It's no secret that I love books. Every writer I know loves them, but it goes beyond what's inside for me. I love the feel of holding a physical book in my hand, the smell of the paper, and the sight of the words on a page. However, being the dinosaur that I am, I wonder if it has held me back.
What I mean is that I'm seriously considering giving up doing print hardcover books and going mostly to ebooks. The reasoning is cost and distributor willingness to stock. The cost in hardcover books is about pre-production work, mostly in conversion and proof copies. Unfortunately, there are distributor issues that also have to be considered. You see, distributors rarely buy books and stock them for long periods on their shelves, hoping that some doe-eyed customer will eventually wander in and praise it as their fantasy novel that they simply must buy. Instead, distributors buy a set amount, sell what they can, and then return the rest to the wholesaler for a refund.
For indie authors like myself, that could be financially disastrous. I can't afford to absorb the cost of so many books being printed and then returned. There's a box in my hardcover printing account that makes it so that if I check it, distributors can't return what they buy. It shields me from having to worry whether or not I'll suddenly face a $10,000 bill for loads of books no one is buying. However, it also means that most distributors won't buy it because they too don't want to face the risk of lots of books that generate no revenue for them.
Of course, I'd love it if they just bought a few books, found out they sold well, and dipped back into the well to buy more, but that's not realistic. Let's face it - I'm not a very well known author and can't rely on name recognition to spur sales. Readers tend to gravitate towards those already established, and I ain't yet one of them, so distributors have no reason to think that even buying small quantities would be worth the price.
Therefore, I'm truly considering not doing hardcovers in the near future. From a business perspective, it makes financial sense. What's holding me back is the emotional aspect - it's hard for me to think of myself as an author if I can't physically pull out my book and hold it in my hands. It's completely illogical, but it's the way I feel...a way I'm working desperately to get over. And I'm sure I will get over it one day, but that day isn't yet.
What I mean is that I'm seriously considering giving up doing print hardcover books and going mostly to ebooks. The reasoning is cost and distributor willingness to stock. The cost in hardcover books is about pre-production work, mostly in conversion and proof copies. Unfortunately, there are distributor issues that also have to be considered. You see, distributors rarely buy books and stock them for long periods on their shelves, hoping that some doe-eyed customer will eventually wander in and praise it as their fantasy novel that they simply must buy. Instead, distributors buy a set amount, sell what they can, and then return the rest to the wholesaler for a refund.
For indie authors like myself, that could be financially disastrous. I can't afford to absorb the cost of so many books being printed and then returned. There's a box in my hardcover printing account that makes it so that if I check it, distributors can't return what they buy. It shields me from having to worry whether or not I'll suddenly face a $10,000 bill for loads of books no one is buying. However, it also means that most distributors won't buy it because they too don't want to face the risk of lots of books that generate no revenue for them.
Of course, I'd love it if they just bought a few books, found out they sold well, and dipped back into the well to buy more, but that's not realistic. Let's face it - I'm not a very well known author and can't rely on name recognition to spur sales. Readers tend to gravitate towards those already established, and I ain't yet one of them, so distributors have no reason to think that even buying small quantities would be worth the price.
Therefore, I'm truly considering not doing hardcovers in the near future. From a business perspective, it makes financial sense. What's holding me back is the emotional aspect - it's hard for me to think of myself as an author if I can't physically pull out my book and hold it in my hands. It's completely illogical, but it's the way I feel...a way I'm working desperately to get over. And I'm sure I will get over it one day, but that day isn't yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment