BIG NEWS!!
I sold an eBook this week! Let's see, to date, that makes one. At least I won't have to hire an accountant any time soon. No worries - I'm still expecting to see some activity on the Kindle once the book is out. But I don't want to belittle this news. This is a HUGE turning point in my life, as I believe this would make me a professional. Time to update the old tax return - one can never have too many deductions!
Weekly Activity:
With most of my time focused on reviewing the Proof I received last week, I haven't had a whole lot of time to fiddle with the website, but I did make a couple of adjustments. I could tell you what they are, but then you won't have a reason to check it out. I need my visits people!!
I posted a new short story here.
My challenge now is being able to let go. To give you an example of my personality, the last TV I purchased for my home, it took me about 2 weeks, 20 store visits, and about 200 websites to make my final purchase. And that was just a TV people. This book practically screams 'JUDGE ME NOW WORLD', which is why I am now probably on my twentieth review of it. My worst fear is that I'm one of those people that auditions for American Idol who has absolutely no clue that they should not be there. But I will hand it back over to my publisher this weekend and wait for my Simon Cowell review.
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