2012 Sales

[wondo]

Just a quick note for my 2012 sales so far. Right now I have sold almost 200 copies of several titles. This does not include November or December sales and some of the book sellers from Smashwords that are about three months behind. These sales cover multiple sales of several titles and everything from short stories (yes, I am selling short stories) to novels to non fiction titles, mostly gardening books. I am not near getting rich yet, but I am encouraged. The sales totals from a couple of the book sellers in Smashwords look quite encouraging but these titles have not transferred to my account yet so I do not know what I have sold. I must have done well with something. Everything I have put up has at least one sale and most have several sales.
This post is not to brag. I am just trying to convey what a writer who is consistent and keeps putting new material can accomplish. I don't spend any time marketing. I just keep writing, editing and submitting. It is a constant process and I am continually going back to previously submitted titles to improve the covers, blurbs, etc. I have some stories that I wrote early on that need some further editing. But these have been selling as is. They should do better as I improve them.
The key is to never stop writing, never stop editing, never stop submitting and to never stop improving what you have already submitted.
Note:
Last year (2011) I started this process and did not sell enough for the entire year to even get a payment. This year I am getting regular, and ever bigger, payments. These are not big yet, but I hope they soon will be. 2013 should be a good year.

[Oldtimer]

Congratulations, wondo, on your increasing sales, and many thanks for the encouraging advice, particularly about editing work that has already been submitted. I was under the impression that once it had been published at Smashwords, that was it. I spotted a typo in one of my stories and wanted to correct it but thought it would stay there forever. Now I'll take the story down and go through it again. Thank you again.

[wondo]

No, Dorothy, you may revise as often as needed. Some of my books have had three or four covers as I improve my skills at cover making. Still not what a professional artist would do, but right now I can't afford to pay a professional artist. I am getting ready to start rewriting the blurbs. Most of them stink and need improvement.

[Linton Robinson]

This is a very important and useful part of this kind of publishing--nothing is cast in stone. You can correct, rewrite, do a new cover, whatever you want to do with the book at any time.

The advantages of this should be obvious, and have staggeringly difference implications for writers, compared to the realities of older models.

[pls]

… They should do better as I improve them.
The key is to never stop writing, never stop editing, never stop submitting and to never stop improving what you have already submitted.
…

This bears emphasis. E-books are just 1's and 0's and can be easily corrected and upgraded for only the expense of a little time at the keyboard. Never underestimate the intelligence of your readers; assume that they will be turned off by errors in the sample pages you provide for them to peruse and will likely not purchase a defective product. I've seen more than a few e-books on Smashwords which have received one-star reviews accompanied by critical comments pointing out massive errors. A few typos are one thing, but e-books rushed to publication without careful copywriting are detrimental to all indie authors.