You know the story of the wicked witch, right? She kept asking the mirror if she was the prettiest one in the land. She was all for comparing herself to other people as long as she was the best.
Sometimes, I think being a writer is a little like being the wicked witch. That is, if you’re paying attention to all the metrics, and believe me, there are tons of metrics out there to measure how a writer is doing.
This is not a complete list, but it’s an average one. If you’re a writer in today’s world, you probably know all about these numbers:
- Amazon Author Central: Author Rank – overall ranking of you against every other author on Amazon. When you’re tempted to get the “big head” I dare you to check these.
- Amazon Author Central: Sales Rank – Bookscan physical sales of all books throughout the country (Bookscan’s numbers, however, are flawed, I believe. The anecdotal evidence I’ve accumulated is that their figures are up to 50% lower than they should be.)
- Rankings of each book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online vendors.
- Review rankings of each book on all online vendors.
- Conversations about each book on Amazon.
- KDP – Kindle Direct Program (where I put my backlist) – sales figures
- Nook (where I put my backlist) – sales figures
- Smashwords and CreateSpace (backlist and Katherine Storm books) – sales figures
- How many subscribers to website.
- How many visitors to website.
- How many comments on blog posts.
- How many Facebook “Likes”.
- How many Twitter followers.
- How many retweets of your tweets.
- How many Pinterest followers, repins, etc.
- How many pirate links to take down.
- How many pirate links that have been taken down.
- How many newsletter subscribers.
- How many new newsletter subscribers.
- Bestseller lists
- Review sites’ ranking.
- Blog rankings (blogs that have reviewed your book)
Yep, it’s enough to make your eyes cross and we haven’t even talked about your publisher’s figures or royalty amounts.
Now, some writers might not want to know any of these numbers. I know mine. Sometimes, I fixate on them. Most of the time, I just note them and go on.
How about you? Are you measured and quantified too?
LOL! I’m not a published author – yet – but I have my own set of stats that either boost my ego briefly or kick me in the butt. Thankfully, they’ve all been boosting more than kicking lately. I’ve got pageviews, comments, clicks and impressions, I’ve got review standings on Amazon, which are very good by the way, and now I’ve come to find out there are means of finding out where my site stands amidst the ever expanding Internet universe. I don’t check too often but I check often enough – usually when a need a little boost. There are all kinds of mirrors. Good post, Karen. Smart. : )
Just don’t let the mirrors cloud up on you, Amy. Sometimes, the news isn’t good and that can put you in a sucky mood. At that point, roll your eyes, and wait for the upturn.
When I was working, I was ‘measured and quantified’ up the wazoo. I like retirement better.
I love being self-employed, Karen. I’m a much tougher boss than any of my previous employers, but I’m nicer, too.