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tchaibov
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Still on the fence about e-books and self-publishing? Not surprising if you rely on youwriteon book news to see where the future lies. It is bizarre that a site supposedly dedicated to helping new authors get a foothold is completing ignoring the biggest opportunity new writers have ever had. Why is it that the last time youwriteon officially mentioned ebooks it was with some derogatory article about a bus driver allegedly reading his Kindle? Ponder this from the Wall Street Journal. Not a newspaper given to fantasy news. The nation's largest book publishers are facing increasing pricing pressure on the digital front as the number of cheap, self-published digital titles gain popularity with readers seeking budget-minded entertainment.
As digital sales surge, publishers are casting a worried eye towards the previously scorned self-published market. Unlike five years ago, when self-published writers rarely saw their works on the same shelf as the industry's biggest names, the low cost of digital publishing, coupled with Twitter and other social-networking tools, has enabled previously unknown writers to make a splash.
"They're training their customers away from brand name authors and are instead creating visibility for self-published titles," one senior publishing executive who asked not to be identified, says of Amazon.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703838004576274813963609784.html#ixzz1KzzXZP7Z Last week Bloomsbury, the listed publisher of Harry Potter, announced it is on course to make around a quarter of its revenue from ebooks in 2011 following a 600pc uplift in like-for-like sales of digital titles in the first two months of this year.
Richard Charkin, executive director, said: "If sales continue the way they have in January and February, which we would fully expect, they are going to be off the scale. If that is an indicator of future growth then we expect digital sales of Bloomsbury titles be as high as 25pc of sales. They could be even higher." And that’s before the Harry Potter books themselves are digitalised. Meanwhile,
Sales of ebooks at Penguin have doubled. http://www.ebookmagazine.co.uk/penguin-ebook-sales-double-in-2011/20111501 Yes, paper books will be around for a long time to come, but for the first time ever you, as writers, can put your work directly in front of readers without resorting to vanity publishing. If you believe your book is good enough to send to an agent then it’s good enough to e-publish and start selling. Yes, you CAN still submit to agents once your book is e-published. No, self-publishing WON'T harm your chances of a paper contract. On the contrary, if you can prove your book will sell you just improve them, and make money while you're waiting. But we all know how painfully slow the publishing business is. Our novel Sugar & Spice has been with an agent on exclusive terms now for what seems like an eternity. That’s normal. We could be sitting here twiddling our thumbs waiting for their decision. And then waiting another twelve-eighteen months to see it in the shops, if they get us a publishing contract. That’s normal too. Instead we e-published, just before Christmas. This week Sugar & Spice is still a top-five best-seller on Amazon Kindle UK, selling 20,000 copies in April alone. Yes, twenty thousand in one month. No agent. No publisher. If your finished novel is still on your hard drive while you accumulate yet another rejection letter from the gatekeepers, maybe it’s time to multi-task.
Don't get left behind by the e-publishing revolution.
There's never been a more exciting time to be a writer!http://www.markwilliamsinternational.com
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sulcus
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I found this line hilarious:
"They're training their customers away from brand name authors and are instead creating visibility for self-published titles," one senior publishing executive who asked not to be identified, says of Amazon.
Seems like e-pub is still the dirty little secret publishers need to keep hidden under the bedcovers....
"A,B&E", "Not In My Name" and "52FF" (flash fiction anthology) all available on Amazon Kindle"How a psychopath makes sweet love. I can get you ringside. Royal box even."
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tchaibov
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Quote: sulcus, Monday, 2 May 2011 09:13I found this line hilarious:
"They're training their customers away from brand name authors and are instead creating visibility for self-published titles," one senior publishing executive who asked not to be identified, says of Amazon.
Seems like e-pub is still the dirty little secret publishers need to keep hidden under the bedcovers.... LOL! Does seem that way sometimes... Amazon UK most certainly do not train customers away from brand names. Just the opposite. It's almost impossible for an indie to feature in an Amazon promo, even when a top five seller. The policy here seems to be to promote ebooks that have paper versions, so maximising Amazon's sales. Their Easter sale did exactly that. In the USA ebooks are taken much more seriously, with the New York Times Best Sellers list having a dedicated e-books section.
Don't get left behind by the e-publishing revolution.
There's never been a more exciting time to be a writer!http://www.markwilliamsinternational.com
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Miller
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Latest (UK) book sales figures from 2010: Total ebook sales: £16 million. Total traditional (paper) book sales: £3.1 billion. Bit of a way to go, then.
This post was last edited by Miller, 03 May 2011, 17:10
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perrybond
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I'd be happy with a bit of either, but being greedy, I'm going for a bit of both!
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tchaibov
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Quote: Miller, Tuesday, 3 May 2011 17:08Latest (UK) book sales figures from 2010: Total ebook sales: £16 million. Total traditional (paper) book sales: £3.1 billion. Bit of a way to go, then. That rather misses the point. Those figures are revenue, not sales. They show how much readers spent on paper, not how many books they bought. Obviously a single twenty pound hardback can "make" the same money as twenty £1 e-books. That gives us no comparison of books sold. Fact: ebooks are out-selling paper across all genres this year. Fact: this is despite only a tiny proportion of the reading population actually owning an e-reader. As that number grows so e-sales will grow exponentially. Both Amazon and B&N are launching new e-readers this summer. Simon & Schuster reported this week ebook sales made 18% of their total in the first quarter. All the major publishers are reporting similar surges. Simple economics: Ebooks can make more money for both publisher and author than a paper book. Ebooks can be cheaper than paper and therefore sell far more and make far more profit. The £20 hardback will net the author £3 at 15%. But only dedicated fans will pay that much for a book, and they won’t be buying many others that month. Sell twenty e-books at a pound each with a 35% royalty and make seven pounds. Sell to your regular readers, to second-choice readers and to impulse buyers who might never otherwise buy that author. Suddenly you’re selling a lot more than twenty ebooks for each one hardback, and those buyers will go and buy all the other ebooks of that author. Ker-ching! Publishers have a huge investment in paper and none of them are going to start closing presses while there’s money to be made. But publishers are in the business to make a profit, not pander to our whimsical desire for an out-dated form of communication involving paper and ink. They are investing huge sums in the digital future because the future is digital.
Don't get left behind by the e-publishing revolution.
There's never been a more exciting time to be a writer!http://www.markwilliamsinternational.com
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Miller
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Quote: tchaibov, Thursday, 5 May 2011 21:40Quote: Miller, Tuesday, 3 May 2011 17:08Latest (UK) book sales figures from 2010: Total ebook sales: £16 million. Total traditional (paper) book sales: £3.1 billion. Bit of a way to go, then. That rather misses the point. Those figures are revenue, not sales. They show how much readers spent on paper, not how many books they bought. Obviously a single twenty pound hardback can "make" the same money as twenty £1 e-books. That gives us no comparison of books sold. Fact: ebooks are out-selling paper across all genres this year. Fact: this is despite only a tiny proportion of the reading population actually owning an e-reader. As that number grows so e-sales will grow exponentially. Both Amazon and B&N are launching new e-readers this summer. Simon & Schuster reported this week ebook sales made 18% of their total in the first quarter. All the major publishers are reporting similar surges. Simple economics: Ebooks can make more money for both publisher and author than a paper book. Ebooks can be cheaper than paper and therefore sell far more and make far more profit. The £20 hardback will net the author £3 at 15%. But only dedicated fans will pay that much for a book, and they won’t be buying many others that month. Sell twenty e-books at a pound each with a 35% royalty and make seven pounds. Sell to your regular readers, to second-choice readers and to impulse buyers who might never otherwise buy that author. Suddenly you’re selling a lot more than twenty ebooks for each one hardback, and those buyers will go and buy all the other ebooks of that author. Ker-ching! Publishers have a huge investment in paper and none of them are going to start closing presses while there’s money to be made. But publishers are in the business to make a profit, not pander to our whimsical desire for an out-dated form of communication involving paper and ink. They are investing huge sums in the digital future because the future is digital. Serious industry pundits - as opposed to those pressing an argument which happens to suit their bias - are predicting that sales of ebooks will, eventually, take around 50 per cent of the market, at which figure they will, largely, remain.
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notleyab
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But, the same point goes, by volume or by value.
And who are these pundits?
The last roar of the dinosaurs b4 they get hit by a meteorite.
Sure books will still be sold.
But in the same way that antiques are.
Something a bit different; to impress the friends & neighbours who can' see' what you read.
Even a Technoluddie like me is capable of seeing the writing on the screen, I mean the wall. No,the screen...
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YouWriteOn
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We love the idea of ebooks, and think they have reached the stage where they will go from strength to strength. We think the paperback will also continue to be a mainstay for a long time too.
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Miller
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Quote: YouWriteOn, Friday, 6 May 2011 14:24We love the idea of ebooks, and think they have reached the stage where they will go from strength to strength. We think the paperback will also continue to be a mainstay for a long time too. Which is what most of the serious indutry pundits say, too, about ebooks v printed books, mind, not just paperbacks. The downside of the ebooks revolution (so-called) is the unbridled global ambition of Jeff Bezos, and others of his ilk. He (and they) couldn't give a s...t about anything other than ensuring people (i.e markets) use, buy and pay for their services to the profitable advantage of their respective companies. Doesn't matter a bugger to them what the 'product' is, be it printed or 'e', or any other item, as long as you buy it from them. Encourage them, by buying and using their products, at your peril. They have no interest in prejudice, emotional or objective preference, or any other damned view save where it suits their purposes and ambitions.
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Breaking news - youwriteon discovers e-books exist!
02 May 2011, 09:07
