An Update on My Books Sold on Kindle

February 25, 2013

I promised to give an update of my eBook sale after publication.  This is a last 6 week report view from Kindle.  I now have 3 books on Kindle:

Remembering Victims of Sandy Hook School , I tried to make it free, but was unable.  It is priced at $.99, the lowest amount possible.  I will donate any proceeds to one of the Sandy Hook funds.

Employee Telecommuting – An Impact Analysis on Employer and Employee
 This was a research paper for my graduate program and I decided, why not try? Because of the paper’s style and class criteria, it isn’t the best reader.

Home Business Network Configuration and Maintenance

The latest was published on Kindle on 2/24/2013 as Homepreneurs first book.  I’ve previously sold a few on Smashwords.

I believe that more books means greater exposure and ultimately, greater sales volume.  Part of my goal is to have several books published by the time I finish my master’s degree.  I would like to teach at the university level someday.

Here is the sales table:

Week Ending
Title
Author
Units Sold
Net Units Sold
Royalty (%)
Avg. List Price

Royalty

(USD)
02/23/2013 Remember.. Dion Shaw 4 35% 0.99  $1.40 1.40
02/16/2013 Remember.. Dion Shaw 1 35% 0.99  $.35 0.35
02/09/2013 Remember.. Dion Shaw 1 35% 0.99  $.35 0.35
02/02/2013 Remember.. Dion Shaw 2 35% 0.99  $.70 0.70
01/26/2013 Remember.. Dion Shaw 2 35% 0.99  $1.75 0.70
01/19/2013 Remember.. Dion Shaw 5 35% 0.99 1.75
Total: $
5.25

$5.25 isn’t much, of course. But, I have sales on Smashwords too and the best part is that once published, these books are available forever. This is not a limited shelf-life problem that a book store might have. Over time, and with continual additions to my publications, I may just have a good additional stream of income!

By Dion D. Shaw

Dion D. Shaw is the Founder and Owner of Homepreneurs

Homepreneurs. New Day. New Opportunity.

Disclaimer
Homepreneurs does not endorse nor have any relationships with any of the services listed. Full disclosure: Homepreneurs receives compensation but not consideration for its suggestions and ideas (books sold on Kindle and SmashWords). Homepreneurs strongly urges all interested parties to conduct research and accepts no responsibility for any losses incurred.
© Homepreneurs 2010 – 2013, All Rights Reserved

Leave a Comment » | eBook, Homepreneurs | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by homepreneurs

EBooks – an Update – Sold!

October 27, 2012

In the last week, Homepreneurs published step-by-step guides for using SmashWords and Kindle for creating eBooks.  I used a previously written piece of fiction for both SmashWords and Kindle to record and document instructions.  The same, unmodified work was used for both to view formatting and learn about results with one notable difference: the SmashWords version was initially offered for free – the first several days – then a price of $.99 was applied.  Wish Kindle, a price of $.99 was immediately applied after the eBook was published.

I can now say that I am both a published author with sales in addition!  Once again, if I can do this, so can you!

This post is a simple report on results noted thus far:

- SmashWords – work submitted 10-18-12 – 168 downloads, all free.  Price added 10-24-12.  None purchased as of 10-27-12.

- Kindle – work submitted 10-26-12 – 1 unit sold as of 10-27-12.

Because of the difference in free vs. charged, no firm conclusions are made about which service is better.  Also, this was a work of fiction published under a random, unknown pseudonym.  One can conclude however, that both services are very easy to use and will potentially make money for an author, provided the topic and price are in-demand.

Future tests with eBooks are forthcoming and publishing parameters will be the same.  Stay tuned for updates!

By Dion D. Shaw

Dion D. Shaw is the founder and owner of Homepreneurs

Homepreneurs.  New Day.  New Opportunity.

Disclaimer

Homepreneurs does not endorse nor have any relationships with any of the services listed.  Homepreneurs receives no compensation or consideration for its suggestions.  Homepreneurs strongly urges all interested parties to conduct research and accepts no responsibility for any losses incurred.

© Homepreneurs 2010 – 2012, All Rights Reserved

1 Comment | Home Business Ideas | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by homepreneurs

Publish eBooks for Kindle – a Tutorial

October 26, 2012

Last week, Homepreneurs detailed steps how to publish eBooks on Smashwords.  Publishing eBooks is a simple way for the creative writer to make extra money by exposing their work to hundreds of millions of potential readers and/or buyers.  This can turn into a nice little home business idea and provide extra money and personal satisfaction.

This post covers publishing on Kindle, step-by-step.  Between SmashWords and Kindle, a large portion of the digital publishing market is available.to you, the writer.  Both services are free, so why not take a chance?  You can always publish under a pseudonym to avoid potential complications or issues.

Publishing with Kindle

- Use a browser and enter Kindle’s URL (https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/signin)

- Log in with existing Amazon account or create a new account

- Fill out requested personal information

- Add a bank account for electronic transfer (earnings over $10) or be paid by check (earnings over $100)

- You will receive a publisher code on the right side of the screen.  Note and record.

- Fill out form for direct deposit into checking account; information will be saved

- Click on the Bookshelf menu option at the top of the screen

- Fill in requested information, including title, description, and categories (only 2 allowed)

- Add keywords (up to 7)

- Upload a cover image

- Select “enable digital rights management”

- Upload your book.  A safe way is to use Microsoft Word compatibility mode

- Preview the book and verify the format and layout.  Edit as needed.

- Click save and continue

- Choose a “Royalty” option, either 35% – broader geographic distribution or 70% – limited to select countries, including the US, UK, Canada

- If the 70% Royalty option is chosen the minimum retail price is $2.99 USD.  If the 35% Royalty option is selected, the minimum price is $.99 USD.

- If desired, choose the “allow lending” option.  Buyers can lend a purchased copy to friends for up to 14 days.

- Select Save and Publish

The book is put “In Review” status for up to 12 hours for English and 48 hours for other languages

Publishing on Kindle takes only these steps and you – the writer – now has a book for sale.  Congratulations!

By Dion D. Shaw

Dion D. Shaw is the founder and owner of Homepreneurs

Homepreneurs.  New Day.  New Opportunity.

Disclaimer

Homepreneurs does not endorse nor have any relationships with any of the services listed.  Homepreneurs receives no compensation or consideration for its suggestions.  Homepreneurs strongly urges all interested parties to conduct research and accepts no responsibility for any losses incurred.

© Homepreneurs 2010 – 2012, All Rights Reserved

5 Comments | Home Business Ideas | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by homepreneurs

Publish an eBook on SmashWords – Step by Step

October 18, 2012

I’ve always enjoyed writing – for business, college or pleasure.  Homepreneurs is proof of my desire to share information with others.  Some will like what I write – some won’t – but that is a risk any writer takes.  The Internet is fantastic for exposure and distribution, but the web amplifies mistakes and blunders too.  Be careful what you publish; it is on the Internet forever.

But this post is not about discussing the obvious.  What I want to cover is a simple step-by-step guide to eBooks using Smashwords.

Why an eBook?  Simply, print media is rapidly disappearing.  Many newspapers and magazines are only online now.  Just today, Newsweek announced it will shift to online-only publication after 80 years, with Dec. 31 set to be last print issue.[i]  Ditto for print books.  Borders book store chain is gone while Kindle, Nook, and iPad sales continue to soar.

I’ve been considering eBooks for a while, and started today with a simple story I had written previously to learn and document the process.  Before jumping into publishing an eBook, have a story or other work formatted correctly and ready to publish.  Refer to SmashWorks founder Mark Coker’s guide for eBooks.  Also be sure to have cover page artwork prepared and ready to upload to the site.  Smashworks has a no-nudity policy for its covers; if writing erotica, know this in advance.

Below are steps used for publication on Smashwords.com:

Read the rest of this entry »

4 Comments | Home Business Ideas, Homepreneurs, Start & Grow | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by homepreneurs

Business Startup – Branch Business Services

October 17, 2012

I had a networking lunch today with a friend – Nick – who is starting a home business: Branch Business Services.  We discussed a range of topics including: business ideas, market research, market niches, and related.

My first suggestion for business ideas is to ask one question: “What business problem are you trying to solve”?  This question should be asked many times during the lifecycle of a product, process, or service.  The end goal of any business offering is to solve an existing problem or improve on a current solution.

Nick is quite intelligent, hard-working, and spends much time on business research.  His admitted challenges are focusing on a specific niche and offering an appropriate service.  This is a common dilemma for many startups.  I suggested that he could:

- Conduct an online survey – Survey Monkey is free – for a defined market segment.

- Network.  Get out of the house!  Attend chamber-of-commerce meetings, industry trade fairs, and interview managers of target companies.

- Use the Internet, and in particular, Google search.  Use keywords for your business and note the search results.  Use the same keywords that your customers would.  These same keywords can be used in your blogs, websites, and social media efforts.

- Google Keyword Tools
- Microsoft advertising intelligence
- Keyword Research

- Google also has a another neat feature – Google Customer Surveys.  While the online surveys mentioned earlier are perfect for getting opinions, Google consumer surveys are better for identifying interest in service areas, questions about a new logo/site design, or evaluating your overall brand; you’ll have an option to target the entire US, a certain age group, interest or type of buyer.

The bottom line: the more you know about your customers, the more you’re able to create better user profiles, more targeted marketing copy, and ultimately deliver a better product or service.

Homepreneurs wishes Nick the very best in his business goals and efforts.  I’m sure he’ll be featured as a success story in the near future!

Nick Morris is the founder and owner of Branch Business Services.

By Dion D. Shaw

Dion D. Shaw is the founder and owner of Homepreneurs

Homepreneurs.  New Day.  New Opportunity.

Leave a Comment » | Start & Grow | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by homepreneurs

« Previous Entries
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 23,428 other followers

%d bloggers like this: