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tchaibov
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Woke up this mornin to find Sugar & Spice had bumped two of Stieg Larsson's international best-sellers to make the coveted top five on Amazon Kindle. Yes, a youwriteon novel is now the fifth best-selling e-book in the UK! And it got there on its own, WITHOUT a single penny of advertising and hype from the big publishing houses to promote it. To all those out there tempted to try the e-pub route but who think your work's not quite good enough, because you can't even get the top ten on youwriteon, consider this: The highest S&S ever got in the youwriteon charts was number fourteen! Be inspired! It can be done!
Don't get left behind by the e-publishing revolution.
There's never been a more exciting time to be a writer!http://www.markwilliamsinternational.com
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Sammy
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Impressive stuff, but how much work did it take to push it up the charts? I'm not saying the book isn't succeeding on its own merits, but, as someone considering putting a book up on Kindle, I'm interested in what you did to promote it...aside from all the posts on here, of course! We all know that it isn't enough for a book to be good these days, it takes more. Enquiring minds want to know? x
'Stay away from your potential. It's like your bank balance. There's never as much of it as you think.'
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winton
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Huge congrats, Mark! Keep rolling up there! Tom Quote: tchaibov, Friday, 11 Mar 2011 08:45Woke up this mornin to find Sugar & Spice had bumped two of Stieg Larsson's international best-sellers to make the coveted top five on Amazon Kindle. Yes, a youwriteon novel is now the fifth best-selling e-book in the UK! And it got there on its own, WITHOUT a single penny of advertising and hype from the big publishing houses to promote it. To all those out there tempted to try the e-pub route but who think your work's not quite good enough, because you can't even get the top ten on youwriteon, consider this: The highest S&S ever got in the youwriteon charts was number fourteen! Be inspired! It can be done!
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tchaibov
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Quote: Sammy, Friday, 11 Mar 2011 09:35Impressive stuff, but how much work did it take to push it up the charts? I'm not saying the book isn't succeeding on its own merits, but, as someone considering putting a book up on Kindle, I'm interested in what you did to promote it...aside from all the posts on here, of course! We all know that it isn't enough for a book to be good these days, it takes more. Enquiring minds want to know? x Web-site, blogs, facebook, twitter, you name it! But no more than anyone else could do. Our only real expenditure has been the domain name and the cover. We put Sugar & Spice on Kindle in November and totally missed the Christmas trade because no-one knew it was there. It takes a good month or two to get the word out and for the reviews to roll in. But then it's just a matter making the most of what we have available to us and taking advantage of word-of-mouth e-links and the speed in which news can travel. We (my co-author Saffy and I) regularly feature other indie published works on our blogs and in doing so reach out to their contacts as we go. (To all who have books on Kindle - let us know and we'll try feature them in the future!) In the new world of e-publishing it's no longer dog-eat-dog. Just the opposite! The more we help others the more we help ourselves. Every link and pingback adds to our web-presence and builds up the profile. Once you get into the top hundred overall, or in the top twenty (first page) on your genre-specific list, then it builds its own momentum. And unquestionably the more you sell, the more you sell! New Kindle readers looking for new writers quite naturally look to the top of the charts and buy what's hot. And one really hot tip: choose a UNIQUE pen-name to write under. Google Mark Williams and a zillion different entries show up. However, google Saffina Desforges and up comes the website, the blogs, the Amazon links, etc, etc.
Don't get left behind by the e-publishing revolution.
There's never been a more exciting time to be a writer!http://www.markwilliamsinternational.com
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Sammy
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Interesting stuff. And here's the biggie - if a publisher wanted to sign you now, what would you do? Bite their hand off or continue going it alone? x
'Stay away from your potential. It's like your bank balance. There's never as much of it as you think.'
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tchaibov
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Quote: Sammy, Friday, 11 Mar 2011 14:51Interesting stuff. And here's the biggie - if a publisher wanted to sign you now, what would you do? Bite their hand off or continue going it alone? x Sure, we'd love to see Sugar & Spice on a plinth in Waterstone's, and three months ago we would not have hesitated. No question. But now... Now it would have to be a remarkably good deal to hand over our independence. While the royalties may be small (35% of 71p is not a lot) the sheer volume of sales now makes it financially lucrative, and we are not beholden to an agent or editor as to what we do next. No disrespect to any of the other writers in the top twenty on Kindle, but they are all previously published authors with an established track record. Late last year Saffina Desforges was a completely unknown writing name and Sugar & Spice an unknown work on youwriteon. Now we are confidently planning the e-release of our next three books and various other projects, secure in the knowledge it can be done. Yes, we'd love to have a dead-tree version out there for the many prospective readers who will never progress to e-books, but at this stage it would have to be one hell of an offer to see any hand-biting!
Don't get left behind by the e-publishing revolution.
There's never been a more exciting time to be a writer!http://www.markwilliamsinternational.com
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LauraSmith
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Top five...OMG Mark...you are a great bloke and thoroughly deserve it!
Hope you make it to number ONE!
Laura
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Sammy
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Quote: tchaibov, Friday, 11 Mar 2011 15:35Quote: Sammy, Friday, 11 Mar 2011 14:51Interesting stuff. And here's the biggie - if a publisher wanted to sign you now, what would you do? Bite their hand off or continue going it alone? x Sure, we'd love to see Sugar & Spice on a plinth in Waterstone's, and three months ago we would not have hesitated. No question. But now... Now it would have to be a remarkably good deal to hand over our independence. While the royalties may be small (35% of 71p is not a lot) the sheer volume of sales now makes it financially lucrative, and we are not beholden to an agent or editor as to what we do next. No disrespect to any of the other writers in the top twenty on Kindle, but they are all previously published authors with an established track record. Late last year Saffina Desforges was a completely unknown writing name and Sugar & Spice an unknown work on youwriteon. Now we are confidently planning the e-release of our next three books and various other projects, secure in the knowledge it can be done. Yes, we'd love to have a dead-tree version out there for the many prospective readers who will never progress to e-books, but at this stage it would have to be one hell of an offer to see any hand-biting! You're giving me hope and inspiration. Keep it up. x
'Stay away from your potential. It's like your bank balance. There's never as much of it as you think.'
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tchaibov
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Quote: Sammy, Friday, 11 Mar 2011 17:10Quote: tchaibov, Friday, 11 Mar 2011 15:35Quote: Sammy, Friday, 11 Mar 2011 14:51Interesting stuff. And here's the biggie - if a publisher wanted to sign you now, what would you do? Bite their hand off or continue going it alone? x Sure, we'd love to see Sugar & Spice on a plinth in Waterstone's, and three months ago we would not have hesitated. No question. But now... Now it would have to be a remarkably good deal to hand over our independence. While the royalties may be small (35% of 71p is not a lot) the sheer volume of sales now makes it financially lucrative, and we are not beholden to an agent or editor as to what we do next. No disrespect to any of the other writers in the top twenty on Kindle, but they are all previously published authors with an established track record. Late last year Saffina Desforges was a completely unknown writing name and Sugar & Spice an unknown work on youwriteon. Now we are confidently planning the e-release of our next three books and various other projects, secure in the knowledge it can be done. Yes, we'd love to have a dead-tree version out there for the many prospective readers who will never progress to e-books, but at this stage it would have to be one hell of an offer to see any hand-biting! You're giving me hope and inspiration. Keep it up. x As an example of how the book is now selling itself, consider this review just in on the Amazon US Kindle site (despite reviewer's location!): 5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read, March 11, 2011
By Cormac Mac "Crime king" (London)
This review is from: Sugar & Spice (A full-length crime thriller) (Kindle Edition)
Highly recommended by crime writer, Sam Millar, I wasn't disappointed with this excellent and neat little thriller. Very dark and and somewhat creepy, it's the perfect companion for the train journey home.
Highly recommended by crime writer Sam Millar??!!! Bloody hell! We had NO idea Ireland's top crime writer even knew our novel existed, let alone had read it and was spreading the word!
Don't get left behind by the e-publishing revolution.
There's never been a more exciting time to be a writer!http://www.markwilliamsinternational.com
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pam123writing
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Well done to you and Saffina. It's a great read. I just spotted my Three Steps to Heaven at #37 in Womens Fiction on Kindle, rubbing shoulders with Erica James and Jodie Picoult. No advertising apart from on the Kindle Forums. I'm delighted. 
Three Steps to Heaven 'Til I Kissed You Always On My Mind A rock'n'roll romance series by Pam Howes all available on Amazon in paperback and e-Books. Visit my website for details. Fast Movin' Train - A stand alone love story. Amazon links on: website"And, in the end, the love you take / Is equal to the love you make." Lennon and McCartney 1969
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youwriteon novel hits Amazon Kindle top five!
11 Mar 2011, 08:45
