This post originally appeared on J.A. Konrath’s A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing.
Joe sez: And now a word from my frequent collaborator and good friend, Ann Voss Peterson…
Ann: Last May I wrote a guest blog here about my decision to stop writing for my publisher (Harlequin) and self-publish my new thriller instead of submitting it to traditional publishers. In the piece, I shared terms of my publishing contracts and showed how those terms translated into money, using one of my books as an example. I did this not as a complaint, but to give other authors–some who might be thinking of writing for Harlequin–a look at how the numbers stack up.
Plenty of people weighed in on this blog and others, both in support of my decision and criticizing it (some of whom didn’t even bother to read the post).
So the question is, after nine months, do I regret my decision?
Let me share some numbers:
Last May 8 through 12 using KDP Select, I gave away 75,420 copies of Pushed Too Far.
In May and June, I sold 11,564 copies, netting me $22,316.30.
I also had 874 borrows during this time for another $1902.30.
So in a bit over six weeks, Pushed Too Far earned $24,218.60 and was downloaded onto 87,858 e-readers. My highest earning Harlequin Intrigue earned me $21,942.16 in the last twelve years.
Verdict: In less than two months, Pushed Too Far became my highest earning book. EVER.
As Joe has said many times, sales ebb and flow, and PTF has been no different. But for May through December of 2012, this one book (Pushed Too Far) has had a grand total of 15,257 (paid) sales and borrows, netting me around $31,179.03.
Of course there’s no guarantee. I’ve known authors who have done better. I’ve known authors who’ve done worse. But the question is, do I regret my decision to self-publish?
Are you kidding?
I regret I didn’t do it sooner.
Read the rest of the post on A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing.