A year of self publishing (Sept '11 - Aug '12)

[Scarfy]

People are always interested to know this sort of stuff, so I thought I'd share the results and reactions to self publishing my Battle for the Solar System trilogy. I'll try and come back with the results each month (Sept '11 - Aug '12), so that people can get a good idea of the realities of self publishing.

I'm going to add up the total sales per month of The Honour of the Knights (Second Edition) and The Third Side. I'll not break down the individual sales, because that would probably get tedious.

In September, I did 1337 eBooks (worldwide). I don't have numbers for Barnes and Noble or the iBookstore yet, as they have yet to filter through. I'll pop these in once I get them.

If you have questions or anything, please ask away!

Steve

[Ian Whates]

Hi, Steve, that's great news, many congratulations!

Questions? Okay, what sort of price has the kindle been selling at during this time, and how has the paperback edition been doing?

[Scarfy]

Hi, Ian! Thanks!

I've been pricing the Kindle editions of the books at £1.99 / $2.99 each right now. I've actually withdrawn the paperback of the first edition of Knights from sale, as it was priced at £9.99 and only generated about £0.13 per copy (and sold about 1 copy a month..!)

The first edition is now a free ebook available from a number of places, including my own website. It's sort of acting as free promotion

I've just seen I've been given a 1-star review for the second edition! Reviewer has complained that the book is an ego trip and that it's a non-story with no beginning, middle or end, and that any book in a series should be a self-contained story, allowing people to jump in at any point.

Hmmm, bit angry at that. Might have to pop a comment on there. Shouldn't, but that review is frankly ridiculous.

[HareBrain]

What determines whether or not you can apply your 40 reviews of the first edition to the second? How big were the changes?

[Scarfy]

Fair point, Hare. The differences between the first and second edition are style, and depth of character and plot. I'd have prefer them to be treated as separate entities, however. I don't exactly consider the first edition to be canon.

Looks like the reviewer simply relished the opportunity to be the first to rate it and give it the lowest possible mark they could. Oh well.

[Gary Compton]

Don't worry about it. Criticism is always going to have the good, the bad and the ugly.

1300 sales in a month. You must be doing something right!

Onwards and upwards.

And PS dont reply to it. That's what he wants.

[psychotick]

Hi,

That's good sales numbers for self publishing. My own numbers have dropped from 790 in July to a little over 500 in September, and I have to admit the miserable one star review I got did not help.

I was really peeved with it actually, becuase the sum total of the review was that he'd read four pages and it was unreadable. To add insult to injury, he came from nowhere, I was his first and last review, and hasn't written anything since. I felt more then a little got at.

But I figured it was best not to respond. It'd probably just make a bad situation worse, and even if it's cost me two or three hundred sales a month, I have to believe that more better reviews will come in and wipe his away. Some already have, but not enough yet.

Cheers, Greg.

[Scarfy]

After sleeping on it, I've deleted the comment. People are entitled to their opinions

[thaddeus6th]

Psychotick, might be an idea to put a link to your site/blog/books in your public profile. Just had a quick look so I might've missed it.

Anyway, best of luck to both of you.

[Peter Graham]

Hi Steve,

In light of the increasing interest in self publishing on this forum, I think that this is an excellent thread - many thanks for agreeing to share your experiences.

In September, I did 1337 eBooks (worldwide).
If you have questions or anything, please ask away!

Might I ask what this translates into in cash terms - either turnover or gross profit?

Regards,

Peter

[Scarfy]

For a book priced at £1.99 on Kindle, you're going to get £1.20, before tax reductions.

So, depending on your tax rate, you're looking at £0.85 per book or there abouts at the end of the day.

Er... that's my guess, anyway. I tend to assume that the tax man takes 30% of what you make!

[Gary Compton]

If you set the revenues up to be paid into a Limited company, then as well as being able to claim part of all your household bills, as effectively you have your office at home. Corporation tax is only 22-23%

There are many other legitimate ways a good accountant will save you tax. If your yearly revenue is less than 5K then you should get away with no Tax

[Varangian]

I have a question Scarfy. Your e-sales are doing very well by the look of it. How are you marketing your product?

[Stephen Palmer]

I'd like to know that as well.

[Peter Graham]

Thanks Scarfy,

Originally Posted by Gary Compton

If you set the revenues up to be paid into a Limited company, then as well as being able to claim part of all your household bills, as effectively you have your office at home. Corporation tax is only 22-23%

Fair point, but you'd still have to pay income tax and NI (both employers' and employees!) on anything the Company then pays out to you. You might be able to save NI by structuring it as share dividend, but bear in mind that having a limited company involves certain administrative requirements.

But Gary is right - if you are making a few quid, it's well worth speaking to an accountant to make sure you are making use of your legitimate tax allowances.

Regards,

Peter