I got an email this morning that the Guinevere’s Tale Trilogy made Smashwords’ Hot List for being one of their bestselling books last week. I didn’t even know this was a thing. It’s mostly a behind the scenes thing they do to help promote your book to Apple, B&K and Kobo. There’s no actual logo for it, so I made one (and likely violated all of their brand guidelines in the process. Sorry!)
They also told me that Guinevere’s Tale Trilogy was the top selling book and boxed-set at Smashwords last week, both overall and in the Fantasy and Fairy Tale categories. So hey more accolades!
I cannot thank everyone enough for all of your help promoting The Guinevere’s Tale Trilogy last week. It paid off! We made the USA Today bestseller list at #148 and as one of only six sci-fi/fantasy books on this week’s list.
More details on how the book fared during the campaign are below, but first the mushy stuff. It may seem odd for me to say “we” but it is totally accurate. I may have written the book and did part of the promotion, but you are the reason my book is on this list. I could not have done this without my friends and fans. And for that there are not enough words in all of the languages on the planet for me to express my gratitude. Your outpouring of love and support online truly overwhelmed me; when I saw all the sharing on Facebook and Twitter and felt you genuinely rooting for me, it changed me for the better. I’ve always known theoretically that supporting others is good, but I’m an only child, and thus, rather self-absorbed (yes, even at nearly 40). By your example, you taught me just how powerful it is to support others, especially fellow writers. Beyond that, I have no doubt that without your purchases, shares, and well-wishes, this dream of mine would not have come true. This honor is as much yours as it is mine.
I want to say a special thank you to Nancy Bilyeau, Susanna Kearsley and Amy Collins for being willing to share my promotion with your fans. And also to James Conroyd Martin, Pat Whaler, Shauna Granger, Liv Raincourt, Courtney Marquez, Jeanne Felfe, my entire street team and a million other people for constantly sharing the graphics and links online. (If I didn’t list you by name, please don’t be offended. These are just the top people who came to mind. I’m going to try to compile a more complete list of people who shared when I go back to do my post-campaign measurement.) This accomplishment is truly a testament to the power of networking. When I met all of you, I never thought I would have something like this ask and I value our friendship first and foremost, but thank you for being willing to champion this book. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank BookBub for giving me the featured deal that made all of this possible.
As you may know, this is my first time on any bestseller list and is my first time “earning my letters,” as they say. (I have my USA and now only need my NYT. Someday!) It is particularly important to me that it was this book that got on the bestseller list. You see, when I first started imagining what was then called Guinevere’s Tale (hence the name of the series) way back in September 1999, I imagined it like this – one gigantic book to rival The Mists of Avalon. It was only in early 2008, when I began to realize what I was writing might actually be publishable that I learned I would likely have to break it up into several books for the publishing industry to even consider it from a debut author. I certainly don’t mind it being a trilogy, but in my mind it will always be one long story.
In case you weren’t following the flurry of photos on social media (and by God was it fun to watch the rankings rise), here’s a rundown of how The Guinevere’s Tale Trilogy did from Monday, July 8 through Monday, July 15:
Sales and Category Rankings
#1 in fantasy at Barnes and Noble
Held for 2.5 days
In top 15 for 4 days
Bestseller status for 5 days
#11 in ALL Nook ebooks
In Top 100 for 3 days
#1 in three subcategories on Amazon
Held for 2.5 days
#4 in Fantasy on Amazon
Held for 2 days
#5 in Sci-fi and Fantasy on Amazon
Held for 2 days
#40 in ALL Kindle ebooks
In Top 100 for 2.5 days
#8 in Sci-fi and Fantasy on iBooks (I only thought to look at this on Sunday, so I’m not sure if it was any higher. It likely was at least on Thursday.)
Outsold both George R. R. Martin (2 books) and Nora Roberts at certain points.
Amazon Author Rankings
In Top 100 authors for 4 days.
Nearly a Canadian bestseller.
I also thought it was interesting that it ranked in both book and ebook categories on Amazon even though only the ebook was on sale.
All this to say, wow, what a whirlwind. As Kate Quinn noted, I can now and forever more say I am a USA Today Bestselling author and no one can take that away from me. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart. And if there is ever any way I can repay you, all you have to do is ask.
For those who want to know the nitty-gritty of how all this happened, look out for another blog post on Thursday, August 1, in which I dissect every detail of the campaign, numbers and all. After all, if I did it, so can you!
I’ll post a full roundup next week after the promotion is over, but I just wanted to say THANK YOU and remind everyone that there are still two days left of The Guinevere’s Tale Trilogypromotion (the ads say Monday, but USA Today stops counting at midnight on Sunday).
Please help in any way you can: buying and/or sharing on social media or telling your friends. WORD OF MOUTH THIS SO IMPORTANT! Remember, this sale is 3 books for less than $1.
Being a writer is full of “dream come true” moments.
Some happen with each book, like typing “the end,” or holding a hard copy in your hands for the first time, or celebrating your publication day.
Some happen more rarely, if at all, at least for most authors. Hitting a bestseller list is one of those, especially for an indie author.
This week I have the chance to make that happen. You see, I have a Bookbub featured deal in the United States for my Guinevere’s Tale Trilogy. The whole thing (all three books in one volume) are only $0.99 in ebook from July 8-15. If enough people purchase it during that time, I could possibly hit the USA Today bestseller list.
I’m a firm believer that God helps those who help themselves, so I am not being shy in asking for your help. I only ask one thing of you in return for a series that took me 19 years to write: please downloadThe Guinevere’s Tale Trilogy by June 15. Even if you already have one or more of the books in another format, even if you don’t ever intend to read it, please consider spending $0.99 to support my dream.
If you aren’t tied to Amazon for your ebooks, please consider downloading from Barnes and Noble or iTunes(authors have to have a certain number of sales from there to make the list; Amazon alone doesn’t qualify.)
Tell Me More What’s the book about? You can read the full description here, but in short, it is the story of King Arthur and Camelot from Guinevere’s point of view—her life story.
Book 1, Daughter of Destiny, covers her early life as a priestess of Avalon and her first love during a time she never dreamed of becoming queen, as well as how she met Morgan and Arthur.
Book 2, Camelot’s Queen, tells the story we are all familiar with, Guinevere’s time at King Arthur’s side, but it also provides a twist on why she had her famous affair with Lancelot.
Book 3, Mistress of Legend, includes the fall of Camelot and Guinevere’s later life as she seeks to reestablish her identity once she is no longer queen and preserve the legacy of her mother’s people from the invading Saxons.
In case you are wondering what others have said about the trilogy, I’ll quote from a few reader reviews. (You can read the trade reviews on the book page.)
“The Guinevere’s Tale Trilogy shows us not a passive woman, but a strong one…This is a must-read for anyone who loves adventure woven with a touch of fantasy.” – K9freind1
“Loved this series! Strong, vibrant characters. The world building is detailed and pulls you right into the story…I’d highly recommend it for a great summer read.” – John
“I didn’t want this story to end!…This book is 100% book of a lifetime to read!” Kristinann
Going Above and Beyond If you are so inclined, please also share information on the sale on social media. I’ve created a page that has ready-made images (just right-click on them to download) and sample tweets and links to where the book is for sale to make it as easy as possible to share.
What do you get in return? Three books that are my baby. If I could list with this single-volume boxed set, it would be especially meaningful to me because I originally imagined Guinevere’s story as one gigantic volume (ala The Mists of Avalon). While I certainly don’t mind it being broken up into a trilogy, I love that I can offer it the way I envisioned it as well.
If you’ve already helped my dreams come true by buying, THANK YOU. If you have time to leave a review, that is always appreciated and may encourage others to buy. Here’s the link to review on Amazon.
Thank You Thank you for any help you can give. Know that your support makes you agents of fate in my life. Let me know how/when I can return the favor for you.
In the meantime, if you need me, I’m going to be fighting the temptation to look at my Amazon rankings every five minutes…I’ll let you know in a few weeks if we were successful in hitting the list!
I just got a huge surprise that The Guinevere’s Tale Trilogy won Best Fiction Series in the IPPY (Independent Book Publisher) Awards! It took home the Gold Medal, which is the highest award. I didn’t even know it was a finalist. It so wonderful to see that people like it and appreciate the 19 years of work that went into the series.
Since 95% of my sales come from Amazon, I thought I’d let you know the single volume of The Guinevere’s Tale trilogy is available on Amazon. Because the title is showing up differently (which I will try to remedy on Tuesday, as soon as Amazon lets me) there are two links:
The ebook is $4.99. The print book is $40.00, which is cheaper than buying all three books separately.
If you are looking for the book on other sites, please check back on the sites over the next week. It is up to the companies as to when they release it.
I got an email this morning that the Guinevere’s Tale Trilogy made Smashwords’ Hot List for being one of their bestselling books last week. I didn’t even know this was a thing. It’s mostly a behind the scenes thing they do to help promote your book to Apple, B&K and Kobo. There’s no actual logo for it, so I made one (and likely violated all of their brand guidelines in the process. Sorry!)
