VIDEO TUTORIALS - Writers · Wide: Amazon + Apple + B&N + Nook Narrow: Amazon + KU So, the wide vs narrow question is better viewed like this 70.5% 12.8% 9% 4% 2% 1.4% 0.3 US ebook

VIDEO TUTORIALS

We help you turn your literary dreams into a wonderful and saleable reality

SELF PUBLISHING

©2018 Jericho Writers

Paid Launch Go wide or go exclusive Amazon vs the rest


What we’re going to talk about

The big question

My answers

If you do go wide

If you do go exclusive


The big question

Wide or narrow?


These videos talk incessantly about Amazon. Here’s why

83.3%

9%

4% 2% 1.4%

0.3%

US: 500m e-books / $3.2bn

Amazon

Apple iBooks

B&N Nook

Other

Google

Kobo

Ebook unit sales by retailer, 2017

87.9%

7.5% 2%

1.4% 1.2%

UK: 100m e-books / $400m

Amazon

Apple iBooks

Other

Google

Kobo

Canada & Australia: each about 25m ebooks. NZ-specific market is tiny.


So if you sell well on Amazon, you sell well, period

The techniques in this video series

will support your sales everywhere

But all indies should prioritise Amazon sales

Apple, etc are not much more than

a footnote to that basic message


That said, indie authors do face a major strategic decision

Go wide Go narrow (or exclusive)

Sell via the following bookstores Sell via the following bookstores

Amazon Amazon

Apple

Kobo

Nook

etc

…and that looks like a dumb question, right?


Access to Free Book Promos

or Kindle Countdown Deals

70% royalties for sales in

Japan, India, Brazil, Mexico

Authors don’t earn royalties – they

get a payment per page read

Payment is typically <$0.005 It can vary at any time. 500 pages read = $2.00-$2.50

Books available free to

Amazon prime / KU subscribers

/ KOLL members

Except Amz-exclusive authors gets access to Kindle Select


Wide: Amazon + Apple + B&N + Nook

Narrow: Amazon + KU

So, the wide vs narrow question is better viewed like this

70.5%

12.8%

9%

4% 2%

1.4% 0.3

US ebook market, early 2017

approx 500m units / $3.2 bn Amazon

Kindle Unlimited

Apple iBooks

B&N Nook

Other

Google

Kobo

Key links:

All data in this video comes from the utterly

awesome AuthorEarnings.com

http://authorearnings.com/

http://authorearnings.com/


And which is better?

75%

17%

5% 3%

Wide Indies

Amazon

Apple

Nook

Kobo

52% 48%

Kindle Select

Kindle Unlimited Full-Read

Amazon Retail Sales

This graph suggests that ‘narrow’ indies get a full half of their income via KU, while ‘wide’ indies get a much smaller boost from other retailers


Reasons to stay narrow

Apple, etc aren’t particularly indie-friendly.

You’ll only get real visibility and sales via

in-store promotions

Those promotions require work – and

ideally, some proof of sales

KU income is easy to acquire, and substantial

Countdown deals, cleverly used, can make

a big difference to your income

Reasons to go wide

Do you really want all your eggs in one basket?

Make it harder to secure Bookbub promos

(as they favour wide titles)

Arguably, limit marketing effectiveness (???)

Pre-orders get counted twice

You’re Canadian or Aussie – almost 50% of

e-sales in those countries are non-Amz

Other factors to consider


The big question

Here are my answers


Wide or narrow – what kind of author are you?

Newer author

Sales under $20,000

Keep it exclusive

Make money • Keep it simple • Attract new readers via $0.00 KU pricing • Price promos more profitable • Your focus: write more great books!

Established lazy author

Like me!

First book and bundles are wide, everything else exclusive

KU income balances loss of Apple etc • Wide books allows for Bookbub promos and new reader capture • Simple to manage • More profitable price promos • Use surge type advertising

Established active author

High sales & spare publishing infrastructure

Everything wide (optional)

Must be prepared to pitch for promo slots • Makes you eligible for bestseller lists • Allows you to sell direct • Support with ‘drip’ ads


I don’t have the final answers – there aren’t any

62%

35%

3%

What my income looks like

Amazon e-book

KU payments

Amazon print

48%

14%

13%

9%

9% 4% 2% 0.75%

0.25%

What JF Penn’s income looks like

AmazonKoboiBooksCreatespaceDirect salesAudibleDraft2DigitalTranslationsIngram

Joanna Penn is an indie author with about $100,000 in author earnings. https://jfpenn.com/

I’m the same. (My data excludes trad income outside North America, and excludes foreign sales, audio, film & TV income etc.)

https://jfpenn.com/


If you do go wide

How to do it, Tips for success


Going wide: how to do it

With Amazon Go direct. You need your own KDP account and control that

interface yourself.

Apple, Kobo, Nook… Go direct: more hassle, but no loss of earnings / control

Go via a distributor: ease of use, some sacrifice of earnings


Going wide: how to do it

(ID) 62.7%

(DD) 24.1%

(SW) 12.4%

(BB) 0.3% (IDV) 0.2% (PN) 0.1% (ISD) 0.1

Indie direct (ID) Draft2Digital (DD)

Smashwords (SW) Book Baby (BB)

Ingram DV (IDV) Pronoun (PN)

Inscribe Digital (ISD)

How Indies sell on Apple iBooks store / Share of sales by distribution method


My recommendation:

Search “Smashwords vs Draft2 Digital”

to check current state of play…

But default answer is

currently Draft2Digital

• Smashwords originated the model

• But Draft2Digital has lower royalties

• More features

• And a much nicer interface

Draft2Digital is currently superior on almost every count


Going wide: how to succeed

Stay committed Apple & co hate it if you are constantly pulling books from their

stores

Market the stores

If you only ever link to Amazon, you’ll only ever sell on Amazon

Also: Apple especially wants you to see authors marketing their

iBooks store. You’ll get more support if you can demonstrate activity

Use pre-orders

Amazon counts each sale once: when it’s made

Apple etc counts them twice: on pre-order and on publication. Use

that to get two bites at visibility

Going wide: merchandising All e-retailers pick titles for daily / monthly /

other promotions. Example: Apple


How do you get those promotional slots?

Be professional Classy book covers. Properly formatted (and spelled!) book

descriptions. No nudity!

Prove your worth Demonstrate your ability to make sales / garner reader reviews

Reach out Speak to iTunes reps at conferences – or talk to the teams at

Smashwords / Draft2Digital about options

Stay informed Slots available change regularly. Know those retailers’ sites so you

can talk from position of familiarity


If you do go exclusive

Tips for success


Going exclusive? Then make sure Amazon knows!

On your Ebook Pricing page

The Promotions Page (90 day term, auto-renewal)


Your KU income will come automatically


Your Kindle Countdown deals are managed on your Promos page


Want to know more about…

Running price promotions?

We’ll talk about that more in our Bookbub & price promotions video

Surge style FB ad campaigns work well – also in a later video

Running an ad campaign?

We’ll talk about that more in our AMS video


All done

Here’s the recap


What we’ve talked about

The big question Wide or narrow? Kindle Select vs Apple & co

My answers New authors: go exclusive

If you do go wide Cite all stores in your marketing. Seek promos

If you do go exclusive Remember to enroll! Most benefits are automatic

Want notes? Want audio? Want links? - Get them below


That’s all, folks!

See you soon

VIDEO TUTORIALS


Documents

VIDEO TUTORIALS - Writers · Wide: Amazon + Apple + B&N + Nook Narrow: Amazon + KU So, the wide vs narrow question is better viewed like this 70.5% 12.8% 9% 4% 2% 1.4% 0.3 US ebook