I am not sure there will be a video this week. The time I normally allocate to making the video is being eaten up by visiting an apiary before I get my first beehive on the croft. Someone is very kindly showing me their setup and guiding me on what I need to get started.
By way of apology, I have a written post for this week.
One of the ‘problems’ or possibly bugs in the PHNX (DriveThruRPG’s new site design) is that it suppresses indie publishers and amplifies the biggest. The issue for us small publishers is that they [Roll20/OBS] may not even notice the changes as it is possibly the same number of sales for the amount of dollars, but different publishers sell different books. They may not even notice the different publishers bit, as the top 20 or 30 publishers may have had the lion’s share of sales anyway. The bigger concern is that this isn’t a bug or problem, but rather it is intentional. Indie publishers tend to price cheaper and the bigger publishers are often selling $20-$40 PDFs. If the sales numbers are the same it could be that the dollar value of sales has actually gone up with the new design.
Just because it is not working for me and all the other indie publishers does not mean that it is not working for Roll20/OBS.
So, my DriveThruFiction [DTF] project is to a) diversify myself away from my core niche, and b) build a new niche currently focused on DTF.
In the last video, I showed how I was already a named publisher in two or three categories, with only two titles released.
The biggest change is that in the week since that video has been released I have moved up from being named in just three categories to being named on the homepage.
This is significant because *if* I can retain this position it means that when DTF gets the PHNX makeover, I won’t be one of the indie publishers that suffers on the site, I will be one of the bigger publishers that gets promoted at the indie guys expense.
To help this along, I have another classic horror book publishing today, an HP Lovecraft title sans the racism that is easier to read. I also have another ready to roll, but I may wait an extra week before putting that out. That is another vampire tale that hits different categories, broadening my reach.
Two more are in the pipeline, and a fifth book is in progress. The goal has changed slightly. I had planned on building up and getting a top 15 spot, which is needed to hit the homepage, but I have already done that. Now, I need to consolidate that position and try not to lose it.
In addition to releasing the new book today, I am creating a bundle of the three books. Tomorrow, I hope to create a footer to cross-promote them and a purchase note to the same effect. I should do that today, but time is a bit short, and I am already out one day this week.
I had the notification that the first print proof has been dispatched, the second is at the printers, and I have uploaded the third set of print files today.
Away from DTF, the first two books are on Kindle and in print on Amazon; the third is in review and will hopefully be live by the end of the day.
Another task for tomorrow is to get these books listed on Lulu.
I also have a Draft2Digital account, and these books are ideal for epub distribution.
So, the net result is that I am pleased with my progress so far, and I have mapped out my subsequent actions. It will be fascinating to see if my titles get boosted or suppressed when PHNX comes to DTF.
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