Earn Money From Your Books Without Selling Them

Did you know, you can still make money from your books without selling them?

Yep, with the Kindle Unlimited Program. Now you can earn book royalties even though no one is buying your book. Remember, book royalties are the point of having your book available. Right?

When I published the first book in my epic fantasy series, I was focused on book sales. And I happened to be exclusively published with Kindle Direct Publishing. However, each month, my royalties were double what I was expecting, and I was beginning to wonder why. It wasn’t until I took a hard look at the book sales calculations that I realized what was happening. Fans were reading my book without buying it, all due to the Kindle Unlimited Program.

What is the Kindle Unlimited Program?

How does it work? If you have your ebook exclusively available on Kindle and opt into their KDP Select Program, you have the option to make your book available in the Kindle Unlimited Program. Kindle Unlimited allows user to sign up for their subscription program. For $9.99 a month, members can read any book in the Kindle Unlimited Program for free or a discounted price. It’s like Netflix for readers!

What are the perks for authors?

For each page a reader reads, Amazon will pay authors a certain percentage of royalties. Amazon puts together a dollar amount they will pay out for the Kindle Unlimited Program, they call this the KDP Select Global Fund. The first time a Kindle Unlimited Program member reads your ebook, you, as an author, are awarded with royalties.

Authors are paid for each page read by a reader which is great news … if your book is a page turner!

What does this mean for authors?

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_dropcap color=”” boxed=”yes” boxed_radius=”8px” class=”” id=””]1[/fusion_dropcap]First off, you have to sell your book exclusively on Amazon. You have to opt into the KDP Select Program. When you’re promoting your book, you will make money off of book sales, but if you have a slow month or a slump in sales, as long as readers are reading your book, royalties will still hit your account.

Now, the Kindle Unlimited Program may seem like an excellent advantage for authors. However, there are several factors to consider when determining whether your book should be part of the program. First off, think about the exclusivity, do you want your book to be exclusively available on Amazon? This means you can’t publish your ebook with other popular ebook platforms such as iBooks, Smashwords, Kobo and more.

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_dropcap color=”” boxed=”yes” boxed_radius=”8px” class=”” id=””]2[/fusion_dropcap]Secondly, consider your ideal reader and where they buy books from. Your book marketing strategy should cater your reader and make it as easy as possible for them to purchase your book. If they typically purchase from Amazon and your book royalties are highest with Amazon, it’s a great idea to use it as an exclusive platform.

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_dropcap color=”” boxed=”yes” boxed_radius=”8px” class=”” id=””]3[/fusion_dropcap]Finally, think about book bloggers and reviewers. Kindle Unlimited is a cost effective way to read and review books without the expense of buying each one. Additionally, as an author, you can cut down on the reviewers who are begging for free copies because you can redirect them to the Kindle Unlimited Program.

Right now, listening to other authors and their experience with Amazon, the ability to publish exclusively on Amazon hasn’t hurt sales at all. For the most part, they are finding that 90% of sales, if not more, are from Amazon.

What do you think? Should you use Kindle Unlimited? Or should you use extended distribution for your book sales?

• Possible: sell your book out of the trunk of your car
• Impossible: reach every breathing human on the planet
• Repossible: publish smart

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