We all love stories, but what we love more than stories is telling our stories to others. We had our earliest stories in the form of cave paintings, fast forward to the present age and we have renounced authors like J.K Rowlings and Elif Shafak.
However, you don’t have to be a famous author to tell your story, all you need is a story and a way to turn that story into text.
With the arrival of services like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), mostly used for the Kindle ebook, publishing a book has never been easier.
You can publish a book on Amazon KDP in a few clicks! The money is great too if you want to earn a passive income, as the kdp select fund size for january of 2023 for authors was a staggering $47.9 Million!
But does being easier also mean it’s better? Let’s take a look at some numbers.
Every year over 1.4 million books are self-published on Amazon, most of which are in the kindle ebook format. In total, Amazon has over 32.8 million self-published titles.
These numbers might look promising but if you are an aspiring author with no knowledge of the market, you’re book might get buried in the pile. In this digital age, where millions of books are published on Amazon every year, standing out from the crowd is crucial.
Most books that are published on Amazon, do not sell more than 5 copies. Those 5 copies are mostly, the ones your parents, siblings, or best friends purchased, that too after you told them to do so.
Sucks, right?
However, there are also a number of other factors you need to consider before you publish a book.
The Flood of Books on Amazon.
Amazon has revolutionized the publishing industry, making it more accessible to authors worldwide, especially for the Kindle ebook format.
With its easy-to-use self-publishing tools, anyone can upload their work and see it available for sale in a matter of hours. As a result, the number of books published on Amazon each year has skyrocketed.
According to recent estimates, more than one million new books are published on Amazon annually, with the numbers steadily rising.
This might make one believe that the market favors self-publishers since there are so many new books coming in.
However, studies show that 90% of self-published authors sell less than 100 copies of their books. 20% of them sell none at all. On the other hand, only around 1000 authors were able to make more than $100,000 from their self-published books on Amazon last year. Considering the total number of authors to be a million. That makes up about 0.1% of the total author population. So if you want to be in the top 10%, you need to do something different.
The SEO and Keyword Dilemma: Your book is bound to be lost in Amazon’s Book Pile.
One of the biggest challenges for self-published authors is understanding and implementing search engine optimization (SEO) strategies and relevant keywords.
SEO is the practice of optimizing a book’s content and metadata to rank higher in search engine results. Without proper knowledge and experience, authors may struggle to use the right keywords that can help potential readers discover their work.
A book buried deep in the search results may never get the visibility it deserves, leading to poor sales and a lack of recognition. Despite having crafted a compelling story, the failure to grasp the digital marketing aspects of publishing may result in a book going unnoticed amidst the sea of new releases.
Your whole life’s work goes down the drain and gets unnoticed simply because you wanted to do it all alone. Remember, you are an author, not a publisher so sometimes it’s better to take a back seat and let professionals handle the job. These people have complete knowledge of SEO and they know how the search engine works. Even if you manage to add in basic keywords by yourself, it won’t make much difference since most people will be doing that anyways. You need to get ahead of the competition and these professionals can help.
However, if you are adamant of doing it yourself, the first step would be to learn what search engine optimization is, the value of keywords, knowing which keywords are good vs which are bad, what keywords is your buyer searching for, how often to use those keywords, then stuff like LSI keywords, where you can use them throughout your book’s amazon page, and so on.
An Optimized Book Description.
Think of your book description as a virtual storefront window. It’s the first glimpse potential readers get of your story, and it needs to entice them.
A captivating description can pique curiosity and convince readers to click that “Buy Now” button. But it’s not just about creativity; it’s about strategic optimization.
The use of carefully selected keywords can significantly boost your book’s visibility.
These keywords act as signposts for search engines and algorithms, guiding potential readers directly to your book. Professionals well-versed in SEO can help you incorporate these keywords seamlessly into your description, making it more in tune with the market’s search engine.
However, it’s important to strike a balance. Your book description should be engaging and reflective of your writing style, avoiding sounding too robotic or formulaic due to keyword stuffing. Professionals can finesse this balance, ensuring that your unique voice shines through while maximizing discoverability.
At first glance, your book description may seem like a simple “What is my book about, who it is for, and what it entails.” But for Amazon, based on which keywords you chose, will define if it will be buried in the millions of books Amazon already has in its database from other authors who thought “Why pay when I can do it myself” or if it ranks successfully on top of the list. Companies, Like Writers of the West, are partners with Amazon and have direct access to the raw data of what works and what doesn’t, based on which they can make an educated, research and statistics-based description that can, literally, make all the difference.
Remember, you are not a traditional publisher, you are an individual with little to no publishing experience: your book’s chances against the sharks of the world are minute, to say the least.
The Art of Genre (Categories) Selection.
While the major genres might seem like the obvious choice, the reality is that they’re often brimming with a multitude of titles, making it challenging for any one book to truly stand out.
This is where the experts come in, they recognize that digging deeper into subgenres and even sub-subgenres can be a game-changer.
These less-travelled literary avenues provide a higher chance for your book to shine. The reduced competition allows your unique narrative to find its rightful place without being overshadowed.
In the age of countless daily uploads, being a needle in the haystack isn’t the way to literary success. It’s about finding your niche within the vast literary universe.
By placing your work in a niche that resonates, your chances of captivating an engaged and loyal readership increase exponentially. Professionals can help identify those subgenres that align with your story’s essence, drawing readers who are specifically interested in the themes your book explores.
An Intelligent Subtitle is the key to all doors.
Your book’s sub-title matters just as much as your book title; as they play a major role in bringing traffic to your books page on Amazon.
And no, you don’t just use a cool subtitle that makes yourself look good to feed your ego, you decide one based on research, keywords, your niche, and what can be made that can be unique to your story as well as drive traffic and rank your book on amazon.
Book Cover: The Importance of A Visual Stimulant.
And then, of course, the one we all know about is The importance of having a great book cover.
In my experience as a publisher, I cannot tell you how many bad covers I’ve seen being posted on Amazon KDP for publishing, really giving out the impression that “This author really wants no one to buy their book, do they?”
Be it your paperback book cover or your Kindle book cover, A great book cover design, while not the most important metric, is still significant enough to drive traffic to your book.
Often times authors think they’re book cover is good, when in reality is not, so remember to show your design to friends and family for honest feedback and be open to what they have to say.
The Books Interior: How does it look?
Another important aspect is the interior of your book, is it simple and boring?
How optimized is the Title page?
Does it have any HTML tags?
The disclaimer page/ copyright page?
What about strategically capitalizing on the book’s list price? Should the book have an edition (Digital edition, New edition, etc.)
Most authors do not know about this. Remember amazon has a “look inside” option for the first few pages of your book on Amazon KDP, if a potential buyer opens your book and doesn’t find it visually pleasing, you missed out.
If you just wrote pages and pages on Microsoft Word and think that’s all you need to do, I have some bad news for you and your word document: It needs excellent formatting, typesetting, and perhaps indexing, followed by interior design, and optimization.
All these are important if you want to actually make some money with your book.
Amazon’s A+ Content – A game changer for your Book’s Sales Revenue:
Research shows that books that have A+ content do comparatively well then books which do not. This makes sense, the product more advertised in the product that sells more.
It also gives you more area to not only impress potential buyers but also add more keywords that your buyers are searching for, and hence, more sales.
To see a good example of A+ Content, Click here.
Editorial Reviews make a significant impact.
Though author themselves can’t really give there book editorial reviews, if you are working with a company who is publishing your book, they are authorized to do this for you.
See a company who is publishing your book for you will boast your book’s quality through these reviews that buyers will come across, and increase the chances of them buying your book, as it shows them that some big firm has given this book good reviews, and hence it might be a good buy.
Editorial reviews are crucial for every book, and not something we would recommend you to skip.
Remember, your competitors are doing it, so if you don’t, you lose. Plain and simple.
The Truth about What you need to do to maximize book Sales.
Self-publishing a book may seem like an alluring prospect, but it is not without its challenges. The sheer number of books published on Amazon kindle direct publishing each year, be it fiction or non fiction, makes it crucial for authors to stand out from the crowd.
Neglecting important aspects such as SEO, keywords, editing, cover design, and formatting while self-publishing eBooks and print books can be detrimental to an author’s success and can lead to their life’s work being overlooked.
In this age of information overload, seeking professional guidance and support can make all the difference.
By investing in professional publishing services, authors increase their chances of producing a high-quality book that appeals to their target audience, improves their visibility, and ultimately paves the way for a successful writing career. Not to forget, makes the publishing process really convenient.
You’ve done a great job writing your own story. Let a professional publish your book on Amazon KDP and tell the world your story.
Do not take such matters into your own hands. As a company that’s been in this space for over a decade, too many great stories have been lost in piles of published books that no one ever found out about.
We Can help. Significantly.
Writers of the West is a Houston and Los Angeles-based ghostwriting service provider and global book publisher, that can help publish your book in eBook, paperback, hardcover and audiobook format, with up to 40+ different publishers from across the globe, as well as help get you top rankings on Amazon’s search engine, for kindle eBooks, paperback books, audiobooks, hardcover books as well as the kindle unlimited subscription, all done under your own amazon account, while you keep the 100% of the royalties and the publishing rights. Let’s begin your journey with the Kindle store today and make you a published author. Publish book on Amazon KDP With Writers of the West.
