. . . Gutenberg invented the printing press.
This post was originally published on SuccessNet.org in 2010.
Just a year ago, it was predicted that Amazon would soon be selling more eBooks than both hardcover and paperback books combined. Just a few weeks later, they did just that. And that’s not even counting all the free Kindle books.
There’s no question that The Kindle has been a huge success. And we’re continually amazed at just how big a success it has become. For instance, Amazon now has more than 950,000 Kindle titles available for sale.
On a recent vacation, I read two entire books and reviewed several others—all on my Smart Phone Kindle app which I got for free. You can even read newspapers with it.
If you don’t own a Kindle, we highly recommend you get one—or at least get the free Kindle app for your computer, iPad or smart phone.
And Kindle book sales show no signs of slowing down anytime soon. It won’t be long until Amazon’s next milestone: digital books accounting for twice as many sales as physical books. Amazon will sell 6 million Kindle Fires by the end of 2011.
Even at a used book store you can’t beat free, $1.99 or even $5.99 for a book. Older books you were planning to read someday are available instantly—mostly for free—on Kindle. And you can get as many as you want, because you don’t have to physically store them anyplace.
As an author or publisher, the potential is substantial. Amanda Hocking is a purple-haired 26-year-old author raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars without ever being published by a traditional publisher. She bypasses the middleman and publishes on her own Amazon’s Kindle store. And what does she write about? Vampires.
Hocking, sells around 100,000 copies of her nine different books, like Flutter, Hollowland, and the My Fate Approves trilogy, every month. She nets from .70 to $2 USD per book—more than she ever would earn as a traditionally published author.
The value to readers and the opportunities for authors and publishers is astounding.
Action Points
- If you don’t have one already, get a Kindle or Kindle app (free). It will be one of the best things you’ve ever done for your learning library.
- If you have a book or plan to write a book, find out how to get yours into Kindle format and start selling it today. There are many books on Kindle that teach you how.
Recommended Reading
Best Life Book Series
The path to your best life is through your Compelling Core Values, your Empowering Purpose, your Meaningful Mission, your Vital Vision and your Solid Goals. And this series has a book for each of them. Pick out individual ones or get the whole series.
