What I Learned Self-Publishing an eBook on Amazon - Career ...

If your book is relevant enough and its marketed correctly, how come ONE great book can't sell hundreds of thousands of copies, if not millions. In terms of ... ShareTweetSharePinYouarehere:Home »Blog »Freelancers »WhatILearnedSelf-PublishinganeBookonAmazon:ProsandConsWhatILearnedSelf-PublishinganeBookonAmazon:ProsandConsFreelancers/ ByBironClark/55 COMMENTSIrecentlypublishedashortbookonAmazonusingtheirKindleDirectPublishingplatform(KDP).SelfpublishingisbecomingmoreandmorepopularsoIwantedtowritethisposttotalkabouttheprosandconsofselfpublishingonAmazon…Thepleasantsurprises,thefrustrations,thethingsIdidn’tfindoutuntilitwastoolate,etc!Here’severythingyouneedtoknowaboutAmazonselfpublishing…ProsofSelfPublishingonAmazon:It’sincrediblyeasy.YoucanwriteanduploadaWorddocumentasyoureBookandit’lllookfineonKindleandotherplatforms.IfyouwanttogetabitfancierwithformattingyoucanuploadanHTMLfile(youcanquicklysaveyourWorddocintoHTMLwithoneclick,soWordisstillviable!)It’scheap.Nopublisherfees.Noprintingcosts.YoucanevencreateaprintversionofyourbookbasedontheeBookversion,withaservicecalledCreateSpace.Overallyou’relookingatveryminimalcostsof$20-50forcoverdesign(agoodcoverisSOimportantforsales,moreonthislater),$20-50foraproofreaderoreditor,andthat’saboutitforgettingyourbookout.Youcanstartearningmoneyquickly,andifyoupriceyourbookbetween$2.99and9.99,Amazongivesyou70%ofthecut.Notabaddealconsideringtheyletyouusetheirtechnologytopublishyourebook,andthenhelpyoupromoteitontheirmassiveeCommerceplatformwithmillionsofregularvisitors.ConsofSelfPublishingonAmazon:Iactuallystartedwritingalongerbook,thebasicconceptbeinghowtonavigatea“CareerChangeatAnyAge”.Igotabout6,000wordsintoit,outofagoalof20,000orso,anddecideditwasWAYtoomuchworkforsomethingthat’llsellforlessthan$5. I’lllikelyturnthisconceptintoavideocourseinthefuture.Butmypointhereisthatoneofthenegativesatleastinmyperceptionwasthelimitedup-side.Youpouratonofworkintosomethingthat’llsellforsolittle,ifyoucanevengetittosellatall(continuetothenextpointtoseewhatImean).It’shardtogetyourbooknoticedatfirst.It’shardtogetthosefirstoneortwobookreviewsorbreakintothetoprankings.Thisiswhypromotionmatterssomuch.IfyouplanonwritingabookonAmazondonotmakethemistakeofthinkingtheprojectiscompleteoncethebookisfinalized.That’sonly40%ofthebattle.Marketing/sellingistheother60%andyouneedtobepreparedtoeitherdothisorpaysomebodytodoitforyou.OtherwiseyourbookWILLNOTsell.Ialreadymentionedlimitedearningspotential,letmeexplain.Except forafewoftheabsolutebestsellingauthors,mainlyinfiction,andallofwhomareofferingmultiplebooksinaseriesorcollection,you’renotgoingtoearnatonfromyoureBooksalesonAmazon.Youmightearnafewthousanddollarsamonthafteraninitialburstduringthemarketingofyourlaunch.Andthat’soptimistic.Thatbringsmetomynextpointalso.FromwhatI’veheard,salesfadefast.Amazonfavorsnewertitles.Ifyoulookinsomeofthebestsellercategories you’llnoticethatthevastmajorityofbookslistednearthetopwerepublishedrecently.I’mtalkingVERYrecently.October,Novemberetc(I’mwritingthisblogpostonDecember14).Thisisgoodbecauseitgivesyouafightingchanceasanewauthor,butitalsomeansyoursuccessmightbeshort-livedunlessyoufollowupwithanothertitlesoon.ThingsThatSurprisedmeAboutPublishingonAmazon:Formattingwaseasierthanexpected.IuploadedaWorddocumentdirectlyintoAmazonandhadveryfewissueswithformatting,ifany.EditingtheactualcontentisharderthanIthoughtandmorefrustrating.Ishouldhavehiredaneditorfromthestart.Lessonlearned.Relativelyspeaking,non-fictionorselfimprovementebookslikeminearejustatiny pieceoftheself-publishingecosystem.On variouseBookwebsitesyou’lloftensee 10or15book categoriesandnon-fictionisjustone.Sometimesit’llbetwobutthat’srare. Whereasfictionwillbedividedintoromance,sci-fi,mystery,horror,fantasy,andsomanyothers.Andeachofthosecategorieshasatonofbooksandatonofreadersandfollowers.TheVerdict:IsItWorthittoSelfPublishabookonAmazon’sKDPPlatform?Basedontheprosandconsabove,I’dsaythatifyouronlyobjectiveistoshareinformationyouknowandturnthatintorevenue,you’rebetterofflookingintoconsulting,coaching,orcreatingavideocoursethatyoucansellforamuchhigherpricepointthananeBook.However,ifyouhavesomesparetimeandbelievethatbeingabletopointtothefactthatyou’reapublishedauthoronAmazonwillhelpboostyourcredentialsorcareer,thenit’sworthit.SelfpublishingonAmazonisalsoworthitifyoucanusetheclicksandviewsthatyoureBookreceivestoboostanotherventure.Doyouhaveanewsletteroremaillist?Putafreebieintoyourbookandofferitinreturnforanemailsignup.Sooverallitwasworthitformetopublishmyshorte-bookonAmazon,butI’mgladIstoppedwritingthebookIoriginallyplanned–“CareerChangeatAnyAge”–becauseitwouldhavetakenmonthsandwouldnothavebeenworthitinthisformat.Afterchoosingashortertopictowriteabout(selfimprovementquotesandtips),I’mhappytohavesomethingupandselling.ThisprocessofselfpublishingonAmazonwillalsogivemeexperiencelaunching,marketing,andsellingaproduct…whichisextremelyvaluable.Ididn’thavethisexperiencepreviously.ButselfpublishingabookonAmazonisnota“homerun”playbyanymeans.ThehighestpaidauthorsonAmazonhaveaseriesofbooksandhavespentyearsbuildingthatup.AndthehighestpaidauthorsonAmazonKDPtendtobefictionwriters,too.SoI’mgladIdidthis,butdon’texpectafollow-upbookanytimesoon.Avideocourseismorelikely.  KeepReading30Nov,2021AreSideHustlesWorthIt?23Nov,2021TheBestSideHustlesforIntroverts(16Ideas)26Apr,2021HowtoBecomeaFreelanceWriter(NoExperienceNeeded)08Feb,2021TopFreel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