The Dead End of DIY Publishing

[Lily]

Yikes, this is negative. Although I do admit the sales of my self-pubbed books have been disappointing. In all fairness, however, I haven't done much to promote them.


thephoenix.com/Boston/arts/140931-self-published-novelists-%E2%80%93-the-rodney-dangerfields/?page=2#TOPCONTENT

[john]

“But the notion that self-publishing is revolutionary— or even desirable for most authors — is horribly flawed.”

Huh? Well, certainly traditional publishing is not profitable for most writers either. While, my sales have dropped since Amazon’s KDP started the Select program last December where desperate writers are allowed to give their Kindle books away, I am still earning a lot more than midlist writers. So I must spend hours every day promoting? No. I have yet to promote after two years of being self-published. I will be releasing another book soon and expect to see my sales climb again as they have each time I’ve released a new book. The fact most self-published writers never make much money should not be surprising since most traditionally published writers do not make much either. Most small businesses fail, but that does not mean people should be discouraged from starting their own business. People should go into business with their eyes open, and writers should go into writing with their eyes open. Is there anything new about this? No. Self-publishing has been very good to me, and as long as I can realize a good return for my time and effort, I will keep writing more novels and nonfiction books. Even if I stop writing, I will leave my books up for sale and continue to enjoy the extra income for as long as Amazon and other booksellers allow me. Why not? The work has been done. The profits from now on are like a private retirement account; an electronic deposit (actually several) into my bank account comes every month. When I die, that income will continue on for my family.

[Lily]

Congratulations on doing so well with your self-published books, John. Can you give us any idea of the genre of the fiction novels, and the topic of the non-fiction books?

[Lily]

Aug 18, 2012 6:34:42 GMT -5 john said:

While, my sales have dropped since Amazon’s KDP started the Select program last December where desperate writers are allowed to give their Kindle books away, I am still earning a lot more than midlist writers.

I am now in the ranks of those "desperate" writers. ;D I'm offering one of my titles free for a few days, just to see if it boosts the sales of my other books. I'll keep everyone informed on the outcome.

[Lily]

In less than 24 hours, it's been downloaded over 200 times. I don't know if that is good, bad, or average?

[Richard]

Aug 19, 2012 19:12:43 GMT -5 Lily said:

In less than 24 hours, it's been downloaded over 200 times. I don't know if that is good, bad, or average?

Mine had about 1152 in 5 days. After that, I have generated more sales in the past 19 days, than I had the previous year. My sales were steady, but slow.

I just hope it continues as it is.

Keep us informed.

[john]

Aug 18, 2012 13:08:36 GMT -5 Lily said:

Congratulations on doing so well with your self-published books, John. Can you give us any idea of the genre of the fiction novels, and the topic of the non-fiction books?

I write action adventure, war, and nonfiction on how to run a small business.

[Lily]

Aug 20, 2012 2:21:37 GMT -5 john said:

Aug 18, 2012 13:08:36 GMT -5 Lily said:

Congratulations on doing so well with your self-published books, John. Can you give us any idea of the genre of the fiction novels, and the topic of the non-fiction books?

I write action adventure, war, and nonfiction on how to run a small business.

Thanks, John, sounds interesting, and the type of topics that would appeal to a great many readers. I write mainly suspense.

[Lily]

Aug 19, 2012 19:14:56 GMT -5 Richard said:

Aug 19, 2012 19:12:43 GMT -5 Lily said:

In less than 24 hours, it's been downloaded over 200 times. I don't know if that is good, bad, or average?

Mine had about 1152 in 5 days. After that, I have generated more sales in the past 19 days, than I had the previous year. My sales were steady, but slow.

I just hope it continues as it is.

Keep us informed.

Thanks, Richard. The magic number is now at 365! This title, like your book, has been published on Kindle for about a year, so this would certainly have a bearing on the response. Someone offering a brand new book would not have the same advantage.

P.S. There were 2 more downloads between the time I posted this message and rechecked my Kindle page. This is fun. Now if only I were getting paid... ;D

[Lily]

Update: It's now 582! And one of my other titles is selling a few more copies than usual already. I guess if readers like the one they got for free, they'll invest 99 cents for another by the same author. I price my Kindle books at no more than $1.99. The competition is tough and if the price is too high it's a further deterrent to sales. That's why the small epublishers are not doing so well. They're pricing the books way too high for the market. Of course, I realise that they have to get their cut from the royalties, which by necessity ups the price of the book. But that's another good reason to self publish these days. No one to split the royalties with, so you can lower the price of the book.

[Richard]

Aug 21, 2012 13:32:17 GMT -5 Lily said:

Update: It's now 582! And one of my other titles is selling a few more copies than usual already. I guess if readers like the one they got for free, they'll invest 99 cents for another by the same author. I price my Kindle books at no more than $1.99. The competition is tough and if the price is too high it's a further deterrent to sales. That's why the small epublishers are not doing so well. They're pricing the books way too high for the market. Of course, I realise that they have to get their cut from the royalties, which by necessity ups the price of the book. But that's another good reason to self publish these days. No one to split the royalties with, so you can lower the price of the book.

It is a form of marketing.

I agree with the pricing. I see to many self-published authors asking too much for their books, then wonder why they are not selling. Especially when they are books of less than 300 pages. If it is a technical manual, that may be another thing. But I saw a 1st time author list a fiction novel of 166 pages for $19.99 published through Amazon. After 1 1/2 years listed, it had one- 1 star review, and not likely very many sales.

Asking more than $2.99 for an e-book, or $10 for a paperback, might lead to lack of sales for unknown authors. Just think of the problems authors have by using a company like Publish America. They end up listing a book for $20-25, never have many sales, and end up being encouraged by the publisher to buy their own books at a discounted price to sell on their own.

Too bad when that happens to people.

It is also important to list your previous book titles in your new book for additional exposure.

[Lily]

Aug 21, 2012 14:04:19 GMT -5 Richard said:

It is also important to list your previous book titles in your new book for additional exposure.

Good point.

[marcel]

I get as many free ebooks as I can, I haven't paid for one yet.

[Lily]

Update: It's now 707. ;D The promo ends at midnight tomorrow. I currently have 4 books on Kindle, and I'm going to offer them free (one at a time), as well. What's to lose?

[Lily]

768, and about 12 more hours to go.