15 of the top 100 best-selling Kindle books of 2012 at Amazon.co.uk are KDP titles published by independent authors

61 KDP authors sold over 50,000 copies of their books; 12 sold in excess of 100,000 copies

50 authors earned over £50,000 from sales in the Kindle Store; 11 earned more than £100,000

Luxembourg, 7th January 2012—Authors and readers are embracing the digital publishing revolution as Amazon.co.uk today announced that 15 of its top 100 best-selling Kindle books of 2012 were written by independent authors and published using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).

Since KDP launched on Amazon.co.uk, 61 KDP authors have sold over 50,000 copies of their books; 12 authors have sold in excess of 100,000 copies. With Amazon’s popular 70% royalty option KDP authors have the opportunity to make even more money from the books they sell – 50 authors have earned in excess of £50,000, and 11 of these have earned more than £100,000. Royalties earned through borrows from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library are not included in this figure and if included would make the earnings even higher.

“KDP enables independent authors to compete on a level playing field with the giants of the literary world and it’s been such a huge success for authors and customers,” said Jorrit Van der Meulen, Vice President, Kindle EU. “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.”

Southampton-based author Nick Spalding is the #1 best-selling KDP author of the year with two books in the KDP top 10. His novel “Love…From Both Sides” also ranks twelfth in the overall Kindle best sellers of 2012, alongside internationally renowned authors like E. L. James and Suzanne Collins. Following his success using KDP, Spalding has been signed by a traditional publisher.

“2012 couldn’t have been better for me – it’s been quite amazing. I keep peeking nervously round every corner expecting to see something awful coming my way,” said Nick Spalding. “Self-publishing on the KDP platform was the best decision I’ve made as a writer. It got my books into the hands of readers who now love them, made me enough money to gold plate at least one toilet seat, and helped me land a fantastic publishing deal with Hodder & Stoughton – which is the best start I could have to what I hope will be a long and happy writing career,”

The best-selling KDP books of 2012 on Amazon.co.uk are:

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

In October 2012, Amazon.co.uk introduced the Kindle Owner’s Lending Library and it is proving popular with customers. In less than two months, tens of thousands of Kindle owners with a Prime membership in the UK have borrowed one or more KDP books and every time they do, the author gets paid from a fund specially created for KDP Select authors. In the first full year of KDP Select, Amazon will pay authors more than £4 million from the KDP Select fund every time their book is borrowed from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library on Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Amazon.de and Amazon.fr. Since it launched, KDP authors have increased the revenue they receive by more than 36% through the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library.

Authors can learn more about KDP and KDP Select at http://kdp.amazon.co.uk. To learn more about the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, visit www.amazon.co.uk/kindleownerslendinglibrary.

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Amazon.co.uk Ltd Press Office:
For more information please contact the Amazon.co.uk Ltd Press Office on 0208 636 9280 or email pressoffice@amazon.co.uk.

About Amazon.co.uk
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Kindle Paperwhite is our most-advanced e-reader ever with 62% more pixels and 25% increased contrast, a patented built-in front light for reading in all lighting conditions, extra-long battery life, and a thin and light design. The new latest generation Kindle, the lightest and smallest Kindle, now features new, improved fonts and faster page turns. Kindle Fire HD is our most-advanced tablet, with a stunning customised high-definition display, exclusive Dolby audio with dual stereo speakers, high-end laptop-grade Wi-Fi with dual-band support and dual antennas/MIMO, enough storage for HD content, and the latest generation processor and graphics engine. The all new Kindle Fire features a faster processor for 40% faster performance, twice the memory, and longer battery life.

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