Two hundred and seventy-six thousand, one hundred and eleven.
That's how many self-pubbed books I've sold.
About 245k of these on Kindle.
20k on Smashwords,
5k on Createspace,
The rest divvied up among Nook, OverDrive, and my website.
276112
The vast majority of this has been within the last six months. As of last October, I hadn't even hit 100,000.
So far, in April, I've sold over 30,000 books. I'll easily break 35,000 this month.
So, by Christmas, I'll have hit half a million books sold.
Of course, that's a conservative estimate. I'm releasing four more ebooks this month, have several more scheduled for the year, and I expect ereaders to keep selling as their prices keep going down. The market isn't close to being saturated.
I don't think I've really hit my stride yet.
In March, I earned over $68,000. But I know that number can go up. Other authors have earned more. A lot more.
It's been fascinating to watch how this has all developed over the last two years.
The media is picking up on it. Agents are changing their business models. I'm getting far more email than I'll ever be able to answer. Lots of folks thanking me. Lots of folks telling me they're convinced, and are going to self-publish. Lots of folks saying they already have, and sharing their successes.
This isn't just a few fringe outliers making a few bucks in a new, untested market. This is a paradigm shift. A full-fledged revolution.
If you're a writer, and haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet, don't worry too much about it.
Sure, you'll miss out on making some money. But it will still be here when you're ready.
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139 comments:
Congrats, Joe. Amazing numbers.
Hooray. New Joe Konrath post!
wow, your numbers inspire me.
If I could do that in the next couple of years I would be a very happy author.
Congrats! I am a newer fan, just purchased one of your books and am enjoying it so far. Good luck to you in the future.
Congrats on your numbers Joe, I'm sure that next year's numbers will dwarf these.
Ebooks are a juggernaut. If I held a job in Legacy publishing I'd be very nervous, but I'm an indie, so I'm just full of anticipation and expectations.
Congratulations. I've seen sales increase five-fold this month, each week, with more and more sold. Definitely selling a lot more on my own than my traditional publishers were selling for me.
Amazing numbers. So inspired. Thanks for sharing.
Incredible Joe! Congrats, you already know how awesome you are so i wont waste your time praising you.... Keep up the good work.
Jack
http://osricswand.blogspot.com/
Thanks for all your honesty about this. If you hadn't constantly talked about your experiences, and how they can work for the rest of us, I never would have had the courage to put my own books up.
Thank you.
Wow.
"6"
Six.
That's how many self-pubbed books I've sold.
About 5 of these on Kindle.
1 on Smashwords.
Still loading up on Createspace.
So I'm a long way behind, but because of you I have hope and with your help it is realistic hope. Thanks Joe. Apologies for the plagiarism :)
Thank you, Joe, for all the help and encouragement. I'm writing more than I ever have and loving every minute. If my books get published now, it's my decision.
Fantastic numbers! I aspire to those even though I'm barely a fraction of them. However, as you've said on this blog numerous times, forever is a long time. I know as I continue to write and add more ebooks to my personal virtual shelf, eventually more people will find them and enjoy them. Viva la revolution!
Wow, Joe. Congrats!
I just released my first last Friday. So I'm eight full days in and I've sold 17 books.
I have no idea if that's a good start or not, but I'm glad it's selling at all.
I have two more ready to go to publication so I'm interested to see how it plays out.
Big thanks go to you, by the way. I might not have even known about all this were it not for your blog.
Joe, great figures and very encouraging. I recently published four novels in the Kindle Store and sales have been slow. I notice in your other posts that you point out several methods of getting better sales for your books. For example, dropping the price of The List to 99c as an experiment. Do you see your success in e-publishing as a combination of marketing, pricing and existing exposure from your paper titles, or is there one thing you would advise as the most effective way of upping sales?
http://bloodontheforehead.blogspot.com/
Those are some impressive numbers. I jumped on the bandwagon last month, and released a thriller that is very similar to your books, and to books that fans of yours enjoy. It's even gotten some pretty fantastic reader reviews on Amazon.
I also followed your advice: I have a good cover, I have a solid description, and I'm at a low price.
And while there have been some initial sales, I haven't seen anywhere near the numbers you're looking at. And of course, I didn't expect it so soon, but your numbers are so far off as to seem completely unobtainable.
So, my question is: am I doing something wrong? I'd welcome advice from all readers of this blog. They can click the link I gave earlier or look down under my name. Is the cover not as good as I think, or is the description poor? Is there something else missing?
I guess it's harder than it really seems, especially when you stare awestruck at numbers like yours.
Sebastian
Author of The Targets - Available for $2.99 at Amazon US and Smashwords
Hey Joe, how many (numbers) of your legacy books were sold? Just interested in the comparison between the numbers ...
I agree that everything has shifted, completely and utterly ... though I'm being patient about putting my own work up ... while I want to make some money, I don't want to put work up that isn't ready for public consumption ... I think that will cost me even more dollars in the end ...
It's important to note that the very first month my ebooks were for sale on Kindle, I sold 1095 ebooks, and that was with 8 ebooks available.
It took two years for my sales to reach where they're at, and now I have 30 ebooks available.
Success doesn't happen overnight.
@ Dylan English
I think with just over two per day over your first 8 days, you're doing just fine. I'm on the same trajectory with 36 sales in 17 days, and I'm considering that successful.
When you consider that John Locke made just $47 in royalties his first month (Sept, 2010), it takes awhile and luck to find an audience. Best of luck to all of us. There has never been a better time to be a writer.
And congratulations and thanks to Joe, who'll never have to worry about money again.
@sebastian. The cover looks good, the description is good. Patience, the numbers will come.
I have three manuscripts I've been unable to sell. You have inspired me to look at things in a different way. Thank you for this blog.
Kristin Kathryn Rusch has been blogging on an interesting topic. She avers that the trad pub houses lack the capabilities with their ancient accounting systems to properly track ebook sales and pay authors. See http://kriswrites.com/2011/04/20/the-business-rusch-royalty-statements-update/. Personnally, I don't have skin in that game, but this will be a BIG ISSUE for indie publishers.
I hope of have half the success you do. Not only have I self-published, I've also went electronic with the magazine I run. Why not? People read those too, right?
Trembles Horror Magazine
That's mindboggling. I don't sell but a handful now, but it's nice to know that such numbers are (theoretically) available.
Jason Vanhee
Never
I just recently purchased Whiskey Sour at a Borders over here in Dubai, Joe. So you can add another one to your total. Congrats on the great numbers and thanks for sharing them.
Thank you for your transparency and honesty, Joe. Having solid numbers helps us all figure this thing out so we can all win. Like you said, it's a huge market.
How do you determine the price for your eBooks?
For example, Planter's Punch is $.99. Dirty Martini is $4.69. Fuzzy Navel is $7.59.
Do you sell more titles at the $.99 price point?
Do some books sell more than others regardless of price?
Thank you once again, brother!
Congratulations Joe! Two years . . . okay, I can do that.
I've been trying to get published for 5 years so these last four months I took the plunge and put up my backlist. In January I put up my first book on Amazon and sold 21, mostly to friends and family. I put up two more books in February and sold 50. I put up another book in March and sold 272, and a fifth in April and have sold over 1400 so far.
Thanks for the push to get started . . .
That's outstanding. Thanks for sharing and all the info you've passed on!
You give the rest of us hope that we can get ours out there!
@ryan - the higher priced books are the ones that Joe doesn't hold the rights to. His publisher does, and determines the (higher) pricing.
@stevie - thanks.
@joe - still, 1000 sold the first month is nothing to sneeze at. Of course, you had the benefit of this blog, which you've built up over the years, and some name recognition, which obviously wouldn't have hurt. But I agree that it takes time.
Sebastian
Author of The Targets - Available for $2.99 at Amazon US and Smashwords
@Sebastian,
I gotta say, I'm not a big fan of the third paragraph in your description, the one that goes into detailing the murders. It seems a little out of place and awkwardly written.
Don't know if you're losing sales from it but that's my two cents.
Otherwise it all looks good. Especially the fact that you have 13 good reviews. (considering two days ago the latest John Locke book was in the top 10 and only had 17 reviews.)
Can I just say:
WOW!!! Awesome numbers!!!
Congratulations.
I'm very happy with my sales, too. And you are right. It does take time. But, damn!!! It's SO worth it!!!
Thanks for this blog, Joe.
You ROCK!!!
Wow, Bennet, that article is... wow... Joe, you should write a blog on that subject too, IMO.
Finally. I was starting to get the shakes after more than a week without this blog.
Aside from being so open about your sales, and your clear-cut advice on great book, cover, blurb, price, shelf space + luck, the best thing you’ve done for me is make me fall in love with writing all over again.
I hand’t realized that over the past few years, I was slowly writing with agents harping in the back of my mind. Will an agent “like” my voice? Will an agent think she can sell my offbeat work? When I became an indie author late last year, suddenly, the only thing that mattered was readers.
Maybe that was all in my head, my fault for subtly forgetting about readers, but there it was. When I cliked publish on Amazon and Smashwords, I started writing like a mad woman. That’s not to say I can write whatever the hell I want without thinking about the marketplace, but I kind of can. Because there’s no one sitting there saying: There’s no market for this, when they really have no idea.
Congrats and THANKS!
Joe the numbers look great, and I'm super pleased for you. This post however, makes me nervous. I'm thinking this author-driven business model is going to get a lot more complicated once the establishment (legacy pubs with a legion of hungry mouths to feed) jumps on board and starts trying to get a piece of the action. -kni
@nwrann - thanks for the feedback. I looked at the paragraph that you pointed out, and actually cringed a little when re-reading it. I completely agree with you, it just seems a bit... stilted. I'm heading out now, but will redo it when I get back tonight.
and as for the reader reviews, well, they let me know that people out there are enjoying the book. And that gives me confidence that the product itself is of good quality
Sebastian
Great numbers
Joe - here's to continued success.
I'll share my numbers as well.
I have one book out - Burn Out. Although I have been a freelance writer for many years, this is my first novel.
I released it on April 4th.
Kindle US - 95
Kindle UK - 11
Smashwords - 8
Barnes and Noble- 12
I think I have earned around $40. I'm working on my next novel Asylum Harbor which is next in the series and it will be out in June. I'm beyond excited. My 19 yr son Chase is also working on his first thriller novel. And he is a far more talented writer than I am. I'm hopeful that he will go far in this business.
Holy crap. And congratulations.
Add me to the list of people saying thanks for the encouragement. I have three contracts with a major epub, and I've been writing the kinds of stories I thought I could sell.
Last week I launched something I wanted to write (the first episode of an erotic science fiction serial).
After having so much emotionally invested in being validated by a publisher, well, I don't think I could have gone from "can't to can" without reading this blog.
Thanks :D
The Hitchhiker: Amazon, B&N, Smashwords
Joe you should take a look at that Kristine Rusch link. Looks like there may be some big law suits coming. Maybe the reason your trad. ebook sales are so low isn't the price. Maybe it's because there just not reporting them to you.
@ LibraryScience
I obviously agree. If publishers are grossly underreporting sales and royalties to their authors, big stinky problems. More authors like Bob Mayer, Konrath, and Eisler will self-pub. The more established authors self-pub, the more I (we) look like them. It's good for all of us who approach this like a business. The business model is currently a very good one.
@Sebastian Dark:
Dean Wesley Smith is of the opinion that the more of your stories you put out there, you'll gain momentum slowly but steadily.
The legacy/trad model of having to make a huge splash right out of the gate doesn't apply. The more you can put out there, the more of a chance you'll people will find (and buy) more of your stuff; and I already saw at least one Amazon reviewer who said they'd be looking for more of your stories. :-)
Keep at it, don't become obsessed with how much you've sold on any particular day/week/month. You're in this for the long haul and have plenty of time to sell more stories.
Check out Dean Wesley Smith's blog (http://www.deanwesleysmith.com) and read his series, Thinking Like a Publisher and Killing the Scared Cows of Publishing. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
I don't often agree with the crowd, but I agree that Joe has proved a point here. Self-publishing is a whole new ballgame now.
Awesome numbers Joe!
The IRS is going to love you, Joe.
XD
My wife recently published her first book on the Kindle. This blog was one of the biggest reasons why we chose this route. Joe, we really appreciate your transparency into your success and numbers.
We launched the book on April 8th. So today we are 17 days into it with 50 sales on Kindle and Nook. We are planning on Createspace and Smashwords....just haven’t gotten there yet.
I personally think it takes time. We are just now getting good reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. A few bloggers have picked up her book and will be posting their reviews on their blogs in the next week or so. She has two more books ready to go. We hope to have these up within the next 10 days. The bottom line is that we have a plan and we have to stick to it. We have to stay focused on the goals and be patient. As Joe’s number point out he sold just over 1000 books in one month with 8 books. That is 4.5 books per day for an author who already had a following. We are averaging 3 per day and she’s a new author. We see that as success. I agree with Joe - - This is a paradigm shift!!!
http://cherischmidt.blogspot.com/
http://www.cherischmidt.net
Amazing. Congrats on hitting those kinds of sales! To think that the market hasn't been saturated yet, blows my mind. I'm so glad I decided to self-publish when I did.
And since you're inundated with emails, consider this my wholehearted thanks for opening my eyes. ;-)
For those of you that are selling on Amazon and having modest success, how long did it take to get to that point?
I released a short story about six weeks ago and have sold a whopping total of, well, six! I hired a cover guy that Joe himself has used, wrote and re-wrote my sales copy ... priced it at 99 cents ... I wasn't expecting big numbers, but wow... one a week or less?t
I've loved Joe's insights for the last many months, and I nonetheless thought I had the best of both worlds--Kindle and indie print sales--until the UPS man drove up with book returns.
See my article on "How to Go Bankrupt Thanks to Really Great Reviews" at http://www.redroom.com/blog/christopher-meeks/how-to-go-bankrupt-thanks-to-really-great-reviews
So glad the withdrawals are over.
"For those of you that are selling on Amazon and having modest success, how long did it take to get to that point?"
About six months. And I have 10 good reviews. On Amazon UK, my sales were tepid until I got an unsolicited 5 star review. I didn't even realize my book was selling overseas, a tipping point occurred about 60 days ago.
This month, I'll sell over 250 copies. I only have one book for sale under this pen name. I am releasing another book of essays in a week and I expect sales to double.
Congrats on the numbers, Joe! I"m nowhere near what you're doing sales-wise, but I'm pretty damned happy. For the past three months, I've seen some serious sales, with each successive month better than the last. $3200 in February, $4700 in March, and I should just about break $6,000 in April. I'm thrilled and as someone else put it, I'm excited to be writing full steam again. The speed with which we can get new adventures out to our audiences is simply unrivaled. It's an incredible time to be a writer.
And most especially exciting - I look at my sales numbers on the Kindle for THE FIXER, the first book in my Lawson series, and then think of how many people who have YET to discover the series. It dwarfs those sales numbers to-date. There are millions - literally millions - of fans yet to find our work.
But they will! :)
-Jon
I'll raise a glass to this! I'm happy to be part of the new revolution and I'm glad I chose to self-publish -- thanks in part to your accounts, Joe.
I was reading some early 2009 blog posts where writers agreed that only an egotistical amateur would ever self-publish. I thought of this blog and grinned.
You've been at this a while and had quite a following with your traditionally published books, so what did the numbers look like when you first began indie publishing?
Just to put in some more numbers. I love numbers.
I started my site advertising Indie eBooks in March and saw 100 pageviews. This month I have seen over 7000 pageviews.
It does seem that there is a lot interest in these books and my guess is that this wont wain if readers are finding what they want.
indieebooks.blogspot.com
Thank you so much for posting your sales numbers. And congratulations - those numbers are awesome! I've been reading articles about your success self-publishing eBooks, as well as the success of several other authors who are doing the same thing, and decided to try it. About a month ago, I self-published two novels and three short stories on Amazon Kindle, and set the price at 99 cents each. At first, sales were very slow, but all of a sudden, they seem to be picking up. I went away on vacation for the past 1-1/2 weeks, and was delighted to discover that my Kindle eBooks continued to sell while I was away. I haven't even started advertising yet. These are very exciting times!
OK. I wasn't convinced, Joe, but this month proved you right and me wrong. By the end of April, I will have sold over 1500 ebooks. And those are only the ones I control. Yes, it's paltry, compared to you and others, but it's a record for me.
Count me in.
And thanks for the link to KK Rusch, whoever posted it. She is writing some of the most intelligent, persuasive info on the subject I've read. Except for Joe, of course.
Mind boggling. Congratulations Joe. I bow to you.
Joe, it's great that you have reached tso many readers with your work so far - with so many more to come.
The way you have documented everything with your blog over the past few years will be a historic record of the new face of the publishing industry.
PJ Lincoln said...
I released a short story about six weeks ago and have sold a whopping total of, well, six! I hired a cover guy that Joe himself has used, wrote and re-wrote my sales copy ... priced it at 99 cents ... I wasn't expecting big numbers, but wow... one a week or less?
Well, look at it this way. Many others are selling Biggie Fries for $0.99. You're trying to sell one fry for $0.99.
That's not to say it can't be done, but in general shorts sell much more poorly than novel-length works, and based on what you're charging per word someone has to really, really like your work to pay your asking price.
Congratulations, that's excellent.I'm almost hoping my agent doesn't get a publisher now. Would you say that you need several books out there to really make good money?
Amazing, Joe! But not surprising. Congratulations!
I still get excited when one of my books moves up higher on the Kindle Bestseller list. Yesterday I let out a hoot when I saw that my Sweet Ginger Poison had moved up to #125.
Most of us would never have known this Kindle thing was worth pursuing without this blog, Joe.
Thanks again! And best wishes for your continued success!
Jon Merz said: For the past three months, I've seen some serious sales, with each successive month better than the last.
Congrats, Jon. If you don't mind my asking, how many books account for those sales? Also, are the bulk of your sales coming from a few books or spread out over several?
BTW, loved The Fixer. I plan to buy another in the series once I get caught up on my own writing.
Merrill Heath
Bearing False Witness
Awesome numbers, Joe. Congrats! You've earned it. Also, thanks for all the advice and encouragement.
PJ, short stories tend to not sell as well as novels, at least in my experience.
As for how much time it takes? It's different for different authors. I had e-books uploaded at Amazon for about a year before having any real success, then last summer I started selling in numbers that made me begin to take e-publishing seriously. Now it's my main source of income and I no longer work away from home.
As for sales, the last six months I've been averaging about 3,000 e-books sold per month through Amazon. My B&N numbers are much less, about 50 per month. My Smashwords numbers also aren't all that impressive, but they are getting better each quarter, and this quarter I should make about $320.
You’ve started a revolution. I got an agent some years back and he submitted my children’s books. Over a lengthy period of time editors at the big 5 would say they liked certain things and a few even requested rewrites. I would do the rewrites and resend, thinking this would be it. They would come back declining with one reason or another. One lady at Random House gushed about a middle grade book and had me do two rewrites. Then she said others at Random House did not “love” the book as much as she did. I did not understand how someone can have me rework something the way they suggest, then simply say no thank you. As though my time meant nothing. They were polite in their letters, so I took consolation in that.
Still, it’s thrilling to see we no longer need them. Thank you to all the men and women who work to advance technology, and who have gotten us to where we are today.
Y Alini
The Strange Journal of the Boy Henry
Thanks for the post, Joe, and the numbers. Congrats on your amazing success! Also, congrats to all those who have self-published and shared their numbers; it is inspirational. :)
Awesome! It's shaping up to be a great year for you -and a lot of us wannabe Joe Konraths, too :-) For the first time ever it seems like there's opportunity and room for each of us. And as you noted, this opportunity isn't going away any time soon. It's a great time to be a writer.
Why no numbers from Barnes and Noble? Or do you rely on Smashwords for that?
Also, shorts might be a hard sell in many genres, but in romance and erotica, they still sell well at .99 cents. Of course, it's not a help to ANY authors that publishers can offer stuff for free on Amazon, and indie authors cannot. Offering something short for free is a great way to get people hooked on your writing style, and indie authors can't do it by going through Amazon directly.
PJ,
I put a short story up in October, and two more shortly after that. The first sold a few copies (as far as I know only one to a family member or friend), and the other two did zip. Later, I combined the three of them into a single ebook (The Other Iron River, and Other Stories) and uploaded it as an updated document for the first story so that anyone who'd bought the first should get all three if they download it again. Picked up a few more sales. Put it out through Smashwords in January. To date about 45 sample downloads at Smashwords but only one sale and that one was cancelled because it was one of hundreds done as part of a mass fraudulent purchase that day. Early this month, I took one of the stories (Ghost Writer) from the book and put it up on Smashwords as a freebie; so far, the free story's been downloaded about 160 times. That hasn't generated any sales for the full title at Smashwords, but that weekend saw half-a-dozen sales at Amazon (which, strangely, was enough to crack the top 100 in a couple of categories, though it was only about 25,000 overall in the Kindle store).
All told, I've moved 30 copies through the Kindle store, none at Smashwords; I think some have sold at B&N this month, but April sales at other stores haven't been reported back to Smashwords yet.
Have just sent another short story up, but I'm not expecting big numbers for that one either, because short stories don't sell as well as novels do. If that changes, ever, I'll be amazed. When readers can get novels for 99 cents, you've got to have a fan base that really wants your work to sell short pieces for the same price. I'm not expecting to see decent numbers for any of my work until I've got the novel out there some time this summer. Will release short stories as completed, combine them into a single ebook when appropriate and occasionally put one out on Smashwords to plug the others. At some point I'll have to learn a bit about promotion and marketing -- what I know about marketing right now could be inscribed in 72-point type on an electron.
But you know what? Those 30 sales (even though the yet-undisbursed royalty will only cover a lunch tab) and the night in the top 100 for my two categories felt great. And I expect to feel even better as I complete more titles with at least one novel among them and learn something about marketing. Like you, I'm off to a pretty slow start, but from what I'm reading on Joe's blog and the replies, sales pick up as you have more titles available.
Joe, thanks for the blog -- it keeps on being entertaining and informative. And congrats on those numbers.
Bests to all,
--tr
Congrats to you, and thanks for your willingness to lay it all out on the table and educate the rest of us.
@ Sebastion: Just my two cents here, but I'd drop the third paragraph all together. I think without it, your product description pops.
Also, I agree with everyone else, you need to give yourself some time and write more books. I know established writers who took six months to a year to see any significant numbers from epublishing.
Anyway, just my two cents.
@ Tanner - You posted *right* at the same time I did my above post. Check out the revised copy and let me know what you think.
That third paragraph is troublesome because it's the one that gives the description of the story, and yet might in fact be entirely useless. I'm of course disposed to want to keep it just because it describes my book. What do you guys think?
Sebastian
Wait, that post with the revised description is gone again. Joe, did you delete it? I reposted it because I thought something glitched, but if I'm not allowed to put the description up here or something like that I apologize..
Sebastian
Joe, you say that agents are changing the way they look at indie publishing. And obviously, we've seen indie authors get picked up by the legacy publishers.
Do you think it's an even better time for indie authors to approach prospective agents - if not for traditional print options, then at least for the international rights and so forth?
Wow!
Just wow. To think, as Joe already noted, that some Indie authors are selling greater numbers...
Neil
I bought four of your books in March.
Like a few others here, I decided to jump into the e-waters, and posted my novel Just Another Day in Suburbia (a lighthearted, contemporary fantasy) earlier this month. I've already gotten a handful of sales and a great reader review on the Smashwords page. I'm so excited! This was a book that New York editors were rejecting "regretfully" because they "found it commercial" but couldn't figure out how to sell it - meaning, I assume, that it doesn't neatly fit into any of the current "niches." Thanks, Joe, for continuing to energize us all with your experiences and reminding us that while it does take time, success is very possible!
-Liz
I don't know what you thought you'd accomplish when you started this blog, Joe, but you've obviously struck a nerve within the writing community.
I wonder if even you know how many indie authors you've spawned from this venture.
I think you'd be surprised.
Wow, those are some awesome numbers! Congrats on the success. I'd wish you more but I'm not sure it's needed. *grin*
@Sebastian,
It's incredible how much different something looks after you put it up for public consumption. I recently put up a short story (to learn formatting, workflow etc) and as soon as it went live I cringed when I read the description that I thought was AMAZING beforehand. Of course now it's taken Amazon over 2 days to put up my new description.
I agree with Tanner about removing it completely . And I don't think that paragraph describes your story, I think it describes a couple of things that happen in your story but not your story overall.
@ Sarah Woodbury
Wow! Here's hoping for even more success for you. Love the Arthurian stuff. (I hope you see this - comments on this blog move faster than water droplets over Niagara.)
@ PJ Lincoln
I have had the impression from this very blog that short stories do better in bundles and collections, FWIW.
Also, genre matters quite a bit. Romance/erotic romance readers buy short fiction for 99 cents all the time, because the big epubs (mostly selling romance/erotic romance) set prices by the length of the story. From what I can tell, readers in other genres don't have that experience to guide their expectations.
Hi all,
First of all congrats on the numbers Joe - good job!
This is off-topic, but I need to access the hive mind.
I am writing a blog post today about the various sales channels.
I know the royalty rates with KDP, but could someone give me a breakdown of the exact royalty rates with PubIt, as well as the exact royalty rates when you publish to Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple, and Diesel through Smashwords (as international writers can't go direct with PubIt), and whether these vary depending on your price.
Thanks,
Dave
I'm planning to release some fiction on kindle soon. But while I'm getting my first ebook ready, I thought that I could do some experiment with public domain books. That way I could learn the basics of formatting and the KDP process.
I also created a kindle default latin dictionary as I realized it could be useful for me, and there was nothing like that for sale on the store.
To my surprise after less than two months I've already sold about 300 ebooks.
It is less than one thousandth part of what you are selling, but, hey, it was just an experience. If that can work, I'm sure I can sell more of my fiction.
Thanks for convincing me to try self pubbing.
I wonder if even you know how many indie authors you've spawned from this venture.
My old joke is "I'm an inspiration to dozens."
That number may have gone up a bit.
@Tony Rabig
I find Smashwords to be painfully slow. It took almost three weeks for my book to be approved there, and now they're saying another few weeks before I filter through to the catalogues. I'm not expecting any action from them till a few months after publishing.
Amazon sales are much quicker to get going, in my experience, and my novelette is showing a steady trickle of sales and some great reviews from people I don't know.
I'm posting my second book, a novel, this week, as soon as the cover art comes back from my designer, and I know for sure that sales of hte first book will build through the year as I put my 11 titles online.
It's a long game and I'm really aiming to establish a large online footprint before Xmas, when sales of Kindles will rocket.
And Joe, you can add my name to the dozens ;-)
Andy Conway
The Girl with the Bomb Inside (A Novelette) on Amazon.co.uk - Amazon.com and Smashwords
@ Joe: Welcome back. You realize that you've created a monster with this blog; it demands to be fed regularly, and growls when it isn't.
@ Y. Alini: I know exactly how you feel. The same thing happened to me. I was actually approached by a NY agent with a book project from a publisher. I had already written on the subject, and the project was represented as a "sure thing." For many months, I jumped through hoops polishing and refining a proposal for the acquisition editor, answering questions with detailed responses and adding to the proposal and the manuscript. Finally, after all that work, the acquisition editor presented my glowing proposal to the editorial committee...
...and they rejected it.
I needed no further education about the ways of traditional publishers, and no additional incentive, to go indie. However, it took folks like Joe, Robin Sullivan, and Dean Wesley Smith to show me how -- for which I'm forever grateful. As a result, my first foray into this new career, HUNTER: A Thriller, will appear in June. More ebooks will follow later this year: collections of my past nonfiction.
Thanks to everyone here for your inspiring examples.
Stunning numbers Joe! Again, I can't thank you enough for sharing. You made me an Indie author! Thanks so much!
And many, many congrats! Best of luck on all the upcoming books!
Cheers!
Karly
Joe at which price point would you say the majority of your books sold - at $0.99 or $2.99?
Wow! That's a lot of books. Congrats!
I'm new (7 wks) - have only made 1/10th that. Still, I'm glad my book hasn't been destined to bit rot on my computer. Last year, I wasn't so sure.
I can only imagine how different the publishing world will be by Christmas, or this time next year. Is it just me, or does it seem to be changing faster all the time?
Great numbers, Joe! Inspiring as usual.
When I first became traditionally published back in 2007(WHAT I MEANT..., a Random House young adult novel), I was inspired by the book promo advice you offered up on your blog (and still link to these old posts in my own marketing advice posts). This advice helped me keep my novel in reprint (through vigorous author promotion it's still selling well and I've earned out my advance) and create a great fan base.
And now, inspired by you and fellow Liars Club member L.A. Banks, I'm taking the sequel to WHAT I MEANT... (titled OVER MY HEAD) and self-publishing it. I can't clearly express the sorrow I've felt over having this novel languish on my shelf all these years -- a novel that I deeply love and that my own readers have been asking for again and again. And now, the pure child-like joy of knowing that I have some control. That this book will live! That all my novels can have a life no matter what the vagaries of the economy and fads of publishing dictate. As others have stated here, it allows me to write for the love of writing, and for the art of it, and for READERS. Yee-ha!
I can't help but think that many many other authors also have smokin' sequels on their shelves that readers are craving, and that publishers for many reasons won't print.
OVER MY HEAD will be coming out by summer (it's a steamy summertime young adult). And I just really wanted to say THANK YOU. :)
hmmmm okay
Joe Konrath said: "It's important to note that the very first month my ebooks were for sale on Kindle, I sold 1095 ebooks, and that was with 8 ebooks available.
It took two years for my sales to reach where they're at, and now I have 30 ebooks available.
Success doesn't happen overnight."
I think this is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING to remember for young writers such as myself. It's easy to look at these numbers and think, "I can do it", which may or may not be true. However, what is true, is that you, Mr. Konrath, have gotten to this point with lots of hard work and well deserved good fortune. Keep doing what your doing and you'll keep inspiring young people like myself to keep trucking on!
@Marie:"I can't help but think that many many other authors also have smokin' sequels on their shelves that readers are craving, and that publishers for many reasons won't print."
Or won't print side series... Or pubs will only publish one book a year. (Good luck against that indie who refines their backlog and ups the ante by publishing 3+ good novels per year.)
Neil
Excellent! Joe, once again you've inspired us to keep at it. I'm also a little humbled. In the first three weeks, my first has done over 400 sales on Kindle and B&N. The second due out next month. Your blog has helped me get a gauge on what a good start is, so I'm even more encouraged that I made the right move. I would have let an agent and publisher tell me how to do things, just like the other sheep.
Thanks for honesty!
Rick Murcer
It took two years for my sales to reach where they're at, and now I have 30 ebooks available.
Success doesn't happen overnight.
I think that is an important point to remember, Joe, and I'm glad you mention it. I think the average author needs both quantity and time (patience!) to make good money in writing.
My children's book Bloated Goat just recently passed 350 sales after about 7 months of availability. It has been my only published work until just recently. I joined a bunch of other new authors and released a science fiction/fantasy short story anthology called Twelve Worlds that I hope will start a snowball effect.
Thanks Joe for beating the drum!
I'm only 3 sales away from making my sales goal on Kindle for the month. If you can help out, it is for sale on Amazon for 99 cents. I will be happy to return the favor. Many, many thanks!
Traci
Congrats on the amazing numbers, Joe!
I released Cross my Heart in March, and have sold over 640 copies this month. My sales doubled from last week to this week, and I bounced on and off the children's ebook bestseller list all weekend.
Without this blog, that story was destined to burn a hole in my hard drive.
Thank you for all that you do!
KK
http://katiekleinwrites.blogspot.com/
You've certainly earned it. When you first made the "big jump" most observers of the biz thought you were nuts. Some traditionally pubbed authors, like me, curiously watched. By December of last year it was apparent (unless one chose not to see) this was the new paradigm. I jumped in in Feb. I still have a traditional K and bear the industry no malice, but they must realize they have only 4 - 6 months to find a way to survive.
@James Scott Bell:"I still have a traditional K and bear the industry no malice, but they must realize they have only 4 - 6 months to find a way to survive."
Maybe less. Borders is going for another round of financing...
Neil
Wow! Wow man wow. Good for you, Joe, you deserve it.
You've made me an indie writer as well, can't thank you enough for your inspiration and for sharing.
@James – well said. I hope with time you see the same success as Joe Konrath. I have enjoyed and learned much from your Plot & Structure trade paperback. Any chance you’ll release it on Kindle?
Congratulations Joe.
And to all the Wannabee newbs not selling, I would not sweat it, keeping working at it. It took Joe over a decade to get where he is at, called "paying dues."
I cannot wait to self pub, if that is the decision I make, and as I finish up multiple projects, I am more and more convinced that it is the best idea.
Congrats Joe. The ending of this post was a much kinder, gentler prodding of authors than the previous Are you Dense post. Though I know the latter was for authors defending legacy pubbing while this one referred to authors actually getting into self-pubbing. Bit of a difference.
Early last week I put Konrath/Kilborn's names in my library's virtual suggestion box for ebooks to order (since you're now on Overdrive). Today I was pleasantly surprised to see 13 of your titles available in ePub or PDF format. Crime Stories, Disturb, The List, Origin, Tequila, Afraid, Trapped, Endurance, & 5 Jack Daniels books.
And the really cool thing? Of those 13 titles, 9 of them have zero copies available to check out - meaning people are reading them! I'm sure it helps that these ebooks are in the "new ebooks" list the library posts.
I think Overdrive was a really smart thing for you to do Joe. Get people reading your library ebooks and they're bound to look for and purchase new ebooks you put out. There's just not much difference between library-free & $2.99.
@Werner: thanks for the kind word. Plot & Structure is a Writer's Digest book, and that decision is theirs, though I can certainly pass along the encouragement.
I hope Joe won't mind, but it seems apropos to mention in this context that I have just put out a new writing e-book, once again owing to his example.
Major congrats on your sales. I was also going into withdrawal without a new blog post.
Your blog is the one I check first thing in the morning, and the only one that I read all the comments. There are gems of wisdom tucked in some of them.
You think you've inspired 'dozens'...I venture it's closer to thousand. I know that it's the route I'm taking.
The more you create, the more creative you'll be; the more you produce, the more productive you'll be; first you get good, then you get fast, then you get good and fast. That's pretty much it.
And an audience is built one book, and one reader at a time. But that's a cumulative thing: if you catch a reader's attention with one book, they'll likely stick for whatever you produce next. So producing more work is vital.
But hold the course you set. If you're doing good stuff, consistently, and you're improving, consistently, the readers will come. And stay.
That's how you build your career.
Joe this blog is an inspiration. I'd given up completely on writing before reading it.
Will we all sell 220,000 plus e-books?
Probably not.
Will most of us regularly sell hundreds?
I believe so.
To the new folks who've not sold much. My best advice is to keep paying attention to the pros (like Joe) and model yourself after the. Joe doesn't have just 1-short story. or just 1 ebook. He has published dozens. You have to do the same. Being prolific is the key here. Get busy.
Those are some pretty righteous numbers! I started epubbing last month, and while my numbers are barely exstitent compared to yours, it's been a great ride. I'll be releasing a novella and another short story within the next few weeks and look forward to selling upwards of 8 to 9 copies, which beats zero copies. I hope everyone gets an ereader for their birthdays and Christmas this year. And an Air Hog helicopter. Those things are sweet.
Awesome numbers, Joe.
***Slightly OT***
Regarding short stories, specifically collections: From what I understand short story collections are a difficult sell in the U.S. However, I wonder about other markets. For instance, my wife is Russian and she claims that short stories and novellas are relatively popular in many of the former Eastern Block countries as well as France.
Short stories aside, Joe, and others, have you thought about these other markets? I can see it now, along with hiring freelance editors, cover designers, and layout artists, writers may be adding translator to that list as well.
Regards
Joe at which price point would you say the majority of your books sold - at $0.99 or $2.99?
At least 2/3 were $2.99.
Joe, I blame you for my current fixation with my Amazon numbers. I blame you for the extra cash in my pocket each month. I blame you for helping me realize that it's okay to do it on my own. I blame you for helping me see that just because "they" don't want to publish my book that doesn't mean people don't want to read it.
I broke 1,000 books in a month for the first time today. And Joe, it's all your fault. If I hadn't stumbled across this blog last year I wouldn't have published my first ebook in October.
So thanks.
Congratz. I'm really happy with my sales so far for what my agent turned down. Just the fact that somebody is buying and reading. As I work through this whole movement in my mind I do have one reoccurring moment: Big Publishing provides guidance. In the end a Big Six Book has several people who bring it to the marketplace. A lot of those people edit. Some suggest. Others package and finally make it acceptable to as many people a possible. Sort of like a movie. It takes a lot of people to make a movie. A cast and crew in fact. Here's my question: Do Traditionally Published authors have the right to claim they wrote a book? I would have said yes years prior. Now, when you go through the process of self pubbing you really take responsibility for having wrote what you put your name on. There is no on one to protect you. Is it wrong for me to say this seems more like writing a book than the former?. Seems like a lot of people help write a traditionally published book?
Regarding short stories, specifically collections: From what I understand short story collections are a difficult sell in the U.S.
Erotic short stories sell very well.
However, I wonder about other markets. For instance, my wife is Russian and she claims that short stories and novellas are relatively popular in many of the former Eastern Block countries as well as France.
With the opening of the German Kindle store, I've seen more authors looking for German translators in the past week (including myself!) than Carter's has little liver pills (and who is Carter anyway and why does he have so many pills?)
It's definitely a market that Amazon is looking to expand - and indies, I imagine, will expand right along with them.
BTW, I read that blog post by Christopher Meeks about returns. I determined that LONG ago - returns are an insane way to do business and I can't even fathom that publishers have actually done business that way for years. What other industry out there does that? It's crazy. I determined returns made getting into brick and mortar stores that way far too risky - and ebooks, along with POD, would have to suffice.
So far, I've done pretty well without having to deal with returns at all. And when (if) publishing as we know it finally dies, I predict returns will be a moot point in that (not so) future world.
wish I would've had some editors with that last post. But you get the 'jist' Last one was on purpose.
I'm going to try this again.
Well, I'm an official disciple of the Cult of Konrath, my two titles Aunty Ida's Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only) and The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management went live on Friday on Amazon, and I'm working on the other outlets (I can't seem to make the link to Amazon work).
I assume my Welcome Kit is in the mail. Do we still get the decoder ring?
Hi,Joe
Those are some fun, fun numbers!
Jools Sinclair
44
First, sincere congratulations and thanks to you, Joe!
Second, and entirely OT, my POD proof from Createspace just landed on my porch about twenty minutes ago. My over-the-moonness is dampened by poor print quality.
On EVERY right side page, the type is very light beginning halfway down the page for about the final one-fourth of each line.
I worked in publishing for three years for a small house. We would have rejected this from a printer.
Anyone have any experiences with addressing quality issues on CS's end? I opted for the full DIY plan so we submitted a PDF that conformed with CS guidelines. Problem is definitely on the printer side.
Thoughts, guidance, or the name of a contact at CS would be MUCH appreciated. Thanks!
@TJ: "Will most of us regularly sell hundreds?
I believe so."
Some, yes. Most, no. Most will not have the talent (or competence), drive, savvy, and stamina to succeed. But certainly some will, and the overall number will most likely be greater than in the world of traditional publishing.
But there will also be many, many more who try and fail because they lacked one of the above ingredients. Of course, some will think that selling ten copies is better than selling none.
I don't think so.
I think it's better to understand why you only sold ten copies and then take steps to remedy your shortcomings.
Thanks to you, Joe, I've already pubbed two short stories on Kindle last week, made a dozen sales, and am waiting on cover art before I publish my first novel.
I have hope for my writing career now, and for once know that I'M in control of my own destiny :).
It feels amazing to know that my success is on my own shoulders. THANK YOU for the information and for the push to get started.
Hi Joe!
I just wanted to personally thank you for sharing your insight, experience, knowledge with your publishing and exciting, AMAZING progress!
With today's post, I knew I had to be "one of those who thanked you"! :) After finding your blog a month ago, the light bulb went off and I knew I needed to self publish my books. Thanks for being such a great inspiration!
As I read your blog for the first time a month ago, (for hours and hours), that night, I literally could not sleep because I was just so excited about this opportunity and the endless possibilities. :)
I'm publishing my book this May 31st, and have four more to come this year. And I just wanted to thank you so much for sharing with everyone!
Since discovering your blog, I have referred you to all of my writer friends, and they are very appreciative, as well!
Thanks again!
lacycameywrites.com
@Melissa Miller
"On EVERY right side page, the type is very light beginning halfway down the page for about the final one-fourth of each line."
Same thing happened to me, contacted them, they fixed it immediately and every copy has been good since then.
Joe, can't wait for your new releases. Any more Jack?
>>Congrats, Jon. If you don't mind my asking, how many books account for those sales? Also, are the bulk of your sales coming from a few books or spread out over several?
BTW, loved The Fixer. I plan to buy another in the series once I get caught up on my own writing.<<
Hi Merrill,
First off, thanks for buying & enjoying THE FIXER. As o your question, the majority of my sales are coming from my Lawson series right now, although it is spread over several books. Here's a rundown as of right now (just on the Amazon US)
The Fixer: 837
The Invoker: 345
The Destructor: 279
The Syndicate: 245
The Courier: 113
Slave to Love: 69
The Enchanter (debuted 4/8): 65
Those are all priced at $2.99
I also have four Lawson short stories up at 99 cents each and they've generated about another $200 this month so far.
I still need to rework a lot of covers from other stuff I have up for sale, but I've been concentrating on finishing up another $2.99 Lawson adventure for launch in early May, as well as stuff regarding the TV series production that has been absorbing my time, lol...
Thanks again,
Jon
@JT Dunsmere,
Thanks for sharing that encouraging news.
Melissa
Joe,
Congratulations on your accomplishment.
I just have to mention something that nudges slightly every time I look at it. While you say that you sold "276112" books, when you wrote out the number you said "two hundred and seventy-six thousand, one hundred and eleven."
What happened to the missing book? :)
Sebastian--I just bought your book. I'm not an expert (and I write historical and women's fiction) but I really love your cover. Bold yet mysterious...I will read soon (swamped right now but who isn't?) and let you know what I think--not that I'm an expert...but I do read a lot of thrillers. Good luck and keep positive. Have you tried the .99 experiment yet?
The Last Letter
Kshoop.com
I am very impressed. You have done something truly amazing. Congratulations are certainly in order.
Sadly, I am one of those stubborn authors that is still on the fence of self-publishing. Your articles and success stories are definitely enticing yet something in my gut tells me that I'm not ready to self publish quite this soon.
However, if (or when ) I make that decision, I'll definitely have you to thank for all of your hard work in helping the community and industry grow.
Thank you kind sir for all of the good things you have done.
@Jon F Merz,
Congrats on your numbers! Just curious, is that for the last two weeks, or the entire month of April, or in one day? You said :
Here's a rundown as of right now (just on the Amazon US)
The Fixer: 837
The Invoker: 345
The Destructor: 279
The Syndicate: 245
The Courier: 113
Slave to Love: 69
The Enchanter (debuted 4/8): 65
Congrats on your sales!
-lcw
Thanks for the info, Jon. Good luck with the new release and the TV series.
Merrill Heath
Bearing False Witness
Now on sale for only 99 cents!
Congratulations! It’s nice to know that persistence pays off. In the words of Dory from Finding Nemo (only modified): Just keep writing, Just keep writing…
And I think what most people miss is the total number of words you've written, the hours spent in creating the stories and the endless hours spent honing and finishing them for public consumption.
These figures are impressive but they don't include the most important one - YOUR effort at the keyboard.
Your blog has inspired me with the fact (it appears) that I could start an ebook publishing house (the sort you've described that takes 20%) for writers who aren't the businessman you are. And I ran this idea past my writer friends and they wanted to sign with me. WHAT. My reputation as a native speaker of Bullshit must have preceded me ...
So I don't know if I'll go ahead with this scheme. But there's me and people like me out there for the writers who get hives from thinking about business, and you've inspired that.
I love your blog because the whole concept is "HEY DUDES! HOLY SHIT! THERE'S A GOLDMINE HERE! GET DIGGING!" Adding value all the way down the chain :-D
Amazing, Joe. I'm not in your league. I'm not even in your little league, but I'm happy to have joined the revolution.
Thanks for the inspiration.
Aaron Polson
LadyStar: The Dreamspeaker made it into the top 50,000! :D
I wholeheartedly agree on the Kindles as holiday gifts prediction. I think every year is going to see better and better sales of e-readers.
So inspiring! I'm jumping on the bandwagon next week with my YA novel, Gateway.
Thanks for keeping us posted on your success and what has worked for you!
Hey Joe,
It looks like e-books are finally making a move in the UK. There was an article in The Bookseller today analysing Amazon's quarterly figures.
In the first quarter of 2011, Amazon’s #1 selling product across all categories (presumably in terms of revenue rather than units) was the Kindle 3G.
Out of the top ten selling products across all categories, five were books.
But out of those, only one was a print book (the non-stop-selling Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals by Jamie Oliver was Amazon.co.uk’s – the third highest selling product)
The other four were e-books, in positions four, five, nine, and ten: The Hanging Shed by Gordon Ferris, The Basement by Stephen Leather, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson and Stephen Leather's Hard Landing.
All of the e-books (and the print book) come from trade publishers, except for “The Basement” which is one of Stephen Leather’s self-published works (he has both, but has a long history in trade-publishing and was a bestseller for years in the UK before he decided to self-publish).
I'm pretty sure "The Basement" is one of the novellas that his publisher - Hodder - turned down, but please correct me if I am wrong.
The full article is here: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/e-books-among-amazoncouks-top-sellers-its-parents-profits-tumble.html
Dave
Holy crap, Joe.
You are something we can all aspire to. My latest, a collection of horror fiction titled Three Before Dark, sold in its first 24 hours of release. That's a major step for me as a writer, it tells me that my stuff is enjoyed enough for someone to want it NOW, the first day out.
My numbers have been fairly stable over the last few months. I have hot periods and cold periods. I'm trying to use Twitter and Facebook better and use my blog to get more views. I've nearly doubled the numbers of February on my blog in April.
So, movement on my part, definitely, but I wish of course my career could take off and fly much faster. ;-) Even so, I'm grateful that I am where I am. A few months ago I had no idea how to even establish an online presence, and now here I am, selling books and releasing a follow-up.
I'm proud to be here in this digital age of publication, and prouder still to be able to see the successes of those all around me.
Thanks Joe for the new post and for maintaining such an amazing blog for this long.
Best,
Nick
Three Before Dark: A Collection of Horrifying Novellas
One More Day: A Ghost Story
Congratulations Joe! You inspire us all to go forth and self-publish our books. I'm going to try it thanks to your encouragement and great results. Keep up the good work!
I found this blog three weeks ago. I always had this idea for a book that consisted of a series of short stories. I never really had the motivation to write. THEN I read this blog! My motivation went through the roof!
Over the past three weeks I have been writing like a madman! My old excuse was "I never have time to write"...blah blah! Since I have two small children at home it is hard to find the time during the day to write. So I started getting up at 4 am to give me adequate time to write each morning before work.
My book went to the editor yesterday. My graphic designer is finishing my cover art now. I shot my cover photo this morning in a studio. (This is a collection on memoirs.) ALL of this because of this blog! Thank you Joe! My book should go live sometime in mid-May. I'm already ready to start my next book!!!
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