Guys: Kindle is the Ticket!

youtalkmedia said:

Someone said here to write a shorter book first to test the waters, have that one cheap, and see how many people buy it. If you see a lot of interest (You can even add a "Please review and ask for the next book if you enjoyed this" page) then you can write a second longer one that will cost more.

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But what do you do with the cover then? Change it later for the first book?

cazzina said:

If you publish a series, trilogy of books or so, do you plan that in advance?
Or is it more like, you see one book is doing very well, so you write a second and third part of it?

I'm wondering how you can name the book then or create the cover if you're not sure yet if it's going to be a series or a single book. Do you publish for example the first book without publishing the other ones (that follow maybe weeks later) and call it "Title Bla Bla - Part 1" or "Title Bla Bla- The Bla Bla Trilogy"?

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Yes, I plan them in advance. I hire a ghostwriter for the series, so they know they are writing for a series, and I make sure they give me a detailed, story-by-story outline for the series, as well as a title for each. That way, while they are writing it, I am working on the covers and marketing it, so when the stories are finished, it's all ready to go.

GobBluthJD said:

While they are writing it, I am working on the covers and marketing it, so when the stories are finished, it's all ready to go.

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What are you doing to market the book/series before it comes out, and are you releasing them all at once or on a specific timeline?

I have an author friend that I helped with the release of her new book (designed the cover, set her up on KDP)... after one day into the free promotion, she's in the top 20 of free kindle erotica and has had over 600 downloads so far! Today, I'm working on her website.

Yay! Now she's in the top 15 for erotica!

Amsterdammer said:

Craigslist.

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LOL priceless...

An update on my mams book.

Free downloads end tonight but should reach the 20kmark. The book is #1 for romantic suspense #2 in the overall free kindsle store and #2 in contemporary romance.

Reviews are starting to come in with 8 in total across uk and us 7 are 5* and 1 is 4*.

I am going to report back with sale figures on the promoted book and her other novel that was not promoted and is not in kdp.

Only 11 copies of the 'createspace' paperbacks have sold during the promotion and 11 of her other novel.

I think this will make a great case study.

Hi

thanks for sharing . I am a newbie in IM, do not know how to start , 1st list building , landing page , automate downloads etc,

really need some help someone shed some light. Tq

RTFM. In this case, RTFT - read the thread, mate!

aldoraine said:

I can add you to the Kindle Skype group. I big thing we will be doing in this group is review exchanges. Meaning if you review one of my works, I will review your book. Reviews are a huge boost in promotion.

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add me pls.

pls PM me the skype grup name and i will send a request to join,

aldoraine said:

I can add you to the Kindle Skype group. I big thing we will be doing in this group is review exchanges. Meaning if you review one of my works, I will review your book. Reviews are a huge boost in promotion.

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Can you PM me the Kindle Skype group name? I'd like to join as well.

When using a pen name for your titles do you use a female or male? Does one seem to sell more books or not? I assume when you venture to different niches you get a new pen mane and not using the same one across different niches correct?

So up to now are you mostly publishing fiction or non-fiction?

For us newbies that want to start out which one do you recommend with start with...F or NF?

Gob,

How often would you say you release a fiction book that is a total flop??

I have a few solid Kindle plans in motion, but want to try my hand at fiction as well. Seeing as how I'll be writing everything myself I am concerned about it, I don't want to spend a week or two writing something I think is awesome and have it be drowned out in the immense sea of ridiculous fiction novels out there

Admittedly I don't read fiction, not since highschool or college. I get it, and I can definitely come up with a solid story in a niche that stands out, quite easily i think, but... Theres just so much crap out there, maybe since I'm not a finction consumer I don't understand why someone would specifically pay for my book over another (other than obvious things like Enthralling titles and Fanciful coverart)

-- Also, whats the deal with romance novels? Lonely middle aged women are the demographic... Would something like this be too obvious, or even insulting??
'It was Kacey's 33rd birthday, but all she could think about was her biological clock ticking. After a frustrating day at work Kacey comes home to her tabby, Isabella, only to find the normal plan of drinking wine and watching Grey's anatomy was too depressing. This is when she logged in to that dating site her best friend has been telling her to join... this is when she met HIM. This was the day she met Thomas.'
-> Are romance novels really that bland, boring, and simple?

Romance novels... Yeah, they can be that boring. But... there is no fun or excitement in that. To put women that read romance in that... pathetic, baby-craving, cat-loving stereotype... would turn off a lot of readers. (I read romance... but I like microbrewed beer, dogs, fast cars, and hockey too!) We read these books to escape. There should be more than just romance behind the story... subplots and so forth. Yeah, we all love the idea of some handsome bad boy turned good, or just some rich, attractive man, with eyes for no one but us, sweeping us off of our feet... but don't leave it at just that. Put some danger in it. Put some action in it (not just sex action). Flowers, strolls in the park, fancy dinner on a roof top, door opening... all good... but there needs to be more to the story.

If you really want to see what sort of romance is popular... check out a couple of popular romantic comedies. (yeah, I know what guys think of them, but stay with me here for a sec) If you watch like The Proposal, What's Your Number or even This Means War... you'll see what I mean.

dantob said:

When using a pen name for your titles do you use a female or male? Does one seem to sell more books or not? I assume when you venture to different niches you get a new pen mane and not using the same one across different niches correct?

So up to now are you mostly publishing fiction or non-fiction?

For us newbies that want to start out which one do you recommend with start with...F or NF?

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I use both female and male pen names, totally dependent on niche. One doesn't sell more than another, but obviously if I outsource a romance book with a female lead character, a female pen name is going to sell much, much better.

I started out with 98% non-fiction, now I've moved to 98% fiction.

Start out with whatever feels more natural to you. I started out with non-fiction because I was writing everything myself, 100%. So I stuck with topics that I knew and could write about. When I started branching out into fiction, to experiment with different genres, it was also when I started outsourcing more and more. So start with what you know - it's a great way to get the Kindle system down and you'll learn a LOT that will help you later on.

GobBluthJD said:

I started out with 98% non-fiction, now I've moved to 98% fiction.

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What were the benefits of your switch to fiction? I know that the fiction market on Kindle is huge but so is the competition. How can you compete with all the big author names out there? I outsource my book creation so I don't really care about the subject of the book, I simply want to focus on the most profitable market. I will of course try both markets and niches myself so I can figure out what works best but I would love to hear your insights on this. So, fiction or non-fiction?

otto14 said:

I would love to hear your insights on this. So, fiction or non-fiction?

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"Start out with whatever feels more natural to you. I started out with non-fiction because I was writing everything myself, 100%. So I stuck with topics that I knew and could write about. When I started branching out into fiction, to experiment with different genres, it was also when I started outsourcing more and more. So start with what you know - it's a great way to get the Kindle system down and you'll learn a LOT that will help you later on.

I started out with 98% non-fiction, now I've moved to 98% fiction." GobBluthJD

I'm willing to bet he moved 98% fiction because it's the most profitable for him.

Rainy_Noir said:

"Start out with whatever feels more natural to you. I started out with non-fiction because I was writing everything myself, 100%. So I stuck with topics that I knew and could write about. When I started branching out into fiction, to experiment with different genres, it was also when I started outsourcing more and more. So start with what you know - it's a great way to get the Kindle system down and you'll learn a LOT that will help you later on.

I started out with 98% non-fiction, now I've moved to 98% fiction." GobBluthJD

I'm willing to bet he moved 98% fiction because it's the most profitable for him.

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Everything that I read online about Kindle so far recommends doing non-fiction instead of fiction. That's why I asked for more info on the topic. Also, I am finding it kind of difficult to understand why someone would buy a fiction book from a new writer instead of an established one and since people won't search for your book title on amazon search I am wondering about how they will actually find your book.

The clear advantage that I see with non-fiction is that people don't care who the author is, they only want an answer to their problem. Also, you can rank for a few kw's on amazon that people search for and get traffic from there.

Don't get me wrong. I am sure that both fiction and non-fiction can be very profitable. I am just trying to figure out what's the most profitable and easier to get in market. Oh well, I guess I have to publish a few books on both markets to figure this one out.

otto14 said:

I am finding it kind of difficult to understand why someone would buy a fiction book from a new writer instead of an established one and since people won't search for your book title on amazon search I am wondering about how they will actually find your book.

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The key to this is the promotion days where you offer the book for free. I helped a friend put her erotica book up on KDP... I designed a great cover for her, she wrote a killer synopsis and 4 days into the free promo, she has 2k downloads and 3 reviews totalling 3.5 stars out of 5. Now, when she goes off of the promo... while she may be a new author, she has feedback... and that's gravy! Also, doing this helps rank the book in the suggested reading. After the promo period, anyone that reads a book similar to hers will then be shown her book... and with decent feedback and the pro cover, they may buy it even though she's a newbie.

Rainy_Noir said:

The key to this is the promotion days where you offer the book for free. I helped a friend put her erotica book up on KDP... I designed a great cover for her, she wrote a killer synopsis and 4 days into the free promo, she has 2k downloads and 3 reviews totalling 3.5 stars out of 5. Now, when she goes off of the promo... while she may be a new author, she has feedback... and that's gravy! Also, doing this helps rank the book in the suggested reading. After the promo period, anyone that reads a book similar to hers will then be shown her book... and with decent feedback and the pro cover, they may buy it even though she's a newbie.

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That make sense. However, I still can't decide between fiction and non-fiction. As I said, I will try both and stick with the most profitable one.

otto14 said:

What were the benefits of your switch to fiction? I know that the fiction market on Kindle is huge but so is the competition. How can you compete with all the big author names out there? I outsource my book creation so I don't really care about the subject of the book, I simply want to focus on the most profitable market. I will of course try both markets and niches myself so I can figure out what works best but I would love to hear your insights on this. So, fiction or non-fiction?

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I am in the same boat as you in that I will be outsourcing the writing and possibly the cover/ formatting and just want to find the right niches and sub markets that are profitable. I have the resources to outsource as long as I can pinpoint the right markets and then just hand off the writing.

Also what kind of outsource fees are you seeing as far as number of words? Have you found a few folks that you will be working with?