Journey Into Self-Publishing

[thunder_god]

After reading all of these great threads on the self-publishing section, I decided to take a risk into the world of self-publishing after several failed business ideas and plans. I have zero experience in this field nor am I a great writer. I'm hoping the veterans out there can offer some advice and suggestions to make this journey as smooth and successful as possible.

Right now I only have about $200 saved up. I intend on outsourcing the writing to a freelance ghost writer which I will hire from Upworks. I'm planning on releasing a series of 3 books for my first project in fiction.

I'm not exactly sure which genre I will go into but there has a been a lot of talk about doing romance/erotic novels so I think I will go this route unless someone else has another other suggestions.

I'm not even sure how much to price my ebooks but I hear $2.99 being thrown around a lot along with $.99.
I think I will price it my first book at $2.99 initially, then $.99 once the second book is released, followed by making it free once the third book is released, and trying to sell it as a whole package for like $4.99. Books 2 & 3 will be priced at $2.99 each.

I'm thinking about 10,000 words per a book should be enough. Does anyone have any suggestions for wordcounts for romance/erotic novels?

Frankly right now, I'm pretty broke so I think if I can even make like $50-100 my first two months back, I would be really happy.


This is my plan for this week:

1. Do research on which niche are most profitable. I'm not exactly sure how to do this, but have read suggestions to look at amazon bestsellers and look for trends.

2. Write up job description for freelance hires. Is around $50 per 10,000 words a good price to offer? I also need to figure out this NDA thing. I wonder if I can find a free template somewhere online.


As always, suggestions are appreciated

 

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[Omni]

A few things:

1. You're chasing money instead of providing value (e.g. quality content for your audience). Wrong approach.
2. Typical ghostwriter rates are $0.01 per word, you won't have enough for a series of 3 books. Not to mention, a marketing budget to gain visibility and sales.
3. Erotica / romance is a competitive category with a low shelf life, you'll need to find an angle for visibility or you won't have sales.

In short, if you still want to play the self publisher role, you're going to need more money. Along with enough of a buffer for mistakes you'll inevitably experience as a newcomer.

 

[Digamma]

Terrible. You learn how to do things yourself, see how they work, then you outsource when you're an expert and know what to outsource and how to judge it. This is a recipe for failure - deserved failure, too.

 

[Lex DeVille]

Terrible. You learn how to do things yourself, see how they work, then you outsource when you're an expert and know what to outsource and how to judge it. This is a recipe for failure - deserved failure, too.

This^^^

 

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[Lex DeVille]

After reading all of these great threads on the self-publishing section, I decided to take a risk into the world of self-publishing after several failed business ideas and plans. I have zero experience in this field nor am I a great writer. I'm hoping the veterans out there can offer some advice and suggestions to make this journey as smooth and successful as possible.

Right now I only have about $200 saved up. I intend on outsourcing the writing to a freelance ghost writer which I will hire from Upworks. I'm planning on releasing a series of 3 books for my first project in fiction.

I'm not exactly sure which genre I will go into but there has a been a lot of talk about doing romance/erotic novels so I think I will go this route unless someone else has another other suggestions.

I'm not even sure how much to price my ebooks but I hear $2.99 being thrown around a lot along with $.99.
I think I will price it my first book at $2.99 initially, then $.99 once the second book is released, followed by making it free once the third book is released, and trying to sell it as a whole package for like $4.99. Books 2 & 3 will be priced at $2.99 each.

I'm thinking about 10,000 words per a book should be enough. Does anyone have any suggestions for wordcounts for romance/erotic novels?

Frankly right now, I'm pretty broke so I think if I can even make like $50-100 my first two months back, I would be really happy.


This is my plan for this week:

1. Do research on which niche are most profitable. I'm not exactly sure how to do this, but have read suggestions to look at amazon bestsellers and look for trends.

2. Write up job description for freelance hires. Is around $50 per 10,000 words a good price to offer? I also need to figure out this NDA thing. I wonder if I can find a free template somewhere online.


As always, suggestions are appreciated

If I were you I'd learn to write first. But before that I'd start reading threads about mindset. @IceCreamKid 's Astonishing Secrets thread in particular.

Right now the post reads like virtually every other failed wantrapreneur on this forum.

It's all about what you want, and how you think you'll make it big by copying others who had some success.

Just curious, what makes you think doing the same thing people did 1 to 5 years ago in a rapidly changing market will work for you today?

What makes you think you can give people something worth reading, when you have no idea what something worth reading even looks like?

I'm not telling you not to do it.

By all means, do it, fail and learn. Just make sure you learn.

Something to note: You're broke AND you haven't learned to create value for others yet.

Coincidence?

No.

 

[John Robert]

You have a totally wrong mentality. Focus on providing value, write the books yourself (especially if your broke) and do something where you are not a complete newbie. You have total SOS and it shows.

Get a job in sales/mktg or tech, make a few bucks, get a foundation, then go forth from there

 

[thunder_god]

Ya but how do you provide value and write a book when your not an expert nor a good story teller?

 

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[Omni]

Then you shouldn't be in the ebook business. Keep in mind, writing a book is an AVENUE to deliver value. First, find a place where you can add value. Then determine the best distribution mechanism.

 

[thunder_god]

Then you shouldn't be in the ebook business. Keep in mind, writing a book is an AVENUE to deliver value. First, find a place where you can add value. Then determine the best distribution mechanism.

Say I do decide to write my own book, is there any specific ways about how to conduct research so that I don't produce a book that doesn't offer any value ie. no demand for.

Do I need to purchase programs like market samurai or long tail pro to do keyword research or is there another way?

 

[Omni]

Say I do decide to write my own book, is there any specific ways about how to conduct research so that I don't produce a book that doesn't offer any value ie. no demand for.

Do I need to purchase programs like market samurai or long tail pro to do keyword research or is there another way?

Not perfectly, which is why $200 is not enough to find gold in 1 shot. Or bronze for that matter.

Research process is going to be dictated by your strategy. It seems like you're looking for a unfilled gap in the market. That's fine, it's actually how I started. (I actually began typing my initial process out and realized it's encompassed in this article I read while starting out. Why reinvent the wheel? Just ignore the KU payouts as they've changed from $1.31 to ~.0048 per page read.
http://www.nichepursuits.com/self-publish-a-book-on-amazon/ )

The problem with my initial strategy was that although I chose a niche that had low competition, it didn't have that much demand. I mitigated my downside risk, but also capped my upside potential. Then I started testing different niches and strategies and stumbled upon ways to add more value. So it's possible to be profitable in the kindle business but honestly, it's not the best business in that you lack control (amazon sets royalty payments) and there's a low barrier to entry (high competition especially with all the courses out there).

Hope that helps, good luck!

 

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