Another self publishing progress thread.

[Hicks]

Hi.

About me:

I've been self publishing for about 7 months and have had some success. I've finally reached the point where if I never wanted to eat or have any fun whatsoever I could probably survive from my income. I have taken a slightly different road than many on here and have only published non-fiction and also have concentrated on Europe and Asia rather than the US.

I've made some huge mistakes and also managed to Forrest Gump my way to a few successes.
One of my biggest mistakes has been being too experimental; mistaking a brick wall for a gap in the market....and jumping right at it. Ouch.

As far as successes, I have utilized corners of Amazon that are not usually targeted by others. Also painful.


Why start this thread?

Well basically for 2 reasons.

1) I keep wanting to hijack other's threads.
2) To help others
3) I would like to expand out of non-fiction and would like use this as a forum for discussing ideas/asking questions etc.
4) I will be using free promotions in order to up-sell other products, which I haven't seen discussed as a marketing tactic for self publishing here

Ok that was 4 reasons.

 

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[COSenior]

Got absolutely killed by various things this month. Exchange rates, 30% withholding for non-us sellers etc etc. I really recommend that all UK and non-us authours get that shit sorted immediately...as in do it right this F*cking second, because when you finally start sell shit it's going to sting. Here's how to get it sorted. http://catherineryanhoward.com/2012/02/24/non-us-self-publisher-tax-issues-dont-need-to-be-taxing/ No excuses! Read this!

Welcome to the arcane world of the IRS. Would you believe we have to negotiate that maze every single year? And this is after our government in its wisdom passed the paperwork reduction act almost 20 years ago. That said, I'm sorry I didn't mention this back in the fall of last year when I helped a friend from Romania obtain her EIN. It shocked me that there would be a law requiring Amazon and the others to withhold US taxes on earnings of a foreign national. Will wonders never cease? On behalf of my whacked country, I apologize.

For anyone reading this thread who has difficulty with the method advised in the article, it is entirely possible to have a friend in the US call that number and obtain the EIN in your behalf. It does require use of the form SS-4, because you will have to fill out the line at the bottom that says you are aware your friend is acting in your behalf, which the friend will have to fax to the representative they have on the phone while they are on the phone. It took a couple of tries for me to accomplish this, as the scanned image my friend sent me was difficult to read, but we did get it done and it took no more than an hour of my time. I was happy to return a favor by helping my best beta reader, so it was a win-win.

BTW, I'm certain my friend's application didn't have anything on it regarding a publishing company. Hope that doesn't come back to bite her.

 

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[Lauryn]

​

I'm glad you've started your own thread! Looking forward to this discussion.

I started out with non-fiction myself and am now moving into fiction. It's been a slow process for me because of fear of failure. LOL.

Here's two posts from Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income. I think they're both podcasts - one definitely is. It discusses how non-fiction can be a moneymaker if you do the right research for your audience. I think this guy and his partner sold about $45k of books in the first 10 days of one release.

With that said, dive in. Love these threads.

Kindle Publishing Tips - Podcast - Pat Flynn
6 Figure Earning with eBooks (Not on Amazon) - Pat Flynn

 

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[Hicks]

Thanks guys, I think I need to mull that one over a bit more.

quick update.
Got absolutely killed by various things this month. Exchange rates, 30% withholding for non-us sellers etc etc. I really recommend that all UK and non-us authours get that shit sorted immediately...as in do it right this F*cking second, because when you finally start sell shit it's going to sting. Here's how to get it sorted. http://catherineryanhoward.com/2012/02/24/non-us-self-publisher-tax-issues-dont-need-to-be-taxing/ No excuses! Read this!

In other news I finally broke my first (very low)two financial goals, so will be setting new ones for March, I am close to being able to survive from my business but not quite there yet. I am yet to branch out into fiction. I don't know what is stopping me. I think i will just commit to just writing something in March. I know that I have the ability but...

I have started to get newsletter subscibers..got 6 so far. LoL. I'll probably write to them later. My website is a bit of a mess at the moment. Need to get that sorted out.

I have to systematize the business aspect of my books. I have coined (I think) the term Bizmatize. Writing non-fiction is very much a numbers game; in as much that slam dunk hits are very very rare, so its all about getting each book to reach its potential in a slow burning way. So if you can work out a way to sell 5 copies a day consistently then eventually you will do well.

I think that within 6 months I want to employ someone to help me. But I don't know just yet.

So all going well, but still feeling quite a lot of pressure.

Gotta Keep Pushing!

 

[COSenior]

Something I learned from my IT specialist husband: when something doesn't work, change one thing at a time to see if that was the specific thing causing it not to work. When you change more than one, you never know what fixed it. For future reference, of course.

 

[Hicks]

Oh dear, I've left this and thus have a lot to report.....but as I'm busy will summarize.


I re-branded that book and.......I was right..been selling really well. I'm about to start part two. I really recommend taking a look at what is working and then applying it to the books that are lagging. You will be surprised. It's not what I think is good but what the market is telling me. Repeat 100 times it's not for me it's for the customers.

I wrote and published a new book directed toward the lower levels. Not selling as well...but still good. This tells me that in my niche you can't release more than one book a month or you actually affect the sales of your other book. Also I've gained some traction amongst a niche within a niche, so any deviation needs to be considered as a new niche. Ha! 3 uses of the same word in one sentence.

*I released a free product on my website to get more email addresses (pm me to find out how i did this). This is working ok. But with MailCheat(Chimp) there is double opt in.With my audience this is not going to work....any suggestions?

I spent a full week putting an old course I wrote online. Am now trying to sort out the membership software...its a nightmare. But hope to be able to take paying customers this week.

*I recorded a listening CD based on a book. I want to release it with a pdf but does that mean that i will have to wait until the kdp select term is up? Any ideas?

*I put my first job on elance and got lots of replies. This is a big step for me as I want to expand into a new genre but don't have the time as I need the first genre as it's my bread and butter. Some of the tenders are hilariously overpriced while others seem a bit low. But I still don't know what is a realistic price. This is for 4000 words and no research; semi creative writing really. Any ideas?

That's about it I think. Slacker!

 

[Hicks]

Hello!
just a quick update. I made the Kindle Allstars last month. Not the US one but still pretty good I think. I didn't even know it existed so that was a nice surprise.
Also started writing the udemy course of translating so I'll keep you posted.

Back to writing now....

 

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[Rawr]

Funny (?) bad review story. I have just started a new pen name and am experimenting with something new. Anyway I had a 5 star review, then I got a 2 star review and the original reviewer took theirs down and said it was because of the new review (WTF?). Then I was going to report the two star to Amazon as it contained profanity (I checked her reviews and they are mostly 1 star so could be worse!). I was just about to write the letter when I got another review...this time 1 star. So now i can't do the review take down as I'll be left with a 1 star review!

Two lessons learnt:
Use a new pen name if you are going to deviate too much from what is currently working. (Luckily I did this).
If people really don't like it: listen to them.

Heh, sorry to hear that, and thank you for posting this. I had literally JUST put two books out there, and after losing sleep over whether to put them under a new pen or not, I decided to do so. They're not like my brand of the book, but they are still books and could be useful if they make money. Good luck on building your brand bigger.

 

[Erock87]

Welcome!

Care to shed any light as to the types of non-fiction? Did you write them all yourself, or outsource any of it?

How many books did it take to start seeing some traction? Do mailing lists work at the end of a non-fiction book?

Just a few thoughts to get your thread started.

 

[Erock87]

Thanks!

We can all learn something from each other, so the more threads with progress / results, the better. Welcome, and if you have any recommendations, I'm sure people like me would soak it up.

 

[COSenior]

I have my doubts whether this is possible for most people.

I think basically there are non-fiction writers and fiction writers. Myself I am a non-fiction writer.

That's not surprising because all I read is non-fiction and I hardly watch any movies (except for some new releases in the cinema, that is). But if that is your media intake, then all what can ever come out is non-fiction.

Well, maybe there are exceptions. But my guess is that most people are either/or.

Good luck anyway!

I beg to differ. I wrote nine non-fiction books before I ever tried fiction, and six of them continue to sell well. I've written two since I started on fiction, which haven't been published yet.

I know! I thought it was about time that I stopped cluttering up your thread with questions.

I never consider a question clutter, and you were more than welcome to ask them. I just meant that you deserved your own bully pulpit.

You go right ahead and give fiction a shot. What's there to lose? You'll never know until you try. Speed!

 

[AubreyRose]

4) I will be using free promotions in order to up-sell other products, which I haven't seen discussed as a marketing tactic for self publishing here

I do this with most of my series: first book is permafree whenever I can make it so, second is 99c, all the rest 2.99 with a bundle at the end.

If you're talking KDP select, there are some reasons to use it, some against. You are tying yourself to a single platform.

 

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[COSenior]

I think you have to have a separate ISBN for each edition anyway. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about it: An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation (except reprintings) of a book, for example an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover would each have a different ISBN. It's a little ambiguous.

 

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[lleone]

I read a bunch of different articles on this and I ended up going with Bowker to buy a ten back of ISBN numbers that I own. I am also using Createspace and basically assigned one of the ISBN to the paperback I'm going to print with Createspace. You don't really need one for Kindle e-books so I'm not going to use one there.

 

[Hicks]

Like most things the fear of sorting it was worse than the doing. If you are in the UK you will have to register with HMRC anyway. If you are a sole trader then you can ring the IRS and (should be able to) get an EAN as a sole proprietor. This will mean that you can avoid sending off passports etc, which looked like it was going to be a nightmare anyway. Of course do you own due diligence etc etc, but with a bit of explaining they will talk you through the whole thing.

There's 'a need' there.: 'How to not be brought to the verge of a nervous breakdown by having a third of your money withheld for no reason' A memoir.

 

[Hicks]

I have a lot to update so will do that in a few days...but...

I have noticed on this site that there are a lot of non-English as a first language entrepreneurs. I was thinking about doing a book exclusively for them to provide them with the English they need....then I thought the market would be too small so I then thought that I could have it as a section of a Business English book.

I would appreciate people's feedback; especially if English is not your first language.

 

[Hicks]

Enjoyed this vid. Nothing to do with my update though....

Update:

Well it's been a while. Actually I've reached something of a cross roads and needed time to reflect on where I was taking this. My publishing career was a mistake. I hope my readers don't think that, but there you go. By 'mistake' I mean that I had an abandoned project sitting on the shelf, and then after reading @heldforransom 's thread, I thought "why not publish it?". Anyway what that meant was that I've been writing and publishing a bit randomly.

I was starting to feel that I am not really building up a back catalog that people would buy (which is what I want), but just publishing books to different markets within my genre (not what I want, as they will just buy one book and be done).

So I have taken the past few weeks (when not writing) to perform a bit of an audit on my books/sales. What I found was:

1) the two books that i were convinced would be the best sellers were by far the worst...by far.
2) My best seller(s) had a pretty broad appeal but were specific in their focus.
3) My third worse seller is the most consistent.

This was an excellent exercise and pretty much told me what the market is after. Of course it's best to see what's selling first but sometimes it's not that clear; especially if you are dealing with lots of different countries' stores.


The thing is is that I need to make a decision. If I continue in my current genre then I'll need to somehow get very serious and get into Universities and Libraries. I will attempt this anyway through ingram spark or something (not createspace). Anything more than that will feel like I have to peddle my books to individuals and that is not what I want; as all the focus will shift from production to selling something with limited appeal.

On the other hand I could branch out into other non-fiction genres. But I need to have a plan of 5-7 books I think.

On the third hand I could start writing a novel. I have been like a bunny in headlights over this one. I have made a few attempts to read a YA book, but find them a little tedious after a while. I have mapped out my own book but it's not exactly the same. This is by far my biggest problem. I seem to want to be right more than I want to be rich (or in my case free). Actually I think it may be less ego and more laziness; it's easier to think the way I've always thought...oh wait...isn't that what got me into this situation in the first place...time to go to the pub.

I think I will continue with the 'a novel' but need to expand the other book catalog at the same time.

 

[Hicks]

Ok no silly videos; I know they are frowned apon.

But I'm doing something interesting that I thought warranted a quick update.

Basically I have had a bit of a scattergun approach to what books I write and how they are 'presented' ie marketed. Anyway I spent a long time going through all my books (chronicled above) noting what worked and what didn't.

Anyway.. The reason I did such a detailed check was because I had released what I thought was a great book but I couldn't even give this thing away.
So...I pulled the book and completely re-did the marketing/title etc etc...but only made small changes to the book.So basically same book but different 'image'.

So far it seems to have worked but I'll report back after a week or so. I just wanted a before and after. If this works then I have the beginnings of a formula... if it doesn't then F.Knows.

 

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[COSenior]

Aweber used to allow you to select a single opt-in process, but it's very difficult to migrate to a new autoresponder. You have to get all your old customers to opt in again, and that's going to lose some.

Re-read the KDP Select terms. I don't think they can do anything about a product based on the book, but if you recorded it by reading the book word-for-word or the PDF is identical, you probably have to wait. However, I'm not an expert and I didn't look it up. I'd suggest you do that rather than soliciting advice here.

I started doing writing assignments through oDesk rather than elance, so again I'm no expert. However, if you want quality writing, you should probably expect to pay at least 2 cents per word. That's with no research. I wouldn't have done research for less than 5 cents per word, and that's when I started out. Even then, its laughably low. But, to give you an idea of what the range is, I've seen people solicit 5000 word articles with research to be done for $5. For that you get someone from India or somewhere who 'speaks' English. After a fashion. An experienced ghostwriter gets a minimum of $40 per hour, and you should probably expect a 4000 word article to take about two hours. Hope that helps.

 

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[Hicks]

Hello CO senior, as per usual that was incredibly useful. Also as you've pretty much sorted all my problems for today, what do you think i should have for dinner? I just can't decide!

 

[COSenior]

LOL. I would imagine by this time you've either gone to bed without dinner or figured it out.

 

[Hicks]

Well been very busy and am happy to say that I pretty much lived just off of the sales of books last year. Very happy about that. I've also set up a small company and am doing other publishing related projects as well, so this year is promising to be very exciting as well; love entrepreneurialism.


I am thinking of making a Udemy course on how to translate your book and sell on foreign Kindle sites (an 'increase your sales' type of thing). Like anything translating can be done be done badly/easily but as i've been doing it for a year and a half I've picked up lots of tricks. Would anyone be interested in this type of course? (I believe I can issue free tokens). If you have a specific thing you are interested in then please let me know, there's a good chance I can help.

Thanks.

 

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[Aimee]

Hey Aimee, thanks for reading. I'm terrible with updates but do follow other's progress threads diligently. What do you think about the course on getting your books translated...as an author do you think that would be something you would be interested in? If I do it I'll obviously try to get you a free coupon, Just interested in whether this is something authors are looking to get done properly.

Thanks

I pretty much agree completely with @ChickenHawk in that courses aren't necessarily something I'm drawn to, but translating is definitely completely foreign to me (if you'll pardon the pun ) as I don't have the faintest idea whether what I'm paying for is any good or not and I wouldn't have a clue where to start. I'd say you'd definitely find some interest in it though, especially as things like KU is opening up to other countries. Maybe if you know of any trustworthy translators you can even advertise or recommend them to your audience.

 

[Hicks]

Ok I have now released the 'Get your book translated' course. If anyone would like a free copy please let me know.
it's about 2 hours and covers literally everything you need to know about the subject....and if you have any further questions I'll just add another video, I want it to be totally comprehensive.

Please pm me or comment here and i'll send you a free coupon.

Thanks very much.

 

[doncruz]

Congrats on your All stars!!

 

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[Hicks]

Hello Erock87,

Care to shed any light as to the types of non-fiction? = mostly language/education related.
Did you write them all yourself, or outsource any of it? = I wrote em.
How many books did it take to start seeing some traction? = it took about 7 books (with only 6 which actually sold) to make it to about min wage (in the UK).
Do mailing lists work at the end of a non-fiction book? = I've only just started a website/mailing list and will get back to you on this one.

 

[COSenior]

Hi.

About me:

I've been self publishing for about 7 months and have had some success. I've finally reached the point where if I never wanted to eat or have any fun whatsoever I could probably survive from my income. I have taken a slightly different road than many on here and have only published non-fiction and also have concentrated on Europe and Asia rather than the US.

I've made some huge mistakes and also managed to Forrest Gump my way to a few successes.
One of my biggest mistakes has been being too experimental; mistaking a brick wall for a gap in the market....and jumping right at it. Ouch.

As far as successes, I have utilized corners of Amazon that are not usually targeted by others. Also painful.


Why start this thread?

Well basically for 2 reasons.

1) I keep wanting to hijack other's threads.
2) To help others
3) I would like to expand out of non-fiction and would like use this as a forum for discussing ideas/asking questions etc.
4) I will be using free promotions in order to up-sell other products, which I haven't seen discussed as a marketing tactic for self publishing here

Ok that was 4 reasons.

I agree with the people who have told you you're funny. Got quite a kick out of this, and I must say, it's about time we saw you in your own thread. Looking forward to more.

 

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[H. Palmer]

Hi.


3) I would like to expand out of non-fiction and would like use this as a forum for discussing ideas/asking questions etc.

I have my doubts whether this is possible for most people.

I think basically there are non-fiction writers and fiction writers. Myself I am a non-fiction writer.

That's not surprising because all I read is non-fiction and I hardly watch any movies (except for some new releases in the cinema, that is). But if that is your media intake, then all what can ever come out is non-fiction.

Well, maybe there are exceptions. But my guess is that most people are either/or.

Good luck anyway!

 

[Hicks]

I do this with most of my series: first book is permafree whenever I can make it so, second is 99c, all the rest 2.99 with a bundle at the end.

If you're talking KDP select, there are some reasons to use it, some against. You are tying yourself to a single platform.

I've been using kdp as in the genre I'm writing in series' are relatively rare and have found that it works pretty well at the beginning. I'm going to start taking them off after the initial 6 weeks.

As far as up-selling what I was thinking was to send people to my website from the free kdp giveaways (which i do anyway) and then selling (membership) courses or audio downloads. This is to start to capitalize a bit more on giveaways other than just to get on the 'also bought list'.

 

[Hicks]

Update:
Ok, I've made some progress this week but at times it doesn't really feel that way. I have started to sort out the content for the membership website and have decided on http://www.dlguard.com/dlginfo/index.php as it looks pretty groovy and the owner is pretty helpful. Hoping to get that up and running by the end of March.

I also published a collection of a series I have. Seems to be going well but the sales of the actual individual books (not the collection) have slowed down considerably; I guess that is to be expected though.

I have got everything done for the create space version of the collection but have decided to not go with the extended distribution. This is because the deal looks pretty crap. Also my book would be attractive to Universities and libraries so I've started to take a look at Ingram Spark and Lightning Source. Although everyone says that they are a complete pain, they do have serious reach and a superior quality end product. https://www1.ingramspark.com/ https://www1.lightningsource.com/default.aspx

So my idea is to have the non-fiction as my 'day job' and to release novels 'on the side'. So following @AubreyRose 's advice I took a look at New Adult Romance. I downloaded a book and within about 30 seconds I was thinking "seriously? People like this shit?" About 10 minutes later I was literally transfixed by that book! I didn't put it down until I was so tired that it fell out of my hands. LOL. Such a pushover! But it goes to show, if it can get me (the complete opposite of the intended audience) hooked then the formula must be like crack for people who actually like that stuff. Definitely have serious respect for those authors now.

Ok enough talking about work, time to actually do some.