In order to make money from Amazon you need to lead with two strategies. 1.Advanced marketing, and preorder availability. Make your books available for preorder at least three months before you publish. Make a lot of noise about what you are about to do. I launched a Welsh crime series last year and shouted about it on local social media pages. Because the crime series was set in my local area I picked up a good number of sales. You'll be surprised how many book readers live close to you. 2. Release multiple books at the same time. If you're going to launch a series, then its best to write at least three books before you publish. People respond better when you do this. A trilogy is enough to grab attention from readers instead of one book. With the right balance of marketing its possible for you to earn decent money once you launch your trilogy. As for how many books do you need to make money, that depends on what you are writing. If you are writing a crime series like me, then books readers can be like TV binge watchers. They will read as many of your books as they can find. The same applies to most fictional genres.
Another fantastic video with some great tips. For fiction authors though, I heard a few well -known authors say that it usually takes about 20 books before you can start making money as a fiction author. It might seem like a lot but if you can crank out two books every year for five years, you're halfway there. So that's my way of looking at it. But market research is essential.
You’re referring to the 20Booksto50k concept. It’s funny, that was originally part of this video but I felt like it’s just not an appropriate theory for all authors and would make some folks feel like it’s definitive. It’s not and unfortunately sets unrealistic expectations (IMO). I know of some fiction authors who have dozens of books and don’t make remotely that much. But give it a shot if you think it’ll work. Michael Anderle developed the concept and meant well with the theory.
Okay but... figuring out what book will sell is the catch. Even with research, you never know. The more books you publish the better the probability that when you do sell one book, buys will look for other books by you. Paying for marketing amd advertising is another catch. Sustaining sales and consistent sales all determine success. Overall, publishing books is worth it, in my opinion.
Great video and love the insight! Always solid info and I really appreciate you digging into this big question. Yeah I think backlog is the way to go, but as you said it’s a lot of work.
Holy smokes! I literally just uploaded this video. haha Were you just waiting for it or did I have good timing? Thanks so much for the support as a channel member. It means the world to me.
@@DaleLRoberts I happened to get the notification and I was literally taking a break from writing and was like yup need to watch this now! Always happy to support and appreciate the way you support us writers and self pub authors out there with this great info!
I have 3 books (all part of a series) and am working on my new series. I write Fantasy Fiction (High/Epic since my books are in my own worlds) but do not put all my books in one platform. I been selling more of my books on D2D
Thanks, Dale. I always get something new from your videos. Top shelf information 👌 👏 Everything you offer on your RU-vid channels and your website are a must in my book as a self-published author. The next thing I'm getting is a subscription to your website, I'm already a member of both channels, and next stop the website 😂. Thanks again Dale, always appreciate you. I am building a backlog but also learning the other techniques as well. 🎉🎉🎉
I appreciate that! Seriously, I appreciate the kind words and support. That means the world to me. My recent pieces have been my favorites lately. I was going through a bit of a slump awhile back and the videos just weren't any fun. So, I switched back to scripting everything with it includes hours of writing. So, I'm able to write while producing my content. I take the scripts and post them on Substack for free subscribers there. Occasionally, I fire off a premium piece for paid subs. You'll typically see those as members only videos here on RU-vid or in The Self-Publishing Hub. By the way, you watched this RIGHT as soon as I uploaded it. haha I didn't think anyone would be up this late. haha You're the second person. Stay tuned to this channel. I'm working on a piece about how much self-published authors make. It's been a fun one to research and I can't wait to share the data.
Dale, you're like good wine: gets better with time! You're a psychic and just read my mind with this video's topic!! As usual, you did a superb job: concise, elegant and precise. The marketing part is always hard, so I'd love to see a series of videos, especially about platforms, strategies, awards, PR and email list formation. Btw, would it be unfair to slightly variate the content between those 4 iterations? I mean, can I make the hardcover a deluxe edition with more content, the audiobook with some other different additional content (all of them would have the same core content)? Thanks a lot, buddy! Keep up the torch burning!!
Thanks so much! I’ll add that to my list of upcoming videos and hope to do more case studies with paid promotional services soon. Stay tuned! As for your question about variations, I’m not sure I entirely understand what you’re asking. Could you explain a bit more so I can properly weigh-in?
@@DaleLRoberts Thanks for the quick response! Let's say that I write a fantasy novel and publish the ebook. Then, besides the novel, I'd add a couple of short tales in the paperback. To the hardcover, besides the novel and the tales, some beautiful art that was not included. Then for the audiobook, maybe some short side chapters with extra dialogue or alternate scenes. Would that constitute whole different editions?
If it's overall, the same story, you'd list them as the first edition. Any bonus material would be only relevant to the publication type. I like the idea. It harkens back to the days when I'd buy special edition CDs of my favorite bands. They'd have different editions for the one format though, based on the region you'd buy it. If you're using KDP, be mindful of not devoting more than 10% of your content to bonus material. They had to crack down on that for authors who were deliberately stuffing their ebooks to get more favorable page reads. Otherwise, go for it! Make sure you tell your readers that too. They might want to collect all four types.
@@DaleLRoberts That's the idea, grant them collector items. Thanks for more invaluable tips. You're really awesome, man!! May your light and warmth always grow!!
Aw, thanks! I love talking shop like this. If you ever get the chance, we have chats like this everyday in my Discord community. Link is in the description if you want to join!
I published my first book in May but have no interest in learning to market until book 4 or 5. I can only imagine how exhausting it must be to market one book, but multiple seems easier, since you can rotate every day to a different book. Besides, i want to build my discipline and skill in writing before picking up marketing.
Amazon recently blocked my account after publishing for the first time since i last published a year ago. I hoped to begin my author career (i write romance books) and was disappointed when, firstly, my book got blocked (but the series went live!) They finally sent me an email explaining why my book got blocked and you won't believe the reason: "might result in a disappointing customer experience." What was worse is that the email that followed was a termination email. I have written an apeal email hoping they will unblock my account. But should they reinstate my account, i don't feel safe publishing my book there again for fear of being blocked again as i have a particular book that brings in little sales monthly. Please, what other self publishing platforms can i publish my novels on? And can i publish the same novel in different platforms or it has to be exclusively for just one platform? Also, publishing on Amazon KDP is exclusive right? If my book is there, i can't publish it elsewhere.
I believe you just watched a video about publishing ebooks, so you’ve got some options there. But, the big issue is the KDP account termination. Companies like D2D work closely with Amazon. If you upload a manuscript that was the reason for your termination, they’ll block you there too. You’re going to need to have your manuscript looked over by some peers before publishing anywhere else. KDP has high tolerance for low quality books, so it’s concerning that they’d reject your book. Go back and thoroughly analyze what you’ve written, but you’re going to need an unbiased party to evaluate your manuscript. I know that’s not ideal, but if you want to move forward, you’re gonna need to take a couple steps back.
Hi Dale, thank you for your videos. So I'm a newbie author published in kdp this month. They've published the hardback copy of my workbook but not the paperback!! I've explained that as an expert mental health professional and accredited Psychotherapist I have created the workbook to help readers (entrepreneurs) dive deeper into self care practice from the main textbook which they've published in both formats! So it's not a frivolous quick buck publication. I'd appreciate your thoughts please as its blocked (so was the hardback but then published)?
I've contacted them 3x and chat once and there seems to be one particular woman who just isn't interested and a guy whose response was 'I'm just a guy'. Pretty useless and unprofessional. The book remains blocked.
Hi, Dave. I published a book about spanish syllables for children in 2019, so far I have sold around 100 copies. Now I have ready a second edition. Do you think I should keep the first edition live? That would be better or worse?
If it were me, I'd remove the first edition to avoid any market confusion. BUT...big but here...I'd keep the ebook up and just replace the contents and change the book description so it informs folks it's a new edition. The reason I'd do that is to maintain relevance and not have to worry about moving reviews from the first edition to the second. However, I should ask why you're publishing a second edition. That'll give me more context so I can give you better advice based on your needs.
@@DaleLRoberts Thanks for that insight. This second edition has more visual elements, it has activities (the first didn't) and more examples. I have learned a lot from my reviews and from similar books. Overall, there's a significant improvement in the contents, in my opinion.
Okay, then I stand by my advice. Delist the first edition in print. But keep the first edition up for ebook so you don’t lose any relevance and don’t have to worry about moving reviews. You’d just need to detach the first edition print from the ebook then attach the second edition for a smooth transition. Contact support for any questions you have and to confirm if you have to do anything else. Better safe than sorry, right?
No, in fact, I believe there's somewhere that KDP says do NOT post time-sensitive offerings in your metadata. I could be misremembering that or attributing something that only relates to keywords.
Hmmm, good question. You’ll have to ask them what works best. I’ve only used one of their promos before with moderate results. I anticipate doing some more work them later this year when I launch my next books. Thanks for clarifying, Nick.
Hey Dale love your content, I am a first time author who recently released my first book The Deadwood Chronicles: The Crimson Cage in October 2023. Firstly thank you so much for what you do i have watched alot of your videos for your guidance and you have been a lifesaver. I am currently writing the sequel and its roughly about 50% done as responsibilitys of life and the 9-5 get in the way. My question is would you make a video on how many books you should you aim to write each year and any tips you have to improve writing speed and effciency. My dream is to hopefully write full time but obviously cant support my family on the income yet. I would love to hear your take on how to speed that up on a low budget. Thank in advance for any advice and keep up the amazing work 😁
I agree, OP. Though it seems reductive, it really is the correct answer. You can write 20 or 30 aggressively mid and meh books and maybe start making some side money...or you might capture lightning in a bottle and write a banger right out of the gate and you make money almost immediately. Maybe get trad publishers tripping over themselves to land you. Maybe get Hollywood banging on your door serenading you through the night to get the movie rights. You never really know and there's no real formula for success. One is the correct answer. The trick is, it has to be a great one. The right work at the right time seen by the right audience. I support your answer.
