Selling Self-Published Books on Amazon - Sell Books on Amazon | Blurb (2024)

FAQs

Can self-published books be sold on Amazon? ›

Be your own publisher

KDP gives you control over your book's content, design, price, audience, and advertising. Publish print and digital formats in three simple steps, and see your book appear on Amazon stores around the world in 72 hours.

The average self-published book sells 250 copies. The average self-published author makes $1,000 per year from their books.

The number of books needed on Amazon to achieve bestseller status can vary significantly depending on the category and the overall sales volume at any given time. In some niche categories, selling as few as 100 to 500 books in a short period can propel a book to the top of its category.

Some research shows that 250 to 300 books per year is pretty average. However, as an indie author, you can expect to earn much more in royalties per book than you would if you went the traditional publishing route.

Consider textbooks, rare topics, niche topics such as old comic books, or other non-fiction books. Mass-produced fiction books tend to lose their value faster than non-fiction books so they're typically not worth selling on Amazon.

Is Selling Books on Amazon Profitable? Before we get started, you're probably wondering whether you can actually make money selling books. The answer is a resounding yes. The internet is filled with stories with people selling books on the side for extra cash, or even turning it into a full-time career.

Marketing. This one can be difficult for authors who feel their talent in writing is not compatible with having talent in marketing, and I sympathise. But the fact remains, it's very common that a self-published book isn't selling because it's being marketed drably, half-heartedly, or just incorrectly.

The average earnings for Amazon authors and publishers are different! Indie Authors: On average, self-published authors really don't earn all that much. Most new authors earn less than $500 per year, while experienced authors with multiple titles and strong marketing strategies can earn over $10,000 annually.

While many self-published books, like traditionally published books, sell fewer than 100 copies, there are ones that have sold thousands of copies and continue to do so.

Best Seller and Category Ranks are based on customer activity of your book relative to the activity of other books. Books can be ranked in up to three best seller category lists, regardless of how many categories the book may feature within.

Has a self-published book ever become a best seller? ›

John Milton's famous book, Paradise Lost, started as close to a self-published book as was possible in those days. Today, there are many best-selling, self-published books. If you follow the right steps, your next manuscript could land on this list.

All booksellers are charged a 15% referral fee and $1.80 closing fee for each book sold. If you're selling Collectible books, you'll be charged a flat fee of 15% per sale. Calculate fees to sell books on Amazon.

Most authors never sell more than 250 copies of their book in its entire lifetime. Self-published authors average 250 copies.

The median income of full-time self-published authors in 2022 was $12,800 from books and $15,000 total from all writing-related activities. Full-time self-published authors who had been publishing since at least 2018 reported a mean income of $24,000 compared to $13,700 in 2018, a 76 percent increase.

While self published books make up 22% of the digital book market, according to figures from Nielsen BookInsights, tens of thousands of ebooks are released each year and only a tiny fraction will ever go on to achieve the success of the authors described above.

How much does it cost to sell books in the Amazon store? Amazon's selling plans give you the option to pay $0.99 per sale (Individual plan) or $39.99 per month (Professional plan) plus applicable selling fees. You can decide which option is best for you based on your business model and goals.

Yes, if you own the rights to your book you can publish using KDP if it has previously been published elsewhere. If your book has an existing ISBN from a different publisher, it must have the same title, author name, and binding type on KDP to continue using that ISBN.

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) allows you to self-publish eBooks or other types of books for free. With this option, you can list on Amazon the books you've written yourself or those you own the rights for. As a rule, you do not need a business license to sell Kindle books since you sell them on the Amazon marketplace.