Thanks for the commenters and visitors to my blog. I must have hit a nerve, my hits trebled, meaning there's an interest in my little story, so I feel obliged to follow up with it (good journo that I am).
At this point, there were 52 sample downloads (who downloaded 30% of the story). Out of these, 30 converted into sales (meaning, 30 people made the decision for how much to buy the story - which includes "free").
In the meantime, two people who downloaded the story for $0.99 were in touch and told me while that is the amount they usually pay for short stories, they felt "Spoils of War" was worth more and one paid another $3.99. The other person, presumably, did pay more, too, because she felt she had "ripped me off". I told her if she wants to pay more, she can buy another download and give the other one away to a friend - everybody wins.
These 30 people divide almost equally into "free downloaders" and "paying customers" - 14 took it for free, 16 paid. To be fair, one of the free downloaders told me she has no money, and would buy it when she had money. I told her to take it for free because I really wanted her to read it. In return, I received one of her stories, which I enjoyed. (And when I told her I enjoyed it, she gave me another story, which I'm looking forward to tonight).
Pricing:
I assume people have been reading my post about the pricing being either $0.99, $3 or $5 and decided to mess with my numbers. By now, the pricing is all over the place - a much wider range than before.
Below is the breakdown:
$0.99 - 2 people
$1.00 - 1 person
$2.75 - 1 person
$3.00 - 5 people
$3.99 - 1 person
$4.00 - 2 people
$5.00 - 3 people
$10.00 - 1 person
Note, again, the absence of any amount in the area of $1.29-$1.99. We are talking 5,500 words of short story here. SHORT story. The amount of words is clearly stated on site.
To the person who paid $10 - want to be my sugar mommy/daddy? I think I love you, but you are a little insane. Seriously, get in touch via email with proof of purchase and I'll send you a free story. Thanks!
In total, 14 people paid $57.73 for the story - averaging $3.36 per paying customer. If I add the 14 free downloaders (so 30 readers in total), I get to $1.90 per customer. (Which is at the top end of what the market in m/m ebooks currently charges for short stories).
Once Smashwords has taken its cut, that leaves us (my co-writer Raev and me) with $43.81 in the bank, pre-tax, 48 after launch of the story.
By now, first reviews are appearing both on Smashwords itself and on Goodreads, and the reviews are very favourable. I assume that will drive further sales. In terms of marketing, I tweeted about it a couple times, I told a few people who were in touch that my story is currently free, and nothing else (I was busy editing yesterday).
More updates when I get them.
I'm finding all this fascinating!
ReplyDeleteI also have a short story on Smashwords, just a bit of a daft thing I put together as a Christmas pressie for the flist and anyone else who'd like it. Because I have no art skills whatsoever, the cover is basic at best!
Since Dec 11th I've had 321 downloads, and no feedback whatsoever, which makes me think that either (a) people hated it or (b) they've been grabbing it just because it's listed as "Free erotica" and haven't, in fact, got round to reading it!
Feedback is a rare beast - I do anything to get it because that sells more books.
ReplyDeleteI'm just fascinated how all of this is turning out so far. I learn best by trial and error, and this is one of the things that keeps coming up in the piracy debate... how much is stuff worth, and how many just grab stuff because it's there? Seems the latter group is about 50%.
As one of the "freeloaders" I'm a bit annoyed at being called so, to be honest. You said that the story was being offered free and I quote
ReplyDelete"you can download it for free if you choose "zero" as the price,"
Now after having done that, I'm being told I'm taking advantage
From Dictionary.com. free⋅load –verb (used without object) Informal.
1. to take advantage of others for free food, entertainment, etc.
If you didn't want people to take the story for free, then you should have set a minimum price - or at least not guilt them out afterwards!
It certainly seems as though quality content is something people will pay for - and sometimes more than we expect. Heartening, this!
ReplyDelete@ERastes: I meant it as a pun on "free downloaders", but I can see how the term can be meant demeaning. (It wasn't intended that way... that would be stupid, insulting my audience). :)
ReplyDelete@Kate: I think so. I wonder how many of these sales come from my online friends, but it has "monetised" a story I had no other way of monetising to the tune of $50.
I'm fascinated that some people were willing to pay quite a lot, though as you say, three dollars is the cost of a cup of fancy coffee. But people also expect a novella-length story for three bucks, so if you had priced a 5k short at three dollars I think a few readers would feel ripped off, whether or not they would pay that for some coffee.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing these results!
@JCP: Me too. I'm a little shocked at the results. And it's funny, how we pay so much for a cuppa coffee, but regard writing so low and so cheap. I'd think a good story stays longer with you than a cup of java.
ReplyDelete