Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Sad Stories of Politicians and Royalty Statements

"Physical infidelity is the signal, the notice given, that all fidelities are undermined." ~Katherine Anne Porter

Ah, yes...yet another politician who can't keep it in his pants, this one in my very own home state of New York...

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer Under Pressure to Quit Over Sex Scandal

No wonder women read romance novels - at least the men/the heroes in the pages of those stories stay faithful!

***
On another note, I received my royalty statement from The Wild Rose Press yesterday, for Nov/Dec 2007. Let's just say it wasn't what I had hoped or thought it would be, regarding sales. In fact, I was really surprised. One Night in Boston sold nearly 10 times the number Lost in Paradise did, in the two months after it released! I'm not sure how to take that...Samhain has more purchasers/followers/marketing than TWRP? People wanted to read my first novel but not my second one? It's a little discouraging.

I know it's dificult to promote e-books, and in the last few months I've been doing marketing more with an eye toward the print releases. I've also used up my "Debut Author" angle with the various newspapers I sent press releases to, so I'll have to think of something else.

Guess it's back to the drawing board with a renewed focus on promoting Lost in Paradise, this week. And hey! If you're reading this blog, and you haven't gotten your copy yet, why not think about treating yourself this week? It's gotten some great reviews, and for less than the cost of lunch you can purchase and download it here. By the way, the story is set in the middle of summer...nice and steamy and warm, for all of you who are tired of the winter weather already!!

10 comments:

Marianne Arkins said...

I do think Samhain (because it's been around significantly longer) does sell more than TWRP. BUT... my royalties this past quarter were far more than they've ever been, so I'm guessing that things are really beginning to pick up.

It will help, I think, that two TWRP authors won the big award at the Eppies. Hopefully, that will send some folks over to TWRP.

Hang in there. It's HARD to promote eBooks. You have your print runs coming up soon...yay!

Melissa Blue said...

I agree about the Eppies and that Samhain is a larger company. Also they are linked with a huge publisher and I'm sure that also dictates how people feel about the e-pub. Up til not TWRP has been a little fish in the publishing pond.

Oh, I like the way you segued into promo mode...

Karen Scott said...

I think Samhain has more readers than WRP. Better marketing, and they are great at promoting themselves too.

Put it this way, the only time I ever hear about WRP is in conjunction with negative press. I haven't heard about any of their promos at all, so I think somebody over there needs to start working the online romance audience properly, or else they'll go the same way as some of the others.

Karen Scott said...

Oh by the way, as a reader, Eppies don't make any difference to me at all.

windycindy said...

Hi, I have read your book and really enjoyed it! I am not into ebooks, yet! Maybe, I am old-fashioned, but I like book covers,reading the back cover, etc. I also like to hand a person the book I am giving to them. I wish you luck with sales of all of your books. The economy isn't the best at all right now. Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com

Michael said...

Oooh, I'm sorry, Allie. Maybe because I'm a guy, but romance just isn't my thing. Now if you wrote fantasy, I'd scarf up your book in a heartbeat, even if it were romance/fantasy cross-over. I like the genre cross-overs, so even romance is not out the question when it comes to that.

Allie Boniface said...

Karen, Unfortunately I think you might be right...based on my experience with both presses, SP seems to be emerging as the stronger and savvier of the two...

And Michael, don't you know any women who might like to read the book? Isn't there a woman in your life you might buy it for? (hint, hint LOL)

Unknown said...

I have never read any of your books but would love to. I am not into e-books at all. I don't like setting at the computer and reading a book. Give me a good paper back anyday.

Michael said...

I only wish, but I'm such a loser... (oh, don't tell anyone I said that :D ). Oddly, even the women I know read mostly spec fic. Promise, if I meet anyone who likes romance I will definitely recommend your book.

Kris Eton said...

I'm a new author with TWRP. Scarlet Rose...just came out last Friday (March 14th). I haven't heard anything negative about TWRP. In fact, during a chat I participated in a few weeks ago for another epub I'm with I mentioned my future release with TWRP and the two moderators raved about TWRP and how much they loved their books!

This was on the Romance Junkies site, which is a pretty popular readers' site.

Samhain has been around longer and has a great rep. It is one of the biggies in the epub world and has gained even more respect and publicity because of their connections with Kensington. It's hard to compare the two, really.

TWRP is very professional. Their editing is top notch. They have a GREAT gameplan...I had a review for my book less than a week after it came out and I was posted to several resellers almost immediately. That impresses me.

I'm looking forward to getting my first statement to see how well I did with TWRP.