What's the best format?
In this time of tremendous change in the publishing industry, many authors, including myself, have been left asking what formats we should be trying to get our books published in: hardcover, trade paperback, mass market paperback, e-book, audiobook, downloadable audiobook, large-print, and so on.
According to a recent Shelf Awareness, e-book sales have exploded 163% and now comprise almost 5% of the total trade market, while sales of mass market paperbacks have plunged almost 15%, though their sales are still twice that of e-books. Also, downloaded audio sales and hardcovers are up, though both are still a small fraction of the market. Sales of trade paperbacks dropped just a fraction, much less than mass market.
And to add to the discussion, here's a quote from The Wall Street Journal:
"In recent weeks, a number of leading publishers have indicated that e-books today account for about 8% of total revenue, up from 3% to 5% in the same period a year ago. Some expect that e-books will account for as much as 20-25% by the end of 2012."
I made the move last year from Five Star, which published my books in hardcover and large-print, to Midnight Ink, which publishes trade paperback and e-book formats, partly based on format. Of course, the ideal situation is to be published in ALL formats at the same time, so readers can choose to read your book in whatever format suits them best. But, no publisher currently does this, and each one produces only a subset of formats for each of their books.
If I could choose, what three formats would I select for my books? I think I would pick trade paperback, e-book, and downloadable audio. These are the formats my readers most often request from me. What about you? As a reader, which formats do you prefer and why? If you're a writer, what would your ideal publishing mix look like?
According to a recent Shelf Awareness, e-book sales have exploded 163% and now comprise almost 5% of the total trade market, while sales of mass market paperbacks have plunged almost 15%, though their sales are still twice that of e-books. Also, downloaded audio sales and hardcovers are up, though both are still a small fraction of the market. Sales of trade paperbacks dropped just a fraction, much less than mass market.
And to add to the discussion, here's a quote from The Wall Street Journal:
"In recent weeks, a number of leading publishers have indicated that e-books today account for about 8% of total revenue, up from 3% to 5% in the same period a year ago. Some expect that e-books will account for as much as 20-25% by the end of 2012."
I made the move last year from Five Star, which published my books in hardcover and large-print, to Midnight Ink, which publishes trade paperback and e-book formats, partly based on format. Of course, the ideal situation is to be published in ALL formats at the same time, so readers can choose to read your book in whatever format suits them best. But, no publisher currently does this, and each one produces only a subset of formats for each of their books.
If I could choose, what three formats would I select for my books? I think I would pick trade paperback, e-book, and downloadable audio. These are the formats my readers most often request from me. What about you? As a reader, which formats do you prefer and why? If you're a writer, what would your ideal publishing mix look like?
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