Guy on reddit claims to make $1k a day on amazon and never did any advertisement

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izanobu

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He already said that he had multiple pen names because he was writing in multiple genres (and writing non-fiction as well as fiction). I doubt it has anything to do with the quality of the writing. It's an age-old trick for writers to use a pen name for each genre to help readers know what they are getting (forex: if I read a Nora Roberts book, I know I'm getting a romance novel where the relationship is the focus. If I read a JD Robb book, I'm getting more of a suspense/mystery novel. Same author, two names, two genres).
 

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Okay, in time for the new month, I have all my Kindle books linked as per this guy's plan. We'll see if that makes a difference between this month's sales and next month's. (Assuming that the Kindle-Under-The-Christmas-Tree effect doesn't blow up any calculations.)
 

J. Tanner

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It'll be interesting to see if it can work with a more generalized catalog of titles.

(His case was series of 7-10 books with an anchor book for each series and specifically targeted at a category with an comparatively "easy" to breach bestseller list so a bit apples to oranges but still an interesting experiment. My own experiment into in-book links thinking like a reader is I really didn't like them going to standard web pages--too hard to view/navigate on the Kindle itself. I can't see myself using that method seriously.)
 

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Wow. Quite a bit of hate on here.

Ok, so I found this thread by googling my name and have been absolutely fascinated by the responses. I figured I may as well address some of the more common complaints:

Q. WTF Man? Why aren't you linking your books?

A. Why would I? I put down in precise detail how to link all your books together to increase sales. This method isn't exactly rocket science. I wrote about thumbnail visibility, clear titles, simple, easy-to-understand covers and vivid descriptions. How does seeing one of my books change anything I've said? Either it's clear or it isn't.

Q. How can you live with yourself, writing such utter dreck?

A. Because it's pretty good dreck. My wife and I joke that we're the Michael Bay of writing. Sure, it's a lot of crashing and thrashing, but it's still entertaining.

Q. Why are you staying anonymous?

A. Many reasons. Not really interested in having people tear apart my work, give me shit reviews or rail me because I'm doing well at it.

Q. So you're basically a whore?

A. Essentially, yes. I write what sells. I've put out things that were incredibly personal and watched the sales hover around 300 copies a month, then see a quick and dirty story I threw together in an afternoon sell over a thousand copies. Just because I think something is important doesn't mean anyone else will. It's a hard truth, but it is what it is. There's no correlation between the amount of work I put in and how well it sells.

Q. I don't think you're really a writer.

A. That's not a question, but I see what you mean. You think a writer is a tortured soul, pouring his soul into his work, creating beauty and crafting brilliance. Meh. I'd say it's someone who can effectively communicate through the written word. I have plenty of things sitting on my hard drive that I think are full of deathless prose but I know they won't sell. As Steve Jobs said, "Real artists ship". I've had a couple books put out by "real" publishers and I make more money doing this.

Q. So how did you put out so much, so quickly?

A. I already know the story before I start the first word. I know King says he just starts writing and he never knows where he's going to end up, but I already have the whole thing planned out in my head, down to the quirks of the characters, their leitmotifs, the way they look, and how their relationships with other characters are going to develop. I type very very quickly, so imagine how much you'd be able to generate if you were just writing what someone else was saying? That's sort of how my brain works. Oh, I smith it as I go, ruthlessly edit out parts that don't advance the story, and I try to keep people guessing. Every single story I write has a twist at the end. They're all light-hearted, upbeat, fun and easy to read.

Look, the economy is shit. No one wants to read an introspective analysis of a young boy coming-of-age and discovering his homosexuality in 19th century Ireland. Ok, some may, but most people want to be distracted from the endless bills, their condescending boss, their loveless marriage and their lazy kids.

That's what I write. I want to entertain, not educate. I tried the first and it didn't sell.

Q. Why are you bothering to reply here?

A. Well, I thought that you guys deserved a response, even the people crying bullshit.

Q. I call bullshit.

A. Still not a question, but you're free to disbelieve. Your incredulity won't change the amount of money deposited in my bank account.

Q. How long are you going to do this?

A. As long as it sells. My goal is to become ridiculously wealthy and have smooth-skinned native girls serve me frosty drinks while I sit on the beach and wait for the checks to arrive.

Q. I think you suck. I've been working for three years on my novel and it's brilliant. People like you dilute the pool and flood the market with shit. If I knew who you were I'd come to your house and pummel you with a mallet crafted from your own arrogance.

A. And you wonder why I remain anonymous...

Q. So wait, you're actually PROUD of the shit you write?

A. I never said it was shit. I said that content was the least important element to sell a book. However, if everything you write is shit, no one will buy the second, third, and fourth books. The thing is, you have to get them to buy the FIRST one and I already told you how to do that.

And there you have it. I think I've addressed most of the points in this thread. Have a great evening -- I have to shit out another story.

Wait.

I said everything has a twist at the end...

Rosebud was the sleigh, Keyser Soze was Kevin Spacey, and Bruce Willis was dead the whole time.
 

pfinucan

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Bruce Willis was dead the whole time??? WTF.

I say keep up the good work. Writing is for reading. And if you are making money, that is because people are reading.

ps. Does the wife know about the" smooth-skinned native girls", cause that might be awkward, just something to think about...
 

Throwaway_Writer

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Sorry for the spoilers. As far as the wife...

She does indeed. She wants smooth-skinned native boys.

I like what I'm doing. It's fun and it's works. By the way, one thing I see all the time is authors who leave a 5-star review and then link their own book at the end.

I do not do that. I know it would increase sales but it feels like cheating.
 

Dani

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Personally I appreciate your candor =). I don't need to know if you're telling the truth. I'm going to put the things you say into practice. We'll see if it works.

Btw, do you have subgenres that do well? Very niche markets I mean? I'm just wondering if they do as well. For instance my first novel will be a m/m (gay romance/mystery). I would like to know if you have anything marketed in a niche as small as that.
 

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Heh. Welcome to AW, Throwaway_Writer, and thanks for weighing in on the thread. :)
 

Throwaway_Writer

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I don't tend to work in the sub-genres unless I'm trying to advance a specific author. The problem with them is the lack of visibility. You can get crazy fans in a tiny category but you can't make enough money to justify the time spent.
 

Throwaway_Writer

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Aw, thanks. That's sweet. There was so much vitriol in this thread, it's nice to read a little positive feedback :)
 

Throwaway_Writer

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It will be interesting to see if there are that many responses. It's much easier to rail someone when they aren't reading what you're writing...
 

shaldna

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By the way, one thing I see all the time is authors who leave a 5-star review and then link their own book at the end.

I do not do that. I know it would increase sales but it feels like cheating.

It's also against the terms and conditions of posting reviews on most sites, including Amazon.



It will be interesting to see if there are that many responses. It's much easier to rail someone when they aren't reading what you're writing...

Welcome to AW, and thanks for weighing in.

But I'm going to retain my scepticism for now, for reasons I have already explained upthread.
 

KalenO

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Eh, welcome to AW - if you stick around long enough, I'm sure you'll see that rarely do we tone down our opinions whether the person we're talking about is in hearing range or not. ;)

Most of us have just exhausted our opinions on this subject given that its weeks old now, no offense.
 

Wayne K

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It will be interesting to see if there are that many responses. It's much easier to rail someone when they aren't reading what you're writing...

You're making a bold assumption here. If someone is railable, their presence changes nothing around here

Since we're on the subject, I've seen this thread a few times and to tell you the truth, I didn't believe it. I'm cynical. But, I'm also fair. If you have a formula that makes you $1,000 a day then you have a best seller right there that would double it.

See, before you joined, you were another news story. Now that you're a member I want to believe it. Prove me wrong. I could use the cash :)
 
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Dani

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You're making a bold assumption here. If someone is railable, their presence changes nothing around here

Since we're on the subject, I've seen this thread a few times and to tell you the truth, I didn't believe it. I'm cynical. But, I'm also fair. If you have a formula that makes you $1,000 a day then you have a best seller right there that would double it.

See, before you joined, you were another news story. Now that you're a member I want to believe it. Prove me wrong. I could use the cash :)

I dunno why this bugs me so much, but it does. He's not making money off you. In fact he's giving you a formula. Instead of asking him to prove it, why not prove it yourself? He doesn't make a profit off what you do. He doesn't earn more because you go try his methods.

Seriously, all these dubious people. Just try the method. That's what I'm doing. I'll keep everyone posted. Though I'm not sure how successful I'll be. I'm very niche marketed in my stories and it's taken me since February to finish the novel. I'm still editing it and having my husband, my editor, my sister-in-law and two betas reading it for mistakes.

I really wish my stories would come together faster heh.

Look, I know people think that writing fast and making a living off of it is ew so gross, but use a nom de plume, pop out a formulated story line, pop out a few novellas quickly and well-written and try the method - or any method. What's the worst that could happen? You make a few bucks? You don't make anything?

What I don't get at /all/ is the entire 'it's all bullshit' attitude. Even if you're skeptical of his success, why does it matter? What outcome are the skeptics hoping for when they make the remarks in threads like this? That's a serious question btw. What's the /point/ of your skepticism? Believe me, I'm EXTREMELY grateful for the people who point out flaws with konrath or even hocking or anyone else that might be flogging a service, but I'm very curious as to what the point is in this particular thread.
 

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And there you have it. I think I've addressed most of the points in this thread.

Actually, you left out one big one, which you didn't answer on reddit either.

Are you writing erotica?

(Erotica supports different sales trends and price points than any other genre and so applying tactics that work there to other genres may work nearly as well.)
 

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What I don't get at /all/ is the entire 'it's all bullshit' attitude. Even if you're skeptical of his success, why does it matter? What outcome are the skeptics hoping for when they make the remarks in threads like this? That's a serious question btw. What's the /point/ of your skepticism? Believe me, I'm EXTREMELY grateful for the people who point out flaws with konrath or even hocking or anyone else that might be flogging a service, but I'm very curious as to what the point is in this particular thread.

Because misleading and overhyped headlines such as this could lead fledgling writers down a path of unresearched self-publishing of underdeveloped stories. It would be detrimental to the advancement of literature, as well as the development of a number of individual, young minds. Moreso, it will bloat the market worse than fanfiction.net.

That is why it is important to weed out the false propaganda from the true triumphs.
 

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Because misleading and overhyped headlines such as this could lead fledgling writers down a path of unresearched self-publishing of underdeveloped stories. It would be detrimental to the advancement of literature, as well as the development of a number of individual, young minds. Moreso, it will bloat the market worse than fanfiction.net.

That is why it is important to weed out the false propaganda from the true triumphs.

While I agree that spreading falsities about self-publishing is dangerous, I don't see how this writer's story could disillusion fledgling writers about the realities of self-publishing and the work involved. To get to where he is now, he did have to write 80 stories. If that doesn't show just how much a writer must be into writing for the long haul, I'm not sure what would. This is no over-night success story. This is years of work.

And to respond in the thread more generally, I wonder if this writer's strategy of link-back plays on a rule of threes. When I first read an author, they have to wow me. So let's say a reader picks up one of these books by browsing in her favorite reading genre. And she likes the book. At the end of the story, there's a link (to the first in that series), so she picks it up.

Perhaps this is just me personally, but by the time I've read and enjoyed two books by an author, the third book doesn't need to be "sold" to me at all. I'll look for #3, #4, and whatever else I can find by the author that sounds like a good read to me.
 

zegota

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If that doesn't show just how much a writer must be into writing for the long haul, I'm not sure what would. This is no over-night success story. This is years of work.

Incorrect. throwaway_writer claims he did it in a few months. There's nothing "long haul" about this.
 

James D. Macdonald

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While it's possible that someone is such a natural that they can sit down at a typewriter and write at a professional level a week later (like Jerry Lee Lewis and his piano), usually it takes a lot of practice to get there.

I'd be interested in seeing how my own experiment with this method goes. (I know I need better covers, but I'm working on that....)
 

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I'm wondering who are the majority of these impulse buyers, especially on Amazon Kindle. Would it be the youngish or tech crowd who have just purchased e-readers, or is that too narrow of an assumption? I've got the price right, the cover, the blurb, Look Inside, but certainly no sales rank, and that's where I've been hung up. Unless it's my key words or the reviews? My promotion campaign has been just shy of spamming the world, sending out personal letters to 350 daily newspapers and mags, dropping links in 15 writing and promotion sites, reviews, blogs, Twiter, Facebook, dozens of display sites, press release webs, and guest appearances up the whazzoo...but...very little attention and sales.

For me, at least, Kindle has been a dirt road to nowhere. The other online e-book stores have made the majority 90% of the sales impacts on the books.

Are his sales strictly Amazon Kindle? Did he have a special Amazon package? Someone referenced that upstream--can't remember it.

I'm truly tempted to take some out-print books, repackage them and give them the e-book treatment.

Tri (kind of in wonderment/awe about all this)
 
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Dani

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I'm wondering who are the majority of these impulse buyers, especially on Amazon Kindle. Would it be the youngish or tech crowd who have just purchased e-readers, or is that too narrow of an assumption? I've got the price right, the cover, the blurb, Look Inside, but certainly no sales rank, and that's where I've been hung up. Unless it's my key words or the reviews? My promotion campaign has been just shy of spamming the world, sending out personal letters to 350 daily newspapers and mags, dropping links in 15 writing and promotion sites, reviews, blogs, Twiter, Facebook, dozens of display sites, press release webs, and quest appearances up the whazzoo...but...very little attention and sales.

For me, at least, Kindle has been a dirt road to nowhere. The other online e-book stores have made the majority 90% of the sales impacts on the books.

Are his sales strictly Amazon Kindle? Did he have a special Amazon package? Someone referenced that upstream--can't remember it.

I'm truly tempted to take some out-print books, repackage them and give them the e-book treatment.

Tri (kind of in wonderment/awe about all this)

What kind of book is it? I mean what genre?
 
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