For those who don’t already know, I self-published my novel. When I started this blog, my intention was to share the ups and downs with my readers. If you’ve read my post on the cost of self-publication, then you know I don’t account for every expense. Nor do I expect to make a fortune. My financial goal has always been to make back what I’ve spent out of pocket so I could spend it on the next one.

Recently, someone asked me how it felt being a “published author” and what I was planning on doing with my “buckets of money”. I feel it should be put somewhere on my permanent record that I kept my snarky-self under control, and I didn’t throat punch them. Rather than assault, I said that I loved my book being available for people to read and hopefully love my characters as much as I do, and that when I earn buckets of money I’ll let them know what I plan on doing with it. Then the person told me that they looked my book up on Amazon and felt my price was too high and would I be willing to give them a copy? Really?

It has been thirty days since Golden Opportunity went live, via self-publication at Amazon. I thought I would share with you all the sales and “buckets of money” I’ve made in the last thirty days. Are you ready?

date ebook/paid paperback KENP pages ebook/free
12-Sep 0 0 0 0
13-Sep 3 1 128 0
14-Sep 2 1 161 0
15-Sep 3 1 110 0
16-Sep 0 0 404 0
17-Sep 0 0 0 0
18-Sep 0 0 0 0
19-Sep 0 0 0 0
20-Sep 0 0 0 0
21-Sep 0 0 424 39
22-Sep 0 0 0 25
23-Sep 0 0 0 48
24-Sep 0 0 0 49
25-Sep 0 0 0 25
26-Sep 0 0 0 1
27-Sep 0 0 0 0
28-Sep 0 0 14 0
29-Sep 0 0 0 0
30-Sep 0 0 152 0
1-Oct 0 0 75 0
2-Oct 0 0 72 0
3-Oct 0 0 90 0
4-Oct 0 0 577 0
5-Oct 0 0 0 0
6-Oct 0 0 354 0
7-Oct 1 0 0 0
8-Oct 0 0 0 0
9-Oct 0 0 219 0
10-Oct 0 0 254 0
11-Oct 0 1 0 0
12-Oct 0 0 0 0
Totals 9 4 3034 187
Royalties 25.76 * 12.40 13.65 ** 0 *** 51.81

 

There are my buckets of money. $51.81 is what my book made in its first thirty days. I’m happy with what it’s done so far. I haven’t advertised because I can’t afford it right now. Maybe after book two is ready advertising will be a little less of a financial burden. Right now, I’m more focused on things like utilities, groceries, and the holidays.

I did change my price from $4.99 for the ebook to $2.99, but I refuse to lower the print version from its current price. I think $9.99 is not too much to pay for a physical book by any author, and really what’s $9.99 in the grand scheme of life? You can’t buy a ticket to a movie for less than ten dollars at most movie theaters anymore, you could get a couple of drinks from your local Starbucks, or a meal at a fast food restaurant. Me? I’d rather cook at home and read a book.

I’ll let you in on a little secret, someone read Golden Opportunity and gave it a five-star review on Amazon. When I saw it I screamed like a tween girl at a Justin Bieber concert. The review is the reason I’m a self-published author. To whomever wrote that review, thank you. I hope you’ll read book two and still love my girl and her dragon. Big changes are coming to my world.

V. L. Cooke

* – the royalties after exchange for currency other than USD has been applied.

** – amount based on the last per page payment for KENP (Kindle Edition Normalized Pages) read on Kindle Unlimited and via Kindle Lending from Amazon from the Global Fund and is not accurate as of 10/11/2016.

*** – Free promotion provided as part of the Kindle Select enrollment and available every ninety days of enrollment. Royalties are based on the price paid for the book, thus no royalties for these books.

V. L. Cooke writes the Custodian of the Golden Assembly series currently available at Amazon on Kindle Unlimited. She is a full-time college student working on her master's degree in education and has earned an MFA in Writing with an emphasis in fiction. V. L. is a transplant from the Pacific Northwest who currently lives in Upstate South Carolina who loves to explore her new home and find potential locations to use in her novels. In her spare time, V. L. thinks of ways to corrupt perfectly good magic, cooks food destined to clog the arteries of her family, and fights with her beloved yellow lab over who controls the blankets on the bed and the level of the air conditioning (the dog wins--a lot). Just like Siobhan Flannery, she is addicted to watching television shows like "Supernatural" and blames the show for invading her brain to the point that she had to put it in her book. Currently, she is working on the final two books of the series and has basic plot ideas for another series in the research stage. V. L. loves to hear from her readers so feel free to leave a comment or send her an email at VLCooke@mail.com.

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