The month-to-month comparison isn’t particularly apt; The Variant came out in late May. But it’s interesting to note how much better the Kindle sales have held up than the downloads — likely the self-fulfilling nature of being on the best-seller list for its genre.
This site is run by screenwriter John August. Mostly, he answers reader-submitted questions about the craft, but occasionally he goes on tangents that run far afield of writing and filmmaking. You'll also find info on past, present and future projects.
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July 14th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
You don’t get rich with a short story. You need to write short stories… One every two weeks and with good quality :)
July 14th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
This is VERY interesting. Your endeavor with The Variant inspired me to self-publish my latest novel online. It’s interesting to see the Kindle numbers. That Kindle appears to be the book of the future…hmm…
July 14th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Perhaps the key is to charge 99 cents a word. Either that, or sell the movie rights.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
@Jon:
I could probably hit that pace for a few months, but at the cost of a screenwriting career.
@Matt:
I’ve gotten a couple of calls about the movie rights, but a large part of why I wrote it as a short story is that I didn’t think it particularly played well in movie terms.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Wow. Just imagine if you got a larger chunk of those Kindle purchases. Not that I think it’s unfair.
However, if you’re frustrated by the experience and the limited returns, I can gladly take that weight off your hands.
However, however, what’s amazing about your experiment is not whether one can get rich or not, but the fact that the internet, and in particular Kindle, enables self-publication that can get you paid! As someone who is still aspiring, the thrill of someone actually purchasing my work (even for a measly dollar) is incredible.
It’s almost the antithesis of the “lottery ticket” mentality, and I hope I’m not alone in feeling that way.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
“…what’s amazing about your experiment is not whether one can get rich or not, but the fact that the internet, and in particular Kindle, enables self-publication that can get you paid! As someone who is still aspiring, the thrill of someone actually purchasing my work (even for a measly dollar) is incredible.”
Precisely. You’ve totally got me considering selling some of my short stories on the Kindle. Honestly, off that one story, you made more than I currently earn from my day job…
July 14th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
PS: What’s up with the StumbleUpon bar?
July 14th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
PPS: Oh, it’s gone now…
July 14th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
How many words is “The Variant,” John? A little under 7k, yeah? Let’s say 6,700 words at $1,638, gets us just shy of a quarter per word (0.2445). That’s a good rate for the fiction market (genre, not literary), and your rate goes up with every sale.
If you were actually putting out a decent story every week — like a TV series, anthology or episodic — you could do all right as revenue streams go. The trick, I think, would be to write them in advance and then release them while you’re working on something else. Where “you” = “a visible, selling writer” and not necessarily “John August.”
I write for $0.25/word rather a lot. It’s what it is. If the Kindle means there is a new short-fiction, then hallelujah, but I’m not sure “The Variant” is a representative example. It’s certainly inspiring, but that’s not the same. :)
How many of us bought “The Variant” because we wanted it to be a success? How many of us were investing in our hopes? I know I was.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
You “didn’t think it particularly played well in movie terms”?
Since when has that stopped someone from buying the rights to something? c.f. Asteroids, View Master, etc. etc.
July 14th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
That’s more than people make per year in some countries, so..
July 14th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Thanks for the updates on your sales John. I actually went through some of my old writings and put one on the store, to experiment with it. I’ve only made a couple bucks so far, but I’m working on a short novel right now that will eventually make it to the Kindle store, then who knows, a publisher?
I don’t know if this is realistic, but I see a way where someone could double dip on the same stories. Like for example, Michael Crichton made many sales from Jurassic Park as the book, then co-wrote the screenplay.
It’s also a way to try to give yourself some credibility as a writer. Being a writer is truly a tag anybody can give themselves, but if you can say you’ve made 10,000 sales on the Kindle store, it’s a step in the right direction.
July 14th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
John, have you spent any money on ads yet?
July 15th, 2009 at 3:34 am
Of course the Kindle sales are going to hold up. According to your chart, it’s cheaper than the download version.
What I’d like to know is if there’s a website out there that tells you how many copies of a certain book has sold. Like box office numbers for movies and the Billboard chart for music.
July 15th, 2009 at 5:52 am
Ethan: That’s the money John gets, not the price. The price of both versions is the same.
July 15th, 2009 at 8:46 am
thanks for the transparency. very informative.
July 15th, 2009 at 10:07 am
It’s a little bit alarming that John is only seeing 35 cents from each Kinde sale. I’d hate to see what the cut would be if an agent/publisher were involved (which I’m guessing they’re not).
Still I’d be quite happy to get any money for a piece of fiction. This whole medium for releasing has given me hope for when I finish a novel.
You’re welcome to the cash that I spent on the PDF.
July 20th, 2009 at 1:18 am
Didn’t you say Average Joe was unable to offer their work for free on Kindle store? What’s the lowest you can sell for; did you opt for that?
It would be interesting to see how a series of free/cheap short stories worked and how that then affected the sale of a novel. Also, you could have separate authors writing under the same umbrella — such as Point Horror etc to maybe pool advertising resources…
Throwing stuff out there!
July 20th, 2009 at 7:13 am
So, encouraged by your experiment, I decided to try my own! I’m offering Chapters 1-4 ( http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002HMDU9M/ ) and Chapters 5-8 ( http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002HRFG1M/ ) of my original fiction series Twenty-Somewhere via Amazon Kindle! I think of it as Sex and the City-meets-Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Or something… :P
I’ll keep adding more chapters if this pans out.
Anyway, your formatting guide was invaluable. In fact, all of your transparency about this project has been great. Thanks so much!