Share Your Successes!

Very nice, Nick! Congrats!

EngineerTiger said:

Isabella, I have no idea how the audiobook thing will work but, by using ACX, it made it worth while to experiment a bit. It's not quite as easy as eBooks or CreateSpace but it's still manageable. Being a curious creature, I was almost sucked into the "Hey, I can do this myself" but, after reading up on the process, I realized that this is one area where it is a good idea to let another person with the right technical background and equipment take over. Even so, there is plenty of information on the site to help you get started if you want to venture into the production yourself. I'm just too limited in time as it is right now to undertake another new technique so I was very happy to work out a deal with a narrator/producer instead. I suspect there is a rather steep learning curve and I opted to get the book produced sooner than tackle it myself which would have caused a delay in its release.

Just be sure to read all the FAQs and how tos as these provide a lot of information that can help you ascertain if this is for you. Also, take a look at audible.com. You can listen to samples which will give you an idea of the different styles of narration for the different genres. Many of the ACX narrators have multiple samples for different styles of story (spooky, story-teller, authorative, warm, etc.).

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Very useful information, Beverly. Lots for me to think about... Thanks!

You are very welcome, Isabella.

I've been reading all the stuff about Kindle publishing and finally thought I'd give it a go. I set the book price at $12.99 and royalties at 35%. I have NO IDEA what that all means to me.

But I got the email saying the book was accepted today. I went to my 'reports' area, and see that I've made a sale already. Cool--I sold one. Thanks everyone for talking about e-publishing.

theengel said:

I've been reading all the stuff about Kindle publishing and finally thought I'd give it a go. I set the book price at $12.99 and royalties at 35%. I have NO IDEA what that all means to me.

But I got the email saying the book was accepted today. I went to my 'reports' area, and see that I've made a sale already. Cool--I sold one. Thanks everyone for talking about e-publishing.

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It'd be interesting to read how you do at that price point. It's really, really high for a Kindle ebook from an unknown. Is 35 % the only option you have at that price? If yes, it might make more sense to go lower and get the 70% royalty.

theengel said:

I've been reading all the stuff about Kindle publishing and finally thought I'd give it a go. I set the book price at $12.99 and royalties at 35%. I have NO IDEA what that all means to me.

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35% of $12.99 means you'll receive a royalty of approx. $4.55. If you priced your book at $9.99 and chose 70% royalty, you'd receive approx. $6.99 (minus the delivery fee -- generally anywhere from three to seven cents). More royalty for you and your readers would save $3.00.

So what's the incentive for people to choose 35 instead of 70??? Why would they have those two choices?

It's really, really high for a Kindle ebook from an unknown

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It's a nonfiction with very little competition. None, in fact. Wouldn't it be cool if my fiction sold for that much... or sold at all.

At 35% there is no delivery fee, so if you have a book that is image-heavy, it might be worth it. Also, if you want to offer your book at a lower price (lower than $2.99), your only option is 35%. To receive a 70% royalty, the price needs to be set between $2.99 and $9.99.

You asked what the incentive was to choose the 35% royalty, so I have to ask, why did you choose it?

Because I didn't think it out real well. I thought it would lower the actual price for some reason; I didn't know I would actually be setting the final sale price. And then, I didn't want to go back and change it right after getting it live. But I'm glad I did, because a "delivery" price would irritate me. I wouldn't want my 'customers' to have to pay it.

theengel said:

Because I didn't think it out real well. I thought it would lower the actual price for some reason; I didn't know I would actually be setting the final sale price. And then, I didn't want to go back and change it right after getting it live. But I'm glad I did, because a "delivery" price would irritate me. I wouldn't want my 'customers' to have to pay it.

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Customers don't pay the delivery fee, it is taken out of your royalty. Example: If you were supposed to receive $2.10 as a royalty, you'd receive $2.05 instead. Amazon KDP's reports page will show you all the details regarding sales.

theengel said:

So what's the incentive for people to choose 35 instead of 70??? Why would they have those two choices?

It's a nonfiction with very little competition. None, in fact. Wouldn't it be cool if my fiction sold for that much... or sold at all.

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All books have competition. If there's no other book on the topic out there, I'd be worried, not happy. In any case, it's your book, so you can set up the price you want. Like I said, it'd be interesting to hear how you do.

The main reason some authors opt for the 35% is that the 70% option is likely that the higher percentage is ONLY available if you enter the select program. Meaning you can't put the e-book anywhere but Amazon. I have half in select and half out, and I've opted out of select with those in it after the time period so that I can diversify. I love Amazon, but the Kindle isn't the only reader out there.

MissWrite said:

The main reason some authors opt for the 35% is that the 70% option is likely that the higher percentage is ONLY available if you enter the select program.

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This is not accurate. Both Amazon KDP and Amazon KDP Select offer 35% and 70% royalty rates based on the price you set for your e-book. If you price your book between $2.99 and $9.99, you may select the 70% royalty rate. You may select the 35% royalty rate for any price point (minimum $.99 cents).

NewKidOldKid said:

All books have competition. If there's no other book on the topic out there, I'd be worried, not happy. In any case, it's your book, so you can set up the price you want. Like I said, it'd be interesting to hear how you do.

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2 sales so far--so I guess it's doing pretty for for me being an unknown. But I still don't have any reviews, so we'll see what happens with it. But I might pick the 70%.

All I know is whenever I uncheck the opt-in for lending the 70% area is no longer available.

You have to check the lending box to receive the 70% royalty. This is not related to Select. This means that whoever buys the e-book can lend it one time for a two-week period. During that time, the e-book will not be available to the purchaser. When the two-week period is up, it will vanish from the lendees Kindle and be available to the buyer again. It is a one-time only lend.

theengel said:

I've been reading all the stuff about Kindle publishing and finally thought I'd give it a go. I set the book price at $12.99 and royalties at 35%. I have NO IDEA what that all means to me.

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Uh, why would you do this? I mean, this is your book, you absolutely SHOULD know what all that means to you.

Most big-name (Stephen King, Clive Barker, Clive Cussler, James Patterson, Dean Koontz, and more) authors from the Big 6 publishing houses stay at 9.99 or LOWER. A lot of their older works sell for as low as 6.99.

12.99 for an e-book from an independent author that has no proven track record is...um, not good.

Choosing the 35% option is bad for yourself as well. you basically volunteered to take less money for no reason (unless it's image heavy, as somebody pointed out above).

I'd strongly advise selling between the 2.99 and 5.99 mark and giving yourself 70%. There have been multiple studies on e-book sales from indie authors and that's where the most sales occur. Books priced above 5.99 see a massive drop off. If you're selling your book for more than double that, you're shooting yourself in the foot before the race even starts.

I mean, if you manage to sell at that price, hey, awesome! congratulations! But I can guarantee you'll sell more at a lower price, and by accepting the 70% option, you'll make more money as well.

Good luck.

Justin_AC said:

But I can guarantee you'll sell more at a lower price

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There are no guarantees. It may be more likely that a title will sell at a lower price, but there are no guarantees.

Justin_AC said:

But I can guarantee you'll sell more at a lower price

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No, I didn't do my research about the technicalities in all of this. I forged ahead and winged it because that's always how I've figured things out, when it comes to computers.

But in general marketing, I've done plenty of research. (maybe I should be moving this to a new thread).

Giving your product a low price gives it a perceived low value. Giving it a higher price doesn't necessarily make it seem worth more... but it helps. If you package it as a valuable product, then hanging a low price on it is suicide. Marketing Experiments ran quite a few tests to see what kind of prices would bring the most profit. They also were looking for higher sales numbers, because market share was a big factor.

In one test, they sold a psychology book for 7.95, 14.00, & 24.95.

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The highest priced one brought the most profit, but the mid priced one brought the highest market share. The lowest priced one TOTALLY BOMBED! Low profits and low market share.

Of course, as mentioned, the price for e-books has already been tested. The big names have already found their "key" price range.

But I'm not a big name. If I go lower, then I'm telling the readers I'm less than the big names. And besides, my book offers information that the big names don't. This book offers more than the average. That's the message the high price is supposed to convey... and I believe it is working out that way.

All right, well I hope it works out for you mate. Good luck!
And you're right Merri, no guarantees ever (except death and taxes).

The lowest priced one TOTALLY BOMBED! Low profits and low market share.

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According to the statistics you posted, the lower priced book didn't totally bomb. It actually had a higher market share (390 orders) than the highest price noted (300 orders). It did "bomb" in relation to revenue.

But it lost to second price in market share. I guess "bombed" was the wrong word. But it didn't "win" in anything.

Are those prices for a print book or an ebook? It's a very different market

Good question.

Probably print. I would assume print. You can call it a different market... but I think the same marketing principals apply just about anywhere. Hell--the marketers were selling ebooks long before kindles came out.

I'm going to start another thread concerning all this...

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7258235#post7258235