[Amanda M. Lee]

Since I have two productive pen names (and I've just started to recently get back into the erotica game -- but I can't do that on a weekend, so it's moot right now) I've been paying more attention to my author ranking on Author Central. I hate to say it, but I'm obsessed with hitting new milestones. My main name is cruising. It's pretty level, although a recent release has bumped me up into the top 250 for all books and 130 for ebooks. My poor pen name, though. Ugh. I've had big highs, and big lows. I just launched it in October, and it's an ongoing process. I had my best two sales days ever (without promotions) yesterday and today (thanks to a new release) on my main name, but my pen name is down today (by like 6,000 rankings) and I'm a sad little puppet. Who else basks in milestones even though they don't want to?

 

[Lydniz]

I bask in good sales days, but not author ranking milestones as they don't seem to mean much as far as I can tell.

 

[A. N. Other Author]

I'm still building an audience, so my first triple-digit sale day (yesterday) was my biggest milestone recently. Off the back of a FKBT promo though. Hit #3 in the US pulp ranking, so although ranking means very little my ego says if there are any sales waiting to hit from yesterday, that #1 spot - no matter how obscure the category - will boost my self-esteem no end.

Then I'll get back to editing book number 3.

 

[EC]

I haven't looked at my author ranking for about six months.  It's a handy tool and I appreciate it, and I also appreciate that I can look over it a mere couple of times a year to see how things are progressing. 

I concentrate solely on building the income in .com.  I've hit a new milestone this month, and of course I'll press forward to achieve ever more.  My reasoning for concentrating on  .com is that I can't find a way to market effectively to the other countries. I regard them as being out of my control. I am lucky in the regard that my books do sell in just about every other country every month.  I regard that as a welcome bonus,

However, that's all it can be.  I don't know how or where to start with promoting to  .de, .oz, or even .co.uk, so it has to be all about .com.     

 

[timstevens]

Yes, I'm a milestone fiend, Yoda, and I feel dirty  .

Author rank has never exercised me much, but a year ago, selling 100 books a day was something I was obsessed with. Now, I'm fixed on a steady 200 a day. I hit that figure two days out of three. If I can do it every day for a month, I'll equal my day-job salary.

And be on my way to going full-time as a writer, as you've done.