T.I.E. (Entry 17): The Post-Holiday Kindle Climate:
Shifting Weather
By Thio Isobel Moss
This is a bit of a marketing update and some early 2026 observations for those intrigued by what goes on behind the curtain.
My marketing journey for Blind Spot: The Covenant’s Forfeit has been a strange and volatile road. Out of the gate, my Fussy Librarian promo went amazingly well—I spent nearly a full day at #1 on the Free Contemporary Fantasy chart.
Every promo since has paled in comparison, though to be fair, the Fussy Librarian went live while the book was free. My best post-free promo brought in six sales, lifting me to #375 on the paid Contemporary Fantasy chart—not too shabby.
Over the holidays, I hovered around #1,000–2,500 in the rankings, boosted occasionally by KU page reads. Post-holidays, things feel different. Sales and pages read still come in, but rank falls are steadier. The first few days were rough, especially after realizing that scheduling a Goodreads Giveaway and a promo for Dec. 31st might not have been the best plan. Still, a few sales that week and the Giveaway’s strong performance have been encouraging.
The post-holiday market is unpredictable. Reports can lag, and things shift without warning. Case in point: a single sale yesterday boosted me 2,000+ ranks. No 5-book surge, no 500-page read spike—just that one, lovely sale.
Speaking of the Giveaway: I hoped for at least 100 entries, and with a few days still to go, I’m sitting at 645! Even better, many entrants have added Blind Spot to their to-read list. Thank you to everyone who entered—you made my New Year!
I also received my report from IRIS (IndieReader In-Store). I’m listed in their catalog on Edelweiss and have had 52 downloads. They’ve been fantastic to work with, and I honestly didn’t expect results this strong.
Looking ahead, my Giveaway runs until Jan. 12th, and Blind Spot will be on sale for $1.99 from the 12th through the 14th. That should be an interesting week, and I’ll be taking lots of notes!
I’ve also made some adjustments in my ad campaigns. I realized I was using too few author comps. After revisiting my strategy, my numbers are much healthier and my campaigns are performing better.
As far as New Year’s resolutions go, I’m rededicating my strategy to visibility over sales conversions. I’ve written out a few metrics to track, which I’ll explain in greater detail later. By Amazon’s charts, my trajectory looks solid, and considering how indirect some of my strategies are, that’s nothing short of wonderful.
All in all, a very encouraging start to the year. Happy writing and reading!
