First 100 copies sold- notes and observations

First 100 copies of my Kannada book have been sold. This post shares some key updates related to this.

My Kannada book on budget travel was launched one month ago and was listed on NotionPress, Amazon and Flipkart. In one month time about 100 copies have been sold. Above chart shows 98 because Notion Press increases count not after an order is placed but after an order is fulfilled. Plus they only have monthly report- can't get total report. One book ordered in November is yet to be delivered and another was fulfilled in December and don't have a way to show everything in single report.

1. Notionpress store has got two third of the sales. About 61 books were sold here. NotionPress was the cheapest spot to buy because of either Free Shipping Offer that I ran or discount codes I have given to those who contacted me before purchase. 
2. Amazon India gets next big share selling 37 books. Amazon has its own advantages- Prime customers or those who order above certain amount (like INR 499) qualify for free shipping, Amazon runs various cashbacks and discount offers depending on type of payment or card issuing banks plus there is in general a bigger trust on Amazon as an e-commerce platform than any other website. Three people who ordered on Amazon later cancelled their order- this count is not included in 37 sold. Reason for cancellation is not known-hopefully they will buy again. 
3. Flipkart has sold just 2% or two copies so far. Listing on Flipkart took more time than Amazon. Shipping charges on Flipkart could be less, depending on Pincode. Flipkart also has some offers for HDFC and Axis bank card holders. Amazon and Flipkart purchase incurs additional shipping cost- but this amount may vary- If you are prime customer and buying above certain amount, you may qualify for free shipping. Flipkart shipping charge is a function of Pin code- could be as low as 28 Rs for some pin codes. Not very sure why Flipkart sold so less compared to Amazon, but I am guessing in general Amazon is a bit more popular with shoppers for its reliability.

One fine day book reached an all time high rank of 527 on Amazon India

Of the 100+ purchases, only 7 people have left a review on Amazon. Hopefully others will also leave a review once they finish reading. I tried connecting with a few known people who have purchased the book but they have not written any review yet. Hopefully they will, soon. Can't force people beyond a request and may be a reminder.

• Amazon doesn't publish reviews written in Kannada or other regional languages, even when book is in same language. So it is possible few wrote reviews in Kannada but was rejected.
• It takes some time and effort to write a review, one should be willing to put in that time & effort. 
• It is possible those who bought haven't finished reading yet. Hopefully they will write a review once done reading
• It is possible they are busy, not interested in writing a review or even didn't like the book. I don't know. 
• Some books were ordered by those abroad for their family members- thus those who actually got the book may not have an online presence to review the book.

I am yet to send it to news papers and magazine. One India Kannada has published a review of the book. Vikas Hedge has done a review in his personal blog. Thanks to them. Yet to send the book to newspapers and magazines or try other marketing/publicity initiatives. Will do as much as possible in coming days. Most of November I was working on English edition of the book, which is now available.

If you've still not purchased my book, please grab a copy now. Kindly support with spreading the word, writing reviews on Amazon, sharing about the book in your whatsapp groups and other means as possible. Thanks in advance.

Made a dedicated page on my blog for the book. You can check this page periodically for the update.