Daily Archives: December 31, 2013

Dec 31 2013

New Year’s Resolutions for Writers

Happy 2014

What writing resolutions are you making for 2014? Here is a sample of goals that you might set:

  • A writing quota for books, stories, or articles that you will write. Set a reasonable expectation.
  • Marketing goals might include trying out new ideas, learning new strategies, or devoting more time to this task.
  • If you feel like you worked too hard in 2013, you might want to devote more time to family and find a better balance between writing, marketing, and family time.
  • You might want to devote more time to writing if marketing or other activities are cutting into your writing time.
  • The new year might be a good time to try out a new writing style or genre, or to develop some new characters.
  • Making an effort to get traditionally published, or switching over to self-publishing, are possible goals.
  • You might join a writer’s forum or book club, attend a conference, or get involved with a writing-related group.
  • A new year is always another opportunity to stay positive and deal with stress better.
  • Common resolutions, like exercising more and eating write, are valuable for writers, too, especially as we spend much time sitting at a desk.
  • Perhaps you’d like to read more books in 2014.

What are your writing resolutions for 2014?

Happy New Year!

I started this blog to provide free help with writing, publishing, and marketing. You can find many free articles by clicking one of the following links:

Chris McMullen, Author of A Detailed Guide to Self-Publishing with Amazon and Other Online Booksellers

Follow me at WordPress, find my author page on Facebook, or connect with me through Twitter.

Dec 31 2013

The Great Paperback Hangover

Hung Over

Sales of most print books peak in December because paperbacks and hardcovers make for great holiday gifts. Any book that would make a suitable gift tends to see a considerable improvement in sales frequency during December.

Up until Christmas Eve, that is. Then the happiest time of the year for print book sales is followed by the great paperback and hardcover hangover.

People are busy spending time with family, traveling for the holidays, checking out their new presents, and enjoying their vacations to buy books. Besides that, they’re broke from all the holiday shopping they just did. Therefore, few print books sell between December 23 and January 1. Sales may slowly build after that, but probably not like they were in mid-December, except for seasonable books that do well in January, like academic books.

CreateSpace authors are likely to see little activity between December 23 and January 1, and it’s not just from the lack of post-Christmas sales. This has to do with holiday returns.

More sales in December means more returns. It’s even worse since many people who receive gifts return or exchange them, or simply prefer or need the cash instead.

So even if a few books do sell shortly after Christmas, there is a good chance that they will be filled with returned books rather than by printing new ones, in which case no royalty will be reported.

This is a great time to focus on family, spend time writing, and avoid checking your stats for a week or two.

Good News?

However, there may be good news if you sell e-books. While the sale of most print books drop off in late December, the sale of most e-books are on the rise. The effect is probably not as pronounced as it had been in recent years, but some people did receive new e-readers this holiday season and are looking for e-books. The residual of this effect may last as long as the end of February or so, though the most significant impact will likely be seen just thru January.

About My Blog

I started this blog to provide free help with writing, publishing, and marketing. You can find many free articles by clicking one of the following links:

Chris McMullen, Author of A Detailed Guide to Self-Publishing with Amazon and Other Online Booksellers

Follow me at WordPress, find my author page on Facebook, or connect with me through Twitter.