Amazon surpasses 2 million Kindle Singles sales, report says

by Don Reisinger March 13, 2012 5:42 AM PDT

The company says that 70 percent of the revenue generated from those sales has gone to the authors, while the remaining 30 percent has gone to Amazon.

Kindle Singles bestsellers.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

Amazon's Singles have apparently caught on with customers.

According to PaidContent, it sat down with Amazon and some Singles authors, and found that 2 million of the e-books, which are shorter than full-length novels but longer than magazine articles, have sold in the 14 months they've been available. PaidContent, which analyzed pricing for each Single, estimates that Amazon might have generated $1.12 million on those sales.

Amazon launched its Kindle Singles category last January. The company said at the time that it would take 30 percent of the revenue generated from the titles, which range in price from 99 cents to $4.99. The vast majority of the Singles, however, go for $1.99.

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From a content perspective, the Singles category is quite rich, boasting everything from essays and memoirs to short stories. A title written by author Mara Altman called, "Bearded Lady," which takes a "rare, honest glimpse into the hidden world of lasers and razors," is the current Singles bestseller. All told, according to PaidContent, there are 165 Singles available to users, and Amazon brings three new titles to the service each week.

That said, Amazon told PaidContent that it receives about 50 unsolicited submissions each week. In order to see a title included in the Singles listing, Amazon must approve it--a daunting task, considering just three titles make it through that process.

Still, the potential financial upside is major for those who can deliver standout titles. PaidContent, which was allowed access to some Singles authors, found that some of those folks were making as much as $130,000 in royalties from the Singles program. That said, the publication spoke with only a handful of authors, and there's no telling how many have written Singles, only to find them downloaded just a few times.

Amazon did not immediately respond to CNET's request for comment on Singles performance over the last year.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cnet/tcoc/~3/aAWloXwZeCE/

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