How “Free” Got Me $2,202.29 From Amazon
Right. That sounds like the subject line in a spam an email.
But for me it’s both an epiphany and money in the bank.
And the proof that — so far — Amazon has treated me far, far better than traditional publisher when it comes to payments and promotion.
Screen capture from Amazon payment email.
HOW DID FREE GET ME 2.2k+?
Back in February, I re-edited my current thriller, Die By Wire, to eliminate some annoying typos and to clean up the overall format.
Then I enrolled it in the Amazon Select Program. And gave it away for five days.
After the five days was over, people ponied up real dollars (and pounds and other currencies) Die By Wire . They also bought copies of Die By Wire and other books. The illustration above is just U.S. Other countries paid well too.
And some of those freebie folks loaned the book to a friend (the “KOLL” payment.”) for which Amazon paid me … for the free loan.
The promotion also edged me into the top 10 paid bestseller lists for a while … and have allow my books to perform anywhere from 10X to 26X better than the three books I still have with a traditional publisher.
Reasons explaining that better performance here: How Traditional Publishers SUCK On eBooks and here: Traditional Bad Editing: Not Just For The Self-Published
CLEAR, TIMELY, TRANSPARENT ACCOUNTING
And unlike traditional publishers who play more accounting games than Hollywood producers and pay (maybe) six months or more after sales … and never tell you how many you sold or what sort of income to expect … and only pay every six months … And sometimes don’t pay at all …
Contrast that with Amazon:
Amazon & their real-time, online data:
- Tell me daily basis how many books I have sold month to date.
- Give me an accounting by the 15th of the month for how much money I made the previous month.
- Pay within 60 days of that period, right into my bank account.
Clear, timely, transparent.
The numbers also let me know what forms of promotion pay off and help me to do better each period.
I would LOVE to love the traditional publishing model again. It worked super well for me back in the 1980s and produced beaucoup bestsellers.
But the traditional publishing model melted down, mired in a 19th-century business model and quill-and-pen accounting. I’d like to see it revive itself. But that will never happen as long as they try to blame all their woes on Amazon instead of the real causes.
