Self-published authors on Kindle bestseller list

Amazon has revealed that 15% of its bestselling Kindle books in the UK last year were written by self-published authors, with Hodder & Stoughton's Nick Spalding landing the bestselling self-published author gong.

Spalding’s books Love…From Both Sides and Love…And Sleepless Nights sales combined to make Spalding the bestselling digital book author through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform last year. The author was snapped up by Hodder & Stoughton imprint Coronet for a six-figure sum last October.

Amazon said overall 15 of the top 100 Kindle books sold in the UK were by authors using its self-publishing tool, with 75 by traditional publishers. Amazon added that since KDP launched, 61 KDP authors have sold over 50,000 copies of their books. It also revealed that 12 KDP authors have sold in excess of 100,000 copies, with 50 authors earning in excess of £50,000, and 11 of these earning more than £100,000.

The platform offers users 70% royalty benefits.

Amazon also said that since it launched the Kindle Owners Lending Library in the UK two months ago, “tens of thousands” of Kindle owners with a Prime membership have borrowed one or more KDP books. The company added that “millions” of people around the world received Kindles as Christmas presents this year.

Jorrit Van der Meulen, Kindle EU vice-president, said: “Millions of people worldwide opened new Kindles this Christmas, which is great news for authors as people purchase more books once they own a Kindle. Kindle book sales already exceed print sales at Amazon.co.uk and we expect to see even more people discover new books and the benefits of reading on Kindle in 2013.”

The best-selling KDP books of 2012 on Amazon.co.uk:
 
1. Love... From Both Sides by Nick Spalding

2. Only the Innocent by Rachel Abbott

3. Love... And Sleepless Nights by Nick Spalding

4. One Cold Night by Katia Lief

5. Locked In by Kerry Wilkinson

6. Angel Killer by Andrew Mayne

7. Touch by Mark Sennen

8. Taunting the Dead by Mel Sherratt

9. The Tea Planter’s Daughter by Janet MacLeod Trotter

10. Here She Lies by Katia Lief