A year of self publishing (Sept '11 - Aug '12)

I second Dozmonic's sentiments, and wish you good luck :)
 
I'd say your book is doing really well.:)
 
wow, congrats on your self-publishing! it looks like it's doing really well. i heard that the slow-down is to be expected. apparently, the trend is supposed to be a big sell right at the beginning, a slow-down, then a gradual build. so hopefully, you'll be seeing things pick up again =)

i'm thinking of self-publishing myself and am currently hunting around for a book cover artist/designer. who did you get to do yours? and would you know of any artist who would be particularly good for fantasy art?

thanks!
 
Thanks, Parson, TL Rese.

Covers: I actually make mine myself using GIMP (http://www.gimp.org/), which is basically just a free version of Photoshop. It takes a little while to get right and I throw away quite a few covers that don't work.

If you're looking for fantasy artists, you can try Deviant Art (http://www.deviantart.com/) and see if you can commission someone from there. You could also try a place called iStockPhoto (http://www.istockphoto.com/) if you're just after a background and can do all the typography stuff yourself ;)
 
I love this shared information and viewpoint on how you are doing. There's a lot of myth and conjecture on self-publishing, so I appreciate you sharing your very real experiences at face value, so that we can all learn from what you have been through.

May the slow down slow down, or even reverse!
 
Thanks, Parson, TL Rese.

Covers: I actually make mine myself using GIMP (http://www.gimp.org/), which is basically just a free version of Photoshop. It takes a little while to get right and I throw away quite a few covers that don't work.

If you're looking for fantasy artists, you can try Deviant Art (http://www.deviantart.com/) and see if you can commission someone from there. You could also try a place called iStockPhoto (http://www.istockphoto.com/) if you're just after a background and can do all the typography stuff yourself ;)

oo, Thanks! for the cover art stuff!!
 
Thanks from me too, all very interesting.

The iStockphoto is worth leafing through just to look at the pictures. (Not made it to Deviant yet.)
 
Morning All! Happy New Year to you!

Decembers total was 1,197, and the grand total is 5537.

Those numbers are slightly skewed, as I recently found out how to get the sales data out of Smashwords. And, wow... Amazon stamps on other e-retailers something terrible! My Amazon sales out do the others by a factor of about 6-1 combined..! Food for thought.
 
Very well done Scarfy, having read your initial paper effort; and thoroughly enjoyed I might add. I think your showing potential writers the way to go.:)

Is there any way you can push the sales, maybe investing some of your revenue on adwords?
 
Funnily enough, Google provided me with £100 of free adwords. I've used it, but found it completely ineffective..! People tend to look at charts and recommendations from other people when choosing a book to read. Price points will also help people to risk a spontaneous purchase.
 
Ah another Chrons member I can listen to on Twitter! Added.

And again thanks for the shared insights into how things are going with the self-publishing. It's interesting to see just how far out in front Amazon is in terms of bringing in sales.
 
Just a quick comment on limited companies and tax liabilities - most company directors of a small business pay themselves via dividends, with a small wage that covers their free tax allowance.

The result is that you do not pay NI, and the income from the dividends is effectively tax-free in the lower income tax band because corporation tax has already been paid on the profits, and therefore acts as a tax credit.

Note that dividends can only be drawn on net profits without causing trouble. If you receive income in the upper tax bracket (ie, 40%) then your effective payment rate of tax is actually 25%, because of this credit.

However, with a limited company you will need an accountant to sign off your accounts which incurs a small cost.

I'm told that there is a point of balance where income below a certain threshhold favours being a sole trader, and income above favours a limited company. I'm not sure what it is, though, if any such threshold exists.
 
Hi Steve,

I hope your well. I have a few questions which, if you don't mind, perhaps you can answer for me?

1) Once you've edited your story (Say in Word.) How did you put it on Amazon.

2) Why £1.99. I notice alot of books, inc the bestsellers are £4-6?

3) Of you sales, how is it broken down between book 1 and book 2?

4) How often do Amazon payout your revenues?

Best Regards as always.
 
However, with a limited company you will need an accountant to sign off your accounts which incurs a small cost.

With a small Ltd company you can do your own accounts. It is several years in the past now, and I have forgotten the exact tax details, but I was briefly director of my own Ltd Company. I was offered some urgent contract IT and admin said "you must form a limited company before we can pay you".

I bought a boiler plate Ltd company via the Internet (I think I paid about £40), and at the end of the year did my own accounts. I bought a book on Ltd Companies from Amazon to help. Basically there is an option somewhere (assume it still exists) to say "this is a small company with a turnover of less than x". You then have to supply far less information and you don't have to have an accountant sign off on the accounts you produce. The HMRC website for the company tax was pretty good.

You do also have to file an annual return with Companies House and pay an annual fee. Possibly £20.

It is possibly worth ringing up the HMRC helpline and seeing if one or more specialists can talk you through the options. They can be very helpful.
 

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