UK Kindle Charts are where authors want to rank and rank well, but what makes a bestseller? As a UK fiction author, I want to share my thoughts on Kindle fiction books and how people rank.
In this Kindle Charts UK blog article, you will find information on:
• How many books you need to sell so you understand what a ‘bestseller’ is, meaning you can set realistic goals for your next release,
• Some of the ‘dark arts’ so you are educated about how some ‘bestsellers’ get their name and don’t get downbeat about your shortcomings,
• Tips that worked for me as they give you real-life examples, meaning you can apply them to your own release,
• Free book promotions, so you don’t give your book away for free too often and stand a greater chance of earning some royalties.
Read the rest of the Kindle Charts UK blog article to learn some tricks of the trade and to set achievable goals for yourself as a writer.
UK Kindle charts are an incredibly competitive area to get your Kindle fiction books to rank. As a UK fiction author, I have ranked at 16 for my paperback and 3 for my Kindle eBook of my debut novel, Inside Iris. For someone who had all but given up on writing in his mid-twenties, I’m happy with that.
However, when we look to the bestseller charts on Amazon, Waterstones, or Barnes and Noble, as a UK fiction author, we want to see our book perched at the number one novel in the paperback or Kindle charts UK. You may disagree with the above statement, but millions of fellow writers want their work to be read, well-received and also to be a success. Yes, writing is a labour of love for authors but, if you’re going to write professionally, it has to pay.
Not many writers in the UK or US make a living from their writing alone. The reality of the situation is that writing novels is hugely competitive and there are so many authors and books out there to choose from that it is getting harder than ever to get books into people’s hands. I do write professionally, but much of what I write is for my SEO Blogging and Copywriting business. Here, I write for clients who pay me for a service. I am not living off the royalties of Inside Iris alone.
As I look ahead to the publication if Anna’s Awakening, I want to look at how writers get to the number one spot. I also some of the common strategies to get to become a ‘bestseller’. I would love to write for myself and myself alone, but it will be a while before that happens.
Today, I want to share some information with you related to how to get your Kindle fiction book to rank in the UK Kindle charts (or elsewhere). Realistically ‘selling’ a book is the same no matter where you go in the world, but what makes a bestseller? Read on to see what I have found out and what I plan to do in the coming year.
UK Kindle Charts: How Many Kindle Fiction Books You Need To Sell
I have always walked into bookstores, looked at the bestsellers section and wondered, ‘How many books do you need to sell to become a bestselling author?’ Not only does your book have a great big number one beside it, but it is also perched above all other novels, and it is stood, pride of place, at the front of the book store.
I would then stand and study how so many people would enter the book store and immediately turn to browse the ‘Bestseller’ section even if they came in to buy something else. The bestseller section of a book store is a magnet for:
- People looking for a gift,
- People looking to buy ‘a book’,
- People passing the time while waiting for a bus, or
- People are looking to find a new author to engage with.
I was always number 3 or 4 on this list, mainly because my bus stop was a 20-second walk from the front door of Waterstones in Belfast. However, I was always looking for a new author to read. There was something about trying to find that new writer within that bestseller section who would interest me enough to purchase their book.
I think about bestselling authors, and I have always thought about how many people would be reading that particular book in cafes or on trains across the country. This made me consider the UK Kindle charts and how many books need to be downloaded or ‘sold’ to reach the number one spot. Depending on your Amazon territory, you would have to get between 3,500 and 5,000 downloads to reach that coveted number one spot.
Wow! That’s a lot of books!
Kindle Fiction Books: The Dark Arts
As my social media profiles have grown over the past 12 months, I have seen so many people include the tag ‘Amazon Bestselling Author’. This practice got me to thinking, ‘There are many people out there who have become a bestseller! Surely this can’t be right!’
I then started to look at some of the ‘darker’ arts of becoming a ‘bestseller’ on Amazon, and I found out that some (NOT ALL) Amazon ‘bestsellers’ get there by releasing their books for free to get the tag on their social media profile.
Of course, this is entirely within a writer’s choice to give their book away. However, is a book a bestseller when it hasn’t been sold? I then decided to look up the definition of the word ‘sell’:
- Sell – To give something to someone else in exchange for money.
Therefore, when Amazon compile their ‘bestseller’ charts, they should consider this. If you have a Bestseller list, by the definition of sell, you can’t include free book ‘sales’ within the total number of downloads.
However, this is not the case when Amazon compiles its charts. Amazon includes free downloads within the sold copies of Kindle fiction books, and this is how some (NOT ALL) Amazon ‘bestsellers’ get their tag for social media.
Is this a valid argument? Comment below to share your thoughts.
UK Kindle Charts: Ranking As A UK Fiction Author
As I look to publish my second novel, I look back on the effort and time I put into the release of Inside Iris back in 2018. There was a lot going on in my life back then, but I took the launch of my debut novel as a way to escape.
When I launched Inside Iris I:
- Extensively grew and engaged on social media,
- Blogged and created video content for my SG Fiction YouTube channel,
- Wrote articles for external publications,
- Guest lectured at university,
- Took creative writing workshops in schools,
- Ran a paid ad campaign that reached a million people,
- And much more!
This approach helped me to rank well within the UK Kindle charts and as a UK fiction author. However, I’m not a millionaire.
On average, smaller and independent authors will sell around 200 copies of their book a year. I know I sold quite a few more than that, but it is still not the multi-million sales that some articles out there claim to promise by following their ‘simple steps’.
There is no magic wand or silver bullet when it comes to selling your Kindle Fiction books online. If it was that simple, everyone would be a millionaire. However, we love writing and we love sharing our stories with people around the world. This is the main reason we write, but we need to see something for our months and years of work.
What do you think? Share your comments below.
No doubt, becoming a genuine bestselling author is extremely difficult in the modern era, especially as a self-published or independent author. With Kindle fiction books being so readily available and expected to be given away for free in many cases, how can a writer expect ever to earn enough to focus on their craft?
To me, I don’t see how an author can be called a bestseller unless they have actually ‘sold’ the book. If any other business gave away its product for free, it would be bankrupt and cease to exist. This needs to be taken into consideration when it comes to the UK Kindle charts and those across the world. If an author is to be called a bestseller, all free book promotions cannot count towards the tally of books they have sold.
As a UK fiction author, I see no harm in running free promotions. It could be something I may consider at some point in the future. However, readers will never pay for a book if they know it’s only a matter of time until it is made available for free. With the demand for free Kindle fiction books being so highly searched for on Google, there is little hope for any writer looking to sell a novel of their own.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Comment below to share what you do and have done to help your Kindle fiction book rank in the (US or) UK Kindle charts.
