Does anyone self-publish on Amazon Kindle?

seabright

I have the majority of the content for a book and ideas for several others.

Has anyone self-published? Is it easy and have you made any money from it?

bigheadxx

I would like to do this, at the moment I am writing short articles on Squidoo ( see http://www.squidoo.com/change-your-name for an example. So far only few pounds made but would imagine that would be the same with Kindle publishing..

gb12345

I have been self-publishing on both Kindle and Createspace for a few months now.

I started with public domain ebooks, but there is too much competition to make any real money from them (the one I made did justify the time spent creating it though).

I then moved on to writing my own books in both paperback and ebook format and published my first one in mid December and my second at the end of January. The paperbacks are selling better than the ebook versions and I've made a reasonable amount, considering that both books are technical books (so never going to be blockbuster bestsellers) and that I've done no promotion apart from creating a website to support them in the last couple of weeks. My first book has somehow got a mention as further reading on the Wikipedia page for the s/w package it is about though.

As to how easy it is to publish, it takes time but shouldn't be too difficult for people.

• If you just publish as an ebook then you have to create an HTML file from your Word document that is then processed with an application that Amazon provide to produce the correct format for uploading
• If you are publishing a paperback and an ebook then it is easier to do the paperback first by saving the document as a PDF for uploading and Createspace will then also generate a file for you to upload for the ebook.

You also need to create a cover for your book, which Createspace provide a cover generator for.

seabright

Thanks, that's great information. I hadn't even thought about a cover!

TamiBolton

I haven't done one myself but I do know of a couple of people who have.

One had his own mailing list so he offered it for free on kindle to his subscribers, what that did was it created a lot of reviews and showed Amazon that his book was popular. He then switched it to paid and he made some great cash from it.

The thing to remember is that Amazon has their own algorithm so getting reviews and downloads is very important for the success of a kindle book. if you dont have a list of subscribers and want to go that route speak to someone who does have a list in your niche and offer it for free to their list. It adds great value for the list ownder to pass on, great way to make a new contact and should get your book noticed.Once it has a bit of traction, start charging for it.

Best of luck

inkwell

I have a completed first novel which I am ready to publish. After polishing and proof reading, I showcased the initial pages on two seperate websites, and connected with potential readers over the past year to stir up interest. It worked! after counting almost 4000 visitors between the two sites and recieving several messages from definite buyers, I decided that after checking every page once more and having a cover created, that all of the i's were dotted and the t's crossed and I was ready to publish and promote the novel. I thought that Amazon would be the perfect launch pad, and hoped that maybe I could make a small income from the royalties to save in order to carry on with the saga. WRONG! after reading the cost of publication along with all of the other in's and out's, to make a long story short; if I published with createspace on Amazon after pricing the book at a ridiculously high £10, once the comany had taken costs of printing, their commission etc. As the author, my royalty would be in the region of 38p per book sold.
I understand that I am a new writer and honestly did not expect to be able to 'give up the day job' but for a POD company to claim over 90% of your earnings is somwhat of a scam. Perhaps I have made errors in my research? I would therefore be very grateful for any advice from other self published authors who have successfully sold their work.

Chai_2

Hi,

Amazon via Kindle books do 70% royalty depending on how you price your ebook. I think its if you price it under £10. Createspace which is amazons physical book space work a little differently.

Have a look at this link. I follow a lot of people who create and sell books on amazon and they find it quite a decent set up for work done once.

https://www.createspace.com/Products/Book/Royalties.jsp

toastking

I have been considering this for a while as I have been compiling an ebook based on my won/the experience of many great salesman I have encountered. The idea is me as the relative rookie tries techniques I have been trained in/theories openly available and can then confirm or deny their success.

It may be an issue that I am not so much a rookie any more, but I will be using this thread to self-publish soon enough. I did use Intubus recently to put an ebook online, worth a look.

bigheadxx

Given that many Amazon ebooks are free or .99p, does an unknown publisher stand much chance of selling a title priced more than a pound or so?

killielila

i have 2 books up just now a naughty book ..... and a collection of cheap recipies at the moment they bring in about £15- 20 a month ;-) wont say what one sells best . working on book 3 as we speak ...

londongirl

Killielila - would you share how you did it (i don't mean the secrets of writing it!) - did you publish direct through kindle? the royalties on the createspace webpage look tiny - it put me off as i'd probably make about £2 lol as although i have an idea for a book i wouldn't be in a position to promote it or antyhing (I haven't even tried to write it yet as it would be in the hope of making some cash rather than writing it for fun!)
Is it possible to lose money on these things?
I think maybe i just need to do some more reading about it as i'm struggling with the numbers and the process but you seem to have made it a success - i'd be happy with £15 a month really!