taxes – Science Fiction & Fantasy Marketing Podcast

SFFMP 109: Paperbacks, Bookbub PPC Ads, and Is Kindle Unlimited Bad for Authors?

November 29, 2016 SFFpodcast Group Discussion, Podcast

We had a few technical issues on the show tonight and ended up recording it in three Zoom sessions rather than in Google Hangouts, but hopefully things will get spliced together, and you won’t notice too many hiccups. Jo, Lindsay, and Jeff chatted about their experiences with being wide (in all the stores) versus having some series in Amazon KDP Select and Kindle Unlimited. They also answered some listener questions and covered everything from using Bookbub PPC ads to how long series should be to how they price their books.

Here are a few more of the specifics they went over:

If Kindle Unlimited is bad for authors and whether we should be objecting to being exclusive with Amazon on principle.
Whether you should hold off on releasing your first book until your second book is ready to go.
How the business and taxes side of things works for self-publishers in the U.S.
Using Books2Read universal links to tidy up your newsletters and make it so you only need to share around one link.
Jo’s results and sales percentages after being wide for many years.
How permafree has ceased to get as many downloads and be as effective for Jo in the last two years.
When it’s worth it to release paperbacks (and some of the benefits to having them done).
When it’s worth doing audiobooks: see Lindsay’s blog post on Audiobook Options for Indie Authors.
How long it took the guys to turn a profit with self-publishing.
How long should a series be before things begin to taper down and successive books aren’t as profitable?
What’s the best time of year to launch a new book or series?
How do you determine the best price for a novel or novella?
How long should you put a book on pre-order for?
When in a book’s life does it make sense to rebrand and do a new cover, blurb, title, etc.?
Thoughts on Vellum for ebook formatting.