Pros and cons of publishing books on Amazon

Hi everyone,

Any of you interested in self publishing a book on Amazon?

I've been self-publishing a book on Amazon every now and then for the last couple years. Thought I would make a post on the pros and cons of publishing books on Amazon in case any of you have a story to share or have been interested in exploring other avenues of generating revenue or leads.

You can decide for yourself if you want to tap in.

Firstly, what's cool about Amazon is it offers incredible accessibility and control for authors, especially compared to the traditional publishing route.

With platforms like Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), you can easily upload your work and have it available for sale to a global audience within a matter of days and with very little investment capital upfront. This level of accessibility not only democratizes the publishing process, but lets you publish refined, well-received books quickly as you can quickly edit your manuscript based on any feedback you receive. Books are only printed if you opt for a hardcover or paperback when people place orders.

That varies a bit to Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) which still provides you with the control of publishing at your own pace, but requires you send in printed inventory beforehand to the Amazon warehouses. 

As for how you make money or how much you make - Amazon provides authors with higher royalties compared to traditional publishing deals. KDP, for instance, authors can earn up to 70% of the book's list price for eBook sales and up to 60% for paperback sales, which is significantly higher than what traditional publishers typically offer. Feel free to price your book as low or as high as you want when self-publishing a book on Amazon and work your way up or down to test pricing strategies.

Okay, let's talk challenges.

As authors, we are responsible for ensuring the quality of our works, including editing, formatting, and cover design. You can obviously hire out if you'd like (I use Fiverr or Upwork), but when feasible, I tend to do all my work in Canva. It's more time-intensive but helps keep costs minimal.

This also means if you're not proactively a creative and without the guidance of a traditional publisher, some self-published books may lack the polish and professionalism expected by readers, potentially impacting sales and credibility. Meaning if you have self published books on Amazon and have experienced a drop in sales, try going back to the drawing board and split testing. 

Additionally, marketing and promotion are primarily the author's responsibility. While Amazon provides tools for promotion, including advertising options and Kindle Select programs, authors must invest time and resources into building their platform and reaching their target audience as they publish a book on Amazon.

You can alternatively opt to tap into Facebook Groups, existing blogging sites and emailing lists full of readers ready to review books to generate initial reviews. 

With those basics said, publishing a book is still a lot like launching a physical product in any case. It begins with product or niche research, requires careful keyword research following by a listing buildout, keyword ranking monitoring, split testing and proper marketing. Just requires a little less cost upfront to self publish on Amazon as opposed to a physical product. Make sure you take your budget into consideration and carefully weigh factors such as control, royalties, quality control, etc when deciding which route to take for your work.

I hope this helps anyone else who is considering.

Cheers,

Shivali