Amazon and the Self-Publisher --- A Relationship Not Made in Heaven!

Over the last number of years, many authors have no longer been able to “sell” their work to a major publishing company. There are various reasons for this, not least of which is the fact that some of the most prestigious companies have either gone out of business or merged with others. This has caused many people with great stories to tell in a quandary. They know they have a message that needs to be shared—whether it be fiction or non-fiction—but can’t find any one company to “do the heaving lifting” that is required to get a book in print. #everyonehasastorytotell

I was one of these people—a writer who saw value in my message, but was blocked at every turn. Despite years—yes, I DO mean years, of trying to find an agent, publisher or marketing person, was thwarted. I was made MANY promises, but with no results. What to do? Well, I did what most people in my situation did, I turned to Amazon. I became one of the millions of people who decided to self-publish—and Amazon promised to make it so easy!

I admit, I was seduced by Amazon’s marketing and the promises Words such as FAST, EASY, GORGEOUS COVERS, SIMPLE TEMPLATES pulled me into the world of Amazon without remembering that there is a reason why Amazon is a multiple billion dollar business. They make money—that is what they do. Yes, they provide a one-stop shopping experience all done with the immediate gratification of next day delivery, but they are able to do that because #AMAZON is very good at marketing—themselves.

So, I paid my money, followed the templates—which, by the way, are quite restrictive, and yet, had questions. Help was not easily or quickly available, but eventually I did get responses and my book was printed. YAY, there was my book being sold on Amazon—I was now a published author! But, now what? I set out to market my book, and thought, naively, that Amazon would provide some assistance in this area too, but that was not the case. So, I hired a marketing person—more money—and was able to sell a few hundred books in a relatively short period of time. I thought, “I’m on my way.” What I didn’t know was that I was on my way to more frustration and finally the realization that the only one really making any money on my work was other people who promise results and don’t or can’t produce and, of course, the behemoth, Amazon. You ask, “How did I finally learn that?” Well, several things happened—first, my profit for the books that were sold amounted to a FEW PENNIES on a dollar—and, that is NOT a figure of speech; second, there was no marketing by Amazon unless I was willing to pay for it and third, Amazon contacted me to require that I increase the price of my book since THEY were not making enough profit.

I heard this same or similar story from MANY other self-publishers. So, I decided to do something about it. I know my books are good—I now have a series of children’s books and educational materials, and I know that authors who self-publish feel the same way. This is NOT a vanity issue with us. So, I founded, Hudson View Publishing.

I put together a real team--an illustrator, marketer, printer and process that will actually do what every self-publisher was promised and never received—a quality product with a marketing plan that really works. This is YOUR book--a book that you are proud to have your name on and people to read and enjoy. #selfpublished

Did you self-publish with KDP/Amazon?

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