Self-publishing is sometimes challenging but more often it’s awesome. Here’s some cool stuff that’s happened so far:
August 2023
- First pre-order
- Physical copies arrived
- First order
- First physical copy received by someone who placed an order
- First awesome offer – from my friend Beatrice to translate it into Italian
- Sent a copy to Alastair Humphreys
- First order from someone I didn’t tell directly
- Second awesome offer – to sell in The Reader bookshop
- First order from someone I don’t know in real life
- First order from someone we met on the ride
- Book on Goodreads
- Amazon Author profile granted
- Goodreads Author profile granted
- Sent a copy to Ted Simon
- Kindle edition created
- Kindle edition published
- Sent a copy to Frank Turner
- First offer to sell in a shop in Canada
- 100 copies sold
- First offer from a North American distributor
- First Kindle edition sold
- First Amazon review
- Gave a copy to the postman who’s collected a load of books for delivery!
September 2023
- First physical copy sold in a bookshop (The Reader)
- First offer to sell in a shop where I live (The Shop)
- Book on a shelf in the local library
- (Quiet month on the book front because our daughter was born!)
October 2023
- First request to re-order from a bookshop (The Reader)
- First re-order from someone who’s read it, to gift to someone else
- Book taken out of the local library
- A quarter of the print run sold (122 copies)
- First request from a stranger to dedicate the book
- First FB ad live
- First FB ad click
- First podcast interview about the book (Roadman Cycling Podcast)
- Shoutout from the Unburied Books podcast
- First Kindle purchase from a FB ad
- First physical purchase from a FB ad
- Enrolled in KDP
- First pages read via Kindle Unlimited
- First comment on an FB ad post
November 2023
- First day where ads generated more profit than I spent
- First time introduced to someone as an author and didn’t feel the need to qualify it
- This lovely message from a friend, about her son –
- 7th November: 4 bookshops said they’d stock the book, and I learned a whole bunch of useful stuff from the people I spoke to. Also put in touch with someone regarding my first event. And got my first photo of a book in a bookshop window display.
- Arranged my first book exchange with another author on Facebook: swapping a copy of Eastwards and Far for a copy of Hiking the Dream.
- Roadman Cycling Podcast episode went live
- First email from a podcast listener asking if they could buy a copy (in Australia!)
- Gardners of Eastbourne listed Eastwards and Far in their database, meaning (I think) that any bookshop they’re partenered with can order it.
- Sent a copy to Ann Morgan (!)
- First request from a travel club to see sample footage of a talk about the book, so they can decide whether or not to book me.
- Gave a book to the new postwoman who’s replaced the old postman
- First competition / giveaway
- 11th November: put in touch with a travel blogger for a review, OKed to do my first signing event, and became #1 best seller on Amazon.ca 👇
- 1000 pages read on KDP
- One third of the initial print run sold!
- First invite to come on a podcast! (Trailmark)
- Another best seller 👇
- First email from someone asking how they can buy direct from me rather than through Amazon ✊
- First review copy sent to a travel blogger
- 200 copies sold!
- First review copy sent to a book reviewer
- First Kindle exchange with another author: a copy of E&F for a copy of Relish the Tread
- Date of my first signing event confirmed
- Confirmed as a speaker in the 2024 programme of a travel club – details forthcoming!
- First non-five star rating 👇
- Book for sale in Daunt Books, Summertown (one of my fave bookshops!)
- Kindle edition nominated for an Amazon deal 👇
- First email from a concerned parent asking if the book is suitable for a 16 y/o!
More to come!