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February was busy. You've all read, I'm sure, of my 2677 edits for The Saints are Dead. Yes, most of them made the book better....but whoa. Just whoa. I wrote several new stories in February ("What Julie's Dad Doesn't Know" and "The North Lantern" being my favorites) and managed my Write 1 / Sub 1 goal of a story submitted a week.
Three stories "sold" in February: "Poe's Blender" to Death Rattle, "Upon Leaving the Candy Factory" to Bourbon Penn, and "The Ballad of Arkady and Nadia" to 100 Stories for Queensland. The latter was a "sale" sale, meaning no money flowed to the writer because it is a charity antho.
On to the Big Experiment...
Because I believe in full disclosure, I present:
Well...I won't be retiring any time soon, but a few things of note:
- One of those Bottom Feeders sales was a gift. So I sold eleven legit copies for Kindle, plus one through Smashwords.
- February's numbers represent the most copies of The Bottom Feeders I've sold since releasing the book last April. The trend is rising from seven last month. Short story collections don't traditionally do as well as novels (in any format), but I'm not complaining.
- The Bottom Feeders had a crazy little bounce this weekend, selling five copies between Friday and Monday. Not big numbers for some of the Kindle people, but I can't explain the bump. I'll be watching this closely. After all, it is an experiment.
*wait...I've sort of known that all along.
"I've decided I want one thing out of writing: to tell stories."
Probably the rarest sensibility to come by anymore. But what a revelation it is, to know it. Keep fighting the good fight, Aaron.
Congrats on the 'sales', Aaron. Look forward to maybe seeing that novella somewhere soon, too. I think if you can keep hold of that "writing for the story" idea, you're a stronger person than most.
Keep up the good work!
Great Sales, Aaron! Keep on truckin'
not too shabby for just starting out. Hey, you've beaten my numbers! Keep at it!
Martin, Craig - It's hard to stay focused. The world is so shiny.
Thanks, Kara.
Barry - Bottom Feeders has been out there for almost a year (minus four or five months). There's a learning curve. We'll all get to the promised land.
Congrats on the sales (of stories and books both). I'd call that a smashing month. :-)
Congrats on those sales (and 'sale')!
Thanks, Tony & Mike.
That sounds like a very cool, and even respectable "want", Aaron. I guess at the bottom of it, that's all any of us want. I mean, if we were in it for chicks and drugs, we'd be trying to get a record deal, right?
(Dammit, what WAS I thinking?!)
Congrats on all the sales, sir, as well as the W1S1 productivity; that's been our goal for the challenge all along, and it seems to be working for everybody.
The "craft"...yes.
A most successful month. Congrats on the sales.
Katey - HA! A record deal! Chicks and drugs! I'd be like some long-lost member of Devo or something.
Milo - I just hope I have the energy to keep this up for another ten (yikes) months.
Danielle - Thanks!
Great month for you. You remain as inspiring as ever. The Kindle sales do fluctuate weirdly don't they? There must be a pattern but it isn't always obvious.
I want to sell stories too : ) And make enough money to buy Japanese rock CDs. I think that's a fair bar.
Simon - Maybe I can make a kindle sales model out of mashed potatoes?
Natalie - That's a fair and noble bar.
Congrats on the sales, Aaron. I imagine The Bottom Feeders sales have begun to pick up because readers are beginning to recommend it to each other and I hope the numbers keep growing.