In last week’s post, I shared a few stats about how Core Haven fared during its month-long New Release thrill ride on Amazon (Link to Part 1). At the end, I made mention of the current phase of my latest publishing adventure that started the beginning of September.

For the sake of anyone not getting a chance to read it, here’s the gist. (If you did delve into Part 1, you can skip to the next paragraph.) Basically, Amazon/KDP gives special consideration to New Releases in terms of ranking which allows more exposure during searches & results. But after a month, that special status mysteriously evaporates.

So in this post, I’m shifting gears to look at the current phase of my latest novel’s journey outside the walled garden of New Releases.

I have to say, I’m pleasantly surprised by how well Core Haven has done in terms of ranking & even more in terms of reaction from readers & reviewers. The following two screenshots show the ratings/reviews at the time of this writing:

Would I like to have more ratings/reviews on both platforms? Hell yeah. Do I fault any reader for not accepting the dominating role rating & reviewing play for any reason whatsoever? Hell no. Do I fault anyone for rating a book but not reviewing it? Again, hell no.

But over & over, the conversation among indie authors on social media returns to Amazon’s algorithm (my hunch is somebody will coin a name like Zon-Algo or Algozon or Amagalazon or— All right, already, the current widely accepted, somewhat tame, moniker is A10).

Of course, in addition to ratings & reviews, sales also drive A10. But then, ratings & reviews in turn drive A10 which in turn drives exposure which in turn drives sales which in turn…

Meanwhile, a more immediate priority at this point in the game is to make some decisions.

Namely, do I:

1. follow the same course of action I did after my first self-published novel reached a similar point in the up & down process a couple years ago?
2. chart a different course?

In the case of #1, I accepted the results after Pearl Fields and the Oregon Meltdown left the walled garden of New Releases & drifted into my backlist while I moved on to my next project. I have no regrets about that choice since in all honesty, the reviews were mixed. Don’t get me wrong, I had some stellar responses (including one from Lee Hall that still resonates with me), but there were also readers who didn’t kin with Pearl’s voice as the first-person narrator.

But this time around, as shown by the two screenshots above, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. 😊 So much so that I’m even ignoring my aversion to using emojis in one of my posts just ’cause.

Anyway, if you’ve had much experience with the nuances of marketing strategy, you know I’m facing considerable odds & a cascade of choice points. But with the help of a marketer I contracted with through Reedsy, I’m much more confident of making reasonable decisions about promotions & such.

I’m also hoping ratings & reviews continue to come in at their own pace.

For the record, the first image below does not in any way, shape, or form represent my attitude toward waiting for reviews to show up. After all, I am one with the Process, accepting what is & what shall be, knowing all things are transitory and…

That said, when somebody posted the joke on Threads, the reaction from those in the indie author camp was swift, decisive, & hysterical. So I thought I’d throw it into the mix.

Keep you posted.

Drew

---

---

Latest BookFunnel Promo LINK

---

I invite you to check out Lee Hall’s excellent video review, especially the first book he includes on his short list of memorable indie reads—uh-huh, that would be Pearl Fields and the Oregon Meltdown.

---