Now that my travel/sailing/adventure memoir Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary has been launched more than 1.5 years ago, these book updates, or better, promo updates, will become less frequent. I’m thinking of sharing book news here a few times a year for the following reasons: to update people interested in the journey of an indie author, to inspire/inform fellow authors about my process, successes, and failures, and to – hopefully – entice new blog readers to check out Plunge. This page here provides the blurb, reviews, free chapters, and more. You can find my previous update here.
My book news
Let’s start with the biggest accomplishment… After I published Plunge in November 2020 (on my 45th birthday), I had three quantifiable goals for the first year after publication:
- Make back my investment in the book, which was $2,700. This chunk of money was spent on an editor (two rounds), cover artist, a packet of ten ISBN numbers, and miscellaneous costs related to the publication process.
- Gather 100 ratings/reviews for my book on Amazon.
- Sell 1,000 copies of Plunge.
I only managed to reach the first two goals by November 2021, one year in.
Eighteen months after publication, I’m happy to report that I achieved my third goal (in May 2022): 1,000 copies sold on Amazon; this is a combination of eBooks and paperbacks. If you add other markets and personal sales to this, the number is slightly higher. While this might not seem like much (it isn’t), all these books have been sold via word of mouth, personal efforts, and free “promo posts” on Facebook. I have yet to pay money for advertising, which I probably have to do soon if I want to keep selling books.
Crossing the 1,000 mark
If you are curious about my actual earnings for these sales (and who isn’t?), here is my royalty statement for those 1,020 books sold above. Don’t forget that $2,700 of this number went to creating Plunge. So far, I’ve made about $1,400 on a book that took five years to write. 🙂
This number looks okay, without having to deduct $2,700
Other than this, the following events happened since my last update in early March:
- During our four months of overland travel on the Baja peninsula in Mexico, I sold about fifteen signed copies to fellow travelers. This helped offset our living costs a bit. I can’t believe I didn’t take any photos of these transactions or even of Plunge with a spectacular backdrop.
- BookLife (a subsidiary of Publishers Weekly, dedicated to indie authors) mentioned Plunge in their March Indie Spotlight online and in their newsletter.
- Sailor, vanlifer, podcaster, and popular blogger/entrepreneur Kristin Hanes of The Wayward Home listed my book at the top of her “14 Best Sailing Adventure Books” list.
- Plunge was picked and read by two book clubs in April, so I dropped the price of the eBook to $3.99 (instead of $5.99) leading up to that month to offer potential readers a better price. Amazon USA still has the paperback discounted with $2.
- The Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) book club members read my book as one of the two stories they picked for April.
- Donna’s (Retirement Reflections) local Vancouver Island, BC, Canada, book club also read and discussed Plunge – I happily joined a Q&A with those readers but forgot to mention reviews are extremely appreciated. 😊
Donna’s book club members
- I joined the Easter Party on the Facebook group We Love Memoirs. This means I was allowed one post – with a giveaway, quiz, question, photo, quote, … – to promote my book, something that is not tolerated other times. If you enjoy memoirs, I recommend checking out this group as it offers a friendly, fun atmosphere with many chances to win books.
- One day, Plunge jumped to #1 bestseller on Amazon in the category South Pacific Travel Guides. This doesn’t really mean much. It sounds incredible and makes for a great screenshot, though.
Temporary bestseller status
- Two admins of the IWSG book club gave my memoir a raving review, which meant a lot to me! You can read Ronel’s review here and Toi’s extensive thoughts here.
- Valentina Cirasola featured me on her blog Valentina Expressions for her “Spring, Beauty, and Books” series. You can read the short, inspiring post here.
Spring feature on Valentina Expressions
- Valentina also created a short video with all the book covers and one quote of all the participants in this series. Check it out here.
Ordering author copies
I like having a few paperbacks of Plunge in my possession, in case I meet someone interested in a signed copy. Also, selling copies myself earns twice the profit than the $3.50 dollars online. I usually order ten copies from Amazon, which take 2-3 weeks to be delivered. Often, a couple of these are of inadequate quality, showing a printing defect in the B&W photo section at the back of the book. I file a claim, explain the problem, add photos as proof, and the issue is resolved in days. It’s a hassle, but my experience with the Amazon customer support team for indie authors has been positive.
An entire box of defective books
Imagine my surprise when I placed an order two months ago and opened the box of books in Boise, Idaho, early May only to discover that every single copy had white lines through multiple photos at the back of the book, producing an unprofessional look. I needed at least one “perfect” copy for marketing purposes and this failed.
I complained and had replacements sent to Portland, Oregon, as I would have left Boise by the time those would show up. With anticipation, I checked the second batch. The same problem!! And, resolving it this time is still in progress, weeks later. Amazon admitted that this particular printer had issues.
Now, I’m terrified readers who order paperbacks face the same issue, I don’t know how to avoid this faulty printing facility in Illinois, and I have no clue where to order another batch. It’s disappointing, demoralizing, and bad for business!
What’s next?
I hope to find new ways to advertise my book online, but have little time for any of it these months.
I will be a presenter on my first Van Life Summit next month! I’ll share more information about that on my social media channels. The topic I will discuss is “Van Life on a budget,” which is right up my alley!
I’m looking into being featured on book review blogs and interviewed for fellow indie authors’ newsletters.
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June 24, 2022 at 18:11
I’m glad to read you reached your three goals, Liesbet! To think you netted so far about $1400 is great but I’m sure not what you were hoping. Self publishing is risky and at best a labor of love after all the writing and editing. I’m glad you can still keep sales going and best wishes to you.
June 26, 2022 at 17:39
Hi Terri,
I hope you’re road trip is going well!
Thank you for the sales wishes. There are different ways to look at success and achieving goals. I have learned a lot self-publishing my book. Some people are happy to break even, others want to make money, and some merely see writing as a hobby. Some authors put a lot of effort, time, and money in the finished product; others don’t and every book sold means a profit. I always aim high and expect “the best”, whether it is of myself or other authors, which often leads to disappointment. I’m learning… 🙂
June 24, 2022 at 18:53
Congratulations, Liesbet! You’ve stuck with this marketing stuff (without paying money) better than most. While my intention was never to make money, quite naturally I didn’t want my project to become a money pit. I think you’ve done better than me, but my energy is going toward another book these days. Anyway, I’m happy to see any author scratch out whatever they can. Like most people, I find the actual writing a lot more fun than the rest of this stuff.😉
June 26, 2022 at 17:41
I think your energy (writing instead of promoting) is spent wisely, Pete. Like you said, it has to remain fun and writing is usually more enjoyable than promoting, or other steps along the way. I know your upcoming book is in a totally different genre, but I have often learned that writing the next book is the best promotion and a surer way to succes.
June 24, 2022 at 19:06
Hi Liesbet, I hope the printing issue is fixed soon. You worked so hard on this book. Sometimes it seems people don’t care about quality of their work – not you, the printer. The book I got was perfect.
I so enjoyed reading Plunge Liesbet and would recommend it to anyone. I cried over Kalli and Darwin. I appreciate how open you are, which seems to be part of your nature. I don’t remember if I pinned your book or not, I probably did but I’ll go back and do it again. I know it’s small potatoes but hey maybe it will help.
Congratulations on reaching your three goals!!
June 26, 2022 at 17:48
Hi Lea,
Thank you for the insights about your Plunge – the printing and the content. 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed the read. And thank you for spreading the word! I very much appreciate that.
Luckily, there are different printing facilities throughout the country. I have only had these awful experiences with a facility in Illinois. Before that, my orders that happened to be printed in South Caroline and Delaware were of much better quality. Luck of the draw…
June 24, 2022 at 19:06
Congrats on making your third goal! Self-publishing is a challenge but you’ve done a great job with your marketing efforts. Sorry about the photo issue… that must have been very disappointing, but good to know that Amazon support is helping you.
June 26, 2022 at 17:52
Hi Janis!
Self-publishing is like learning twenty new skills, trying to make them all align, and making the end result as professional as possible. So, yes, it was and is disappointing when you rely for some factors on someone else and they mess it up. But, such is life! 🙂
Luckily, Amazon does care about customer satisfaction – and they are big enough to make that happen – so it is usually a matter of time (and the necessary effort and frustration), before a full refund is issued.
June 24, 2022 at 19:24
Liesbet, you’ve made money. Yes, it took years to write, endless hours to edit and print, and even more time to promote, but you’ve made money! I am sure there are thousands of authors out there who can’t say that. Congratulations and stick with it.
June 26, 2022 at 17:55
Thanks, Suzanne! Like an author friend (the one we are currently “living with”) recently pointed out: you only hear about the success stories… So, if we keep comparing ourselves to authors who manage to live off their book sales, we will always feel inadequate. Therefore, you are right, being able to make some money off our craft is better than none – and better than most. 🙂
June 24, 2022 at 20:28
You go! Over one thousand copies sold! You continue to be amazing with the promotion. I admire your dedication and stamina.
So sorry about the bad books. What an absolute pain. Amazon should stop doing business with this company.
But I do love their grafts. Thanks for sharing your book sales data. Very interesting!
June 26, 2022 at 17:57
Hi Duwan,
I was pretty close to this number before you guys left. I remember mentioning that.
I’m glad you enjoyed the graphs. It is fun refreshing those pages once a day. Well, if something actually happens in a positive sense… 🙂
I think I’m done with promoting again for a while. We have other fish to fry and I always said I’d “lighten up” once I reached my goals.
June 24, 2022 at 22:45
Congratulations. Liesbet, on your book goal achievements. You’ve done a great job with the promotion. Keep calm and carry on.
June 26, 2022 at 17:58
Thank you for the encouragement, Natalie. Having “your baby” put in the world like that brings some responsibility and some pride of showing it off. 🙂
June 24, 2022 at 23:44
Congratulations, Liesbet! Achieving all three of your goals is an incredible accomplishment. Thank you for joining our Book Club this post April. You and Plunge were a HUGE hit!
June 26, 2022 at 18:00
You are so sweet and amazing, Donna! Thank you for these lovely words and – as you know – I throughly enjoyed being part of your book club discussion and could have talked even longer. 🙂
June 25, 2022 at 03:25
Well done, Liesbet, you have been so focussed on your goals! You have done so well in gaining exposure with Plunge. It really is hard work, though, and I love your honesty about your earnings. Most people seem to think that if you publish a book, you can retire on the proceeds, but the reality is rather different. My objective was always to cover my costs and view anything else as a bonus. Self publishing really is a labour of love!
June 26, 2022 at 18:03
Hi Jackie,
You are an expert when it comes to self-publishing and I’m sure your Caravanning series is doing just fine. I’ve often read that writing a series is the way to go if you want to stand out and become successful. I sure hope you have been able to cover your costs and and that you have experienced a lot of “bonuses”. 🙂
June 27, 2022 at 17:38
Yes – I covered my costs and am a little way into the black. The bonuses have been meeting people like you!
June 30, 2022 at 17:39
Ooow, what a nice thing to say, Jackie! I love “meeting” like-minded souls as well. 🙂
June 25, 2022 at 09:53
You’re wrong–that is an amazing sales record. You worked hard for it, too. I am so proud of you. And the white lines in the pictures–no buyer will blame you. They’ll blame Amazon, so don’t worry about it.
Kudos to you as a writer and marketeer!
June 26, 2022 at 18:06
Thanks a lot for your wonderful comment and insights, Jacqui.
Fellow authors probably know the difference between book issues being the author’s fault, or not. I’m not sure readers actually realize that when the photos at the back of the book don’t look right, it is actually the printer’s fault. Most readers aren’t aware how printing with Amazon works or have even heard of POD. I sure hope you’re right about this, but I have a feeling that the author is easily blamed for any issue regarding their book.
June 25, 2022 at 17:39
Congratulations on achieving all your goals! Well done. The memoir market is a tough one, and I’m impressed by your dedication and persistence! 🙂
June 26, 2022 at 18:08
Hi Diane,
I keep hearing and reading that the memoir market is a tough one to break into. But I tried. I had to. All I can do is my best to make a difference and get noticed. Without a marketing budget, connections, and/or a generous dose of luck, this is close to impossible. It’s all part of the experience and learning process! 🙂
June 27, 2022 at 16:39
Wow Liesbet, you did amazing. Not sure I ever sold 1000 copies of any of my books! I think it’s time you put out another one! 🙂 xx
June 30, 2022 at 17:38
Hi Debby!
I’m always curious about how many books other memoir authors sell, but it is information that is not easily obtainable. Even if I ask directly.
I have a feeling there will be another book, but at the right time. I have zero minutes in the day right now to work on another book – it took me five years to produce “Plunge,” most of those years while I wasn’t on the road. When I have to pick between travel (or preparing to travel) and writing, I pick travel. So, the book will have to wait.
I wish I could combine writing and exploring, like some authors I know, but my life always seems to be so crazy, busy, and convoluted that I can never focus on writing (extensively) when on the road.
June 30, 2022 at 21:40
I totally hear you on all counts Liesbet. xx
June 28, 2022 at 09:42
Well done on hitting all those early milestones you set yourself. I’m so happy to hear from an indie author who has actually made a profit on their book. That’s not something I hear a lot of. I think all the hard work you did on marketing the book has paid off, so well done on that front too.
Are you going to set any new milestones fro Plunge? I’d be interested in knowing, Liesbet.
June 30, 2022 at 17:44
Hi Hugh,
I have no idea what is normal in the indie publishing world, especially for memoirs. I guess I could do some research. Some people have told me 1,000 copies sold is a nice result; others sell thousands of copies within the first year! Of course, there are so many factors that play, like the price of the eBook, the amount of advertising, the connections you have, the genre, and a bit of luck. 🙂
No new milestones. I’m a bit tired of the constant focus and efforts on Plunge for now. But, if I am honest, I do still hope someone influential reads my book, loves it, thinks it’s well written, and – somehow – gives it a boost. I think we all hope for a magic event like that, especially if our book is professionally executed.
June 29, 2022 at 01:25
Congratulations, Liesbet. You’ve done really well in a short period of time. Most indie-published fiction writers don’t sell anywhere near that in 1.5 years, although I don’t know how it is for memoirs or other nonfiction titles. So, give yourself a pat on the back and enjoy your success.
June 30, 2022 at 17:48
Thanks, Deb. I’m glad you think that was a decent amount of success a short period of time. 🙂 I feel that I lost quite a few windows with my book being out for over 1.5 years now.
I finally bit the bullet to pay for a review in a San Francisco magazine and missed the cut-off by two months, while before there was no publishing date requirement. But it is what it is. We can only do our best and try to achieve the best results possible. I do keep hearing that the memoir market is a tough one to crack.
Thanks for the kudos!!! I hope your sales are going well!
July 1, 2022 at 15:42
What a fabulous monthly update on your progress as an author! I so love seeing some of the backend shots and experiencing your thoughts on each stage of the publishing journey. <3
July 5, 2022 at 16:48
Hi Jaya!
Thank you for your lovely comment about my book update and promo progress. I’m really glad that someone finds them interesting and helpful. 🙂