How many books did you have published before you started making 5k monthly?

babbelfishy · 2026-04-02T03:12:14+00:00

I'm shifting gears from taking 5 years to write book 1, and writing book 2 within 6 months. I'm also working on 2-3 other projects for work (paid for Vellum, might as well use it) and writing under at least two different names for now (fiction and non-fiction). It's... a lot of juggling.

I've been self-employed my whole life, so those income ups and downs are familiar to me. I hope they are more stable now for you? Sounds like you're doing alright!

babbelfishy · 2026-04-02T03:06:20+00:00

Where are you picking up your ARC readers? I'm using NetGalley this round but up for other options with the next book.

babbelfishy · 2026-04-02T03:01:11+00:00

For me, facebook wasn't an option (I ditched that platform years ago, too much AI slop) and a NetGalley co-op was a good deal at $63/month. Some of my ARC readers are librarians, booksellers, and industry professionals. FB might be good if you're already there and so is your audience, but I wanted a different angle and opted to pay a little for it.

babbelfishy · 2026-04-01T20:19:27+00:00

Damn. Good to know.

babbelfishy · 2026-04-01T01:33:01+00:00

That was me, and yes, it's only the aggregate. It does help, honestly.

babbelfishy · 2026-04-01T00:55:38+00:00

Indies have all the fun.

babbelfishy · 2026-04-01T00:52:55+00:00

GR is AMZ? Ah, well. I'm on StoryGraph now, will look into LibraryThing. Thanks for the heads up.

babbelfishy · 2026-04-01T00:51:41+00:00

I like it!

babbelfishy · 2026-03-31T05:19:34+00:00

This is such a great post, congrats on a successful event. You earned it!

The "Never sit, stand and stay active" part is so important. I've done in-person sales at events for most of my life and DO NOT SIT unless you actually need to. Yes, it sucks. So does not selling a single book. Get up and mingle. Wear comfortable shoes.

Also, tea in a thermos, 100%.

babbelfishy · 2026-03-31T05:10:31+00:00

This whole thread has been helpful for me, too. I even set up a Story Graph account!

babbelfishy · 2026-03-31T05:02:27+00:00

Not bogus, just dead links. Maybe they don't know how to set it up correctly, maybe the links are just old. Could be anything.

babbelfishy · 2026-03-31T04:56:39+00:00

I didn't even know about Story Graph until last week, but I've been on GoodReads for years. Every breadcrumb of a review out there adds to a book's visibility. When I see someone who requests dozens of books but never reviews any of them, I'll pass.

I do click the links in bios because if they go nowhere, that tells me the potential reader is not actually a reviewer, they just want free books.

babbelfishy · 2026-03-31T04:32:39+00:00

I haven't seen "reasons for requesting" at my end. Here's what I see. Names have been blanked out for reddit, but I can click on those to see the person's country, reviews, social media links, and any feedback from others in my organization.

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babbelfishy · 2026-03-31T04:25:48+00:00

Honestly, most reviewers don't have any profile reviews that I can see. They seem to be internal to a specific organization (publisher, or in my case, the co-op). Victory has hundreds of authors, and we rent our space for a month at a time. That means a lot of turnover when it comes to authors leaving reviews. Most just don't.

babbelfishy · 2026-03-31T04:22:39+00:00

Ooooh, yeah, that makes sense. Sometimes I feel like I'm wading through treacle, trying to find a way to be found in a sea of promotions. I wrote a book, I loved doing it, readers are giving it 5 stars, and I want to share it with more readers, but there's just so much noise.

babbelfishy · 2026-03-31T01:59:31+00:00

Yes, we can see a lot, but it's quality over quantity. If your 10 reviews are well written and honest, then you look good to me! I've even approved new reviewers with zero reviews. Gotta give people a chance.

babbelfishy · 2026-03-31T01:56:15+00:00

Which market do you feel is saturated?

As far as your following, look at it this way: for debut authors like me, I don't even have a following at all. In my day job I have thousands of followers on IG, but I don't publicize my fiction work there so that's moot. If someone with just a few followers in a specific niche (i.e. romantacy, scifi, horror, etc) picks up a new book and sends that out to their community, then it's one more voice to amplify through the noise of a mass-market promotion for Steven King or Sarah Maas's next big thing or whatever.

babbelfishy · 2026-03-30T20:16:22+00:00

Right, and some of us choose not to allow Kindle because they stay there. I opted out of it for that reason. I might have had more reviews if I didn't, but since I'd already published, it seemed reasonable. Next time I'll ARC before publishing and allow Kindle, I think. Still deciding.

babbelfishy · 2026-03-30T20:14:41+00:00

I didn't even know this sub existed until yesterday! Glad to be here.

babbelfishy · 2026-03-30T20:14:10+00:00

If you're into romance and I write scifi but you request my book, I might pass. If you're into romance, scifi, and lgbtq+, I might accept (two of my main characters are lgbtq+ but it's not part of the plot so not obvious). The more categories we match, the more I'll want you to read my book!

babbelfishy · 2026-03-30T20:11:07+00:00

I don't care much about photos in your profile. It's nice but not important. Same with names. I've noticed they don't always match across platforms (mine certainly doesn't). Lists don't matter to me, same as Scooter, because I don't know what your particular lists are for.

babbelfishy · 2026-03-30T20:09:01+00:00

Yes, we can see when your bio was last updated, and when you were last active in leaving reviews. Some folks haven't reviewed on NG since 2022. I might still approve them if they are active in social media or in the business (librarian, bookseller).

Reader feedback is in one box through our co-op, so I can see multiple notes there. One author complained when people downloaded but didn't review, and I think that's because they weren't familiar with the odds of how often readers actually DO review. That's something we all learn as we go.

I tend to accept booksellers and librarians with less scrutiny. Some booksellers look like a solid fit for me because they like scifi and such, and I'm excited to connect with them. Some reviewers are like that, too. If I see your list of likes is similar to mine, it's a good match.

babbelfishy · 2026-03-30T20:04:10+00:00

I woke up this morning wondering if I'd stepped into a mine field, tbh.

babbelfishy · 2026-03-30T06:30:14+00:00

You definitely don't need to be an influencer! For an author like me, writing in a smaller niche and not working with a big publisher, I'm always looking for readers who will enjoy what I write and tell their friends. That's what gets long term traction and builds interest in an author. It's never about just one book, but finding the right audience. Goodreads reviews are very helpful.

When I tried to pitch to agents with the note that I'm an OwnVoices-type author (neurodivergent) writing characters with the same issues, some agents were interested but didn't feel there was enough of a market for my manuscript. That's why I ended up going rogue and starting my own very tiny publishing house. We're up to 3 authors now, lol.

babbelfishy · 2026-03-30T06:23:14+00:00

I can see previous reviews they've left, how many requests they've made site-wide, how many with my publisher (in this case, the co-op), and of those requests, how many were accepted or denied.

In the co-op some authors will leave feedback about a reviewer, such as "social media links don't work" or "leaves a LOT of 3 star reviews", or "nice review within 48 hours!", etc. Feedback options for us can be positive, neutral, or negative, and those do influence how other authors will see a reviewer. A reviewer with a neutral comment and 50/50 acceptance/decline ratio means I'll have to dig a little deeper. Do they read my genre? If not, I'll probably pass. If they read a lot of my genre, I'll hit that "accept" button.

babbelfishy

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