Amazon Best Seller. Yeah, Uh Huh, Sure…
by Jason Alan
Don’t let these online authors fool you with their ‘Amazon Best-Seller’ claim. You know who can get on that list? Whoever puts some words together making it seem book-like and uploads it to the site. In other words, it doesn’t mean shit, even if the numbers look impressive.
I offered my poetry book free yesterday. I moved 29 units on the U.S. store, and that put me on #17 under free poetry and #4,404 overall, as you can see at the bottom of the pic.
Today, it’s back to paid, and it has moved zero units (which is the usual for an average day for that book) and it’s now off the short list (paid poetry would be the new category) but it’s still on the ‘Amazon Best Sellers Rank’ list. As #675,397. So I’m still on the best sellers list, so technically, I’m a best seller! Woohoo! I’m so proud of myself.
The new book was #105,245 paid yesterday, and today it’s free and so far has moved 35 units and is #4,906 (it was 4,404 when I took the pic) in the free overall category. There’s no short list yet for this one. Maybe it’s because under general and adult comedy there are way more of those books than poetry. Anyway, let those overly cocky authors boast, but you’ll know that it really doesn’t mean that much. If you’re on the Kindle store, you’re on the list. Whoop-de-frickin-do and Merry Christmas.
Here’s your gift from me (sorry I couldn’t wrap it): http://www.amazon.com/Spank-Material-Clinically-Insane-ebook/dp/B00AQTTRKE
Good luck, I hope more people buy your books.
Thanks!
hey, how many books have you sold total since you published your first?
I’m not sure. I have monthly reports, but there’s no way I know of getting a total other than going through them all and adding them up. It’s not a lot, that’s all I know.
well, hopefully when i publish i can make some sales. my work’s a bit more commercial, so that might help.
Poetry and sick humor may not be huge, but it’s good practice. I know how to make an ebook for Amazon easily now. I’ve learned a lot. My PG rated novel will be next, some time next year (hopefully). I can market that to everyone.
good luck. and hey, next year is just around the corner. do you think it’ll be early next year, or somewhere in the middle?
Definitely not early. More likely middle to late. I’m still writing it and I feel like I’m never done editing.
oh, i know that feeling. speaking of editing, how’s “the quiet game” coming along?
Slowly, but I’ll finish it soon.
i can’t wait!
Remember: “There are three kinds of lies; lies, damned lies and statistics.” -Benjamin Disraeli
What about True Lies?
at least you can’t say your writing is so bad you can’t even give it away for free… be encouraged, that seems to be best way for you to encourage others to read your stuff. (sarcasm anyone?)
-mike
>back to paid
>zero units
Human nature, my ass. What’s the point wasting your time to read a book that you think isn’t worth more than zero bucks zero cents?
BTW, do you have your books at the iBooks store? I would check them out but I’m not an e-books fan.