You’ve probably noticed something if you’ve read other books of mine – I am a huge, huge proponent of goal setting. I would feel like I was doing you a disservice if I didn’t talk about goal setting when it comes to self publishing. That’s because those who set goals are bound to be much more successful than those that don’t.
You need a target to shoot for with everything you do. You need to know what you’re aiming for, very specifically. Knowing that you want to become “successful by publishing on Kindle” is not nearly enough. You need to define how much you would like to earn, and when. Why do you need or want to earn money by publishing on Kindle? Define that for yourself and use it to help you formulate your goals.
You also need to set goals for yourself when it comes to your work. How many books would you like to have published by the end of this year? How many books would you like to have published by the end of this month? Break it down very specifically like that.
When you set very specific goals, it gives you a roadmap to follow. You’ll be able to break down what you need to do and when you need to do it in order to achieve your goals. You’ll also be a whole lot more motivated because you’ll have those other goals to strive for – you’ll know that if you work hard and release X number of books over this year, then you’ll probably earn at least X number of dollars, as long as you play your cards right.
Along with setting your goals, you need to have a reason why you’re doing this. This is the overarching force that drives you. Have you always wanted to be an author? Why is that? Do you hope publishing on Kindle will lead to a full time income? Why is that? What’s turning you on to this opportunity in the first place? If a genie came to grant you a wish to make your life better, what would it be? How will Kindle publishing help you attain that wish? Do some soul-searching.
What is it that you want more than anything else? For many people, it’s stability for themselves and their family members. Maybe you want to get out of debt, create a very stable future for your family, and so on. What you’re doing right now, and even the money you’re striving to earn, is just a means to an end. Figure out what that “end” is for you. It’s not truly money, so what is it?
Or maybe it’s to build a legacy for yourself so that when your friends, family, and future family look for you online, they’ll find all sorts of excellent material that was created by you and be proud of your contribution to the world.
Go ahead and write your goals down now. Be very specific with these goals. Write down exact figures and timelines. Write down anything that comes out without filtering yourself. You can always edit and choose the exact goals you’re working toward later on. But first, it’s important to brainstorm because the best stuff will come out when you least expect it.
Choose your solid goals once you’re finished brainstorming. I also advise you to write your goals down again and again after you’ve decided on them. Many successful people do this is at the start of the day and the end of the day. Keep your goals fresh in your mind as your motivation and part of your driving force.
As we talk about goals, I want to remind you that you probably won’t get rich off of one book. Even very established, very wealthy authors tend to consistently release new work. They do this because that’s what you need to do to stay relevant and continue making sales.
Every new book you add to your catalog will help boost the sales of your back catalog. So, if you release one book, don’t get discouraged if it gets few sales or even no sales. Just keep writing and just keep releasing.
Of course, you have to make sure you’ve chosen a hot topic that is selling well, especially for self-published authors. If you’ve released a few of these short books and none are selling at all, it’s time to take a look at your niche and topic selection. Maybe tweak your cover, keywords, title, and blurb after you study the books that are successful—there are always tweaks to be made to optimize your sales. But, if you’ve done your homework, just keep looking forward and don’t look back.
Don’t get scared off by this next part, because it’s still good news for you. It shows you that those who push through even through a slow beginning are often richly rewarded. Many Kindle authors have noted that it wasn’t until they had 30 or 40 books released that things took off for them. This might seem daunting, until you realize what else is going on. The successful self-published authors have been making money along the way, even in small bits at first. They’ve been building their list, building up targeted fans who will buy up everything they release, releasing new content, giving out review copies, and rinsing and repeating. Things might start small but then they can really snowball if you follow in the footsteps of successful self-published authors on Kindle
That’s gold – if you make sure you build your list inside of your Kindle books, then it won’t matter if Kindle goes away a decade from now – you’ll have your list. Your list of loyal fans will follow you. They’ll follow you to your other websites and projects. They’ll look for your work and buy up your back catalog. They’ll talk about you to their friends, on social media, and in person. News of your quality and your brand will spread. It can take time, but it’s certainly possible if you focus on releasing high quality books.
It’s wonderful for us that Amazon Kindle is here right now. Amazon has, without a doubt, the best ebook ecosystem on the planet. There are no barriers to you releasing many, many books and cornering a niche on Kindle.
The point is to not bank on one book. Never get discouraged. Tweak what you’re doing along the way, make sure you’re targeting hot topics, pay attention to the 80/20 principle (20% of your books are going to lead to 80% of your sales), and study the top Kindle authors in your niche. Make notes and take a unique angle so you can get readers to pay attention to you and buy your new books as you release them.
Writing is part of the battle—the most important part. But you have to arm yourself with knowledge about the other part as well if you want to truly be successful.
Have you set your goals very specifically yet? Have you written those goals down on paper? Do not move forward, do not pass go, until you’ve done so. Please take this advice, because it could mean the difference between success and failure as a Kindle author.
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