Self-Publishing Survey: The Results

Here are the results of the Self-Publishing Survey I posted a little over two weeks ago. 33 writers and self-publishers answered the survey.

Question 1: How many books have you written?

30% — zero books
09% — 1 book
09% — 2 books
13% — 3 books
39% — 4 or more books

Question 2: How many books or ebooks have you self-published?

33% — zero books
05% — 1 book
07% — 2 books
10% — 3 books
45% — 4 or more books

Question 3: How many total copies have you sold of your self-published books and ebooks?

64% — 1 to 1,000 copies
18% — 1,001 to 10,000 copies
12% — 10,001 to 50,000 copies
00% — 50,001 to 200,000 copies
06% — 200,001 or more copies

Note: Two out of three respondents have sold fewer than 1,000 copies of their self-published ebooks and books. Two out of 33 respondents have sold more than 200,000 copies of their self-published books and ebooks.

2 out of 3 respondents have sold fewer than 1,000 copies of their self-published ebooks and books.

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Question 4: What is your main challenge in self-publishing books?

18% — money to self-publish my books
26% — time to write my books
24% — time to market my books
15% — no fan club or tribe
17% — lack of know-how on marketing

Question 5: What is your favorite self-publishing platform?

33% — Amazon Kindle
33% — CreateSpace
06% — IngramSpark
00% — BookBaby
03% — Lulu
03% — Smashwords
06% — offset printers
15% — other

I would be interested in knowing what other self-publishing platform that the five respondents would name as their favorite. Can you answer this question in the comments below: Do you have a favorite self-publishing platform that I did not list among the top seven?

Question 6: What social media platform is responsible for the most sales for your self-published books?

45% — Facebook
00% — Google+
03% — GoodReads
03% — Instagram
00% — LinkedIn
03% — Pinterest
00% — SnapChat
06% — YouTube
39% — Other

Ah, I forgot to list Twitter. I wonder if that’s the social media platform that is working for the other 39%. Does Twitter work well for you as a self-published author?

45% of self-publishers get their most book sales from Facebook, 39% from Twitter.

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Again, finally, can you answer this question in the comments below: Do you have a favorite self-publishing platform that I did not list among the top seven?

About John Kremer

John Kremer is author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, the Relationships Matter Marketing program, and many other books and reports on book marketing, Internet marketing, social media, and book publicity. -- John Kremer on Book Marketing.