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Can selling your ebook on Kindle help to get a publishing deal.

by buildyourconfidence
15 replies
Traditionally it can be quite hard to get a publishing deal if you are an unknown so do you think that if you are selling your book on kindle it will improve your chances in getting a publishing deal because you can prove a track record.

Has anyone gotten a publishing deal after self publishing..

Thoughts please.

Thanks
Tony.
#deal #ebook #kindle #publishing #selling
  • Profile picture of the author Regional Warrior
    Best try here http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-...brainstorming/
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    • Profile picture of the author buildyourconfidence
      it wont let me into the room as im not a member.
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      • Profile picture of the author TinkBD
        Regarding fiction --The simple answer is... yes it can.

        However, it takes a lot of hard work and good, best-selling books, in most cases.

        However, these days, the *Traditional Publishers* are in panic mode and the deals they are offering are more and more draconian. Add to that that some agents are also in panic mode and maybe reluctant to work for the author, and you have an incredibly bad situation for authors...

        My closest author friends and I have a saying *friends don't let friends sign with trad pubbers*

        If you do get an offer, have a good entertainment lawyer look it over... We're not talking intellectual property these days. Someone needs to protect the author.

        There are some authors who are successfully working with trad pubbers and self-publishing. They're called hybrid authors, but you need to enter negotiations with a strong sense of what you want/need, the ability to protect your long term rights, and an understanding that if you are successful enough to attract the attention of traditional publishers, you'd likely do better on your own.

        An author on a mail loop I'm on -- let's call her Author A -- posted recently that she'd just gotten 3 month sales figures back from her traditional publisher for three books she had with them. NOTE - she had signed the contract before the indie revolution.

        If she had self-published and had the same number of sales, she'd have made $75,000. I assure you that she made nothing close to that. Note - she is a well known author and has a following.

        Another well known indie -- we'll call her Author B --, who considers herself not as well known as Author A, reported on the same discussion that she had published a similar book in Dec 2012 and as of the end of July, she'd sold almost 80,000 copies at $3.99, making just north of $200,00.

        Let me assure you that these days, traditional publishers are not willing to pay that kind of money -- at least in most cases.

        Another example is an author who has a non-fiction bestseller and has gone on to write novels for the same sub-genre. He passed 1 million in royalties this summer. He sells his books for $9.99 and never puts them on sale. His sub-niche doesn't even exist with traditional publishers...

        A strong mid-list indie (writing and selling a lot of good books) can fly under the radar and make far more money that we can imagine... and, depending on the sub-genre, his/her books will be far more evergreen than the latest report on how to came the system.

        That's my goal. I don't care about best-seller lists... I just want good, steady sales and a growing readership. ;-)

        So, yes, you can get offered a traditional publishing deal, although the odds are against it. The biggest question to ask yourself -- can you afford to take a deal like that?

        At the moment, the answer is likely to be NO.

        Best of luck with your writing...
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        • Profile picture of the author buildyourconfidence
          thank you so much for your reply. You really have given me a lot to think about but a lot of what you said was very much in line with my thinking so I have thank you again for that..
          Tony.
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          • Profile picture of the author TinkBD
            Grab a copy of The Naked Truth About Self-Publishing

            The Naked Truth About Self-Publishing: Jana...The Naked Truth About Self-Publishing: Jana...
            Not an affiliate link ;-)

            Ignore the cover LOL All of the authors are REAL best-selling NYT/USA Today authors... Most of them have passed the $1 million in royalties mark...

            They know what they are talking about, and although they are from the Romance genre, most of the info will apply to any fiction genre... At the back of the book, they give their personal stories...
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            • Profile picture of the author LilBlackDress
              Yeah like Tink said who needs a traditional publisher when you can do it on your own and likely make more money if you are any good.
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              Pen Name + 8 eBooks + social media sites 4 SALE - PM me (evergreen beauty niche)

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  • Profile picture of the author JamesLeeOnline
    I heard the woman who wrote 50 Shades of Gray did. So it works for some people ;-)
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    • Profile picture of the author TinkBD
      Absolutely... there are number of authors who have done so...

      Of the top of my head -- 50 Shades (can't remember her name), Hugh Howey, Maya Banks, Liliana Hart, Courtney Milan... and the list goes on.

      Many of these authors are now hybrid.

      BUT the deals being offered are changing and they are only a small percentage of indie authors.

      The beauty of all this? While you may never be offered a (questionable) deal, you can still make bucketloads of money... IF you meet the readers' expectations.
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      • Profile picture of the author buildyourconfidence
        Thank you all.. and you are right, If I sold an ebook at £10 (im in the UK) and sold 1,000 thats ten grand whereas through a publisher I would be lucky to make 2G and then agents fees etc and in the self help field im not sure that they would market it much and I know you get less royalties for overseas sales whereas I can sell anywhere myself on line and I have a 54k following on FB and many people have asked for a book so I think im in with a good shot.
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  • Profile picture of the author GforceSage
    Like any other form of the entertainment business, if the right person happens to see your writing, then you may be contacted if they like your work....BUT... look at the above posts and realize that the publishing world is changing fast. There will be fewer Steven Kings getting 5 book, $40 million deals (or 2 book $5,000 deals for others) and more people doing the work themselves for better returns.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Let's put it this way...

      From the indie authors I've communicated with, I get the solid impression that by the time your Kindle efforts attract an offer from a publishing house, you won't want or need it.
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      • Profile picture of the author rickstooker
        Before you sign, read relevant posts by Kristine Kathryn Rusch at Kristine Kathryn Rusch. You'll have to search but she's done some terrific posts on the details of the terrible contracts trad publishers are offering these days, as mentioned by Tink.

        Then have the lawyer look it over for you. Laura Resnick has list of them on her site.
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        Wanted: Bloggers. Youtubers. Facebook Page Admins. Authors. Artists. Bands. Pinterest and Instagram Stars.
        Find out how you can make more hands and hassle free money selling Print-On-Demand T-shirts.

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        • Profile picture of the author TinkBD
          Originally Posted by rickstooker View Post

          Before you sign, read relevant posts by Kristine Kathryn Rusch at Kristine Kathryn Rusch. You'll have to search but she's done some terrific posts on the details of the terrible contracts trad publishers are offering these days, as mentioned by Tink.

          Then have the lawyer look it over for you. Laura Resnick has list of them on her site.
          Excellent point. Kris is an amazing resource... Thanks for adding this!
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  • Profile picture of the author avrthecreator
    I think there are fair chances of winning if you have a real good story which will grasp everyone's attention. Think of Amanda Hockings...
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    Everything in this Universe is Possible if "I" say "Yes"..But what matters is realizing "Who am I"
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  • Profile picture of the author ECTally
    Originally Posted by buildyourconfidence View Post

    Traditionally it can be quite hard to get a publishing deal if you are an unknown so do you think that if you are selling your book on kindle it will improve your chances in getting a publishing deal because you can prove a track record.

    Has anyone gotten a publishing deal after self publishing..

    Thoughts please.

    Thanks
    Tony.
    Short answer: Yes.

    Long Answer:

    What are publishers looking for?
    There are probably dozens, if not hundreds of factors at play here.
    However, foremost in the minds of most publishers is demonstrable writing talent.
    Publishers are not seeking proofreaders, copyeditors or grammar Nazis.
    At the end of the day, they want people who have a flair for writing. People who understand the art of narration. People who are great communicators, be it esoteric, general, or formulaic. People who can write about paint drying on the wall and make it engaging.

    Would you believe that a recent Booker Prize winner had four editors working on the final manuscript for almost a year before publication? And yet, the acclaim goes to one person, and one person alone.

    How does this relate to me, you wonder?

    Simple. Self-publishing (in your case, via Kindle) provides you with a platform to publicly demonstrate your abilities.

    However, please do not expect some random publisher to magically discover your magnum opus on Amazon. Real life is never that easy; unless of course, you write a monster best seller - in which case, can I be your friend?

    For the rest of us mortals, we use Kindle as leverage to secure a publishing deal. Yes, you will still have to overcome the natural barriers of the industry and survive the grueling and time consuming elimination process. But, pitching an idea on the strength of a (or several) well accepted book(s) enhances your credibility in the eyes of publishers, or more commonly, potential agents (who serve as the main writer funnel for publishers), providing you with a potentially crucial edge over the tens of thousands of other aspiring writers.

    That was the path I took...

    Ps: Or, if you are ridiculously good looking, you can always seduce the daughter of a publishing titan and get published the old fashioned way. Nepotism rocks!
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