Tag: self-publishing

How I Sold 30,000 eBooks on Amazon’s Kindle

How I Sold 30,000 eBooks on Amazon’s Kindle
by Martin Crosbie
Available from Amazon US and Amazon UK.

In February 2012 Martin Crosbie’s self-published eBook My Temporary Life hit Amazon’s top ten overall bestseller list. The next month Amazon posted a press release revealing that Crosbie had made $46,000 in one month, with one book. Previously to this, his novel was rejected one hundred and thirty times by traditional publishers and agents.

In the months that followed, My Temporary Life and its sequel have been consistent sellers, often sitting atop Amazon’s rankings. Crosbie’s story has been mentioned in Publisher’s Weekly, Forbes online, and other media outlets around the world. In fact, Amazon referred to him as one of their 2012 success stories in their year-end press release.

How I Sold 30,000 eBooks on Amazon’s Kindle-An Easy-To-Follow Self-Publishing Guidebook tells the story of how he became a full-time writer, detailing the specific steps he took to find and connect with his readers. Plus, it describes how to adjust and tweak your strategy as Amazon changes their systems.

-Outlines the methods that the top 5% of successful self-published authors utilize to produce their eBooks in a professional, cost-effective manner

-Shows what happened after Amazon changed the rules and what you need to do right now to adjust your strategy

-How to adopt the philosophy that will allow promotional opportunities to come to you

-What you need to know in order to position yourself for a run at the bestseller lists

For a sample of some of the great information in this book, check out this list of book promo sites.

Are You Publishing to Connect with Readers or Just to Publish?

These are two different things. I was reminded of this when I stepped into a lively discussion recently in a Facebook group. There was an author recommending to other authors that they should bypass the editing process and simply have a family member proofread their soon to be self-published book. This doesn’t work for me.

When I published my first book I had one primary purpose—I wanted readers to read my book. And yes, there were other parts of the dream too. I wanted my friends and family to hold my book in their hands and see what I’d done, and I wanted to hit the bestseller lists and have the royalty payments arrive so quickly that I couldn’t spend the money fast enough. That part of the dream is contingent on my main objective being realized first though. Before anything else happened, I had to connect with readers, and to do that I needed to produce a professional product. If I’d just wanted to hold a book in my hands, and show off my writing to those around me, it would have been much simpler. I didn’t, though. I believe that I’m a pretty good writer and I want to earn my living writing and to do that I need to find readers. So, I got some help. Continue reading “Are You Publishing to Connect with Readers or Just to Publish?”

Do We Really Know When Our Writing Career Began?

Every writer has a story. In almost every interview, one of the questions asked is, “When did you start writing?” People who say that they’ve always wanted to write or they began when they were very young blow my mind. It wasn’t like that for me … or was it?

I never really thought about it much until that question popped up a bunch over the past couple of years. I couldn’t remember wanting to write. However, some things are inevitable. While unpacking boxes recently, I came across a paper that I had written for school when I was ten. Continue reading “Do We Really Know When Our Writing Career Began?”

As the Stigma Fades

Some people think indies stink. That’s a strange kind of bigotry in a culture that reveres artisan workmanship and reviles mass-produced cookie-cutter goods of every other sort.

Indies are innovative and original. We are the cutting edge. It’s the big publishing houses that produce the bland sameness: the one-size-fits-all content.

If you saw someone making jewelry that looked interesting, would you ask them if it was available at Wal-Mart then decide if it’s not good enough for Wal-Mart, it’s not good enough for you? Yet it seems to me that is just how some people regard indie books. If it’s not available on the shelves of Barnes & Noble (or whoever else is left in the brick and mortar book business) it must be because it’s no good. Continue reading “As the Stigma Fades”