Indie-ana Kim and the Temple of Self-publishing

What up, y'all? (Wait, I'm from Jersey).
What up, yo? (That's better)

I thought I would blog today about how my young indie career is progressing. Not because I'm narcissistic and I want everyone to look at me (See me, please!) No. But because if I were a newbie writer thinking about self-publishing, I'd like to know what it's like out there. The following blog post is not going to be some long treatise on indie publishing. I'm just going to talk about my experiences the last four weeks.

If you had asked me a year ago if I had ever imagined self-publishing, I would've told you no. First, I didn't think I'd be able to afford to self-publish. And second, I really wanted a traditional publishing deal. But then I found KBoards Writers' Cafe, a forum for indie authors. Not only was I was floored by the work ethic of many of these indie authors, but I was amazed at how willing they were to share their collective self-publishing knowledge. I devoured all the posts about publishing schedules, pricing, vendors, promotions, and cover art. Suddenly, I wanted to join their club -- write all the stories I had ever wanted to write and publish them. For the first time, I felt energized about my writing career.

A month ago, I published a novella, a spin-off story to my small-press published book, called The Lady in Blue. I was hesitant about publishing the book myself as plunking a few hundred dollars into my writing wasn't something I could do lightly. I don't work full time anymore and I don't earn outside money either. But I had written a novella and I was anxious to get it out to readers. I budgeted $300 for the project (which included editing and cover art), but I spent $450 because I bought Vellum, formatting software (aka a godsend), for $200.

I created accounts on all the vendors (not Google Play), and did a soft launch -- meaning I didn't release a publication date on social media because I wasn't sure how long it would take to get my novella up on the vendors. I didn't want to say May 1st and get stuck in review until May 2nd. My novella went through review on Amazon within hours, but it took much longer to get it up on Barnes and Noble, iTunes, and Kobo. I assume because I didn't have accounts set up on those vendors yet.
And it was a weekend. Note: BN doesn't work weekends.

When I announced to readers on social media and on my mailing list that the book was released, I had 11 sales on Amazon for the first day. To compare, when Grunge Gods was released, I had 40 Amazon sales on release day, but I did a big release day blitz. For the rest of the week, I had a trickle of sales -- three, zero, five, two, three, four, three, one and then radio silence for a week. From May 10th to May 17th, it was like my book didn't exist. There was no movement on it at all. After only getting five sales on BN and none on the other vendors, I pulled The Lady in Blue from the other vendors and enrolled it in KDP Select so it could be in Kindle Unlimited (along with Grunge Gods). Since doing so, I'm getting a trickle of borrows now as well. Currently, I've sold 40 units and my Amazon earnings are roughly $80. Also, I couldn't be more thrilled.

Right now, I'm working on getting reviews. I've sent my book out to bloggers and I'm delighted with the response so far. I'm also hoping to gain more reader subscribers for my newsletter/mailing list. I will do a promotion as soon as I get more reviews.

Despite my low indie budget, I strive to put out my best work. And despite my meager earnings, I am not dissuaded from self-publishing. I've already commissioned cover art for the first book in my new YA mystery trilogy (coming Fall 2015). I'm hoping to have all three books published by this time next year, but we'll see. I have three kids and all.

Anyway, so that's my indie update. As you can see, there's no real money to be made at first. But that's okay. I'm writing and publishing and I'm incredibly content.

Do you self-publish? How goes it?

-KGG

¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Hola amigos!

It's May 5th, Cinco de Mayo, also known as KGG's favorite day of the year. I love a good fiesta. And Mexican food. Actually, I'm very much in love with Mexico all together. You wouldn't know this, but in college I wrote an original research paper on Jewish colonization schemes in 1920s Mexico. I have a minor in Latin American studies and I've been studying Spanish since I was 12 years old, although I am terribly out of practice now.

I remember watching an interview with Madonna in the 90s (it was during production of her "Take a Bow" video) where she said she must've been Hispanic in another life. That's kind of how I feel. Perhaps in another life, I lived in a Spanish-speaking country because it might explain my love for a culture that is not represented in my ancestry.

That's why when it came to doling out identities to my characters in Grunge Gods and Graveyards, I decided to make Lainey Jewish, like me, and Danny Mexican. I wanted a Latino character in my book.

I used to teach English as a second language in the public schools in New Jersey for five years and all of my students were Hispanic. Many of my students came from Mexico, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Colombia. My students struggled against poverty, language barriers, neglect, and an education system that, at times, seemed to be actively working against them. I left teaching in 2007 because I was burned out. But I always loved teaching my students. Sadly, being a teacher nowadays isn't so much about instilling learning as it is about about pressuring kids to perform well on standardized tests. But I digress....

Anyway, I hope that if any of my former students were to read Grunge Gods they might see themselves represented in Danny and be proud.

As a Cinco de Mayo treat, Grunge Gods and Graveyards is on sale for 99 cents on all platforms.  If you haven't read it and would like to, click here to buy.

The Lady in Blue: A Grunge Gods and Graveyards Mystery has just been released for $2.99 and is on Amazon and Kobo.

And my YA spooky short story, One Night Is All You Need, is free on Amazon until Thursday.

Enjoy a margarita on me!
-KGG