Tag Archive - Kindle

Targeting Genre with the KDSPY Kindle App

Recently I wrote some posts on targeting genre for big sales, as this is a topic that I’ve been very interested in, personally, for years. I always wondered just how much genre had to do with a novel’s success, and when I did my “experiment” a couple of years ago by writing in a genre that purportedly “sold itself,” I proved to myself (and perhaps to many others) that genre really matters. (If you didn’t read my blog post on The Book Designer that went viral in the writing world, take a look at it here. )

My aim was to write a novel that carefully fit a big-selling genre and see if it would sell with little effort on my part. I used a pen name, and although I did a little bit of marketing—similar to what a new author would do—I was astounded by the sales I saw. Way more than all the sales I got from my other half dozen self-published novels.

Whether You’re in It for the Money or Not

You might not care about making money off your books. But some of us have families to support and bills to pay. I felt guilty for years writing novel after novel that didn’t sell, “wasting precious time” (my assessment) when I could have been working at Wal-Mart for minimum wage and at least bringing some money in. Continue Reading…

One EBook Author’s Success Story

I’ve been reading with much interest individual success stories for previously unknown authors who chose to go the eBook route with their novels. One is the account of fantasy author Michael J. Sullivan. His wife tells of his rise to success with the first five books of his Riyria series (which she first published on her own small press–Ridan Publishing 2008-2010). In nine months (January-September 2010) her husband’s income from sales averaged about $1,500 a month (Kindle sales solely), but after the tipping point occurred, he earned more than $102,000 in five months. Continue Reading…