The publishing world is changing. It has gone from hand-copied manuscripts to the printing press, and now it is going to the internet. Going...I should say "has gone." E-readers are the hottest item for folks looking for a good story. Sure, some folks don't have one, but the vast majority of voracious readers do. And while most, like me, favor physical books, most can't afford to buy lots of physical books or have the space to clutter up their homes with them.
That's why I'm strongly considering getting away from physical books at all and going solely to ebooks. This is a tough pill to even think about swallowing, because I grew up with physical books. To me, that's what represents success in the publishing world. However, what I need to do to try and stay(gain?) relevance is recognize when the market changes, and change along with it.
I can reduce expenses by going solely to ebooks. There's a cost to converting my work into something someone can read, and doing both ebooks and physical books is more expensive, which cuts into my profit margin, There are also imprint fees and proof copy fees, but those are miniscule compared to the cost of converting my work into something that a printing press can print.
Something I've thought through is whether or not I'll be limiting my audience by going to ebooks alone. However, most casual readers that still pick up physical books on a whim are looking at more established authors like Stephen King or JK Rowling. They're not prone to just pick up my book in print form off Amazon. Most casual readers, in fact, buy their books at Barnes & Noble or WalMart, and my books aren't on those shelves because I can't afford the buy-back clause of the contract(it'd bankrupt me). Therefore, most of what I sell is on Amazon, and on Amazon, people looking to sample an unknown writer aren't going to pay $15 for something they can't say if they'll like. That's where ebooks come in.
Ebooks are perfect to try and capture an audience, especially in the indie publishing world. The biggest draw is that they're cheap(my books are $3.99...less than a cup of coffee from most coffee shops). They also don't take up any space except on an e-reader, so readers don't have to worry about my displacing a favorite author of theirs.
I will likely go this route soon, although I can't say if that'll be with my next novel, Schism, or the one after that(Homecoming). This is a hard break and is taking me a while to accept as a mindset change, but I think it'll be a better decision in the long run. Once I've gotten more established, maybe I can re-release them as hardcovers. We'll see.
That's why I'm strongly considering getting away from physical books at all and going solely to ebooks. This is a tough pill to even think about swallowing, because I grew up with physical books. To me, that's what represents success in the publishing world. However, what I need to do to try and stay(gain?) relevance is recognize when the market changes, and change along with it.
I can reduce expenses by going solely to ebooks. There's a cost to converting my work into something someone can read, and doing both ebooks and physical books is more expensive, which cuts into my profit margin, There are also imprint fees and proof copy fees, but those are miniscule compared to the cost of converting my work into something that a printing press can print.
Something I've thought through is whether or not I'll be limiting my audience by going to ebooks alone. However, most casual readers that still pick up physical books on a whim are looking at more established authors like Stephen King or JK Rowling. They're not prone to just pick up my book in print form off Amazon. Most casual readers, in fact, buy their books at Barnes & Noble or WalMart, and my books aren't on those shelves because I can't afford the buy-back clause of the contract(it'd bankrupt me). Therefore, most of what I sell is on Amazon, and on Amazon, people looking to sample an unknown writer aren't going to pay $15 for something they can't say if they'll like. That's where ebooks come in.
Ebooks are perfect to try and capture an audience, especially in the indie publishing world. The biggest draw is that they're cheap(my books are $3.99...less than a cup of coffee from most coffee shops). They also don't take up any space except on an e-reader, so readers don't have to worry about my displacing a favorite author of theirs.
I will likely go this route soon, although I can't say if that'll be with my next novel, Schism, or the one after that(Homecoming). This is a hard break and is taking me a while to accept as a mindset change, but I think it'll be a better decision in the long run. Once I've gotten more established, maybe I can re-release them as hardcovers. We'll see.
No comments:
Post a Comment