Selling a Self-Published Book – Be Realistic About How it Will Sell | KDP Amazon

It’s time to face some facts about  self-publishing . It is not likely to make you filthy rich. The only people who ever got rich this way were either 1) pioneers in their genres ala Stephen King or 2) very well connected or 3) wealthy already. Other people get rich indirectly by becoming experts in their fields.

Many people believe that writing a  self-published  title gives them a better chance of getting picked up by a major house. Not necessarily so.

 Selling   Books  – It’s All About the Numbers

In order for a major  publishing  house to even look at an independent author, they have to see some serious proven sales figures in the tens of thousands: 20,000, 30,000, 50,000 copies  sold  or more. An author who  sells  1,000 copies is not likely to be snatched up by a major house. Anyone with motivation and a credit card account can do that.

In fact, a  self-published  author who somehow  sells  50,000 copies all by his or herself (and can prove it of course) is almost 100% guaranteed to get a major  book  deal. That’s because it is unheard of for an unknown author to do those numbers, and there must be something truly magnificent (or cunning) in play.

Now many people will probably read that last line and say “well that’s me! I’m magnificent!” I say to those folks, it’s time to get real.

How will you  sell  50,000 copies of your  books  if you could barely afford to pay $500 to get the cover designed professionally? Plus, if you only have enough of an initial investment right now to order 2,500 copies upfront, how in the world are 50,000  books  going to get printed in a year?

Let’s Get Real About  Selling   Books 

Let’s look at some quick numbers. According to the Authors Guild, the average  self-published   book  that is considered to be “successful” will  sell  no more than 5,000 copies in its lifetime (7,500 for non-fiction).

Keep in mind that how you  sell  your  books  in the first year is a good indicator of how it will do in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 20th year.

So if you’re thinking that you’re going to somehow go platinum,  sell  100,000 copies all by yourself and become a millionaire in the first year, you are starting from a very unrealistic mindset. You have to think numbers; cold hard facts. Where are you going to find 100,000 buyers for your  self-published   book  in a year or even two?

Plus, you have to think about competition when you  publish  and  sell  your  books .

So Many Authors to Compete With

Everybody and their mothers want to write and  publish  a  book . When I was out  selling   books  at  book  signings, countless people came up to me and asked me to write their life story for them.

Everyone thinks that they are the most amazing person that ever existed or that their life story is the stuff of legends. So just about everybody is putting out a story or guide these days.

The reality: according to RR Bowker, there are over 175,000  books   published  each year and it is estimated that 80% of U.S. households don’t even buy  books  (Source: Jerold Jenkins, http://www.JenkinsGroupInc.com). Consider these stats and your competition when setting your goals for  selling   books .

The Point of this Article

This article is not meant to discourage you from writing and  selling  your  book . It is meant to open your eyes to the cold, hard realities of the  publishing  industry and refocus your marketing plan. Hopefully it will also save you from a side-blinding disappointment.

I want you to get realistic about how many  books  you will  sell  so that you leave yourself open to achieving the success that you crave.

Source by Penelope Thompson

CONCLUSION

Keywords are important. In order to make your book stand out from the crowd, you must learn how to strategically choose them and ethically harness their power.

There’s a difference between Amazon Keywords and SEO Keywords. I’ve shown you how to choose and use them both to increase your ebook sales.

The right keyword combinations can open up new markets for you.

Strategic keyword selection will drive more viewers to your book. You can use keywords to gain more viewers and ultimately, make more sales.
Find the right keywords one of two ways: either use my free methods, or pay once for Keyword Samurai and have all the dirty work done for you.

With Keyword Samurai, you will have instant access to loads of incredibly valuable information at your fingertips.

http://kindlesamurai.net/

Cheers,

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CONCLUSION Keywords are important. In order to make your book stand out from the crowd, you must learn how to strategically choose them and ethically harness their power. There’s a difference between Amazon Keywords and SEO Keywords. I’ve shown you how to choose and use them both to increase your ebook sales. The right keyword combinations can open up new markets for you. Strategic keyword selection will drive more viewers to your book. You can use keywords to gain more viewers and ultimately, make more sales. Find the right keywords one of two ways: either use my free methods, or pay once for Keyword Samurai and have all the dirty work done for you. With Keyword Samurai, you will have instant access to loads of incredibly valuable information at your fingertips. http://kindlesamurai.net/ Cheers,