So you’ve done all that work and you’ve also learnt a shed-load of new processes. You wrote the book, edited it, got a cover design, bought ISBNs (unless you took the “free” KDP one), uploaded it to the websites you’re selling it through, and told everyone you know via social media that your debut novel is OUT NOW!
What next? How does a self-published book launch look in numbers?
I can’t answer for everyone and every book, but for The Lost Piece I priced it at a competitive but still full-price £8.49 / 9.99€ / $10.49 for the paperback, £2.99 / 3.49€ / 3.99$ for the ebook. I didn’t enroll it in KDP Select (Unlimited) or anything similar. I didn’t spend any money on marketing, just used personal social media channels.
I released it via the following internet retailers:
- Amazon KDP print-on-demand paperback and ebook, global.
- Ingram Spark, print-on-demand-paperback, global.
- Apple iBooks ebook, global.
- Barnes & Noble Nook ebook, global.
- Rakuten Kobo ebook, global
I also got physical copies (bought from KDP, which turned out cheaper and in fact marginally better than Ingram Spark) into various small, local shops, and made some direct sales to friends.
My sales were predominantly Amazon KDP, and they were:
From all the other websites I added 3 books, and from direct sales 6 books, for a grand total of 50 sales.
In revenue terms, those Amazon sales paid a royalty of 91.44€. With other sales added in my total income from the book in these opening months adds up to around 135€.
How do I feel about this?
I mean obviously there are alternative, bigger ways it could have gone …but as an experienced editor I had a fair idea of what was likely, had set my expectations low, and at least met them.
I think the key thing to remember is that this book is now out there forever. It doesn’t need writing again, nor cover designing, nor placing on retailer websites, nor ISBNs bought, etc.. Anytime, anywhere, someone can buy a copy of this book, and when they do I’ll get my royalty from that.
Fine, but didn’t that sales curve above have its little spike and then tail off to zero? Yes, but I’ll release other books and do things like publishing this blog – essentially all marketing as far as The Lost Piece is concerned – and as long as I keep that up some future sales can be expected.
Will I ever “make it” as an author? My feeling has always been that this comes down to:
- First and foremost, the quality of my books. If this isn’t high enough then they’ll never maintain any momentum.
- Second, having a decent body of work out there. I’m going to say 6 novels, because that seems to be the average of other blogs I’ve read. If a reader likes one of your books only other books out there give them anywhere to go next.
- Third, and perhaps most importantly, just continually plugging away with marketing and writing. Keep going – for me if there’s any quality that marks out a self-published author who has a chance, it’s persistence.
So personally I’m not discouraged. My debut novel The Lost Piece’s first months are a decent building block.