By Jordan Dane
HarperCollins has been testing the waters of discounting their e-book pricing and it’s my turn. My “NO ONE” series (3 suspense books, including my debut book NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM) are now available at $.99 for a limited time. Book #1 is a standalone novel, but books # 2 & 3 are a connected story line. They are best read in order.
These books have such a special place in my heart. They bring back so many memories of my first sale and the extraordinary people who helped me. Click HERE for a link to my first sale story. I had to sacrifice a body part to sell and a very generous, well-established author jumpstarted my career. 
I’m on deadline with a new YA series for Harlequin Teen (THE HUNTED) so I haven’t surfaced much online. I’m also in the midst of promoting my latest YA – ON A DARK WING (Harlequin Teen, Jan 2012). (Everything happens at once, even if you think you’re planning your schedule. And no one gets a break from the TAX MAN. *shiver*)
I have an online writing class coming up Feb 20 – Mar 3, 2012 also. The Young Adult online chapter for the Romance Writers of America (YARWA) is hosting the workshop. The link for that class is HERE.
I’d like to hear from TKZers. Please share:
1.) Your first sale story
2.) Or what it meant to see your first self-pubbed book on sale
3.) Or what keeps you writing.
The HarperCollins sale links to retailers of my $.99 e-books are below (B&N, Amazon, BAMM, Google EBooks, Kobo, iBookStore & other retailers):
NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM
NO ONE LEFT TO TELL
NO ONE LIVES FOREVER
Such and amazing story on your first sale, Jordan. Now that’s inspiring. I just need to pick a body part – now I get it.
I’ve read No One Left To Tell, and I’m in the middle of No One Lives Forever, and I can see why your writing has led you to publication – Love those characters.
I plan to attend your online class for YA writing, and I wish more classes in this format were available.
When I realized my agent couldn’t generate interest in my novel I strapped on my running boots, revised what I’d found wrong with the story, learned how to e-format the MS, and placed it for sale on amazon, for Kindle.
I learned tons during that experience, and when my first sale hit the universe back in December, my husband and I were on top of the world. My sales for January doubled December’s totals, and I positioned the series for paperback with CreateSpace, Amazon’s paperback division.
My Book Club and critique group offered suggestions and feedback that I implemented.
I joined KDP, and offer free promotions timed around holidays (Valentine’s Day, for instance :))
I entered my first novel in the ABNA contest, and now wait to see if I make the first round of cuts.
I keep at it because I keep finding success with writing, and I get to hang out with amazing authors like you, and the rest of TKZ folks.
What an amazing story, Paula! Thanks so much for sharing it. I appreciate you trying my books & I look forward to “virtually seeing” you at my online class hosted by YARWA. I’ve done several online classes for writers groups & enjoy the format.
Good luck with your contest. Crossing fingers & toes for you, girl.
My very first sale was a short story. I remember getting a very generic envelope with a return address of a publishing company. I thought it was junk mail, but still tore it open. There was a check inside. Again, I thought it was junk mail (here’s your check for a discount on a subscription . . . blah blah blah).
Then I read it carefully and it was made out to me and in the lower corner in the memo line it referenced my story.
::kermit flail::
It was four figures. Two on the left of the decimal point and two on the right. : ) I took my husband out for mexican. It was awesome.
Terri
Oh, Terri–What a great story! HA! 4 figures and a burrito. Love it.
I was lucky with my first sale–I was approached by the editor of a YA series to submit a story idea. I wrote my first four books under a pseudonym; eventually I went through the query process when I wanted to launch my own series. Again I was lucky, and only had to submit a half dozen query letters before getting an agent.
You really were lucky, Kathryn, but along with that good fortune was obvious talent that has sustained you in a tough and ever-changing business.
I enjoy writing YA, but I also find crime fiction my comfort read and write. Thanks for stopping by.
Interesting post, thanks.
I recently decided to forgo any more of the agent hunt and put my mystery Tainted Souls up on Kindle and at Smashwords. Sales have been modest, but the reviews have been five stars, so I’m not complaining. I’m always trying to think of good ways just to get out the word that it’s there. I thought about doing a video entitled, “Buy this book or I’ll kill a puppy,” but my kids insisted that would be a bad idea, the old adage that “There’s no such thing as bad publicity” notwithstanding.
On first sale, I recall hearing that Alex Haley cried when, after receiving dozens and dozens of rejection notices, he finally received a rejection notice on which the editor had taken the time to scrawl something like, “Not for us, but keep trying!”
Congratulations on your release, Steven! And good news on those reviews. Kudos. I think it takes more books to build on any momentum you have, so keep writing and working on the quality of your craft. The only real way to do that is by writing, writing, writing, trying new techniques, and keeping your mind open to new things. Sounds like you have a good start.
Amazing that anyone could have turned down a book like Roots, huh? But this is such a subjective business.
With tongue firmly planted in cheek, I’d say your viral puppy idea had merit, but I’m afraid too many people might think I’m serious. Thanks for the smile.
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While my manuscripts themselves never did sell to trad pubs, I can at least rejoice in the fact that on multiple occasions they’ve all hit the Amazon #1 spot for their categories, today being one of those occasions. 65 Below is #1 in Kindle/War and Kindle/Spy Stories. Pretty cool feeling that.
When the manuscript was accepted by Audible.com for audiobook production that felt as good as a straight sale, although there was not any advance involved, cash has been consistently rolling on them.
Today’s jump in sales for my book 65 Below is actually due to the fact that the book is being offered free for the next couple days via Kindle Select (click to get a free copy). So perhaps that is cheating the system, but hey it still makes me feel loved in a narcissistic sorta way.
word verification today “feebsym”. Sounds like a fake FBI agent.
Thanks for sharing, Jordan. No One tells a story like you do.
I sold my first stories, both to original anthologies, on the same day. I got spoiled.
The local Walden’s jumped the gun by two weeks on the sale date of the book. I went in and looked at it and it was unreal. The strangest thing, however, was when I did signings locally and people actually attended. Some of them weren’t related to me. Amazing. There’s no better feeling. Well, maybe one or two, but…
Go, BASIL!
#1 is so cool!
Paula
Ha, Joe! You mean regular people came, not your Christmas card list? Wow.
Basil–you are so busy doing tons of creative things, it amazes me. So happy you hit numero uno, mi amigo.
Audible IS a big deal. Kudos, buddy.
Man, I really do love hearing all these stories. Thanks for sharing.