Tag Archives: self publishing

Kindle Select Self-Publishing Writing

Climbing on the KDP Coaster

February 3, 2012 – 1:00 am

Authors Stacy Eaton and Keith Weaver join me today to share their experiences with KDP Select in the first month of the program.  Thanks for joining me, Stacy and Keith!

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Stacy Eaton

In December, I jumped onto the KDP Select roller coaster with my hands holding the railing tightly and my eyes wide open. My knees were shaking a bit and there were butterflies in my stomach, but I did it.  Now several weeks later, I am sitting in the front seat, holding my arms high in the air and smiling because this ride is great!

Since I joined on December 24th, I feel like I finally found a place to stay. I started my ride with upping my price to $2.99 from the promotional rate of $0.99 and put a couple of free promo days in right away. It helped that a whole bunch of people had just gotten Kindles for the holidays and my free days left me smiling!

Many people asked me what the benefits were to giving away the books for free. To me, I was giving gifts! I love to give. I love to help and since I am a new author, being able to give my book out to people who might not have tried me before was exciting and invigorating.

I wasn’t sure how the “borrow” feature would work with KDP, so it was very exciting to see that column slowly trickle up as people borrowed my books and then to find out that I was making $1.70 per book for each borrow.  That was pretty exciting. You don’t get paid from the library when someone borrows your book.

I think the hardest thing about being part of the program is not being able to use excerpts in post and advertising.  It seems actually frustrating that we can’t post this information someplace even though we are directing them to Amazon to buy the book.  If there was anything I would like to see change in this program it would be that.

All in all, I am very happy with the program and I look back on the fears I had before I climbed on with a chuckle and a smile.  I feel at home for now, and I’m planning on staying here for a while.

Stacy EatonCurrently Stacy Eaton works full time as a Police Officer for a small township is Southeastern Pennsylvania. While her current position is that of a patrol officer, she spends a lot of time doing investigations and crime scene processing. Forensics is something she loves and she takes her job seriously. It is not just about proving who is guilty, it is also about proving people are innocent.

She is also a wife to a Police Officer and with their constant schedules life can get very hectic at home. She has been blessed with two children, a son who is currently in the United States Navy and is very proud of him for what he is doing and for serving his Country. Her daughter is a priceless princess who loves to help market her books to teachers and other parents while she is at school and church. She is also working on a book too.

When she is not working the job that currently pays all the bills she works on her business. Yes, she has her own business too.

In her spare time… she writes.

To learn more about Stacy and her books, please visit her website: http://stacyseatoncom.fatcow.com/

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Keith Weaver

I recently decided to entertain the new KDP Select program that Amazon had started.  For me personally, it really was an easy decision.  Probably 98-99% of my sales were from Amazon, so shutting down all other e-formats was not that difficult of a cross to bear.

Other than just sales, there were other aspects of the program that enticed me.  The borrowing of books for free is something I feel will become more and more popular going forward.  With this program, readers can borrow your book for free, and you still get a % sale based on the total number of Amazon books borrowed for the month.  The free days were another big factor.  Getting 5 free promotion days for every 90 days you’re enrolled was a great marketing tactic I wanted to use.  My first free day of each book netted my over 600 downloads for Nebulous, and over 1000 for The Nefarious.  Now, that may seem like a low number for some, but to me being relatively new to the marketing game and not having a lot of exposure, that was huge!  Also, as I stated, the program is only for 90 days.  At the end, you can stay in it or go back to all other venues for your book.

To me the program has been worth it, again not having a great presence outside of Amazon.  I have seen some sales come in since the free days.  I’ve always believed that word of mouth is a major player in all aspects of life, so having readers get your book for free, enjoy it and tell their friends could do wonders down the road.  Also, seeing reviews come in is big.  I had a review come in for Nebulous after the free day.  It was a 5-star from a Mom who loved the book, and can’t wait till her daughter is old enough to read it herself.  That’s the kind of praise and recognition that is more valuable than an actual sale!

Keith Weaver

Keith Weaver was into fantasy as a young boy. The first book he has a real memory of is The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, a favorite of his still today.  His mind has always had an affinity for the strange and make believe.  He’s been watching and reading horror, paranormal, fantasy and sci-fi ever since.  In college, he fell in love with literature courses and started dabbling in writing.  To learn more about Keith, visit his website: http://www.aboutkeithweaver.com/

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Kindle Select Marketing Self-Publishing Writing

Why Sign Up for KDP Select?

January 27, 2012 – 1:00 am

Because, it works.

For giggles, I decided to sign up my latest release, Nickels, for KDP Select in mid-January.  I first released Nickels in mid-December and had a pretty strong opening week.  Sales trickled in through the rest of December, but came to a screeching halt at the new year.  After only 20 dismal sales, I decided to pull Nickels from B&N, Smashwords, Apple, Kobo, & Diesel.

Once I was certain Nickels was only left in paperback and on Amazon, I signed up.  The process was really easy – just  choose “enroll”.

If you’re not familiar with KDP Select, here’s the basics:

  1. Agree to go exclusive with Kindle for digital book (ebook) for 90 days
  2. Book becomes available for Amazon Prime Members.  They can borrow 1 book for free every month.  Authors get paid a royalty on borrows (see KDP Select Terms & Conditions for details).
  3. Author can list the book for free for any 5 days during the 90 day exclusive window.

The Plan

I knew right away that I wanted to use some of the free days as soon as possible.  After all, my sales needed a shot in the arm.  But, I wanted to be strategic about how I used the days.

See, here’s the thing:  Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are traditionally the highest book sales days.  I’ve seen this with my own numbers.  So, I knew I didn’t want to offer my book for free when readers were more likely to buy it any way.

My plan?  Go free on Wed & Thurs to boost sales ranking.  Then the book goes back to regular price ($4.99) on Friday.  No matter how hard it was, I avoided the temptation to drop the price.  I mean I just spent two days flooding the internet with messages about my book.  The word was out.  So, there was no need to offer a reduced price (thereby losing money) because I didn’t have to draw traffic to my book.  I already had traffic.  Now I wanted to maximize profit.

For more detailed information on my plan, see my post with this KDP Select Checklist for Free Days.

The Results

Free Days Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Total
Highest Kindle Ranking #3 #809 #153 #127 #131
Sales 29,500+ (downloads) 70+ 500+ 490+ 310+ 1370+ sales29,500+ (downloads)
Borrows 70+ 80+ 110+ 50+ 310+

 

Stay Tuned

Over the next four Fridays, I’ll have two guest authors each week share about their experience with KDP Select so you can get a better idea of how the program is working for multiple authors across multiple genres.

Maximize Your Free Days

If you missed my earlier post on how to maximize your free days on Kindle Select, check it out.  I’ve included a great checklist with helpful tips.

 

Self-published author, Karen Baney, enjoys sharing information to help authors learn about the Business of Writing.  She holds a Masters of Business Administration from Arizona State University and has worked in various business related career fields for the past 20 years.  She writes Christian Historical Fiction and Contemporary Romance novels.  For more information about Karen’s books, visit her Amazon Page.

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Kindle Select Self-Publishing Writing

Maximizing Free Days on Kindle Select

January 25, 2012 – 1:00 am

KindleFire-MainMenuI recently gave Kindle Select a try and enjoyed some pretty amazing results.  I offered my new romance novel, Nickels, free for a Wed. and Thurs.  During those days, it had over 29,500 downloads in 6 countries.  It ranked #3 on overall Kindle Free best seller list, #1 in Kindle Free Fiction, #1 in Religious Fiction, and #1 in Contemporary Romance.

In the first two days following the free days, I sold over 700 copies and had over 190 borrows from Prime members.  My sales ranking has gone as high as #125 in Kindle Paid and #1 in Religious Fiction.

How did I do it?  By maximizing the use of my free days and promoting like crazy.

Here’s my checklist to help make the most of your Kindle Select Free Days.

Before Your Free Days

1. Sign up for KDP Select.

2. Schedule your free days.  Consider scheduling on a Wed / Thurs or just Thurs to capitalize on the exposure.  Big sales days in a week are Fri, Sat, Sun.  So don’t give it away free on those days.

3. Send requests to following to get your free book listed.  Do this a few days ahead of time to give the site owners time to post your book.

4.  Add a Goodreads event and send it to all of your Goodreads friends.

On Your Free Days

1. Post on Facebook pages on your free day(s):

2.  Add “Kindle Freebie” and “Kindle Free” tags to your book on Amazon page.

3.  Post about your free book on your other social networking sites (Linked In, Stumble Upon, Triberr, Google+, etc.)

4.  Tweet like crazy.

5.  Get authors in your cross promotion group to tweet like crazy (and thank them for it).

6.  Send email newsletter.

7.  Post about it on your blog.

8.  Get your mouse-clicking refresh-button-hitting finger ready to watch the downloads roll in!

After Your Free Days

1.  Don’t lower your price.  You just did a lot of hard work to generate sales by offering it free.  Keep your book at regular price and enjoy the higher royalties on the new wave of sales.

2.  Keep up the momentum for a few days.  If your free days ended before the weekend, keep up strong promotion efforts (through social networking) through the weekend.

 

Christian Genre Specific sites:

Do you know of any genre specific sites?  If you’d like to share them, please leave a comment below.  Thanks!

Self-published author, Karen Baney, enjoys sharing information to help authors learn about the Business of Writing.  She holds a Masters of Business Administration from Arizona State University and has worked in various business related career fields for the past 20 years.  She writes Christian Historical Fiction and Contemporary Romance novels.  For more information about Karen’s books, visit her Amazon Page.

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Marketing Writing

How To Double Your Sales

November 23, 2011 – 3:03 pm

Okay.  So, I don’t really know the sure-fire way to double your sales as an author.  But, I can share with you what has been working well for me over the past three months—months where I’ve double my sales each month.

First, and most importantly, none of the following suggestions will be successful if you haven’t written a great novel and you don’t have a good cover.  Those two things are absolutely critical for your success as an author.

That little disclaimer aside, here are the three things that have helped me the most in the past three months.

Twitter

After much nagging from my hubby, “Are you on Twitter yet?  You need to be on Twitter.” I finally broke down and got on Twitter.  The first month I was on it, I could hardly figure out what to do with the thing.  I mean 140 characters is frightening to a word smith.  How was I going to say anything in that short space?

So, I started reading other people’s blogs about Twitter.  I learned about hash tags, how to schedule tweets, what kinds of things to tweet, and how to engage with others.  The first month I was on Twitter, my Amazon sales ranking went from somewhere around 108,000 to hovering around 35,000. Pretty good, say you?  I thought so.  And I doubled my sales from the previous month.

(Yes, my hubby was right – just don’t tell him I said so.)

But that wasn’t the only front of my marketing efforts.

Blogging

Yes.  I just said the dreaded “b” word.  But, let’s get real.  Blogging does help.

I’ve finally gotten into a routine with blogging.  I started a series highlighting the main characters from my Prescott Pioneers Series.  This blog series runs every Wednesday.  I include a photo (purchased for less than $5 at iStockPhoto), the character’s stats, and a few insider secrets that only I as the author know about the character.  My fans love it.  It also gives me a chance to promote my books in an interesting way.

The other blog series I started was a Friday post just for authors about various writing topics.  This is a great way to network with other authors and some of them may even buy my books too.  If nothing else, they will have learned something from my posts.

I’ve also recently added an author spotlight series on Mondays, where I feature interviews with other indie authors.

During this time frame, my Amazon ranking went from 35,000 to about 11,000.  Oh—you guessed it—I doubled my sales from the previous month getting very close to that 1,000 book a month barrier.

Then, the next big thing hit…

Cross Promotion

I finally had enough money coming in from my sales that I could spend a little extra on marketing.  So, I started snooping around to find some cheap ways of marketing.  Well, in that process, I connected with Melissa Foster, best-selling author on Amazon.  I was invited to participate in a big promotion.

This promotion hadn’t even launched yet, and I saw tremendous benefit.  I’ve connected with 36 new author friends.  We’ve been helping cross promote for each other over the past month.  I’ve also learned from them ways to work smarter and not harder (like scheduling tweets, getting my book on various websites, etc.)

Since meeting this great group of people, my Amazon sales rankings have jumped from 11,000 to hovering around 2,500.  Wow!  I call that a success.  And… I doubled my sales from the previous month, finally breaking the 1,000 books a month barrier by a significant amount.

 

While I can’t guarantee you’ll see the same results, I hope I’ve given you a few ideas on how you, as an author, can market your books and reach out to new readers.

The Revolution – A Footnote

In the two weeks since this post appeared on another blog, I’ve experienced something I never thought I would:  an explosion of interest in transparency.  People have been emailing me with questions.  Authors are banding together to form cross promotion groups.  I’ve completely lost track of how many times this article has been tweeted about (and even if I don’t personally thank each of you, please know I sincerely appreciate your help in getting the word out).

One of the best outcomes of this article is that I am now a part of Grace and Faith 4 U.  This brand new author community is quickly becoming a great place for Christian authors of all genres to meet, get to know each other, and help promote each other’s work.  My heart is overflowing – I have wanted this type of support from the day I typed my first word of my first novel.

Will you join me in this revolution?  Become a part of Grace and Faith 4 U or start your own group!

 

Self-published author, Karen Baney, enjoys sharing information to help authors learn about the Business of Writing.  She holds a Masters of Business Administration from Arizona State University and has worked in various business related career fields for the past 20 years.  She writes Christian Historical Fiction and Contemporary Romance novels. 

Like what you’ve read?  Leave a comment below or email Karen at info(at)karenbaney(dot)com or check out her books on her Amazon Page.

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Self-Publishing Writing

Tips for Finding an Artist

November 18, 2011 – 1:00 am

When I needed advice for finding and working with artists, I turned to Jim Baney, CEO & Co-founder of Knightvision Games (also my hubby).   He and his business partner have produced numerous role playing game modules for the past year and a half.  They work with many artists scattered all over the world to provide everything from full color cover art to interior black & white line art.  His tips worked well for me, so I hope you get some great ideas from his guest post today.

 

I started a gaming company almost a year and half ago and needed to have some art created for my games.  After searching the almighty Google.com, I found some great resources to find artists within my budget, which isn’t much.  The first thing I found out was that artists are artists and not business people.  They have a hard time coming up with commission rates for different types of artwork.  Sometimes the same type of artwork can range from $10 to $100.

After becoming frustrated over this back and forth I decided to come up with an artist guideline on my website that explains exactly how much I will pay and for what.  Though, as a self published author, it might not make sense for you to post a page on your website, the idea still applies.  Tell the artist what you are willing to pay up front.  This helps end any negotiation and misinterpretation of emails.  If the artist says “no way, I can’t work for that rate”, I say, thank you very much, and there are more artist that will work for that rate.

I also use the email string as a contract.  Some artists don’t even ask for a contract, yet some do.  I never pay up front and explain that I pay within three business days of the final art rendering.

To get the art piece I need, I give a description of the scene or creature and let the artist use their imagination to come up with a rough draft.  This goes back and forth through several iterations.  Then I give the green light to proceed with a final piece.  I always reserve the right to make final changes.  I’ve never had an artist complain about this process.

Most of the artists I found are overseas (non-U.S).  They work fast and come up with some great concept art.  My company pays via PayPal in U.S. Dollars, which most overseas artist are glad to have.

Some great resources to find an artist:
1. Conceptart.org – Be aware, there can be a lot of nudity and NSFW (not suitable for work) “artwork” on this site.  However, this site has some artists that will knock you socks off.  Also a great site for inspiration.
2. Deviantart.com – I found this site to be of lesser quality work then conceptart.org.  Never the less I have found some great artists.
3. Believe it or not, Google Plus has been a great in finding illustrators and background artists. Just find a circle of artists and ask for some art submissions.

Jim Baney
CEO and Co-founder of Knightvision Games

To learn more about Knightvision Games, visit them at http://www.knightvisiongames.com, on Google + as JimBaney, or on Twitter.

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Business of Writing Self-Publishing Writing

How I Published My Book For $350

November 11, 2011 – 1:00 am

I recently attended an event where a company discussed how they could help an author self publish.  The total cost they quoted to help the individual publish was a minimum of $1800.  But they strongly encouraged writers to purchase a minimum quantity of books that brought the total to $3400.

What did the author get for $3400?  They receive editing services, original cover design, interior design, ISBN, barcode, and 215 paperback copies (they threw in 15 free copies) of their book.

I cringed.  I bit my tongue.  My heart flew out of my chest.  My stomach tightened into a giant knot.  I watched as dreams of the other authors shattered before my eyes.

My Publishing Costs

For my book, Prescott Pioneers 3: A Life Restored, here’s a breakdown of my publishing costs:

Item Cost
Cover Art  $         150.00
Editing  $           50.00
3 ISBNs*  $           75.00
Copyright filing fee  $           35.00
Paperback Pro fee  $           40.00
Total  $         350.00

*one for Kindle, one for epub, one for paperback

Is your jaw dropping?  Are you thinking to yourself: her cover must be crappy and the book full of editing mistakes.

While I can’t promise there are no errors in my books (even the big publishing houses miss things), I will tell you that I have two editors that line edit every book I produce.  I also go through it many, many times myself.  I have high standards for myself and strive to put out a high quality book.

As for the cover, see for yourself.  I can guarantee no one else has this cover.  The artist was commissioned to make this for me.  It fits with the genre of the book and many fans have exclaimed how much they love the cover.

How did I do it for so little cost?

Cover Art

I found my illustrator at ConceptArt.org (not suitable for work).  When I needed artwork for the first cover in my series, I posted an ad, including what I was willing to pay.  Though I paid far less than $150 for the first cover, I was glad to pay more for this cover because my illustrator did such a good job on the first two and I asked for something more complex this time.

Another great place to get cover art is iStockPhoto.  You can pay a fee for rights to use the image.  In some cases, you can pay an exclusivity fee meaning that no one else can use the image.

Do you have an art school nearby?  Consider contacting the school to see if you can connect with students who might be willing to work for free or a small cost.

Editing

One of my editors is also an aspiring author.  She and I have an agreement where we trade editing.  Since I feel she gets the raw end of the deal (she’s edited four of my books to her one), I agreed to help her get her book ready for publishing.  So, I traded time for services, instead of money.

The other editor is a special circumstance using my network of connections.  As I continue to make more sales, I send her gift cards to thank her.  For this one, it was a $50 gift card.

ISBNs

There are all sorts of opinions about ISBNs.  I decided to go with Bowker’s recommendation, which is one ISBN for each format: hardcover, paperback, Kindle, ePub, etc.  So, per book I have 3 ISBNs. Because I buy them in blocks of 10 for $250, my cost per book is only $75.

Copyright Filing Fee

The copyright filing fee is something I feel is necessary.  Again, there doesn’t seem to be a general consensus on if this is required.  My thoughts?  It’s only $35.  It doesn’t hurt to have your book on file with the copyright office just in case.  I’m willing to pay $35 for peace of mind.

Print On Demand

The line item “paperback pro fee” is the price that my print-on-demand (POD) provider charges me to get the paperback version into bookstores and on Amazon and B&N.

Also, I don’t have to purchase a minimum quantity of paperback books.  The provider I use charges me a lower price, so I can order copies for my inventory at cost (plus a small fee) instead of retail.  I don’t have a garage full of books warping in the Arizona heat.

What do I get for $350?

A fully produced book that is available on Amazon and B&N in both paperback and eBook.  It’s also available as an eBook on Apple, Sony, Kobo, and Diesel.  It’s been edited by two editors and it has a fully custom cover.

Can you do this for the same cost?  I believe you can if you are resourceful.  Use the power of your network.  Trade for services instead of paying a fee.  Look for creative ways to get cover art for low cost.

Like what you’ve read?  Leave a comment below or email Karen at info(at)karenbaney(dot)com or check out her books on her Amazon Page.

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