Success Stories with Publishing on Amazon

[VydorScope]

Great thread... I dunno what counts as a success but my first book has many thousands of downloads on Amazon, but it is free so that makes it hard to guess what that means. My second book, which is a sequel and not free to my first has maybe 150 copies sold since release.

My primary success is coming from people that read the first book and liked it. I have posted links all over, have a blog, on Goodreads, on Shelfari, and all that but not seen much of anything from that.

I think I need to start submitting for reviews since my sales are on a decline now and I am falling out of the "top 100" listings that Amazon has. Its a self accelerating fall.. the further down the list it gets, the less ppl see it which mes less ppl buy it, which means it falls further down the list...

[PamelaMary]

Just to let everyone know a funny fact. I sold one book of Midnight Reflections in Germany, and now it's at #34 in the Romantic Suspense category. Hope others can sell one and get on their lists!

[Eisengoth]

Wow, there's some really great tips and pointers on here. As someone who decided to go independent for a couple of very specific reasons, it's great to see some other independents sharing what's worked and what hasn't for them.

Right now I'm trying to focus on writing my sequel, as well as providing some genuine value via Twitter and my blog. I'm still very new at all of this, and I had no delusions of overnight-sensationism, so I'm just trying to take it nice and slow and maybe make some friends along the way. I'm doing a giveaway on Librarything to hopefully get my work in front of some more eyes as well, and maybe land a review or two in the process. I've also submitted to a couple of ebook-specialized listing sites, which might help spread the word as well. It's my hope, anyway... we'll see how well it goes.

I plan to check out Michael R. Hicks' new book about his self-publishing journey... I liked the books of his that I read overall, and I can imagine him having some good insights.

[sassanik]

My Amazon sales have been slow but steady, moving along and growing. Am I making thousands a month? Nope, but maybe one day!

Currently Amazon and Overdrive the top resellers that I have.

Smashwords is cool because it does allow you to get listed on Amazon and Barnes and Noble and other sites, but it does take a cut and it does take FOREVER to pay you on those, it can be very worthwhile to set up your own Amazon an Barnes and Noble accounts.

I wish you the best luck on your sales!

Amy

[carld]

Originally Posted by sassanik

Currently Amazon and Overdrive the top resellers that I have.

I haven't heard of anyone selling through Overdrive. How does that work?

[sassanik]

You need a Tax ID to setup with Overdrive, getting one is not hard, but you do need to register a business for it.

Overdrive sells to libraries and has a good international reseller program, it provides content to WHSmith in the UK and others.

Basically they were a pain to set up with, but well worth it so far.


Amy

[William F]

Well publishing with Amazon is good for one thing if nothing else. You can show all the people who said you could never do it that your book is for sale on Amazon.com. The name carries a certain amount of weight with your average joe.
You don't have to tell them that anyone can put a book up on Amazon, most people have no idea how it works.

Books sales 20.00
Look on your (insert detractors name here) face. Priceless.

[michaelhillier]

I did the same as james - published on Smashwords first - used them really to get the formatting right which I found very useful. Then I published them on Amazon. Got three on Amazon now and another due to go on within the next few days. 2 thrillers - The Eighth Child, The Secret of the Cathars and Dancing with Spies due out. The Gigabyte Detective which as the title suggests is a Crime novel. Like the others I have only sold two through Smashwords although there have been about 40 free downloads! Amazon sales are slow but at least they are selling some - about 20 books a month so far. I don´t know what to do to market them either and have tried facebook and twitter but they don´t seem to make things any better. I´m starting to think that its all down to "luck". If anyone would like to have a look at my website (where they are also for sale, or my blog://mike@mikehillier.com where they are described a little more fully " perhaps someone can come up with some ideas. http://mike@mikehillier.com or http://blog.mikehillier.com and whatever you suggest for me could also apply to Julie

[Harper Kingsley]

Originally Posted by michaelhillier

http://mike@mikehillier.com or http://blog.mikehillier.com

Your website link was kind of weird. When I just typed in mikehillier.com and went... you have your books and descriptions on the side, but maybe due to screen type your image and summary were merged together, making it hard to read.

You might look at your chosen colors too. It looks a bit like a tax site. Maybe make a banner with some of your book covers? Um, you might want to change your ebook page some. Maybe just a "BUY" button for each book instead of each one having their own available format. Plus, there was no BLOG link on your main page, which means I had to type it in.

Ideas: 1) Each book has its own separate page with larger images. That way you can include reviews and testimonials there. 2) Different webpage color. 3) Maybe more images.

Also, do you have an Amazon Spotlight page? Have you joined Shelfari or Goodreads? You could also buy Google AdWords or AdSense.

Hope that helps some.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

I agree with Harper: Michaelhillier, you might want to look into a redesign of your website to take the drabness out of it. There are various website and blog templates that have a lot more pizazz to them, but are just as easy to use... try www.freewebsitetemplates.com, or check out the blog templates available through Wordpress.

[Just4kix]

Originally Posted by William F

Well publishing with Amazon is good for one thing if nothing else. You can show all the people who said you could never do it that your book is for sale on Amazon.com. The name carries a certain amount of weight with your average joe.
You don't have to tell them that anyone can put a book up on Amazon, most people have no idea how it works.

Books sales 20.00
Look on your (insert detractors name here) face. Priceless.

I tell people I'm published by KDP, a big US publisher

[Anke Wehner]

Agreeing with Harper Kignsley... I'm taken with *simple* website designs, but that olive green strikes me as ugly.

The page with your ebooks absolutely NEEDS more information about those books - at least the equivalent of a backcover blurb. Better a link to a sample chapter. I like that you offer several different formats, but I would recommend you include (Kindle compatible) to the "mobi" label, and that you include links to the Smashwords and Amazon pages (and maybe a few more) - some people might rather buy from a shop they are already signed up to than pay you directly (not wanting you to get their mail address from paypal, for example).

One page per book is a good idea, too, though I'd personally favour a "blurb, sample chapter, buy links", rather than "testimonials". I don't trust testimonials, they are too often made up.

Integrate the blog with the rest of the website, rather than having it separate, with no link from one to the other. If someone, say, finds that one blog posts of yours while googling "Dubrovnik", that doesn't do you any good book-wise. With the navigation including links to your ebook page (and with luck), there's at least a chance a random visitor has a look, which might lead to a sale.

Regarding Twitter: Hardly anyone is interested in accounts whose owner does nothing but promote their own product or content. Post links to articles you read and found interesting, retweet interesting things other people posted, interact with the people you follow. It's really more about networking/making connections, than an advertising billboard.
You could try following GoblinWriter there, she posts about her ideas about ebook promotion, too.

[xg4bx]

It might be silly but how about Facebook? Even if you just set up an author page or something and promoted your stuff on "science fiction fan" groups or review blog pages and linked to Amazon. I've bought quite a few books that way.

[TwoKindsofColor]

The description of the story helps a lot. In the beginning I was very aggressive with marketing wherever I could for free. To get more sales I did a lot of marketing on Facebook. However, they won't allow me to do that anymore. I've also used the pay-per-click-ad thing. To take my novel further I'm thinking of hiring a book marketing firm, but only if I can find a reputable one. Stay positive and keep writing. Never give up!

Always best regards,
Deborah Kennedy
Two Kinds of Color

[GoblinWriter]

Originally Posted by Anke Wehner

You could try following GoblinWriter there, she posts about her ideas about ebook promotion, too.

Hey, that's me! Thanks for the plug, Anke!

I've interviewed some folks who sell big time on Amazon, and a lot of them have given away free ebooks or done 99 cent ebooks to hook folks on their series (I'm doing the 99-cent thing myself).

(The trick for getting a freebie on Amazon is to list it for free at Smashwords/B&N and then have someone report your Amazon book as cheaper elsewhere, and Amazon will often price match, though it can take some time.)

Some people do become bestsellers over there with just one book, but most people who are doing this for a living have lots of ebooks up on Amazon (and Smashwords, and iTunes, and B&N, of course--but for many, Amazon is the big kahuna). So be prolific!