Tag Archives: book

Writing News and Updates

Book Order Arrival

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A couple of weeks ago I put in an order for 20 copies of my book, so that I could sell them to friends, family, and locals. Guess what showed up at my door yesterday!

Twenty copies of Fifty-Word Stories: Volume One, all laid out and lookin' pretty!

Don’t they look nice? I was so happy when I found that art to use on the cover. I was able to buy the rights to it fairly cheaply, along with a couple of similar pieces of different times of day, for volumes two and three, once they’re ready. (Volume Two will probably come out before Christmas 2011, but I’m not sure exactly when.)

I was a little concerned that 20 would be too many, and that I wouldn’t be able to sell them all, but 15 of them are already accounted for. I’m trying to get them into people’s hands ASAP. If you know me personally or live near Victoria, BC, and want to put in a claim on one of the remaining 5, send me an email or a Facebook message and I’ll put one aside for you.

The cost of the book in-person is $15, which includes a $3 shipping charge. That saves you up to $5 on shipping if you order it online, depending on where you live.

Writing News and Updates

50WS Week in Review

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This has been a very exciting week for me creatively. On Monday I released Fifty-Word Stories: Volume One, a collection of 100 stories from my first year of writing at FiftyWordStories.com.

In conjunction with the book release, I made this a special guest week and posted guest stories from MCM of 1889.ca, Woody Tondorf of Elevator Show and The Morning After, Justin Boyd of LeftHandedToons, John Funk from The Escapist, and Graham, Tally, and Jer from LoadingReadyRun. Getting all of these great guests to write stories for me was really fun, and resulted in not only some great stories, but also the highest-traffic week in site history. Everybody wins!

So how have sales gone? Pretty great, actually. Not including “in-person request” orders, I’ve already surpassed my initial (admittedly a bit modest) sales target. I’m on my way to doubling it, if you include friends and family.

I had no idea what to expect in terms of sales, but here are a couple of trends that I’ve noticed so far:

–I’ve had more people ask to buy the book from me in person than I expected. This has led me to put in a “bulk” order of 20 books so that I can save people a bit on shipping, and so that I’ll have a small stock around for other locals (people from Vancouver or Vancouver Island), or for special events.

–Ebook sales from my site are roughly even with sales through the Kindle Store. I’m glad of this, but I’d also be thrilled to see the Kindle Store sales increase a bit, because it’s also an avenue for reaching more people who may not have heard of the site. If people who have bought the ebook want to leave reviews on the Kindle Store, I’d really appreciate it.

–Specifically mentioning the book on Twitter and Facebook seems to elicit some real response and sales. But don’t worry; I’m not going to keep spamming it all over the place. Moderation in all things!

I’m looking forward to getting back to the regular routine of story posting, but of course, first there’s the Valentine’s Day contest!

Thank you to everyone who has been following the site, and my blog.

Writing News and Updates

The Plunge

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Tomorrow I take the plunge.

The FiftyWordStories.com Store is now online, and the first two products (Fifty-Word Stories: Volume One in print and ebook) have been posted, but tomorrow I’ll flip the switch and begin allowing purchases.

How well is this going to go over? I honestly have no idea. I have a few personal goals and targets for how many copies I think I can sell, but I’m keeping my expectations pretty low. To be honest, I’ve just had a lot of fun putting the book together and setting the store up, even though it’s been a lot of long, hard work. The task has, in many ways, been its own reward. As long as that continues to be the case, any actual sales I make will be pure gravy.

If anyone who knows me personally would like to save a couple of dollars, I can get a bulk shipping discount, so send me an email at tim@fiftywordstories.com before buying and I’ll try to make that happen.