Quarterly Earnings for Lauren Smith Tied to Our Site, Accounting for a Quadrant of Her Income
With a captivating chat, we got to know Lauren Smith, the ace author of over 60 novels. She dished about her self-publishing journey, reaching far-off shores, and time-saving tips with our platform.
About Lauren Smith
Lauren Smith was previously an attorney when she published her debut romance novel with a small publisher in 2014. She then switched to self-publishing strategies to reach a larger audience.
Lauren shares that her plunge into full-time writing was out of necessity after facing foreclosures in her previous industry. As finding work as an attorney became challenging, she realized, "this is the universe telling me to take the next step and go all-in with writing."
Lauren has been putting her heart into her independent business since 2017. With now over 60 titles, she's not only selling beyond Amazon but also dominating other markets like Italy with the help of our platform.
Main Results
📈
Generates a quarter of her monthly income on our platform
🌍
Reaches essential stores like Google, niche platforms like Dreame, and overseas markets like Italy
🖥️
Enjoys a breeze when uploading, managing, and operating her books
🧮
Profits from the sophisticated royalty-splitting tool, Abacus
The Challenges
🚫
Lacked a means to continue self-publishing on Google### 💰
Needed a dependable income stream### 💪
Felt the strain of the workload associated with running a business
Lauren first stumbled upon our platform when her previous aggregator, Pronoun, shut down unexpectedly. At that time, she had around 20 titles live on Google. She had to figure out a way to maintain her books online. Google Books, known for its complicated publishing process, sometimes taking authors over a year to publish, was suggested to check out our platform.
"our platform was one of the companies that Pronoun secretly endorsed to authors in secret and said hey, we're closing, but there are other companies out there that we've been working and partnering with in order to keep your books up on Google. And oh, by the way, they might even have wider reach than we did." - Lauren Smith
The extended reach was marvelous news for Lauren. Embracing the self-publishing approach meant seeking ways to increase discoverability and streamline business operations.
"I discovered there was a way to generate a more dependable monthly income rather than quarterly... I didn't want to be confined to Amazon alone. I wanted the freedom to reach other stores outside of Amazon. I wanted the opportunity to reach other countries." - Lauren Smith
Solutions With our platform
🖥️
Switched books in bulk to our platform and efficiently got them up on Google### 🌍
Expanded into regions like Italy, where translated books are thriving## 🕗
Saved valuable time in uploading, distribution, management, and royalty-splitting### Publishing on Google
With our platform's user-friendly interface for transferring, uploading, and managing books in bulk, Lauren effortlessly got her 20 titles up on Google.
"It was amazing to find that I could move my whole account with just a few clicks. After self-publishing with our platform for new titles, I found that process incredibly easy...I would upload titles to the system, and it would automatically pull in several fields. I loved that quick and convenient step to expedite the upload process so much faster." - Lauren Smith
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Selling Everywhere and Globally
With now over 60 titles in her catalog, Lauren continues to sell her books globally. These days, she's promoting historical romances translated from English to the strategic Italian market.
"I appreciate the multi-store reach. It's not just Google that I market through our platform. I reach multiple markets worldwide. Currently, I'm selling Italian novels in historical romance that have been translated... They perform well on our platform, and it's exciting to see that. It's not only Amazon where translated titles can shine...There are other channels that reach countries where Amazon doesn't exist or have fewer active users." - Lauren Smith
Although Amazon remains a crucial store for publishing, it's not the only source of royalties. For Lauren, only half of her income comes from Amazon. This aligns with our platform's data for tens of thousands of authors: roughly 50% of revenue comes from Amazon while the rest comes from various channels.
In 2020, indies made 85% more sales publishing wide in multiple stores and markets via our platform:
The most successful indies distribute their work everywhere feasible. Despite the global pandemic, 2020 was a bountiful year for digital books as consumers searched for at-home entertainment and education. We saw book retailers like Amazon experience growth, but we also noticed selling to online libraries like Odilo and niche apps like Dreame gained more royalties for authors.
Saving Time and headaches
On our platform, it only takes four simple steps to publish a book in thousands of stores:
- Upload book files
- Set up metadata
- Choose the stores to sell in
- Submit for swift review
Once approved, the book goes live immediately on the chosen stores. Our platform handles the automation of financial reporting and multiple revenue streams.
"When I submit my details on our platform, I trust them to get everything sorted out when I'm on time with my files... They handle all the arduous tasks for me...To take a few minutes and complete the process with our platform saves me plenty of time because I'm not delaying or making mistakes at other venues." - Lauren Smith
Lauren also saves additional time with the sophisticated royalty-splitting tool named Abacus. Having collaborated on a shared book project with another author, Abacus helps track and manage shared royalties with ease via a transparent sales dashboard.
"I detest sitting down and calculating payments for various stores every month... With Abacus, whether working on a joint book project with another author or a series with several authors, it minimizes confusion and stress. I feel that's a substantial time-saver as well as emotional relief." - Lauren Smith
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Lauren's Recommendations
As a seasoned author with a growing fanbase, Lauren shared tips and insights.
Explore foreign markets, but research first.
Especially for genre writers with avid readership, Lauren suggests that the high demand for fiction novels transcends borders. There are countless readers in different countries around the world eager for great reads like romance, fantasy, and thrillers.
"The trick is to do some research; explore resources such as the Facebook group for indie authors and traditional authors called Authors Support Network...You can post questions in the group, follow the guidelines, and learn about selling in Spain, Italy...Get feedback and ask, 'Which four languages might work best for my genre?'"*
Learn marketing tactics and delegate when possible.
As a solo-run business, Lauren manages her marketing with online advertising like Facebook and Amazon ads while staying updated with the latest book marketing strategies. She delegates some tasks to experts.
"There are a lot of good workshops. For instance,Mark Dawson offers a fantastic course, which he updates every year or two to reflect the latest changes. The tips and advice change frequently...I find it challenging to keep up with the updates individually, so I opt for hiring experts to manage my Amazon ads based on their professional expertise." - Lauren Smith
Finally, for newcomers: take it slow.
"I tried to do everything instantly when I started self-publishing. I tried to learn how to format books, set up accounts, and do numerous tasks all at once in the first week. So I'd advise that if you're even slightly interested in self-publishing or just getting started, choose one task each week. For example, say this is the week I learn to use our platform effectively and set up my vendor selection stores.
Take things slowly. Save resources wisely. Don't overspend...If you genuinely cherish writing and it means something to you, it's worth the struggle... Feel free to email me if you need help or have any questions." - Lauren Smith
Find Lauren Smith's contact information and social handles on her websites, laurensmithbooks.com and emmacastlebooks.com.*
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- Lauren Smith, who was previously an attorney, employs her self-publishing strategies to not only sell beyond Amazon but also dominate other markets such as Italy, profiting from our platform that helps her reach essential stores like Google, Dreame, and overseas markets like Italy.
- With our platform, Lauren Smith generates a quarter of her monthly income, enjoys a seamless uploading, managing, and operating process for her books, benefits from sophisticated royalty-splitting tools, and simplifies her Google publishing, all while reaching essential stores like Google, niche platforms like Dreame, and overseas markets like Italy.
