How reliable is Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing?
I've recently wrote my first book and have been struggling to find a way to properly publish my novel. I discovered several options and a pursued a number of them. The one I put forth the most effort into was proposing a query to a literary agent. I read a number of reviews on this process and it seemed like a long and difficult process, especially for an aspiring author. However, I decided to follow this route regardless of the negativity I had read on it, because I felt my novel was one of a kind and truly stands out as an attention grabber. After months of trying to contact and present my query (via emails) to literary companies and agents, I realized how truly difficult this process turned out to be. After talking to a friend about my conflict, they recommend self publishing. I remember reading about a number of new authors who have had success publishing their book(s) through Kindle. I suppose my concern here is what does the process of Kindle publishing entail, how reliable is it, and what are the outcomes if my novel is able to be published by these means? I did a bit of research on this, but would perhaps like a bit more information by people who have experience with this process, or have a deal of knowledge in this field. Thank you very much for your responses.
Do people really make money by publishing eBooks in Kindle?
NOBODY IS TALKING ABOUT A MAIN POINT!!!!Great to know people can make money with an ebook. Not a new revelation. I think the question should be, “How?” FIRST:Are these stories true? Yes. How do they do it? I am in marketing and I spend energy nudging books into the spotlight. It is not always necessary to have marketing but it can really help!Most people offer advertisement to anybody who has an ebook, or audio tape. I don’t do that. WHY?I always want to read at least a page or two to see the author’s style, format, and quality of the writing. This is important! For example, did you know that science fiction is one of the hottest markets right now? Or that How-To books can really sell well? Facts like these help me determine if a book is worth my time.What Would I Suggest?A book that has numerous errors is not worth the time. Readers will get frustrated and it won’t sell. If I am wrong on the latter please refer me to a book that has sold over ten thousand copies that are riddled with errors! Do you get me?On Amazon (For Audio Books I recommend NON-EXCLUSIVE) the most important factor is reviews. The more reviews you get, the better it will sell. Of course, these reviews need to be more positive than negative. But— ya— Reviews matter.The topic is essential. When I run into a topic that does fit well but is written flawlessly, I still consider different angels of publication. I frequently look to see if I can match the topic of a book with another book that is very successful. This can be important.ENOUGH SUGGESTIONS! CAN I GET RICH?!?!?Honestly— Unlikely. If you can write well, have the time, energy, and revenue, and knowledge— you can be successful. However, I find that most people who land on this question read it because they are looking for easy ways to make money and the thought of talent does not occur.Truman Capote was a brilliant and talented writer. He is one of the most famous writers of recent times and he said something that I believe is true…You either have the talent or you do not. It is not something you can learn.Kind Regards,Max
How good is self-publishing on Amazon for Indian authors?
In my opinion, Amazon KDP is the world leading platform for electronic books publishing with worldwide reach.First sort out the goals of the book you are writing.Is it out of hobby?Is it for earning the royalties for living?Is it simply to share your knowledge?Is it fiction or non fiction category?Once after publishing, to get more sales you need to do some marketing activities like reaching the targeted readers through blogs or social media.Unless the book you published will become as best seller, you should add more books to get more revenues.Book writing is really a tedious process. That’s why you should begin with a book, test the water.Earnings on book sales ( Time and energy spent on book writing ) should be more than the earnings if you spent on other skills you presently possess.Otherwise you will regret for your efforts in book publishing.If you want to flourish in publishing, you may start a small digital publishing by collaborating with a few content experts in niche markets like travel, health, education etc;Finally India is the 2nd largest populated country in the world and Indians are reading both Chetan Bhagat as well as JK Rowling.So, there is no shortage of market potential for the interesting authors.Start writing now, and finish the book.Wish you all the best-
How important are book reviews on Amazon?
Amazon is an online website of its own that has great importance to authors and publishers of books. This is because it has provided an extraordinary opportunity to introduce new books to readers and market them worldwide, providing robust sales.Amazon reviews – are they really that important to your success in Amazon whether you’re selling Kindle books or physical products?I've found that most Amazon sellers and Kindle publishers put a little bit too much importance on Amazon reviews and don't focus enough on the OTHER elements of your book/product.Amazon reviews are important, yes. They help by providing social proof and when all products look the same or are identical, customers will choose products based on reviews.BUT… one of the biggest problems I see is that most publishers and sellers don't think creatively enough to find ways to stand out or differentiate their book in any way from all the rest.If Amazon reviews is your ONLY way of differentiating your product, then you're competing with everyone else with reviews.Why not instead be creative and stand out more in other ways?Instead of investing so much time/energy/money into reviews, why not put some of that into creating a really awesome, creative cover that stands out and is better than all the rest?Why not create a title that is compelling and different, which makes people stop and want to check out your book or listing?Why not focus a bit of extra time or energy into your book description or pricing strategy?I've found that a lot of people cheap out on these other crucial elements and instead just throw something up there, then put all of their focus and energy into reviews.Or… why not change the game?Why not promote or market your book OUTSIDE of Amazon and utilize all the other forms of marketing that are available?Most publishers focus on having 100% of their sales for their book coming from Amazon search – but is this really the best solution? I don't think so, because you're competing with many other books and products and in this case customers will compare products based on reviews.The people that have the best long-term success are the ones that always go above and beyond all the rest! This is how it's always been and how it'll always be!
Once you have published a Kindle book, can you update it? And if so, can your customers of the older version download the new version for free?
Yes, you can simply upload the revised file at kdp.amazon.com. It may take a few hours to a week for your update to be live. As for readers who downloaded the older version, they can update their file to the new version but they will have to sign in to Amazon, go to Manage my Kindle, find your book file and then download the updated version. If your revisions are significant enough (not just typos being fixed but actual new content like an additional chapter or a new edition), you can send Amazon KDP support a message and request all readers receive an update. In that case, Amazon will email all owners of your ebook and let them know about the update.
What are good self-publishing sites for writers other than Kindle?
Good for you! Bookbaby.com is an efficient way to distribute eBooks to outlets other than Amazon. For print books, you don't need any self-publishing company such as Lulu, Outskirts Press, or a host of others that prey on authors.POD printing and distribution is available to anyone via CreateSpace.com and IngramSpark.com. Each of these companies has their strengths and weaknesses.CreateSpace is a convenient pipeline into Amazon, but only Amazon. Their extended distribution is more expensive than Ingram (60% vs. 55%) and because their books are non-returnable, bookstores won't touch them.Ingram Spark offers a much more robust international distribution pipeline, and bookstores are happy to special order books because they are returnable.The "self-publishing companies" exist for one reason: to relieve authors of their profits and up-sell them on worthless marketing services. They reel authors in with promises of cheap book production, or "do-it-yourself templates", but authors soon find out that these promises are not kept.Don't use CreateSpace or any other self-publishing company to edit or design your book, and don't do it yourself. It will look bad and join the ever-growing avalanche of terrible books that have been self-published the wrong way.In traditional publishing, the publisher invests in the book, hires experts to prepare the book to industry standards, pays the unavoidable retailer discounts when a book is sold, then recoups that investment by keeping the lion's share of the profits and paying the author a small royalty for each copy sold.In legitimate self-publishing, the author assumes the role of the publisher as above, then keeps all the profits for each book sold. In both models, experts are hired, paid a fee, and then they are out of the picture. They don't participate in the author's profits from book sales at all.The "self-publishing companies" are completely illegitimate. They charge the author for book prep services AND they keep the lion's share of the profits, paying the author a small royalty. More authors need to ask the question: "Why is this company entitled to a share of my profits?"I invite you to download my free book, "Publish Like the Pros: A Brief Guide to Quality Self-Publishing" at http:// 1106design.com for a point of view informed by my decades of experience in this industry and draw your own conclusions
Is writing a book and publishing on Amazon still a lucrative opportunity for first-time authors, or is there a better way?
It’s a potentially lucrative opportunity. So much depends on the quality of your book, your cover design, and if there’s even an audience for what you’ve written. Not every book will be a bestseller. Most self-published authors are lucky to sell 100 copies!That said, I think an author would be foolish to not put his or her book on Amazon. It’s one of the largest booksellers in the world. Millions of people shop on Amazon. It’s one of the easiest ways to get your book in front of people.But you can have your book on Amazon and publish it on other platforms as well. Using Draft-2-Digital puts your e-book version on multiple platforms with one easy upload. Publishing on Ingram Spark makes the paperback version of your book available for purchase from brick-and-mortar book stores.Unfortunately, simply publishing your book is not enough — no matter how many platforms you use. You need to have an online presence as an author and build an audience of avid fans. (Many authors do this by blogging.)You also need to advertise. Both Facebook ads and Amazon ads have been effective for many authors.You can go on blog book tours. You can run KDP Select promotions. But the most important thing is…You need to keep writing. The more books you can offer, the more your potential earnings.I hope that helps.
What is the best self publishing company for a children's Book?
I wrote a children's book. Not very long. On my mac my PDF file is 10 pages long. I have an illustrator, I have an uncle who edited his own book and had his book published. I would like to do self publishing so I can have 100 of the Royalties. Of course I have no idea how this works. If there is someone out there who is a successful self publisher or both self, and published by someone else that could help me? Do you pay your editor one fee or split royalties with the editor and illustrator? Thank you!