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How do I get to be a high-volume Kindle publisher?

by rprosser
8 replies
Kindle is hot, obviously. Unfortunately I am not a great or prolific writer and I have little useful information to offer anyway :-( So, I am thinking of becoming a professional publisher, inviting authors to submit their manuscripts and splitting the profits with them. A conventional, tried-and-trusted approach, in other words.

So, can anyone recommend the best way(s) for me to proceed? Which Kindle-related WSOs actually work, for this business model?


Thanks ...

Richard
#highvolume #kindle #publisher
  • Profile picture of the author JMSD
    Self-publishing platforms like Kindle have opened up opportunities for anyone to set up an epublishing business with little or no capital.

    If you Google 'Kindle publishing services' you'll see many such enterprises and you'll get a good idea of what they do so that you may determine whether it's something you could be interested in or have the time and inclination to give your commitment to such a project.

    Unlike mainstream publishing houses, you don't need to split the profits with the authors whose books you publish. You can charge them an upfront fee and allow them (the authors) to benefit fully from the royalty payments on the sales of their books.

    Upfront fees for your services ensures that you cover your expenses/time of publishing their books, even if no copies are sold once you upload their books on kindle or any other epublishing platform.

    You say that you don't have anything of value to offer so that's why you don't write and publish your book on Kindle. But everyone has experience in something or other of use to other people.

    Before setting up an epublishing business, I'd write a short 15-35 page report giving tips on anything that you've found useful to do in your business or every day life (could be about bringing up toddlers not to scream at the checkout counter, for instance, or how to groom your cat or dog at home, or how to prepare five quick and easy dishes for a busy entreprenuer - use you imagination).

    Format and publish that report or set of tips on Kindle so that you know the entire process. Then and only then should you consider setting up in business as a publisher because you'll know what's involved and can charge according to the time it takes you to process one book from A - Z.

    Good luck with your plans.

    Jamie
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    • Profile picture of the author rprosser
      Jamie,

      Thanks for that but authors are often advised by authority sites not to pay any fees up front; consequently they expect to get a royalties deal of some kind.

      Also I have racked my brains for years to try and pick some topic that I could offer but I have really struggled to do so. I work as a programmer and there is plenty of free advice available, so it is difficult for me to offer anything in that arena that I could charge for.

      So publishing others' work or acting as a journalist/reviewer are promising paths for me. I could buy PLR material of course (and have done so) but I don't feel authentic about offering it to others until I can "talk the walk", so to speak.


      Thanks ...

      Richard
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      Richard Prosser

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      • Profile picture of the author JMSD
        Originally Posted by rprosser View Post

        Jamie,

        Thanks for that but authors are often advised by authority sites not to pay any fees up front; consequently they expect to get a royalties deal of some kind.

        I believe you are referring to 'Vanity Press' type of publishers where they charge a huge upfront fee, print off vast number of copies and leave the author to promote their own books and distribute them.

        Setting up an epublishing business is totally different. Here you are offering them the service to format, build and publish an author's book on Kindle. For that service, epublishers would be fully entitled to charge an upfront fee (say under $500) and then leave the author to benefit from the royalties (if any). The author has no distribution costs nor, indeed, the cost of printing which Vanity Press type of publishers incur in producing physical books.


        Also I have racked my brains for years to try and pick some topic that I could offer but I have really struggled to do so. I work as a programmer and there is plenty of free advice available, so it is difficult for me to offer anything in that arena that I could charge for.

        There is free advice online on just about every topic going. That does not stop any of us from making useful information available in exchange for a fee.

        People are lazy or lack the time to hunt for information which may be scattered on various sites online. They would much rather pay a few dollars to have that same info contained in a book. So as a programmer, I would not hesitate to use/draw on my knowledge and experience to produce a series of books for that market.

        So publishing others' work or acting as a journalist/reviewer are promising paths for me. I could buy PLR material of course (and have done so) but I don't feel authentic about offering it to others until I can "talk the walk", so to speak.

        If you use PLR material for writing books for Kindle, Amazon will ban you.

        Like Google, Amazon wants fresh and original content - not some regurgitated stuff passed off as one's own. People who used PLR material and even public domain material for their Kindle books are now seeing their income stop overnight, as Amazon has taken a stand and is rapidly sweeping those types of accounts off its Marketplace.


        Thanks ...

        Richard

        So, Richard. Bite the bullet, stop underestimating your ability to produce a simple book or a series of books on programming. Test it out. You may be surprised to find that there's a market for that. Just search on Amazon's Kindle Store for programming books and see what is doing well and why. Then see if you can improve on that or offer a special twist to make your book in as much demand, if not more so, than those books already on Kindle.

        Jamie
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        • Profile picture of the author rprosser
          Originally Posted by JMSD View Post

          So, Richard. Bite the bullet, stop underestimating your ability to produce a simple book or a series of books on programming. Test it out. You may be surprised to find that there's a market for that. Just search on Amazon's Kindle Store for programming books and see what is doing well and why. Then see if you can improve on that or offer a special twist to make your book in as much demand, if not more so, than those books already on Kindle.

          Jamie
          Point taken, Jamie. I am taking appropriate action.

          Richard
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          Richard Prosser

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      • Profile picture of the author JRat
        Originally Posted by rprosser View Post

        Jamie,

        I work as a programmer and there is plenty of free advice available, so it is difficult for me to offer anything in that arena that I could charge for.
        Richard, I have found that as a programmer there are lots of possibilities to make fresh content. True, there's tons of free advice but its often very fractured and out of date. Creating topics like building a iOS game from start to finish or something that offers a whole solution instead of covering every possible topic could be a good approach.
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    • Profile picture of the author ChrisMoon
      Thanks for an informative and interesting post.
      Answered a number of questions for me.



      Originally Posted by JMSD View Post

      Self-publishing platforms like Kindle have opened up opportunities for anyone to set up an epublishing business with little or no capital.

      If you Google 'Kindle publishing services' you'll see many such enterprises and you'll get a good idea of what they do so that you may determine whether it's something you could be interested in or have the time and inclination to give your commitment to such a project.

      Unlike mainstream publishing houses, you don't need to split the profits with the authors whose books you publish. You can charge them an upfront fee and allow them (the authors) to benefit fully from the royalty payments on the sales of their books.

      Upfront fees for your services ensures that you cover your expenses/time of publishing their books, even if no copies are sold once you upload their books on kindle or any other epublishing platform.

      You say that you don't have anything of value to offer so that's why you don't write and publish your book on Kindle. But everyone has experience in something or other of use to other people.

      Before setting up an epublishing business, I'd write a short 15-35 page report giving tips on anything that you've found useful to do in your business or every day life (could be about bringing up toddlers not to scream at the checkout counter, for instance, or how to groom your cat or dog at home, or how to prepare five quick and easy dishes for a busy entreprenuer - use you imagination).

      Format and publish that report or set of tips on Kindle so that you know the entire process. Then and only then should you consider setting up in business as a publisher because you'll know what's involved and can charge according to the time it takes you to process one book from A - Z.

      Good luck with your plans.

      Jamie
      Signature

      GreyGable

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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    Offer a one-stop service where you format, upload and provide excellent eCovers for your clients. If you don't do covers find someone that does and outsource to them. That stuff is pretty simple but many authors don't want to do it. While you're doing that you can learn the marketing stuff and introduce it as you become more comfortable with it. Good luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author Amy Harrop
    I would also suggest taking advantage of outsourcing all or part of the writing and publishing process. For example, you can take your programming experience, put it together into an outline or write a rough draft, and then get it edited professionally. Pick the parts of the process you want to and are excited to do and then outsource the rest, making sure, of course, you have final say over the finished product.
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    http://AmyHarrop.com -Tips For Content Creation, Publishing,and Monetizing
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