Comparing the Bestseller Lists

There are a lot of lists out there and to be honest with you, I cannot wrap my brain around how they work.  It seems like a crap shoot most of the time how a book gets on one but you can be certain that the most popular authors with the big publishing houses behind them will be on there first.  

It's not as easy of a trek for us indie authors.

I write, I publish.  After that it's anyone's guess on where those books will show up and on what lists.  I have been blessed enough to hit the "bestseller" status on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble with my books but there is no formula to guarantee that.  

Frustrating as all get-out, I can tell you that!

I have yet to hit a point where I am comfortable spending a lot of money on marketing and promoting my work.  I know plenty of authors do it and I commend them on it and they do see results but I am too scared to spend too much money at this point in my career and then have it not work.  I'll get there some day, just not right now.  So by marketing you get seen by more people, the more people that see you the more they may be inclined to buy your work.  The more people that buy your work, the better your sales stats, blah, blah, blah and then there you are on a list.  I get that but what I find amazing is the vast difference in rankings.

What do I mean?  Okay, this morning my newest book "Trust in Me" is number 32 on Barnesandnoble.com.  And not just in romance!  No!  It is #32 on the site!  That is pretty freakin exciting, right?  I mean, top 100!  There are some seriously big named authors on there all around me!  So I get all giddy and excited and dance around the house and then I jump over to Amazon.com and there is the same book, released the same day and where is "Trust in Me" on their list?  I'm number 1406.  The book is only .99 cents on both sites so it's not like one has the advantage over one another but if you do the math, clearly there's a difference.

A big difference.

Now I understand that the two sites really are vastly different.  For me, when I think of a physical bookstore, I think Barnes and Noble.  But online?  It's Amazon all the way.  So that takes a little of the shine off of my bestseller glory because it's a ranking on a smaller site.   People look at you a little bit more - or take you a little more seriously as a writer - if you are an Amazon best seller.

And don't even get me started on the NY Times or USA Today lists.  I haven't even figured those two out.  If there is a way to get your book on there, I haven't found it.  Although, I am working on a collection/box set with several other indie authors and as of late, collections like this HAVE gotten onto the USA Today list.  We'll also be paying a decent amount of money to be seen so maybe that's a big part of it.  

I know, I know, you gotta spend money to make money, blah, blah, blah.  Someday I'll do it.

Then you have the Goodreads lists or the Shelfari lists...it's exhausting.  Can somebody please just buy the books and save me from obsessing over the lists??

Hello, yeah, it's been a while...

I know, I know...bad blogger.

In my own defense, writing and promoting books is EXHAUSTING.  In this last month so much has happened and I'm still not sure how it all came to be.  So let's start with the basics:

Wait for Me.  I decided to not go with the Kindle Select program this time around and just published it on NOOK and Kindle and guess what?  My sales SKYROCKETED on NOOK!  I could not believe it.  It had been the complete opposite when I did it with The Christmas Cottage and that's why I shied away from B&N because it wasn't making any money for me.  Clearly I was wrong to jump the gun because it has been in the top 100 for weeks and peaked at Number Four!!!  I was a spot better than James Patterson!  Go figure!

Trust in Me.  This is the next book I'm releasing and is book two in the Montgomery Brothers trilogy.  So I've been writing, writing, writing and editing and helping design a book cover...and basically wishing that there were more hours in the day.

Ever After.  I released Ever After in paperback finally and that was a process that nearly brought me to my knees.  Formatting a book for publication is not something that can be rushed.  As I found out by the THIRD print proof that came to my house.  It's now available on Amazon for $7.49.  It's kind of fun having an entire bookshelf in my house that is being filled with books that I wrote!

I'm in the process of working with a group of indie authors like myself to put together a box set.  We have picked a theme and we will each contribute a title and do all of the marketing and promoting (oh, joy!) and see how it goes.  A lot of these sets have been making it on to the big bestseller lists like USA Today!  I would LOVE to have that happen.  So we'll see how it all comes together and I've got my fingers crossed that it will be something that builds my audience a little.

I did a marketing promotion that promised 2,500 likes on my Facebook page.  It was a $15 fee and I figured, why not?  Well, I ended up getting over 5,000 likes from it and was near giddy.  What they don't tell you?  Most of those likes don't last.  So even though I gained 5,000 likes from them, by the time most people un-like it (and why?  No one knows) I'll end up with the 2,500 that they promised.  

I hope.

I survived Mother's Day.  Barely.  I stayed in my pajamas through Memorial Day.  I'm still loving my new car and still feel pretty darn sassy driving it.  Yeah, me!  Frank's work schedule is crazy, Michael is finishing up the seventh grade and Nick is plugging onward with college and trying to find a job.  All in all, it's a busy time for us.

Some things that I'm considering to help me clear the way a little for more writing is closing down the blog.  I know, I know, I've been doing this for years but it's hard to maintain a blog, a Facebook page, an author website, a Twitter account and a Tumblr all while trying to write and promote a book so something's got to give.  I had someone leave me a rather nasty message not too long ago (which I chose not to publish) where they complained that my blog was spam.

Seriously?  It's my blog and I'm writing about ME!  I've been sharing the link to my posts on Digg, Reddit, Twitter and the like and this guy saw my stuff on Reddit and told me that my stuff was Spam.  I thought that Reddit was a way for people to promote their blog contents, articles and whatnot but clearly I offended this guy.  Not my intention, dude, seriously.  I'm just trying to get a little creative writing/venting done and sell some books.  I know you can't please everyone but sometime I just wish that people didn't feel the need to throw the hate around.

I'm still dealing with some issues with some people in my life who are convinced that I'm making a boatload of money from all of the books.  Seriously people, .35 cents a book.  That's it.  Do the math.  On average, I sell about 2,000 books a month.  Divide that by the .35 cents and you'll see, I'm not getting rich on this.  I'm not able to quit my day job.  I'm not hiding anything from anyone so quit complaining that I'm not sharing my money with you.  There is no money to share.  AND...while your bitching, how about maybe taking some of that energy and putting it into actually helping me SELL some books.  If you're that interested in me spending my money on you, how about helping me make some?

So that's it.  Not sure if I'll be doing this much longer.  It's a nice creative release and I've made a lot of really great friends here.  It's a lot to consider...

"Wait for Me" by Samantha Chase

It's Release Day!  Love, love, LOVE Release Day!  "Wait for Me" is officially out there and is available on Kindle and Nook for only .99 cents!  Such a deal!  

This is book one of The Montgomery Brother's series and focuses on youngest brother Lucas Montgomery; a former NFL quarterback who is living a very solitary life after a career ending injury.  The only hope of getting him out of his self-imposed exile?  Sweet and sassy Emma Taylor.

I love this story because Lucas is a fairly complex character while Emma is a very down to earth and practical.  Their differences make for some great interactions.  I think that you'll love reading about them as much as I enjoyed creating and writing them.  

You can get "Wait for Me" on Barnes and Noble Nook HERE or on Amazon Kindle right HERE - both sites have it for only .99 cents!

Ebook Readers...

Love them?  Hate them?  Know how to use them?  

Last year for Christmas, Frank bought me a Kindle Touch.  I was not gracious about the gift at first.  I opened it, smiled and was like "Oh!  Look at this!" when the reality was I was fuming inside because I had told him a week earlier how much I did NOT want an ebook reader!  I prefer the feel of a "real" book, I enjoy turning the pages, I love scanning through them and re-reading some of my favorite parts...

What an idiot I was!

It took a little time but then I learned to embrace the Kindle and after a while, I kind of stopped buying paperbacks.  Not completely, mind you.  There are a couple of books that I have bought in paperback mainly because they weren't available in ebook format and I just had to have them right away.  Crazy, I know, but there it is.  

I didn't feel the need to step up to the Kindle Fire or covet any other more high-tech reader, I enjoy my simple Kindle Touch.  Then I discovered the Kindle App for my iPhone.

I'm lucky I still have a job.

I have found great joy in reading on my iPhone no matter where I am.  Hell, that's what got me through the long lines on Black Friday!  I read three novella's in a 24 hour period all from the convenience of my phone!  Who knew!

My soon-to-be 13 year old (yikes!) was browsing the campus bookstore when we went to tour Nick's college and he discovered the Nook from Barnes and Noble.  He was mesmerized by the whole thing and then started a campaign to get one for himself.  I was curious as to why it had to be the Nook; I don't have anything against the Nook but I wanted to know what it was about the Nook that drew him in.  The answer?

He could watch Netflix on it.

Seriously.

So I did a little research and basically the more high-tech "tablets" or ereaders have all kinds of apps to not only read but watch movies on and he told me that he is allowed to have an ebook reader at school with him.  I then had to remind him that he would have to actually READ on it if he had it at school and not be watching Dr. Who on Netflix.  I got the eye roll and the "Mom, please" but I could tell that he hadn't considered the possibility of getting caught watching TV at school.

Ah, youth.

The thing that really got me was the price of the Nook, the Fire, and the like.  He's 13.  I don't think that any child (and yes, he is still a child) needs to have the most expensive gadgets on the market because really, they don't know how to take care of them.  So we compromised and he agreed to not NEEDING the Nook and would be happy with an Android tablet.  Thank God for Amazon and Black Friday.  We got a sweet deal and when I see that he can really take care of his electronics (he's lost his iPod about a dozen times), we'll think about upgrading.

So what's your favorite tablet or ereader?  Have you found one that is far more superior than the rest?  I would love to know!

And you know what is the best part of the ereader?  MY BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE ON THEM!!!  "The Christmas Cottage" is currently #398 in Kindle downloads and 83,174 on Nook and only .99 cents per download!  Such a deal!!

Daily Amazon Stats:

#32 in Contemporary Women's Fiction
#52 in Contemporary Fiction
#80 in Contemporary Romance
#11 in Hot New Releases in Contemporary Women's Fiction
#14 in Hot New Releases in Contemporary Fiction
#22 in Hot New Releases in Contemporary Romance

Would Oprah please give me a call!!!
 

The Christmas Cottage is an Amazon Best Seller!!

What a great way to celebrate my birthday!!!  I got up this morning and went on the computer and BAM! There it was...The Christmas Cottage was # 1724 in Kindle downloads and #82 (Yes, you are reading that right), #82 on Amazon's Best Seller Book List for Contemporary Women's Fiction!

I HAVE A BEST SELLER!!!!!!

I cried all damn morning.  Then, I have been blessed all day with wonderful birthday wishes on Facebook and phone calls and my dear sweet friend Danette stopped by with her hubby and brought me a Black and White cookie (an absolute FAVORITE of mine) and visited for a while...it's been amazing.

But quite possibly, one of the most emotional moments of the day came when Michael gave me my birthday card.  He made it himself.  So I'm sitting at the computer, crying, and he comes up and gives me a hug and gives me the card and it says:  Happy Birthday, Mom!  I hope it gets better and better every hour.  P.S.: Super duper congrats on your book rising like a never setting sun.  Love, Michael.

Seriously?  It doesn't get any sweeter than that.

So here I sit, in my jammies at 4:20 in the afternoon - I seriously will have to shower before going out to dinner but why rush?  The numbers have fluctuated a bit over the course of the day but it's all good.  I'm still #90 (which is awesome to be in the Top 100 of ANYTHING!) and I'm at # 1944 in downloads.

I sold several copies on Nook, I sold one through Smashwords, I have no idea how many have sold through Amazon yet but I am a blessed woman and I've never felt it more so than today.

I am so thankful for everyone who has clicked on any of the links and clicked like and ordered the book.  You have no idea the difference you have made in my life.  I wish I could thank you all individually.  Please continue to spread the word!  I would love to stay in the Top 100 a little beyond today.  

That would be awesome!!!!

I'M SAILING!!!

Anyone remember the movie "What About Bob?" starring Bill Murray?  Well, there's a scene where he conquers his fear of sailing.  How?  By being tied to the front of a large sailboat!  He's up there and he's smiling and he's yelling "I'm Sailing!"  That's become a bit of a long-running joke between me and a dear friend and we refer to it when life just seems to be spinning out of control - but in a good way.

Today, I am spinning.

Yesterday I was positively giddy to have "The Christmas Cottage" reach in to the 9,000's on Amazon downloads.  I mean, "Jordan's Return" never got any better than the 12,000's so this was pretty darn cool.  I had asked some people to post some reviews because that is helpful in climbing the list, too, so I when I woke up this morning, I wanted to see if anyone had submitted a review.

They had and I thank you.

So I'm getting ready to leave the page and then I happen to glance down and I just about fell out of my chair.  I was at # 2,829!!!  I was sitting there like an idiot, all by myself (Frank had to work today and Michael was sleeping), crying and shaking.  I couldn't believe it!  So I posted on Facebook, I texted some people and just sat there, feeling giddy and numb at the same time.

I had a bunch of errands to run today and I'm not going to lie to you, there was more than a little spring in my step.  No one knows who I am, no one really knows that I'm an author but inside I was like "Look at me!  Woo-hoo!" 

I came home, was kicking back, relaxing and got notification that the book is now available on Barnes & Noble's Nook!  That was some exciting news PLUS it opens me up to more readers.  THEN...because that wasn't enough, it got listed on Goodreads!  AND...people are pinning it on Pinterest!  So, I'm basically looking at my book all over the internet and decided to go back over to Amazon.  I wasn't going to but Michael was like "Hey, mom, has your book climbed anymore?" and I was scared to look.  I mean, what would I feel like if I went on there and suddenly I was at 420,000?  

Talk about a buzz kill.

But I took a leap of faith and went on over.

I AM AT # 2784!!!!

My company Christmas party is tonight and my birthday is tomorrow and THIS is a pretty damn exciting weekend for me!!!

Please keep sending friends and family to the page!  Please keep recommending it!!  Please write some reviews!!!  I would love to wake up tomorrow and be at #2500...

Just sayin...

Climbing the Charts!!

I have to admit, I think things are going well this time around with my latest book, "The Christmas Cottage".  Book sales are pretty good, we're getting the "likes" that I wanted - although when I put it out there as much as I have and only have 25 I tend to wonder what is going on with Amazon.

Which brings and interesting thought to mind.  My book is published under a pen name, I wrote the review under my read name.  The Review got published and then two hours later, it was gone!  So I submitted another review that was never even acknowledged!!  What in the world???

But I digress.  So today, I hit an amazing number on the Kindle download chart.  Out of over 800,000 Kindle titles (and it goes up daily), my book hit #9084!!!  That is like something I never thought would ever happen!!  It felt pretty darn good - and then a little disappointing because I was at work and could not celebrate!

I took Nick to lunch and he was moderately impressed but it wasn't the same as going out with someone where we could laugh and gush and dream about all the ways that I could possibly become famous!  As if!!!

So, again, please check out the book!  Please go to Amazon.com and click "Like".  We're getting ready to publish on Barnes and Noble this weekend.  A friend contacted the Hallmark Channel about the book, people are posting it on Pinterest...I honestly have some amazing people in my life who are just blowing me away with their willingness to to support me in this.

My birthday is this weekend and I would LOVE to stay in the top 10,000.  Can you help?  Please!!!

have a great weekend everyone!!!

Can You Please Help Me Reach My Goal???

As I mentioned previously, my book is still out there and I'm finally in a place where I have help with marketing it and promoting it.  For those of you who are just stopping by for maybe the first time, last year I wrote a book.  "Jordan's Return" is a contemporary romance that is available through Amazon in paperback and for Kindle as well as through Barnes and Noble and the Nook.

Part of my struggle is getting my rank to go up on Amazon.  In order to do that I need people to go to the page and click "Like".  Just having the page views and the "like" button clicked will help enormously.  If you frequently shop on Amazon and are feeling especially helpful, you can write a review!  It doesn't have to be a long review, it could just be a sentence or two.  I'm a particular fan of seeing "Great book!" or "When's the next one?"  LOL!  

My goal is to get 100 likes by the end of October.  We are currently at 10.  Kind of annoys me when I have over 700 friends on Facebook and I cannot get more than 10 people to just click "Like".  But that's a post for another time.

So please, if you haven't done it yet, please head over to Amazon (click here) and click the "Like" button.  I desperately want to see some action on the page.  I'm not looking to make a million dollars, I'd just be thrilled to see my page rank go up. 

Thank you for your help and I look forward to being able to update you with some positive news!

Book Sales...

Okay, so I am nearing the 100 book sale mark for "Jordan's Return".  So exciting!!!  While I had hoped for bigger numbers, I know that it's not possible without marketing and I just have not had the time to do it.  I long for the day when I find someone who knows how to do and would volunteer their time for me!

So, just a reminder, you can get your copy right now for only .99 cents on Amazon's Kindle or in paperback for $11.99.  You can find it on Barnes and Noble's Nook for $1.99 (it wouldn't let me change the price!), or in paperback for $8.63 (I didn't know they were offering it until just now!).  I would love to hit the 100 mark for it's 3 month release date.  

Can you help me, please???  

And on an exciting note, I am featured today on "Cafe of Dreams: Book Reviews" site today.  Click HERE to check it out!

I Want to Finish 2011 Strong!!!

Okay, I'm not going to lie to you, I really had some very unrealistic dreams of what my book sales would be.  To say that I fell short of them would be a severe understatement.  So what I want to do is to just remind all of you, my faithful readers - who just might have gotten an e-Reader for Christmas - that my book "Jordan's Return" is available on Kindle and Nook along with other formats on Smashwords and then, of course, in paperback on Amazon.  Here are all of the links:
 
Kindle

Nook

Smashwords

Amazon.com

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see some sale action this week like I did in that first week of release so if you got a new eReader or know someone who did who is looking for something to read, "Jordan's Return" is a good place to start and it's still only $1.99!!

Anyone know how to organize a blog tour?

So in my attempt to become a "known" author, I have to get my name and book out there to the masses.  Merely having it for sale on Amazon, Kindle and Nook is not enough; I have to market it.

I have talked to several other self-published authors like myself and they recommended doing a blog tour.  Not wanting to push my luck or annoy them with my constant questioning, I did not ask how they got theirs going.  Probably not my smartest moment but there it is.  

From what I understand the premise is that my book and me are the topic of a blog post on a different blog every day of the month for a month.  That means that I have to come up with 30 blogs (that actually get decent visits/traffic) who would be willing to help me with this.  It means sending out 30 PDF copies of my book for free for review, it means really opening myself up for critique.

I had researched a couple of book review sites and they were all backlogged until in to the new year.  It's not that it's SO far away, but I'm not even sure how to approach them about doing it.  There is still a bit of a stigma about being self-published.  What I thought was a good thing, isn't embraced quite so much yet.  And speaking of that, I have been a little shocked and disheartened by people that I know and am close to, who share that sentiment.  I'm not a real author; it's not a real book.  For the sake of protecting the insensitive, I won't expand on it but suffice it to say, it hurt.  I worked for years on this book and it took a lot of courage to step out of my comfort zone and do this.  I may not be on TV or be in the newspapers but I'm still somebody who is following my dream.

But enough self-pity; anyone out there know how to get a blog tour started that would be willing to help me get started?

And yet more places to find it...

Okay, so I promise to calm down in a few more days but really, I'm new to all of this and each and every thing that happens is exciting!

So I am in full-blown promo mode, getting my "brand" out.  Brace yourselves. You can now find author Samantha Chase and "Jordan's Return" in the following places:

Twitter (and I'd love some followers!) - HERE
Kindle (go and click "like") - HERE
Nook (would love some ratings!) - HERE
Smashwords (this one's new to me) - HERE
Goodreads (thank you, Dot!)  - HERE
Facebook (follow or like me!) - HERE
Amazon Authors - HERE
And finally, the Blog (Samantha Chase author) - HERE

So as  you can see, I've been busy.  How I'm going to keep up with all of this, is beyond me.  If I make enough sales, I can hire someone to keep up with it all for me!

CRAZY and LOVING IT!!

And now we are LIVE on NOOK!!

Okay, I have to admit, I am having WAY too much fun with this!  I want to stay home from work and just search the internet all day long and get the word out that I have published a book!  

So for those of you who are Nook people and not Kindle people, "Jordan's Return" is now available through Barnes & Noble's Nook.  You can click HERE to go to the page and purchase it.  Please do.  Please, please, do.  It's only $1.99 and you would be helping me fulfill my dream!  

Plus, while you are there, please click "Like" to help me generate some action on the page.  THANK YOU!!