Comments on: Bestselling Kindle Author Karen McQuestion

By: Karen McQuestion

Karen McQuestion — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 00:21:37 +0000

I’m sorry I didn’t see your comment until now, Phillip Thomas Duck! I’m glad my story was helpful and I wish you all the best. You certainly have a memorable name which, is very helpful for an author (and I speak from personal experience here).

By: Phillip Thomas Duck

Phillip Thomas Duck — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 20:58:07 +0000

Great interview. And a very inspiring story. I learned about Karen McQuestion when I decided to self-pub one of my books. I’ve always believed in paying attention to those that have been successful and Karen’s path to publication was inspiring and informative. I wish her nothing but continued success.

By: Karen McQuestion

Karen McQuestion — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 14:54:32 +0000

Mary Jo, E-books are a perfect option for your OOP backlist. You already have professionally written and edited novels, which puts you ahead in the game. How exciting to see out-of-print books take on a new form for readers and generate an income for the author. It’s a whole new world.

Hi Mark! I’m having a blast too, so I know what you’re saying. I hope your kids like Celia and the Fairies.

By: Mark Feggeler

Mark Feggeler — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 03:32:41 +0000

I have been following Karen’s blog since May, when I heard her interviewed on NPR’s The Story. Hearing of her experience with self-publishing was a light bulb moment that inspired me to fully embrace my writing with no reservations and no excuses. I intend to spend the next year writing and editing my first novel — then off to Amazon for my own turn at self-publishing. I’m having a blast!

As soon as we wrap up the book we are presently reading each night before bed, I plan to read Celia and the Fairies with my children.

Thanks, Karen!

By: Mary Jo Putney

Mary Jo Putney — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 01:26:36 +0000

Karen, thanks so much for sharing your experience! I’m in the process of getting some of my OOP backlist into hape for e-pubbing, and it’s writer like you who have helped create a vital, growing e-book market.

By: Karen McQuestion

Karen McQuestion — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:15:46 +0000

People don’t download anything, even for free, unless they’re interested. And 100,000? Wow, I’m so impressed. They must be good stories

The only one of my books that I self-published in paperback was my kids’ book, CELIA AND THE FAIRIES. I used CreateSpace and was really happy with the finished product. In fact, when I compared the quality of the print and paper with books published by the “Big Six” it was comparable or better. It was nice to have a paperback version, but the e-book sales outnumbered the PB by a lot (10 to 1), which surprised me because I didn’t think there’d be much of a market for a childrens’ book on Kindle. The low price played a huge part in it, I’m sure.

By: Basil Sands

Basil Sands — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:59:24 +0000

Thanks Karen.

How on the downloads? Word of mouth I guess, and a couple good stories. That and they are free.

Have you also put your books in paper form or strictly ebooks?

By: Karen McQuestion

Karen McQuestion — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:25:55 +0000

Basil, our stories do sound similar, except for the part about 100,000 downloads on your audiobooks. Whoa–how did you do that? Amazing. It sounds like you’ve got a terrific platform already in place, which is always a good thing. Whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck.

By: Basil Sands

Basil Sands — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:59:56 +0000

As I read this I was amazed at the similarities between our stories. I’ve written several books, had 2 agents and spent most of the past four years reading rejection letters. Almost had a pre-pub movie deal last year bit that fell through. One difference though is that I also recorded and podcasted them as free audiobooks. The fact that the audiobooks have been downloaded over 100,000 times tells me folks like them. So now here I sit teetering at the edge of self publishing via kindle & createspace but hesitating. I think your interview here just nudged me a step closer. My toes are now over the edge of the precipice.

By: Karen McQuestion

Karen McQuestion — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 16:24:51 +0000

Hi Ann! At my age I’ve learned to never say never, but at this point I have no desire to look beyond AmazonEncore and I will always want my books to be available as e-books.

I have several reasons for being loyal to Amazon: they were the ones to publish me when no one else seemed interested, they treat their authors as partners in the process, and I love their “thinking outside of the box” way of doing business. I’m about as happy as I can be, and I don’t see any reason for a change.