So after listening to an amazing webinar by Guy Kawasaki (hosted by the awesome Firepole Marketing and if you didn’t hear it WOW you missed out), I have decided to take the plunge and do something possibly risky: [highlight]following Mr. Kawasaki’s lead, I am restricting myself (FOR NOW) to Amazon-only as an author[/highlight].
This seems nuts. On some level, it is nuts. But the thing is… it makes a TON of sense for me.
I don’t have the finances and time to focus on marketing. Instead, I really need to focus on my next book – and that means it makes a lot more sense to have only one platform to manage.
Indie-pub sekrit: it takes a lot of work to make your book function on different platforms. While all the platforms are nifty (and I’m glad I know how to do it), my sales have consistently come from Amazon – even without the exclusivity and perks of being in KDP select.
According to Guy Kawasaki, I am not alone. Many authors are finding that ebooks simply don’t sell enough on alternate platforms to make it WORTH leaving Amazon’s exclusive program.
Still. This is scary. I feel like I’m stepping out into uncharted territory, even though all I’m doing is temporarily limiting WHERE I sell my book. Tons of other people are doing this. So why is it scary?
Because it means the e-market is changing so rapidly and so unpredictably that the rules are changing, too. I believe it’s wise to have one solid island beneath me than an archipelago I can’t maintain without extra help.
As an aside, limiting the book to Amazon means I can control the price again. That’s nice. That’s really, REALLY nice.
Did I mention I cut the book’s price in half? 😀
[button link=”http://bit.ly/sunderedkindle” color=”orange” window=”new”]The Sundered on Kindle: $0.99 [/button] [button link=http://bit.ly/thesundered color=”red” window=”new”]The Sundered in Paperback: $7.99[/button]
So: now you know. I may change my mind again later. Who knows? For now, it just feels awfully good to be juggling one ball well.
photo credit: h.koppdelaney via photopin cc
