Ebook Sales: 27
Audio Book Sales: 58
Paperback Sales: 2
Current Price: $1.99
Books Sold 2014: 87
Total Sold: 116
Horror Stories From A Computer Tech, a collection of seven short stories from my time as an in-home Geek Squad agent, dethroned my article on Constantine (which was my best selling book in 2012 and 2013 and is still my best selling book overall). The thing that set it apart this year was the number of audio books it sold. With 58 audio book sales, none of my other titles even came close. This is my third book to break 100 sales overall. I made the complete cover for this one. It's pretty terrible... but that's sort of what I was going for.
Ebook Sales: 47
Paperback Sales: 9
Current Price: $3.99
Books Sold 2014: 56
Total Sold: 62
The battle for second place was between my Constantine article and Traveling the U.S.: East Coast History. East Coast History won by two. This book features over 125 pictures from the Capitol, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, Arlington National Cemetery, Mount Vernon, Monticello, Jamestown (with excavation photos), Gettysburg, Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, the 9/11 Memorial, and more. Most of the sales on East Coast History came from a $0.99 promo I ran on the 4th of July and its better than average performance as a paperback (it came in tied for 2nd for 2014 paperback sales but actually made the most money as a paperback). This book, along with the other books in my travel photo series, received a new book cover this year.
Ebook Sales: 37
Audio Book Sales: 11
Paperback Sales: 6
Current Price: $2.99
Books Sold 2014: 54
Total Sold: 221
Constantine: The Emperor of Tolerance is a modified version of my senior thesis that I wrote while getting my history degree. It was my first title to sell over 100 copies, my only title to sell over 200 copies, and it came in third overall for 2014 sales. I don't have to do much to sell it, people who search for Constantine on Amazon usually see this pop-up via their search algorithms or in the also bought section on several other popular books on Constantine. This article also received a new cover this year (the image came from a picture I took, but the title and text on the cover were redone to look more professional).
Ebook Sales: 27
Audio Book Sales: 11
Paperback Sales: 10
Current Price: $2.99
Books Sold 2014: 48
Total Sold: 105
Explanations and Advice For The Tech Illiterate sold the most paperbacks of any title in 2014. I also had 9 paperback sales of the second volume in my Tech Illiterate series and many people bought both books at the same time. This is my fourth title to break 100 total sales and I imagine it will do well again in 2015 as I hope to release a third volume in the Tech Illiterate series. I used to have people ask me all the time where they could get some good basic information about technology. I didn't know of any guide at a decent price, so I wrote this short guide. It covers things you should know about computers, home theater, and several other topics related to technology. It also received a new cover this year which definitely helped sales.
Ebook Sales: 44
Paperback Sales: 2
Current Price: $4.99
Books Sold 2014: 46
Total Sold: 51
My top four best sellers for 2014 were all non-fiction. Minor Demons was my best selling fiction title. It follows three demons (Shadow, Leech, and Lilith) as they fight their way through the hierarchy of Hell battling angels, demons, and sometimes hybrids of the two. It took around 13 months to write and edit and its around 72,000 words (I do this super part-time right now. I know a lot of indie authors that can write high quality 70K novels in weeks or months). It is, by far, my best selling book so far in 2015 (because I just released the sequel a week ago and both books have been doing well). Minor Demons also received a new cover in 2014, but mostly just to keep the branding the same for the series. I still like the original cover as well.
Ebook Sales: 43
Paperback Sales: 0
Current Price: $2.99
Books Sold 2014: 43
Total Sold: 59
This is a three book collection that includes The Journals of Jacob and Hyde, Jehovah and Hades, and Jehovah and Hades: Federal Case. It did really well early last year and then sold a few copies per month for the rest of the year, which was enough to get it to sixth overall for 2014. The three novellas added up have a word count of around 54,000.
Ebook Sales: 11
Audio Book Sales: 23
Paperback Sales: 1
Free U.S. Downloads: 466
Books Sold 2014: 35
Total Sold: 36
Geek of Legend: The Elvish Screwdriver is the beginning of a series of novellas that I write under my pen name, Geekus Maximus. It's about a computer tech who enters a land of trolls, orcs, dwarves, elves, and goblins to fix their broken or malfunctioning technology. When I released the second novella in the series, I made this one a free ebook. There's a trend among indie authors to make the first book in a series free to substantially boost sales of all of the following books in the series (I may do this with Minor Demons at some point too). This novella did really well in audio this year as well.
Ebook Sales: 20
Audio Book Sales: 5
Paperback Sales: 9
Current Price: $2.99
Books Sold 2014: 34
Total Sold: 34
I released a second book of short articles that I wrote about technology in 2014 and it ended up being tied for my second best selling paperback after the first in the Tech Illiterate series. This one covered some more helpful advice as well as some new developments like 4K TVs and ultra high definition. I have some ideas for writing a third volume and I hope to find the time to do that at some point this year.
Ebook Sales: 12
Audio Book Sales: 14
Paperback Sales: 1
Current Price: $2.99
Books Sold 2014: 27
Total Sold: 114
My short article on Caribbean piracy was my second book to sell over 100 copies. It's down quite a bit from last year as far as book sales, but that's probably because I raised the price a little. It definitely made me more money in 2014 than it did in 2013. This article also received a new cover in 2014. The photo is once again one that I took but I had the title and text redone to look more professional.
Ebook Sales: 15
Audio Book Sales: 6
Paperback Sales: 4
Current Price: $2.99
Books Sold 2014: 25
Total Sold: 39
The Mormon Theocracy features two short articles on the Mormon theocracy in Utah in the early days of Utah's statehood and Gregory Palamas of the Eastern Orthodox church. It did pretty well once I removed it from being an Amazon exclusive and now I'm trying my other history articles out at Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo, and other outlets. Like my other history articles, The Mormon Theocracy got a new cover in 2014.
Ebook Sales: 6
Audio Book Sales: 7
Paperback Sales: 7
Current Price: $2.99
Books Sold 2014: 20
Total Sold: 40
I made Gateway to the Vikings: L'Anse aux Meadows a free ebook for most of last year. It received a 2 star review early on that killed sales. Now it has 5 reviews with an average of over 3 stars and I decided to turn it back into a $2.99 ebook. It did really well in paperbacks, coming in tied for fourth overall. I would like to visit L'Anse aux Meadows someday and get some pictures. It would be really cool to see a North American Viking settlement. This book also received a new cover in 2014.
Ebook Sales: 11
Audio Book Sales: 4
Paperback Sales: 3
Current Price: $2.99
Books Sold 2014: 18
Total Sold: 40
Prayer: Archangels and Intercessory Beings was free for a large part of last year to recover from a 1 star review from someone who admits they didn't even read it. It now has 6 reviews with over a 3 star average. After I turned it back into an ebook with a $2.99 price point, it actually did alright for the year. There are some lengthy reviews that point out my article's strengths and weaknesses and I really appreciate the reviewers that took the time to write them. This book also received a new cover in 2014.
Ebook Sales: 8
Audio Book Sales: 2
Paperback Sales: 7
Current Price: $2.99
Books Sold 2014: 17
Total Sold: 37
My article on Luther Standing Bear came in tied for fourth in paperback sales. It also has two reviews now that give it a 5 star rating. This sells pretty well mostly because there aren't a lot of books on the subject other than those written by Luther Standing Bear himself and his books are quite a bit more expensive than my short article. This book also received a new cover in 2014.
Ebook Sales: 14
Paperback Sales: 2
Current Price: $3.99
Books Sold 2014: 16
Total Sold: 16
This book of photos and short history was fun to create. I went around Utah to get these pictures from historic locations in Salt Lake City, a few places in Park City, and Echo (one of the small railroad towns). Salt Lake City has a lot of really interesting history and it was fun running around to take pictures of sites and looking into landmarks I haven't paid enough attention to.
Ebook Sales: 14
Paperback Sales: 2
Current Price: $3.99
Books Sold 2014: 16
Total Sold: 16
This book of my photos from around San Diego tied sales for Traveling the U.S.: Utah. The tiger on the cover was actually asleep for pretty much the entire time that we watched him. He woke up right as we were leaving and I ran back to get what eventually became the cover shot for this book. The book includes pictures and brief histories from the San Diego Zoo, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, Sea World, Cabrillo National Monument, Old Point Loma Lighthouse, and the USS Midway.
Ebook Sales: 12
Audio Book Sales: 2
Paperback Sales: 0
Current Price: $1.99
Books Sold 2014: 14
Total Sold: 38
Jehovah and Hades was the first book I published. It's a novella of around 20,000 words. It's somewhat of a modern day Jekyll and Hyde story. Since the three book collection is also availabe on Amazon, less people buy this and the next in the series as standalones but I keep them available so everyone has the option. Four books tied with 14 sales, so I'm going to list them alphabetically.
Ebook Sales: 13
Audio Book Sales: 1
Current Price: $1.99
Books Sold 2014: 14
Total Sold: 18
Jehovah and Hades: Federal Case is a 10,000 word novella I wrote that completes the novella collection I started back in 2012. Again, more people buy the three book collection since it ends up saving them a dollar. I'm really hoping the audio books for the Jehovah and Hades series take off at some point this year.
Ebook Sales: 10
Paperback Sales: 4
Current Price: $3.99
Books Sold 2014: 14
Total Sold: 22
Traveling Asia: Tokyo, Taipei, and Hong Kong made me more money than a lot of books further up on the list even though it sold less copies. The cover features a grave found at the Temple of the 47 Ronin. There are a lot of amazing pictures in here from three major Asian cities. It's definitely worth a read and looks great in paperback. This book received a new cover in 2014.
Ebook Sales: 12
Paperback Sales: 2
Current Price: $3.99
Books Sold 2014: 14
Total Sold: 25
The cover of Traveling the U.S.: Hawaii features a shot I took of a wholphin (a whale dolphin hybrid) jumping out of the water. It includes pictures from Sea Life Park (Oahu), the USS Arizona Memorial (Pearl Harbor), Hanauma Bay (Oahu), the Polynesian Cultural Center (Laie), and a nature hike (Oahu). Lots of cool pictures in this one. This book received a new cover in 2014.
Ebook Sales: 2
Audio Book Sales: 11
Free U.S. Downloads: 3741
Books Sold 2014: 13
Total Sold: 28
The Journals of Jacob and Hyde is a 20,000 word novella that I wrote as a prequel for Jehovah and Hades. It has been permanently free for over two years now and has over 7,500 free downloads in the U.S. alone. The audio book took over a year to make and my narrator actually subcontracted out various parts at his own expense. The audio book is a masterpiece, the best fiction audio book I currently have available. The ebook already has over 250 free downloads in the U.S. in 2015. How did it sell two copies at $1.99? Not really sure. I think it has to do with a couple of places that have access to amazon.com where it isn't pricematched to free. It currently has 26 reviews and a 4.3 star rating.
Ebook Sales: 8
Audio Book Sales: 5
Paperback Sales: 0
Current Price: $1.99
Books Sold 2014: 13
Total Sold: 13
Geek of Legend: The Goblin Anti-Virus is the second novella in my Geek of Legend series. The cover was created by my little sister, Britney. It only sold 13 copies last year, but it was also released late last year. I wrote it and edited it over a couple of weekends while I was in my first semester of law school. I imagine it will sell more than 13 copies this year.
Ebook Sales: 9
Paperback Sales: 1
Current Price: $3.99
Books Sold 2014: 10
Total Sold: 28
Traveling Asia: The Philippines was my best selling travel photo book in 2013. It didn't do as well in 2014, but it at least made it to the double digits in sales. Aside from East Coast History, this book features the most content as I lived in the Philippines for a couple of years and returned for a vacation in 2010. It includes some amazing pictures and some Tagalog words to help you out if you ever travel over there. This book also received a new cover in 2014.
Ebook Sales: 2
Not available in other formats
Current Price: $9.99
Books Sold 2014: 2
Total Sold: 7
I've thought about pulling this book several times. I've thought about having the cover redone. I've thought about making a paperback version. For now, I'm just going to leave it alone. This features all of my history articles except for the two in The Mormon Theocracy. I've thought about making it into a book with all seven short articles and a new cover but I haven't found the time and it's kind of low on my priority list. I was very close to pulling it earlier this month but it sold a copy at $9.99 and it made me a royalty of around $7. So for now it's staying up. That one sale was enough for me to keep thinking about what to do with it. I'm leaning towards a new cover and including the other two short history articles.
Thanks for reading through the entire breakdown. I didn't include any anthologies where I contributed a short story (End of the Road, The Bitten) because I don't have sales numbers for those (End of the Road is free and proceeds from The Bitten go to one of my author buddies who is fighting cancer). Here's the total breakdown of the past three years:
2012 Books Sold: 157 (156 ebooks, 1 paperback)
2013 Books Sold: 372 (222 ebooks, 139 audio books, 11 paperbacks)
2014 Books Sold: 636 (404 ebooks, 160 audio books, 72 paperbacks)
My sales goal for this year is to sell 800 books. I'm not aiming too much higher than 2014 because I won't have many new releases. I released Middle Demons (70,000 word novel, the sequel to Minor Demons) a week ago and I plan on writing at least one more in the Tech Illiterate series but I won't have a lot of time to write between law school and my job. If I'm lucky enough to land a BookBub ad (and I'm going to try to for at least one of my books), I think I could break 1,000 books for the year. So I started 2015 with 1,165 books sold. I've already sold 46 so far in January, which is a good start. If you'd like to help me out, please check out any of the books in my breakdown that you think look interesting. Reviews also help me out a lot if you enjoyed reading one of my books. Thanks everyone and good luck in 2015!
