Top self-published books in Kindle Store – November 2011

November records show a decrease in a number and standing of self-published books in Kindle Store. In December this downward trend may continue.

Overview

There are 18 self-published books in Top 100, two less than a month ago. The major decrease is in the rankings. No self-publishers entered Top 10. So far, it happened only once – in May.

Most of the self-pubbed books were priced $0.99. The average price is the lowest since the beginning of year – $1.38. I’ve checked also Kindle Daily Deal books and not as many entered Top 100 as in October.

Last Breath by Michael Prescott is the best self-published Kindle book in November

I’m not a professional analyst, but it looks like in pre-Christmas time prices seems to be a secondary factor. Many users have just bought new Kindles and what they start from is proven, well-known authors and their best-selling titles.

Additionally, and this could be a topic for a separate post (please let me know if you’d like to read it) is a general trend – prices go up. I’ve never seen so many books over $10 in Top 100. Just check first titles from a list - $12.99 is the “most popular” price tag.

Why December could be worse for self-published and low-priced books? Not only new users will buy bestsellers from established authors/publishers, but also they will buy Kindle books as Christmas gifts. Gifting a $0.99 book, no matter how good it is (and there are lots of great self-published books for $0.99), is not the nicest of ideas.

Michael Prescott is the leading name among top self-publishers, with three books on the list: Last Breath (the best self-pubbed book in November), Blind Pursuit and Mortal Pursuit.

The life of a self-published bestseller is very short. Month or two and the title is out of Top 100. This is why it’s so important for self-publishers to keep selling. Michael Prescott writes great novels which sell in a long time – this can’t be missed. His books entered the list in June and not only keep staying there but are also doing very, very well.

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Self-published books in Kindle Top 100: November 2011

Data collected on December 6th, 2011, from Kindle Store’s November Bestsellers Archive.

# – position in Top 100.

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