Dear readers, last night I partook in a webinar for Kindle Publishing Income, where an English lady called Sophie Howard told people about some fluffy white clouds. All so they would be excited enough to part with a lot of money (USD 2,495 for the course and coaching sessions program).
My aim here is not to offer a course review, as there are plenty of those already, but merely to point out that ludicrous claims are still being made by relative newcomers about selling books via Amazon KDP.
Claim #1: You can Make BIG income from Kindle, mostly Passively EVERY month.
I was amused at her ‘hidden’ images while proving the revenue spend of her own eBook titles. Going to Amazon myself, I checked out the numbers via Kindlepreneur’s rough “sales rank calculator”.
What do you know? Not $1,000 – $3,000 per month for each title as claimed – she is not James Altucher. Sophie Howard’s books on the .Au store:
| Title | Sales Rank | Retail | Monthly sales units # |
Amazon Boom 2021 | 438,353 | K 29.95 / P 29.95 | < than 1 book a day |
| Passive Portfolio Investor | 1,057,717 | K 3.99 / P 15.99 | < than 1 book a month |
| Recurring Revenue Playbook | 143,583 | K 3.99 | < than 1 book a day, approx $29 p/m |
#Sales Rank estimated from Kindlepreneur Sales Calculator. Updated Oct 2023.
With revenues of about $85 a book per month, or less, a big income this publishing does not make. With a lot of Sophie Howard’s other Kindle books ranked over 500,000, they would maybe sell one per month, because that’s what mine and others’ books tend to do.
Some books have no reviews, fair enough. But if you get poor writers, subsequent poor reviews will hinder further sales.
Claim 2: There are Niches with Low Competition and High Revenue
While there are tools to find interesting niches where competition is less, with over-saturation of most passive revenue, Amazon selling and income-focused topics in Amazon Kindle categories, Sophie herself has not managed to find them – so what chance has a new amateur got?
On balance, putting the year in some subtitles was a master stroke. It seems that the book ‘Amazon Boom’ was set up to only sell in the first few months of launch, not forever. You can do your own research with a keyword tool designed for Kindle, such as the below one.
JENNIFER LANCASTER IS AN AFFILIATE PARTNER OF PUBLISHER ROCKET
by Kindlepreneur Inc, LLC.
Click to buy or have a look, the commission paid to Jen does not alter the price.
Claim 3: It’s easy to get Amazing Ghostwriters Cheaply, for a Business Result
The low rates paid to the ghostwriters had me in conniptions, but that point aside…
The fact is, just getting a ghostwriter to write generic content for low pay of about $1,000 – $1,500 does not make a bestseller.
Integrity is not built on work by ghostwriters who write for bread and butter alone. Authentic book projects by University-educated, experienced writers could cost a client $9,000 to $25,000. This is based on my knowledge of my ghostwriting colleagues in the business.
My book writing coaching program is a better bet for those who want to be a better writer, as it supports and teaches at the same time. You won’t need a ghostwriter, as I provide many examples of how to write paragraph bridges and that sort of thing.
A missing fact is the need for at least a copy editor, who will make the reader experience much nicer and less straining. Interesting case studies and mindful how-to tips also make a book more related to the readers’ goals. Neither seems to be in the book Amazon Boom, according to the unpaid reviewers.
Nice Self-Publishers Unite
I hope intending business-minded publishers have faith to keep going with their book goals, but I can assure you it is never as simple and easy as some gurus make out. Not only for emotional support, you also need to reach out to others in your community in preparation to launch and sell your book. Plus you’ll want to give value at the same time — as nobody likes a taker.
Nice author communities – pay for events at normal rates:
Brisbane Authors Networking Group – Facebook network group, real life events in Brisbane area.
Writers around Australia – Facebook group
How to Judge Authentic Teachers of Kindle Publishing
Whenever I think someone else has the answers to my income or book publishing woes, I take to Google. Sometimes I find myself staring at a ‘snippet’ of my own blog post. A weird feeling washes over me. It’s far worse when browsing and stopping at a Facebook Ad, though. Any marketer can launch a campaign, run a webinar, and say they are a guru on Kindle Publishing.
Lesson being: question everything you read, see and hear.
My self-publishing course is only $227. Comparatively, it is one of the cheapest on the market, but also one of the most researched.