26-year-old becomes millionaire self-publishing on Kindle Store

Kindle
Amanda Hockling is the best-selling independent author on the Kindle store

The best-selling independent author on the Amazon Kindle store is reportedly pulling-in $2m (£1.2m) a year by self-publishing her books.

26-year-old Amanda Hockling, who does not have a major publishing deal, is able to take home 70 per cent of the sale-price from her books, with Amazon taking a 30 per cent cut from each sale.

Hockling is selling 100,000 copies of her books per month and sells full-length novels and novellas for between 99 cents and $2.99 and produces new content on a regular basis to ensure high turnover.

Bye, Publishers

Self-publishing in ebook format is fast-becoming the best option for authors who haven't had their work picked up by traditional publishing houses.

For the author, it maximises the potential revenue by cutting out a few of the many middle men who take a piece of the action, but also means the author has to be self-reliant in terms of promoting the work.

Miss Hockling, from Austin, Minnesota, also publishes her books on the iBooks Store and for the Barnes & Noble Nook. Her most successful work is the Trylle trilogy with each of the full-length titles available to download from the Kindle Store for just $2.99 a pop.

Beware traditional publishers, your days could be numbered...

Chris Smith

A technology journalist, writer and videographer of many magazines and websites including T3, Gadget Magazine and TechRadar.com. He specializes in applications for smartphones, tablets and handheld devices, with bylines also at The Guardian, WIRED, Trusted Reviews and Wareable. Chris is also the podcast host for The Liverpool Way. As well as tech and football, Chris is a pop-punk fan and enjoys the art of wrasslin'.