The month-to-month comparison isn’t particularly apt; [The Variant](http://johnaugust.com/variant) came out in late May. But it’s interesting to note how much better the Kindle sales have held up than the downloads — likely the self-fulfilling nature of being on the best-seller list for its genre.
Since you released “The Variant” independently, how’d you get the nifty cover art?
— Michael
Washington D.C.
The image comes from [stock.xchng](http://www.sxc.hu/), a photo by [Marja Flick-Buijs](http://www.sxc.hu/profile/Zela) of the Netherlands. I did the type myself. The face is Myriad.
Because Amazon scales the artwork incredibly small for some views, I fattened the type used on the Kindle version so that it would remain legible.
NPR’s All Things Considered has a piece tonight by Alex Cohen about how artists use Twitter, including me with my short story [The Variant](http://johnaugust.com/variant).
If you missed it, you can catch the clip [in the archives](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105620633), or download it [here](http://public.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2009/06/20090618_atc_08.mp3?dl=1).
The “test screenings” I did with The Variant were hugely helpful, and led to some significant trim and changes, including the title and the very first sentence.
If you’d like to read that early feedback, I’ve unlocked the password protection so you can see their comments on [the first draft](http://johnaugust.com/variant/the-egyptian-variant) and the [revised version](http://johnaugust.com/variant/the-variant). (Obviously, both links are chock full of spoilers.)
Since the last update, sales for [The Variant](http://johnaugust.com/variant) have been much stronger for the Kindle version than the downloadable version.
[The Kindle edition](http://www.amazon.com/The-Variant/dp/B0029ZAPRW/) outsold the .pdf three-to-one in May, and ten-to-one for the first two weeks of June. ((The “downloads” category also includes the ePub version, but sales for that are miniscule: fewer than 20 sold.))
I have no particular theory why that is, except that people may be coming across the story directly through Amazon. After its peak at #18, it has settled down in the 200s on the overall bestseller list — which seems pretty deep for random browsing. But it’s stayed in the #1 or #2 spot for its genre categories (short stories, spy stories, science-fiction), which is likely a help.
I consider this all found money, so I’m happy to burn what I’ve made so far on other experiments.
For example, I haven’t bought a single ad for The Variant, but as its curve flattens I’m considering whether they would pay off. Any suggestions of where, when or how to place ads — and just as important, how to measure the outcomes — are of course welcome.