Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I actually screamed when I got the email – Josh thought someone horrible happened. Instead, something almost miraculous did.
For those of you that may not know, BookBub is the holy grail of e-book advertising, for both self-published authors and traditional publishers. It’s head and shoulders above any other online marketing tool, and I have tried them all, as you may already know if you’ve seen my Super Duper List. The only one that I haven’t tried was BookBub, not because I couldn’t afford them, but because they didn’t want me or either one of my books. Believe me, I’d tried. I have been applying on nearly monthly basis for about eighteen months, and have been getting stock-standard rejections. I have tried different categories. I have tried getting BookBub followers (I have 27 of them now). I did everything I could to increase the number of reviews (Shizzle, Inc has 82 reviews). I even tried replying, begging for feedback. Still, “not at this time” was all they said.
Until now! Look at it! Look!!
I have confirmed and paid – Shizzle, Inc will be one of BookBub’s Featured Deals on 6 March! As you can see from above, there’s a catch, though – it was NOT selected for the US market, which is only, you know, my target market, but hey! I got my foot in the door, and every time I’d managed to do that before, I eventually got the rest through. The subscriber list will be Humor and it’s 200,000 strong. The estimated number of downloads is 2,500, which is not too flash, but let’s see what actually happens. The cost is $36 USD and I hope for at least a few buy-throughs to Indiot. But mainly, I hope that sometime in the future I get the whole world covered in free copies of Isa Maxwell’s Escapades.
It’s a sign. I mean, I don’t believe in these things, of course, but what else can it be? I have a crisis of confidence, take a three-month hiatus, return, and finally land the coveted prize. Oh, wait. It’s persistence. That’s right, that dogged persistence does eventually pay off. Maybe not the first or seventh time, but you never know, it could be the next one.
Just keep going. I will too.
Excellent! Good luck.
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Thank you!
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Thanks for sharing!
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…and congrats for your persistence paying off!
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Thank you. So glad it did, because it’s just ridiculously hard, you need some wins along the way.
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You rock girl! Congrats. celebrating your every success ❤
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Thank you Annette, you certainly do! Thanks for sharing on Twitter.
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Well done Ana, that’s great news! I’ve been reading up on Bookbub and will definitely emulate your determination! 🙂
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Thank you and glad to hear that 🙂
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Excellent – congrats and many thanks for sharing the tip on persistence (I had given up)
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Thank you Lesley. I did too, for whole three months, but I’m back!
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woo-hoo, ana!
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“It’s a sign. I mean, I don’t believe in these things, of course, but what else can it be?” … a sign … keep trucking
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Thank you Mac 🙂
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Well done, congratulations. I hope you manage the U.S. one in the near future.
xxx Huge Hugs xxx
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Thank you David 🙂 I’m like Shawshank Redemption – will start writing two letters a week now…
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Great News! Congrats!
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Thank you Kim!
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Fantastic!! You’ll conquer the rest of the world later. For now like you said, “you’ve got your foot in the door!” Congrats and good luck on this and your new book. Have you gotten to write some more on the new book? I hope so! 🙂
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Thank you Olivia 🙂 steady progress on the new book, a thousand words a day. I’m a machine 🙂
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Most Excellent! 😊 Congratulations!
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Thank you Pearl! This seemed as hard to get as a publishing contract, so big hopes for the literary speed dating too!
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Congrats!! 🎊🎈🍾🎉
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Thank you!
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Hooray! This is brilliant! And it’s lovely and encouraging to hear that persistence pays off (says someone who had been on the end of nothing but rejections for 2 years now!!) 🙂
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Thank you 🙂 I’m now close to 100 rejections, but big hopes for the new book. And when one gets through, all of a sudden my backlist will turn out to be brilliant. That’s the vision 🙂
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Good for you! It’s so encouraging to hear that persistence DOES pay off!
Peace to you, Tamara
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It DOES! I’m not religious, but I do worship action plans 🙂
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Nice one, Ana! I too believe on the constant finger poking “go on, go on, go on, go on, go on go on ……” approach. 😉 😀
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Thank you Cee Tee! I drive my family nuts with it sometimes, but they don’t complain when I encourage them and they get the job they wanted 🙂
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Congrats, Ana! Persistence does pay off. Can’t wait to hear how it goes.
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I will update in 12 days. Not that I’m counting.
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Congratulations! I love a story with a happy ending. 🙂
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Not an ending yet!! There’s a full bookbub and then a NY Times bestsellers in my future 🙂
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Good on you!!!!
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I try so hard 🙂
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How exciting! 😀 Congratulations!
Also, I have a question. What does “not too flash” mean? I’m in the U.S., and it may be I’m just in the wrong circle to know it. In context I’m guessing it’s similar to “not to bad” or “not too shabby”?
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Thank you 🙂 I’m about to find “not too flash” in the comments, but it’s actually the opposite, as I understand – flash means showy/sparkly/not average, so not too flash is nothing special. But then again, I’m Russian 🙂
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Okay, that makes sense. I wasn’t sure since you used it in reference to the estimated 2500 downloads, and I’m not knowledgable enough about BookBub to know if that’s a good amount or not (although with 200,000 subscribers it does seem a small percentage).
Thanks!
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Oh, I used it? Omg, wrote the blog in a fog 🙂 A full-on Bookbub promo can result in 30,000 and even more downloads, so 3,500 is eh. Still, it’s more than any other promo I ever got, and a better value.
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Congrats, Ana! Proof that persistence pays off. Can’t wait to see how it goes.
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Thank you Karen!
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Congrats!!!
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Thank you Lou!
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Fantastic! Congratulations on your persistence!
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Thank you!
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I’m in awe of your persistence! GOOD FOR YOU!!! (BTW, I get the Bookbub newsletter – I’m in Canada. I’m so poor though, I only get books if they’re free. Argh. ) Good luck Ana, and I hope you get lots of sales from people who are richer than I am!!!! ❤
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Thank you Ellie 🙂 btw, the book is permafree
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Ok cool, thanks!!
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Congratulations! You earned it ❤️❤️
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Thank you 🙂
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I think you’re right about persistence! But no one ever wants to hear you need to work hard to get the things you want. :p Congrats on getting your deal!
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I’m a big believer that people need to experience a right amount of pain in order to change. So hopefully once someone has experienced enough rejection, they could decide to sit down, evaluate why, and work hard to change that. I’m up to 100 rejections now, so I’m very motivated 🙂
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Thank you for sharing 🙂
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Congrats
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Thank you 🙂
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Your determination has been rewarded big-time. I have a good feeling about this: that you’re about to get the recognition you deserve. I wish I had your energy and drive.
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Thank you so much Sarah 🙂 I keep having these good feelings, not every one of them turns into reality, but the thing is, I’m a published author. So what that I did it myself, I’ve got two books out there. Two years ago I didn’t know if I could finish one. It’s true with anything, saving money, losing weight or writing – just do a little every day.
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