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I'm very interested in writing e-Books to supplement my day job income. I'd really like to hear success stories from someone who isn't trying to sell me a system about how he/she makes money doing it.
I use lulu.com for everything. They charge exactly zero unless you buy an ISBN or some of their marketting services. But you can publish, set up a storefront and sell print or ebooks for no charge. Honest. You also set your own prices and royalty percentages as high as you want - at the risk of overpricing your product, of course. But if it sells at all, you'll get a monthly royalty payment.
That said, you are not going to make a living at it. I have two novels and they sell well, but my royalty check buys perhaps one good meal out a month. Just google me and Lulu. Once you get to Lulu, search for rraab.
Last edited by Green Irish Eyes; 08-09-2009 at 10:04 PM..
Reason: No discussion of Moderator activity, please.
That said, you are not going to make a living at it. I have two novels and they sell well, but my royalty check buys perhaps one good meal out a month. Just google me and Lulu. Once you get to Lulu, search for rraab.
I'm wondering how lucrative nonfiction can be. The guy who sells his "Stop Your Divorce" ebook from the Web site of that name claims he has sold 8000 copies since 1998. The current price is $79 but it hasn't always been that high. If the average price was $39, that would still be $300K+. Yes, it has been 11 years but that is still a nice addition to anyone's retirement account.
Last edited by Green Irish Eyes; 08-09-2009 at 10:05 PM..
Reason: Edited quoted text
Well, the sale price and the royalty are very separate items. The royalty is usually a small percentage of the "cover" price.
Again, I don't sell by ebook, so it might be different, but for my print-on-demand digital books, the net royalty to me runs from less than 4% to as much as 15%, depending on the outlet through which it is sold and printed. Some outlets (Amazon, Borders, B&N) take a huge cut of the cover price. I have to raise the cover price to make anything at all when a book is sold through those outlets.
Back to your question, non-fiction books can indeed be more lucrative. People seem to be willing to spend more for a book they imagine they'll use over and over as a resource than one that they know they'll read once and set aside.
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