SFFMP 222: Do Pre-Orders Work, What Happens Between Rapid Releases, and Finding a Good Editor
On today’s show, the guys answered listener questions about pre-orders, rapid releases, how they found their editors, whether it make sense to keep series in Kindle Unlimited while publishing stand-alone novels wide, and lots of other stuff. Here’s a list of the questions they got to in the show (the second half of the batch will be answered next week):
- For rapid release for a 5 book series, would you recommend the time-gap between releases be 2, 3, or 4 weeks? And for somebody using it to rebuild their readership, would you recommend Amazon Marketing Ads on the first book to help train amazon algorithms?
- People always ask about rapid release, but never about what happens BETWEEN series release cycles. As they’re stockpiling new titles, I assume there are months where nothing new is up depending on how long it takes for them to write. Algorithm cliff chaos? Discuss.
- Since everyone is asking about rapid release. How long should you advertise or pre-launch the series before you rapid release the books? Also where does most of your traffic for book buying come from? Is it the mailing list?
- On one of the shows, someone mentioned that a short preorder lead has less impact on the “spike and decline” than a long one. Can you guys talk about that?
- I’ve decided to try using some boosted posts from my FB page instead of running ads. I’ve turned off my ads and will instead run the same amount of money per day over a week and see what happens. Have any of you tried using boosted posts only for adverts?
- I’m planning to write both standalones and series books, is it better to take your standalones wide to help establish yourself in those markets? Or am I better off leaving my standalones in KU?
- How do you guys handle health care without an employer?
- How did you find a good editor and what did you do to try them out to decide they were “the one?” (The guys mentioned the Reedsy Marketplace as a possible place to look.)
- Also wondering about best ways to find an editor for SF (space opera).
- Thoughts about the new service, Reedsy Discovery?
- If your book has reviews in non-US amazon stores, is there a way to merge all of them to US store since it’s the exact same book?
- What are the most surprising/unlikely income streams you’ve developed in your writing career?
- I’d like to hear your thoughts on the building and usefulness of FaceBook pages and reader groups.
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Yay! You’re back. I missed you guys last week. Don’t ever go away again.
Thanks for the helpful info! 🙂
Reedsy tip: it’s a good way to find the services you need and get bids for work. BUT be aware that you may have to pay VAT on those goods/services. In my case, I found a cover designer and I loved her work. But even though we are both in the USA and never set foot in the UK to do this deal, because we connected through Reedsy, I had to pay VAT on the work she did. Maybe not a deal breaker, but something to consider.