Sadly, SM Reine and several other authors who posted about their success on kboards had their books trolled with multiple 1 star reviews shortly after posting. So they mostly removed their book links and pennames from the kboards accounts to prevent all but the most persistent trolls from tracking them back to Amazon.
How many self published books have you sold to date?
- Thread starter KatyPerryfan19
- Start date
Sadly, SM Reine and several other authors who posted about their success on kboards had their books trolled with multiple 1 star reviews shortly after posting. So they mostly removed their book links and pennames from the kboards accounts to prevent all but the most persistent trolls from tracking them back to Amazon.
I hope so too.
Fortunately most of these authors have been successful enough that even a handful of troll reviews couldn't damage their star-rating and sales too much.
With the real-world dilemma of marketing sites requiring review and star-rating minimums before considering accepting your ad these authors had to err on the side of caution.
Luckily for us they chose to go incognito rather than stopping sharing valuable marketing advice and data points.
Fortunately most of these authors have been successful enough that even a handful of troll reviews couldn't damage their star-rating and sales too much.
With the real-world dilemma of marketing sites requiring review and star-rating minimums before considering accepting your ad these authors had to err on the side of caution.
Luckily for us they chose to go incognito rather than stopping sharing valuable marketing advice and data points.
As always, your mileage will vary!
15,000 books in two months, 32,000 books first year. Advice for newbies!
http://www.kboards.com/index.php?topic=189435.0
Two years, 10 titles, 300,000 books: About being scared
http://www.kboards.com/index.php?topic=193804.0
http://www.selfpublishingadvice.org...s-the-secrets-of-her-self-publishing-success/
How I Do It: Kristen James Shares The Secrets of Her Self-Publishing Success
100,000 books sold, 1,000 reviews on Amazon, 20 books in two and half years – that’s self-publishing superstardom by any standards!
http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,194847.0.html
Holy Cow!! Thanks, KDP Select! How I became an overnight (okay 30 year) success.
http://www.kboards.com/index.php?topic=189488.0
One Year Anniversary - 34,959 books sold
15,000 books in two months, 32,000 books first year. Advice for newbies!
http://www.kboards.com/index.php?topic=189435.0
Two years, 10 titles, 300,000 books: About being scared
http://www.kboards.com/index.php?topic=193804.0
http://www.selfpublishingadvice.org...s-the-secrets-of-her-self-publishing-success/
How I Do It: Kristen James Shares The Secrets of Her Self-Publishing Success
100,000 books sold, 1,000 reviews on Amazon, 20 books in two and half years – that’s self-publishing superstardom by any standards!
http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,194847.0.html
Holy Cow!! Thanks, KDP Select! How I became an overnight (okay 30 year) success.
http://www.kboards.com/index.php?topic=189488.0
One Year Anniversary - 34,959 books sold
The kboards has 81,692 members at present. I wonder what percentage of them has enjoyed the sort of success that you're promoting here, Adam. Would you care to provide some stats on that?
Hi all,
I've read this post that Adam has here on Kboards and while I cheered this author's success, I have to emphasize that this is NOT the norm for many authors self-publishing. It's not so much a case of "your mileage may vary" as you may not even be on the same road.
I loved reading her story when she posted. It's amazing! But genre plays a really big role here, writing in a series, writing to market, and a combination of other factors that she may or may not have had control over. Totally different road. Many authors who DO write in that genre don't catch that kind of break!
Success would be outstanding, but seriously, you shouldn't go into self-publishing with this sort of success story burning in your brain. My successes are far more modest. I'm happy with them but others may not be.
I've read this post that Adam has here on Kboards and while I cheered this author's success, I have to emphasize that this is NOT the norm for many authors self-publishing. It's not so much a case of "your mileage may vary" as you may not even be on the same road.
I loved reading her story when she posted. It's amazing! But genre plays a really big role here, writing in a series, writing to market, and a combination of other factors that she may or may not have had control over. Totally different road. Many authors who DO write in that genre don't catch that kind of break!
Success would be outstanding, but seriously, you shouldn't go into self-publishing with this sort of success story burning in your brain. My successes are far more modest. I'm happy with them but others may not be.
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2005
- Messages
- 665
- Reaction score
- 20
Speaking of genre, except for what...one or two people most of you self-pubbers are romance and erotica, right?
I generally right in scifi and alternative history (I do have a wip with a 13yo serial killer of pedophiles almost finished, it's a detective story, too.) I wonder what the numbers are for writers of those genres, lol.
I generally right in scifi and alternative history (I do have a wip with a 13yo serial killer of pedophiles almost finished, it's a detective story, too.) I wonder what the numbers are for writers of those genres, lol.
Sci-fi and fantasy writer here.
I've only got one book out and it's only been out for a month, but it seems like there are a fair number of folks self-pupping in those genres.
I write mystery and contemporary romance. Sales are weak all over. Borrows are steady with titles in Kindle Unlimited/Select. In my experience, promotion is necessary once a month to stay visible.
- Joined
- May 13, 2013
- Messages
- 334
- Reaction score
- 31
- Location
- San Jose, CA
- Website
- www.rlkingwriting.com
I write urban fantasy (non romantic--more Dresden Files-style). I posted my book on March 16 and sold a few copies over the next couple of weeks--around 40, maybe. Then I started using Twitter to promote my books after chatting with a friend, and my sales jumped quite a bit. I'm closing in on 1,000 ebook sales, most of them between March 28 and today. Things have slowed down the last couple of days, though, so I'm not sure how long that will sustain.
I've got four more books in the series in the pipeline, though, being edited and having covers designed, and I'm writing more, so I'm hoping each one will bump sales for the previous ones. <fingers crossed>
I need to come up with some new promo ideas, and figure out how to get some more reviews.
I've got four more books in the series in the pipeline, though, being edited and having covers designed, and I'm writing more, so I'm hoping each one will bump sales for the previous ones. <fingers crossed>
I need to come up with some new promo ideas, and figure out how to get some more reviews.
Captcha
Banned
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2010
- Messages
- 4,456
- Reaction score
- 637
I read the first few pages and the last couple pages of this thread, but skipped some of the middle, so apologies if this post is off-base, but...
My self-pub numbers are interesting to me b/c they show the benefit of an existing platform. I've self-pubbed in three different ways:
a YA dystopia novel (I think the writing is as good as what I normally write but it was ready to go right after the YA dystopia bubble burst, so I couldn't get agent interest) - I self pubbed and have sold less than 50 copies. (used a new pen name for this one)
a novel in my 'home' genre (m/m romance) that has sold about 2500 copies. So, less than what my publisher-pubbed novels sell, but not a total disaster.
So those two are interesting to me b/c they show the benefit of an established name in a genre. Being a hybrid author, in my experience, works better than being totally self-pubbed.
And then my third data point is a bunch of short stories/novellas that I've published. They're all set in the same universe as my most popular m/m series. I've sold about 7 000 copies of those, but the interesting thing to me is that these were sold at Amazon even though I have them available for free elsewhere, and advertise that fact whenever I can. I essentially put them up on Amazon as a courtesy to people who really don't want to go to another site for their shopping, but I assumed most people would pick them up for free.
I don't know numbers on the free downloads from the other site, but it's really interesting to me that a significant number of people are so Amazon-centric that they would rather pay (only $.99, but there are probably about ten stories in the series, so it adds up) than go off-Amazon.
I'm sure no one was thinking about self-pubbing w/o using Amazon, so I guess there isn't too much decision-making value in that observation, but I think it's interesting all the same!
My self-pub numbers are interesting to me b/c they show the benefit of an existing platform. I've self-pubbed in three different ways:
a YA dystopia novel (I think the writing is as good as what I normally write but it was ready to go right after the YA dystopia bubble burst, so I couldn't get agent interest) - I self pubbed and have sold less than 50 copies. (used a new pen name for this one)
a novel in my 'home' genre (m/m romance) that has sold about 2500 copies. So, less than what my publisher-pubbed novels sell, but not a total disaster.
So those two are interesting to me b/c they show the benefit of an established name in a genre. Being a hybrid author, in my experience, works better than being totally self-pubbed.
And then my third data point is a bunch of short stories/novellas that I've published. They're all set in the same universe as my most popular m/m series. I've sold about 7 000 copies of those, but the interesting thing to me is that these were sold at Amazon even though I have them available for free elsewhere, and advertise that fact whenever I can. I essentially put them up on Amazon as a courtesy to people who really don't want to go to another site for their shopping, but I assumed most people would pick them up for free.
I don't know numbers on the free downloads from the other site, but it's really interesting to me that a significant number of people are so Amazon-centric that they would rather pay (only $.99, but there are probably about ten stories in the series, so it adds up) than go off-Amazon.
I'm sure no one was thinking about self-pubbing w/o using Amazon, so I guess there isn't too much decision-making value in that observation, but I think it's interesting all the same!
I figured it has been a long while, so I will give an update of my status.
So far it is has been a big fail, but a learning experience.
I self-published a How To book. It is in physical form only, and available only through my website. It is not available on Amazon or in any ebook format. I followed John T Reed's advice, who is a self-publisher of physical books, and someone who I really respect.
But so far I have only sold two books, and that's within the past 8 months. So I'm very disappointed, but life goes on. Typically I get around 4-10 page views a day, from 1- 3 unique (meaning not the same) visitors each day. I had high hopes but this whole process has been a real eye opener.
My Yahoo store business and site renewal are coming up soon. I'm debating whether to renew with them, switch to a cheaper web hosting site, or give up all together.
I have ideas for other books but don't know if its worth my time.
The "good" news is that I've only spent around $500 for publishing the book (I have 100 copies), registering my site, and other admin needs.
So far it is has been a big fail, but a learning experience.
I self-published a How To book. It is in physical form only, and available only through my website. It is not available on Amazon or in any ebook format. I followed John T Reed's advice, who is a self-publisher of physical books, and someone who I really respect.
But so far I have only sold two books, and that's within the past 8 months. So I'm very disappointed, but life goes on. Typically I get around 4-10 page views a day, from 1- 3 unique (meaning not the same) visitors each day. I had high hopes but this whole process has been a real eye opener.
My Yahoo store business and site renewal are coming up soon. I'm debating whether to renew with them, switch to a cheaper web hosting site, or give up all together.
I have ideas for other books but don't know if its worth my time.
The "good" news is that I've only spent around $500 for publishing the book (I have 100 copies), registering my site, and other admin needs.
Yes.
As I said, I followed John T Reed's advice, who is a writer and publisher I respect. He doesn't put his books on Amazon because Amazon cuts into your profits. He's very independent in that way. I also took advice from Dan Poynter's books. But since it was my first time and I wasn't risking too much, I figured I might as well go for broke and take Reed's advice all the way. Because Reed recommends not selling on Amazon, he also recommends that you not get an ISBN number for your book. Which is what I did. None of my books have an ISBN, which you need to have to sell physical books on Amazon (or at least have them counted in the "Books" section). I knew going in that I wouldn't be able to sell on Amazon without an ISBN, but again, wanted to do it the purely independent, sell only from my site route.
It's been a learning experience.
Good questions.
I sell my book through my personal site, which has articles that relate to the topic of my book. My original hope was that by updating the site frequently with articles (about 1- 2 per month), and by using relevant key terms, people would find me through Google searching, etc. The idea being if you're interested in the topic I write about, you'll find me on Google, see my site, the articles I have for free, and then be persuaded into buying my book. I've also posted in forums that are relevant to my book that I have a book available, and free articles to look at. I've focused more on reaching out to people who might already be interested in the book. Or, so was my hope.
I think it's important to remember that I wrote a How To book, as opposed to a fiction book. The original idea was that people would be looking on Google "Help with problem X", leading them to my site/work.
Last edited:
The people who find your book on your site might well buy your book from there. The people who don't go to your site won't--but they might well have found it on Amazon if it had been available there. If I were you I'd get it listed on Amazon, pronto. You won't lose anything by doing so, and might gain a lot of sales.
Great advice and I agree. The problem is that Amazon requires an ISBN, which I don't have, to be listed in the "Books" section. I did try to list in Amazon, but got put in a General Merchandise category. After 4 weeks, I had no page views so I removed it.
I appreciate everyone's questions and ideas. I made some mistakes and hopefully others can learn from them.
plumone, I don't think you've made mistakes so much as you've just started to build your platform. It's time for the next level.
if you get your how-to book formatted for Kindle and open an account with Amazon through Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) you can publish in e-book form without an ISBN. Amazon does not require one because they use their own number for inventory. (To sell at Apple and B&N you need an ISBN)
"1-14 Do I need an ISBN to publish on Kindle Direct Publishing?
An ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is not required to publish content with Kindle Direct Publishing. Once your content is published on the KDP web site, Amazon.com will assign it a 10-digit ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number), which is unique to the eBook, and is an identification number for the Kindle Book on Amazon.com."
You could set up an Author page at Author Central and with your existing platform of articles and the posting you've done in forums, you could gain some traction.
Your print books can still be available through your website but having an ebook just gives you another sales channel. And you could even publish the articles you've written and offer them for 0.99 as an introduction to your book.
Royalties at KDP are 70% for $2.99 and up books. The services they offer for their 30% take are pretty outstanding in my opinion and well worth it.
I would go into KDP Select and get paid for borrows as well. It sounds like you have a lot of related non-fiction that you could publish electronically and gain some visibility for your print books.
if you get your how-to book formatted for Kindle and open an account with Amazon through Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) you can publish in e-book form without an ISBN. Amazon does not require one because they use their own number for inventory. (To sell at Apple and B&N you need an ISBN)
"1-14 Do I need an ISBN to publish on Kindle Direct Publishing?
An ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is not required to publish content with Kindle Direct Publishing. Once your content is published on the KDP web site, Amazon.com will assign it a 10-digit ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number), which is unique to the eBook, and is an identification number for the Kindle Book on Amazon.com."
You could set up an Author page at Author Central and with your existing platform of articles and the posting you've done in forums, you could gain some traction.
Your print books can still be available through your website but having an ebook just gives you another sales channel. And you could even publish the articles you've written and offer them for 0.99 as an introduction to your book.
Royalties at KDP are 70% for $2.99 and up books. The services they offer for their 30% take are pretty outstanding in my opinion and well worth it.
I would go into KDP Select and get paid for borrows as well. It sounds like you have a lot of related non-fiction that you could publish electronically and gain some visibility for your print books.
As MercyMe said, you don't need an ISBN for an e-book published through KDP. You do need one for print books, but you have several options if you go through Createspace, from using their free ISBN to bringing your own.
I understand your reluctance to publish on Amazon because they take a cut of the royalties. However, if you don't already have an established platform from which to sell direct, it may come down to keeping 100% of zero sales vs. 70% of a few hundred or thousands.
Captcha
Banned
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2010
- Messages
- 4,456
- Reaction score
- 637
I agree with this - as my post upthread mentioned, I've sold thousands of copies of some stories that are available for free elsewhere, simply because people want the convenience of being able to download from Amazon.
So in my case, people could have downloaded books for free from a well known, reputable seller in the genre, but instead paid to download from Amazon.
In this case, people are being asked to give their money to an unknown site and wait however long for the product to, hopefully, arrive in the mail. I wouldn't buy a book that way. If I buy something, I want either a personal relationship (like seeing someone face-to-face) or I want the security of a big company with a known returns policy, guarantees of shipment, etc. I doubt I'm unique.
Do you have a lot of Twitter followers? Or what have you been doing to promote your sales there?
Honestly, I'm still rather clueless about Twitter. I get on it every once in awhile - I do have a couple of accounts there, and my cat has one - but it seems that a person has to be *constantly on* there or else too much speeds by.
Not sure how to use it, really, although I've heard it's a great place to communicate with agents and editors.
- Joined
- May 13, 2013
- Messages
- 334
- Reaction score
- 31
- Location
- San Jose, CA
- Website
- www.rlkingwriting.com
That's the weird thing--I didn't have a lot of Twitter followers at all! I hadn't used my Twitter account for more than posting a couple of pictures of my cats since 2011 when I started it. I just set up my profile with my book info and a link to it on Amazon, and started tweeting promos for it (snippet from a review along with the shortened link and some appropriate hashtags like #amwriting or #urbanfantasy) along with retweeting friends' posts, anything else I found interesting, and the promo posts of those who retweeted mine (plus any others that looked intriguing to me) and posting some original stuff (observations, comments about books I read or TV I watched or my cats, etc.). I try to only post book promos a couple of times a day (usually morning/afternoon or afternoon/evening) and fill out the rest of my tweets with retweets of others' stuff or original content. I don't want to be spammy.
Then people started following me. I followed back the ones who looked interesting to me (and not like spambots) and the whole cycle continues. I try to check Twitter a couple of times a day. Once I realized that it's basically drinking from the firehose and you aren't expected to read everything in your feed, it got easier. Lists help too.
That's what seems to be working from me. I hated Twitter too, and swore I'd never use it. But now I'm a believer!
http://absolutewrite.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/
You make it sound easy, Dragonwriter. I have struggled with twitter, but I can give it a go again.
I have struggled with twitter, but I can give it a go again.
- Joined
- May 13, 2013
- Messages
- 334
- Reaction score
- 31
- Location
- San Jose, CA
- Website
- www.rlkingwriting.com
You make it sound easy, Dragonwriter.
I wouldn't say I've found it easy--more that I just decided it was something I needed to learn to do if I wanted to get the word out on my books! Please feel free to follow me (@dragonwriter11) and I'll follow you back and retweet your promo posts.
http://absolutewrite.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/