Rabid's Kindle Journey

Hey all,

First let me say, I'm a noob. Your constructive criticism is desired, respected, and considered a gift. I'm starting a Kindle journey, but not in the traditional sense. This will be a slow journey based strictly on quality. I believe that quality trumps all, regardless of which facet of life I am addressing.

I will be:
A) Writing fantasy/fiction
B) Aiming for ~300 words a day
C) Focusing on the customer

Current Goals:

1) Produce 1 Novella (~10k words) by 1/30/15
2) Build a reputation for quality authorship

Noob questions:

A) Does KDP allow publications of less than 1k words?
B) Can I make a sub 1k word story free permanently?

My reasoning is that I would like to publish the first chapter and see how people like it before writing the rest and (hopefully) build some rapport. Also, please let me know if I'm completely out of my mind here or not thinking properly about how to go about Kindle Publishing.

Thanks,

Rabid

I know next to nothing about Kindle, but I do know that if you're going to do this you should dive in head first. If you're not interested in writing the entire novel until you get pats on the back for the first chapter, this isn't for you.

If you're serious about this:

1- Make an author site. Pimp your upcoming novel. Write something on it every week. Find other author bloggers to engage with.

2- Write your ass off. 300 words a day is a really low goal.

3- Hire a pro to proofread.

4- Hire a pro illustrator. Your cover illustration will make or break you.

5- Don't expect to get rich on your first (or 50th) novel. Try to build momentum through every novel.


Good luck op!

UPDATE:

-Published the first chapter
-To avoid merely getting pats on the back, I will instead be following gtull2's advice for the future
-Will update daily with results

Thanks all

You can no longer make a book free forever. Your option is KDP free give away for 5 days. Only big publishers can give a book away for free.

The only option is to not do KDP, put the book for free on another book site, and Kindle will do price matching.

As far as 10K words goes.....

Shoot higher. Average kindle page is around 250 words. A 40 page book tends to be short, you will not make much off of it unless you plan on bundling multiple stories together.

Kindle can be tricky to get right. If you are strategic with promotions and free days you can get a base going.

Without going into great marketing tactics, the basics are the following:

1. Write an extremely long book or series with cliff hangers at the end of each.
2. Book one or part one is as cheap as possible, think 0.99 - 2.99.
3. Promote the heck out of the book.
4. Lure reading in with quality work.
5. Eventually release a more expensive book to capitalize on the audience.

The problem with only 10K pages is that it does not have a lot of room for clever marketing. You can make it work, but you need to be creative. Generally I would advise against it unless the first book is apart of a series and end it well and have a second book ready.

The most important thing I messed up on early on is I published a book before I had the second written. In book one you NEED the link to book two in it so people will be sent to it once they finish the first. If you do not do this your readers most likely just read and move on. You are WASTING the marketing opportunity.

I have a few informational Kindle books I use to promote my primary business. If you have any questions, ask.

Good luck with your journey

Edit : double post :/

300 words a day isn't shooting high enough, if you are trying to do this full time (someday).

Sad truth: Your first or 10th book wont make bank for you, especially limiting yourself to 300 words a day, 10k fantasy novellas. With a proper outline you should be able to jam out that in ten minutes, depending on typing speed. I know people doing 8,000 a day+, and I've done upwards of 4,000 in a day and I'm not even a writer.

If you're doing this for fun/as a hobby, disregard and have fun.

rabidllama44 said:

Hey all,

First let me say, I'm a noob. Your constructive criticism is desired, respected, and considered a gift. I'm starting a Kindle journey, but not in the traditional sense. This will be a slow journey based strictly on quality. I believe that quality trumps all, regardless of which facet of life I am addressing.

I will be:
A) Writing fantasy/fiction
B) Aiming for ~300 words a day
C) Focusing on the customer

Current Goals:

1) Produce 1 Novella (~10k words) by 1/30/15
2) Build a reputation for quality authorship

Noob questions:

A) Does KDP allow publications of less than 1k words?
B) Can I make a sub 1k word story free permanently?

My reasoning is that I would like to publish the first chapter and see how people like it before writing the rest and (hopefully) build some rapport. Also, please let me know if I'm completely out of my mind here or not thinking properly about how to go about Kindle Publishing.

Thanks,

Rabid

Click to expand...

I know one thing for sure that you cannot make any book free for ever, as I have asked this same question to their support on my own.
This should help you.