So, I finally released Replication, the 6th novel in my Kid Sensation series, a little under two weeks ago. Most of my readers know that I’ve had issues bringing this book to market. First of all, it took me far longer to write than I anticipated. There’s also the fact that my PC went out on me and I had to get a new one. Moreover, my external hard drive that was supposed to be backing things wasn’t backing up anything at all. (There were also a bunch of other little headaches here and there, like the power going out one night while I was trying to review the book one last time prior to publication.) Needless to say, I felt blessed when I was finally able to publish the book, thinking that the hard part was finally over.
Except it wasn’t.
First of all, I should say that the book did great initially. Readers had clearly been waiting for it, and the first 24 hours were awesome in terms of sales. However, I noticed that the book didn’t seem to be ranking in the proper categories. I reached out to KDP about it, which was something I had done in the past. Usually, I simply identify for them the proper browse path that I want to the book to appear in and they fix it. I thought that would happen this time, so I went about my business. Some time later, I was pleased to note that I had received the cute little Amazon “#1 Bestseller” Ribbon:
Upon closer inspection, however, I noticed that something was off:
In essence, I had the #1 bestseller, but in the wrong category. In several categories, actually, as shown by the book’s ranking at the time:
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,552 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Religion & Spirituality > Spirituality > Inspirational > Conduct of Life
#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Medical eBooks > Specialties > Preventive Medicine
#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Parenting & Relationships > Parenting > Health & Nutrition
Basically, the book got moved to a bunch of non-fiction categories. Obviously something went kaplooey, but KDP didn’t know exactly what it was or how to fix it. Ergo, the book languished in the wrong category for a couple of days before KDP’s tech folks found a solution.
It’s still not exactly right, but I’ll take what I can get – especially since the book is the “#1 New Release” in several categories. Sure, I probably lost sales/ranking as a result of the category fiasco, but what can you do? I’m just grateful that the book’s at least in position to have an upward trajectory. Also – as is usually the case – the new release is giving other books in the series momentum. Four of the first five novels in the series were ranking in the Top 25 in one of their categories earlier today, with the 5th book sitting at #27.
Long story short, for whatever reason, Book 6 has been nothing short of a crucible. Let’s hope Kid Sensation #7 has an easier time.
I know you got a lot of gripe from a lot of fans for how long it took to get the last book out. But even with all of that you kept going, all of that on top of your own troubles and problems. Thank you sir for giving us hours on end of enjoyment and laughs. Thank you for not giving up on these wonderful stories and I hope, along with all your other fans, that you keep writing them. That you keep enjoying writing them. I can’t wait to read whatever else you give us. Thank you for all your hard work.
I still enjoy writing – don’t think that will ever go away – so I don’t have any plans to stop. Right now, the trick is figuring out a modus operandi that will let me write more. I have an idea, but this year will seemingly be the litmus test for that.
I’ve been annoyingly getting a whole bunch of recommendations of late completly unrelated to what i’ve read because of stuff like that.
Ahhh. You buy a book, but because it’s in the wrong category Amazon misidentifies your interest and then starts making recommendations that you couldn’t care less about. I think they understand that kind of thing makes for a poor customer experience; they just don’t seem to have an immediate fix for it (presumably because it isn’t supposed to happen).
Just finished Replication and I love it! You will probably hate this because it seems like the last book was a headache to finish…. but I’m ready for #7!!! You left me on a bit of a cliffhanger there Mr. Hardman!
LOL! Glad you enjoyed it, and I will work like the dickens to get Book 7 out as soon as possible.
Was wondering why my reccomendation section was full of books on your spirit animal and chakra.
LOL!
Loved the book till the final few chapters.
I can not wait for the next book. With the way 6 ended, I can’t help but feel like a fresh start is on the way. As in, a fresh perspective, on Jim and the characters around him.
When will Replication be available on Audible?
According to ACX, the audiobook was completed a week ago, but – for whatever reason – it hasn’t gone on sale yet. To be clear, that’s an ACX issue; it goes through their quality check, and then they price it and put it up for sale.
In short, it could go on sale at any time.
Just finished the series up to date.
With regards to Replication, spoilers ahead for previous titles.
In #7 there is mention of Jim meeting, essentially himself from the future and that someone doing something in his head.
There so only a slight inclinaction at the end of #6 that J’h’dgo was infact John Indigo, it just feels as though Im missing something when in #7 it is stated that Jim meet his “future self” when #6 states he went to the past.
There was no real indictaion of when this was realised or when Jim came to the conclusion that it was infact his “future self” and not just someone with the same name from the past. It left me a little annoyed when those parts came up in the story.
Regardless, I enjoyed #7 immensely and eagerly await #8 and this jaunt with Rune.
Thanks for the compliments; I’m glad you enjoyed the book. As to your comments about Jim’s future self, it’s a little difficult for me to address as the author because I don’t want to give anything away. I believe the best way to think about it is to consider that we all make observations and draw conclusions in our daily lives. For instance, if you observe droplets of water striking a window pane, you might conclude that it’s raining outside. Someone else might see the same thing and conclude that sprinklers are on. Another person could see the same thing and reach yet a third conclusion, and so on. So in this instance, I suppose the real question is whether enough information was presented for Jim to reasonably conclude that it was a future version of himself that he’d met.