I’ve been digging into the biggest and most common questions I get about kindle publishing.
Today I wanted to share just a handful of the questions I’ve received and my answers.
1. Can you be successful in a very specific niche, or do you need to go broad?
This is all about defining how specific the niche is. For instance, “weight loss” is broad while “weight loss for women after pregnancy” is more specific.
However, the latter example here would still have a pretty wide market.
Generally speaking, I like to see more than 5 books on a topic with less than 20k sales rank to know there’s a good demand for the niche.
You can be successful with either, the question though is whether kindle is the ideal platform.
The more specific you are, the more you can charge a higher price for the information.
Since Amazon kindle and similar platforms typically have books priced from .99 cents to $9.99 for self-published books, you have to be able to sell a lot of books on a topic (or have many multiple books) to make a big income.
Some of the material I write about, such as creating captivating book titles, is very specialized information with a smaller audience. That’s why I sell off Amazon for a higher price point because it’s worth more.
A friend of mine wrote a book on moving to LA, and this is something I’d consider very niche and specific. So I recommended she sell the book on her own website.
Takeaway: Amazon does better with things that have a medium to mass appeal. You can publish A LOT of niche books on Amazon for a higher income OR publish off Amazon at a higher price point.
2. Should I publish fiction or non-fiction? Which is more profitable?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer here obviously.
Fiction overall makes more money hands down than non-fiction.
However, non-fiction can be easier to write and outsource.
Both are most profitable when you have a “series.’
For fiction this is a typical series of books all with the same characters.
For non-fiction, this means a selection of books all in a similar niche so you can get cross-sales. I can sell a book on creating healthy habits to people who are also interested in exercise tips for instance.
One thing to consider is, “What can I get out there quicker?”
You don’t get to be a good driver by reading a bunch of books on driving, but rather by getting behind the wheel.
You’ll learn the process by DOING, not by THINKING about it.
Secondly, ask “How can I deliver value?” If someone is only thinking about profit and not what kind of experience they’re creating for the reader, they’ll put out crappy books that no one wants regardless of the genre.
It doesn’t matter whether you write it yourself or outsource, ensure you’re delivering a good experience for the reader.
3. Can you make a decent income if you’re not gifted in the field of writing or self-publishing?
The question comes back to “Can you offer people something of value they’d exchange their money for?”
If a reader doesn’t care about your writing skills but rather getting quality information, then that’s the most important thing. You can hire someone to work on your weaknesses such as an editor to clean up your work.
Or you can practice…
I started out as a musician and got better at writing.
Some people transcribe their spoken words into a book and that comes out OK.
Don’t deliver junk content, but realize you don’t have to be a master at everything. You can get other people on your team to make up for your weak points.
That being said, what are you looking to offer people?
Once again, if it’s all about “How can I make a bunch of money?” and you’re not considering the experience for the reader, you’re in trouble.
If you think you have to be the best writer ever though, you’re also in trouble and the perfectionism will stop you.
Focus on what readers want, give it to them at a price, and you can make a decent income.
There’s a million ways to do that, and your job is to figure out how you can take the skills you DO have and deliver something worthwhile to people.
That’s it for today…
Lots more coming soon.
Take care!
Derek Doepker – Your friend in self-publishing