Testing the Ad Waters

After that initial 90-day spike, the book sales have dropped, as predicted. The Facebook friends have made their purchases and already got tired of my constant hype. The family members have also contributed their love and support, but even they have become less likey to click like on my book posts. But it's not fair! Right? There's still millions of people out there who don't even know about my awesome book! And there's only one way to tell them... Spend! That! Money! Yep, most reviews cost money, and of course, so do the ads.

I googled Chicago Trib, but they wanted thousands. Even the small town paper of Freeport, IL, is now owned by a giant corporation that requires $1000 minimum. So, of course, I turned to the infinite reaches of the internet. I read some blogs and found BookBub. Not sure how it works but you can name your price (like $3 for one click) and they'll aution that price like eBay. I tried paying $20 and I got about 10 clicks. What's more important I got thousands of impressions, so at least people saw my cover, whether they clicked it or not. Cons are I'm pretty sure that only sold 3 ebooks, which made me about a dollar. (But hey--NOT in it for the money here! Just want people to read it!) Also the ad seems to be running dry. It went from 1,000 hits a day to more recently 100 hits, for no apparent reason. Dunno. Then I gave Instagram $20 to see what they could do. Cool thing about them is I could pinpoint Freeport, and run exclusively there, which is the setting of the book and naturally my initial target audience. I switched my Insta account to pro and "promoted" a cool photo of my book, got a thousand impressions, seen by 800 people, and got few followers, a handfull of likes, and 8 clicks. My guess is I sold 2 paperbacks in relation to the ad, but it's hard to be sure. That's all so far. I think I'm like Insta better, just because I know I'm hitting Freeport. BookBub is nice because they're avid readers, but I don't like how my ad fades off for no reason. Plus, most my clicks were in England for some reason. I guess the site is more popular there... Any ad suggestions let me know. It's a great book, just gotta get the word out.

Let's Do The Reviews

Yes! Readers' Favorite just published a spectacular review of To the Top of Greenfield Street. Couldn't be happier! It goes a little something like this:
... BOOK REVIEW Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

"To the Top of Greenfield Street is a coming of age novel for young adults written by Ryan Standley. It was June and summer should have been Eric’s next opportunity to shed his chubby-boy image through hours of basketball and healthy eating. But this June was different. The house that he and his dad lived in, complete with his dad’s pizzeria on the first floor, had burnt down. After the fire, he and his dad moved to a room in a hotel while his dad looked for a job, but there was nothing. Finally, their funds almost all gone, they drove to Freeport, Illinois to stay with family friends, the Garcias. Nate Garcia was Eric’s age and was his oldest friend, and Manny Garcia had hired Eric’s dad for as long as he needed. While it had been a while since the two friends had seen each other, they soon fell into the easy camaraderie of years back. Freeport, Illinois was different somehow. The kids there didn’t see a young fat boy to be bullied and laughed at. Eric had a chance -- this might be his summer after all.
Ryan Standley’s To the Top of Greenfield Street had me realizing once again why the genre is one of my all-time favorites. Eric’s transformational time spent on Greenfield Street is breathtaking, even at the remove of being a reader rather than an actual witness to a real-life story. Standley sets his tale in the summer of 1993, a pivotal time considering the internet and tech explosion that would soon be changing life as we knew it then. I loved re-experiencing the music and culture of the time and seeing the story unfold historically. While an experienced writer of news articles, this is Ryan Standley’s debut novel, and it’s peopled with characters who are complex, unforgettable, and very true-to-life. I was wrapped up in his story from the first pages until the last and loved every minute I spent on Greenfield Street. To the Top of Greenfield Street is the best coming-of-age novel I’ve read this year, and I’m looking forward to future works by this author. It’s most highly recommended." ...
Ok, so the first paragraph is just summary, but that second one is great, right? Oh, man. Nothing like a great review to make ya feel good and push you onward.
By the way, writers, did you thing the rejection letters were over after you finally published? Nope! Now I'm writing to libraries and review bloggers, and the no-replies and turn-downs seem oddly familiar, haha! Having fun though and a great review is a reason to celebrate. If you hadn't heard of Readers' Favorite until now, check them out!

Retail, News, And Movie Time!

Nope, haha, I haven't signed a movie deal yet. Not even close! But I did make a little promo teaser video on iMovie, which I posted on Youtube, and my Amazon author page. Also the Goodreads promo, mentioned in my last entry has done well, currently ammassing over 750 requests, for my ten free signed copies.

And the Freeport Journal Standard Newspaper printed their scoop, with a huge quarter-page picture of me holding To the Top of Greenfield Street. Yes!

And, check this out! My paperback book is now for sale in brick and mortar retail! A music store in Freeport IL, Black Diamond Music, is selling my book. What an honor! Thanks to owner, and my friend's mom, Deb Green, for the support. And now, what you've all been waiting for,the hype movie. Haha. Hear it is, enjoy.

The GoodReads Promo

Goodreads Book Giveaway

To the Top of Greenfield Street

by Ryan Standley

Giveaway ends September 22, 2020.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Here we go! My first Goodreads promotional giveaway offers up five signed copies of my book to five lucky winners. Yay!!

I'm anxious to see how well this works because the service is NOT free. But my sales are leveling off and I need another push. I'm also mailing out promotional posters to libraries. The Freeport Journal Standard newspaper is running my story on Sunday. After that, I'm kind of lost... Besides the last dying breath of the newspaper industry, all of these promos cost big bucks. Is there a way to get this novel off the ground that doesn't cost thousands?
Another interesting thing to note is the appearance of my book on sites other than Amazon. Two sellers on ebay now sell my book with a $3 markup from the Amazon price. Barnes and Noble also sells my book as does Books-a-million, Google Books and Indie Bound. However the book was not found on WorldCat (the national library data base) despite being ordered by several libraries, a somewhat frustrating developement that will hopefully be corrected soon.

Hype it up

Today marks one week since my novel went live, and the results have been a whirlwind celebration. I've been blown away with the supportive response on social media and I'm beyond grateful.Friends throughout my life have resurfaced with an outpouring of love, encouragement, and purchasing power. TO THE TOP OF GREENFIELD STREET reached "#1 New Release" on Amazon, August 22, and has reclaimed that height again several times ever since. I've garnered seven detailed and verified 5-star reviews. A story about my book was published in the local newspaper, and I have an interview with my hometown newspaper on Sunday.

So far four Northern Illinois/Southern Wisconsin libraries have ordered my book, none in MA yet, but I'm working on it. I've also ordered promotional posters and stickers to send to libraries and businesses. I've emailed, posted, talked and texted so much in the last few days, and this is just the beginning. The initial storm will end soon, and I'll have to get more creative. How can I get a reviewer to read my book, or get it featured on a major media site? How can my book reach the next level of renown? I'm learning as I go and I'm enjoying the ride. Thanks again to everyone for all of their support.

YES!!! PUBLISHED!!

Yes! It's official! My debut novel To the Top of Greenfield Street

is now available for purchase around the world. It just went live on Amazon at 4am last night. This is awesome! Here's the link
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GFQCVH8

Now comes the anticipation. How many reviews will I get? Will it sell like hotcakes. We shall see. Fingers crossed. This project is three years in the making. Thanks so much to everyone who helped.

Title Change

The momentum is still rolling for my novel, and more reader feedback is helping quite a bit. The most recent title change was a big one, going from the negative connotation of forget in Forget Freeport, to the positive connotation of to the top in To the Top of Greenfield Street.Title changes are tough, it can literally say just about anything. You don't want it to be too vague. You want some double meaning, but not a pun or cliche. Sometimes you spend all day deciding on one, then you Google it and it's already published. Needless to say, I'm happy with To the Top of Greenfield Street, and hopefully the new title will bring much luck to the project.

Here is a new cover concept as well. I tried to recreate current popular covers on Amazon Kindle pages, using the app PicsArt, which is incredible! Special thanks to my daughter on help choosing the font.