Tuesday, September 2, 2014

How I Sell Books on Amazon


 How do I make money on Amazon selling books?

The million dollar question that many ask me. All of 2014 I have enjoyed some success on Amazon with my four books listed on the site. I sell over 250 Kindle e-books along with a few paperbacks each month. Consequently, several authors have asked me how I do it. Let me say I was a bit naïve by this and thought my sales were typical for authors on the site. I’ve since learned that this is not the case. Most authors make next to nothing in sales, which surprised me. I don’t know any magic formula to give you, but I can tell you what works for me and hopefully pass on some important info.

Amazon is my friend.

Amazon is designed for you to sell books. Three of my titles are on something called Amazon Select, and, as a result, are my best-sellers. My zombie novel Undead Flesh had a great run on Amazon, but when the sales started to dip, I naturally thought it was time to take it off Amazon Select and release it to other sites. Big Mistake. I've sold 14 books in one year on other sites. Because it is not longer exclusively on Amazon, it doesn't qualify for the Select heading, and it is reflected in the sales. I sell about 10 a month now. The other three books are on Amazon Select and do earn the most royalties. Plus the service offers marketing options you can use to promote your book. I can keep track of how many and where my books sell on a daily basis, and they pay my royalties in my bank account each month.

I took control of my books.

First, I’m a self-published writer and can’t speak about those published through small or large publishers. Being self-published gives me complete control over my books from the cover, description, text, marketing, etc.  It’s all on my shoulders, and the royalties are mine to collect. Amazon offers 70% royalties back on most books, and I currently make around 500 dollars a month. I know that’s not making me rich, but it is a nice supplemental income.  It wasn’t always this way. I put out my first two books through a POD (print on demand) publisher. As a result, they gave me crappy covers and jacked up the price to where no one would buy them. I was lucky if I sold ten a month. When it came time to release my third book, a zombie novel titled Undead Flesh, I had learned enough to try publishing it through CreateSpace. The result was an immediate spike in sales as reflected on the chart below:




In one month, I sold over 450 copies and made almost a thousand dollars in royalties. After a few months, sales started to dip for my zombie novel, so I decided to take control of my other two books, 13 Nightmares and Ebon Moon. I pulled those titles from the POD publisher and rereleased them with better covers. It was a smart move. The chart above shows the steady monthly sales I’ve enjoyed from that point on.

I try to write something somebody wants to read.

A no-brainer, but oh so true. Amazon is awash with terribly written books. I want my book to rise above the morass. If you don’t have a good story, there are no marketing tricks or cover art that will save your book. Books sell by word of mouth, especially in these times of rampant social media. I’m a firm believer in the cream rising to the top. My book that has the best sales is 13 Nightmares, a collection of horror shorts. I sell over a hundred Kindle copies each month. Why? It fills a need for the reader, and everyone loves a good creepy story. Find a niche for your book and fill it with something people want to read. Hook your reader from the start. Sweep them into the story and have them hang on like ticket holders on a wild roller-coaster ride.

I try to know my readers.

Many writers are more concerned with publishers, agents, editors, etc., and that's all good, but what about the actual people who are going to buy their books?  I reverse the paradigm. I write for the readers first. Why? Because it is they who will plunk down their hard-earned money and give up hours of their time to read my latest book. When I write a book, I have one person in mind that reflects my market.  This person doesn't even have to have a name. It could be someone I met at a convention, or at a book signing, but he or she is indicative of the demographic I'm trying to reach. I write for that one person in my head and imagine this person reading the story as I type each paragraph. You might say they are my invisible muse.

Expose yourself.

I'm not talking about getting yourself arrested. What I mean is get out there and let readers know you're a writer. It took me a little while to reach this concept: I'm not just selling books, I'm also selling myself as an author. Writers are introverts as a rule. It comes with the territory. Too many sit at home and hope the eager reader will come knocking on their door and introduce themselves. The truth is readers want to connect to a favorite author, but can't if you aren't willing to connect with them. How do you do this? Social media, of course, is an excellent way, but be smart about it. Instead of constantly posting a link to your book and begging people to buy it on Facebook, Twitter, etc. will get you nowhere. Try to talk about you as a writer, your progress on current projects, events, book signings, etc. Admittedly, I’m not the best at social media and maintaining an author platform, but I have another way I connect to the reader. I’m a convention junkie. I go to many sci-fi and horror conventions. I love talking to people who drop by my vendor table. The face-to-face interaction helps sells my books and in turn me as an author. Even if I don’t make great sales at the convention, I always have a bump in online sales after it is over. Plus I can write it off on my taxes.

There it is. My secret to making sales on Amazon in a nutshell. I hope this answers some of your questions or inspires you to not give up and keep writing. I know it's idealistic to say, but I want everyone to succeed as a writer.

2 comments:

Chef Jim said...

Good advice, Dennis. Keep going.

Jim (JE)Gurley

Renee' said...

Very simple, very straight-forward. I like it. Thank you for your input and ideas.