Pay to Play versus Traditional Royalties

-
Pay to Play versus Traditional Royalties

My definition of traditional royalties is where you build the product once and continue to make money from it far into the future. However, pay to play is becoming the norm in the author community. The secret to writing success is becoming "marketing". The secret to marketing is to find small ways to earn more than you spend. However, these small ways keep changing, which requires you to keep changing your marketing. It is at this point, that those secret revealers say that being an author is about running a business, not just writing.

Here is a sample thought from a Reddit forum post:

Amazon Ads would be your best bang for your buck (and book!) but depending on the price of your paperback they may not make financial sense. An awesome click to buy ratio is 1 sale for every 10 clicks, and clicks in popular categories can cost $0.25 or more, so unless you're making more than $2.50 profit on your paperback it might not work. Note that 1 in 10 is very good, something like 1 in 30 is more common.
A lot of advertising only works if the books are part of a series, in which case the read through will end up covering the cost of the ads.
It is worth experimenting with cheaper bids to see if you can get any traction.

That's helpful, but also disheartening. The dream of everyone who builds royalties is not to continue to pour work into their effort for everything they want to make. They want to make it once and be done. The sad truth is that's not always the case.

In a recent Podcast of the Sell More Books Show, they say [paraphrased]: The Amazon indie book market mirrors what happens to YouTube content creators. The difference is that it happens to YouTube content creators several years in advance.

So, what is happening with YouTube? Looking at a recent Entrepreneur article, we know new YouTube creators will need 4000 hours of watch time every year and at least 1000 subscribers in order to earn money from their content. This means that lower level content creators don't see a dime. If that's coming down the pipeline to Amazon, that could be huge. Why? Because according to this Guardian article, many indie authors make less than $500/year. If those authors are cut off from any compensation at all, will they still write?

Here is where pay to play (purchase marketing) and traditional royalties being to take different paths. I suppose it's sad in a way. So many authors write books hoping for a trickle of money throughout their lifetimes. If Amazon makes this change, that author dream will die for so many people. I find that very sad. 

Popular posts from this blog

525+ Cute Female Dog Names and Meanings

-
Image
525+ Cute Female Dog Names With Meaning You have the perfect dog—now you just need the perfect name to give her!  Juan_Alvaro Our new family members deserve the best we can provide for them. That includes a cute name that fits their personality and appearance. If you chose the perfect name, it can help strengthen the bond between you your newest family member. Plus, it's a joy to see them respond to a name that truly suits them. This name can also reflect our personal tastes, and it doesn't hurt when someone compliments the cuteness of our dog's name. However, it may take a little bit to find the perfect name, as there are a lot of choices. Browse the following list to find the perfect name that fits your hound. Below the list, we offer tips and tricks that can help the process. The goal is to match your new, wonderful doggy addition with the perfect name (or if you can't decide, several names). Female Dog Names A–C Name Meaning ...
Read more

How to write dialogue

-
Image
Writing dialogue can be a daunting task for most writers. Dialogue is an art form that requires careful attention to detail, and many authors struggle with getting their characters’ voices right. But don’t worry! This blog post will show you how to write dialogue like the pros do. We’ll start by looking at some common rules on how to write dialogue. Next we will step back and look at what makes realistic dialogue, how that moves the story forward, how to make readers pay attention when dialogue shows, and exactly what ratio of dialogue writing to you should use in your story. 19 fast dialogue rules to building great dialogue Use dialogue to reveal traits of a person Dialogue should be natural and believable. This is their real life, so they should have their own voice. Write dialogue in the style of your genre Avoid clichés when writing conversation, such as “I’m so mad!” or “How could you?” Be careful about how much dialogue is ...
Read more

How to Write a Good Story

-
Image
Regardless of what you may have heard, there is no one formula for writing a good story. Some writers are able to churn out best-selling novels using nothing more than their own intuition, while others plan and plot every step of their journey before ever putting pen to paper. The key is finding the process that works best for you and following it faithfully. With a few simple tips, however, you can give yourself the best chance of success. So sit down, get comfortable, and let’s get started! What are parts of a story? There are several key components of a story: the setting, the characters and the conflict. Setting is pretty self-explanatory and can be just about anything you want it to be. The sky’s the limit when it comes to choosing where your tale will take place! You must also decide on who all of your main characters will be and how they relate to one another. Are they related by blood, marriage or friendship? Are they co-workers? Once you have these basics figured ou...
Read more