There's another thread over on Kindleboards where authors talk about what they are making or in some cases just disclosing how many books they have sold in x time period. What I found most interesting is that there are a NUMBER of them making some pretty decent money. However--if the publishers ever get serious about putting ebooks out in a timely manner--I think it will eat into indie publishers. One of the reasons we're able to sell any copies at all is because we're competing against a smaller number of books (under 400k as opposed to millions.)
http://www.kindleboards.com/index.ph...c,18037.0.html
Us Indie authors also price our books lower than regular publishers--that also entices a whole set of frugal readers that might not otherwise bother. There's been a few threads on Amazon that show a few Indie authors are getting braver about pricing--they are actually raising the price of books that are selling well. That's quite a feat.
I'm not claiming these authors are making a living--but I am surprised that many of them/us are doing well. The old formula that a self-published author AVERAGES 75 sales over the entire life of a book has changed -- almost all due to ebooks (some is due to cheaper/faster POD.) I'm starting to see Indie authors compete with small publishers, selling 2000 copies within a one to two year period. To even be able to attain the same level as a small house is a change in the way things worked.
That is not to say that this change will be entirely permanent. Again, as more publishers catch on, it's going to get harder to stand out in the crowd.
Thanks for all the comments on the topic!
Maria