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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
I'm calling it a success...much in part of the kind help I received here on the boards, so I'm posting to pay it forward.  Michael, Victorine, Lucy, etc. have been so helpful to me, I wanted to share in hopes my numbers would be helpful to someone else.  Below are my Amazon sales.  Coming home is also on BN, I've sold about 30 copies, I think, total.

4/23 7
4/30 10
5/7 10
5/14 26  New cover
5/21 16
5/28 54  Lowered the price to 99 cents.  Hit 10,000 rank
5/29-30 39  Now at about 5K Amazon rank.  (Was included in Alex Sinclair's Bargain Books)

I spent $100 to have my manuscript edited.  (This was not a "professional" copyeditor, but a nice lady who worked really hard for a token amount, but I wouldn't have published without doing it.  I didn't want to TOTALLY embarrass myself)  I made both of my covers myself and spent $6 on art for the second cover, but did the rest myself with free software. 

I have broken even on expenses.

The only other thing I can think of is that I have contacted book review blogs, etc. but none of those things have run yet. 
 

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It sounds like an exciting six weeks, Julie. Congratulations on a strong beginning, long may the success continue.

BTW, like the others here, I think your Coming Home cover is very good. Its not overly cluttered with text, and it has that clean crisp look, yet its eye catching enough to make readers stop and take a second look. Very well done.


Mark E. Cooper
 

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Discussion Starter · #13 ·
Bryan R. Dennis said:
That Coming Home cover really stands out. You're talented. :) Looks like you're getting good results for your efforts. Good for you!
I owe the cover change to Lucy Kevin. I was reading here about how she wasn't statisified with her covers. They were good, but not exactly what she was looking for. Then she came accross the graphic for Seattle Girl and *knew* it was the right one.

After I read that I looked at my cover for a long time and started to look through graphics. I think I looked at thousands of different ones until I found this one on some obscure site. Like Lucy, I *knew* it was the one.

Someday I'm going to invest in Photoshop, though. I used Picassa and Picnic which is free from Google, but I'd like to have more options on fonts and stuff.
 

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julie sellers said:
Someday I'm going to invest in Photoshop, though. I used Picassa and Picnic which is free from Google, but I'd like to have more options on fonts and stuff.
Yes, I have photoshop but I am not talented in that area at all. It is a very important tool for those who know how to properly use it, but it makes for a very expensive investment. The only reason I have the program is that it came bundled with other things when I bought the computer all those years ago. It has come in handy for properly viewing the covers that Anne Stokes and others created for me, but I could never create a decent cover with it myself.

I know what you mean regarding fonts too. A few years ago I bought a font package from Adobe, and was glad to pay what was needed, but when I asked my cover designer of that time about fonts, she said she would need to hand work them anyway. So although i am glad to have lots to choose from, it didn't affect my cover design in the end.

Being able to make your own covers like you have, Julie, will give you a huge leg up and cut costs. I'm a bit jealous actually.! :)

Mark E. Cooper
 

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i agree, the cover is really good, but for me anyway the last line in your blurb is the most compelling... "Sometimes coming home, isn't to a place on the map...but a place in your heart." now that is nice! congrats ( if i misquoted--sorry)
 
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