For book/ebook authors, publishers, & self-publishers

KINDLE ME THIS

Everything I hear about Kindle seems to be a one-way street. This $359 gadget will replace books. I know I won't be able to afford one until the price comes way down. I'm the type who loses cell phones and digital cameras.

What I'm not hearing is what is most important to me as a writer. For the first time I can conceptualize, execute and publish my work any way I choose. I don't have to pay anyone and Amazon assures me I will get a good share of the profits.

So, I did it. I took seven flash mysteries and put them together. I followed the download instruction at the Amazon.com Digital Text Platform. I messed up a little, so two downloads show up on Amazon (I'm still trying to figure out how to delete from the site). I titled it “Over in a Flash.” It sells for $1.40.

What if it doesn't sell? I'm out nothing but my time. All of my work has been published before and I have my rights back. Those stories aren't making me money collected on a flash drive. I've also done a bit of detective work to find ways to let Kindle owners know I exist. I posted on one titled “How Do I Get Your Attention?” I received four responses within an hour. I created a group in my address book called “Kindler's List.” They get information as I find sources.

My mind is going into overdrive with ideas of other projects I want to tackle such as a collection of longer stories and my Caribbean poetry

Kindle can be a two-way street. I wonder how long it will take writers to figure this out?

Comment

You need to be a member of The Book Marketing Network to add comments!

Join The Book Marketing Network

Comment by Sunny Frazier on October 20, 2009 at 3:27pm: If you go to Amazon and look at the Kindle bloggers, you can chat them up and encourage them to give your book a download. I posted with a title, "WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO GET YOU TO BUY MY BOOK?" Yeah, it worked!

Comment by Suzanne Ouimet on October 20, 2009 at 1:21pm: Has anybody actually sold a novel they put on Kindle? The thing is, when I go to the library there are thousands of books on the shelves to pick. I know the name of a specific author, so I head for the section where his/her books will likely be found.
The whole trick, as far as I'm concerned, is to somehow find your potential readers. Just putting your books on Kindle are unlikely to do that if they don't already know 1) your name or 2) the name of your book. And you still have to do the publicity. That's the hard part.

Comment by Sarah Simas on April 12, 2009 at 5:21pm: I agree with you 100%. Kindle is a fertile field just waiting to be sowed. Now where is my plow?

Great post, Sunny!