The Boxed Set as a Marketing Tool - Good or Bad?

Trends in publishing in the 21st century are as varied and fleeting as anyone's imagination. With over ten million books on Amazon - and over two million of those books on Kindle - every published author's main concern is to be findable by readers.

We have all seen the free reads and the 99-cent reads touted as a way to garner interest. In my own experience, the "free" didn't translate into sustained sales. I believe that's because readers grab and hoard books when they can, but don't always get around to reading through their pile. As for the 99-cent offerings, those can be a good idea for a day or two. The danger there lies in the glut of 99-cent monstrosities; poorly written and hastily published, these cheap reads are rarely worth the cost and they scare readers away.

The next trend has been boxed sets. Whether done by a group of authors with a single theme, or by single authors "boxing" connected books, these sets generally offer four to six full-length novels at a ridiculously low initial price. After a set period of time, the price goes up, and eventually the set is unpublished.

The goal of the set is, as always, to garner new readers. That is a good thing. Linking arms - or books - is also a good thing. Limited-time offers are good things. And promoting the heck out of them is not only a good thing, but a very necessary thing.

I am currently in two boxed sets. "The Wrong Guy" was released in May 2013, and features six authors from my Arizona Dreamin' 2013 reader event. The collection was fairly successful, netting each of us over $1,000 in the first four months. The thing that made me happiest was an email from a reader who found, and loved, my entire Hansen Series as a result of the collection! Mission accomplished.

The second set is mine alone. In "Hansens in America" I gathered the stories of three generations. Father: "Leaving Norway" brings the family to the colonies in 1749. Son: "Finding Sovereignty" is the Revolutionary War captain who marries into Norwegian royalty. Grandson: the trilogy which started the Hansen series includes "A Woman of Choice" - "A Prince of Norway" - "A Matter of Principle."

I created this set as a Christmas gift to readers. Five full-length books - 500,000 words - for $9.99. I could have set the price lower, but I wanted to rise above the sludge. My stories are worth it.

The set will be unpublished on January1st. Gone. Will I ever bring it back? Maybe.

That depends on the next trend. ;)

Marketing or reader perk ~ why can't it be both? (Read on for two good deals!)

One of the hardest parts about being a published author in the 21st century is getting found by readers. While traditionally published authors do have the advantage of *hopefully* being on bookstore shelves for their first eight weeks, e-pubbed authors and self-pubbed authors have an uphill battle from Day One.

                   

There are ten million books on Amazon ~ and that means one million total authors is probably a conservative estimate. My overall author ranking hovers between 20,000 and 30,000. That doesn't sound impressive until you do the math: I'm in the top 2-3% of all authors on Amazon.

I know how many books I sell. While I'm not satisfied, I am still climbing the mountain of success. Along the path, I need to find ways both to expose myself to new readers, and thank my loyal fans.

The best way to find new readers, in my opinion, is to give special and limited opportunities for readers to try me. One thing I have done, is lower the prices of my self-pubbed books until midnight on the Monday after I am at big events. I print postcards with the titles, prices, and deadlines, and give them out to readers who don't purchase AT the event.

I always see a bump in numbers after my appearances ~ and have found new fans as a result.

(Here comes the FIRST good deal!)

Boxed sets are big on Kindle right now, so I decided to jump on the trend and created a boxed set of my own. In "Hansens in America" I combined a father, son, and grandson's stories into one set, and priced the five books (and 500,000-ish words) at just $9.99.

This special "holiday" price will only be available until midnight on December 31st. I'm hoping my fans will spread the word, and that this encourages new readers to give me a try! My books normally sell for $5.99, so this truly is a smokin' deal.

(Here comes the SECOND good deal!)

For my fans, I wrote a novella called "In the Norseman's House" tying together the two novels which I set in Scotland: Loving the Norseman and Loving the Knight. I wrote those books to woo the Big Six publishers, but never wrote the connected story which rounds them off. Now that they are self-pubbed, I decided to write the connecting novella and give it away for free.

Anyone who takes a photo of themselves in a public place holding a sign that says, "Norway is the new Scotland! KrisTualla.com" and emails me the photo (Kris@KrisTualla.com) will receive a signed, limited edition, print copy of the novella. Eventually the novella will be available to the world, but not until my fans have a chance to get a free copy for themselves.

The bottom line is, I still need to be found. And I think the best way for me to do that, is to reward anyone who is paying attention!

So: Happy holidays to YOU ~ with love, from me. I hope you'll enjoy the gifts.

And spread the word.

Kris ;)