To-do List

First things, first - update the website.  I try every Sunday to change SynergE's main page, adding any new releases plus 5 new eBooks that I put on sale for $2.99.  Please don't forget to check the main page every Sunday evening or Monday morning to see if your book is listed there so you can market accordingly.  http://www.synergebooks.com/   I will also update the SALES STATS page, which you can get to via the Author's BACKROOM (I won't link that here because it is a private author page just for SynergE's authors).

I am in the midst of editing the upcoming release, SYNERGY by Jack Donovan.  You can check that out in the COMING SOON area: http://www.synergebooks.com/comingsoon.html

I will also start formatting Betty Sullivan La Pierre's newest HAWKMAN book, Moonshine Murders this week.  That should be available by next Sunday.  I could squeeze her book into the PUBLICATION SCHEDULE because it was fully edited and a cover supplied.  So mainly all I will have to do is check for typos while I'm formatting.

I received the Royalty Statement from FICTIONWISE this week.  Sales were dismal.  They have gone down from an average of $1200 a quarter, to $900, $600 and now a little over $300.  I believe some of the reason for that is the fact that Barnes & Noble bought them out and concentrates most of their efforts there, neglecting Fictionwise... a lot.  Some of it was probably the prices, so I went through last month and lowered every single SynergE title to no more than $4.88 (some are now listed at $3.99, $2.99 and even a few at 99 cents).  So go in and check to see what your book is listed at and feel free to market the hec out of it/them there.  http://www.fictionwise.com/.  I will post a top 5 (or 10) sellers at Fictionwise momentarily.

We have 3 books in various stages of publication for PRINT this month:  WAR IN THE LAND OF CAIN (Historical Fiction) by Debra Denker http://www.synergebooks.com/ebook_warinthelandofcain.html   THE SOUND OF SILENCE (Suspense/Thriller) by Stacy Reynolds, author of The Daathar Chronicles  http://www.synergebooks.com/ebook_soundofsilence.html and BLASPHEMOUS (Torment Bk 1)  (Horror) by Will Molinar http://www.synergebooks.com/ebook_blasphemous.html  All 3 are highly recommended reads.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  The retailer MOBIPOCKET will be closing its doors on December 31st.  Sales from there the last year or so have been more than dismal, so I can see why.  I think the advent of the Kindle and the Nook just blew them away, unfortunately. 

Reminders and a Few Updates

Here's hoping you all had an enjoyable Thanksgiving (for those who celebrate it).  I had some time to work that day in between preparing the meal, so I updated more titles at PubIt (for Barnes & Noble).  Some of the titles seem to need to be updated more than once, so please bare with me if you go to Barnes & Noble and notice your author bio, ISBN number or any reviews you know you have aren't listed there yet.  They are coming.  And it seems today I can't even get into PubIt to make those changes, so it'll have to wait for a bit.

I'm going to work on 2 of my upcoming manuscripts today - one that just needs some basic line editing and the other I will start formatting today.  I should have at least 3 more books published by the end of this week (December 3rd or so).  Those 3 may or may not show up as new releases this Sunday. 

I am in the midst of changing my bank account over to a new bank, so most likely all royalties this month will be paid via check instead of via PayPal (since it takes a week or more for PayPal to switch over bank accounts).  If you really do not want me to pay you via check, let me know and I will simply send your payment via PayPal as soon as the account is active again.

REMINDER:  I am still offering to send you CDs of any of your titles for only $3.75 (free S&H within the US).  If I get enough orders for the CDs at this price, I may just keep them listed at that price.  And remember, I am now including both the PDF (Adobe) and ePub (Nook) formats for every title.  Let me know if you want to order any and how you'd like to pay (check or PayPal) and I'll give you the total.

To Publish or Not to Publish

One of the hardest decisions I have to make on a daily basis is whether to work on my current book title list or whether to center most of my time on upcoming titles - whether that means actually editing a manuscript, or just formatting, converting and uploading to retail sites, or posting sales and other deals for my backlist titles on my social networks.  Of course, if you are an author who is waiting for your first (or next) title to come out, you most likely will vote for me to continue working on my PRODUCTION SCHEDULE.  But if you have had your book published recently - or not so recently - you may prefer that I work on listing your book(s) at another retailer or converting it to a new format.

And of course, I also have to work on keeping the website updated, answer emails, work with authors on creating covers for new titles and formatting those books that are scheduled to go into print, on top of numerous other things that crop up unexpectedly throughout the day.

So please be patient with me; I have not forgotten any of you... at least not intentionally.  If you've requested that I do something for you - such as adding a new review to the website or sending your book out to be reviewed in the first place, or sending you an order form, it's okay to send me a quick reminder to make sure I haven't forgotten.  Just know that every request I receive from you is important, but that I still have to prioritize some things over others.

Status with Barnes & Noble

I sent out a group email a month or so ago regarding the status of PubIt, which is where I list SynergE's titles that are available at Barnes & Noble in ePub (Nook) format.  Unfortunately, I should've held off on that notice, because it seems there were still some major glitches occuring at PubIt, and it took until just this week for them to actually fix most of them.  (That's not to say that they are all fixed yet, sorry to say).  So now I am at least able to get into my book title list and begin the process of updating those titles.  By this, I mean I have to add the ISBN number, the keywords and the author bio and any reviews, since none of those seemed to transfer over from Fictionwise (which is where B&N was getting all its info for it's Nook titles).  But this also means that whenever we need something changed - a new cover, updated bio, more reviews, etc., I can do that within a few days.

If you happen to visit Barnes & Noble online - or even visit a brick-and-mortar store - and notice that you don't see your book(s) listed, please let me know so I can look into that.  Most likely it's just a case of the information not yet being updated on their end, but I am doing my utmost to update on mine.  I have, for the second time, finally updated all of the OBERON series, plus the History on the Hoof travel trilogy, and tried to catch all of the titles that have updated their covers recently.  But please feel free to check to let me know if you see your old cover on your book so I can change it immediately.

Attention SynergEbooks Authors:

I have decided to use this blog as a day-to-day list of what I'm doing at SynergEbooks for all of you.  I know many of you find it hard to believe that I spent as much time as I do on your titles, whether they are newly released or on what most what call my backlist.  To me, books are timeless.  There should not be a time limit placed on a book's chance for success; nor on its chance to create sales in high volume. 

So please, check back as often as you can to see what I've been up to.  And feel free to post your comments, questions and observations. 

Your digital Publisher,
DEBI STAPLES

Top 5 eBook Lists for 1st Quarter of 2011 - Part 2

Top 5 at FICTIONWISE

This quarter proved to be the lowest sales in ... I can't even remember when.  I'm hoping it's because of them being bought over by Barnes & Noble and that things will settle down and sales will increase again next quarter.  The ironic thing is, the price of the books doesn't seem to be the problem, as my top selling titles have not been reduced in price.

1)  Recycled Hero by Robert Wayman (Sci-fi)

2)  Shades of the Evening: A Gothic Novel by I.M. Tillerman (Gothic)

3)  Elders: A Matter of Death and Life by Robert Wayman (Sci-fi)

4)  For the Love of Ruby by Sharon Kull (Romance)

This month, 5th place is tied:

5)  The Blue Mosaic Vase by Christie Shary (Historical)

5)  101 Soul Bytes by Lorraine Hockely (New Age)

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Top 5 at AMAZON KINDLE

Stats include sales via AMAZON KINDLE UK.

1)  Snowbird by William Norris (NF/True Crime)

2)  A Traveler's Highway to Heaven by William Bonville (Travel)

3)  Evil Little Stories: A Collection by Neal McKenna (Anthology/Horror)

4) A Talent to Deceive: Who Really Killed the Lindberg Baby? by William Norris (True Crime)

5)  Desert Magick: Superstitions by Dana Davis (Fantasy)

Top 5 at BARNES & NOBLE

B&N had the most dramatic increase in sales last month, nearly doubling the previous month's sales.

1)  The Devil's Tale by Eric Leads (Fiction)

2)  Stop Smoking: Diary of a Quitter by Shane Ward (Self-help)

3)  Eleven Reasons Why Women Cheat by Debra Laino PhD (NF)

4)  Makeup: A Crime Novel by Dante & Sally Dattoli w/ Chuck Kelly (Crime)

5)  The Enemy Stalks by Betty Sullivan La Pierre (Mystery)

Top 5 eBook Lists for 1st Quarter of 2011

It seems that BARNES & NOBLE is mostly selling nonfiction titles:

TOP 5:

1)  Numerology: Making It Work for You by Shane Ward (New Age)

2) The Philosophy of the Tarot by Shnane Ward (New Age)

3) The Man Who Fell From the Sky by William Norris (True Crime)

(4)  The First Misadventure of Fragger Sparks by Steven Fisher (Sci-fi)

(5)  A Talent to Deceive: Who Really Killed the Lindberg Baby? by William Norris (True Crime)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AMAZON KINDLE seems to refund/return as many as they sell - not a good trend:

1)  Snowbird by William Norris (NF/True Crime)

2)  Evil Little Stories: A Collection by Neal McKenna (Horror/Anthology)

3)  A Talent to Deceive by William Norris (True Crime)

4)  What's Sex Got to do With It? by Jacqueline Girdner (Humor)

5)  A Traveler's Highway to Heaven by William Bonville (Travel)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

eBooks.com is finally getting some higher sales, though it must be tough to compete with B&N and Kindle

1)  50 Frogs, 5 Babes and a Bulldog by Susan Culp (Humor)

2)  Self-Sabotage: How Sabotage Effects Your Daily Life by Lorraine Hockley (Self-help)

3)  And Shadows Have Their Ending by P.G. Forte (Romance)

4)  Alien Fringe by George LoBuno (Sci-fi)

5)  A Grave Too Many by William Norris (Fiction)