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Are Indie Authors Their Own Worst Enemies?
Are Indie Authors Their Own Worst Enemies?
Are Indie Authors Their Own Worst Enemies? It is quite possible! Years ago, only five or six, many indie authors were doing ‘fairly well’ and were confident about their future – that their sales would continue to rise and that they would continue to write enthusiastically.
I started writing and self-publishing in 2012 and was selling ninety books a month by the end of the following year, and I was flying by the seat of my pants – I was learning how to market and distribute my three books as I went along, but was earning enough to live in Thailand, which admittedly was a cheap country to stay in those days.
There probably weren’t as many would-be writers back then either and there certainly weren’t as many books on the virtual shelves in online bookshops, but I think that there may be another factor at play for why Indie Authors might be Their Own Worst Enemies.
We all know that businesses exist to make money, and none are more brutal than the American Internet giants, and most of them make their money as a percentage of what they sell.
And this is my point.
In their struggle to become rich or and famous, too many novice writers pitch their books at 99c or even less. I regularly see “twenty ebooks for 99c”.
Now, I can understand why a misguided author may try to get his or her foot in the door using this tactic, but what about the Big Boys like Amazon? Are they going to be happy storing, serving and even promoting a 99c book or box-set for a 30% cut of 99c?
I wouldn’t be! Not when I can promote traditional publishers selling ebooks for $9.99 and paperbacks for $15.99 (or more)!
Think about it.
Amazon would earn 29c for selling an Indie author’s box set of three – a month’s supply of reading material – as opposed to $3 for one book!
Or, a concrete example: if both parties sell about one package a week, Amazon earns from:
The Cheap Indie Author: 50 x 27c = $13.50
Traditional Publisher: 50 x $3 = $150
It’s a no brainer!
The cheapos are paying only 9%!
So, are Indie Authors Their Own Worst Enemies?
Yes, definitely!
They are NOT paying their way, and those who can’t see that are ruining it for everyone else.
I am convinced that Amazon has changed its algorithms to disadvantage indie authors because they sell their books too cheaply?
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All the best,
Owen
Podcast: Are Indie Authors Their Own Worst Enemies?
