Saturday, April 03, 2010

Not Necessarily Bad News

Good news about ebooks does not necessarily mean bad news for print books. They can both survive. Having said that, Daily Finance recently pointed out that the January sales statistics show that “e-book sales climbed to $31.8 million -- a 261% increase from the previous month, and less than half the total sales recorded for adult hardcovers, which dropped more than 8% over December.”

 It won’t last forever, but while it does, some big name authors are trying to make the most of it. Crime and horror novelist, J.A. Konrath posts on his blog about his work getting his books and short stories out to readers at very low prices.
As of March 4, he'd sold 29,224 e-books in a year. At the 35% royalty rate Amazon (AMZN) offered authors who published their works expressly for Kindle, that meant Konrath earned some $120 a day, every day, by doing almost nothing. "If this trend continues as is," he wrote on A Newbie's Guide, "I'll earn $43,800 this year on previously published short stories and novels that NY print publishing rejected."
He, however, does not see ebooks waning. He, in fact, sees them exploding.
He has no doubt that "by the end of the year, I'll be making 5k per month on Kindle. And that's probably a low estimate."
He’s not giving up traditional publishing, though. And he’s not the only one turning to e-publishing. Some are even dropping their print publishers. John Edgar Wideman dropped Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and moved to Lulu.com.

The article has success stories, but I think it’s important to keep in mind that these authors already had readers and, in the case of Konrath, do a ton of promotion.

Whether you read ebooks or not, whether you like ebooks or not, if you write, you need to keep up with ebook news. It’s not only interesting, it’s important. And even if you only publish in print, it will affect you.
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20 comments:

  1. I'm keeping up with ebook news as much as I can. I'm a fan of Konrath's blog, and I can also see how much promotion work he does. That is the secret ingredient. I'm thinking about publishing an ebook about my work to see how well it goes, but I will make sure it is polished.

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  2. That Mr Konrath is a sharp one, isn't he?

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  3. Helen you're so right that people like to see ebooks as the enemy to print books but they are actually friends and partners. I have changed my view on ebooks over time. I like the way things are going. Now I wonder when we'll get ereaders here in Botswana. I read on my laptop now but I look forward to having one of those pocketbook size devices.

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  4. Thanks, Helen. I've read a lot about Konrath - it's amazing what he's done! I'm trying to keep up with it all but it's certainly hard to stay on top of all the twists and turns.

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  5. It does appear e-books are going to be here for the long haul. Guess we just have to accept them.

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  6. Today is the iPad's debut. I like the idea of the iPad, but don't plan on getting one since I already have an iPhone and a laptop. My DH who does a lot of traveling will get an eReader before me. We've looked at the Nook and have pretty much ruled out the iPad. Wish we could see and hold the Kindle.

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  7. As I was reading this, I thought that some authors might actually prefer publishing ebooks, then to read your remark that some are dropping their print pubishers! Wow, that's a move I don't think too many of us saw coming.

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  8. I think what we're going to see are more publishers dropping print books from their midlist authors. My publisher, Medallion, a mid-sized publisher is making hard decisions about which authors to keep in print when previously all their books were print.
    I think the first victim of ebooks will be the mass market paperbacks as publishers make the least amount of money on them.
    I would love to have the ipad but with two kids in college, not going to happen.

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  9. Yeah, I don't think that kind of success rate will be the same for those of us who are unknown.

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  10. Good post. I agree.
    FYI - my word below was biodings. I wonder what a bioding is? An implant that dings when your body needs something?

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  11. I think e-books are a good way for emerging authors to get published and build a following. Both print and electronic books will play a part in the future of publishing, I can't see it any other way.

    For what it's worth, I have a kindle and I love it.

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  12. I agree that unknown authors probably won't have those kinds of sales. Doesn't mean they can't work up to it, and I put the emphasis on "work."

    Carol, I do that same thing! Sometimes the captcha word is either funny or somehow fits what the blog post was about!

    I wish there was a way to see and hold the Kindle before you bought. I'm so used to my iPhone that when we looked at the Nook, I kept trying to touch the screen to make things happen. The little buttons it had were too tiny for me to read what they were for and I didn't have my reading glasses with me. The iPad, on the other hand, is awfully big. Wouldn't fit in my purse, I don't believe.

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  13. Interesting numbers.

    And I'm always torn when authors post their earnings - it's interesting to know but at the same time, it's bragging. And it always seems to be men, too...

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  14. Great post! Gives you something to watch and really think about. Ebooks are something taht writers should definitely keep track of!

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  15. It will cetainly be interesting to keep an eye on this. I wonder how it will change over the next few years.

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  16. Diane, I've seem some female authors list earnings. Can't think of who right now. I do remember that Brenda Hiatt did an average earn out for a list of publishers. (I excused myself and looked that up.) The link is:
    http://www.brendahiatt.com/id2.html

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  17. Off the topic a bit, and not like there is a lot of cash to spare, but my husband and I just had a conversation about investing somehow in online books...

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  18. Liza, do you mean publishing your own ebooks?

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  19. I think ebooks are here to stay, and are another form of enjoying the written word. I am not sure they are for me, but they are certainly popular with some of my friends.

    Those who jump in now, will reap the rewards. It is good marketing practice, to be alert and aware of what is hot.

    Interesting post, thanks Helen.

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  20. Thanks for the link, Helen!

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