Make Money From Novels?

D

Dr Acula

Junior Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2013
Messages
159
Reaction score
182
Have a question...

I have a writer who churns out content for me: articles for blogs and authority sites mostly.

Today he asks me if I want to buy novels from him.

I do, I do.

So here's my question . . .

Where is the best place to put these novels that won't have me waiting 2 to 3 months for a return? If not for the 2 to 3 month caveat, I'd go with Kindle of course. Can you recommend an alternative? The guy doesn't write for cheap and if I'm going to lay down some verging-on-serious money, I don't want to wait a quarter of a year before I see a return.

Any advice, very much appreciated.

Thank you.
 
Advertise on BHW
Thanks, OutOfTown. You've given me some excellent ideas!
 
OutOfTown said:
You are welcome, now go out and make money with those novels!
Click to expand...

Haha - thanks! You've got my imagination working overtime here. Just putting the plan together now. :)
 
Dr Acula said:
Have a question...

I have a writer who churns out content for me: articles for blogs and authority sites mostly.

Today he asks me if I want to buy novels from him.

I do, I do.

So here's my question . . .

Where is the best place to put these novels that won't have me waiting 2 to 3 months for a return? If not for the 2 to 3 month caveat, I'd go with Kindle of course. Can you recommend an alternative? The guy doesn't write for cheap and if I'm going to lay down some verging-on-serious money, I don't want to wait a quarter of a year before I see a return.

Any advice, very much appreciated.

Thank you.
Click to expand...

I sell quite a lot of books and i have tried everything to avoid using Amazon and other third party sellers. But in reality you just cannot match their numbers on your own.

So if you just want to buy a book and sell it with no real hassle you need Amazon etc to sell it for you. All third party sites have a waiting period before you can withdraw earnings, including clickbank and commission junction the affiliate sites mentioned.

Therefore your only realistic choice to get instant payment is to set up your own website and promote them on your own. But that will cost you more money and of course time. Plus you would have to try and convince people to buy your novel as an independent book seller rather than going through a mainstream seller such as Amazon. None of that is easy or cheap.

Unless you have a clear, proven marketing strategy and can accept instant payment on your site ie; Paypal I wouldn't bother doing it independently. Just accept you have to wait or don't do it.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the reply GringoMonkey.

I average around 2,000,000 daily UVs, across all of my related platforms, for the intended genre of the book. Amazon, of course, has significantly more traffic, but unlike Amazon, I'm in a position to put the book in front of more eyeballs. Selling shouldn't be a problem.

I think what I'll do is see how I do selling it myself. It may even be the start of a new cash cow for me: an online publishing house.
 
Hell 2 million targeted views per day I agree you would be mad not to try that first by building your own site.

A crucial bit of information you missed out originally there :)
 
GringoMonkey said:
Hell 2 million targeted views per day I agree you would be mad not to try that first by building your own site.

A crucial bit of information you missed out originally there :)
Click to expand...

Haha, I'm sorry.

I'm not very forthcoming with information on here.

Your idea is still a solid plan and, no matter what I do, best in the long-term. I'll eventually need to offer the novel - or the novels - on different devices, anyway. Truth is, I have no experience selling novels. I know the genre supports it - massively - but I stick to other things. If not for the writer charging so much, it wouldn't be a question - Amazon all the way. Solution to this problem may just be to find another writer. LOL
 
Dr Acula said:
Haha, I'm sorry.

I'm not very forthcoming with information on here.

Your idea is still a solid plan and, no matter what I do, best in the long-term. I'll eventually need to offer the novel - or the novels - on different devices, anyway. Truth is, I have no experience selling novels. I know the genre supports it - massively - but I stick to other things. If not for the writer charging so much, it wouldn't be a question - Amazon all the way. Solution to this problem may just be to find another writer. LOL
Click to expand...

Considering the powerful traffic you have at your disposal, it is best for you to start there.

However, listing a book on Amazon and the other platforms can take less than a hour of your time, especially once you are familiar with it.

I know it sounds intimidating, but it really isn't.

Considering what you have to do to set up the book to be available on your own platform, the work is about the same. :)

With that in mind, I would do what you originally thought and offer it on your own related platforms, but I would also make it available on the other platforms at the same time.
 
Thanks for your advice, dkwholesales.

I appreciate all of the advice I've received so far. I've scheduled a meeting about this tomorrow and I always like to look like I know what I'm doing (quite the struggle sometimes!). I'll be putting these ideas to the team and encouraging a brainstorming session. Quite excited actually.

Depending on how this pans out, may create a thread for this to try and help out others. You're right, it is quite intimidating. The money is there, clearly, but there are so many elements to the pie - and if it's like anything else I do, I know the trick is using the right ingredients!!

Thanks :)
 
dkwholesales said:
Considering the powerful traffic you have at your disposal, it is best for you to start there.

However, listing a book on Amazon and the other platforms can take less than a hour of your time, especially once you are familiar with it.

I know it sounds intimidating, but it really isn't.

Considering what you have to do to set up the book to be available on your own platform, the work is about the same. :)

With that in mind, I would do what you originally thought and offer it on your own related platforms, but I would also make it available on the other platforms at the same time.
Click to expand...

Just remember that under Amazons T&C's they have to be 20% cheaper than any other site you sell on. So you may want to test it on your own traffic first.
 
GringoMonkey said:
Hell 2 million targeted views per day I agree you would be mad not to try that first by building your own site.

A crucial bit of information you missed out originally there :)
Click to expand...
Yeah, what he said. LOL

With that kind of traffic definitely try going it on your own. Especially if you're talking about multiple novels to start with. or can build up to that quickly. In that case you might try using a CMS with some kind of theme tht resembles the general feel of Amazon or other big bookstores. Then just use all those resources you have to send traffic to tht store and see what happens?

What type of novels does this guy write? Fiction? Historical? Romance? SciFi? Does he want credit as author or can you make up pen names. If you use pennames it would be great if he writes in several different genres because you could choose a different names in each genre and look like your representing multiple authors. Then if the novels are any good different pennames might even build up a fan base. :)

You could even include a page for new authors to contact you for the opportunity of selling their books too. Lots of opportunities with this one. :)
 
GreyWolf said:
Yeah, what he said. LOL

With that kind of traffic definitely try going it on your own. Especially if you're talking about multiple novels to start with. or can build up to that quickly. In that case you might try using a CMS with some kind of theme tht resembles the general feel of Amazon or other big bookstores. Then just use all those resources you have to send traffic to tht store and see what happens?

What type of novels does this guy write? Fiction? Historical? Romance? SciFi? Does he want credit as author or can you make up pen names. If you use pennames it would be great if he writes in several different genres because you could choose a different names in each genre and look like your representing multiple authors. Then if the novels are any good different pennames might even build up a fan base. :)

You could even include a page for new authors to contact you for the opportunity of selling their books too. Lots of opportunities with this one. :)
Click to expand...

Some excellent suggestions here. Thank you! (I'm going to look very clever tomorrow LOL)

He writes SciFi and horror and sub-genres of both, and he's on the payroll as a regular writer with me. I also freelance the odd thing from him. Basically: my go-to guy. Trouble is, he's published, very good, and charges the Earth (as he should).

As mentioned, I'd never thought about it before, but with my own love of books - if not literary talent - I'm really leaning to the idea of something bigger. This, by the way, is a common theme in my life. Example: I decide I want to lose a few pounds, then I decide I should detox, then cut out carbs, then go to the gym, then see a personal trainer twice a week, then I have visions of being a personal trainer (knowing I never will), and finally I go shit-ball crazy and take an actual ab-selfie for my Facebook, a crime perpetrated by only the most insufferable idiots of the new age.

However!

Unlike half-naked selfies of nearly forty year-old men who should know better, and don't possess defined abs no matter how hard they try to convince themselves otherwise, THIS . . . is actually shaping into one of my less crazy plans.

So . . .

Like the idea of modelling design on Amazon (with a sprinkle of the genre thrown in for good measure).
Like accepting and publishing other books.
Like paying for the odd book myself and adding that to the mix.

Glad I posted this!

Oh . . . and apologies for the over-caffeinated reply.
 
Dr Acula said:
Thanks for the reply GringoMonkey.

I average around 2,000,000 daily UVs, across all of my related platforms, for the intended genre of the book. Amazon, of course, has significantly more traffic, but unlike Amazon, I'm in a position to put the book in front of more eyeballs. Selling shouldn't be a problem.

I think what I'll do is see how I do selling it myself. It may even be the start of a new cash cow for me: an online publishing house.
Click to expand...

2 Mill daily UV's?? That's some decent traffic so you shouldn't have any issue in making sales direct from your own site which solves the issue of getting paid instantly but adding it to Amazon is worth it simply for the fact it takes such little effort to do or maintain and you'll get money monthly after the initial waiting period.

Here's a thought though;

Sell the book via your own site and get the instant sales from the 2 Mill daily UV's that you control and bank some cash. Then send that traffic to where your book is on Amazon. You'll generate great sales and you should receive some great reviews. That will then trigger Amazons internal algorithm and your book will move up the sales charts which will only serve to generate more sales for you.

With the traffic that you send to there and it gaining a high listing on the Amazon sales chart the momentum will be perpetual and should provide you with a never ending flow of sales and hands free cash :)

Shez
 
Content Creation said:
Appreciated with your advise.
Click to expand...

You are welcome.

GreyWolf said:
Yeah, what he said. LOL

With that kind of traffic definitely try going it on your own. Especially if you're talking about multiple novels to start with. or can build up to that quickly. In that case you might try using a CMS with some kind of theme tht resembles the general feel of Amazon or other big bookstores. Then just use all those resources you have to send traffic to tht store and see what happens?

What type of novels does this guy write? Fiction? Historical? Romance? SciFi? Does he want credit as author or can you make up pen names. If you use pennames it would be great if he writes in several different genres because you could choose a different names in each genre and look like your representing multiple authors. Then if the novels are any good different pennames might even build up a fan base. :)

You could even include a page for new authors to contact you for the opportunity of selling their books too. Lots of opportunities with this one. :)
Click to expand...

Perfect explanation of a fine way to monetize this.

If you are getting that many UV's per day, making an amazon store is one of the best choices you can make with monetizing novels. Or, you can set up an Ecommerce website. Something easy but with security. A Woocommerce shop with a creative and welcoming design. You would take in all profits.
 
GringoMonkey said:
Just remember that under Amazons T&C's they have to be 20% cheaper than any other site you sell on. So you may want to test it on your own traffic first.
Click to expand...

Can you point me to that? I think you may have misread it, this is all I see in regards to price setting and it pertains only to 20% cheaper than your physical books.

"But if you choose the 70% Royalty Option, you must further set and adjust your List Price so that it is at least 20% below the list price in any sales channel for any physical edition of the Digital Book."

Let me know if I missed something.
 
Hi You have just quoted it...

"But if you choose the 70% Royalty Option, you must further set and adjust your List Price so that it is at least 20% below the list price in any sales channel for any physical edition of the Digital Book."

In addition they say:

"You must set your Digital Book's List Price (and change it from time-to-time if necessary) so that it is no higher than the list price in any sales channel for any digital or physical edition of the Digital Book."

They don't specifically say it, as it is illegal, but I have found if you don't set them cheaper on any version of the book and Amazon find out they stop selling your book. They simply don't want to be used to drive traffic to your site where you sell it for the same price / cheaper.
 
Set up a website dedicated to publishing books and start there.

Start putting it on sites such as Amazon, so that it is always there to be searched.

Link the two.

If you're really serious about wanting to be profitable, start pushing it into stores.

$$$
 
Advertise on BHW
You must log in or register to reply here.
Sign up now!

Main Menu

Home Main Forum List Black Hat SEO White Hat SEO BHW Newbie Guide Blogging Black Hat Tools Social Media Downloads

Marketplace

Account Selling Content / Copywriting EBooks / Methods Hosting Misc Proxies For Sale SEO - Link building SEO - Packages Social Media Social Media - Panels Web Design More

Making Money

Affiliate Programs Hire a Freelancer IM Journeys Making Money Pay Per Click Site Flipping Want to Buy

BlackHat World

Dispute Resolution Forum Suggestions & Feedback Introductions Lounge
Back
Top