The WORST LIES About Self-Publishing Books on Amazon KDP - It's Not As Bad As You Think!
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- Опубликовано: 4 июл 2024
- In this video, I debunk some of the biggest and worst lies that I see about self-publishing books on Amazon KDP. If you have been holding off from self-publishing a book because of some of the negative things people say about publishing, then make sure to watch this video to gain insight into the world of self-publishing on KDP.
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Hi Caroline, Good debunking! I've been publishing on KDP since 2019 and it is my primary source of income. So far this month I am at $7k (AUD). Am expecting to finish the month with a total of $9-10k. All profit (no ads this month, that's another story), apart from a Creative Fabrica subscription, and I have bought software to crank out puzzle books. But mostly I make my own interiors and covers. The books I sell the most of are generally those that are unique (or have a unique slant on a popular niche) and I have taken the time to research well before making them. For anyone reading this, it does work, you really need to do excellent research before you make something. But start now, because if you make books that sell, they will snowball each year and make even more sales than the year before and so on.
Thank you for sharing this!
Congratulations for the great results, how we can do excellent research to find good niche to publish?
I have half a dozen books out. I make money from kickstarting them. But I haven’t been successful on kdp. Any ideas on how to market. I have ads running and have tried fb ads
Hii, can you please help me in publishing my book? Generally i write romance genre. Is it possible to make money in this genre.
@@user-rk8hg9ic3d There is no magic bullet. The more you do keyword and niche research the better you get at it. So just keep trying.
You can have the best product in the world but if you don't tell people about it, not many people will know to buy it. Marketing your product is essential. This may sound scary but this is what's needed.
AMEN! Very true!
Any tips on how to market your book on Amazon?
@@aygulakhmadullina5599 Sure. Take the opportunity to talk to others about your book whenever you can. When it’s World Book Day, share your book on social media. Show your writing process on your channels, or talk on YT about how you went about coming up with your topic. Any product has many different opportunities to talk it up and to share to different markets.
@@richlordtravels thank you, I appreciate you sharing!
@@aygulakhmadullina5599 AmazonADS and reviews. Its all you need
Love the Aussie content on RUclips. So much more realistic and no one’s yelling at the screen with exaggerated excitement and flashy editing.
Agreed.
I was scammed by Amazon KDP Publishing for close to $4000 dollars. They are not responding to emails.
I'm not even Aussie and I agree lol
I found writing the book the easiest part. It's the technical bits like creating a cover and formatting etc. that drives me crazy.
Yeah, I'm the other way around! I have been in print design for 20 years though!
@@artwithjimmy 😆😆😂😂🍾🍾🥂🍾🥂🍾
@@queva3062 lol I have no idea what those mean.
Spot on - that's the stage I'm at right now.
yeah I agree. I'm still trying to figure out how to get bullets inserted and how to establish better indenting. Haven't found tutorials on those yet. Any tips on how to bullet and indent without having to manually indent every paragraph and using the left margin "indents" section?
I don't publish my books to get rich or famous. If I sell a book, I feel I have already succeeded. It's simply vanity. I got a royalty notice last week, and have made $3.60 on a paperback sale. VICTORY! In my eye at least.
I totally agree. If someone's reading your work, that in itself is a win in my eyes.
What's the name of your book? I'll check it out.
Agreed. Authors back 100 years ago didn't get rich from writing - they barely paid their bills as authors. They did it for the love of writing which is why the quality was good back then.
I completely agree with you...if you've put in the effort and created something, that's a win...everything else is just cherry on top✨
One is definitely better than none! A win is a win 🏆
How are you doing right now?
Hello. I heard those comments too. They didn't discourage me from publishing my work, because I'm a creative person. I enjoy creating my books. It doesn't make any sense to get discourage just, because others are not happy. This is not a get rich quick scheme. My success has always been becoming everything that I wanted to be. It's a personal goal for me. I also feel accomplished. I feel content that I did something. Most people dream of doing something. I went, and did what I dreamed of doing. Today I hear the same complains that I heard when I first published my first book. I just kept publishing my work, because my creations are different from everybody else. Since then I stopped caring about what others think. I thought if you're afraid of failure then you will never try anything new. I'm not just an author. I'm also a music composer for movies, television, commercials, and games. I'm also a photographer, artist. I create my own book covers, and art work covers for my music as well. If I listened to my fear of failure I wouldn't do anything. Being afraid of success is not an option. I just keep moving forward.
Why not try?
Oh there is one thing you didn't mention. Being creative with no revenue expectations is fine as long as you find a way to also pay one's bills and sponsor one's hobbies and publishings. And if you found the way to do so, you're welcome to share. All the rest is something we have heard a lot.
You just wanted to talk about yourself.... I understand, np.
The thing that disappoints me is not many people bother to leave a review or even a star rating. Getting these things is very hard. Otherwise publishing for ones self and ordering hardcopies to give out is very rewarding.
This was an excellent video. Finally someone explains this properly. I’ve been an illustrator for 30 years now and about ten or so, I’ve started to illustrate for self published authors and I’ve been amazed at the amount of success several of my clients got from just a couple of books. One of the books I’ve done was even licensed to become a tv series , so I loved your over saturated market comment. There’s ways to be successful as an indie author , but nobody can expect to skip the learning curve. Work pays off and persistence also does. Most these days at least 80% of my illustration work goes to independent children book authors and I can guarantee people are making money. Even last week one of my illustrated books became a number 1 best seller at Amazon and I’m starting another book for the same author next week.
Where can I find you please? Looking for.... an illustrator for children's math fiction books.
Great video
Whatever God has for You is for You, regardless of the competition.
Wow! I REALLY needed to see this. I appreciate your comment!
Deep. So deep.
Indeed!
Adding to this - if you feel compelled to write it, that compulsion is a _response_ - to the vacuum that is your audience waiting for you to write your book.
You weren't randomly compelled - but are perceiving your audience's hunger for what you have to write.
It's that way around.
You're not writing into the wind - but into a vacuum with your name on it.
thanks for these words. they gave me peace in my heart. I truly believe this.
Hard to believe writing is over saturated. As a person that sells powersports items on amazon I can say that oversaturation is real, but writing is so dynamic!
Nice, informative vid. I've been publishing fiction on Amazon since April 2020, started off £5 a month if I was lucky, a year on, £15 or so a month, then started using Amazon Ads, now grossing around £350 a month on a rising curve, say 60 ebooks, couple of print books, 130 or so e-books read each month online (+-36,000 page reads). Still only scratching the surface but it is encouraging. And nice to have folks starting at Book 1 in a five book series and going to read each in turn. Love it.
So how are things going today? Please give us an update.
The reason people say write in series is that they get more visibility because Amazon groups them all together. If you release number 6, Amazon shows the reader who happens upon it that there are 5 more, so every book in the series promotes the other books. The reason people encourage putting out a lot of books isn't so much about the number of books you have, but the fact that Amazon's algos favor new releases. Older books get buried under new releases in Amazon's search engines, so if you publish a book every 30-90 days, you get more visibility. You could have a hundred books and not get great sales, or five books getting massive sales, depending on how long ago it was that the last one was released. And it's not just low content writers who know this. Amanda M. Lee puts out a novel a month. They are mostly series novels, full length around 60k and she makes six figures a month. She used to be on the Kboard forum before most of the bigger names left and she always attributed her success to writing fast and rarely going longer than 4-6 weeks without a release. So these things aren't really lies. A lot of best selling indie authors agree with them. That isn't, of course, to say other people can't find their own way, but being extremely prolific and writing in series isn't bad advice at all.
I'm so glad I read your comment. I don't know who Amanda M. Lee is but the way you explained everything is literally how I was thinking I should release my book series. I thought selling them once every 3 months was ok but not enough but deep down inside I REALLY want to release a mini series monthly. So reading this is confimation that I'm on the right path and makes me even more excited!! Thank you and I wish you the best.
Hi Caroline, you’re right about everything. I started in 2014 with bilingual study guides for the US Citizenship test and was consistently number one in sales in that niche for about a year. I was making about $1,800 a month even as competition moved in. Last year KDP changed the business rules and my sales dropped by 75%. I still update and market and have tried low content books with no success. I keep studying the market and trying new things. Thanks for a great video. As a side note, I taught self publishing classes at two community colleges to help writes format their print and eBooks.
Share the D2D story, draft to digital with your students. My personal experience has been positive. I started with the old Create Space. When Amazon bought them out, the experience deteriorated.
@@friendlyone2706 When Amazon took over Barnes and Noble my income from Barnes and Noble dopped and dropped. I put up a sample of my first book here. Feathers on the Wings of Love and Hate. Let the Gun Speak. By John Grit. It took some time for my books to take off. Then, I was making many thousands a month. But that did not last. My total income from all my books, going back to 2012, was about $120,000. Most of that was the first two or three years. For the last several years, my income from my paperbacks has been zero. I am fortunate in that I am a successful business owner. I owned a jewelry store. I was already retired on my own savings before I started writing.
KDP has worked well for me, especially when ghost writing books for others. Several of my books have sold thousands of copies, but my favorite - the one I really love and published in my own name - has sold SIX total copies. I agree with everything Caroline said.
That's very sad to hear, what is the name of your book?
Is it the covers do you think?
For me, KDP has been an absolute nightmare. I published a children's book and the cut on the first proof copy was off alignment. I thought maybe it was a fluke. The second one was better. Then, when I ordered my first batch of author copies, they were all damaged from what looked like a dull cutting blade, which left the edges of the books frayed and caused the ink on the full bleed page to peel and look terrible. I asked for a replacement and three weeks later I got the books...with the exact same defect. However, they were printed in a different facility. All through this process, the KDP representatives refused to address my concerns as to whether they can actually deliver a quality print to me. Instead of replacing the second defective set, they just refunded me. So here I am, an author who can't actually get non-damaged books to try to place in local bookstores. It's made me feel terribly upset. The good folks at KDP also mysteriously raised the price of my book several dollars even though I bought a barcode for a specific price. It took them a week to correct, so anyone who bought the book in that time would have paid an inflated price. Perhaps I'm just unlucky, but this whole experience has really made me raise my eyebrows.
Wow, I had no idea anyone else was going through this with their children's book. What should have been published two months ago has become a nightmare for me. I've decided to quit KDP, and to eventually take all my books down. Right now, I'm waiting to show they refunded me and then I'll take the book down.
@@jeanwilliams2629 Refunded you for what?
@@michaelgiffin2621 For ruining all the books he purchased.
It almost seems like they want to sabotage us little peoole.
Very sorry to hear. I've been publishing children's books since 2015. I've had a few misprints and damaged books here and there, but they always took care of it in a timely manner.
thank you so much, I started kdp about 2 months ago, got disheartened then made 1 sale 2 weeks ago then this wee 7 in a day... and now I find this video... some really excellent insights and I have many ways to improve and move forward with confidence... thanks again
Most markets no matter what they are, are oversaturated with junk. If you got the right stuff, you'll make it.
Watched this video in January when I was researching KDP and found it very helpful. Thanks for taking the time to set the record straight.
You're not stuck with Amazon alone. There's several other platforms where it is easier to get some traction (attention). Plus, sometimes the giant blinks and *ahem* your KDP account gets terminated (not mentioning any names). I don't trust giants -- go wide. Amazon just happens to have the largest market share. Just remember, the same people shopping on Amazon also shop in other stores -- we all love variety.
I started writing *because* of some of the bestselling garbage I read, and thought "Really? Some folks think this is good?" And that was from some top-selling name-brand authors (again, no names). Maybe some weird form of group-think, like the way Fifty Shades won the lottery.
I don't put it past the trad publishers paying disinformation trolls to nay-say self-publishing in comments and forums. I guess sociopaths need jobs as well.
So now I'm throwing my own garbage onto the market, trying to improve my craft, and learning how the heck marketing works. Fun.
I have 7 books published through KDP and though I'm disappointed with sales, I'm glad I took the approach I did. Writing a book with the primary intent of earning money from it is antithetical to every thing I believe about the intrinsic value of writing. Despite the well informed comments from Caroline, most who earn money from Amazon have 20 or more books listed, and it's hard to see they were driven by anything other than making money. It may be idealistic, but I've always believed the purpose of writing any book is to leave the reader with a deeper and clearer understanding of the subject presented and from the reader's perspective if I spend the time needed to read a book I want to take something from that effort that adds to my life whether it's humor, knowledge, empathy or anything else that changes me for the better, if only incrementally.
If I forget within a few months the contents of a book I've read, it seems to me I would've been better off spending the time exercising or going for a walk.
I've had reviewers make the comment that reading one of my books helped them answer certain questions about their lives, and one of them said reading the book was in itself "a spiritual experience", so when I check and find I've sold only 5 or 6 books for the week, I remember these reviews and temper any disappointment.
My very impractical approach is what I'll stay with, which is; I'd rather touch 100 people than make money from ten thousand.
In my opinion, the three reasons for writing a book are 1. For the market place, has little to do with any personal below-the-surface motivation. 2. Desire to share inner perceptions or activities. 3. A combination of 1 and 2.
There are readers who would benefit from what you write, but if your potential tribe never learns about you, you are singing in a closet. Bluntly ask your readers to mention your book to others. You owe it to the thousands you could have helped.
@@williamkrejca4641 If what you say is true than writing has no real legitimacy as an independent art form, and if the "marketplace" was the primary impetus for authors then short, salacious and superficial is the formula for success. By this reckoning the idea of "art for art's sake" is pointless idealism. If this were true than Vincent Van Gogh wasted his life and would have been smarter to be a tailor or a butcher. I can't help but think that those who write light pornography or cheap murder murder mysteries will have some regret in their last days in leaving the world such a poor legacy.
@@michaelmckinney7240 Would you say the same thing about butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers? What about insurance salesmen? Or pretty much any corporate 9-5 job? Bankers? The clerks at a grocery store? The guy that changes your oil?
You can art fancy literature, no problem, but when you degrade and mock writers who are making a quarter million a year writing romance and thrillers, you're just being silly. I'd rather make $50,000 a year or even $20,000 a year writing "light pornography" than a million a year living in Los Angeles or New York and commuting daily to an office and working in a box. Actually, make that a billion a year. I wouldn't do it.
Writing to make people feel pleasure and enjoyment is no more a "poor legacy" than being a baker who makes chocolate chip cookies.
Chocolate chip cookies have no redeeming social value and are bad for you in eaten in large quanities, but there is nothing unethical, wrong, or even distastful about being a baker.
You've wrote 7 books and made no money so now you're going to whine and sound bitter? I've worked with people who've written 7 books and started making 25,000 a month. Are they evil because they write in genres you disapprove of? Haha, okay.
@@michaelsbeverly Your analogy of the baker is questionable. If the baker also makes bread besides sugary cookies his profession serves a certain need that's entirely legitimate. If that baker only sells very sweet and unhealthy foods then that person is not offering society anything helpful in so far as their profession is concerned. As for other occupations you mentioned, they have a practical and needed function. Society has a need for bank tellers and car mechanics. It has no legitimate need for writers of light pornography or cheap murder mysteries. The person who picks up your garbage weekly is serving society much better than the writer of trashy novels, therefore your analogy is faulty.
You say in your remarks about me,
"When you degrade and mock writers"
I have never mocked any writer or degraded any writer at any time. These are your words not mine. My comments were and are general.
You lastly say,
"You've wrote 7 books and made no money so now you're going to whine and sound bitter?"
How do you know whether or not I've sold any books or not? You don't. Actually my books do sell, and as far as whining and being bitter is concerned, I am the happiest person I know. I wake up refreshed and happy every day. It's your comments that sound bitter.
My non profit publishes art catalogues for the fine art shows that we do. We do not intend or expect to make money but to promote the exhibitions and support participating artists. Works for us
I am making about100 € per month just with one book! Totally agreed with you :D
Finally, a no-nonsense and logical approach to this topic. Thanks for the information.
Thank you so much for taking the time to record and edit this. Great info. 🙂
Hi there! LLOOOOVE your videos..thank u so very much! I'm a 62 yr old single gal just sitting here at 8:45am here in Pittsburgh pennsylvania. This video is so very honest but sincerely hopeful too for those ...like me ..that will push through it....with the help and encuragement like wonderful truthful mentors like you! Keep the videos coming love and wait for each one, BTW I was trying an etsy shop too and wondered how and who takes care of customer service things...like questions and returns in kdp please?
Hope it goes well for ya 🥰
Andddd ... number 5 throws me under the bus. I'm on a pension and assistance. Marketing, unless something has changed, costs money. So many of us are hurting financially and the world keeps saying, "Give me more."
Hi Caroline - I studied the system by watching a TON of YT videos on how to self publish, read a ton of ebooks, and got a great graphic design program going - I publish a lot! The MAIN 3 things, I’ve found are: Book blurb (description)
AMZ “Keywords,” and an eye-catching COVER. Also enrolling your book in KDP Select -
Short answer - you made a GREAT video - 🎉very important to know the “little guy” can do it -
After ALMOST 90 days/25 books 8K wds/each ~ $200.00 royalties!!! But …..
HARD, HARD, WORK - treat it as a BUSINESS!!!!
Thank you for your specifics - so helpful!
What kinds of books are you publishing?
Many thanks for these comments. I didn’t know I liked writing but it seems to be something I can’t stop doing. The technical does intimidate me but I’m not afraid of selling and promoting nor am I afraid to ask questions, even the stupid ones. Right now I’m at the “nothing ventured, nothing gained” stage.
Holly cow! This commenter certainly tried to be helpful but if his writing style is the same he used for this comment then... I don't envy his readers. Patches of some-things that i can't make out even after reading it 3 times.
@@annetak693 People in glass houses...
Hello, I am new to KDP, I have published one book, no sales, but after watching your video I think I know why! My errors. I find your content really inspiring and motivating. I will listen to what you say and I will adopt, and let’s see where this takes me. Thank you for posting these. Peace and love. Rob
Hey.. How is it going now?? 😊
Thank you. That was one of the most heartfelt descriptions of the MOST IMPORTANT aspect of ANY HUMAN ENDEAVOR: Perserverance. It is natures way -whether one will accept it or notif Life owes us nothing, why would Amazon? .You’ve reminded me success lies in the doing as no of us are guaranteed to be here later foday. To people with a strong sense of perseverance, results are simply rungs in a ladder. Peace.
I've got a manuscript being proof read and tweaked, and I'd already been considering using KDP. I had not heard anything negative but I'm glad I came upon your video anyway, it was very informative and very encouraging!
don't do it its a trap paying to get your book online is just a suck hole of your funds you sound like a legit author this is not the place a real writer puts their creation
Hi Caroline, I fully agree with all that you say. Great video. from David Newton in Sydney. PS since I began my RUclips channel my whole book range has taken off again. Active marketing works.
Hi Caroline, good video. I self-published two books now. The latest hit the street last month and is selling in six countries across three continents. Sounds amazing? Well, it is reassuring, but the volume is low at present. I see the marketing phase as one that cannot be overlooked. I'll go so far as to say that once the book has been released, a p/t marketing job has just been created. I see this as my job in this case as I love the many learnings that come with it and I'm a natural networker. I have other books in mind, but I am holding off for the time being because I need to ensure the first book grows legs (or wings) first. This is just my opinion. Thanks again for your straight forward approach to explaining and debunking some of the myths. Bill.
Thanks I've been ripped off again and again. Then I published my book with KDP. Started my own publishing company. It's a series i released book one in January of 2022. It's been pretty good. I got to get better at marketing. Thanks for your help
Me too
Thanks for your encouraging video, Caroline! I'm getting ready to launch my first book on Amazon in a few months and am so nervous. I want my book to encourage many people, but am also hoping it will bring in a decent amount of income:) This gives me a lot of hope!
Thanks for this ❤ I was excited to get started, and of course I made the mistake of listening to a bunch of negative nancies on RUclips... and was completely deflated.
But something I noticed is that the people ragging on this business make absolutely no mention of the research they did, the marketing they did, and what efforts they put in to make their books sell. Probably because they simply published books and crossed their fingers.
Very good presentation. I have published books through all the ways available. Presently I only use KDP for the convenience. However the primary reason is to insure present customers or future customers my products are available. They are never out of print. And I do not need to print thousands of books to fulfill one order after one printing is sold out.
Thank you. I’m just starting the journey of an indie writer & this was motivating.
Yes, I've heard most of these lies too. I certainly have fallen into the trap of feeling like sales should have come quickly, when sadly they didn't. I think the hardest part is defining a solid marketing plan, especially when from my own experience most FB groups are full of other people who are also trying to sell/market their websites or products. Thanks for sharing!
Here’s a big lie: when you join Amazon KDP select and pay for advertising Amazon actually promotes your book!
Yes oversaturated is by definition when the amount of product exceeds the demand by a ten-fold. When you see your book ranked in the 100s of thousands and even millions you know that the market is oversaturated.
You can’t make money if no one ever sees your book. Although it’s not an exorbitant amount that Amazon takes, they are for that reason not incentivized to help you sell your book. At least publishers have a vested interest in helping you market your book.
That's when you should go out and personally advertise your book.
We have those public libraries where you put in a book and take out a book on those outside booths. I plan on putting one book in each one. Then I have plans on donating a couple books to where I got my GED from which is also a trade school college. I'm going to donate some books for them to sell to their students which is something they'll do because it's books given to them free of charge and they will make 100% profit off of. Not too mention it gives them a bigger boast since this published author was also a student there.
Once I have a small fan base going I'll be setting up a booth at my local comic con called Geek'd Con. I've personally talked to the guy who runs it and he LOVES local cosplayers and authors.
With all this going on. People are made aware of your works because the website where all your works are hosted is also inside your book. Meaning that one book could lead to more books being sold when they check out your website that they got from inside your book.
@@christins.1481 that’s a great idea! Thanks for the advice! Best of luck!
Advertise on Facebook instead. Marketing campaigns are not easy to correctly structure and launch. You need different messages for different levels of your funnel, the correct calls to action, images and layout that are easy to process and read in a few seconds. But most importantly, you need a lot of testing and a lot of trial and error to find the correct audience and segmentation. I work for a big corporation's marketing team and it can take over a year to get every aspect of a campaign right, even if you have a whole team dedicated to it. Caroline is absolutely right that you need patience and persistence. I would add you actually need to do a ton of research and testing as well.
@@katya_fhs thank you for your input. I have a very clear niche for my book-military, former military , family members, and military historians and buffs who have an interest in learning more about Rangers and special ops.i may not have experience working in marketing and publishing but if it’s anything like RUclips tags do virtually nothing to promote your product. Maybe it’s different on other platforms but I don’t see a lot of use in spending hours devising clever tags in the vain hope that one will break through. You’re still pretty much limited to your own sphere and in my case most people I knew could t be bothered with my book. If even 10% of my “friends” and family bought it I’d have had over 100 sales. As for fake book I stay far away from that. I have no intention of putting any more money in Zuckerberg’s pockets. But thanks again for your advice.
Thanks for those valuable insights, my sister. As you put it yourself, "It's not as bad as we think."
This is so helpful for new self publishers like me. Thank you so much, Caroline 💕
Read through the comments before sending money. Most comments are complaints from authors screwed by KDP.
You are correct on all points, love your channel and your information is always on point.
Great stuff. I published three (failed) books, two on KDP (the only one that made me any money) and one by agency at the cost of more than $10K with zero income in the past two years. I am working on my two others and I do recommend KDP. My education was expensive in learning the trade but it was worth it because I know one of my next three or four upcoming books will be a bestseller. And great point Caroline, without doing something there is nothing. A farmer needs to plow the soil to get it to yield crops. Cheers.
I think I got lucky starting on Kdp last august. I have a niche in a category, which I think helps. I was somewhat successful. I did sell over 100 books, which that was my goal. I need to refine and expand my products, and I think I might do better next year.
The people are right it is much times more difficult than what many make it seem. The competition is very tough the books need to be promoted wich can cost a lot. When I see videos like this I immediately go to the description box to see what they are trying to sell. In 90% of the cases it's software or courses on how to make money online. If it was so profitable as she says there would be no need to promote or sell courses and software.
I've been in the boat of saying that the market is oversaturated for children's books. When I first started in 2015 it didn't seem like as many were publishing children's books. It was easier to get reviews too. These days it seems like so many are publishing books and reviews are much harder to come by. Some of my frustrations also come from the changing algorithms on social media. It used to be that when I posted, I got likes, comments, and such without much effort. These days it's like pulling teeth to even get a like. I have never paid for ads, so that is probably my main problem.
My personal experience with social media marketing was that it had no effect whatever, of any kind. Some of my books sell a copy now and then, some do not, and it makes no difference whether I market them on social media or not.
There is a very substantial element of luck involved in book publishing, whether you self-publish or use a traditional publisher. People just don't like to hear this. :-)
yup. i feel like some people believe that social media will do the work for them, when it comes to gaining an audience. I know self publishing has become more popular as the way out, but that isn't easy either. Not to mention, unsuccessful for some. Same with traditional. If you're not lucky to some extent then...too bad.
Luck and hard work, or just luck, are what often result in success. Most people work pretty hard, and many are still suffering and barely scraping by. Luck is important, and you can definitely place yourself in situations more likely to catch it, but it's not guaranteed. I compare it to going fishing. I have a nasty cast (that generally receives looks and jokes from men), but I've never caught a single fish. I've gotten bites, but I guess I just don't reel it in fast enough. That's life. 🤷♀️
At first, I was put off that you are on the right side of the video. It bothered me why someone might do this. But then I realized that being off center in the video placed you in the actual center of my monitor when viewing without expanding the video to full screen. Nice.
Thank you for being sensible when a lot of others are hype.
Finding specific niches that fit your style and content is important. I saw a book called "You Suck" by Paulie Amigo and thought it was clever. There are a lot of different niches and styles. Whatever is popular already has usually been oversaturated with competitors with deep pockets.
Thank you, Caroline. I published a book last June and must say my experience with anything related to internet-based sales has been disappointing. I sold five books on Apple Books and two on KDP with net earnings of less than forty bucks. Once more, I knew the people who bought the books at the Apple store. This reception does not bother me for a couple of reasons. First, while I'm no exception as a writer, I am pleased with how well sales have been in the analogue world. More importantly, I'm delighted at the reviews the book gets from strangers. I've sold copies to readers in North America, Europe and Asia. I've even had to issue a second printing to keep up with demand. So, vanity aside, my online world is the opposite, and I feel like I've wasted a lot of time on it. Second, even with free and paid services, the online experience feels like setting up a lemonade stand in the middle of a desert - plenty of perceived need (again, my vanity), just no traffic. There might be a simple click somewhere for this old guy to change all this, but it isn't easy to be caught in an algorithm organizing one's life at the end of a long lineup. Still, I persist.
If you don’t mind me asking did you pay for a professional cover and are you paying for advertisements, such as on Amazon? I feel like it’s one of those things where someone who already has money can make more through self publishing if they’re willing to spend enough money into it. Or maybe not, I dunno.
@@user-pv9pv4xf9c this is an interesting question. My cover was designed by the award-winning graphic artist Ron Beltrame. Also, the novel is one of the first, if not the first, Canadian novel to come out of the Russia-Ukraine War (It is marketed as a novel for those who see beyond wars.). Finally, I've tried a few paid services and settled on one to market the book (with a dribbling sales effect). Mind you, there is a lot of movement with the service. I keep getting notifications from them with marketing mockups, interviews, etc., which is nice. But it feels like I'm the only one seeing them. Again, I am nothing special in the writing craft, but my reviews speak loudly for me.
It's easy to get down when you see results like this, but I don't despair. Algorithms can be repressive, and there are some who claim to be able to get you to the head of the line. Many of them turn out to be huskers, full of piss and vinegar, willing to take your money to escort you to the desolate end of a very long line. As a fellow writer put it ... digital marketing and sales is a full-time job in itself. Check out the credibility of your marketing service first. Make sure you have the time and patience for plenty of misses and failures.
I don't take the digital market too seriously and prefer to market through my contacts in Canada, the US, Europe and Australia. It's fun and intimate and yields satisfying results.
It's tough to hear all this but be warned.
@@michaelkelly6583 I know I'm late, but I love your comment. Many people are getting caught up with this and online that, and it's wonderful to sell your books through traditional methods than to compete with bots and the masses.
Thank you. I so appreciate your words, advice and truths.. it’s a relief to get clarity as I move forward on this journey:).
For fun I created a few lined travel journals with different theme covers last year I designed in Canva... I sold 3. That is 3 more than I thought I'd sell haha. Makes me wonder what I'd sell if I put genuine effort into it and marketing etc.
I feel more optimistic about publishing on KDP after watching your video. Thanks!
Great video! I'm getting ready to upload to KDP the first book of a horror trilogy I've written, and this is what I needed to hear.
Good video. Another big one is that traditional or even hybrid publishers disparage self publishing as not really being an author because you haven’t received the seal of approval from a big publishing house. This is obviously false in an attempt by the publishing houses to stave off what may be their ultimate demise as their percentage of the market share continues to disintegrate in favor of independent publishing. The stigma is of course, false they just want to hold onto the power of the gatekeeper. If people buy your books, you’re a published author. It doesn’t matter how you got there.
Even if they don't buy your book. If you've written it, you'rr an author.
Great video! As someone that has started numerous businesses you hit the nail on the head. There really is no such thing as over saturation if you are producing quality products and marketing them properly. If you do that, those products will sell. The issue I see with KDP is there are a lot of lazy people that have no real intention of producing a quality book. They produce a poor quality book, do not market the book at all, and think then wonder why it doesn't sell.
The number one issue with KDP is to produce a good solid product and market it. A HUGE part of marketing is getting reviews. If you start to sell a book and it gets good reviews - Amazon will push that book. That is when things get fun. The bottom line is that many people that try KDP are looking to make money fast without putting in much time. That is almost a for sure business killer in ANY business.
Very helpful n encouraging. I published a couple of poetry books months back n nothing was happening (by itself, that is). Hope to dig in again and be more consistent in advertising, niches etc. new subscriber here 👍👍👍
5.4k+...Thanks. I have came across your channel because I'm trying to start on Amazon KDP. Great advice.
As a vivid reader, I always read a book till the end. Checking the rest of the author's books depends on quality whether in term of the plot or the writing. Each time I find a good book, I make sure to check the rest.
Thank you for this video I’m even more motivated now Thank you I have some great ideas 💡
Hey thanks for your video
Really help me alot with my doubts. I just published my first book which was released on the 26th of January. I am completely lost on the KDP and Amazon process and I was not given any information from my editor about how this process of publishing is supposed to be. I felt my editor was just getting me to trust her so she can get paid, but I felt she was not sincerely trying to look out for wellbeing. Anyways, your video has helped me to have more confidence in KDP.
Nice video. I haven't started my kdp journey, but I think that these lies you've debunked are totally accurate based on business in general. (Comment written by Joanna, not my dog Snoopy 😅😅)
Thanks Caroline, Valuable information dear one. Thank You you are so appreciated.
I love how spot on you are. I'm not a seller, but your information is quite applicable to all businesses. I am in the process of deciding upon a business direction, and KDP is in the running.
So far, I gather that one will have to run Amazon ads to have a better chance for success. Is that true?
Thankyou.
I self published a biography of the band Squeeze three years ago and have made a significant profit. It does help to know your audience.
I am blessed by this video. Thank you SO very much - Ma'am! Blessings to you.
The was very useful information and as you stated you must do your research.. My manuscript is in the editing process and I am pleased with the fiction creativity and I have invested time in copywriting and proofreading courses to improve my content. I believe that the key to writing a strong seller is to make sure that the story flows. This allows the reader to be engaged with the story and understanding each character. Word of mouth can also be useful in marketing if the story is good the readers will recommend it as a good read. Technology has increased the channels of advertising but it wasn’t always the only way.🎉
✨🙏very inspiring…when the going gets tough, keep going! Thank you💖
My experience : I spent 10 years coming up with a series and learning how to write. I got a quality book together. Young Adult Dystopian Fantasy (COGENT is the book). I spent $2200 on an professional 2 edits. I spent $950 on a cover designer. I spent a few hundred on copryrights/ UPC codes etc. I published October 28th. I've been working on it everyday since promoting and learning marketing. I've spent on KDP marketing $500 with targeted ads, $50 facebook, Tik Tok, Instigram, etc. I've made $48 from marketing. I'm going to finish because it's a thing I want to do, but it doesn't seem easy or desired unless you love it. Maybe I'll be successful some day, but I'm just letting it be a passion project. I'm also reducing my KDP marketing cause it does nothing for me but take my money. Average bids are too high easily costing $1-2 click for low competition markets. Fantasy alone was suggesting $5-12 per click. I don't get it and I watch videos every day like this.
I've had a very similar experience and my first book was published in April 2020. Currently working on fourth. I've spent nearly $10k altogether, made like $3k. Not even counting the writing for decades. I made the mistake of seeking advice on reddit and they basically threw every insult in the book; few consistent or doable points (but I incorporated them nonetheless). Anyways, best wishes to you. It's tough, but at least we can be proud of what we've made.
if u got so much money why not spending it on an a big label for new writers...
Kdp is good but only for ebooks
@@osuperxicao not sure what you mean by spend it on a big label. Can you elaborate?
So... for what it's worth, I came across this guy who suggests not bidding more than 30 to 35 cents on Amazon... ruclips.net/video/eDogcobEbUc/видео.html I haven't done a lot of testing myself, but it does seem to lower the stakes (maybe don't go with Amazon's suggestions?)
@@anival9576 I’ve been trying only 50 cent bids and I can only get 90 impressions total daily with that rate. It has to be higher to end up getting more impressions. Which sucks because you make negative money per sale.
Great video, an honest and more complex Review. Thanks for the video
To My Freedom Empire: I found you to be very solid and I really enjoyed listening to you.
Very well done. Thanks for the truth and your encouragement.
Thank you for this. I just finished watching the most self-center couple didn't believe anything they said.
I've heard they got banned from Amazon. Now got another advertising playing right before your video, Designrr with same idea, create ebooks with AI. I did click on the link to give you some coins. Every time I see a scam add, I click the link to make the scammers pay RUclips 👍
the thing with kDP is that you have to do all the work a publisher would do your self. And the mass amount of poor writers pushes book lovers away from self published authours becouse they are less likely to have had a professional editor, or gone through many drafts to make it as good as it can get.
From what I've heard, it seems that established, successful authors have headaches with Amazon removing reviews and things like that. I can understand that frustration, but for the majority of authors, it seems like the easiest, most streamlined way to sell to the masses.
Well, this is another very informative video. Thank you, for taking the time to create it.
Thank you for the content and your sincerity. How do you feel about making your book listing "sponsored" on Amazon?
I think it's about niching down. I have 10 low content journals on kdp that I published about 2 weeks ago. One of them has sold twice. This is my first time ever trying kdp, my cover designs are repurposed t-shirt designs from my (also new) Etsy shop. What I've noticed from both platforms is that you need to hit the algorithm. How this happens I don't know. Imho it takes niching down and luck.
Did it let you use a free isbn?
Hi, how do you niche down on journals or notebooks because I find it very difficult
Excellent podcast. Thanks for sharing your candid thoughts.
Thank you for the POSITIVITY!
You made allot of great points! Thank you for this video!!
Let me tell you the worst... truth about KDP. I believed you and tried to create my Lulu books under the KDP platform. I've never seen such a mess ! First, they don't have all formatings, so they ask you to format in special sizes, but the they are unable to automatically calculate the cover size ! When you finally did it, they offer you a possibility to upload a PDF... which does not accept the perfect file... but without any explanation. Then you try their cover builder tool... that does NOT allow you to have a blank page on which you could put your image. You go back to the PDF loading machine, then you succeed, but the machine says: no way. When you are in their cover tool, you can not go back. When you start for the twelfth time, they force you to reformat the book ! even though it was perfectly within the standards and the right size. Anyway, I've been doing this for years but now I lost a day. Never again! PS: I knew I was going the bad way, I've alwayd hated the Amazon website... Billionnaires and "n°1" and unable to make a properly adjusted site...
Thanks for the encouragement and common sense information.
Inspirational video. Right on target. Thanks!
Thank you for the encouragement. I am self editing the 4 novels I've written. Grueling work. May actually happen, or not.
Don't give up.
I have a series I started 10 years ago. Never published. I finally got serious about it a few years ago. Hoping by next year I can send in my first book to be Copyrighted. It's taking me longer because it's an illustrated series, but it's written work and an illustrated work. At the end of every chapter is one page depicting in cells like a comic book page everything that happened. Lot of work.
Yep and also don’t trust the ppl on the KDP community forum either. They’re prone to lying too.
Hey, oh, my gosh, I needed to hear this today! I’ve been having a bit of an existential crisis over whether or not to continue marketing my book from 2020. It’s as close to my heart as my ribs, you know? Deeply personal. It’s good for a sale or two a month, sure. Sometimes more. All of the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. But it’s become like pushing against a wall. Why keep working so hard for so little return? Perspective. I need a change in it. Thanks for gifting me with some! Cheers!
Hi, thanks for the video, I have a question. I have one keyword with low CTR (0,17% out of 1770 impressions) but which scored a sale in just 3 clicks... what should I do with that?
I had something published with a co-author by a traditional publisher a while back and we actually only get a small percentage of the WHOLESALE amount per unit, not the retail amount - so yes, MUCH less than Amazon self-publishing.
Hi Caroline, question, please..On KDP, templates, can I use my own dialogues narrating spaces, and can I use balloons dialogues, when I transpose my jpeg pages on Amazon templates.?..
Thanks, Joseph
I've self-published since 2011 and continue to do so, but I go into it with my eyes wide open, so do your research. This video is a good start. Self-publishing real books, not low content, is now pay to play and in many ways is like vanity publishing. The days of publishing literary agent rejected slush pile stories with crap covers and unedited is over without substantial investment in covers, formatting, editing, to mimic as near as possible what a trad -publisher puts out. Obviously if you have some of the skills, then the initial investment might not break the bank. The initial investment is not the end of it. To simply publish a book without an ongoing investment in marketing, your book will be invisible to readers. Amazon might boast 4 million books or over, but the majority of those books are authors who have tried and failed and moved on to other pastimes and so left alone, their books are invisible. So with this in mind, don't let the size of the Amazon catalogue put you off self-publishing. I have around ten full length books. If I pay for advertising, they sell, if I don't pay for marketing they rarely sell despite an average of over 4 star reviews. Yes, you can make money and the lucky ones do, but the odds of getting a bestseller are about the same as getting accepted by a literary agent and that's around 1% Of course, you don't have to be a bestseller to make money after your investment, but again, the odds of getting a return are low. Just be aware and the more you learn of what it takes beforehand, the better.
Excellent advice!
This. I feel people expect to sell without investment, when the reality is, even if you traditionally publish, most publishing houses will only put a lot of marketing money towards big books they expect to sell well. You, as an author, are expected to still do a lot of the legwork.
Great video, helpful and realistic. Thank you for the good content, and BTW, you have beautiful features. Really gorgeous bone structure. (I'm a portrait artist) :)
Love it. Thanks for the great insights.
You of course need to have an active distribution in place for any book to move sales ---question is, where does one find one?
Thanks for this video, I love what you do ma, much love from Michael and from Nigeria 🇳🇬💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕
It's been a nightmare for me. I have one book that did *okay* and despite the high ratings of that book no one's reading the sequel for whatever reason. So people like it but have no interest in the sequel? I have 7 books published on there and I have almost no sales. I can't afford marketing so that's not going to happen and I don't have a huge social media following so I can't market it to those people either. There's not much more I can think to do.
I've had books "out on KDP" for 6 years now and have hardly made a dime. You won't make much of anything unless you have a publisher or a foolproof promotion plan going for you, I found out the hard way. KDP is still good for putting out practice drafts of your works and locking in your digital copyright so no one plagiarizes your stuff, but far from a guarantee of publishing riches. The words of an unsuccessful author.
Thanks for your honesty. This video is quite helpful.