Support for Indie Authors discussion

Ok, so I know this topic gets asked a lot and yes, I have read through other topics in this group, but I'm still asking (please don't leave me hate saying to look at other topics).

I'm currently working on a fantasy novel and while I'm nowhere near done, I'm starting to think of promotions and publishing and marketing (etc.). I have one novella that I published through BookTango and is available on every site they offer (which includes Amazon, iTunes, and B&N). I published this about 8 months ago, but didn't really do any marketing for the book (it was actually written for a college course where we were learning about publishing). I have sold 4 copies in the entire 8 months that it has been available and all 3 were through Amazon. (I'm also pretty sure that they were all sales related to my class due to all of them being within the class semester). For my next book I'm considering just going ahead and enrolling in KDP Select, which I believe is free and they take a % of sales(?). Does anyone have an opinion on which way I should go, stick with BookTango and publish widely, or go with Amazon and take advantage of what seems to be a lot of marketing and promotional help?

It's different for every author. No one gets the same experience, BUT if you went wide and it didn't do too well, maybe you could try KDP select. It's only for three months (renewable) so it gives you that time to see if it works better for you.

KDP select doesn't take more % than if you go with the regular KDP, which is where you sold your books already. KDP Select is free. It's the same as none select except that you can't publish the ebook enrolled elsewhere. You can still do prints though.

I figured every author would have a slightly different experience, I noticed that quickly reading online blogs about KDP. So if I enroll in KDP select and it does nothing for me, I can go ahead and publish on any other site after that 90 days? I feel like there's a trick here somewhere, it sounds too perfect. (Raised by a father who suspected everyone and everything, silver linings make me wary).

LOL yes, you just have to remember to opt out or it will renew automatically and you'll be stuck for another 90 days. A lot of people publish like that first to benefit the free days or countdown and then removed their book from select and publish everywhere.

Me I did the opposite. I published first with Smashwords, which is kind of like BookTango from what I can see. They distribute to iTunes, Barnes and Nobles, Kobo, Google etc. Aside from being able to offer free books with codes and give a lot of books that way, it didn't do much for me. A few sales on iTunes, a few on B&N but and one on Smashwords. Kind of depressing. I have had more luck with KDP Select but that could be thanks to the group's bookblast. I always get a few sales following one of those free days. Besides, KDP Select also offer the library (KENP) from which I got a few renters. So all in all, much better than with Smashwords and none KDP select for me.

Amazon KDP Select is fantastic! I write romance, and 80% of my business comes through KDP Select. Results with KDP Select do vary by genre.

Don't we get more $$ per book sold when in KDP Select versus not in Select? I get 70% royalties (this does vary a bit by country).

Most authors of e-books sell far more books through Amazon than any other retailer of e-books. Amazon has the lion's share of the e-book market.

For new authors especially, Amazon is the way to go, in my opinion. There are others who disagree. When you have a strong following, you can branch out to the other e-book retailers then.

If I wanted to enroll my current book in KDP select (just to see if it makes a difference in sales over the same time period) would I be able to do that? I'm assuming I'd have to take my book off the market everywhere else through BookTango, but does Select allow you to add a book that already is assigned an ISBN (BookTango did that automatically when I published through them) or would I end up with a new "edition" of my book? I wouldn't be making any changes to the cover or content.

I can't answer that. I would think the problem would come from BookTango. Since you would unpublish from them, wouldn't Amazon be removed too? Or you could opt to keep only Amazon?
Hopefully, someone can answer you. There could also be the option to un-publish with BookTango and republish directly on Amazon.

You'd have to remove your book from all other retailers first. Then, yes, you can enroll in KDP Select.

I'm not sure about the ISBN number. If your book is already listed with Amazon, then I think you'd be okay - since you're already with them. If not, just get one of Amazon's free numbers. They use a numbering system that called something different from ISBN, but it's fine.

April wrote: "Don't we get more $$ per book sold when in KDP Select versus not in Select? I get 70% royalties (this does vary a bit by country)."

No. Royalty percentage is based on book pricing for most markets. There are a handful of markets where the 70% royalty is not offered to members not in Select (Japan, India, Brazil and Mexico), but everywhere else, a book priced between $2.99-$9.99 will earn a 70% royalty.

As to the OP, I know this has been said thousands of times before, but your experience is going to be unique. Some people do well with expanded distribution, some people do well with Select, and most don't really see a whole lot with either. That is just the nature of a new and expanding market. If you are comfortable with exclusivity, try it. As GG points out, it's only a 90 day commitment.

I think I found the answer to my ISBN number question. I'm looking at the KDP publishing form and there is a spot for ISBN, so I can use the same one that has already been assigned to the book.

Christina wrote: "No. Royalty percentage is based on book pricing for most markets."

Thanks, Christina. I always forget the exact differences between KDP and KDP Select. So, the biggest difference is that KDP Select makes one's book eligible to be in Kindle Unlimited.

The question is would BookTango let you? If you can remove your book from everywhere but amazon and stay with BookTango, then the ISBN wouldn't matter.

So far I haven't found a way to remove my book from any sites via BookTango. I may be stuck with this book staying up, but I definitely will be trying KDP Select for my next book.

I finally figured out the right search terms in Google. It's buried in the FAQ Page: "If your e-book is already submitted or published, get in contact with the Booktango team, and let us know that you'd like to cancel your e-book project. Once we cancel your title, the e-book will be removed from the Booktango bookstore within 48 hours and will be taken off other retailer sites within three weeks (retailers update their stores on their own schedule, which we do not control)."

So looks like i'll be emailing them to take my book down and then go from there. Thanks for the help everyone :)

April wrote: "Christina wrote: "No. Royalty percentage is based on book pricing for most markets."

Thanks, Christina. I always forget the exact differences between KDP and KDP Select. So, the biggest difference..."

If you click on the link for select from your dash board, they streamlined the differences earlier this year, so it's all spelled out. I wasn't sure on the royalty thing either, which is how I found out.

Samantha wrote: "So far I haven't found a way to remove my book from any sites via BookTango. I may be stuck with this book staying up, but I definitely will be trying KDP Select for my next book."

They don't make it easy to find, but here's the FAQ entry from Booktango:

Can I cancel my e-book after it's published? Will it be removed from retail sites?

YES & YES

Should you decide to cancel your e-book, get in contact with the Booktango team, and let us know.  

Once we cancel your title, the e-book will be removed from the Booktango bookstore within 48 hours and will be taken off other retailer sites within three weeks' time (retailers update their bookstores on their own schedule, which we do not control).

Source: http://www.booktango.com/Help/Distrib...

Looks like you found it before me. ;)

Christina wrote: "Looks like you found it before me. ;)"

Thanks for helping though. :)

Also Samantha, should be noted that while I agree KDP Select is worth trying, I have found some genres do better than others. Again, 90 -day trial is not too bad to give it a shot. I've given it a go for two cycles and found out it's time for me to try other venues/markets. It's a great learning experience though and having Amazon on your side double whammy-like (KDP and KU) isn't a bad way to start.

Also, for the ISBN, while Amazon has a field for it, it's really an unused field since Amazon assigns the book an ASIN anyway, i.e. you could leave the field blank if you wanted to.

Samantha wrote: "Ok, so I know this topic gets asked a lot and yes, I have read through other topics in this group, but I'm still asking (please don't leave me hate saying to look at other topics)..."

Hey, I'm probably more guilty of guiding people to existing threads than anyone, so I just want to clarify -- I don't do it out of hate. I don't hate anyone. I do it so that perhaps people can find the answers they seek a little faster.

That said, every strategy works differently for every author. I know some have had no success with KDP Select, while some have. It's been working for my strategy so far.

Riley is fond of saying that this is a marathon, not a sprint. I would recommend trying KDP Select for a while and if it does not work for you, you can always look into some other platform / strategy.

The best strategy is the one that works for you - but you have to try the available options to know what does and what doesn't.

For me, putting a title everywhere works better than having it exclusively with Amazon - but it took time to develop the other platforms, e.g. All Romance eBooks and Smashwords.

I'm fond of saying - why put your product on one shelf only? As a 'manufacturer', that's crazy, especially when there are significant markets outside of North America, where Amazon is not the retailer of choice for ebooks.

Why eliminate the possibilities of sales elsewhere?

I recommend Amazon simply because you get access to the largest worldwide market. WAY bigger than any other.

KDP Select gives you help with marketing options. Free promotions have worked really well for me. 70% royalty on the cover price is the best you can get anywhere.

I also recommend using createspace.com an Amazon company that does print on demand publishing. No out of pocket expenses and a simple interface. I think it is 36% royalty for my books there.
They will even do the Kindle edition for you for free.

I like having print edition. I think readers believe you are more professional if you have a print edition.

My $.02 YMMV

I always recommend setting up your own store. Even if the sales are a bit lower, you don't have to pay a huge share of your earnings to whatever platform you use.
But I also second Alp - the more stores you have your books in, the better chance someone will notice them; and the better chance you make some sales. From my experiences, KDP Select doesn't really give you that much leverage, if any.

Print is something I toy with, having had all of my titles in print at one stage, now only two - zero sales - period. That probably reflects reader choice in my genres - I think authors of other genres probably have better luck with print.

I had my own store for a while too ... it was a dismal failure, and I closed it down with no plans to re-open it any time soon.

I'd never dissuade anyone from having a print edition, but the pricing model is pretty awful on Create Space.

Alp, What pricing model are you talking about?

Createspace.com cost me $0.00 out of pocket. Royalty % is better than any other option I have seen anywhere. And I looked.

Direct access to the largest worldwide market is the greatest advantage of all.

So please be specific in your reference to pricing model issues. I am genuinely curious.

Martin wrote: "Alp, What pricing model are you talking about?

Createspace.com cost me $0.00 out of pocket. Royalty % is better than any other option I have seen anywhere. And I looked."

I toyed a little bit with their royalty calculator. Some economic settings - 5" x 8", 300 pages, b&w. To make it as cheap as possible. And for every copy of $10 book I would make... $1.5-$3.5 from royalties. And I guess that's gross. That's actually the worst royalty % I've ever seen. And I looked.

So now that also made me curious - Martin, have I done something wrong?

Kat wrote: "for every copy of $10 book I would make... $1.5-$3.5 from royalties. And I guess that's gross. That's actually the worst royalty % I've ever seen. And I looked.."

I would consider 15-35% royalties for print books pretty good, far better than they used to be when we had to deal with publishing houses. Royalties for print books are even better on Lulu.com, but only for sales on Lulu; wider distribution is more expensive. But we can't have everything.

Ken wrote: "I would consider 15-35% royalties for print books pretty good, far better than they used to be when we had to deal with publishing houses."
10-15% is pretty much a regular royalty rate in publishing houses. And compared to about 80% I make on print books (actually it's 100%, but let's say we subtract up to 20% for the cost of print), Createspace's offer seems... not really competitive. That's why I'm surprised someone found it so exquisite.

Kat, may I ask who you use to create your print books?

Arla wrote: "Kat, may I ask who you use to create your print books?"
I "use"... a printing house. Just that.

Kat wrote: "Arla wrote: "Kat, may I ask who you use to create your print books?"
I "use"... a printing house. Just that."

How are your books distributed?

Hey guys, if you want to discuss print options, please do so on a topic about print books. Thanks!

Ken wrote: "How are your books distributed?"
Probably the same way any other book is. Via stores. Both online and b&m.

I feel like it's slightly hijacking the thread, so I'm sorry in advance. I'm just responding to questions I'm asked. :)

I have found KDP select to out pace every other sales source. I generally see 10-20 times more sales as far as dollar value on KDP select than on CreateSpace hard copy sales. In fact the free downloads make me more money than online e-book sales and both beat out print books by a wide margin. Of course as was said before this may be Genre' specific.

Comment deleted for going off topic. Christina has already asked that comments here stay on topic. If you have questions about some other topic, please do a search to see if that topic has been discussed elsewhere. If not, feel free to start a new topic.

For me I get more sales on Smashwords (or sites that use those sources) than KDP. I have one novel through KDP and I think that is my lowest sales. I don't know if there is a rhythm or reason.