Killer of Killers Advertised on USA Today

I make a habit of going online in the morning and getting my news on the USA Today website. I was pleasantly surprised to see my novel, Killer of Killers, being advertised there. I'm concluding that the printing company, Lulu, is putting the advertisement on there, because not just Killer of Killers is being advertised. There's about a dozen or so books being advertised, and I feel honored, because Lulu prints thousands of books.

But it seems that Killer of Killers, (the new cover design KOK btw,) is one of the top featured books that are being advertised. Maybe that's the reason I saw a spike in sales recently. I had posted that KOK rose in the Amazon rankings by more than a million spots recently. So that could be the reason why. And I was thinking that perhaps some of my students convinced their parents to buy it. But now I think it's more likely the USA Today ad is responsible.

I figure it this way. I teach five classes with about 30 students in each class, which means I have a total of 150 students. Multiply that by three, for the three Trimesters, and I have 450 students per year. That number must pale in comparison to the amount of people who go online to read USA Today. (That number is probably in the millions.) So logic dictates that the USA Today website ad will result in more sales than the 450 parents whose kids tell them about my book.

Still, you never really know for sure. It could be true that more parents buy my books than readers of USA Today. Doesn't matter, though. Who cares where the buyers come from. As long as they buy it. And (hopefully) enjoy it. And (hopefully) write a nice review about it. Someone named Joumani gave KOK and The Vase five-star ratings recently. Well, Joumani, if you are reading this blog, let me thank you for that. I do appreciate that.

Killer of Killers Moves Up in Amazon Sales Ranking

The sales ranking of Killer of Killers on Amazon Kindle has moved up. It's been pretty static recently at around the 1,700,000 range, but when I checked today, it had shot up to the 225,000 range. I suppose some sales must have taken place last night. That's nice to know. It's happened before. I think the highest ranking it's ever had was in the 100,000 range. I don't think it's ever broken the five digit range ranking.

But since it's not a Big Six publication, I don't think it will. Plus, the promotional efforts on the publisher's part are minimal, as far as I know. I think the publisher, Melange, focuses mostly on promoting their Romance line. That means for thrillers, like KOK, it's only getting exposure on their website. And that means only people who frequent their website will see it. Or people who I tell about it. Which isn't that many people. I should be more active in that regard.

What I'm looking forward to is that first review to be posted on Amazon.com. I see other books have reviews, and some books have tons of reviews. Who are the readers reviewing those books? Maybe those reviews are bought and paid for. Or those authors either have a lot of friends or awfully big families. I'm told reviews, particularly positive ones, help sales. Some people say they don't go by reviews when they want to buy a book. It's more about are they interested in the subject matter.

Well, the subject matter of Killer of Killers is martial arts. I believe a lot of people are interested in martial arts. The main character, Trent Smith, happens to be the world's greatest martial artist. But he's not a secret agent, and he's not a policeman. He's not a movie star and he's not an MMA fighter. But he does have an agenda. It's justice, and it's what drives the story. Trent Smith is a great hero, and he's featured in a great story. Check it out. You'll see.

Killer of Killers Needs Buyers!

The Amazon rankings for Killer of Killers are slipping back down, from a high of 200 something thousand, to 600 something thousand right now, which means the sales have either slowed or stopped. But my stats page indicates that the number of readers of this blog, or at least the number of visitors to the blog are still up.

My request: If you are visiting this blog, at least consider buying a copy of Killer of Killers. What seems to draw visitors here are my posts about Dustin Clare, and even more, my posts about Amber Heard. I don't blame people for that. Both of these actors are super actors, and Amber, imo, is the most beautiful woman in the world, so we have some common beliefs there.

And that is a good reason to buy Killer of Killers. If you agree with me about Dustin Clare and Amber Heard, then you'll likely agree with me that Killer of Killers is a great story! And it's not expensive, either. You can buy a digital copy or an Amazon Kindle copy for only 5.99,  and print copies can be had for as little as 12.90 over there at Amazon. (Or 14.95 on the Melange website.)

Of course, you'll want to do that if you like to read books. So if you do, don't lag on me, and don't lag on yourself. You will enjoy the action, the characters, even the romance that takes place, and the plot, too. The story line is something you will enjoy. How can you not be interested in a story that involves the world's greatest martial artist?

Help make KOK popular. Buy your copy today. And thank you.

Amazon Rankings up and down for Killer of Killers

After a steady slide down the Amazon Kindle rankings, Killer of Killers made a big jump. From like 1,700,000 to 200,000 in one day. I don't know if a single Kindle purchase made that happen or if several purchases were suddenly made.

I had noticed it sliding down as the days went by, so when I noticed the 1 million, 500,000 jump up the rankings, I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, over the last few days it's been falling again, and now it's in the 500,000 range. I suppose in order to hold its position in the rankings, it has to be steadily selling every single day.

It's tough for my books, since no book store will stock them due to the POD format in which they are published, and my efforts to find buyers and/or reviewers has been mostly unsuccessful. It depends, I think, on readers of this blog. If even half of the people who visit this blog were to buy a copy of one or both of my books, then they would be doing very well indeed, because my stats page indicates that hundreds of people visit the blog on a monthly basis.

So if you happen to be reading the blog, and you like to read exciting, adventurous, and action-filled books, help out, click on one of the images to the right and buy a copy, or go to Amazon.com and buy a copy there. I dare say you'll be glad you did.

Killer of Killers Amazon Ranking Going Up

Well, I don't know who, but I have some evidence that someone is buying Killer of Killers. That's because when it first got put on Amazon, it's ranking was something like over 2 million or something like that. I happened to check it recently and it was in the 700,000s. So something must have made it go up. Exactly how many purchases would be needed to make that kind of movement, I don't have a clue. Maybe it was just a few people bought the Amazon kindle version. Maybe just one or maybe it was 20. Maybe it was 200. I wonder if Amazon can give out those numbers to authors. I wonder if I can ask them. Hhhmm...I think I'll keep an eye on that.

Meanwhile, if you are a collector and having a first edition is important to you, better get on the ball, and get your copy of Killer of Killers by this weekend. That's because early next week, maybe as soon as Monday or Tuesday, I'll be sending in the second edition. And after that, no more first editions will be available. But if you don't care about that kind of thing, and you are waiting for the better version, then your wait is almost over. I'll keep you posted.

Killer of Killers Selling Pretty Well

If you go by the rankings on Amazon and Lulu, Killer of Killers is outselling a lot of other books. But it seems to go in spurts. Sometimes it shoots up to the 4,000s in Lulu and to the 400,000s in Amazon, which is nothing to brag about, but certainly better than the 50,000s in Lulu and the two MILLIONS on Amazon. And it's all with virtually no promotion!

So as long as it remains in the four digit numbers on Lulu and the six digit numbers on Amazon, I can be content that it's doing pretty well. But when it hits the three digit level on Lulu and the five or even four digit numbers on Amazon, then I'll pop a bottle of champagne. You never know. Fingers crossed.

Sales Seem Good

So if you go to Lulu and check the sales ranking, it seems that Killer of Killers is selling pretty well. I googled what the Lulu Sales Ranking means, and found out that it doesn't mean number of sales, but rather the dollar amount sales have brought in.

And the reason for that is that some authors or sellers price their books or eBooks at 99 cents each, and generate a lot of sales that way, and Lulu figured that is not a fair indication of sales. So they calculate their rankings on how much money each book has earned instead.

I read that the total number of books on Lulu is around a million. I don't know if that is true, but it's what was written on that site I looked up. All I know for sure is that when I checked other books, and when KOK first came out, the figures were in the five digit levels.

About a month later, the figures for KOK had reached the four digit levels, and I was happy about that. In the last couple months, the ranking has fluctuated between the 5000s and the 8000s, and considering most books I checked were in the 30,000s, I think it's pretty good.

I don't know which books are in the triple digit levels or even the double digit levels, and I certainly think that if KOK ever reaches that level, I would truly have something to celebrate. But the book is young yet. We'll see how the coming months go.