How Many Authors Have Their Books On Kindle?

[JHHK]

Do you market to kindle customers? I just read that they buy 3x more books than average readers.

[Wildchildeditor]

We haven't. We have a few books available through Kindle. I haven't really seen any measurable difference in the rise in our sales from it.

Marci

[Celia]

I put mine on Kindle in December... so far... meh.

[Peggy]

I just put SAPPHO SINGS on Kindle but haven't had time to see any results. If it spikes, I'll be sure to let you know.

[Libby]

Half my sales have been on Kindle. If you carefully edit (no "directional" quotes, no double spacing, no dashes or ellipses unless you know how to code for them) for its format, it's mainly your investment in time.

[Pauline]

My books are on Kindle, but haven't seen any sales figures yet. It would be nice to know how to pitch to Kindle customers, though.

I've been reading the digests, but I'm actually co-writing a marketing book right now, and on deadline, so haven't been able to chime in that much

I've been researching social networks this week and microblogging. My goodness...

[[deleted user]]

Eternal Press looked carefully at the Kindle contract. Things like, Amazon can change the price and the royalty level without notice, and all kinds of fun-ness ... we decided that we could not control our product, our costs, our royalties, or in some cases, our copyrights, so we are NOT going to use Kindle.

[Maggie]

Hey JHHK

My titles from The Wild Rose Press are on Kindle. I am seeing sales there. I'm still of the shotgun marketing approach - put out information in as many markets as possible to gain the widest possible exposure.

[Sharon]

I agree with Maggie. I've placed Hoodoo Money on as many sites as I can find - most are free. A few even do interviews. I've had a number of hits on AuthorsDen; they're one of the few sites that keep count, but there's no way of telling whether these 'hits' actually bought the book.

Presently, I'm working on a mailout to independent bookstores, concentrating on Texas because I'm a native and I've included a few local hot spots in Hoodoo Money. I had large postcards printed at Vistaprint.com - very nice, very reasonable. The front side has the novel cover, blurb, publisher and distributor, ISBN - the back side three reviews.

Also sent a complimentary copy of HM to the owner of a New Orleans restaurant I used in a scene. She actually sent me her menu way back when so my characters could order from it. Lots of local color in the book, both in Texas and Louisiana.

Okay, I'm rambling. . .anyone else?

Sharon

[Marva]

I've tried to Kindle my Tales of a Texas Boy, but the photo illustrations thwarted me. It looks like hell and I'd not want anyone to think that's the quality of the book from the display.

The PDF looks just fine. All four of them. Since I'm writing a note, I'll add that I now have three editions of the book on Amazon.

Trade paperback 6x9 $8.95
Smaller trim large print size 7.44x9.5 $9.95
BIG trim large print size 8x10 $12.56

That last has been my best seller. I just added the smaller trim size of LP. Handier to hold and just as easy to read.

[Amanda]

Both of my books are on Kindle. They are different genres and I've had much more luck selling the sci-fi one on Kindle but it also falls off the best-seller lists much faster. This hints that sci-fi is a pretty active subject on Kindle.

[Robin]

My husband's first book is on Kindle The Crown Conspiracy . I did the conversion/posting myself because his publisher wasn't doing a version and I got tired of people at signings asking about it.

His second book is coming out April 1, 2009 and it will be on the Kindle as well.

[Aaron]

I've had my books on kindle for a while. They do seem to sell, but it is very difficult to get specific information from amazon as to exact sales figures.
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[M.]

I've had my book Haley Cork and the Blue Door on sale for the Kindle for several months now.

[Al]

My three Distant Cousin novels have been on Kindle about six months and are selling briskly, much better than the paper versions (which are over three times as expensive). Previous posters are right: the genre makes a difference. My books are recreational, beach reading, and they span genres, so the low price seems to appeal to those who like sci-fi, who like adventure, who like romance, and so forth, but might not be willing to risk $21 on an unknown quantify. But $4? That's different. Then they go on to the next, and the next. I hadn't anticipated that would be an advantage, but it seems to be.

I don't know how to extract much info from the Amazon Kindle pages either, but I have noted that Distant Cousin is regularly in the top 100 of their sci-fi titles, up there with Arthur Clarke, etc. But then most of those guys are pricier, which may be key.

I have a friend with a scholarly biography of a conductor on Kindle, which the publisher priced way too high, over $25, I think. I bet that one hardly sells a copy.

If we keep sharing info like this, maybe we'll eventually come to a collective wisdom. More!

[Celia]

I put my first historical "To Truckee's Trail" on Kindle a year ago in December, when the Kindle program first was offered. It took about three days of effort to do, since their process for it was very buggy. Last month, I put all three of the Adelsverein Trilogy on Kindle too - it was much easier the second time around, and I would appear to have had some Kindle sales... but have yet to actually see any royalties from Kindle sales, so have no way of knowing if it were worth the effort or not.

[Pauline]

All my books are on Kindle. I want them everywhere readers are, so I'm happy they are there.

Did you know that you can get Kindle for iPhone/iTouch now? They also use the whispernet provided by Amazon.

[M.]

It is a good idea to publish on Kindle merely for the exposure in electronic media it gives. What bothers me most are the petulant and somewhat disingenuous complaints about the pricing. While most of the books on Kindle are priced at $9.99, this is due to market pressure and is created by Amazon due to the cost of their hardware and not the needs or value offered by the writer. I published Haley Cork and the Blue Door for the Kindle long before I produced it in print. Should the price of the hardware have any bearing on the price asked by the author? I don't think so personally. Thus when somebody complains a particular book is priced above the $9.99 mark AND they begin griping about how the media has less value since it isn't something they can hold, I slap my head and groan. If you purchased the hardware then you've invested in the thing you can touch, but the content -- the stuff you wish to consume - are the words and pictures themselves. If the author places a high value on his or her ideas and the reader willingly pays such a price then it isn't up to me to say it is over or under priced.

As an example -- I regularly receive Kindle content which loses its value mere days after it is produced. Magazines and newspapers produced for the Kindle are by far the biggest draw. The publisher sets the price but is heavily influenced by Amazon's hardware price. If the market could support it they would ask for more. Likewise, well known authors can ask more for their Kindle products without too much trouble. Independent authors are the ones who have the most trouble providing and publicizing content for the Kindle -- Content which is need for the Kindle to survive.

Independent authors have to deal with the lack of publicity support, price capping by the big publishers, and the the high cost of advertising -- all of which they have to absorb to the paltry tune of $9.99 gross (before amazon and the taxman take their cut).

eBooks are the fastest growing media in the publishing business, and once lower price hardware is made available, the price of eBooks themselves MAY adjust themselves to match the empty bank accounts of writers.

If you think an author is bad because they decide to buck the system by charging the same price for Kindle media as they do the print version then you don't have any sympathy with me. I'm still buying the generic beans and rice while cutting coupons to make ends meet.

[Collin]

My debut novel, "Conquering Venus," will be available on Kindle, and I'm glad. Now that iPhone has a Kindle app, people will be able to read it there, too. I want readers to have all the options. I'm not expecting to get rich, I just want to build an audience.

[Gerard]

Hi,

My novel, Roadworks, is available on Kindle. It started out as an ebook anyway so that really just adds one format to the list.

Gerard

[Al]

I've put some ideas about the Kindle and authors at http://www.podbram.blogspot.com/.

If the article has migrated down the queue, as it will in a few days, search the site for "Kindle."

Best,
Al

[Robin]

I have Michael's The Crown Conspiracy on Kindle and Avempartha is released April 1 and will be available there as well.

[Bradley]

My book is on kindle. =)

[Chester]

I own the ebook rights to all my books and have put my four Greg McKenzie mysteries in the Kindle Store. Will have the new book, THE SUREST POISON, there shortly also. I set the list price at $8.94, Amazon sells them for $7.15 and they pay me $3.13 (35% of list price). They're selling pretty good.

[Al]

I wonder how you define "pretty good." I bet you could double whatever the number is by pricing your books at $5. I tell you, Kindle owners love bargain books, and that's how they (we) define them.

[Peggy]

Alight, call me stupid or call me naive but please tell me how to find out how well my Kindle books are doing and how much amazon owes me for them. How do they arrange payment. I feel blinder than a bat here.

[Peggy]

Micha, how does one get banned on facebook? Or, lulu?

[Al]

Peggy--perhaps you don't directly own the rights to your work on Kindle, or I think you would know how to find out how they're doing--because Amazon would have told you.

They told me. My books are mine, not some publisher's, and I posted them on Kindle. Try this page: https://dtp.amazon.com/mn/signin. That's Amazon's "digital text platform" page. You enter your email and Amazon password and it takes you to your Kindle account page. If your books were entered by a publisher or some other party, they would have that access.

I'm glad I priced them at bargain rates, even though Amazon leaves me slightly under half the amount. I'm sure I've sold over twice the number than I would have otherwise. See Chester's post above. If you were an unknown author, would people be more likely to gamble $7-10, or $4? My idea is not so much to make money as to get books before the public.

BTW, I was wondering how one gets banned from Facebook and Lulu myself.

Best,
Al

[Peggy]

Al, I have no problem accessing the link. In fact, I just lowered the prices on my books. But, I still don't have any sales or royalty information. Where do they hide that?

[Peggy]

Micha, I don't understand. Why would lulu object to activities that are earning money for them? How could explaining that be criminal?

BTW, Al, I found my sales reports and amazon does indeed take a big slice. I also noticed that their cut is bigger than anyone elses when they buy directly from CreateSpace.

[Al]

Peggy--After I sign in, I get a "My Shelf" page, listing my three books. There are other tabs at the top. One of them is "My Reports." That page has links to "View Month to Date Report" and "View Previous Months' and Year to Date Reports." That's where the info is. I hope you get the same pages. If you don't, I'm out of ideas. Good luck!

[Al]

Wow, Micha! And I thought your success was because of your title, and the subject! You seem to have developed the e-version of the Atlantic City boardwalk!

[J.R.]

Hi all! Yes, I just recently published my book on Kindle and Mobipocket.....I have had sales there already, but we'll see how it goes!

Jeannine
J.R. Reardon
author, CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS

[Todd Fonseca]

My book, The Time Cavern, is on kindle. As others have mentioned, I suggest a price under $5 because so many good kindle books (other than best sellers) are very inexpensive. A number of sites and forums promote kindle bargains and kindle owners pick them up quickly downloading multiple books a day. So paying premium prices is not the norm for a kindle.

An example is Dennis Batchelder's Soul Identity. I read the paperback and it is a good book (currently an indie film group is looking to take it to the big screen). After a couple of years of respectable sales, he decided to sell his kindle version of the book for 1 penny! He's "selling" 150 copies of month with mostly very favorable reviews. My book happens to be on his page as "customers also bought" for $3.96. Being on this same page as a kindle best seller has brought all sorts of traffic to my page and my kindle sales have gone up substantially (about one a day). All really thanks to Dennis lowering the price of his book.

I think this worked well for Dennis because he had over 50 reviews before he lowered his price so folks could tell it was a bargain purchase versus you get what you pay for. Interesting strategy which has brought him a lot of readers and set up for the sequel. I don't know if I'd suggest the same strategy for someone right out of the gate, but you never know...
Here's the link in case you have a kindle and what to buy Dennis book:

http://www.amazon.com/Soul-Identity-e...

[Al]

Some sci-fi organization just pointed out that sci-fi titles account for 10% of all Kindle sales. I'm lovin' that! I bet you are too, Todd.

(Mine is the Distant Cousin series, by the way, a steal at $4 each.)

[Pauline]

I agree that price point is KEY for eBooks. Readers are getting seriously annoyed at publishers who don't get this. I've actually seem ebooks that cost MORE than the print edition. And readers don't like them being the same price either. I won't buy a book that is priced higher or the same, which is a bummer for the author (who doesn't control their pricing.)

I'm happy that both my publishers had kept my ebook pricing well below print price.

The Key did well at fictionwise, too, though SF books DO seem to do well there, since it started out as an SF site.

There are also rumbings against DRM with readers. Support is growing for small publishers who offer multi-format downloads for readers. I know I love them, since I have multiple reading devices.

[Al]

You have to know the big publishers (all four that are left) have all their faculties riveted on how to milk ebooks for every possible cent. I don't care that much, and that gives me a weapon to use against them: a bargain price. Take that, big guy!

The DRM thing is interesting, Pauline. I heard the music industry stopped fighting it, to some degree. They realized that people were sharing music at the same time they were selling more music than ever--so the problem evidently wasn't as severe or quite what they had feared. As long as people don't start selling my books to each other, I don't mind a little sharing. Do you, Pauline?

[Pauline]

Well,"sharing" of ebooks and music is illegal. I think what music industry realized is that if they remove drm AND lower the price, then they make sharing unnecessary. And the music/movie industries still vigorously pursue file sharing sites. Their are hefty fines if they track back to you. For me, not worth the risk.

Here's a blog about sharing/selling eBooks that you might find interesting:

http://mbyerly.blogspot.com/

For me non-DRM is about PORTABILITY of ebooks. I currently read eBooks on my phone and on a couple of eReading devices (I'm a tech junkie, too). I like being able to have my books on whichever device I want (and has a battery charge!)

Do I have a problem with people sharing my print books? No! (Though I wish they'd buy. Let's face it, if people don't buy our books, we not only lose income, there is potential to be dropped by publishers for no sales. Readers complain when publishers drop an author in middle of series, but don't support the series by buying the books.)

The other problem with sharing an eBook file is that YOU can share, but you have no control over what THEY do with that file. THEY could sell it, or attempt to sell it. eBook sales are happening on eBay as I type.

It is my opinion that authors need to support each other and protect each other's income stream by NOT sharing eBook files. It's also the LEGAL thing to do. :-)

[Al]

You're right: sharing ebooks and music (up to now, at least) is illegal. So was booze during Prohibition. At present, I review books (for PODBRAM). If an author wants me to review his Kindle edition, he cannot send it to me. Bummer. If I have a book on my Kindle that I like, I cannot share it with my wife unless I relinquish my Kindle for the duration or buy her her own Kindle. Bummer.

Personally, I'm not worried about my ebooks, or my books being copied. I'm an indie, a small fry. If that gets the word around that can only be good for such as me. Indie musicians have found the same.

If I were to achieve one fifth of J. K. Rowling's status I'd probably feel differently...but then I'd be able to hire platoons of bespoke-suited lawyers to put the fear of God into the miscreant rabble.

I review indie books, by the way, for the very goal you espouse: to support indie authors.

[Pauline]

Actually, it is the small press author who is hit the hardest by sharing, since every sale counts, every share is lost income. Big authors have tons of income and barely notice sharing.

Do I freak out over sharing? No. Nothing I can do about it, but I never do it. :-)

[Al]

I spent the extra bucks for the dead tree version of Dreams From My Father partially so I could lend it to friends. I bought an EXTRA copy of The Hummingbird's Daughter, so I could lend it and keep my own. Several of the indie books I've reviewed I have also lent to friends, since they don't buy many books anyway (they use the library). I have never sold one. But I can't lend a Kindle book. Bummer. That may be legal but it isn't ideal. I buy fewer Kindle books for that reason.

I don't mind if a buyer shares Distant Cousin with a friend. Most indie authors I know feel the same way. I've never heard of a pirate selling books that are hard to sell in the first place.

[Pauline]

Let me rephrase. I never, ever share eBook FILES. I often lend print books or pass them on to people who I think would be interested.

but it is ILLEGAL to share an eBook file without the author's permission.

I don't really buy books with sharing in mind. If I find a book I know someone would like, but can't afford, then I buy them a print copy as a gift.

and yeah, pirate sites exist. do a search on ebooks on ebay. consider this: an ebay seller and sell and resell the same file indefinitely--earning income that should have gone to the author and their publisher.

[Al]

I agree. That's actionable. I should think ebay would remove such items.

You should see my library. I have thousands of books, most of which I would lend if someone were interested. Ebooks, it seems to me, tend to be evanescent, like kleenex. I'd hate to think it was only and totally about money.

[Kristie]

I have 4 of my books on Kindle: Desert Heat, Cabin Fever, No Lady and Her Tramp, and Emails from the Edge (The Life of an Expatriate Wife).

Kristie Leigh Maguire
http://kristieleighmaguire.com

[Pauline]

It's about protecting YOUR rights to YOUR product, Al. It's not just about money. YOU wrote YOUR book. That content belongs to YOU. My content belongs to ME.

I spent hours (sometimes YEARS) writing my books. If I want to be proprietary about them, I think I earned the right. LOL!

Okay, let's change this up a bit. What if someone got your file and put their name on it and sold it? What if they made more money than you?

We may not like the word, but its THEFT. If you take something you didn't pay for, it's theft.

Intellectual property, digital rights are rights ALL the time, IMHO.

If you want to distribute your books freely, then you should add a permission to distribute in the file.

Now I need to go work on my new book. :-)

[Al]

Yeah, OK. We've about beat this to death.

It took me 20 years to write Distant Cousin, and yes, the story belongs to me. But you can buy it, and lend it to someone if you like. Sharing my book with a friend is not theft, IMO. If someone puts their name on it and starts selling it, I'll be in touch with them (and also astonished.)

If you want to be proprietary, I agree you've earned that right.

And I too need to go to work on my next book, short story, and photo collaboration.

Nice chatting with you!

[Peggy]

I agree with everything that's been said but I'd like to add a couple of tidbits. #1 I often recommend InterLibraryLoan to potential readers of my books. Somehow I find face-to-face solicitation of a sale embarrassing unless at an official signing. Nevertheless, I like having readers so when once a gentleman remarked that I wouldn't sell many books by recommending ILL I said, "Sure I will. You'll borrow the book, fall in love with it and buy copies as gifts for every woman you care about."

About a month later, the gentleman arrived at my door with a request that I sign each of the eight copies of FIXIN' THINGS he carried.

Point #2 readers talk and the more readers the more word of mouth advertising and the more word of mouth advertising the better chance of a fat advance on some future book. Reputations are not a built by million dollar ad campaigns. Some set up Rollings as example. Think back. Her early books had little or no formal advertising behind them. The world's children made her famous.

As my vaudevillian Dad used to say, "The only bad publicity is no publicity." and "I don't care what they say as long as they spell my name right." Or, as the great Katherine Hepburn paraphrased, "I don't care what they say unless it's true." {}:>)

[Zetta]

With few exception, all of our books are available on Amazon and Kindle. For us, it's about reaching as many potential readers/customers as possible, but I wouldn't say we cater to Kindle. But we do get people buying Kindle versions of our books.

[Peggy]

Anybody using smashwords.com in addition to Kindle?

[Al]

Yep; I am. Just put the three Distant Cousin books up a few days ago. Still trying to figure out what to do next.