Hello Dreamers,
Now this only includes sales on Amazon. It isn't factoring the sales from live events, which is about $200 CAD. Not a lot of money.
So I'm going to experiment with different means of delivery. This year, my goals for writing are:
Publish 3 Books
According to multiple sources, a self-published author needs to push 3 books minimum to be viable. I know I want to be a machine when it comes to content, and I know that the more content I put out the more hooks for revenue I get, especially on Amazon.
Sign Up for More Live Events
That $200 CAD I got from launch parties only included purchases made with plastic, and not liquid money. So one thing I want to do is not just have more launch parties, but be in more live events and markets. I would be looking to register a table at festivals like Kempenfest in Barrie, or literature events like Word on the Street Toronto.
Heck, maybe I can get into the CNE!
Ok, too tall an order.
Sell Ebooks on This Site
Amazon Kindle is fun and all, but did you know that Wix has suites for storefronts? I mean, the advantage of using your own storefront, like a Shopify, is you keep more of the money and can set prices however you like.
On Amazon, the lowest I am allowed to price an ebook is $0.99 USD, but I only get 30% of that price. To get 70% I need to price the ebook at $2.99 USD. This is why there is the absurd scenario where Whispers of the Abyss and Champion of Seasons are both $2.99, despite one only having 25K words while the other has 80K words.
If I sell here, I have more freedom of setting prices, and I keep more of that purchase. The drawback, of course, is you don't get the visibility that Amazon offers.
Still, would help to be able to sell stories more episodically - selling shorter snippets for cheaper, then take the episodes and amalgamate them into a book to then put on Amazon for those who want a larger, Kindle version, or a hardcopy.
Patreon/Subscription Models
To help with the above idea of episodic, I would like to give readers two options.
Option 1 would be a pay-as-you-go, where you would buy a part of the series for a one time payment of, like $0.20 per episode, or a bundle of them for a discount. I think I would base the price on word count.
Option 2 would be a subscription service, something like Patreon, where for a reoccurring monthly fee you can download all you want of what is available. The fee priced to be cheaper than if you bought so many a month.
Experimenting with Hardcover Releases
The paperback version of anything I publish will still be handed by KDP.
The problem with hardcovers via KDP is that there is no hardcover printing option in Canada, meaning that I would have to have them shipped from the United States. Even without the tariff threats its still more expensive and it takes longer for me to get the physical product in my hands.
And no one orders hardcovers on Amazon. Heck, they're not even buying at live events.f
Here is my plan with hardcovers going forward:
Have them printed from a more local print shop. The Toronto Printing House looks promising
Treat them as special, Limited Edition versions. I would buy, like 50 copies, then do the salesmen thing of "Limited copies! Come get them before they're gone!" I just vomited in my mouth, but hey, one has to hustle.
Sell them mostly on Kickstarter/Indiegogo in campaigns.
Hardcovers will still be offered at live events.
No More Merch
No one at events buys it anyways. I think I will wait until I get more popular. I'll being it back once there is a buzz about me, and more people buy and are interested in my work.
There will still be bookmarks!
Opmerkingen