Your Amazon KDP Book Could Be Far Bigger Than You Imagine
Do you still secretly dream of a traditional publishing contract? You know, seeing your book in the windows of bookstores, nationwide?
Truth is , I’m stunned by how little writers know about the limitations of traditional bookstore publishing, while the life-changing upside of self-publishing with Amazon Print-On-Demand or Amazon Kindle™ is right in front of them.
In fact, the ‘Amazon KDP advantage‘ can give you a level of success far above those still dreaming of ‘being picked’ by a traditional publisher.
So here it is:
Your KDP books stay on Amazon’s shelves forever, giving you unlimited time to grow an audience
Unlike a traditional book store, which will only stock most new titles for a couple of months if they don’t sell, your KDP books stay live in the Amazon marketplace as long as you want.
This simple point matters enormously: it gives you time to find and grow your readership, without ever facing ‘death by bookstore’.
Let me explain…
Traditionally-Published Print Books Only Have A Small ‘Window Of Opportunity’
The tragedy of traditional publishing repeats endlessly: a writer launches their book, only to discover sales fall far short of their dreams. They need more time to find and grow a readership, but unfortunately, no such time is granted.
If your book hasn’t proved to be a hit within a couple of months, the bookstores send all unsold copies back to the publisher, who ‘remainder’ them (sell them off dirt cheap) or recycle them into paper pulp. Either way, the book dies.
This is a devastating experience, all too common for the majority of writers. The few authors whose books become mega-hits manage to avoid this, as do a considerable number of Romantic Fiction authors. Sadly for most, this limited ‘window of opportunity’ closes before they’ve had sufficient time to prove themselves worthy of staying on the shelves.
But self-publishing on Amazon KDP works massively to the author’s advantage for one simple reason:
With a Kindle or Print On Demand Book You Have Time To Grow Your Readership, And Become Highly Visible To Your Market
This is because these books stay on the virtual ‘shelves’ forever, giving you time to grow your readership steadily. You light a slow burning fuse, and the sales magic begins when you’ve taken the time needed to push your books into the limelight. And if self-published, you also get ALL the royalties, rather than a traditional publisher taking the lion’s share.
The Four Main Drivers For Creating KDP Bestsellers
- Firstly, an appealing, well written book series.
- Secondly, a free offer, such as another book in the series, that draws readers onto your email list. This is so you can promote your next book to a captive audience at zero cost.
- Thirdly, the boost of advertising. (Including social media.)
- The fourth sales driver comes from word-of-mouth buzz, when readers recommend your book to friends. This viral phenomenon is the biggest promotional force wave of all, but it takes time to gather steam.
Here’s what can happen, compared with the average experience of the book store pathway:
Publishing Hell, or Publishing Heaven?
Once your books reach a certain readership, they can trigger a moment of ‘sales fission’. When enough readers talk about and recommend your book, sales suddenly accelerate. This can only happen if your books don’t disappear from the bookstore shelves in the interim.
If you fully grasp the magnitude of this, you will understand that this is not a utopian dream, but a logical process, with a real chance for success.
But That’s Not All – There’s Another Hidden Advantage Called ‘The Phoenix Effect’
The second huge advantage of self-publishing on Amazon KDP is the powerful ‘back selling’ phenomenon that occurs when slow-selling earlier books are discovered by readers who enjoyed your later works.
Addicted readers hunt down those titles, often buying several at once and bingeing on them. This causes the earlier titles to rise phoenix-like from the ashes of previously lackluster sales. Unlike in a traditional bookstore, these earlier books remain in the Amazon marketplace, waiting for revival. I’ve dubbed this the ‘Phoenix Effect’ so you have a clear picture of the phenomenon.
In fact, this phenomenon lifts sales of all your books, and its cumulative compounding effect cannot be overstated.
When Does ‘Trad’ Make Sense? When Amazon KDP Success Proves Your Series Sells
Traditional publishers love ready-made winners. That’s why they keep on publishing Nora Roberts, Margaret Atwood, Colleen Hoover, James Patterson, and John Grisham.
On seeing your KDP success, they will pick up your books, and fully back you with their marketing and bookstore distribution power.
The bottom line is when you self-publish with Amazon KDP, you control the clock: It gives you the time you need to find your ideal audience, grow a readership, and dramatically expand your sales potential… even to the point of accepting a traditional publishing deal, if that still floats your boat!
What do you think? Are you planning to publish using Amazon Kindle or Print On Demand? Have you already? Do leave a comment below:
Author & Illustrator
I have 9 books self-published on Amazon’s KDP publishing platform, 2 of which are adult memoirs (one is available in 2 languages) and a 3-part series of children’s picture books in 3 different languages versions. I depend on my own advertising mainly on Facebook. One of my adult memoirs books is consistently in the top 100 of its category on Amazon & was once even at #4 when I really pushed it. The 3rd book in my children’s series was #1 top Seller a couple of years ago. I’ve always thought if I could just get one of my books to be well-known it would increase sales of the others as well. Marketing is the key. You are a bit remiss about Amazon royalties though. One of my books retails for a little over $24 Canadian on Amazon and my royalty is a mere $1.89 per copy sold which I share with my co-author. Two years ago, Amazon increased the cost of printing which negatively affected royalties. Any suggestions for a new children’s book that is currently being illustrated & will soon be published? It’s an epic story and at 4.500 words, longer than most picture books for children. I want to take it as far as I can and make it a classic in its genre.
Hi LMS
9 books is a great achievement. Not many get that far.
I was drawing on my own experience of staying on the shelves ‘forever’ as the main point of this post. But, you also make an interesting point re royalties, although it’s generally ‘how long is a piece of string?’
In my case, for example, I printed 20,000 books in China which was more profitable than Amazon print-on-demand since I was the publisher, and sold them using the Amazon Advantage program. But it took two years to break even and the risk was huge, so I won’t be ‘keeping them on the shelves’ again. Now I use Amazon KDP at zero risk, and my books stay available for the long term.
My previous traditional publisher HarperCollins ran my book at 350,000 copies. High quality hardcover, 20 spreads with color pictures all the way through. I made approx $1.50 per copy, so that paid off the mortgage for sure!
I’m not so sure traditional publishers pay more royalties on the print side. However having said that, it also depends on the author, how many pages in a book, whether it is part of a series, and the type of printing. For example. They pay on average, 5-10% of the cover price – an average of $0.75 for a $9.99 paperback and average of $1.40 for a $20 printed book.
Self-publishing with KDP print is 60% royalty minus print cost, so I get $1.79 for a $9.99 paperback – a higher % of the earnings than the $0.75 from a traditional paperback publisher. But your experience may be different.
Please let me know more about your upcoming book. 4500 is a great deal of words for a picture book, I hope it becomes a classic too! And that many words wouldn’t be the first time. See Geronimo Stilton, at almost 600 pages, with color all the way through.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0439559634/
As far as promotion goes, there may be some content in the book that is suitable for a ‘news’ story. I’m talking PR – send a press release to news organizations, so you are interviewed for free publicity.
Standing by!
Jonathan
Hi. My Grandma book may be picked up by a top distribution company. Problem is for me, I do not have massive amounts of money to pay for the inventory that needs to be shipped to the distributor. Do you know where an author can get financial support from some philanthropic backer?
Hi Sheri
This is the same issue I had.
Finding the funds to cover the printing of 10,000 books then another 10,000. I paid for them all myself, and eventually made a profit, but it was hair raising experience at first. (Would I even get my money back??)
I don’t know who would pay for books ‘philanthropically’, without a rationale, but this may help: Currently I’m doing roughly the same, and looking to attract a sponsor to cover the cost of distributing my picture books for free in schools. (Starting with a few thousand books.) I will make a much smaller amount from the books doing this, but consider it worthwhile because it helps spread the book brand, and actually helps with literacy in schools.
I also have a set of lesson plans to go with the books that a couple of teachers designed for me, as black and white PDFs that class teachers can print out. Having this in hand makes the offer look pretty good to an altruistic / philanthropic sponsor.
Wish me luck!
Jonathan
I had my YA fantasy books published by Macmillan, and they were always very nice to deal with, and my books did end up in bookstores. But they didn’t distribute all of them, and also didn’t go too far with marketing. After six months, they sold off the stock, as you say ‘remaindered’ it.
So, I asked for the rights back which they agreed to, and now I publish 3 books in the series (one more nearly finished) using Amazon KDP print on demand. It’s working now after two years of trying Amazon ads, losing at first, but now make a small profit.
That’s good progress for me, so I’m keeping going.
P.S. I enjoy your emails!
Hi Patti
I have the rights back too (for my picture books), although the publisher has to sell down their stock before I can get going again. I’m working on encouraging them to get a move on.
Jonathan
P.S. Let me know more when the next book in your series is close to publication. Exciting!