[Cheryl Douglas]

I had all of my books in Select until Oct 31, so this was the first real sales report I received from SW. I was shocked, to the say the least. I'm making as much at iTunes and B&N as I am at Amazon, maybe more. I'm curious how many people have had similar experiences. Is Amazon no longer your bread and butter?

Lastly, how do you market your books to B&N and iTunes readers? I haven't done any advertising for these markets yet, but I'm thinking maybe I should.

 

[Cherise]

I just wanted to say I have the opposite experience, with my non-fiction book. I sold a total of 65 books in 2012, so maybe that is not a representative sample, but my non-fiction book has been everywhere through Smashwords since October and at Amazon since August.

62 of my sales were at Amazon, 3 at Barnes and Noble, and none anywhere else.

This is non-fiction, so it markets itself through keywords, as people are searching for it. Amazon apparently has more search juice than the other sites, in addition to its algorithm love.

 

[theaatkinson]

I have no idea how to market to BN or Itunes. Sometimes I sell there, but I have no idea how anyone finds me. Amazon is still my best market, but each quarter a few trickle in from BN and Apple, but it's a complete mystery.

I'd love to gain traction in other markets but I just haven't a clue how. *shrugs*

 

[MegHarris]

I make less at B&N and iTunes than I do at Amazon, but it's nevertheless a substantial figure. Also, my Amazon figures have fallen off lately, and as I get my books up on more platforms I suspect that I may be making more elsewhere before long.

 

[Fantasma]

I'm making as much at iTunes and B&N as I am at Amazon, maybe more. I'm curious how many people have had similar experiences. Is Amazon no longer your bread and butter?

Lastly, how do you market your books to B&N and iTunes readers? I haven't done any advertising for these markets yet, but I'm thinking maybe I should.

Yes, the same is true for me with a couple of other names. (I don't think my ghost books have even made it to Apple yet.) Not so much B&N as iTunes. I think I'm selling 3x as much on Apple as on Amazon.

As for marketing--I market nothing, in no way, never. I can't even find my books in the iStore, but somebody can!

 

[Jena H]

I'm making as much at iTunes and B&N as I am at Amazon, maybe more. I'm curious how many people have had similar experiences. Is Amazon no longer your bread and butter?

Lastly, how do you market your books to B&N and iTunes readers? I haven't done any advertising for these markets yet, but I'm thinking maybe I should.

I've always sold better through Smashwords outlets (B&N, Apple, etc.) than I do on Amazon. I have no idea why. And I don't promote in any way to specifically target those markets either (wouldn't know how). In fact, I'm looking forward to my newest book coming out of Select (where it's doing nothing) so I can put it into the other channels.

 

[katherinef]

I sell the most on B&N. Apple and Amazon are close, but Apple is still in the lead a bit. I don't do anything to promote, except having the first book in series free. I think my target audience is more on B&N, at least for my teen romance books.

 

[Cheryl Douglas]

Great info. everyone. Thanks for the feedback. The first book in my series is free as well, which I think has definitely helped to boost sales at these other outlets. I was putting all of my eggs in one basket with Amazon for so long. It's so nice to know they're not the only game in town because my sales with A have been pretty stagnant since the summer, despite some new releases. It's a relief to know that I'm gaining traction elsewhere! 

 

[Amanda Brice]

I'm making as much at iTunes and B&N as I am at Amazon, maybe more. I'm curious how many people have had similar experiences. Is Amazon no longer your bread and butter?

Amazon has never been my bread and butter. I make considerably more on the other stores. In fact, I sell more paperback copies than I sell Kindle copies.

I know Kindle amounts for the overwhelming majority of many writers' sales, but not for me.

 

[James Bruno]

Upon leaving Select on Dec. 1, I've listed my books with B&N, iTunes (via D2D) and Kobo. Surprisingly, I've been getting steady sales from Kobo, all in Australia and Canada. It's been a pleasant surprise. I get zero sales from B&N. I've sold one via iTunes, but I've only just listed with them. My Kobo sales are catching up with my Amazon sales. And, also surprisingly, my print sales (via Lightning Source) are up.

 

[AJCooper]

In December, my sales on Amazon ground to a halt. No Christmas to speak of. PubIt took over this month, plus I sold on SONY. Lesson learned: don't discount Smashwords.

I thought I was selling well in audio until I released five of my "sales" were for $0.00. I wish they wouldn't count free as sales. That way I can be disappointed right away instead of when I get my audiobook statement.

 

[George Berger]

I sold several thousand books on Amazon in 2012.

I sold about a dozen combined at B&N, iTunes, Sony, and Kobo. I've literally sold more at the UK Amazon so far this month.

I wonder why I even bother with Smashwords, honestly.

 

[Monique]

Right now, my sales are roughly:

Amazon 50%
Kobo    40%
B&N        6%
iTunes    4%

I have no idea how to market on other sites. I do have a vague feeling that they can withstand slightly higher pricing than Amazon.

 

[StephenBrennan]

It stands to reason that itunes could be a growth market, simply because it's Apple. HOWEVER from an IT perspective, I think Apple lost its driving force when Steve Jobs died. There's nothing Apple is doing right now that everyone else isn't doing too. So they might start to shrink again.

As far as Barnes and Noble, I'm downright afraid to put anything on there. Last thing I want is to give them a book, only to have them go belly up and generate a bunch of legal hurdles around my work. If I decided to re-enter Select, I could find my book is still on Nook, and there's nobody left over there who cares enough to remove it.

I'll shoot for Smashwords, itunes, and Play when I'm out of Select I think.

 

[Toonldy]

I've sold significantly better on Amazon. I barely get sales on BN and, in fact, just unpub'd DW on SW to put it into KDP Select. My erotic romance series is also doing way better on AZ which suprises me bec. I've heard that there is very strong erotic romance reader base on BN/Nook. 

 

[Toonldy]

I've sold significantly better on Amazon. I barely get sales on BN and, in fact, just unpub'd DW on SW to put it into KDP Select. My erotic romance series is also doing way better on AZ which suprises me bec. I've heard that there is very strong erotic romance reader base on BN/Nook. 

 

[Jan Strnad]

I've always done way better on Amazon than everywhere else combined (like, 98-99% Amazon). I launched into Select without a qualm, figuring that the "borrows" alone would more than make up for the few sales I'd lose at B&N.

This last year, though, sales have tanked at Amazon, going from 15-20 books/day with one title down to 5 books/day with two titles. It might be the glut of self-published books, or the glut of freebies, or people just wising up , but whatever it is, I'm out of Select to try broadening my sales base again. My books are at B&N now and will be on Kobo soon.

 

[James Bruno]

I wonder why I even bother with Smashwords, honestly.

Folks, based on my experience, I can heartily recommend Draft2Digital.co as a much smoother alternative to Smashwords. I predict D2D will eat SW's lunch in no time.

 

[Cheryl Douglas]

Very interesting feedback. As a SW newbie those reports confuse the heck out of me. For example, my B&N numbers were 21K for 2012. I started publishing there Oct. 31, I believe. The report says sales have been reported to SW through Jan. 10, but the SW balance has only been updated until Nov. 30, which still doesn't seem to account for all of the sales up to that point. Are they still updating balances?

Also, is there an easier way to find out how many of the books that were 'sold' were freebies? It looks like it's about 8K, but my books are usually in the 8-10K + range in rankings at B&N with the freebie in the 1200 range, so those numbers don't make sense. Besides, I find it hard to believe that I sold 13K at B&N in one month. Believe me, I'd love it if that were the case, it just seems highly unlikely.

Eureka! I finally figured it out!

 

[Lisa Grace]

I've had sales at all the stores Smashwords distributes to, which is a nice surprise, but I did really well at the Sony store, which wasn't even on my radar.

My ranking is goofed up at the B&N store, because I provide my books there (direct) and so does Smashwords, so my rankings are split, but I figure the double exposure in different categories is better for my books than an elusive rank.

My books that are free are highlighted in one color, and the ones that are paid are in another. (purple or blue)

I don't think all the updating through December is in yet.