David Bell's Blog, page 2
July 12, 2014
Illustrated edition now available
I used Kickstarter to fund a mammoth drawing marathon, and now 'The Dog Hunters' comes with over 230 drawings. Have a look at
http://www.davidnbell.com/The_Dog_Hun...
http://www.davidnbell.com/The_Dog_Hun...
November 24, 2013
Marketing a book online.
So much work to do- writing the new book, illustrating the old one, teaming up on other projects, preparing presentations. No wonder this is only my second blog. But when I get my finger out, it's good fun trying to get it out there. It being the book.
‘The Dog Hunters’ was published as an eBook in July, and due to demand, came out in Paperback shortly afterwards. I was surprised to see the pricier ‘real’ book outsell the digital version by five to one, but that just made me work harder to get it out on the local market.
An outing at Armageddon, NZ’s pulp culture expo, saw a burst in sales (seen by 60,000 attendees), and when I started doing ‘live drawings’, the inevitable question was ‘Will there be an illustrated version?’ This evidence of potential demand coincided with the NZ launch of Kickstarter, the crowd-funding phenomenon that helps creative types get their projects up and running. I was quick to seize the opportunity and many people have already jumped in with pledges to help get the illustrated book, and we should make our modest goal.
From the in-your-face sales experience at Armageddon to amorphous blur of social media, it’s been a fascinating insight into the marketing process on a near zero budget. It’s hard work, and an incredibly steep learning curve, and I’m hoping it all will push the ‘Dog Hunters’ to the next level.
But even if it doesn’t, I’ve made friends with thousands of people round the planet, and maybe I’ll be able to write a new book on self publishing in the digital age.
But first things first- I need to get on with finishing a hundred plus new drawings!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/d...
http://www.davidnbell.com/The_Dog_Hun... - http://www.davidnbell.com/The_Dog_Hun...
http://www.trademe.co.nz/a.aspx?id=66...
‘The Dog Hunters’ was published as an eBook in July, and due to demand, came out in Paperback shortly afterwards. I was surprised to see the pricier ‘real’ book outsell the digital version by five to one, but that just made me work harder to get it out on the local market.
An outing at Armageddon, NZ’s pulp culture expo, saw a burst in sales (seen by 60,000 attendees), and when I started doing ‘live drawings’, the inevitable question was ‘Will there be an illustrated version?’ This evidence of potential demand coincided with the NZ launch of Kickstarter, the crowd-funding phenomenon that helps creative types get their projects up and running. I was quick to seize the opportunity and many people have already jumped in with pledges to help get the illustrated book, and we should make our modest goal.
From the in-your-face sales experience at Armageddon to amorphous blur of social media, it’s been a fascinating insight into the marketing process on a near zero budget. It’s hard work, and an incredibly steep learning curve, and I’m hoping it all will push the ‘Dog Hunters’ to the next level.
But even if it doesn’t, I’ve made friends with thousands of people round the planet, and maybe I’ll be able to write a new book on self publishing in the digital age.
But first things first- I need to get on with finishing a hundred plus new drawings!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/d...
http://www.davidnbell.com/The_Dog_Hun... - http://www.davidnbell.com/The_Dog_Hun...
http://www.trademe.co.nz/a.aspx?id=66...
August 15, 2013
The smell of paper...
...is nicer than glass.
No matter how much I embrace technology, and I do wholeheartedly, I keep buying books. New books, good and bad books, cheap books, expensive books: doesn't matter- I buy books, almost compulsively.
Last week our local church hall was selling 2nd hand books BY THE KILO. $3 a Kilo. A bought 15Kg worth, and I will read every single one of them.
It was slightly unnerving seeing all those old and fairly newish titles laid out, row after row like pensioners in an old folks home, because it made me think that one day, one or two of my books might end up in a similar place, hoping that someone will pick them up and give them a new home for a while. It was a bit saddening.
But then it got me to thinking about the bits of bytes that are all that exist in an eBook. They don't exist. Not like ink on a thin wafer of reconstituted tree pulp does. eBooks aren't real books. Dur.
I was talking to a local book shop owner (Book Lovers Takapuna) and I asked him if eBooks were bad for his business. He said no, by and large. He reckons that there will always be a healthy market for nice, good quality books- especially those publications regarded as 'coffee table' editions, cook books, picture books etc. The higher end stuff.
He did admit that maybe the everyday novel/paperback might struggle- they are, after all, somewhat disposable by nature (the book fair being an example of this- although I guess I should use the phrase 're-disposable'). He also admitted that people are beginning to buy more and more of their paperbacks online- not as eBooks, just through Amazon etc, simply because they're cheaper.
I grudgingly admit that, rationally, eBooks are better for novelists- every time one is bought, that's it. They can't (easily) be lent, or resold. If anyone who wants to read your book they sorta have to buy it. No swapping with your mate, no waiting for it to resurface second-hand a year or so later. And with the margins on eBooks being so much better for the author, it's hard to complain.
Nevertheless, I'm still far more excited about seeing my book in 'real' print, and if I'm honest, if, in a few years I see it going for 50c on a trestle table out in the boonies, I'll probably still be just as excited. What's certain is I won't see any eBooks!
'The Dog Hunters'- now available in gloriously old fashioned paperback. https://www.createspace.com/4363910
No matter how much I embrace technology, and I do wholeheartedly, I keep buying books. New books, good and bad books, cheap books, expensive books: doesn't matter- I buy books, almost compulsively.
Last week our local church hall was selling 2nd hand books BY THE KILO. $3 a Kilo. A bought 15Kg worth, and I will read every single one of them.
It was slightly unnerving seeing all those old and fairly newish titles laid out, row after row like pensioners in an old folks home, because it made me think that one day, one or two of my books might end up in a similar place, hoping that someone will pick them up and give them a new home for a while. It was a bit saddening.
But then it got me to thinking about the bits of bytes that are all that exist in an eBook. They don't exist. Not like ink on a thin wafer of reconstituted tree pulp does. eBooks aren't real books. Dur.
I was talking to a local book shop owner (Book Lovers Takapuna) and I asked him if eBooks were bad for his business. He said no, by and large. He reckons that there will always be a healthy market for nice, good quality books- especially those publications regarded as 'coffee table' editions, cook books, picture books etc. The higher end stuff.
He did admit that maybe the everyday novel/paperback might struggle- they are, after all, somewhat disposable by nature (the book fair being an example of this- although I guess I should use the phrase 're-disposable'). He also admitted that people are beginning to buy more and more of their paperbacks online- not as eBooks, just through Amazon etc, simply because they're cheaper.
I grudgingly admit that, rationally, eBooks are better for novelists- every time one is bought, that's it. They can't (easily) be lent, or resold. If anyone who wants to read your book they sorta have to buy it. No swapping with your mate, no waiting for it to resurface second-hand a year or so later. And with the margins on eBooks being so much better for the author, it's hard to complain.
Nevertheless, I'm still far more excited about seeing my book in 'real' print, and if I'm honest, if, in a few years I see it going for 50c on a trestle table out in the boonies, I'll probably still be just as excited. What's certain is I won't see any eBooks!
'The Dog Hunters'- now available in gloriously old fashioned paperback. https://www.createspace.com/4363910
