Tuesday, April 27, 2010

J.A. Konrath

If you’re active in the blogging world, you’ve probably heard of J.A. Konrath, even if you’ve never read one of his books. He’s a whiz at marketing his books and is very open and sharing with other writers. Jeff Rivera did an interview with him this week over on GalleyCat.

I think you’ll find it interesting, so after you read these few snippets, link over.
The easier you are to find, and to remember, the more books you'll sell.

A friend of mine, Carl Graves, does my indie covers. Carl charges between $300 and $1000 per cover, depending on the amount of work that needs to be done.

I'm currently selling 180 ebooks a day on Kindle. My ebooks are also available on Nook and iPad through Smashwords, but I don't have those sales figures yet.

I've sold 40,000 ebooks since last April….I uploaded them using Amazon's Digital Text Platform (dtp.amazon.com) and charged $1.99.

I'm earning more money on a $1.99 ebook than I earn on a $7.99 paperback.

In real life, I've signed at over 1200 bookstores, and have spoken at hundreds of libraries, schools, conventions, and book fairs.
It’s a very informative interview.

Konrath has built up his reader base, through both physical tours and a strong virtual presence. Are you doing both?
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32 comments:

  1. Yeah, that is a very interesting article. It's particularly interesting that he believes publishers are pricing ebooks too high. The micro purchase seems to be the way to go these days. It has already been proven in the gaming world. People are more willing to pay pocket change for things rather than investing a large sum. And they will do it more often.

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  2. Wow, the ebook sales were amazing! I wished I had that sort of figures.

    In Quest of Theta Magic

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  3. He's got me beat! I'm gonna check out the interview.

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  4. I have been following his journey for almost a year.
    Joe is amazing and definitely full of insight. The fact that he is so willing to share his knowledge is astounding.
    I have purchased his Newbies Guide to Publishing but haven't had a chance to really get into it. (Just got it this morning).
    Maribeth
    Giggles and Guns

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  5. And even with such big sales volumes, he has earned no more then $80.000 in one year ... think I will stay with geophysics and petroleum exploration >:)

    Cold As Heaven

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  6. There's nothing like getting information straight from someone who's been there. Sounds like he's got lots of wisdom to share, thanks for the link.

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  7. I've found Konrath to be one of the most sharing authors online. He takes you along on his journey and tells you the details of what he's doing.

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  8. The e-sales are amazing and very affordable.

    Mason
    Thoughts in Progress

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  9. I really admire him. He's tireless and is a promotional expert!

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  10. Hopping over to read now. Thanks.

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  11. I do follow him and enjoy reading his thoughts on the industry and marketing.

    I'm not much of an in-person tourer, but I do a lot online.

    Elizabeth
    Mystery Writing is Murder

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  12. If I remember right, he did a physical tour a while back where he visited one or more stores just about every day, then recognized each store in the next book. The list was looong.

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  13. I'm tired just thinking about all the promotion and book-signing and blogging and so on and so on. I just want to write! (Okay, I want to be read too ...)

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  14. And therein lies the problem, Miss Footloose! I'm with you on this. We need to stand up and demand more hours in the day!

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  15. Boy, some people really have this marketing stuff down pat! I’m trying, but I still need to work harder on both my physical and virtual presence.

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  16. Wow. Impressive numbers. I must admit I do more virtual "presence" promo - well, not nearly as successful as his, but it has increased my sales - than I do physical. I plan on stepping up the physical tours, signings, talks, conferences, etc., this year with the release of my new novel.

    The Old Silly

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  17. You can't retire, Karen! Just add things slowly.

    It does feel overwhelming, and I'm not even out there doing the promotion.

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  18. I have been following Konrath's experiences with interest and, like so many others here, wish I had the time and energy to do all that he does to promote. Plus, he has a lot more books finished than I do.

    He is good at marketing and his books are well written. That helps a lot when it comes to continuing sales, as you can't be marketing less than quality work. Eventually the readers catch on and stop buying.

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  19. Very true, Maryann!

    If anybody wants to follow along with Konrath, there's a link to his blog in my sidebar.

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  20. I found his comments on ebook pricing very interesting. I've seen this topic pop up a few times lately with writers wondering just what their book is worth, and what price will get them the most sales.

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  21. Sounds very interesting - I'm off to discover more! :-)

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  22. I keep reading that even though the price is lower on ebooks, authors are getting more on an esale than on a print sale, per book. Having said that, you have to be making lots of sales.

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  23. We all need to know what he knows, Alex!

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  24. The man is a wizard - or a genius - or both :)

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  25. Thanks for the link, Helen. I've been following Konrath's blog for a little bit... It's great that he's willing to share so much!

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  26. Helen, I just read the interview. I cringed when Joe referred to novels/ebooks as impulse buys.

    I left a comment on his blog about this, but I'm also wondering what you think.

    Do you think pricing and promotion are tied up in too much ego and emotion? Do some authors shy away from selling books at lower prices (even if they make more money, like Harlequin books) because they don't want to think their 1-2 years of love and hard work will boil down to a $1.99 impulse buy?

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  27. Jenn, I'm not sure the majority of authors really understand what they make on a print book or an ebook. We're still caught up on the idea that the only "real" way to publish is via a big publisher. The publisher sends you a tally of what you've made and you get paid. Ebooks are still associated with vanity press, even though that's not necessarily the truth in today's world. Authors like Konrath are showing us that authors can make as much on ebooks as on print books, if you understand how to make a quality book and if you are willing to put in the money to create a quality ebook and you are willing to put in the time, effort and blood to promote. If you're out on the Internet you can find authors who are willing to say, look here, this is what I made last year on my print books. And you've got authors like Konrath who are willing to say, here's what I've made and this is how many books I've sold. Keep in mind that Konrath has already put in years building his readership and establishing himself as a sellable author. That part of the equation is critical.

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  28. That's a lot of e-books. I would guess you'd have to be established first to get those numbers?

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  29. Wow, how impressive. I was especially fascinated by the part of earning more from the sales of $1.99 ebooks than on $7.99 paperbacks. I never would've expected to hear that. But it definitely seems that ebooks are the way to go nowadays.

    Very interesting blog post, Helen and Konrath!

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  30. I can't do the physical presence thing as much, since I have time constraints, but I do try to be everywhere online!

    Morgan Mandel
    http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
    http://facebook.com/morgan.mandel

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