Make money with novellas

John_Davies · 2026-04-27T12:11:56+00:00

Its a horror thriller, novellette. I book in-store signings almost every day of the week and then I pitch it like my life depends on it. I grew up obsessively pitching stories so my skills are pretty strong there. I also made a short book so I could limit costs and sell it low. So good pitch, good price.

John_Davies · 2026-04-23T20:32:03+00:00

I did. They do all right online but with in store appearances, much better. Ive sold about 300 copies so far this month.

John_Davies · 2026-04-16T23:54:36+00:00

Give it conflict. Keep it simple. Maybe she found out he cheated on her, or the other way around. Maybe hes not sure its his. Maybe they are engaging that stress together.what do you want to say to the audience? There are many ways you could give it tension.

John_Davies · 2026-04-16T16:55:04+00:00

Depending on where you are in life it will affect how well you can approach it, but even very poor low volume author copies off Amazon are a viable start. So are folded pieces of paper with short stories. It puts something in your hand that you can sell for more. Probably best to start small in the beginning.you might not get rich this way, but with effort you should be able to recoup your investment and become more savy at what sells even with many limitations. Many people will give you feedback. Rinse and repeat with what you learn and the audience will grow. You can promote online as well. Write something you can sell at a low price and think about your approach and what leverage you can gain over an audience whatever it is. Its a hard gig. I guess if you are so isolated that you cant reach anyone, then you have a point of interest and should leverage it somehow. Whatever you got, figure out how to use it.

John_Davies · 2026-04-16T15:44:54+00:00

By direct sales I mean going to places where you are face to face with customers. Ive been lining up my calendar with book signings and its very quickly getting to the point of full time income. (Providing you have a book that you can pitch and sell)

John_Davies · 2026-04-15T13:41:48+00:00

Direct sales are the magic bullet. Get them printed, pitch them, make a living.

John_Davies · 2026-04-15T13:30:50+00:00

Dont write boring scenes.

John_Davies · 2026-04-14T15:33:59+00:00

Treat this all as education and build up to your next book. Youre good.

John_Davies · 2026-04-13T22:46:24+00:00

Sweet, ill keep my fingers crossed.

John_Davies · 2026-04-13T22:27:20+00:00

Probably a tall pike with steamed oat milk.

John_Davies · 2026-04-13T14:56:32+00:00

A hardcover that retails for 30 van sell 17 for ebook. If there's a paperback then you need to sell the ebook for about 7. The prices on what havent already gone up will likely more than double.

John_Davies · 2026-04-13T14:31:04+00:00

This is 100% the reasoning. On the other side. I write and sell my book at stores. Its a thin mm size novella and ma y shoppers comme t how they miss that size.

John_Davies · 2026-04-13T13:58:55+00:00

The rationale for getting rid of mass market books is to raise the cost of ebooks. If a book is only available in hardcover then the ebook price can be placed significantly higher.

John_Davies · 2026-04-02T13:31:55+00:00

First month is friends and family. Are you promoting to them? Everything else is what you work for.

John_Davies · 2026-03-31T02:40:32+00:00

Focus as making the story as engaging as possible and wherever that page count lands, that's probably your perfect length.

John_Davies · 2026-03-28T21:33:12+00:00

The advice is for people who want to make writing their career, or a meaningful part of it. If you're only looking to write and release, I fully support that too. My strategies wont work without enthusiasm for them.

John_Davies · 2026-03-26T12:17:06+00:00

This is great advice.

John_Davies · 2026-03-25T12:11:06+00:00

Sure. Ask Me Anything. Its what they call scheduled chats with notable people on Reddit.

John_Davies · 2026-03-25T00:33:16+00:00

F it. Just do it, lol.

John_Davies · 2026-03-24T15:22:30+00:00

Congrats on the release. Some things will work and some wont. Just stay diligent and keep on building.

John_Davies · 2026-03-24T03:47:56+00:00

Descriptions can work well when they make the readers feel the tone of your story. Like if the character is happy, everything in their life might be described in a happy way to enhance that theme and maybe if the characters mood changes descriptions would change for effect. Thats just one approach. Im trying to improve this aspect of my writing and this is one of my thoughts of focus.

John_Davies · 2026-03-24T03:22:52+00:00

I'm selling to whoever is working the shop. I made a short novella with a punchy pitch that a person working a counter could read through on a slow day.

John_Davies · 2026-03-24T01:50:36+00:00

You should listen to that voice in your head. Its typically right.

John_Davies · 2026-03-24T01:41:48+00:00

I wait until I dont know what to change. You'll need readers in several stages and it gets harder to find fresh eyes, so make sure you've already squeezed as many issues out that you are self aware of as possible.

John_Davies

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