Why isnt Amazon KDP self publishing more popular?

Banned 13 years ago

I use it and love it. My WSO ebook has a Kindle version and I've sold about 11 copies so far in the Kindle version. Not going to make the New York Times Bestseller list, but it's my first experience with KDP and I'm thinking of another book to self publish soon ... not in IM niche.

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spectrefax

13 years ago

Originally Posted by sbucciarel

I use it and love it. My WSO ebook has a Kindle version and I've sold about 11 copies so far in the Kindle version. Not going to make the New York Times Bestseller list, but it's my first experience with KDP and I'm thinking of another book to self publish soon ... not in IM niche.

Very nice results.

Is there something flawed in the service? I haven't used it yet as I only discovered it today. But if it can do all the things I mentioned, I don't understand why this isnt the industry standard for personal ebook publishers (especially for newbies)?

EDIT: Also if it does not do all the things I mentioned I'm amazed there isn't a service like this available. If not, developing such a site will be my next project lol

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sbucciarel

Banned 13 years ago

Originally Posted by spectrefax

Very nice results.

Is there something flawed in the service? I haven't used it yet as I only discovered it today. But if it can do all the things I mentioned, I don't understand why this isnt the industry standard for personal ebook publishers (especially for newbies)?

Nothing flawed that I can see. You have to be able to submit your content in html, which is not a problem for me. I'm sure there's also some Kindle publishing platforms or programs around that help out with formatting for those who don't know how to format them. It was easy. Much easier than I expected and only took one day for them to approve it and go live.

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spectrefax

13 years ago

Originally Posted by sbucciarel

Nothing flawed that I can see. You have to be able to submit your content in html, which is not a problem for me. I'm sure there's also some Kindle publishing platforms or programs around that help out with formatting for those who don't know how to format them. It was easy. Much easier than I expected and only took one day for them to approve it and go live.

Does it also make your book findable on the amazon.com site? Having a listing there I imagine would generate sales on its own due to the traffic.

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sbucciarel

Banned 13 years ago

Originally Posted by spectrefax

Does it also make your book findable on the amazon.com site? Having a listing there I imagine would generate sales on its own due to the traffic.

Yeah ... and when I do a search for my ebook, which I also sell in ebook pdf form, the Amazon listing is the first result in Google.

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spectrefax

13 years ago

Originally Posted by sbucciarel

Yeah ... and when I do a search for my ebook, which I also sell in ebook pdf form, the Amazon listing is the first result in Google.

Interesting. Do they allow you to manage your own sales price? I was reading a bit on there and it said they would manage your sales price if they found competing offers on other sites. Also to apply for the 70% royalty, books had to be no more than $9.99 which I could see being a turn-off to some IMers depending on the type of information they may be trying to sell.

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sbucciarel

Banned 13 years ago

Originally Posted by spectrefax

Interesting. Do they allow you to manage your own sales price? I was reading a bit on there and it said they would manage your sales price if they found competing offers on other sites. Also to apply for the 70% royalty, books had to be no more than $9.99 which I could see being a turn-off to some IMers depending on the type of information they may be trying to sell.

Absolutely. I won't mention names, but there's one IM'er who charges $197 or so for his. Mine is 9.99 and 70% royalty. Are you sure about the 9.99 cap on 70%. That didn't absorb into my brain.

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spectrefax

13 years ago

Originally Posted by sbucciarel

Absolutely. I won't mention names, but there's one IM'er who charges $197 or so for his. Mine is 9.99 and 70% royalty. Are you sure about the 9.99 cap on 70%. That didn't absorb into my brain.

Giving amazon a 65% cut is pretty steep for most I'd imagine.

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sbucciarel

Banned 13 years ago

Ah, ok. Yep ... so it looks like 35% for higher priced ebooks.

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spectrefax

13 years ago

Originally Posted by sbucciarel

Ah, ok. Yep ... so it looks like 35% for higher priced ebooks.

One more question (< this is probably a lie lol). Since amazon hosts/distributes your book, does it automatically come with some form of DRM (digital rights management)?

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sbucciarel

Banned 13 years ago

Originally Posted by spectrefax

One more question (< this is probably a lie lol). Since amazon hosts/distributes your book, does it automatically come with some form of DRM (digital rights management)?

Yes ... you can choose to have DRM or choose not to. Going offline now, but if you have any more questions, I'll answer tomorrow.

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spectrefax 13 years ago

Originally Posted by sbucciarel

Yes ... you can choose to have DRM or choose not to. Going offline now, but if you have any more questions, I'll answer tomorrow.

Thanks very much. Very informative

First person to offer similar with website that offers:

1. Built in ebook publishing software that is very newbie friendly. To allow people to write, create, customize, and publish their ebook in the most popular formats.
2. Host/distribute said ebook.
3. Allow users to manage their own sales price as well as several customizable options for users sales page.
4. Have ebook cover template designer as a site feature.
5. Offer optional DRM on all products distributed through the site.
6. Manage all transactions for all your personal publishers through their account on your website.
7. Offer all of this for a flat 25% cut.

Will do two things:
1. Make it super easy for anyone and everyone to produce, publish and sell their own work.

2. Make millions for whoever made this site.

Hmm, if I had more resources I would be on this asap lol.
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Steve Faber

13 years ago

There's a warrior, Paul Coleman, that has a nice Kindle guide that looks at both the technical aspects of self publishing, and also how to market it. I think he has a WSO, and if you're a war room member you might be able to get his guide in there too.

I published one of my books on Kindle. I've only sold a few copies, but it's mostly because I haven't concentrated on the marketing as I should. I did manage to get it listed at the top of the list if you do an Amazon search for the main keyword however. It's all about reviews. If you can get a load of positive reviews for your Kindle Book, you'll have a much greater chance at getting it to take off. Paul covers all of that, too.

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JerryKuzma

13 years ago

I suppose that if you do your keyword research correctly, and pick a catchy keyword-infested title, you are more likely to get amazon traffic and get better sales..... is that about right?

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edlewis 13 years ago

I love Kindle...It's now my main source of income.

As far as making it EASIER to publish ebooks...I actually kind of like some of the current hurdles self-publishers have to jump thru.

Sounds strange, I know...but I like it because it slows down how much CRAP gets uploaded.

The easier it is, the easier it is for goofballs to flood the marketplace with scams, crap, and pure garbage.

As far as Kindle goes on the WarriorForum...it DOES get mentioned...

Check out the "Search" feature...and just type in "kindle"....it will answer some of your questions.

Take care,

Ed
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- fitz10 13 years ago
  
  This method isn't as popular as many others but it does get a fair bit of play. A Warrior named Paul Coleman does quite a bit of work in this area is offering a free report in the War Room. I would look him up and read some of his threads.
  
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LB

13 years ago

I suspect in the very near future Amazon will be changing certain things. The Kindle market is already getting flooded with repackaged crap from marketers who are uploading hundreds of books- often the same one with a few spun changes and a different cover.

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wordwizard

13 years ago

Originally Posted by sbucciarel

Nothing flawed that I can see. You have to be able to submit your content in html, which is not a problem for me. I'm sure there's also some Kindle publishing platforms or programs around that help out with formatting for those who don't know how to format them. It was easy. Much easier than I expected and only took one day for them to approve it and go live.

Actually, I submitted my ebook as a Word doc and it worked just fine. Maybe that's relatively new... It had to be formatted right though. My first few attempts didn't go so well, but once I used the template that came with one of the courses I bought, I was fine.

Originally Posted by spectrefax

Does it also make your book findable on the amazon.com site? Having a listing there I imagine would generate sales on its own due to the traffic.

You bet! One weird thing though is that mine seems easier to find on the UK version of Amazon. No idea why that is.

Originally Posted by sbucciarel

Absolutely. I won't mention names, but there's one IM'er who charges $197 or so for his. Mine is 9.99 and 70% royalty. Are you sure about the 9.99 cap on 70%. That didn't absorb into my brain.

The thing about the sales price... I figure I package the products so that I can sell them for $9.99 or less, OR eventually higher priced ones.

I also find that Kindle books are great as lead generators.

About the spun stuff... they do approve them individually, so eventually, I'd expect that they may end up culling more books and getting stricter, sort of like EZA is doing now.

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edlewis

13 years ago

Originally Posted by wordwizard

Actually, I submitted my ebook as a Word doc and it worked just fine. Maybe that's relatively new... It had to be formatted right though. My first few attempts didn't go so well, but once I used the template that came with one of the courses I bought, I was fine.

Yep, the easiest way to get those Kindle ebooks up is to save as a .doc file and upload that.

What I like best about that is that I can upload the same file to Pubit and get it listed for sale on the Nook. No need to format a new version. Saves me time...

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Piper Anderson 13 years ago

I've got three books that I personally wrote (not PLR or public domain or anything like that, but all original) up for sale through KDP (I use psyeudonyms for all of them, since they're on different topics, and I would like to be seen as an authority on each topic, not a "jack of all trades").

I'd like to add more as time permits, because I make several sales a week with those three books, and the royalties are starting to add up to be something I can pay my cable bill with each month. Since it seems to be a numbers game, I figure the more books I publish through KDP, the more sales I'll make, and the more money it will bring me.

The books are no longer than 50 pages each, are on subjects I'm familiar with and know there's a market for on Amazon, and I sell them very inexpensively, but the volume I sell gives me some nice royalties. I like KDP very much as a sideline source of income. It's not my main source of income, but it's a nice extra income stream that is getting better and better the more I use it.
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Peeps66

13 years ago

Originally Posted by edlewis

Yep, the easiest way to get those Kindle ebooks up is to save as a .doc file and upload that.

What I like best about that is that I can upload the same file to Pubit and get it listed for sale on the Nook. No need to format a new version. Saves me time...

How do the sales on Pubit compare?

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GuruGazette

13 years ago

I've transitioned a lot of my stuff to Kindle over the past couple of years. I really love the hands free income. I format in either html or word/open office and upload to Kindle using the Amazon publishing tools. I've recently started loading my backlist on to Nook as well without any formatting changes needed.

A site that handles multiple formats and automation is Smash Words.

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Coby

13 years ago

I actually published my first two books at KDP amazon today

It's awesome! I actually am only taking 35% royalty but I'm offering three page reports (basically pretty article) with links to a squeeze page for 99 cents

Hopefully this will work, I plan to start adding many more books there! KDP is awesome!

Good Luck

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Nicola Lane

13 years ago

Originally Posted by spectrefax

Example: You write it in MS-word, use the site's software to convert to PDF and then on the same site have it host your ebook, manage transactions, and allow you to customize your own sales page which is hosted on the same site.

You are looking for Smashwords - Ebooks from independent authors and publishers

Hope that helps

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wordwizard

13 years ago

Originally Posted by edlewis

Yep, the easiest way to get those Kindle ebooks up is to save as a .doc file and upload that.

What I like best about that is that I can upload the same file to Pubit and get it listed for sale on the Nook. No need to format a new version. Saves me time...

Thanks for the tip with Nook! Great idea! I'm going to set up an account there too ;-)

Originally Posted by Coby

I actually published my first two books at KDP amazon today

It's awesome! I actually am only taking 35% royalty but I'm offering three page reports (basically pretty article) with links to a squeeze page for 99 cents

Hopefully this will work, I plan to start adding many more books there! KDP is awesome!

Good Luck

Yup. Kindle as a lead generator! That's what I'm after as well, though I plan to price most of my books on the low end of the 70% royalty scale and offer a bit more to make up for the price.

Still... 99 cents will probably get higher conversions, so I think I'll give that a try too.

Originally Posted by Nicola Lane

You are looking for Smashwords - Ebooks from independent authors and publishers

Hope that helps

Thanks, NIcola. I'm going to check that out too!

Elisabeth

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Why isnt Amazon KDP self publishing more popular?

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