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 by Jon F. Merz

EBook Sales for March 2011

I sold 3421 ebooks in March.

To say I’m thrilled would be an understatement. And if I thought February was great, well, March was even better. I saw a 46% jump in sales in March and it’s my goal now to realize that same sales increase with each succeeding month. Is it sustainable? I think it just might be. More people are flocking to ebooks and ereaders than ever before. And my numbers, as great as they are for me personally, are still a drop in a very, very big bucket. I still have hundreds of thousands of fans to introduce to Lawson. If I can be sure to introduce new Lawson adventures each month, retain readers from each book, and drive new readers to the series, I think it’s very, very possible to make good gains each month. We’ll see if I’m right.

The vast majority of my sales in March came from my Lawson vampire series. THE FIXER alone sold 953 copies on the US Amazon site. The other three novels all posted solid triple-digit sales and even the two novellas made it into triple digits. The Lawson short stories, while not as impressive sales-figures-wise, still managed to add several hundred dollars to my bottom line. And this next week will see the addition of a new Lawson novel, THE ENCHANTER (previously known as THE MADAGASCAR MATTER before it became a full-fledged novel) as well as a new novella titled THE SHEPHERD. I’m hoping that more and more people will find the series and really enjoy what I’m doing with it. Add to that the new redesign of THE FIXER website – which will be THE place for all things Lawson (including the TV series) and you have some very cool things happening right now.

For me, this new world of ebooks sales is extremely gratifying. I’m earning a very respectable wage on ebook sales (roughly $150 bucks each day) and I couldn’t be more pleased. I get a monthly check (net 60 days) which certainly makes things a lot easier to budget and plan for. I’d like to take a moment to say thanks to everyone who has purchased ebooks over the last few months. I write for you and I hope you really have fun with Lawson.

Oh, and by the way, PREY is coming soon. It needed a bit more revision work, but it will be out within the next month.

in Build a Bestseller / ebooks / general / how I write / lawson / ninjutsu / promotion & publicity / publishing / short stories / THE FIXER TV series / Uncategorized / vampires / website / writing 0 comments
 by Jon F. Merz

Cheap Reads, Free Reads, Radio & Signing

So, a real quick blitzkrieg post here…

in ebooks / general / lawson / novels / promotion & publicity / publishing / short stories / THE FIXER TV series / vampires / website / writing 0 comments
 by Jon F. Merz

Official Launch Day for THE KENSEI – 10 Ways to Build a Bestseller!

Welcome all, to the Official launch Day for THE KENSEI. This is the street date for the novel, meaning that it is now pretty much everywhere in the various distribution systems. You should be able to find it anywhere….

So first and foremost: please go buy a copy. If you need to find out if a Barnes & Noble near you has it on their shelves, use this link: http://bit.ly/ejQpQD. Buying a copy is the single best way to support the book and help make sure we have more Lawson books in the future. And the paperback is better than the ebook, but if you’re only into ebooks, then by all means feel free.

Also, there are a number of ways you can help spread the word about THE KENSEI and I hope you participate in them. It makes today more of a party event and that -in my book – is always a good thing!

1. Change your profile picture to THE KENSEI cover art. (grab it out at Facebook Fan Page)
2. If you have a blog, write a blog post about THE KENSEI.
3. Take a picture of yourself holding a copy of THE KENSEI – preferably in a public space where others can see you. (Outside of the bookstore you bought it at is great!)
4. If you tweet, please tweet about today’s launch and use the hashtag #thekensei after your tweet
5. Make a point to tell four friends today – preferably in person about the book and ask them to buy a copy. if you can’t do it in person, then send out an email to some of your friends and let them know.
6. If you’re buying it online, please buy it at Amazon.com – and the print version of the book is better than ebooks. Remember: we’re trying to sell out the first print run.
7. Try to get others involved – have them talk to their friends about buying a copy. Word-of-mouth rules and can really make a book take off, so talk it up!
8. Post out any book forums, and sites (Goodreads, Shelfari, Library Thing, etc.) and talk to people about the book.
9. Swing by the Facebook Fan Page and post away, try to create a party atmosphere and get people excited!
10. When you’re done reading the book, please post reviews on Amazon and any other sites. Reviews help spur new sales!

I truly hope you all enjoy THE KENSEI. It’s a special book to me for a number of reasons and I’m looking forward to hearing what you all think of it.

Thank you so much for your support!
-Jon

in Build a Bestseller / ebooks / general / how I write / lawson / ninjutsu / novels / promotion & publicity / publishing / THE FIXER TV series / Tour 2011 / Uncategorized / vampires / website / writing 0 comments
 by Jon F. Merz

7 Days, A Newsletter & A Contest

Wow, we’re just seven days away from THE KENSEI’s official street date – the day when the book should be in stores, literally everywhere and will start shipping from online retailers.

I’m excited.

Actually, I’m freakin’ thrilled. Lawson has a second chance at life and I’m determined to make sure he has a far longer one at St. Martin’s than he did at that other house. 🙂

I’ve got a ton of stuff coming your way. The official book trailer will debut soon. Possibly tomorrow if everything gets sorted. And then there’s another video with me in it that will be released in another week or so.

And today, my all-new, all-free Boston Nocturne newsletter launches. It has news, free fiction, and much more. And the free fiction is a serialized Lawson adventure called MISSION: MALTA. But the only way to enjoy it is to subscribe, so make sure you sign up! And you can do that by putting your email in the block over there on the upper right side where it says “Get My Newsletter.” It’s that simple. Just sign up and you’ll be all set when the newsletter goes out later today.

Back to THE KENSEI…I’m announcing a very cool contest now. Here it is.

Ready?

🙂

Send me proof-of-purchase (or a copy of your receipt if you bought online) that you’ve bought a copy of THE KENSEI and you’ll be entered for a chance to win the sword used by actor Brandon Stumpf in the official book trailer for THE KENSEI. Brandon will be starring in the TV series based on the novels, THE FIXER, and I’m certain he’s got a huge future. If you win, not only will you get the sword, but a certificate of authenticity, and you can even have it autographed by Brandon and me. Each copy of the book counts as one entry, so if you buy three copies of THE KENSEI to give as gifts to friends and family, then you have three chances to win the sword. One winner will be drawn on May 28th, 2011. You can send your entries to

thekenseicontest AT gmail DOT com

Good luck!

in boston nocturne / Build a Bestseller / general / lawson / ninjutsu / novels / promotion & publicity / publishing / short stories / THE FIXER TV series / Tour 2011 / Uncategorized / vampires / website / writing 0 comments
 by Jon F. Merz

Welcome to 2011: The Year of Lawson

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a great holiday season filled with wonderful memories. Now, it’s January and it’s time to get back into the swing of things. For me, this means getting ready to herald the debut of THE KENSEI, my long-awaited 5th Lawson Vampire novel, from St. Martin’s Press. To that end, I’m engaged in a lot of stuff right now. Tons of promotion around this title is coming. This week, I launch my newly-revamped FREE newsletter, BOSTON NOCTURNE – which you should sign up for right now since it’s going to feature a FREE serialized Lawson adventure called MISSION: Malta along with a lot of other really cool content.

Additionally, I’m still working on finishing up THE MADAGASCAR MATTER, so if you’ve subscribed to that, don’t worry – the end is coming and it will be chaotic mayhem, to say the least!

From the publicity plan I’ve laid out, you’ll pretty much be hearing about another review or interview every weekday from January through April. My goal is to sell the holy nuts out of this book and I’m always grateful when others retweet or share my posts. The more people who know about Lawson, the better. Just last night, THE KENSEI got a fantastic review over on RomFan Reviews. Many more of these will be coming. You can also read my first interview of the new year over at The Novel Blog. They’ll be adding a review soon.

Look for added pages out here on the website – including a bunch of freebies you can download. There’s a lot ahead this year – trust me, you’re not going to want to miss it! 🙂

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