Kindle Authors: Which Side Are You On?

12 years ago

I do non-fiction though my husband is working on some fiction that I will publish and market for him.

From what I can tell non-fiction can make money without as much marketing but a successful fiction book will outperform non-fiction. It is all about how much work you put into marketing.

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sellerscompanion 12 years ago

I've done both, and non-fiction has made me far more money so far. I make $1000+ each month from just my non-fiction titles. I think fiction takes more marketing and promotion from my experience. I am still doing fiction too, but I use my non-fiction titles to pay more of the bills and the fiction as a sideline, fun kind of thing....

Charity
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eastwest97

12 years ago

I'm buying up a lot of fiction and am pleasantly surprised how good the short stories are. Personally, I am veering into the non-fiction arena for now but after reading about your progress Tiff, I am getting excited about trying my hand at fiction too. I have had a few concepts stored away but was worried about character and plot development; yet it seems our Kindling course is laying that all out for us!

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Tinkerbell

12 years ago

Hey Tiffany!

Right now, I'm doing fiction, and it's working out well for me. Took me a while to decide to even try it though, even considering my background as a traditionally published author. But this past April, my daughter and I teamed up under a pen name (it's Tiffany! LOL) and got to work.

When we started, our pen name was completely unknown. No list, no contacts, nothing. We put up four stories and a blog, and that was it as far as promotion goes. Our first 12 days were enough to convince us to keep going.

Today, we have 9 stories and one anthology available, and we have plans to continue to add to our Kindle backlist throughout the rest of this year.

As for non-fiction, I've been thinking about it. Haven't made the decision to take the plunge yet, though. Maybe soon.

Tina

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anders3397

12 years ago

I find fiction is a lot easier to make sales. Essentially, if you can identify a pressing problem and offer a good solution you will make sales. Fiction relies a lot more on developing your reputation as an author.
I would think that most people will get better results with non fiction.

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QWE

12 years ago

Originally Posted by anders3397

I find fiction is a lot easier to make sales. Essentially, if you can identify a pressing problem and offer a good solution you will make sales. Fiction relies a lot more on developing your reputation as an author.
I would think that most people will get better results with non fiction.

I bought your WSO. Loved it!!!!!

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TiffanyLambert 12 years ago

Originally Posted by Marianne Gonne

So, a question to you, Tiffany, if I may: the Kindling course sounds great, but I've heard it's best suited to fiction.

Would you agree?

No as someone whose sole income is NON fiction, I can say it's a nice balance of fiction/non fiction - and anyone who is only one one side or the other will be pleased. In fact, I think there were a few tips in the fiction training I readily pointed out could be useful in your non fiction pursuits.

And also many people who once had a teeny tiny "I wish I could write fiction but it's not my thing" mindset have commented that it totally made them change their mind.
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tpw

12 years ago

Non-fiction only, in a variety of niches.

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cashcow

12 years ago

I do both.

As many above have said, the non-fiction makes more money at first. You can charge more for it.

But, I can see from my fiction sales that if you have enough books out (and they are good) then the fiction could far outperform the non-fiction eventually.

If you are an avid reader like I am, its easy to see why. When I read a fiction book that I love, I immediately look for more books by that author. I buy them all. I know there are other people like me out there.

I doubt that non-fiction authors will have the same response from their readers.

Lee

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JamieSEO 12 years ago

Cashcow seems to have the same experience as myself. Initially my non-fiction books sell better, however fiction attracts more reviews and I find easier to market.
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- ExRat 12 years ago
  
  Hi Tiff,
  
  I'd like to be an internet marketing guru, therefore I'm working on writing purely fictional, fantasy-based stuff.
  
  :rolleyes:
  
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  Roger Davis
  
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Joseph Robinson

Banned 12 years ago

I'm writing my first books for Kindle, and they are all non-fiction. I'll probably dabble into fiction at some point though, point to it, and say "there, I diversified."

If only character development wasn't so boring sometimes...

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Andreas Quintana

12 years ago

90% Non-Fiction. Currently experimenting with some fiction

Will post my results as soon as possible ^^

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Amy Harrop

12 years ago

I write non-fiction in a number of niches. I do think that fiction has a lot of potential in terms of repeat buyers and building a brand. I've also written fiction, but I haven't put it on the Kindle yet as I think it needs more editing, which I am continuously tinkering with!

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KenJ 12 years ago

I have both fiction and non fiction. They both sell well. But I enjoy writing fiction more. So I am writing fiction at the moment.

The one thing I have yet to try is short non fiction and short stories. I still find it hard to believe that people will pay a decent price for these without complaining in reviews. There is no way I am writing anything for a dollar.

KenJ
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HiTom

12 years ago

I've only done non fiction. Like others I have read that fiction could make you more money because the audience may be larger, so you may not need as many ebooks as for non fiction.

Though both can be outsourced, I guess non-fiction are easier or faster to produce as you can find experts in almost every niche.

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Dean Shainin 12 years ago

I do both fiction and non-fiction.

I've noticed that publishing non-fiction actually takes more effort with keywords, research and to outsource from my point of view.

With fiction, once you find a great writer "if you're outsourcing" it's really simple.

Another thing I've noticed is that with non-fiction, 'even though it's unique content' sometimes I'll get one of those notices from Amazon about 'content being freely available on the web' and having to reply with proof, etc.

Long story short, I've made more money with fiction so far but I've made more money in a shorter period of time, $700+ within about 5 days, within a non-fiction niche that took a lot more effort to complete and get uploaded.

Cheers,
Dean
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jacktackett

12 years ago

Tiffany,
first I want to say I've enjoyed your review of Geoff's site - keep up the good work! Can't wait to see your take on Paul Coleman's stuff as well - he's another kindle author I like a lot.

I've done very well with non-fiction and with helping others get their non-fiction up on Kindle and create space - even using my own ISBN numbers to get a little extra distance from the self publishing label.

As the industry reports - far more non fiction is published than fiction - however with the advent of the kindle fiction is breaking out. When I first started self publishing (way back in the early '90s- getting old sucks) all the 'guru's like Dan Poynter advised staying away from fiction since the cost of entry and marketing were so high. Now that's not the case with ereaders like the kindle and the industry is seeing a lot of movement with fiction.

Like you I've got 'write the great american novel' on my bucket list, but I'm still fighting that internal demon to get started.

Best,
--Jack

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Paul Gram

12 years ago

Both but Fiction is definitely the best, by a mile.

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TeamFreedom

Banned 12 years ago

[DELETED]

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Dan C. Rinnert 12 years ago

"Write fiction!" they say.

"The money's in fiction!" they say.

There's only one appropriate response to that...
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- Joseph Robinson Banned 12 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Dan C. Rinnert
  
  "Write fiction!" they say.
  
  "The money's in fiction!" they say.
  
  There's only one appropriate response to that...
  
  If it Dan's not making money with it what chance does any of us have?
  
  Thanks
  
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Vishalicious

12 years ago

i have done both but non-fiction do nice sells for me.

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Megan Duffy

12 years ago

I have had some insane success with fiction titles, but marketed the right way, I think non-fiction can be very lucrative too.

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Richard Wheeler

12 years ago

As a fiction writer, I'd love to sell my work and be recognised for it. But the fact is, non-fiction is my best sellers at the moment.

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March Meadow

12 years ago

It all depends on the quality of both the writing and of the treatment of the subject.

Well-written fiction and a great story will always sell. Get one of them wrong and you'll probably struggle.

Ditto non-fiction. But it seems like Kindle is suited better to short works. Certainly that's what appeals to me as a reader.

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KatieWilliams

12 years ago

My first non-fiction book was uploaded very recently (just days ago) and it's doing well; non-fiction books 2 and 3 are in the works and number 4 is in research stage.

I hadn't even considered writing fiction as well (although I've had fiction pieces published offline for several years), so thanks for this post - I'll definitely give it some thought now!

PS - Recently joined your mailing list, really enjoying it so far!

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Katie

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Ken Leatherman

12 years ago

Originally Posted by TiffanyDow

Hey Warriors!

I'm getting REALLY big into Kindle and am curious what my fellow Warriors are doing:

1. Fiction?

2. Non Fiction?

Or a combination of the two? And which one is doing better profit wise for you?

So far I've only dabbled in non fiction and I'm pleasantly surprised at how little marketing is required to start making sales. I am developing fiction now to give those waters a test run, because it seems like most people say that's where the money is.

Tiff

Well Tiff since you opened this thread I had to read it.

Although I haven't done any publishing I have become fascinated with the idea of Kindle publishing. You, Dean Shainin, Dan's hilarious response and others have gotten me closer to stepping off the edge and moving forward with it.

In addition I sent one of my son's the links for this thread and your blog review.. He is a stay at home Dad and this would be an awesome project for him.

Thanks to all you folks that took the time to post in this thread. I just really hope more people read this and realize how good this can be for them.

Ken