The Kindle Scout Journey - Part #2

I thought it was time for another Kindle Scout update. My novel, DAWN OF WOLVES, was selected for publication by Kindle Press back in June, and then released on August 23, 2016.

In my first post about my Kindle Scout experience, I outlined how my campaign went and the editing and pre-publication process. It's now been just over a month since publication—so how have things been going.

During the first days of publication—during which Amazon places the book on the 'new release' lists—I sold 36 books (23-31 August). Most of these were in the US, with a handful in the UK and Australia. I just got my royalty statement for August (which is why I have the exact numbers) so don't know how many books I've sold in September yet.

Most days, the book sits at around 50,000 on the Amazon rankings—which is okay, not stratospheric but it's ticking along at a couple of copies a day. I've heard the real promotion starts 90 days after publication, so watch this space!

The power of the back-list

The biggest advantage of having DAWN OF OF WOLVES published by Kindle Press, is the effect it's had on my back-list. The book is #3 in The Kingdom of Mercia series. Although the novels follow on historically, each one can be read as a stand alone story. Winning Kindle Scout has given the whole series a boost. Readers are discovering THE BREAKING DAWN and DARKEST BEFORE DAWN, which I'm delighted about.

Reaching my audience

So far, I've found the whole Kindle Press experience a positive one. It's been given me a confidence boost and helped my historical romances find their audience—not easy in a crowded market-place.

As my novels are set in 7th Century Anglo-Saxon England, I write in quite a niche—few writers set romances in this era. As such, my books can be too gritty to appeal to some mainstream romance readers and too 'love-story' focused for those who like 'straight' historicals. That said, I've discovered there are many readers out there who are looking for historical adventure stories, set in the Dark Ages, with a strong romance element.

I'm grateful that Kindle Scout is allowing me to reach them!