Why I Decided to Release a Print Book

It has taken me almost two years, but I finally made the decision to release The Passage of Hellsfire in print. While I believe that one day print books will be rendered obsolete in the same way VHS or cassette tapes were, that day has not come yet.

Here are my reasons for why I finally caved in and published a print book (in no particular order):

For My Family

My family’s getting older and dying. Even though it would be advantageous for them to get a Kindle, it’s still hard for those in their 50, 60, 70+ to learn a new technology. Since they’re my family, they would like to support me by buying my book. Why not help them help me? It’d be nice if they could have a copy of my book before I die especially since they don’t see me that often.

A Discounted Price

When you see my book on Amazon, it’s going to show you the prices for both the print book and ebook. People will see the print price and (probably) buy the ebook. Not that it matters to me which version they buy, but in their minds, it’d be like it’s on sale.

Print Books Make Up a Huge Portion of the Market

I’m a bit unsure of the numbers, but from what I’ve heard and read, print sales make up anywhere from between 50-85% of the market. If I just have an ebook, that’s a huge portion of readers to ignore. I think more than video, movie, TV, or music, books will be the hardest for people to let go and make the change for the new technology. Until that change happens, I should pay attention to those people.

A Different Cover

As much as I love the cover of my first book, sometimes, people don’t get it. It might be too subtle for people. Those hands are actually Krystal’s hands and the flame represents Hellsfire.

Also, I don’t think people get the feeling that it’s a traditional, high-fantasy YA book. By slapping on a different cover, I’m able to draw in more people that would like high-fantasy. I was even able to put a dragon on the cover, but unlike the first cover of Wizard’s First Rule, the dragon in my book does play a part. (Side note, that dragon on WFR, did in fact, get me to buy the book. Go figure).

I’m going to release What Once Was One in print soon. Mostly likely in April. I have no idea if having a print book will increase sales (I can only hope), but it is nice to see my name on the bookshelf…even if it is my own.

Marc Johnson