Big deal, you made a free list

You’re right, at some point, an indie writer may make a free list. Imprint actually made a smaller Amazon list later in the spring of 2016. Just this past weekend when Canvas was price matched for Kindle, it spiked to #6 on the Coming of Age list.

What is exceptional about Canvas on the uber-extensive Romance list is this:

I DID NOTHING.

I’ve actually spent more time trying to figure out what I did to get on the list than anything.

It went something like this:

• Add Canvas to KU and take my 5 free days.

• Go to bed.

• Wake up to find that the book has over 100 downloads.

• Check the rankings late afternoon and find that the book has broken the top 90 and freak out.

At that point, I actually e-mailed two bestselling authors and started asking questions. Both told me that they had never made any list without advertising. I’d only shared the link to my meager group of friends online.

With Canvas already peaking at #39, it was only then that spent a measly $6.72 and ran a targeted Facebook ad. It kept the momentum for the rest of the free period, but can’t be considered a factor in it’s ranking success, only in the increased number of downloads the last few days.

Every other time that one of my books has made it onto a free list during Kindle Unlimted stints there have been targeted ads and help from review blogs from the get-go. Even with this kind of boost, Eric languished in the 300's for most of its free period.

The publishing industry is overwhelming. It has never been a better time to be a writer because of the expanding platforms to share our work, but with that comes the influx in the number of people who are writing. I’m allowed to be proud of making a free list. It may have been the luck of the draw, but it is a feat that another indie is trying to accomplish. I can’t legitimately use “bestseller” by my name on the covers of my books even though some chose to. I didn’t sell anything. And that’s okay. My goal with Canvas was to share what I wrote and making that simple free list allowed me to do just that.

Thanks for reading!