Yeh. Sorry about that.
However, after a message of concern from one of my fellow bloggers, I thought I should just let you know that I’m still alive. We have plumbergeddon here, new heating being installed which involves four weeks of no heating while they put it in. They seem to be doing pretty well. Our house is full of holes and all our possessions are in boxes away from the pipes, or at least, as of yesterday, the places where the pipes have been.
While I’ve been incommunicado, I’ve also been playing with Amazon categories – which may be a bad idea – but I’ve found a pleasantly obscure one to place a couple of my books in. Just two of them because it doesn’t seem to exist outside the USA but there it is. Literature and fiction, British, Humour and Satire.
That’s not to say you should get too excited on my behalf. One of my friends, who was a world authority on… I think it was a poet… said that if you pick a subject that is obscure enough you can be a world expert on anything. I think she was slightly underselling herself but after doing this I do get what she meant.
Going on Nicholas Rossis’ advice here, I had a read of the Amazon category lists for books and found one which, though obscure, did happen to be a perfect fit for the books. Since it only exists on Amazon.com, I’m not sure I should put more books in than the two I have. Indeed that may be why so few other writers have joined me. Still, I can now say I’m a best selling author because Few Are Chosen is number one in this category in the free section and The Wrong Stuff is number 6 in paid. Come to think of it. Few Are Chosen is the only book in the free section.
Thank you Nicholas Rossis for your advice about this one. I will post on whether or not it seems to have had any effect on sales in due course.
In the meantime, here’s my happy screen shot. Oh yeh.
M T McGuire Authorholic 
Congrats. How do you find the obscure Top 100 categories?
If you click on that link to Nick Rossis’ blog, there’s an exel spreadsheet in the article. You can sort them by popularity. There are some good obscure ones in Fantasy too, I believe. 😉
If you click on that link to Nick Rossis’ blog, there’s an exel spreadsheet in the article. You can sort them by popularity. There are some good obscure ones in Fantasy too, I believe. 😉
If you click on that link to Nick Rossis’ blog, there’s an exel spreadsheet in the article. You can sort them by popularity. There are some good obscure ones in Fantasy too, I believe. 😉
Got it. Thanks. 🙂
A pleasure. 😉
On 23 October 2014 18:06, M T McGuire Authorholic wrote:
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Happy to help, any time! 🙂
Yay! I made it to number one in Sword and Sorcery with Dragon Wraiths during a free promo. Hurrah for the smaller categories. Actually, joking aside it seemed to result in paid-for sales in Germany of all places, if only for a month. As one beleaguered supermarket might say, every little helps!
Congrats, MT. And Nicholas, for suggesting it.
😉
I’m watching your results with interest, MTM, as it would work for me too..
Yeh, I’ll keep you posted. 😉
Congrats! That’s a great idea, MT.
Cheers me dear.
Yay, well done. I must click through to that link. When I last investigated Amazon’s categories, my choice was limited as mine was just there as an ebook. How do you list your book with Amazon in terms of wholesaler? Mine is listed there but yet I don’t think people can buy the hard copy as my book isn’t in UK wholesalers? Is your book there just as kindle or as hard copy too (just had a look and could only see kindle)
Sorry, this isn’t very articulate – had a mad week!!
I have paperbacks of my books with Lightning Source/Ingrams. It’s printed on demand wherever anyone orders it and it goes onto Amazon and is listed with the big wholesalers automatically. In theory, if it took off, all the machinery’s there. The paperback isn’t quite as good quality as I’d like but for getting it into all those channels it’s worth it to me. I think if you list with a publisher at Amazon they take 60% royalties – I’m not sure how it works, I haven’t looked into it. To be honest, if you use Lightning Source you have to be able to print and make a profit at 40% of cover price because the shops need 40% and the distributors take 20%.
There’s a good book about it. Aiming At Amazon by Aaron Shepherd. I think he now recommends createspace as well…
Cheers
MTM
On 24 October 2014 17:29, M T McGuire Authorholic wrote:
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Thanks M, that has been on my to do list for ages, do it with Create Source so that it’s easier for those abroad to buy the hard copy. As you have yours printed, I was wondering if there was another way around it.
The wholesalers here take 55% but it’s the courier cost to wholesalers in the UK would be a bit of a problem!
Sounds like you’d have to do a Lightning Source edition then, as a small publisher – or it might be Ingram Spark that it’s called these days. Create Space is an Amazon company so if you’re with them too (you c an go with both) Amazon never list your book as out of stock (but Createspace withhold 30% of US earnings for the IRS which is a real ball ache and Lightning Source don’t).
Cheers
Definitely fits under (Brit) humour and satire. I’ve actually described it as that, (without the Brit tag), along with other categories in my draft review so I was interested to read your post. I obv haven’t totally lost the plot with Few and sequels. I’m not fond of labels but satire is one I would look at.
I’m puzzled though. Does Amazon mean British humour (which is clearly loopy hence it’s own category) and British satire? Or Brit humour and anyone’s satire? Or are Brits the only satirists?
Good question. I’m not sure. Hang on…. ah right, I’ve just checked. In the US it’s satire, sub category British. In the UK it’s all lumped into humour, which is quite weird.
I’d call my books Satire but I’m aware that they’re quite gentle satire so I’d add the humour label first. Quite strange that Amazon in Britain, of all nations, should lack a satire category. It is one of our national past times, after all.
Cheers
MTM
On 26 October 2014 13:04, M T McGuire Authorholic wrote:
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YAY!!!!! Sorry for delay honey, I was without phones or internet all of last week and it’s taking me all of this week to try and catch up! Bloody BT! Anyway, this is FRIGGING AMAZING!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! YOu must be floating on air!!!! So thrilled for you honey. 😀 xxxx
Thanks, you flatter me though. It’s more a case of exploiting a loophole than selling any books.
Cheers
MTM
Lol, exploit away sweetie! 😀 xxx
🙂
Keep on prattling MT!!! 😀
🙂