Today on his website he has posted a royalty statement for the last three weeks (!?!) showing that he has made $100,000 in royalties. He has many titles but still there is no way you can't find that impressive. I doubt most big name authors make that quarterly let alone in three weeks.
Over the holiday I did a bit of research about KDP for my column. I think the one thing that bothers me is the 30% taken by the US Tax Department. Apparently Botswana has no tax treaty with America. But I guess if you compare that to 80 + % publishers take it's not so bad.
I have a few books I think might work at KDP, I'm really thinking about giving it a try. Of course I'm still held back by the stigma of self publishing. I know it's crazy because even mega-writers like Stephen King and JK Rowling are self publishing their own ebooks.
Maybe the frustration of having 16 (yes 16, I counted today) published books and barely making a liveable wage might be enough to push me to a new way of thinking.
What do you think?
8 comments:
I'm very much in the same frame of mind. But what I do know is that self-publishing also means self-marketing and self-promoting. And if you do NOT have a famous name, or do not have something totally unique that stands out, how do readers find your books?
"Traditional" publishing houses have well-oiled machines, even if they do expect more and that authors do a lot of self-promotion.
Of course there are always examples of people who manage to hit it rich, but I am sure it took enormous work to get there, work that wasn't writing.
Sigh. I wish I could be more optimistic.
Lauri, I don't think you have to worry about stigma, you have been traditionally published and even shortlisted for a prestigious prize.
Even so, I personally don't care. People can only make you feel small if you let them. I decided to go indie after several rejections and I do not regret it. It is a lot of work, but it can also be very rewarding.
I'm no Konrath but I made nearly a thousand dollars in one month on Amazon alone and one one book. Altogether, I've recouped my expenses of publishing and promotion, including doing the same in Nigeria. I wish I could be more prolific, it certainly helps to have several books out there.
If you have the electronic rights of your already published books, I would encourage you to use the free Kindle, Pubit and Smashwords to distribute them to ereaders. What is there to lose?
All the best.
go for it! at least you'll know from first hand experience how things will work out for you.
I wanted to give it a go, and it does take a lot of effort like marketing, being on the web etc, you already have part of that. You should also check Amanda Hocking she became a millionaire from self-publishing and agencies were after her. She is a good writer, despite some typos and grammar in her work, but still these people sell books regardless of that because the story is that good. This whole self-publishing on kindle does have its pros as well as cons. Well goodluck deciding
Lauri, I agree with Myne. If you have electronc rights to your books, go for it. Best wishes, Kiru.
I say go for it. For where we sit, In Africa, there is nothing to lose and perhaps a whole lot to gain. Good luck!
He did a great job. He made 100,000 in just 3 weeks.
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Lauri don't worry. Just try your best and work hard. One day you will be able to make $100,000.
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