Tag Archives: csv

NovelRank Version 3 – Faster Everything

trees in the light

I’m guessing many of you were starting to get annoyed by Server Overloaded, Try Again in a Few Minutes messages, especially late at night. You probably weren’t a fan of waiting 60+ seconds for salesrank data to generate in charts.

These things bothered me too. Thus, I took time aside and have completely rewritten the backend database of NovelRank, which I’m now calling NovelRank version 3 (v3 for short). On the front end, there are no differences, but the experience of using the site is dramatically improved. It’s been a plan for months, and the four phases of transition started one week ago, finishing up late Saturday (Oct 19, 2013) night. I’m really proud and satisfied with the results.

Here’s a full list of everything that has been improved dramatically:

Charts (Type: SalesRank)
Stats (PRO Users now get to update this instantly)
API (NovelRank iPhone app and PRO WebApp)
CSV exports (SalesRank)
SalesRankExpress rank history charts

Since it was completed, there have been zero users receiving the Server Overloaded message. I’m proud of that.

I hope you continue to enjoy and use NovelRank worldwide. As a reminder, it’s built by one guy, me, and your support through PRO sign-ups and donations are the only income I have.

System Tweaks: Abuse Prevention

Recently there has been a large amount of requests on the system that are either by an automated system or one or two overzealous individuals. Specifically involving requests for charts and exports (CSV) of information. After a few days of research and data collection, an automated system has been created to help ensure that this does not become a detriment for all NovelRank users.

Image courtesy of RowdyKittens on Flickr Here’s the info you need to know.

If the database is currently overloaded by too many requests or is working very hard on a current requests (in regards to time), you may receive an error page when attempting to export CSV data. Simply retry your request a few seconds later (in most cases). In the case of charts, a message will be displayed in the chart area notifying of the server overload.

All of these abuses are NOT from user accounts, but individual book pages (details page). Thus, I’ve only implemented these methods to address the problem areas. I reserve the right to, in the future, implement the same measures for user comparison charts and user CSV exports.

I hope this results in a continued fast NovelRank experience for everyone.

Image courtesy of RowdyKittens on Flickr

New CSV Export – Full Date and Time Data

Hey look, a new feature! Added by request (thanks Tom from Greece), there is a new CSV export option available for you. When you are viewing a book’s detail page, you can use the button at the top to expand the Export to Excel/CSV options.

From there you will see a new link that will start the download of a single CSV file that contains the date, hour, and day of the week (screenshot is an early version) of every sale since tracking began. It’s sorted by newest dates first, but the date is in a standardized format which will allow you to sort the spreadsheet in the opposite direction using your spreadsheet program.

Previously, this data was only available through the charts and only for recent sales (for visibility), so this new feature provides a lot of functionality for quickly analyzing sales estimate data on your own. Finally, all CSV exports have been improved to support the newest domains on NovelRank: Italy, Spain, and China. Apparently, nobody noticed that these were not being exported. Don’t worry though, I noticed, and it is now fixed!

Book Sales RSS Feed and CSV Download on User Pages

NovelRank User Pages now have two new features: RSS Feeds for book sales and CSV/Excel download of monthly sales estimates!
These are both long requested features, so they are now available on the left side. If you don’t have a user page yet, create your own user page by logging in through your favorite 3rd party website. You will be prompted to setup your user page if this is your first time logging in through that service.

Both new features will include every book present on your user page in a single download/RSS. In both cases, the download is for the currently viewed Amazon domain (.com, .co.uk, .de, etc). Switching the domain will switch the links for the download/RSS to the new domain automatically. The RSS feed has one additional new benefit: Timezone aware! That’s right: Sale times are now adjusted for your account’s timezone, and the timezone is specified within the RSS feed. My little thank you to all the folks in Germany and the UK who use NovelRank!

Remember, if you are using a modern browser, such as Firefox or Chrome, you can also access the RSS feed from the URL/Address bar. Of course, you can also subscribe to the blog this way… The below image is from Firefox.

Enjoy the new features, and I hope your 2011 is starting off with lots of sales!