Suggested Ways on How to Sell Books That Were Written by Ghostwriters
Amazon allows you to sell almost anything, including eBooks. Even if you do not write the book yourself, you can still sell provided that you are familiar with the right ways on how to sell books on Amazon. Keep in mind that selling books on Amazon requires not just effort but correct strategies. This is particularly true if you are selling books on Amazon written by Ghostwriters.
Before you engage yourself with the process, it pays to know what Ghostwriter is.
Who Is a Ghostwriter?
A Ghostwriter pertains to a person who does the writing but isn’t given credit for such work. Ghostwriters are usually hired to write books, eBooks, speeches, literally, and other journalistic works and texts that are credited officially to another person as the author.
Understanding the Process of Selling Books on Amazon Written by Ghostwriter
The selling process includes many related pursuits that you need to pay close attention to ensure success in selling your ghostwritten book on Amazon. The selling process includes searching for the most suitable idea, searching for a Ghostwriter, editing, creating a cover, preparing the eBook for posting, and more.
Step by Step Guide in Selling Books on Amazon Written by Ghostwriter
1. Search for an Idea
A great and successful book always starts with the best idea. This is the very first step that you need to deal with. You need to choose a particular niche since it is essential that you have a target niche or market for your book and of course, find the perfect topic or idea for a book. If you decide to let somebody write an eBook for you and you do not have an idea, then the book won’t go anywhere.
There are strategies that you can consider when searching for a bestseller Amazon eBook. The following are helpful strategies that you can do to find the right subject idea for the book:
- Think of the things you know. One piece of knowledge or expertise might be all you need to have a top-selling book.
- Research about special services and offers. People are always on the lookout for ways where they can save money.
- Know what information people want. Remember that identifying what people need and want and then responding to these is a sure path to success.
- Brainstorm.
- Look for bestseller lists.
- Then finally, create a unique version.
How to Understand That Your Idea Has a Big Chance to Become Successful?
In order to understand whether to write a book on the topic you have chosen, try to answer three simple questions:
- Is there a demand for similar books on Amazon?
- Are buyers willing to spend money on similar books?
- Competition in the category is not too serious?
If the topic of your book is not interesting to customers, and there is no demand for books with similar topics, you should not write such a book. You want to make money, and not just write a book.
Think about how easy it is to find information on a chosen topic. If so, people may not want to pay money for it, even if the topic is very interesting for them.
Competition in a niche should be small. Otherwise, it will be difficult for you to make the readers want to buy your book. Of course, finding a niche where there is a demand for books, and people willing to pay for them is easy. But there, most likely, are sold publications whose authors have long won the attention of buyers. It will be hard to beat the competition.
How to Understand That the Niche Is Chosen Correctly?
To understand that there is a demand for books, you can use our tips. We do not guarantee that our data will really make your book sell well. But they will definitely help you avoid many mistakes. Especially if you are just starting a business selling ebooks on Amazon.
- Estimate the number of user requests for keywords that correspond to the theme of the book. Google keyword planner will help you with this. You will find out how often users enter similar keywords in the search bar. If the result is 1000 and higher within a month, everything is fine. We check a niche further.
- Enter the same keywords when searching on Amazon. If the result will be more than a thousand products, such a niche is active, there is a demand in it. But if the result exceeds 2000, most likely, there is too much competition. The new book will be difficult to compete with existing ones.
We will analyze only the first 5-10 books in the list. And if they meet the following criteria, everything is fine. Your successful niche is found. So, we analyze further.
- Rate BSR first 10 books. It should be greater than # 20,000, but less than # 100,000. If, as a result of the search, there are no books with a BSR smaller than # 100,000 among the first 10 options, then the books here are not selling very well. However, if the rating of competitors is less than # 20 000, it will be very difficult to win them. It is better to refuse such an idea.
- Prices should be in the range of $ 0.99 -3.99. This is due to the fact that for the new author, which you are, such books are the real competitors. Those publications that are more expensive are most likely written by professional authors, not ghostwriters.
- The number of reviews should not exceed 100. You need the same number of positive reviews to defeat competitors. Therefore, if the first 10 books have significantly more reviews, this option is not the best for you.
- The quality of the book and the overall impression. Rate the book cover, the page with the description of the author, the listing of the book. Your ebook shouldn't look worse.
If you carry out such a detailed analysis for each of your ideas, you will be able to find the topic you need. And then you need a writer - an author who will do most of the work for you.
2. How and Where to Find a Ghostwriter?
So you wanted to publish a book; however, you do not want to write the book yourself, it's high time to begin looking for a Ghostwriter. Ghostwriters are perfect options for those who don't have the time or probably the skills to write a book.
But choosing a Ghostwriter can be a challenge. How can you find the best one? Go online and search. An extensive web search is one of the easiest and most effective ways of finding the most competent and qualified Ghostwriter.
Before approaching a Ghostwriter with the right potential, ask yourself the following questions:
- Do you want a traditional book, eBook, continuing blog, or series of articles?
- How long you want the book to be?
- What’s your deadline?
- What particular writing style do you seek?
- What is your budget?
- Aside from these, you can also interview the Ghostwriter or client and absorb all pertinent details and materials offered.
3. Copyright: What Should You Know to Protect Yourself?
Work for writing books is a situation of exclusion from the copyright system. This is the only case where the author is not the one who actually created the information product. In this case, it is the employer - the author and at the same time the owner of the copyright. That is, ghostwriters voluntarily give up their rights to a written book in favor of the customer who paid for their work.
To secure such a relationship legally, the customer and the Ghostwriter sign a formal contract. It is called the Non-Disclosure Agreement or NDA. Every freelance author with a good reputation easily agrees to sign such an agreement. Some even offer their version of the NDA. If a Ghostwriter refuses to sign a contract or needs to simplify it greatly, this should alert the customer.
The main goal of the NDA is to secure copyright for the text to the publisher. But, besides this, in the contract, it is better to identify all the important points that relate to cooperation with the Ghostwriter.
Specify in the contract terms of performance of work and fines for late delivery, the requirement of the uniqueness of the text, payment terms, the writer's refusal of royalties and all rights to the book, the requirement not to reuse the text and not transfer it to third parties without the permission of the customer.
In some cases, it is worth signing the NDA even before the final decision on hiring a Ghostwriter. After all, the publisher must disclose some of the information at the negotiation stage. For example, for fiction, the ideas themselves may be valuable. Regardless of the decision to hire or not a specific contractor, a previously signed contract will ensure the security of the intellectual property.
If you build a publishing business on Amazon on short and simple books, then it makes sense to sign the NDA after the test task.
Why do I need to sign a contract? Writing a book is the most expensive process when starting such a business on Amazon. If you do not sign the NDA, this can result in the following problems:
- The term of work on the text will greatly increase;
- The text may be non-unique (and this is prohibited by the rules of Amazon);
- Ghostwriter may reuse your text for other purposes;
- Ghostwriter can start selling your book on Amazon (it means that all royalties will be credited to him since in fact copyrights belong to him and you cannot prove the opposite).
A professional Ghostwriter will not risk his reputation, even if nothing formally keeps him from using the text to the detriment of the publisher.
However, do not rely only on the decency of a freelancer. Signing the NDA will take quite a bit of time, but this step will prevent many problems.
4. Why Do You Need a Proofreader for a Book?
Proofreading is the final step in the editing process. This is the final polish on files before these procedures to the digital press or printer, making sure that there are no small errors in punctuation and spelling. You will need a proofreader because this ensures that the writing is done on a professional level. Proofreaders have a keen eye on details and a systematic approach and method on proofreading and double-checking.
With no proper proofreading as well as editing, your hard work might be tossed aside. Remember that errors in writing can undoubtedly detract from the integrity and credibility of your works, and readers may not take your book seriously if this is cluttered with spelling and grammatical errors.
5. Getting Illustrations for a Book, Making a Cover, and Finding a Designer
Your illustrations and book cover can create a good impression on your book, so you need to ensure that you will deal with all these steps properly. It is ultimately critical to have an excellent book cover designer who can assist you in communicating what is your book about. The best place where you can get perfect illustrations for a book, make a cover and find a designer is online but make sure that you commit only with a reputable site.
Prepare the electronic edition for download on Kindle Direct Publishing and then Download to KDP. It is important to format the electronic version of the book according to the rules and requirements of Amazon. Only in this case, it can be successfully published.
Advantages of Selling eBooks on Amazon written by Ghostwriters
One of the most significant benefits of this type of business is that you have plenty of potential customers since millions of individuals spend most of their time online, so they have higher chances of coming across your ghostwritten book offered on Amazon. Selling ghostwriters books on Amazon is incredibly convenient and easy. So even if you are not competent enough to write your book, you don’t need to worry because there are ghostwriters who can handle the job for you.
Other benefits:
- Starting a business with minimal investment;
- Short launch dates (from two to three weeks);
- Minimal risk (low cost with a small amount of time and effort invested);
- No need to constantly monitor the quality of the goods;
- Long-term profit after the successful launch of the book.
With the right approach, you can create a successful business, although you will need a little more time to do this than to develop other business options (for example, Private Label).
How much does it cost to start selling e-books to Amazon?
The minimum amount you need to start such a business is about $ 100. It all depends on the theme of the book and how much you are willing to spend on writing and promoting it.
We will give an approximate list of tasks that need to be completed and their approximate cost.
- Select a topic, niche. You will have to do this work yourself. And it will cost you completely free.
- Writing the text of the book. This work is the most expensive. To get a book of good normal quality of 5000-6000 words, you will need about $ 60-70. Of course, if you can hire a professional author, that's great. But his work will cost significantly more. However, for $ 60-70, you can find a responsible Ghostwriter who will also write a good book.
- Order covers, illustrations for the book. Freelancers are engaged in preparing the cover for most books created by ghostwriters. The simplest (but not the worst!) Version of the cover designer will develop for $ 5. If illustrations are necessary for your book, you can find them at photo hosting sites and pay $ 5-10 for them.
- Proofreading. You will pay $ 10-15 for this work if the number of words in your book is about 6000.
- Formatting the book in accordance with the KDP standard. You can do this work yourself. But it will take a lot of time because you will do it for the first time. We recommend hiring a freelancer for this job, who is professionally engaged in this. The cost of his work is $ 5.
- Attractive listing of your book, its publication on the site. You can easily do this work yourself. Spend a little time and learn how to make a listing of the goods. When you have a finished book, it will be easy to prepare a page with a description of the book.
- Book promotion. Here, your budget can be any, as long as your possibilities are enough. But first, you have to spend at least $ 20 on this.
Total: $100.
This is only an approximate amount. However, even such simple calculations show that you need some money to start an e-book business on Amazon.
Selling books on Amazon is now highly possible, but in ensuring success in this undertaking, you must be familiar with the right steps and processes to take.