📝 Opening Thoughts (Real Talk from an Indie Author)
I was sitting here staring at my keyboard, wondering what I would write about this week. I often use this blog to get things off my chest – believe me, there are a lot of things that go around in my head every day, and most just get suppressed and locked away. This post comes out on a Friday, but I usually type things out through the week and schedule it to be published at the same time every week.
So, let's start with sales and the thorny issue of pricing.
💸 A Tale of Two Books (and a £1.20 Royalty)
I was talking to a work colleague the other day who mentioned she had been to The Works. "I got myself a new book," she said with a glint in her eye. "Two sentences in, and there it was... smut. I didn't have to wait!" she told me with a laugh.
"Well, you still haven't bought my book," I said, feigning disappointment.
"Your book's too expensive," she replied. "This one was £5. I can buy two books for less than the price of yours, and yours has no smut in it!"
For anyone not from the UK, The Works is a discount store that sells books, stationery, and other things very cheaply. And she has a point. My paperback is £9.99 on Amazon. It's tough to compete.
🛒 Competing with Cheap Paperbacks – Can We?
This really hit home the other day. I was surprised and excited to see that I had sold a hardback copy of "An Irish Mystery" in Deutschland (Germany). Then I looked at my royalty estimator on KDP. "That can't be right," I thought. So, I did some calculations.
My book sold in Germany for the equivalent of £12.99. Okay. Then, the printing costs come off. Then, Amazon's commission comes off (I suppose they handle the delivery and advertise it... sort of). I was left with the grand sum of... drum roll...
£1.20.
Yes, that's correct. £1.20 profit on a £12.99 sale. When my KDP account was set up by my publishers, they set the prices. I know KDP changed their royalty payment percentages recently, but being new to all this, I hadn't looked too closely. And as much as I'm not primarily motivated by how much money I make, I thought £1.20 was... well, let's just say I have a few choice words for it. I have unfortunately had to up the price of the hardback now to £14.99
This brings me back to my colleague buying a book for £5. As an indie author using a print-on-demand service like Amazon's, you simply cannot compete with that price. I would probably run at a loss if I had to sell my books at that price.
🏪 Should I Sell My Own Books Online?
Ironically, I can buy author copies direct from Amazon myself and sell them in person, which I have done locally since not everyone uses Amazon. So, do I open my own online shop? I would still keep my books on Amazon, but maybe sell them directly in the UK myself. It's more work, but I'd also make more money. I need to find a platform – TikTok Shop? books.by? Shopify? I'm not sure what to do just yet.
📘 The Future of “A Newman Adventure” – Book 2 & Beyond
This uncertainty about sales and pricing naturally leads to my next dilemma: what to do with Book 2?
I need to meet with my ARC reader soon to go over anything she has noticed in the second book of "A Newman Adventure." Then, I need to decide when is the best time to release it. There are issues. One is that I haven't sold a lot of books yet. Another is that my audience is still too small, and reviews for Book 1 are almost non-existent. It feels like shouting from the rooftops to the whole world, but they all have their headphones in.
Book 2 is essentially ready to go, bar a few more edits, I would imagine. It will be ready to publish... unless...
Unless I go with a publisher service again. This is a real question for me. I just felt that for the money it cost, my ARC readers did a better job of identifying mistakes than the professional editing service did. Don't get me wrong, I was happy with the final product we created, but was the cost worth the outcome?
What should I do? If you have any suggestions, please let me know.
Despite these dilemmas, work continues. I have been concentrating on editing Book 3, adding a few chapters, and making sure it reads well and complements the rest of the series. And, as I mentioned last time, I'm working on that FREEBIE – a prequel to the series! Follow my socials for updates. Hopefully, in the next month or two, I'll be revealing a title and then the cover, but I am hoping to bring Book 2 out first. The adventure moves forward, one way or another.
Add comment
Comments