Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

I'm an actor, writer and publishing manager who lives and works in London. My debut self-published book has sold literally some copies, and garnered more than ten 5 star reviews across Amazon, Smashwords and Goodreads.

I've written a lot of short stories over the years, and they've been published in a number of places, and in a number of formats. By March 2012 all the rights to my stories had reverted to me, and so Something Nice: 10 Short Stories is available from Amazon and Smashwords in every format I could find.

My stories are sometimes creepy, sometimes scary, sometimes horrible, and sometimes funny, but never dull. There's some tongue in cheek SF space opera action in The Hero Function, an unpleasantly Kafkaesque transformation in Gluttony, and a haunted photocopier in Tempaghost. And metafiction gone bonkers in the collection's oldest story Write a Short Story.

And the title? Whatever I write, my Mum is very supportive right up until she finds out what it's about. At which point she sighs and says: "Andrew. Why can't you write something nice?"

Well, now I have...

I'm now quite a long way into book two, which will be a translation project of a Casanova book rather than another batch of short stories. In the meantime Something Nice - 10 Stories has sold a whopping 77 copies... so I've not set the world on fire, but the feedback has been very positive!

Yes, you've sold a few since your last report.:) I've also sold a handful of mine, so don't count yourself the winner just yet! Cheers.:)

Aha! The game's afoot!

I'm up to 79 as of this morning, but I'm certainly not resting on any laurels... with no new reviews for a couple of months, sales have slowed to something of a trickle. I hope some of my recent readers might put a few thoughts together on my little volume :)

Yes, that's always helpful.:) Positive feedback is worth its weight in diamonds.
Are people adding it to their 'to read' list?

There was a little flurry of people adding the book towards the end of August (none of whom have actually bought a copy as far as I can tell), but no, things have gone pretty quiet.

Andrew wrote: "There was a little flurry of people adding the book towards the end of August (none of whom have actually bought a copy as far as I can tell), but no, things have gone pretty quiet."

Sorry to hear that.
At least you know you have overwhelming support from those who have read your book.:)
Keep me posted!

Overall the feedback has been amazing, yes, which is surprising in a way - I was almost sure I'd have grossly offended at least one reader by now!

I guess I'm not as edgy as I thought I was ;)

Writing changes people, perhaps.:)

This collection of very silly and twisted short stories has now sold 92 copies since its release towards the end of March 2012.

Something Nice's sales might not have set the world on fire, but it's exceeded my modest expectations. And the feedback has sustained my sunny disposition throughout a year which has been pretty darned difficult for me, and for many people close to me.

Thank you.

And, incidentally, a merry Christmas to all of you at home.

Andrew wrote: "This collection of very silly and twisted short stories has now sold 92 copies since its release towards the end of March 2012.

Something Nice's sales might not have set the world on fire, but it'..."

Congratulations, Andrew! You're in front of my (imprecise) total for 'Long and Short Australian Stories': about one per week on Kindle, overall a handful in paperback. But, with reviews scheduled for next year, I'm still hoping. :)
Merry Christmas!
Keep writing!
Keep us posted!

Thanks Margaret, I'm sorry I didn't see this message before Christmas! I hope 2013 has been good for your sales so far!

Andrew wrote: "Thanks Margaret, I'm sorry I didn't see this message before Christmas! I hope 2013 has been good for your sales so far!"

My first collection,

25 Stories of Life and Love in Australia has surprised me by selling on Kindle: but the others are yet to start. I have another title almost ready for publication.

We must each keep trying, and you never know what will happen!

I'm told that publishing a new book is one of the best ways to kickstart sales - I suppose we'll both find out soon if that's true!

Andrew wrote: "I'm told that publishing a new book is one of the best ways to kickstart sales - I suppose we'll both find out soon if that's true!"

Thanks for telling me that, Andrew! Do you have plans for promotion? I will talk about mine on my blog, Twitter, and here at Goodreads. Maybe see if my local paper is interested in running an article.

I don't have any real plans for promotion at this stage. I've not found Twitter much help, but I'll talk about the book on my blog, Goodreads, and also on my Facebook page. Other than that, really not too sure.

Andrew wrote: "I don't have any real plans for promotion at this stage. I've not found Twitter much help, but I'll talk about the book on my blog, Goodreads, and also on my Facebook page. Other than that, really ..."

Do you find Facebook useful? I have only my personal page, not an author one.

I set up an author page more so my friends could 'opt in' to hear about my book - I hate the idea of badgering absolutely everyone who knows me. The Facebook page - Facebook.com/andrewklawston - has driven quite a few sales, particularly around Christmas when I launched a little campaign to hit 100 copies by New Year (in the end I fell just short, but it got me within striking distance!).

My personal page has three times the number of friends, but it feels more comfortable to market only to people who've shown some sort of interest in my writing.

Congratulations on your excellent Facebook page! It's quite enticing.....If I was a fan of 'dark and quirky' tales, I'd be keen to buy. :)

Thanks for the 'like' :) Yes, I suppose it's a fairly limited market for my variety of short stories :)

Andrew wrote: "Thanks for the 'like' :) Yes, I suppose it's a fairly limited market for my variety of short stories :)"

Who knows? Mine have been described as 'uplifting' and 'lovely': but I haven't sold 100 copies of any title, yet!

I'm still kicking myself over the title though - I think Something Nice - 10 Stories does turn off potential readers. I should have called it "Throwing Up With the Joneses and Other Stories"...

Andrew wrote: "I'm still kicking myself over the title though - I think Something Nice - 10 Stories does turn off potential readers. I should have called it "Throwing Up With the Joneses and Other Stories"..."

You're probably on the right track, Andrew. Your suggested title really struck a chord with me: and may well have attracted precisely the right audience to appreciate it. :)

Ah well, I've learned the lesson for the next volume - though I don't have such a good title in my newer work :)

Andrew wrote: "Ah well, I've learned the lesson for the next volume - though I don't have such a good title in my newer work :)"

I look forward to reading all about it!
Best of luck!

Thanks!

I'm thrilled to announce that I've had a short story accepted for publication in an anthology of updated fairytales, which will be published as a series of e-books over the next few months before being collated as a limited edition hardback later in 2013. I'm delighted to be involved with this ambitious project, and it's great to be writing fiction on a professional footing again.

I'll keep this thread updated as more details are confirmed in the run-up to launch! In the meantime, you can of course read my work in Something Nice - 10 Stories, still available from Amazon.com and from Amazon.co.uk...

Andrew wrote: "I'm thrilled to announce that I've had a short story accepted for publication in an anthology of updated fairytales, which will be published as a series of e-books over the next few months before b..."

Wonderful news! Congratulations!

I've just noticed a 13th review for Something Nice on Amazon.co.uk - you can read it here.

My 12th five star review for the book as well - thanks very much to a very kind reviewer!

Something Nice - 10 Stories has now been out for well over a year and has received excellent reviews across Goodreads, iTunes, Amazon UK and Amazon.com. While a second volume has been delayed indefinitely as I concentrate on professional markets, I'm still desperately proud of this little ebook of very silly stories. I hope you enjoy it.

Buy it from: Amazon.com or Amazon UK.