Yesterday I talked about the things I discovered during the 5 day promo of my book.
Today I'd like to discus a little something further on that very same subject.
Today's main topic is the enigmatic realm of Reviews.
So, if you've read my blog post from yesterday you'll have realized that during the 5 day promotion, not only did I make it to the Top 5 but I also acquired 276 downloads.
This, inevitably got me thinking ...
Will that eventually translate into reviews?
Okay, so here is the deal. I've put myself in a mental/emotion conundrum as during the Free Promotion I made it to the Top 5. THAT, in and of itself, has me stuck between a rock and a hard place because I'm not sure if the ranking was rightfully earned, at least in the Public's eyes.
I try as much as possible to remain sincere to myself and others. My integrity is a big deal to me. So, while I feel that my book and I deserved to make that mark, I also know that others may not see it that way due to the fact that it was free. Others might believe that I cheated the system.
Most authors know that do promotions such as these, do them for a few reasons:
- To get your book seen.
- To make the public aware you're a writer/author and hopefully create a following.
- To hopefully get some feedback on said work.
These were my reasons also.
Putting all of those things into consideration, today, I pose THIS question:
Was it worth while?
Statistics prove that only 1-3% percent of readers leave reviews. So, if that's the case I am looking at (perhaps) 2-5 reviews tops. THAT, out of almost 3 hundred downloads.
Now, lets look further into this situation.
People whom download works for free typically have an electronic library full of books that they haven't read yet. They download said books, most of the time, with the intent to read them yet find that they cannot get to them quickly.
The above alone makes our lives (the authors') incredibly difficult because we find ourselves having to play the waiting game. Not for the potential 276 reviews but for a hand full at best.
Now, depending on how soon (or late) said readers post their reviews, depends on how soon we'll begin to see the reviews reflected on our Amazon/Goodreads pages.
This could likely take MONTHS!
Weeks if we are lucky.
So we wait ...
Already, we are not only voluntarily giving up and/or throwing by the waste side the probability of 276 reviews, but we are also not getting paid for the free promo.
So, let's do some math, shall we?
"MarcoAntonio & Amaryllis" is currently marked at a $4.99 price point to the public, from which I am making only $1.75 royalties.
*SIDE NOTE: Dear Reader; NO, we do not get paid 100% of the purchase price of the book.*
If we were to get paid the entirety of the purchase price of our books, contingent on the amount of downloads I got during that period of time, I would've likely made $1,377.24.
However, being that we only get paid a small percentage in royalties from the purchase price, my actually earning would have about been $483.00.
YET ... I! GOT! ZERO!
Why? Because it was a FREE Book Promo.
Brace yourselves, I'm fixin' to go on a tangent.
Do you all know what I could have done with $483?!
I could have bought my son some school clothes! I could have bought some groceries! I could have paid the light bill! Shit, there is an innumerable amount of things that I could have done!
Tangent Over.
Yet, I opted to sell myself short just to give my book exposure. KNOWING that the only compensation that I would get would be a hand full of reviews.
So, back to our initial question:
Is it worth all of this just to get reviews?
Shit if I know.
All I know is this ...
I love this (the world of books and writing) too much to not do it any more. I suppose I'm a self-impose masochist because even while walking the path of the "starving artist" I refuse to let go of my passion.
Maybe some day, people will see my art for what it's worth.
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