Loucinda McGary – Free Kindle Bestseller Hit Number One
When I interviewed Loucinda McGary, she had just had a book reach the number one spot on the Kindle Bestseller List for Free books. A successful romance writer, she speaks about the craft of writing, marketing her books and how she stays in contact with her readers.
Darrell - Can you describe a normal day of writing to me?
Loucinda - I am totally not a morning person, as anyone who knows me will verify. So I do my email, blogging and any other promotion or business related things in the morning. My optimum writing time is between 1 and 5 pm, that’s when I do most of my first draft stuff. Sometimes I go until 6 if the words are flowing. After dinner, I do my critiques and revisions. This is my routine Monday through Friday. If I am under deadline or I’m really “in the writing groove” I’ll do the same on Saturday and Sunday. I’ve even been known to work until the wee hours of night on Friday and Saturday if need be.
Darrell - Most of your ebooks have a price tag of $4.79. How important is price in relation to sales?
Loucinda - My own personal opinion is that it is very important and my sense is that readers are less likely to spend much over $5. Unfortunately, I have no control over the price of my books. My publisher sets all the prices. Thus far, the highest I have seen the Kindle versions of any of my books listed for is $5.59. I would hope my publisher does not set the price any higher than that. All three of my books were first issued as mass market paperbacks with a $6.99 price.
Darrell - You currently have one of your ebooks - Wild Sight - for free on the Amazon Kindle website. From a marketing perspective, how do you think this will help your career?
Loucinda - Again, this was my publisher’s decision and they did not consult, nor even inform me when they did it. The only way I knew that Wild Sight was offered as a free download was because I received a notice from Google Alerts that it was #1 on the Kindle Free Bestseller list. I was thrilled and immediately spread the word on Facebook and elsewhere online. Wild Sight remained at #1 for several days and this was for all free Kindle ebooks! Even after it was no longer offered for free (my publisher only did the promotion for a week), Wild Sight remained in the Kindle Paid Top 100 (peaking at #54) for about ten days, so that was a definite boost.
My other two books, The Treasures of Venice and The Wild Irish Sea also saw a big upswing in Kindle sales. All three books also sold more print copies, and I saw a nice increase in fan mail, which I always love. So I would say a resounding yes, that offering a book for a free download for a week was a very positive and worthwhile experience.
Darrell - Some romance writers have reported that the Nook seems to be a better site for their romance novels. Any thoughts on this?
Loucinda - Actually, Wild Sight was also offered as a free download on the Nook at the same time, but I didn’t track any sales figures for that venue, so I really don’t know.
Darrell - Romance, paranormal and mystery books seem to head the list of ebook sellers. Do you think certain genres have an advantage in relation to ebook sales?
Loucinda - Sorry, I don’t have any idea. Certainly romance and mystery are the bestselling genres overall (along with science fiction), so it would make sense they would have more ebook sales. I know quite a few romance authors are putting their previously published backlist up as ebooks and are excited about reaching a new and wider audience.
Darrell - What marketing tools do you use to promote yourself e.g. magazine advertising, Facebook, direct email?
Loucinda - Of course, I belong to Romance Writers of America, both the national organization and a couple of the smaller chapters. I highly recommend writers join some kind of professional writing organization, as I find interacting and networking with other writers invaluable. I attend RWA’s national conference when I can, and also attend smaller regional conferences and workshops.
I have done two magazine ads, but they were expensive and I honestly don’t know if they were worth it. I’ve done a few local book signings, but with limited success. Most of my promotion is online. I’ve done ‘blog tours’ for all three of my books, and my publisher is convinced these are the most effective way to reach readers with very little cost. I do have a website (www.LoucindaMcgary.com), a personal blog (www.auntycindy.blogspot.com), am part of a very successful group blog (www.romancebandits.blogspot.com), have a personal newsletter group, and am on Twitter and Facebook.
I started building my online presence before I ever sold a book, and I think that has significantly helped build my name recognition. I recommend writers do the same as soon as they are at the point of seriously submitting their work.
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