July 3rd marks the second anniversary of Pegasus Pulp, for on July 3, 2011, we opened our doors for business with 3 titles for sale. Two years later, that number has grown to 36 titles in two languages. No. 36 just went live earlier today.
So how have we fared after two years in business? Well, sales could be better, but they are growing and that’s all that matters. Expanding into German books was a good move, because some 14% of our overall sales are for German books. Nor do they sell merely in the German speaking countries, but also in the US, the UK, Spain and Belgium.
Anyway, here is the percentage breakdown of sales outlets for all books:
Amazon.com: 55%
Amazon UK: 20%
Amazon Germany: 13%
Kobo: 3%
XinXii: 2.5%
OmniLit/AllRomance: 2%
Apple iTunes: 1.3%
DriveThruFiction: 0.7%
Barnes & Noble: 0.5%
Amazon Italy: 0.5%
Amazon Spain: 0.5%
Amazon France: 0.3%
Amazon Canada: 0.3%
Casa del Libro: 0.3%
The various Amazons are still dominant, but Kobo and Apple sales have been steadily increasing (and our books have only been available at Kobo, since Writing Life opened, and at Apple since early 2013). XinXii continues to be surprisingly steady, while OmniLit/AllRomance has fallen off since last year. I still sell next to nothing at Barnes & Noble, though I did get a sale there today to my infinite surprise.
As for which of our books sell best, here is the breakdown:
1. Seraglio
2. Outlaw Love
3. Under the Knout
4. The Kiss of the Executioner’s Blade
5. Hostage to Passion and Der Kuss des Richtschwertes (tie)
6. Rites of Passage
7. Unter der Knute
8. The Spiked Death and Flying Bombs (tie)
9. The Other Side of the Curtain
10. Countdown to Death and El Carnicero (tie)
11. Murder in the Family
12. Kurierdienst
13. The Hidden Castle and Flights of Madness (tie)
14. He never brings me flowers, Heartache and Reiche Beute (three way tie)
15. Cartoony Justice, Courier Duty, He has come back to me and Muse & Crisis (tie)
16. Insomnia, Letters from the Dark Side, Loot, Mercy Mission, Payback Time, The Apocalypse Protocol, Whaler and Honigtopf (tie)
17. The Dark Lily, Thirty Years to Life, Honeypot and Family Car (tie)
Compared to when I did this last year, historical fiction, preferably with a dash of spice, is still my bestselling genre. I should probably write more of it, but unfortunately I’m not always in the mood. Interestingly, poor El Carnicero still sells much worse than my other historicals, even though it’s a really good one.
Meanwhile, there also are stories which just don’t sell very well, regardless of what I do. Most of them are either a bit on the quirky side (Cartoony Justice, Courier Duty, Letters from the Dark Side, The Apocalypse Protocol) or standalone crime shorts which are also available in Murder in the Family (and the two standalone crime shorts which do sell okay got a boost from good reviews).
The only real puzzler among my low sellers is The Dark Lily. It’s got a great cover and is a good story, yet it doesn’t sell. Amazingly, the sequel The Other Side of the Curtain does sell, albeit not in great numbers, even though its cover is worse and really needs a do-over. But then, apparently the number of people who enjoy sixties spy action with a lot of period detail and local colour is more limited than I thought. Ditto for fans of the 1930s style pulp action of the Silencer.

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