Introduction
The Isle of Wight attracts many writers and artists to the island. It is a beautiful place to live, but there are only a limited number of opportunities for those working in the creative industries. As an aspiring writer, you might be wondering whether it is possible to make a living by becoming a self-published author on Amazon. This route would allow you to continue the Island lifestyle and have some money to enjoy all the Isle of Wight has to offer.
Amazon self-publishing has helped level the playing field in the publishing world. It provides writers with the opportunity to take control and publish their own works without having to go through the iron gates of traditional publishing houses. Regardless of your technical expertise, you can publish on Amazon if you have the internet.
For Amazon self-publishing to create a steady income as a writer, you will need to spend time and effort on marketing. Your books will not sell themselves, so you need to get the word out. Many self-published writers will hire an Amazon SEO or Amazon PPC agency to look after the Amazon business and marketing side of things. In the meantime, you should understand the basics and decide whether this is a suitable revenue stream for your writing needs.
Platforms like Spines can provide essential tools and guidance to help you navigate the self-publishing journey with ease.
Who and What Can be Self-Published on Amazon?
One of the great things about self-publishing on Amazon is that you do not need to be a professional writer or a well-known author to be successful on the selling platform. You just need to have the interest, desire and drive to write a book. Anybody can use the Amazon platform to get their work out to the world and into the shopping carts of waiting customers.
Amazon is the largest online bookstore, and you can research your target audience whatever the topic. The book can be fiction, non-fiction, history, self-help, cooking, the story of your life – literally any topic you like. It is worth checking the top seller list to see what genre sells best to make sure there is an audience for your book.
Although it is good to have an idea of the profit potential for your books, you may spot a gap in the market when performing an Amazon search. There may be topics that sell well with other book retailers, but there is no strong Amazon presence. You could cash in on this gap and find plenty of people willing to buy your published work.
One essential thing to mention is that you do not need to write long books when self-publishing books on Amazon. There is no need for your Amazon self-publishing work to be time-consuming and labour intensive. It has been found that books priced between £2.99 and £9.99 tend to generate the most revenue. This is excellent for those who like to focus on one topic at a time or prefer writing short stories.
What Are The Amazon Self-Publishing Options?
Currently, the most cost-effective way to self publish on Amazon is through Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). It is a straightforward system that allows you to upload a Word document as your eBook. If you want some fancier formatting, you can upload an HTML file.
There are currently no upfront costs, and you only need an Amazon account to start self-publishing. The KDP program has the following advantages:
- The book only takes minutes to upload to the platform, and the review period tends to take a couple of days at most.
- As the author, you retain the rights to the eBook, and you can set your own prices.
- You keep up to 70% of the sale price for every book you sell (Amazon keeps the rest as a referral fee).
- In case you notice a mistake or want to tweak something, you can make changes to your eBook and upload changes whenever you like.
For the writer who likes the idea of having a printed book, Amazon also offers a print to demand option too. This means it is simple to convert your eBook to a print book so you can open up to those customers that still prefer physical print books. If you do sell paperbacks, you are entitled to up to 60% of the royalties – instead of the 70% that you get with eBooks. There is also a print-on-demand fee which is subtracted from the publishing cost at each sale.
Once you have a good grasp of the KDP program, you can take it to the next stage with the KDP Select program. This can help you reach more readers and make additional money. However, there are some strict guidelines to follow, so start off on the standard program.
How to Market Your Amazon Self-Publishing Products
The key to becoming a successful Amazon writer is to have some great marketing behind you. Create an attention-grabbing page to support your Amazon self-publishing listing. A detailed description page will help convert those casual book browsers into buyers. This is also where some SEO skills will be needed, as this is where keywords are added to help people find you on the Amazon and Google search results.
Getting lots of positive reviews is also vital to selling books on Amazon. Customers want to know what other readers thought of your book before they commit to a purchase. As a new author, you will need to send out your book to as many of your contacts as possible and ask them to submit an honest review.
You will also need to become social media savvy and even create a website of your own. The objective is to make as many people aware of your book as possible – so post about your new book on Facebook, Twitter and your blog. In addition, you could create an email list that shares content that is relevant to your book.
If you have the budget available, Amazon also offers paid advertising options. Every time someone searches one of your keywords on Amazon or searches for a book similar to yours, ads for your book will appear. When done correctly, Amazon Ads can do a considerable amount to boost sales.
The Takeaway
Whatever type of writer you are, it is possible to make money self-publishing on the Amazon platform. The first step is to get writing and publish it on KDP. You can then hire an agent to look after the marketing and Amazon management side of things, or you can go at it alone and market yourself.
