 I had to kill a few people, and romance a few others, but for the past three days The Sixteen Burdens has been in the Kindle Store's #1 spot for historical fantasy. It has ranked as low as #123 in the Kindle free store, and though I was hoping to break into the top 100, that's not too bad! As of this post it's nearing 3,000 downloads, and there are still two days left in my promotion.
The question then arises: How does an author monetize a free promotion? In a number of ways, hopefully. If readers enjoy the book, word of mouth may turn into sales later down the line. My hope is that at least 3-5% of readers will leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads; more reviews help to bump up a titles standings in Amazon's algorithms. And, finally, I've seen a small bump in sales of my novella, Houdini's Last Trick, which I attribute to the promotion of The Sixteen Burdens. This is all a bit of experimentation for me, so we'll see how it goes!  The Sixteen Burdens got a great mention in Dwarf + Giant, the official blog for The Last Bookstore in Downtown Los Angeles. From the article:
Cuddle up in your favorite sable blanket; this page-turner will keep you up all night. If you’re the type that needs your beauty rest, don’t start this book if you have an early call time. Read the full post here. Dwarf + Giant is a great literary blog, and if you're in Los Angeles be sure to make a stop by the best bookstore there is, The Last Bookstore. There's no snow, but that's never kept Angelenos from celebrating the holidays. On the left, a red car passes until a decorated intersection. On the right, Mary Pickford dresses up the local street signs.
You're a cheapskate, and you haven't done your Christmas shopping yet? Perfect!   As my Christmas gift to you, I'm making my next book, Houdini's Last Trick, free for the next three days. Download it while you can, read it, and, if you like it, consider leaving a review on Amazon and Goodreads. SHARE with your friends and have them get it for free by Saturday at midnight.
Although it's a prequel, Houdini's Last Trick is also a standalone novella, so you don't have to have read The Sixteen Burdens to enjoy it. Get the FREE download here. Or if you prefer, a paperback version is also now available for $7.49, which you can buy here. Merry Christmas, all!  Because everyone loves a prequel! Get set for the release of Houdini's Last Trick this Thursday on Amazon, the prequel novella to The Sixteen Burdens. The idea for Houdini's Last Trick came out of character work I did for The Sixteen Burdens. But this background story of a magician whose true talent lay not in his magic but in his supernatural introspection was too good not to share. So I wrote the story of how Newton's Eye found its way into Houdini's hands and, later, into the hands of other characters in Book 1 of the Burdens Trilogy. It's a fun start to the series that you can enjoy either before or after reading The Sixteen Burdens.
Beautiful cover art by Tamara Khalaf and inside illustrations by Francesca Baerald. BEARD: Wild and woolly. I was happy to shave this bad boy off today. Final status: Desert prophet. BOOK: I was bummed that I only got about halfway through this new novella, but it was all for good reason. I took time off to finish up final edits to Houdini's Last Trick, which comes out in LESS THAN TWO WEEKS! Final status: 50% more than I had when I began! Stay tuned for updates about this new novella about Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. #Movember #NaNoWriMo #MovemWriMo  |
AuthorDavid Khalaf is the author of the Sixteen Burdens series, which takes place in 1930s Hollywood. Archives
July 2016
Historical Fiction
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