THE Group for Authors! discussion
Publishing and Promoting
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Print or Ebooks?
I know it surprised me when I released my book and print orders comprised about a third of my sales. When I originally started work on formatting my book I didn't intend to do a print version - I thought print was dead. A friend pestered me into making the effort to learn InDesign and put out a print version. I'm glad I did now.
We do all our books in print and ebook format. We do a lot of personal appearances, and shoppers want print books dedicated to them. Many will also take our cards and brochures and tell us they will order the book on their Kindle or NOOK. We also net more on our print books.
Brooks Kohler just had a book signing in Anna Illinois in October, I love to get a author to sign their book, I already had a kindle version of the book, but I knew the author, and I could not wait for him to have his book signing. It seem like it is more personal to have them sign their book. I know I am going to treasure the book he sign. I consider him a very good friend.
It's not hard to put your self-published book out in both formats, so why not? Personally, I'll always like print books best.
For my first serious effort. I got my own professional cover, my own ISBN and published through Amazon. Obtained a dozen good-looking copies at a reasonable price, but ran into trouble with tax issues. Made no sales anyway so no problem. Not worried because the pleasure is in the writing. However, my second creation is ready for publication and having read much of what has been said on this site I'm thinking this whole venture is a minefield of cost for little gain. Can anyone suggest a simple publishing process that gets one's creation into print with some hope of some readership without having to do ones own marketing as well?
Thomas wrote: "Can anyone suggest a simple publishing process that gets one's creation into print with some hope of some readership without having to do ones own marketing as well? "No. It doesn't matter what route you take (self publish or agent/trad deal) you will need to undertake your own marketing. Of course if you have a significant advance then obviously the publisher has a vested interest in seeing a return. In which case your book will receive a certain level of marketing and advertising support.
Don't fall into the trap of scam presses who will sell you exorbitant "marketing packages" which are really about lining their own pockets, not about selling your books. There are many things you can do that are free or only involve a small cost - like giveaways, competitions and blog tours. There are hundreds of sites where you can advertise your book for under $50 up to the dominant player Bookbub (which costs from $300-600). Yes it all takes time and you have to find the balance between marketing and writing that works for you.
More on this issue:Tim Waterstone 'predicts e-book decline'
Paper vs digital reading is an exhausted debate
Authors Weigh In On Print Versus E-Books
Why You Should Publish Your Print and Ebook Editions AT THE SAME TIME!
As for publishing/marketing, the music industry is already counting on black magic:
The Shazam Effect
How “The Shazam Effect” changed music- and could change book publishing
Just be aware that there's more to producing a quality print book than uploading a .doc file to CreateSpace. I wrote a blog post about it a while ago, The Beauty of Books. I also suggest checking out Joel Friedlander's excellent blog, The Book Designer, which you can link to from my blog or search on the Web.
But yes, print books are still worth producing (as well as beautiful if done right). At least 30% of my sales are print books. Many people still don't own e-readers, and some of those who do have decided they prefer print after all.
C.P. wrote: "Just be aware that there's more to producing a quality print book than uploading a .doc file to CreateSpace. I wrote a blog post about it a while ago, The Beauty of Books. I also suggest checking..."
Yep. I'm still a print guy despite all the great books on my Kindle.
More on print and ebooks:No Luddite libraries here: 95 percent of American libraries carry e-books
Future of Ebooks, Book Business: Five Experts Share Viewpoints
E-books Still Outsold by Hardcover and Paperback
More on the teens and e-books issue:Teens prefer the printed page to ebooks
Teens Prefer Print Books: Nielsen
I am not an author, but I do have friends that are, and after reading some of the comments here. It seem like you have problems getting people to know about your book. If I had not gotten to know Brooks Kohler personally, I would not known about his book, or some of his friends books. How is the best way to get to know about an author, and then want to read their book. I really do want to know. There are some really good authors out there that people just don't know about. And if they don't know about them how can they buy their books. Let alone read them, and I think that is a shame.
I've self published three books with another almost ready to go. My first, a non-fiction how to, was before ebooks and it sold it's 2,500 paper copies but over many years. As an ebook it sells once in a while. My fiction books are both and at this point paperback has outsold ebooks, although at this point the ebooks sell monthly. Plus on Amazon.com you can do a "free" time and that brings attention to all my books. Paperback still sells to a certain market (my own survey, seniors surprisingly like Kindle etc)and I suggest both.I must say though paperback print costs for set-up and print about $700 albeit the cost of an editor and proofreader, and that's a lot of books to sell to come even.
Thomas wrote: "For my first serious effort. I got my own professional cover, my own ISBN and published through Amazon. Obtained a dozen good-looking copies at a reasonable price, but ran into trouble with tax iss..."Once I heard, "Books don't sell books, people sell books" meaning it is you the author who must talk your book up as often as possible and everywhere you can. I find that is the marketing process which sold the majority of my books. Good luck!
June, I have a friend who is an author and I try and talked about his books and let people know about them. So word of mouth does help. He was also my teacher at the college I am going to. And he just happen to mention in class one day he was an author. He has written a number of short stories and a few novels. But I think if authors and other people like your friends let others know about your books that might help more than anything else. He has also introduce me to other authors and I try and promote them as well. I made a comment before if people don't know about an author how can they buy your book or know about the books you write. So when I find a author I like I now try and let others know about them as well. Before I never gave it much thought, but now that I got to know some author personally it has change the way in which I read and then I will go to good reads and Amazon and give their book a review. I now know that will help them sell more of their books. Good luck.
Carolyn wrote: "Brooks Kohler just had a book signing in Anna Illinois in October, I love to get a author to sign their book, I already had a kindle version of the book, but I knew the author, and I could not wai..."There is an e-autograph app. Anyone use it?
Thanks M I never knew there was, I just order a kindle from Amazon, the other kindle was on my computer, I hope I like it. By the way how does the e-autograph app. work?
Let me do some research on it. I know its easy.I'm afraid that I would have same holding problem w kindle tab thing. Phone so small! But I hope you like it. Better on my budget too.
Thank You, I hope you have a nice Christmas and New Year.
M. wrote: "Carolyn wrote: "Brooks Kohler just had a book signing in Anna Illinois in October, I love to get a author to sign their book, I already had a kindle version of the book, but I knew the author, and..."Never heard of that before. Can you direct us to the app? Thanks a lot in advance.
I have been very surprised recently by how many 'new' books by self-published authors have only been published in print format. Some in fact are only in hardback at quite a high price. Although e-books currently only account for about a third of all books sold I think it is still sensible to have both.I think print books will continue to be popular for a very long time. I certainly love to hold a physical book when reading. However, with the increase in smartphone, android and tablet reading an e-book is a must. It also provides for greater discovery by virtue of all the different applications available i.e. iBooks, Nook, Kobo, Google Play etc.
In these days of simple, free services such as Amazon, Smashwords, Google Books and so on there really is no excuse for not publishing in both formats. Digital reading is increasing but, for the foreseeable future, is unlikely to outstrip readers overall preference for physical books.
www.authorgraph.comDigital vs. print should also depend a lot on what you are writing. Non-fiction, especially heavily illustrated non-fiction is probably going to do better in print. Ditto for children's books.
Fiction writers, especially genre fiction writers, are shooting themselves in the foot if they do not have e-copies available. There are readers who prefer print, and there probably always will be (teens and print are a function of the way they buy and consume books-not necessarily a life-long fondness for lugging around pieces of dead tree), but they are on the decline. I have print editions of a few of my longer titles, but they're really a courtesy to customers who prefer the format. I sell almost nothing, and only one of my traditionally published titles is available in print.
Yes, there's a permanence to hard copies, and the profit margin is potentially larger, but e-books are environmentally sound, are much cheaper to produce, have no supply chain or distribution issues, and need never go out of print.
And yet,if your target readers are over 50, they may still prefer the printed page to ebook.
I just self published my second book of short stories on Amazon through Kindle and Createspace. Since Createspace is a print on demand service, the per book cost is very high to the customer. The ebook can be whatever you decide, but Createspace has to determine the minimum charge for the print version. Most of my sales have been paperbacks that I am reselling after buying them in bulk from Createspace for the wholesalers' cost, which is much less, especially if you buy larger quantities. I am able to make a decent profit on them even after paying for shipping and handling, and I get them within a week or two.
Bourne wrote: "And yet,if your target readers are over 50, they may still prefer the printed page to ebook."
I originally thought as you. However, one of the Facebook groups I belong to has a largely older membership of whom many use Kindles for reading. I also witnessed, when attending hospital consultant appointments, many of the older patients were reading digitally whilst waiting.
I would agree most of us prefer physical books, so nice to hold when reading, but an increasing amount of people are turning to e-books. Perhaps, cost, convenience and portability play a part.
I originally thought as you. However, one of the Facebook groups I belong to has a largely older membership of whom many use Kindles for reading. I also witnessed, when attending hospital consultant appointments, many of the older patients were reading digitally whilst waiting.
I would agree most of us prefer physical books, so nice to hold when reading, but an increasing amount of people are turning to e-books. Perhaps, cost, convenience and portability play a part.
Peggy wrote: "I just self published my second book of short stories on Amazon through Kindle and Createspace. Since Createspace is a print on demand service, the per book cost is very high to the customer. The..."
Before discussing PODs I would question setting your own price for e-books. Unless you join KDP Select Amazon dictate a minimum price. And even in KDP Select you may only choose a lower price for 5 of the 90 days you are obliged to join for.
My real question was about you selling on your books. I have books published with CreateSpace but have never thought about selling on as you have. It sounds a good idea but is it acceptable? I have never looked but are there no contractual agreements with Createspace that prevents this? I would be interested to know because, like you, I am very frustrated by what seems to be the imposing of, to me, a rather high price for PODs.
Before discussing PODs I would question setting your own price for e-books. Unless you join KDP Select Amazon dictate a minimum price. And even in KDP Select you may only choose a lower price for 5 of the 90 days you are obliged to join for.
My real question was about you selling on your books. I have books published with CreateSpace but have never thought about selling on as you have. It sounds a good idea but is it acceptable? I have never looked but are there no contractual agreements with Createspace that prevents this? I would be interested to know because, like you, I am very frustrated by what seems to be the imposing of, to me, a rather high price for PODs.
Tanya wrote: "Peggy wrote: "I just self published my second book of short stories on Amazon through Kindle and Createspace. Since Createspace is a print on demand service, the per book cost is very high to the ..."On the CreateSpace homepage, click on the tab "Books". At the bottom of that menu is "Resellers and Libraries - CreateSpace Direct". That link tells you what to do.
Sorry, I edited my comment above. CreateSpace has the option for letting you sell your books yourself, but it is a set up that lets you buy the books wholesale, and then sell them as a retailer. You have to have a sales tax permit, send in a signed form, and then one of their people contact you and work out what you have to do. This way you can sell them on your own website, out of your house or car, or by mail. Sorry about the confusion. It's all a bureaucratic pain of paperwork and reporting, but people are more likely to buy them for what you can charge yourself than the POD single book price. Read the requirements for sales tax in your state/country before bothering with all the paperwork. You may decide you'd rather give your books away...
Young readers and ebooks:Ebooks Finding Their Place Among Young Readers
Device Growth ‘Kindles’ Growth in Kids’ E-Reading
A. wrote: "Electronic vs. physical:Kindle sales have 'disappeared', says UK's largest book retailer"More on this (Financial Times):
Book sales rise as readers remain true to type
A. wrote: "Printed book vs. ebook, seasonal trends:Long live the ebook – it’s a champion of the printed word"An yearly trends:
Sales of printed books fall by more than £150m in five years
Bourne wrote: "And yet,if your target readers are over 50, they may still prefer the printed page to ebook."Not necessarily. Many over 40 much prefer (or need) the larger type they can get on ereaders.
Many series readers get sold quickly on the idea of instantly downloading next book in series.
Many seniors downsize (particularly when moving into assisted care) and would otherwise not be able to have all their books around if they were physical vs. digital. Downloading ebook free from public library to ereader versus bothering someone to take them to the actual physical library branch both to get and to return books is preferred. The weight of an eReader and touchscreen pokes versus hardcover large print books ... [Slightly off-topic, but—when upgrading to new reading and music devices, please consider deregistering your old devices and donating to various senior programs such as Music and Memory (http://musicandmemory.org/) or local homes.]
Many parents spend so much time chauffeuring kids around, school pickup lines, waiting rooms, etc. that having a digital library on hand for the wait times is easier than lugging around physical book choices they May or may not be in the mood for. Personally, I suspect the long roadtrip hours and school pickup line waits have a lot to do with audiobook popularity.
Students already lugging their body weight around in backpacks (or parents with diaper bag and car seat weight to carry) tend to want as many of their textbooks and leisure reads in Ereader form.
All in all, I suspect even when print books may be more loved or preferred that ebooks will still be used.
With so many print-on-demand options for hardcopies only costing author when print book is ordered (despite my touting why so many readers choose ebook options), I really think auhtirs should offer both print and digital.
Personally, I love print books. But my old lady eyes (and convenience of getting next in series) make me an ebook reader. For budget reasons, before ereaders I very seldom bought any but the most very favorite authors in new hardcovers (versus used hardcovers or waiting for paperback release). I will for some of the authors I read get both the ebook and the prints book because I have a beloved books collection I add to—but it's the ebook versions I actually read. I'm a complete sucker for booksignings if remotely anything I might read, even unfamiliar authors. I
With a bit of effort, and a learning curve, and a near nervousness breakdown, and some more work, it is now affordable to do both.
Yes, both are affordable and doable with print on demand services. The "near nervous breakdown" trying to navigate the technical aspects as you work through the learning curve is quite an experience. I'm glad to be on the other side of it. Yet, I still have so much to learn!
There is always more to learn....
I do ebooks and print.I use Lulu.com for my print books, and have had no problems. Even better, because I live Down Under, they do the print version in Melbourne and post to me from there, so the postage isn't huge.
Admittedly, I sell more ebooks than print, but I like to have it available for those who want the print version.
If anyone is watching me, they are fighting sleep. I write on the couch, then at my desk, then I read, then I much, reading or writing....
New statistical study:Slides: Nielsen Details How Print Sales Have Declined Since the Rise of eBooks
Angela wrote: "I do ebooks and print.I use Lulu.com for my print books, and have had no problems. Even better, because I live Down Under, they do the print version in Melbourne and post to me from there, so th..."
I am curious about Lulu. I considered publishing through them but ended up going with the Amazon affiliate, CreateSpace. Did you have any trouble getting your books into bookstores? And do you have any idea if Barnes & Noble is willing to put them in their stores? They don't stock Amazon published books but will feature them online.
Mercedes, getting books into brick-and-mortar stores will be a challenge no matter which POD service you use. However, if that's your goal, then the best option is to use Ingram Spark, because they allow returns.
Agree. However I use both CreateSpace and IngramSpark. CreateSpace (when I want to hand sell books) because their POD paperbacks are of higher quality than Ingram's (which uses a thinner paper; photos tend to bleed through). On the other hand, I use IngramSpark in order to place books into retail stores, using their "return and destroy" policy.
Mercedes wrote: "Angela wrote: "I do ebooks and print.I use Lulu.com for my print books, and have had no problems. Even better, because I live Down Under, they do the print version in Melbourne and post to me fr..."
They put the books on Ingram listings, so people can order them. I don't think they stock them physically in stores.
Don't Judge a Book by its Cover: Tech-Savvy Teens Remain Fans of Print Books
Is this really surprising?