The Testing of Archie Rathbone is FREE on Amazon
November 16th, 17th and 18th
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.com
Reviews for 'The Testing of Archie Rathbone' on Amazon
Saturday 17 November 2012
FREE on Amazon
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.com
Reviews for 'The Testing of Archie Rathbone' on Amazon
Tuesday 13 November 2012
Latest Review for TTOAR
Coming Soon
The Testing of Archie Rathbone - 3 day promotion - November 16th - 18th
5.0 out of 5
stars Very
Entertaining, 5 Oct 2012
(Link to Amazon page to see reviews in their original context)
The Testing of Archie Rathbone (Kindle Edition)
After reading the reviews on this book, I was a little bit wary about
trying it. Using strange or humorous names for some of your characters worked
well for Douglas Adams & Charles Dickens, but nowadays I tend to think it's
often a lazy device used by writers who are trying (usually unsuccessfully) to
inject a bit of comedy into a rather limp offering.Well allow me to eat those words, because I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and once I started reading, I just couldn't stop. It's hard to pin down exactly what genre it would fit into, it's not comedy (though it does have some amusing twists), and somehow it doesn't quite fit the fantasy genre. It does however have an unusual, eccentric plot that keeps you entertained from beginning to end, is well written and full of interesting characters (like the tailors Bolt, Upright & Clench). If I tell you that the main character Archie Rathbone starts the book, trapped on a desert island that is ** SPOILER ALERT **, you'll understand what I mean when I say "eccentric". Sounds daft, but this really is a very readable book, and I'm looking forward to reading more of this author's work in future.
Friday 9 November 2012
An Amazon Adventure (Part 9)
It's been a while since I last wrote an update on my experiences of trying to sell my book.
The Testing of Archie Rathbone hasn't exactly flown off the e-shelves, but then from what my friendly fellow authors have said, that is very much par for the course for first books, and particularly self-published ones. As I've posted previously, downloads have come in dribs and drabs, although during September there was a definite spike in sales, following my last promotion. That spike petered out during the month, with the last residual effects finally vanishing in early October. Now, it just so happened that this coincided with a serious change of focus in my life - I've been out of work for several months, and at that point I realised that looking for work had to become a full-time exercise. Consequently, my author-related networking activity vanished as my job hunting activity increased, and although it was quite incidental, this has provided the circumstances for an interesting (for me at least) experiment:
Assuming that the sales in early October were as a residual effect of September's promotional activity, then it seems that a near-total lack of networking activity during the month resulted in a corresponding total lack of book sales. Looking at this from the current point (more than a week into November), and still without a single additional download, I'm now planning a three day free promotion this month (from November 16th to 18th inclusive), accompanied by all the associated visibility I can manage.
What will this prove? Well, free books tend to attract downloads - that doesn't prove anything. But, if the downloads continue after the price reverts at the end of the promotion then that can only be as a direct result of the promotion (otherwise I'd have seen some paid downloads over the last month). I shall let you know what happens!
Oh, and in case you're wondering - no, I still haven't found a job...
The Testing of Archie Rathbone hasn't exactly flown off the e-shelves, but then from what my friendly fellow authors have said, that is very much par for the course for first books, and particularly self-published ones. As I've posted previously, downloads have come in dribs and drabs, although during September there was a definite spike in sales, following my last promotion. That spike petered out during the month, with the last residual effects finally vanishing in early October. Now, it just so happened that this coincided with a serious change of focus in my life - I've been out of work for several months, and at that point I realised that looking for work had to become a full-time exercise. Consequently, my author-related networking activity vanished as my job hunting activity increased, and although it was quite incidental, this has provided the circumstances for an interesting (for me at least) experiment:
Assuming that the sales in early October were as a residual effect of September's promotional activity, then it seems that a near-total lack of networking activity during the month resulted in a corresponding total lack of book sales. Looking at this from the current point (more than a week into November), and still without a single additional download, I'm now planning a three day free promotion this month (from November 16th to 18th inclusive), accompanied by all the associated visibility I can manage.
What will this prove? Well, free books tend to attract downloads - that doesn't prove anything. But, if the downloads continue after the price reverts at the end of the promotion then that can only be as a direct result of the promotion (otherwise I'd have seen some paid downloads over the last month). I shall let you know what happens!
Oh, and in case you're wondering - no, I still haven't found a job...
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