Did Crisis of Conscience find a market or did it lumber along until the copies ran out?

by TerryWalstrom 25 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Hecce

  Nathan Natas

  Thanks for the input and the effort.
• 

  scratchme1010

  TerryWalstrom, I too went to the Wikipedia and then compared the information there with typical indicators of books being sales successful. One of the indicators is the fact that the book has several editions (and apparently there was some kind of announcement made in 2015 of another new one, though Franz passed away in 2010) and his wife in 2013).

  Also, I found that for books from 2001 to the current date, approximate sales data may have been gathered by a company named Nielsen Book Scan, a subscription service marketed mostly to publishers and bookstore chains. However, actual numbers are considered proprietary information.
• 

  Witness My Fury

  Maybe LFD (Lightening Fast Debs) can take on that task of making Barbaras book available again in her spare time. After all, she seems like the kind of gal to get things done.
• 

  JWdaughter

  I looked for it all over western WA. I didn't find CoC until I moved to NYC snd went to an enormous bookstore there. Probably 1985 or so.
• 

  TerryWalstrom

  By genre, sales in the publishing industry
  
  1. Romance / Erotica $ 1.44 BILLION

  2. Crime $728.2 million

  3. Religious $720 million

  4. Science Fiction $590.2 million

  5. Horror $79.6 million
  
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• 

  Mozzie

  I'm still trying to find the book, i am not getting it from ebay, book Depos says it isn't available so ill wait
  
• 

  Brock Talon

  CreateSpace reports I've sold 498 paperbacks since my first book was published, so that's about 180 a year or about 15 a month. Regarding Kindle, that is more difficult to estimate because of the sales and the unlimited being separate, but I'd say I sold about 50 books a month this last quarter. My books actually sell less over time however, they sold more when they were new and #1 in the JW genre.
  

  For those not acquainted, these are my two books:

  Journey to God's House: www.amazon.com/Journey-Gods-House-Headquarters-Witnesses-ebook/dp/B00EEIWUFW
  

  Escape from Paradise: www.amazon.com/Escape-Paradise-Jehovahs-Witnesses-thirty-five-ebook/dp/B00S292JS2/
  

  That said, those reading this should know I wrote my books to help people, not to make money. One woman recently wrote that she quit her free home Bible study because of my book, so that is very satisfying. While I'm no Ray Franz, I've tried to do my part.

  Also, it should be said that I could have spent all that time writing, publishing, etc. making money at my job where one good sale would make as much as years worth of selling books. I figured this would be the case up front and wrote as a labor of love. Finally, I have given all of the money I've made so far on those books to charity.

  However, I am now writing my first novel (fiction) tentatively entitled "The Redemption Sect". If I ever can finish it, and if it every makes any money, I'm keeping it!

  Brock Talon
  
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  Nathan Natas

  Brock, those are impressive numbers for an XJW book - and you've done it twice!

  The XJW market is almost as large as a small virus, which means that id you get 100% market share, you still have close to $0.00.

  OK, I'm being optimistic!

  I'm sure a few of us would love to know what's in your "secret sauce."

  Whatever you're doing, keep it up! Wishing you continued success!

  I notice you have your paperback prices set at less than $12 each, which I would guess means your royalty is less than $2/book. Am I close?

  Anyone who has tried publishing for the XJW community knows it is not the road to un-dreamed-of wealth. We do what we do because in our hearts we are sheepdogs.
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  Today, every Tom, Dick, and Jasper has self-published the bleeding wound, 1st person singular, true confessional version of their own fall from grace. It's as common as Zika virus.

  Maybe if you wrote a book about JW's that includes aliens from another world, it could sell.
  
  Obviously, CoC was not a commercial failure. It gave Ray some financing and he was able to publish a second book and have updated publishings for the first one.

  But it does seem to me that it mainly started out as a big load in his garage for years.

  Today's books are a bit different with Amazon and e-books and all. My book is available for $0.99 or $6.00 as a print book on Amazon (Fade from the Truth) There is no stack in my garage. You order the print book and some computer prints it and soft binds it and mails it with very little human interaction.
  
  It was always priced that low and like Brock, I didn't release it primarily to make money, but to help people. I wrote it to help me and hoped to help at least one other person. And I did that. I consider that a success. So I think I finally, in 4 years, made close to $500, perhaps more. Most sales were e-books and it seems more Europeans bought it than Americans. But I don't have a tally since it's mostly e-books.
• 

  hyperpen

  I self-published last month (Separated From The Flock) on Kindle, and will have on Nook shortly. It's as much about making a life after the witnesses as it is about actually being one. I was astonished by the number of books, (mostly self-published), written by ex-witnesses. I'll check out your books soon.