Honest Numbers about an Amazon Indie Ebook Giveaway

Honest Numbers about an Amazon Indie Ebook Giveaway One problem facing indie authors is the lack of honest sales figures. Self-reporting is often vague or exaggerated. While Hugh Howey’s Author Earnings page is a good source, more data are needed. I recently did a five-day free promotion on Amazon and would like to share my results. I’m writing a series of post-apocalyptic novels titled the Toxic World. Book One, Radio Hope, came out in February. In March I published a 10,000-word short story titled The Scavenger. The series is in the KDP Select program so I can take advantage of free giveaways and countdown deals. The Scavenger is priced at 99 cents. It’s not intended to make money, but to advertise the series, so I use my free days. I get five days to offer it for free every ninety-day period. My first promotion was from Friday, April 4 through Tuesday, April 8. I did little promotion. I mentioned it on my blog and several times on my Twitter feed. Several blogger buddies mentioned it. A few nice people tweeted. Here’s the daily breakdown, with the number of downloads for each country in parentheses. Friday, April 4: US (79), UK (13), Spain (5), Germany (2), Canada (3), India (1). Total: 103. Saturday, April 5: US (82), UK (9), Germany (1), Canada (1), Australia (1). Total: 94. Sunday, April 6: US (58), UK (2), Germany (1), Canada (3), Australia (1). Total: 65. Monday, April 7: US (61), UK (11), Australia (1). Total: 73. Tuesday, April 8: US (47), UK (8), Spain (1). Total: 56. Grand Total: US (327), UK (43), Canada (7), Spain (6), Germany (4), Australia (3), India (1). Grand Total for all markets: 391. The giveaway numbers mirror my sales - the U.S. is My first day was my biggest. Fridays and Saturdays are good sales days as people look for weekend reading. There’s a severe drop off at the beginning of the week. This was reflected in my giveaway numbers. That good first day got me into the top 20 in the Post-Apocalyptic and Dystopian categories on Amazon UK and into the top 20 â€Å"Kindle Short Reads† on Amazon US. This increased visibility and encouraged more downloads, creating a positive feedback loop and getting the attention of some â€Å"free ebook† websites and Twitter feeds, which presumably helped keep numbers up. Reader reaction was prompt. While the giveaway was still on, someone added The Scavenger to Goodreads and I got three reviews. What about sales of Radio Hope? During the giveaway I sold six, twice what I sold in the same five-day period a week earlier. I have since had several sales of Radio Hope to people who said they’d been pulled in So what did I learn? Don’t expect astronomical numbers. As a little-known author in a flooded genre, you won’t hit number one. The friend factor only goes so far. Few downloads were The first day is essential. Getting those numbers up quickly makes you visible. This encourages more downloads that will keep you visible. Weekends are better. Split it across two weekends instead of a single five-day block. You’re building a tower, not launching a rocket. While this giveaway didn’t get me lots of sales, it did get my series onto nearly 400 Kindles. That’s a start.

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay - Term Paper Example Most of the time, this waste is hazardous and may cause detrimental effect to any living organisms, including human (Freedman, 3-9). One of the most common environmental toxicant includes the polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs. PCBs are man-made organic chemicals belonging to a broad family of hydrocarbons. It was used in many industrial and commercial applications because of its good chemical properties like being non-flammable, high boiling point, chemical stability and good electrical insulating properties. These compounds are widely used for many applicants such as transportation and coolants. PCBs are also used as plasticizers in paints, plastics, and rubber products. It was first manufacture during 1929 but their use had been banned in 1979 upon determining its dangerous effects to both the environment and human health (Davis and Wade, 2-6). PCBs have a range of toxicity and vary in consistency from thin, light-colored liquids to yellow or black waxy solids. These toxic compound s are considered to be persistent organic pollutant for it do not degrade easily and may remain for a long time in the environment. PCBs can contaminate some parts of plants and food crops. PCBs may also be taken up into the bodies of small organisms in that lake including fishes. These toxic compounds may bioaccumulate in these food sources and ingestion may have many adverse health effects in human with symptoms such as skin condition or changes in the blood which may lead to liver damage. Some food which contains PCBs can cause poisoning to the consumers. Moreover, some studies report the health effect of PCBs in children of mothers who were exposed to PCBs (ATSDR, 285-290). Hence, it is important to detect this compound in the environment to prevent its hazardous effect. One of these methods of detection includes the use of Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay or ELISA Analytical Technique Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a biochemical technique which allows rapid scree ning and quantification of an antigen in a sample. It is used mainly to detect the presence of an antibody or an antigen in a sample. The ELISA has been used as a diagnostic tool in medicine and as detection or measuring tool of environmental toxicants. In ELISA, an antigen is affixed to a surface and a specific antibody is applied over the surface so that it can bind to the antigen. This antibody is linked to an enzyme, and in the final step a substance is added that the enzyme can convert to some detectable signal, which is most commonly a color change in a chemical substrate (Lequin, 2415-2416). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or (ELISA) analysis biochemical technique is used to measurement of organic contaminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls in an environmental sample. Performing an ELISA includes at least one or more antibody with specificity for an antigen. The sample, which has unknown amount of antigen, is immobilized on a solid support either non-specifically or spec ifically. The immobilization process occurs in two ways. One process is by the adsorption to the surface wherein a sample containing an antigen is adsorbed into an inert surface, usually a 96-well polystyrene well. Another process involves capturing another antibody specific to the same antigen, as in a "sandwich" ELISA (Lequin, 2417). The detection antibody is added after the antigen is immobilized, forming a complex with the antibody. This is usually done by washing the surface with a solution of a non-specific protein to block proteins