My first ebook, Into the Shadows, will hit ebookstores on November 1st. Even though writing is an art, it’s also a business. Some people are very interested in numbers. I know I am. I’m always curious to see what people have done to help measure what I’m doing. Obviously, everyone’s situation is a little different. Some people have little in the way of friends/followers, but have still sold a ton of books. I’m interested to see if my ‘numbers’ will actually translate into more sales or if it has no effect. Some people say you need to have a ‘platform’ to sell a lot of books. If I do actually have a platform, it’s all because of social networking, something everyone can easily replicate. So here are all the stats for this ebook project. I’ll post sales numbers monthly, just to keep you updated on its progress. Writing by Numbers How long it took to write ITS: 1 year Years in revision: 2 years/revised 3 times alone in 2 mos. before had to be ready. Approximately revised a total of 9-10 times. Rejections from agents/editors: approximately 80 Friends and Followers Facebook: 4,147 Facebook like/fan page: 685 Twitter: 795 Goodreads: 424 Karly Kirkpatrick blog: 76 KK blog on Networked blogs: 584 Top 50 writing blogs (on Networked Blogs): #40 Top 50 publishing blogs (on NB): #4 Top 50 young adult blogs (on NB): #1 YA Flash Death Match: 56 YA Flash Death Match on Networked Blogs: 60 (There are some overlaps in friends/followers.) Viral Marketing Blogsplash: 5 blogs Facebooksplash: 138 Facebook pages Contributing writer at www.flyovergeeks.com – articles on ebooks and epublishing. Costs Ebook at Amazon.com, Smashwords.com, BarnesandNoble.com Cover: $300 (by Carl Graves cgdouble2@sbcglobal.net) Formatting: $180 (included files for Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes and Noble – Rob Siders rob@52novels.com) Total Investment: $480 Need to sell: 240 ecopies to cover investment Price: $2.99 Profit per ebook sold: $2.00 (give or take a couple cents depending on the site) POD book (coming soon through CreateSpace) at Amazon.com Cover: $100 (by Carl Graves) Formatting: estimated $150 (by Rob Siders) Pro Plan: $39 (for better royalties thru CreateSpace) Total Investment: $289 Need to sell: 128 books Price: $11.00 Profit per book sold: $2.27 Karly Kirkpatrick lives in Elgin, Illinois, with her husband and daughter. INTO THE SHADOWS is the first of many books to come. Find out more at www.karlykirkpatrick.com. She will also be at the Flyover Geeks Startup Meetup this Wednesday in St. Charles.
