4 Critical Elements to Selling on Kindle

SpeakingOfWealth.comSo you’ve decided to thumb your nose at the gatekeepers to the traditional publishing and publish your hot new title as a downloadable Kindle ebook. In case you weren’t aware, the portable Kindle ebook reader is the only the most massively popular bit of technology in the known universe right now, having sold approximately 17 kajillion units (according to Amazon bigwig Jeff Bezos) over the holidays last year. It comes down to this. Independent authors are making big bucks with nothing more than a digital version of their book uploaded to the Amazon Kindle store.

The numbers don’t lie. An interesting case study by one Jeremy Robinson, a signed author with a book deal at a major press, revealed that he has done better selling his own books digitally via the Kindle Store than being a mid-lister with a major brick and mortar publisher. From humble beginnings, Robinson has managed to turn several $10,000 months with digital sales alone.

The question then becomes what makes a good Kindle book? First of all, as always, good writing is a must. Unless, of course, you’re writing teen vampire or zombie angst series, then you can slap any old combination of words on the page and they’ll sell. for the rest of us without the foresight to delve into those genres, the following attributes will help your Kindle book sell:

1. A good book with good formatting. Poor writing, spotty grammar, misspellings, and formatting errors scream, “Rank amateur!” Sorry, amateurs don’t sell in the digital world any better than they do in the real world. While you might avoid the slush pile, you’ll find yourself listed at about #3.5 million on the Amazon best selling list.

2. Good cover. Just like in the book store, a cover must give the potential reader a reason to pause and consider whether or not to delve further. Especially if you’re not a name author, a cover can make or break sales.

3. Good product description. If Joe Consumer has never heard of you, you better do a slam bang job of describing your book to him. He’s going to skim fast and make a decision faster. Hook him hard if you want the sale, though be truthful. The only thing worse than a boring description is a dishonest one.

4. Good price. Mega digital selling author JA Konrath has decided, through research with his own 19 titles, that a digital book should be priced at $2.99. No more. no less. This is the sweet spot. The public simply doesn’t agree with traditional publishers that an ebook should cost upwards of ten bucks. Public votes with wallet. Public wins. Game over.

And now you know how to make a million with a Kindle book.

The Speaking of Wealth Team

SpeakingOfWealth.com

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