📉 Back to Zero: The June Reset, BookSirens, and May’s Milestone
Three days into the month, and mine is still sitting firmly on zero. No sales, no page reads, which equals no royalties.
Every single month you wonder what the charts are going to bring. I tend to be a bit of a pessimist; I always tell myself that if I get just one sale, or the equivalent of one full book read on Kindle Unlimited (KU), I’ll be happy. In truth, that’s a bit of a lie. I want as many readers as possible to dive into my books. I want them to love them, to leave a nice review, and to follow this very blog!
📊 Celebrating My Best Month Yet
When I look back, May was actually a fantastic month. And in reality, it should have been! The newest book in the Newman Adventure series, An American Treasure, was released on the 1st of May. Because of a couple of pre-orders, my dashboard didn't actually start at zero last month, and I had some KU page reads to boot.
By the end of May, I had achieved 14 sales in total and 3,093 page reads—my very first time breaking the 3,000-page milestone in a single month! Here is how it broke down:
- An Irish Mystery: 4 Kindle sales and 1,914 page reads.
- An American Treasure: 6 paperbacks, 4 Kindle sales, and 1,179 KU page reads.
I also sold two paperbacks from my own physical stock. Look, I’m never going to retire on these numbers, but you always hope to improve month-on-month. It’s just that when you’re staring at a blank dashboard for three days straight, the pessimist in you creeps out and makes you wonder if you'll ever sell another one.
🧜♀️ The BookSirens Experiment
Reviews have been trickling in steadily. Before launching An American Treasure, I decided to list it on a site called BookSirens. I’d seen plenty of other indie authors talking about how it helped them secure launch reviews and how they swear by it.
How does it work? You upload your book, and their team reviews it to see if it’s a good fit for their audience. Once approved, it costs $10 to list it. They promote it via their website and email newsletters, and if a reader downloads your copy, it costs you $2. It all complies with Amazon's terms, as readers are under no obligation to leave a positive review.
The problem? It just didn’t really work for me.
To date, I’ve only had three claims. Two people have read the book and left reviews on both Goodreads and Amazon, one is still pending, and the third missed their 28th May review deadline completely. Out of 2,516 impressions, I had 443 people click through to view my book, but only three actually took the plunge. Maybe it being Book 2 in a series puts casual reviewers off, or maybe the audience there just isn't big on action-thrillers. Who knows? But hey, two fresh 4-star reviews are very welcome. Beggars can't be choosers!
⭐ May's Review Round-Up
Speaking of feedback, I want to share some of the incredible reviews that landed in May. Let’s start with the newcomer, An American Treasure:
"Brought me back to my middle-grade fiction days! ...It had adventure and risks, and there was the thrill of finding the treasure... just with more adult-ish themes!" — 4 Stars, Shreya
(Shreya runs a fantastic book blog over on Substack at shreyanorthauthor.substack.com. She hasn't featured my book on her main page just yet, but I’ll forgive her—my gritty thriller looks a bit different to her usual selection!)
"American Treasure Hunt is Fantastic! This is a great book! I couldn't put it down, and I read this in 2 days! It's exciting, with a touch of mystery and adventure... Who will get it first, and who will not survive?" — 5 Stars, Cassandra’s Reviews
"Amazing story about Civil War treasure hunting. Having grown up in NC, Mosby's treasure is a folklore tale I grew up on... Being a bit interested in Civil War history and mystery books, I loved the suspense and interesting mix of fact with fiction." — 5 Stars, Julie Trego
"History, Suspense, and Treasure Hunting Done Right. ...The mix of Civil War history, hidden treasure, and modern-day danger made it hard to put down. I especially enjoyed the race-against-time feel..." — 5 Stars, K.A.
An American Treasure currently sits at a 4.8 out of 5-star rating across 9 reviews, and I’m crossing my fingers we hit double figures by the end of the week.
Meanwhile, An Irish Mystery has been gathering its own share of love. It’s so rewarding to see people enjoying Book 1, because that’s where the magic has to start:
"Great start to a series. This book was quite enjoyable, with an interesting story and likeable characters... This book inspired me to look up the actual Irish Crown Jewels and their history." — 5 Stars, G.L.
"Good Mystery. A pulse-pounding mystery surrounding the theft of the Irish Crown Jewels and Hans' quest to clear his name. I couldn't put it down." — 5 Stars, Marie B
"Journey of the truth. I absolutely loved this book, jam-packed with mystery... Liked how the book started off with a flashback of what happened in 1907 and then switched to the present day... The mystery kept me invested and on my toes..." — 5 Stars, Kristin
An Irish Mystery is now holding strong at 34 ratings with a 4.6 out of 5-star average.
It still completely blows me away that people are loving these books. What started as a wild idea in my head—with no real plan, just endless evenings typing away on my tablet—has turned into real people over in America choosing to spend their free time reading my words. It is truly unbelievable. Thank you to every single one of you.
📉 The Human Condition: Always Wanting More
A few months back, this very blog was pulling in over 3,000 views a month—averaging well over 100 views a day. Recently, though, those numbers have started to decrease. Last month, we fell just over 600 views short of that 3,000 mark.
Initially, I found myself stressing over it, wondering what else I could possibly do to get the numbers back up. But then I had to stop and give myself a reality check. It wasn't actually that long ago that I was lucky if my mum, the neighbour, and the wife read my blog. Well, the wife is a bit of a stretch—she definitely doesn’t read any of my ramblings!
But what I am trying to say is that I went from having barely anyone viewing this site to pulling in thousands of visits a month. It’s just that classic human condition, isn’t it? No matter how far we come, we always want more.
📚 What I’m Reading...
(Note: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Supporting indie authors helps the whole community thrive!)
Thiago by Dante Coman
I have officially finished Thiago by fellow indie author Dante Coman, and I have some thoughts. While it started as a definitive slow burn, as the pages turned, you could see how all the setup at the beginning of the story was actually like puzzle pieces. Dante was carefully creating a much bigger picture of what was to come.
Having crossed the finish line, I feel that some of the critical reviews I saw before buying the book were simply unjust. The characters were entirely believable and the writing was genuinely good. Could it have done with a bit more substance? Maybe, but that's just the way I personally prefer to write my own books. Dante clearly wanted to focus on telling a rich story first, meaning the explosive action didn't arrive until well over halfway through.
I highly commend him for what he did here. If you are after a short weekend read with a healthy dose of mystery, I absolutely recommend giving this a go. Dante's debut novel deserves a bit more love!
Enjoyed the ride? 📖
I balance my writing life with a full-time day job, which means covers, research, and advertising all come out of my own pocket. If you’d like to see these books reach more readers—and help me stay caffeinated while I write them—you can support my work here. Your help keeps the "Stream" flowing and the books coming.
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Newsletter subscribers also get an exclusive sneak peek of Book 2, An American Treasure.
👉 Join here: The Newman Chronicle
📚 The Newman Adventures
An Irish Mystery A fast-paced historical adventure about stolen treasures, hidden histories, and the cost of obsession. The story that started it all.
An American Treasure The journey continues! Cedric Newman returns in a high-stakes hunt for the lost riches of Mosby's Rangers. Action, mystery, and a new enemy await.
Available in Ebook, Kindle Unlimited, Paperback & Hardcover
📱 Let’s Connect
You can also find me on Instagram, Bluesky, X, and Facebook, where I share writing updates, research snippets, and behind-the-scenes moments from the school building and the writing desk.
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