For people in search of side jobs or aspiring writers, the idea of self-publishing is an attractive and reasonable one, especially since $1.25 billion worth of self-published books are sold each year. Also, it’s predicted that the self-publishing market will grow by at least 17% by the end of 2023, according to Wordrated.
These incredible numbers are the reason multiple self-publishing courses have been released recently. One of the most popular is the FPA Workshop, created and promoted by Karla Marie and her team. In this FPA Workshop review, we’ll talk about the self-publishing industry, what the course offers, and if it’s really worth your money.
What is the FPA Workshop?
The FPA Workshop is an online course created by Karla Marie, designed to teach aspiring writers and entrepreneurs how to build and expand an e-book publishing business using the Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform.
This workshop is designed to guide participants through a program structured in ten modules, where they learn:
- The process of creating and selling e-books.
- The side skills necessary to boost the number of readers, such as effective online marketing strategies.
According to the FPA website, the program has over 15,000 students and hundreds of excellent reviews, and it’s made up of a diverse group of professionals. These include experts in writing, such as successful fiction authors and publishing coaches, marketing specialists, as well as community leaders who support students every step of their self-publishing journey.
Who is Karla Marie?
Karla Marie is the creator of the Fiction Profits Academy (FPA). After finding success in the field of self-publishing and digital marketing, Karla began to crafted what would eventually become this workshop back in 2015
According to an interview conducted by Authority Magazine to Karla, she began self-publishing her own books back in 2013, which brought her in $10K per month. After a few months, getting experience and skills in the field of digital marketing and writing, her income grew to $20K per month in a short period of time.
How did Fiction Profits Academy start?
Karla, together with FPA’s co-founder Roy Lewis, and an entire team of publishing coaches, community leaders, design consultants, copywriters, video experts, content creators and tech specialists, have managed to shape Fictional Profits Academy into what it is today.
What Does the FPA Workshop Offer?
The FPA Workshop has ten modules that help beginners learn about publishing, writing, getting more readers, and Amazon’s KDP program. Let’s look at each one of these:
1. The Million Dollar Mindset
This first module emphasizes the importance of developing the right mindset needed to be a founder, as she describes herself and anyone who wants to start a business online right away. Karla Marie makes it clear that success in self-publishing will require resilience, adaptability, and a passion for constant learning.
2. The Self-Publishing Basics
In this module, Karla covers the basics of Amazon and the self-publishing industry. You’ll learn how to properly set up your foundation, focusing on key aspects like niche selection and the importance of using the right keywords to increase your visibility.
Some basics you will need to learn about Amazon’s self-publishing programs, which are taught in the course, are: creating your account, how to set your books’ price, the publication, and promotion of your own works, and more.
3. Creating Your Books
In this module, you will learn the practical aspects of writing and creating an e-book. Karla introduces a variety of tools to streamline the writing process and offers helpful advice on outsourcing ghostwriters, including how to create proper contracts for their services, which would be very useful to expand your audience.
4. Crafting the Ideal Cover
This module focuses on everything related to book cover design. Karla offers tips on what styles to adopt or avoid and talks about different options for designing covers, including doing it yourself with Canva, Adobe’s Photoshop, or any other image editing software.
Karla also teaches her students about Amazon’s Cover Creator, which is a tool the company offers authors to create and customize their e-book, paperback, or hardcover cover with a variety of layouts, helping them choose the text, font, lines, spacing, and back-cover images.
5. Formatting and Blurbs
Learn how to properly format your e-book for publishing. Karla also talks about the importance of crafting an attention-grabbing summary of your book that complies to Amazon’s 4,000-character limit. Karla carefully explains Amazon’s formatting guide and which choices to make to have the most impact between the competition.
6. Knowing Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)
In this module, Karla walks you through the entire process of setting your KDP account, giving you access to Amazon’s global audience. Of course, the choices you make will always depend on the type of book you wish to publish and your target audience.
Learn more about the pros and cons of Amazon’s KDP program and find out if it’s the right fit for you.
7. Crafting the Perfect Launch Strategy
Karla shares proven promotional strategies, which she does not specify in the free introductory video. She emphasizes the importance of finding genuine reviews to boost sales, while steering clear of partial or sponsored reviews, which aren’t as helpful as organic ones.
8. Learning about Facebook Ads
As marketing plays a key role, this module focuses on creating and managing effective Facebook ad campaigns. Karla explains how to make your ads shine, although it’s important to note that running ads involves an ongoing investment.
How much will Facebook Ads cost you? The answer is: it depends. It will depend on your campaign objectives, such as awareness, traffic or leads, and your target audience, either broad or small ones, Facebook Ads may cost you from $0.75 per click to up to $1.50 per click, depending on these factors.
You can learn some lead generation strategies to boost the promotion and brand recognition of your self-published e-book.
9. Cultivating Loyal Fans
Success is hard to come by for aspiring writers. To build it, you will need a loyal fan base. This module offers strategies on how to engage readers and push book sales through effective promotion, which is why it’s the one immediately after learning how to utilize digital marketing strategies.
10. Building Your Self-Publishing Business
In the final module, Karla explains methods for automating and scaling your self-publishing business to create passive income. The key is to identify and replicate successful patterns and implement them into your own workflow and marketing strategies.
How Much Does the FPA Workshop Cost?
In her website, Karla promotes a free webinar that explains the basics of the workshop. She mentions the ten modules outlined in the previous section, the benefits of joining the self-publishing industry, and more.
She also mentions a refund policy, though the terms and conditions aren’t fully explained. Yet, what she doesn’t mention is the course’s initial price, which is $1,995. For aspiring writers with tighter budgets, there’s an option to pay in three monthly payments of $995.
The course does offer a 6-month money-back guarantee, which might give some peace of mind for those not sure about making the investment. But, additionally, there are other “hidden” costs, which we will explain shortly.
What Do You Need to Know Before Applying To The FPA Workshop?
While the FPA Workshop offers useful information for aspiring self-publishers, there are certain cons that should be considered regarding the course itself and Amazon’s self-publishing industry:
1. Exclusivity Clause with KDP Select
When enrolling in KDP Select, authors must agree to sell their e-books exclusively on Amazon. This restriction limits your distribution options, which means you won’t be able to sell your books on other online platforms. For example, your own personal website or Google Play Store.
2. Upfront Costs
A couple of things the course doesn’t address are the hidden costs related to editing, cover design, formatting, and marketing. For users with tight budgets, these additional expenses can make it difficult to meet the course’s demands.
The course is also expensive, with a starting price of just under $2,000, which may be challenging for many people to pay upfront. Combined with the money needed for marketing (e.g., Facebook Ads or book cover design), the total investment is huge, and the return on investment may take longer than the course promises.
3. The Self Publishing Industry Continues Growing
Self-publishing is a legitimate business model capable of creating a steady flow of passive income. However, the market has become highly competitive, a point the free webinar promoting the course doesn’t highlight enough.
According to Wordsrated, 300 million self-published books were published in 2023. In the U.S. alone, 37.2% of authors said they used KDP as their preferred platform, according to a Statista survey. This means the competition among self-publishing authors on Amazon is fierce, and standing out won’t be easy.
Is FPA Workshop Legit or a Scam?
The Fiction Profits Academy (FPA) Workshop has over 10,000 students and more than 1,860 verified reviews. On Trustpilot, it holds a Trust Score of 4.5 out of 5, with 92% of reviews being 5 stars, showing that most students have had positive experiences. Here’s what some reviews highlight:
- Excellent coaching: Students praise the coaches, especially for their patience and clear explanations, helping them improve their writing and business skills.
- Great support: Many reviewers appreciate the personalized guidance, feeling motivated to push through challenges in their self-publishing journey.
- Challenges with payments: Some students mentioned issues with pausing or stopping payments, despite their financial difficulties, and found this aspect frustrating.
- Be prepared for additional costs: Several reviews warn about hidden costs beyond the initial tuition, such as marketing and other publishing expenses.
- A worthwhile experience: Overall, students feel that FPA offers a valuable and rewarding experience for those committed to putting in the time and effort.
FPA is the real deal if you’re serious about self-publishing and have the resources to invest. Just be prepared to set realistic goals, budget for additional expenses, and take action at a pace that works for you. If you’re all in, this course could help you achieve your self-publishing dreams.
Is Karla Marie’s FPA Workshop Worth Your Money?
The self-publishing industry is no scam, and neither are Karla’s courses. You can make legitimate money from self-publishing books, especially on platforms like Amazon. However, the workshop doesn’t mention some important things.
Some of these include the big investment needed to get noticed and create a quality e-book, the marketing costs, and the growing number of self-published authors trying to make their name. So, if your budget is tight, you might want to explore other ways to make money online.
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