The MEGA-THREAD for "I went free with Select and here's my data/experiences"

[MichaelWallace]

2nd day in a day promo. Chop Suey has had about 10k downloads. Currently #1 in Suspense and #32 overall. Not sure how long I'll keep those spots but I'm happy so far.

Wow, that's great.

[JRTomlin]

Definitely not a magic bullet. The good and the bad:

A Kingdom's Cost Free Dec. 14 & 15 - gave away 9512. Since then I've sold about 689 at $3.99 and I'm now averaging about 11 sales per day up from 1 to 2 a day before it was free.

Pendant of Power Free Dec. 26 & 27 - gave away 282. It was about rank #200,000. I had sold 2 in the previous month and have sold 2 since.

The giveaway of Freedom's Sword gave away about 3,000 but actually gave an even larger boost in sales than I got with A Kingdom's Cost and I'm averaging about 15 sales per day. The giveaway of Talon of the Unnamed Goddess gave away about 1,000 and boosted from 1 sale per week to 2 sales per day. We'll see what the giveaway of Blood Duty does. It is currently at #16 in romance/fantasy and looks like it will end up about maybe 600 giveaways. I'm not sure if that's enough to do anything.

If that helps someone with making a decision, that's good.

[genevieveaclark]

2nd day in a day promo. Chop Suey has had about 10k downloads. Currently #1 in Suspense and #32 overall. Not sure how long I'll keep those spots but I'm happy so far.

I've always loved the cover for Chop Suey, btw. Did you do it yourself?

Also, another vote for stickiness, please.

[edwardgtalbot]

I already posted about my free experience a week plus ago, so I'll refrain from repeating, but I'll agree that it would be cool to have this thread to discuss results (as opposed to a place to look for free books) as a sticky in Writer's Cafe, at least temporarily. For the most part, we probably want such posts to occur after the promotion and several days of paid sales, although on rare occasions if someone is truly lighting up the free store, watching it in real-time can be exciting for all of us.

Just my 8.5 cents.

[Benjamin A.]

Thanks for starting a thread for this, the last thing I want to do is upset anyone with a thread for my own data. I'll make my final data post here instead of in the thread I made two days ago when my free promo began. Today is the last day of my first free journey, so I'll compile my data and share my thoughts after I go pack to paid.

A vote for stickiness here too. It will make it easier to view data from authors across the board.

[Learnmegood]

I've been really psyched about my experience.  In a nutshell, went free from Jan 2-4, had over 43K downloads, made it to #6 on the freebie list.  Since coming off free, I've had over 3K sales and am hovering in the 60s (peaked AT 60) of the paid list.  Over 700 borrows as well.

Got a bit of a reality letdown today when I looked at the "Previous 6 weeks" report on the KDP page.  For one, I had forgotten that non-US purchases only count 35% (I had been salivating over 2 bucks a pop), and furthermore, I cannot make sense of the numbers.  And I am a math guy, so my pride is a bit injured that I can't figure it out as well.

If anyone can help me out, with either an explanation of the confusing stats OR a valid number to Amazon support, please PM me!

The really confusing thing is that it shows 1095 "sales" (might be some free downloads in there) at 35%, but the average file size, average offer price, and average cost are all set to "N/A."  Yet there is a $700 royalty listed!!!  I just don't get it.

[TLH]

I've always loved the cover for Chop Suey, btw. Did you do it yourself?

Also, another vote for stickiness, please.

Thanks. I worked on it with a buddy of mine who is an art director. If you're interested, I blogged about what I had to go through to reach this final cover. http://wp.me/p1iJRr-bG

Also, to clarify my original post, I went free for 2 days. Today is my second day.

[genevieveaclark]

Thanks. I worked on it with a buddy of mine who is an art director. If you're interested, I blogged about what I had to go through to reach this final cover. http://wp.me/p1iJRr-bG

Also, to clarify my original post, I went free for 2 days. Today is my second day.

Cool, thanks!

[Danielle Kazemi]

These after numbers are pretty good to see. I am averaging about 1 sale a week for the one I have free today. Hopefully it can get some form of traction.

[Phoenix Sullivan]

SECTOR C, a near-future medical thriller, was free Jan 6 and 7. It got a bump from Free Kindle Books the morning of Day 1 and another bump from Ereader News Today that same afternoon. It made the Top 100 late evening Day 1. Rank going in was around #14,000. It's a standalone, so no collateral sales.

12,777 - Total Downloads (US)
#1 - Science Fiction for 1.5 days
#16 - Fiction
#25 - Overall Free Store

POST-FREE

Sales in US store only. Total UK sales over same 2-week period: 10



End of Day 2: Amazon picked up title to feature on the front page of the Kindle store as the bestseller example for SF *swoon* - screencap here, courtesy of JNFR: http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/topic,98775.msg1523046.html#msg1523046
End of Day 4: No longer featured on front page.  

ETA: Funny thing, when you put an asterisk on a number in Excel and use autosum, it ignores that number (duh). Chart edited to reflect the correct total of copies sold.

=======

I'm also privy to the sales data for one of the Steel Magnolia titles, Gypsy Bond, a regency romance novella by Lindy Corbin. It's a brand-new release with no reviews going in so wasn't featured on any of the major free-books sites. It also went free Jan 6 and 7. No other titles by this author.

2092 - Total Downloads (US)
#16 - Historical Romance
#73 - All Romance
#235 - Overall Free Store

POST FREE

Day 1: 17 Sales / 1 Borrow   #17,484 Overall Rank   (UK: 9 Sales / separate sales, not cumulative)
Day 2: 46 Sales / 2 Borrows   #6648 Overall Rank   #85 Regency Romance   (UK: 15 Sales    #7794 Overall)
Day 3: 31 Sales / 0 Borrows   Overall rank steady in #4-5K range, Regency category rank steady in #50-60 range    
            (UK: 14 Sales   #2275 Overall   #53 Historical Romance)
Day 4: 20 Sales / 1 Borrow   Overall rank steady in the low #5000s, Regency cat rank steady in high #50/low #60
            (UK: 12 Sales    Overall rank steady in low #2000s, Regency cat rank in high #50/low #60

Interestingly, the regency romance did a lot better in the UK store than did the SF/thriller: 372 downloads vs 162 in the UK. In Germany, the downloads were about equal: 22 for the regency vs 24 for the SF. The SF title also had 3 DLs in Italy and 1 in Spain. 0 in France.

=======

Vet Tech Tales, a novella-length memoir-esque/essay nonfiction book, went free On Dec 22 and 23. Got a bump on Day 1 from Free Kindle Books and Tips. Brand-new release. No reviews going in (and still no reviews).

1347 - Total Downloads (all stores)
#1 - Medicine
#1 - Science
#1 - Professional & Technical
#12 - Lifestyle & Home
#2 - Home & Garden
#2 - Animal Care & Pets
#43 - Overall Nonfiction
#188 - Overall Free Store

Between Dec 24 and Dec 31, it had 311 sales + 88 borrows.
Between Jan 1 and 7, it's had 73 sales + 15 borrows.
 

[ETS PRESS]

I will play just to round things out around here. DIY went free on Christmas Day for one day only. I had a whopping 184 free downloads. I've had 9 sales and 4 borrows since going free. 

[HeidiHall]

Yesterday was my 3rd stab at going free. The first was with my novella, Witch Way, and I had negligible downloads and no real boost in sales afterward (mid Dec.). Then, I tried it with A Dose of Reality over New Years and had 3500 downloaded, rose to #277 in the free store and have since seen my book rise as high as #7 in romantic suspense paid with about 300 real sales and one new 4 star review. Since my latest release, Flirting with Death, was languishing with a ranking of about 58k, I pulled it from other sites (had sold a whopping 2 copies anywhere but amz) and ran a free promo yesterday and today... current downloads in US - over 16k and my ranking is:

 Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store) #2 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Genre Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Women Sleuths

Woohoo! Plus, I've received 2 new reviews (4 & 5 stars)! So, don't give up if your first experience is a bust... luck and timing play a big part Imo. I can't wait to see what happens when the book goes back to paid!

[Mike McIntyre]

Went free with two books for two days each around Xmas. Pre-free, my three books averaged 8 paid sales per day. Post-free, they average 98 paid sales per day. On Xmas Day, The Kindness of Strangers made it to #1 in Travel (not a subcategory, but overall). I learned how to get a screenshot. That was fun.

[Kpfowler]

Yesterday was my 3rd stab at going free. The first was with my novella, Witch Way, and I had negligible downloads and no real boost in sales afterward (mid Dec.). Then, I tried it with A Dose of Reality over New Years and had 3500 downloaded, rose to #277 in the free store and have since seen my book rise as high as #7 in romantic suspense paid with about 300 real sales and one new 4 star review. Since my latest release, Flirting with Death, was languishing with a ranking of about 58k, I pulled it from other sites (had sold a whopping 2 copies anywhere but amz) and ran a free promo yesterday and today... current downloads in US - over 16k and my ranking is:

 Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store) #2 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Genre Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Women Sleuths

Woohoo! Plus, I've received 2 new reviews (4 & 5 stars)! So, don't give up if your first experience is a bust... luck and timing play a big part Imo. I can't wait to see what happens when the book goes back to paid!

Heidi that's great! I actually snagged your freebie earlier today, or was it last night? Who knows... I feel like I haven't slept since mine went free- been too busy refreshing my browser in case Amazon updates its rankings. 

[HeidiHall]

Heidi that's great! I actually snagged your freebie earlier today, or was it last night? Who knows... I feel like I haven't slept since mine went free- been too busy refreshing my browser in case Amazon updates its rankings. 

Thanks, Karen! I'm sleep deprived too, and so wired I'm vibrating

[Kpfowler]

Thanks, Karen! I'm sleep deprived too, and so wired I'm vibrating

Tell me about it. I just went to refesh Skin's page, and all the stats dissappeared. I'm pretty sure I had a mild cardiac infarction.  They're back now, and I didn't even get a pleasant surprise for my trouble. I seem to have hit a plateau... current stats have risen slightly, but the genre drill down ranks are pretty much the same. So unless it gets picked up by some big site in the next 24 hrs, it's probably as high (low?) as the book is going to get.

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,839 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
#9 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Genre Fiction > Anthologies
#41 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Short Stories

Just have to remind myself that I just did the promo this time around for some exposure and to hopefully pick up a few more reviews!

[jnfr]

Thanks very much for the combined thread, everyone. I like having all the info in one place.

[brinacourtney]

Thanks very much for the combined thread, everyone. I like having all the info in one place.

Ditto, still contemplating KDP Select but ALL of your success has been pushing me toward entering. I've had a dry spell, and would be happy with just a couple sales a day. Le sigh.

[Kpfowler]

Just wanted to say, for those of you that publish directly through Pubit and are thinking about pulling your book to go Select, they had mine "unavailable" within an hour. Smashwords was instantly gone and I never let them distribute to begin with.

I decided to pull one of my lesser books there (Memories) to see if I could kick-start my best performer (Still Life) by association, since Still Life does well over there I'm still on the fence about pulling it.  Memories, however won't bring me any losses. Hope that helps some of you!

[cidneyswanson]

Okay folks.  Time to clean ourselves up.  Let's pretend writers can be organized .

There are a gazillion threads here lately about people's experiences with a Select freebie.  I'm proposing that we put all those posts in a single thread (this one!).  It will help clean up the Writers' Cafe, and the data will be a lot easier to digest in one place as well.

If you support this idea, please feel free to encourage new thread posters to move their conversation over here...  Some help keeping this post on the front page until it catches on would also be much appreciated.

I wanted to say "Meow" when I read this first.
(As in, I was picturing a bunch of cats being gently herded.)

It's been great fun reading through the thread and seeing the results.

Debora, do you have a formatting suggestion for a good way to list this info. Something that lets a reader get it "at a glance" style if they are trying to gather stats quickly? I noticed lots of ways to present the info, but just wondered if you might have a suggestions, number-and-graph girl that you are.
Meow-meow,
Cidney

[genevieveaclark]

How about

[Book Title], [genre], [categories], [length]
[Days free]
[Rank before free], [avg daily sales before free]
[Rank 2+ days after free], [average daily sales after 2+ days post free]
[comments (particularly if any sales boost is observed long term, and if so how much etc)]

That's the data I'd like to see, anyway. But that seems like a complicated form...

[terrireid]

I put "Loose Ends - A Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery" for free from Dec 24th through Dec 28th

I had 45,000 downloads.  Then the rest of the month, I had an additional 6,000 downloads.  I was traveling, so I didn't take note of the ranking - but I think it reached in the Top 20 free kindle books.

Since then (January), there have been over 8,000 downloads with an additional over 2,000 Kindle Lends.  It's pulled the book pretty high in the rankings.

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #45 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
#1 in Books > Romance > Fantasy & Futuristic
#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Genre Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Women Sleuths
#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Genre Fiction > Horror > Ghosts

[modwitch]

Debora, do you have a formatting suggestion for a good way to list this info. Something that lets a reader get it "at a glance" style if they are trying to gather stats quickly? I noticed lots of ways to present the info, but just wondered if you might have a suggestions, number-and-graph girl that you are.

 

I'll be very lucky if I can get everyone in the door, never mind telling 'em how to dress  .  Genevieve's suggestion would cover what I'd want to see, if anyone wants to play.

[Kpfowler]

Oh! I thought of two more stats that could be helpful to know-- mainly because I'm curious:

1- # of returns during / within 7 days of coming off Free, or a ratio

(I'll admit, I'm clueless about returns. Statistically, I'd think the more you sold the higher the return rate, but I could be wrong. I won't say what I want, for fear of jinxing myself!)

2- if going Free garnered any new reviews (with comments if they were "helpful" or just not (i.e I don't read this kind of book)

Night all!

[Benjamin A.]

I've compiled a report of my 3 day promo event, with data as of 12:00 am PST today, when my promo is "officially" over. It is almost 2 1/2 pages in my word processor though, so it may be rude and spammy of me to post it in here. Instead, if anyone is interested in the data, I will gladly send it to you. Feel free to contact me via PM or email. I've given honest information on downloads, promotion, size of my social networks, and what I've learned from the data, including day to day info, and what I plan for future free days.

I was able to monitor this experiment quite closely, as my situation has me spending a lot of time at home.

I only have a single book that hasn't garnered much attention before now, so depending on where you are, my data may not be of much use. It's rather humble compared to some, but I'll gladly share it with anyone curious about it, in the name of helping others learn more about the program.

I will probably do a follow up to the report after going back to paid and seeing what happens from there.