tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post1502739872485488437..comments2024-03-28T02:00:11.260-05:00Comments on A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Obsolete AnonymousJA Konrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comBlogger111125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-19755672854049984862013-08-18T08:33:27.281-05:002013-08-18T08:33:27.281-05:00I love my ereader and my ebooks, I love being able...I love my ereader and my ebooks, I love being able to store all sorts of info in a slim little slice of a computer on my desk. But I also know that as long as there exists the possibility of prolonged power outages and 'net downtime, there's still a market for some things in paper.Angry Birds Trilogy USA WII free downloadhttp://freedownloadfullgamescracksversion.blogspot.com/2013/08/angry-birds-trilogy-usa-wii-free.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-48400927704338704412013-04-13T06:45:24.951-05:002013-04-13T06:45:24.951-05:00Brilliant! Now can someone invite the UK Publishin...Brilliant! Now can someone invite the UK Publishing Industry to the table, please?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-4263857054220784872013-04-05T02:49:33.042-05:002013-04-05T02:49:33.042-05:00Is Red Box still around in America? I remember the...Is Red Box still around in America? I remember them trying to establish in Germany and within a few months closed again because, guess what, internet made them obsolete. Why go to a machine somewhere downtown when you can just download on your PC? Now, you can still buy DVDs if you want but if it's a rental to begin with, why bother about collectables?Thomas Diehlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05062076693215115940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-52648899914605414802013-04-01T15:19:49.783-05:002013-04-01T15:19:49.783-05:00No one gives Cassette Tapes a high five.
Best lin...<i>No one gives Cassette Tapes a high five.</i><br /><br />Best line. I'm making a t-shirt out of this line and not explaining to anyone that asks about it.Scott Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02459388007426664813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-12305739569137796602013-04-01T00:42:53.819-05:002013-04-01T00:42:53.819-05:00So I think the point that Mr. Train and I are maki...<i>So I think the point that Mr. Train and I are making is that the traditional book industry, which will probably downsize some more, will still be around.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2010/02/you-can-pry-my-paper-books-from-my-cold.html" rel="nofollow">http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2010/02/you-can-pry-my-paper-books-from-my-cold.html</a><br /><br />I answered this three years ago. Destination value vs. journey value.<br /><br />Movies and trains, like horses and bow-and-arrows, are about the journey. That's why they still persist.<br /><br />Books are about the destination, not the journey. That's why paper will be gone soon.<br /><br />But thanks for playing. Next time, read my old posts...JA Konrathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-9307487486470736542013-03-31T23:36:35.467-05:002013-03-31T23:36:35.467-05:00MOVIE INDUSTRY: May I join the conversation?
EVE...MOVIE INDUSTRY: May I join the conversation?<br /><br />EVERYBODY: Sure.<br /><br />MOVIE INDUSTRY: At one time some people thought that the movie industry would be killed by TV and VCRs. But that didn't happen.<br />Millions of people still go to movies.<br /><br />TRAIN: Can I join the conversation too?<br /><br />EVERYBODY: Yes.<br /><br />TRAIN: Some people think trains are old fashioned, but we still have our uses. Many people use trains in large urban areas to go to work.<br />By taking a train, you save on car payments, parking, and instead of focusing on driving you can spend time reading Joe Konrath's books.<br /><br />Also, in terms of large scale shipping on land, shipping food for example, trains are the best mode of delivery.<br /><br />MOVIE INDUSTRY: I see young people, who use the internet, cell phones, and mp3 players, still go to movie theaters.<br /><br />TRAIN: On the train, though I see people read on ereaders and computers, I still see people read paper books. The other day I saw someone on the train reading a paper version of Hugh Howry's WOOL.<br /><br />MOVIE INDUSTRY: So I think the point that Mr. Train and I are making is that the traditional book industry, which will probably downsize some more, will still be aorund.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-76391162994432480512013-03-31T18:06:06.103-05:002013-03-31T18:06:06.103-05:00Hey Joe or anyone who describes themselves as an &...<br />Hey Joe or anyone who describes themselves as an "Indie Author", how about making a Wikipedia article for "Indie Author" since they don't have one?<br /><br />Self-pubber or Self-publisher isn't there either.<br /><br />Anyway, "Indie Author" sounds better and has more of mystique to it. :)<br /><br />It's the perfect opportunity to describe the traits Joe always talks about:<br />1. Experiment and try different tactics.<br />2. Adapt and change your tactics as the times and environment changes and new information comes in.<br />3. Keep trying until you get lucky.<br />4. Share and help your fellow authors and have both arms out--one reaching up toward the next level and the other reaching down to pull your fellow authors up to your level.<br />(Add more traits if there are any.)<br /><br />And hey add some traits of your own that Joe hasn't mentioned.<br />You're an indie author after all, so you should know what the traits are. ;)<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-48952902360619862912013-03-31T14:34:44.150-05:002013-03-31T14:34:44.150-05:00And I didn't even mention Loni Anderson and Ly...And I didn't even mention Loni Anderson and Lynda Carter's Partners in Crime. I probably shouldn't admit to having very old and fuzzy copies of each show on my Zune but I will. (yep bet you could already tell I wasn't an iPerson). I like to think of myself as a quirky eccentric whose exquisite taste will be applauded in the distant future...or maybe not:)<br /><br />As a reader/librarian I love books but it IS the content not the delivery system I love. I can still get gooey over the fantastic covers and dust jackets of old (and I mean the 60's and older old) but I don't equate that with losing myself in the words. I am planning on getting a solar charger so I'm not even that worried about power outages anymore.<br /><br />Before Amazon, Smashwords, Pubit and the like I could give some sympathy to writers who desperately wanted to see their brain children on the bookstore shelf but now just shake my head in wonderment. I didn't have friends in the publishing business or published writer friends who complained and put me in the know and yet as far back as the 80's and 90's - I could pick up enough knowledge here and there to know that advances for most writers could be on the crappy side, income reporting sporadic, and marketing support for midlist writers was nil and rather than look for new authors publishers would put out reprints out the kazoo while still somehow not allowing authors to earn out advances. (I remember standing in front of a long row of paperbacks thinking this sounds familiar, so does this one and finally looking at copyright dates at least half of them were reprints with different covers.) If I, with no dog in the hunt, can figure out self publishing today is much more viable than traditional publishing why on earth can't people who hope to make it a career?jryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06375921341016401539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-83771332498451647032013-03-31T03:15:54.972-05:002013-03-31T03:15:54.972-05:00ah, this was hilarious. And hopefully true for us ...ah, this was hilarious. And hopefully true for us self-publishers! seeing paper books go away completely like VHS would sort of hurt a little inside, though. just on a personal level, not on, uh, any other level. Sean Ammiratihttp://www.ammiraticreations.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-80708387386964133042013-03-30T12:39:39.679-05:002013-03-30T12:39:39.679-05:00Hey Jude Hardin - I love Manimal to this day....an...<i>Hey Jude Hardin - I love Manimal to this day....and Automan, McCallum's Invisible Man, Gemini Man.</i><br /><br />I had to look those up. Wow. 70s and 80s television was even worse than I remembered! ;) Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16298343190864662091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-71103684714854287232013-03-30T11:12:03.536-05:002013-03-30T11:12:03.536-05:00Hey Jude Hardin - I love Manimal to this day....an...Hey Jude Hardin - I love Manimal to this day....and Automan, McCallum's Invisible Man, Gemini Man. jryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06375921341016401539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-73195255863552963812013-03-30T09:03:49.328-05:002013-03-30T09:03:49.328-05:00Polaroid is back from the dead: http://tgt.biz/Ymo...Polaroid is back from the dead: http://tgt.biz/Ymo4NX<br />Tim Fininhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08130304343231728495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-15275047163945897912013-03-29T23:33:07.489-05:002013-03-29T23:33:07.489-05:00"Still, the surface area of my printed book i...<br />"Still, the surface area of my printed book is slightly larger than that of my tablet, so it will make a better sail for the floating lounge chair I will be commanding."<br /><br />Everyone take note, writing like that doesn't come around often.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-13141432472960057882013-03-29T22:30:02.129-05:002013-03-29T22:30:02.129-05:00"Put your Kindle or tablet in a ziplock bag a..."Put your Kindle or tablet in a ziplock bag and you're good to go. Touch still works through the plastic."<br /><br />True enough. Still, the surface area of my printed book is slightly larger than that of my tablet, so it will make a better sail for the floating lounge chair I will be commanding.<br /><br />Choices...douglasjhunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09446562898223664852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-79635529726692086962013-03-29T21:27:08.537-05:002013-03-29T21:27:08.537-05:00"Much more cost effective to get the paper we..."Much more cost effective to get the paper wet rather than my electronic devices..."<br /><br />Put your Kindle or tablet in a ziplock bag and you're good to go. Touch still works through the plastic.Rob Gregory Brownehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12785299355462748009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-84497171127565226282013-03-29T20:37:48.634-05:002013-03-29T20:37:48.634-05:00I had a choice when planning for my 2 1/2 week vac...I had a choice when planning for my 2 1/2 week vacation to Kauai...Bring 80 paperback books to choose from and pay USAirways $70 to check two additonal suitcases, or bring my iPad and Droid phone loaded with 80 books (about a third of them obtained for free, two written by Joe). <br /><br />Very tough choice, but in the end the eBooks won, except for the paperback book I brought to read while lounging in the pool. Much more cost effective to get the paper wet rather than my electronic devices...<br /><br />I very much appreciate this blog. Joe's posts of his experiences combined with the comments of others are an unbeatable source for Good. I thank you all.douglasjhunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09446562898223664852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-37603433927217257392013-03-28T22:10:34.408-05:002013-03-28T22:10:34.408-05:00Brilliant, brilliant post Joe!
lolBrilliant, brilliant post Joe!<br /><br />lolAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11469849632407461853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-88546953068831503552013-03-28T20:53:38.142-05:002013-03-28T20:53:38.142-05:00Though what will replace the eReader? Funny post b...Though what will replace the eReader? Funny post by the way. enjoyedGary Dobbs/Jack Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10935686140719743351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-77231902503057169012013-03-28T20:39:05.338-05:002013-03-28T20:39:05.338-05:00Let me just throw a few facts into the ring...
Th...<i>Let me just throw a few facts into the ring...</i><br /><br />Thank you for doing so. I allow anonymous comments in the hope that smart folks post, and your comments are smart. Myopic, but smart.<br /><br /><i>The CD is a long way from dead as a format.</i><br /><br />CD is simply storage for digital music. When was the last time you saw someone with a Sony Discman? People rip CDs to iTunes and their MP3 devices. Buy a CD format, you have the MP3 format. Ditto vinyl. New records are being sold with digital downloads.<br /><br />You cannot do that with paper books. <br /><br /><i>US unit sales of 4.6M and growing</i><br /><br />4.6M compared to billions is trivial. There is money to be made in niche, but this blog post is about how technology makes older formats obsolete. Don't confuse niche with what the masses have embraced in overwhelming numbers.<br /><br /><i>For me as an author, the vast majority of my sales are still in paper. </i><br /><br />I'd guess that's either because your publisher is very good at distributing your titles, or because your publisher is vastly overpricing your ebook versions.<br /><br /><i>But I don't see it as a reason to dance on the grave of a format that's still very much alive. This whole Them and Us mentality doesn't help anyone.</i><br /><br />If the ship is sinking, get off the ship before you go down with it. From where you sit, perhaps you haven't noticed the water coming in. Or you noticed a trickle, and aren't bothered by it because you believe the ship is too big to be affected.<br /><br />Kodak didn't fear it until it was too late. They actually invented the digital camera. How many travel agents are there now compared to 1980? Try to buy a new Betamax.<br /><br />My point is we all should be looking toward the future, and paper isn't it. I don't see paper going away anytime soon. But I do see publishers going bankrupt if they don't change.<br /><br />This isn't Us vs. Them. This is a warning. The sky actually is falling. Protect yourself. Ignoring the signs, not learning from the past, and putting your faith in an archaic, poorly run, wasteful, greedy, and often evil industry isn't going to help you in your career five or ten years hence, when supermarkets stop carrying paperbacks and your publisher still has your ebooks at $9.99 and won't EVER give the right back to you.<br /><br />Could I be wrong? Sure.<br /><br />But my track record for this stuff is pretty good. JA Konrathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-1266550748850933892013-03-28T19:40:49.194-05:002013-03-28T19:40:49.194-05:00Let me just throw a few facts into the ring...
Th...Let me just throw a few facts into the ring...<br /><br />The CD is a long way from dead as a format. Despite the digital downloads market having reached maturity some time ago, the majority of album sales in the US are still in physical format. And by a wide margin - 63% physical vs 37% download for 2012. That's a 4% shift towards download from 2011, but physical formats are far from dead. The demise of the chain record store has more to do with online sales of CDs by the likes of Amazon than downloads from iTunes.<br /><br />These are all Nielson figures, by the way. They don't factor in single sales - downloads take a greater share - but the CD single was in decline long before iTunes was ever conceived of.<br /><br />It is correct to call vinyl a specialty item, a niche, but when that niche has US unit sales of 4.6M and growing, I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it. There's enough money there to support an industry all of its own, from hardware manufacturers to independent record stores.<br /><br />When you shift your gaze outside of the US to markets like the UK and continental Europe, the physical formats look even healthier.<br /><br />For me as an author, the vast majority of my sales are still in paper. The proportion of ebooks to paper books has never risen above 20%, even in the US. In the UK, my primary market, the percentage is lower.<br /><br />To be specific, I just got the first eight weeks' sales figures for my newest paperback. Ebooks around 10%, everything else paper. My biggest sellers are the supermarkets (Tesco, Asda etc), followed by WHS Travel (airports and train stations), followed by our one remaining book chain. Right at the bottom, representing only a fraction of my sales, is Amazon.<br /><br />To be clear, I'm an upper midlister, and have yet to trouble the main bestseller lists. But I'm still making a decent living from the "legacy" model.<br /><br />A lot of people are doing very well with self-publishing. That's great. I see that as nothing but healthy, and fair play to anyone who can make their living doing what they love. But I don't see it as a reason to dance on the grave of a format that's still very much alive. This whole Them and Us mentality doesn't help anyone.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-66584179666649551352013-03-28T16:21:56.587-05:002013-03-28T16:21:56.587-05:00Buggy whips are still being made! Many tack shops ...<i>Buggy whips are still being made! Many tack shops and horse supply stores carry them! How dare you insult buggy whips, Joe!<br /><br /></i><br /><br />I have this great buggy whip app on my iPhone. Bet I could even use it to spur on real horses. Assuming, of course that I had a real horse. Or a buggy, for that matter. <br /><br /><br />A year and a half ago I scoffed at the idea of ever getting an ereader. Then I my partner moved in with me and I realized I needed to clear out a lot of the book collection I had. I thought hey, I'll get an ereader and keep my collection on there! Since getting my Kindle, I've bought exactly 1 physical book. I've bought over 25 eBooks. And they're mostly ones I've never read before. The option to carry literally hundreds of books around with me in my purse trumps any of that 'real book' reading experience. I'd never go back now, unless it was for a collectible.<br /><br />My CD's are also in a box in the garage. *listens to iPhone*Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08258273369250627628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-59387402603969367312013-03-28T16:09:52.335-05:002013-03-28T16:09:52.335-05:00Nobody has mentioned the secondary market. I have ...Nobody has mentioned the secondary market. I have a Kindle. I love it. I buy almost exclusively self-pubbed authors on it. <br /><br />But when it comes to big name, big 6 authors, I get down on my hands and knees and thank Gutenberg himself for the fact I can buy great books at used bookstores or thrift stores for cheap. Heck, I can order just about any random, obscure title on Amazon, usually for 1 cent and the cost of shipping and handling. <br /><br />If the Big 6 lower the price on back catalog books to 99 cents, then the secondary market might dry up. I think of Roger Ebert saying in the 1980s "Movie studios should sell all films for $9.99 on VHS." This was when most movies cost $90.00 a copy and only video rental stores bought them.<br /><br />But then I remember all those old books that are readily available for 1 cent that have too small a market for any publisher to bother converting to eformat, or the copyright holders are nowhere to be found to authorize an e format.<br /><br />I love print, I love e. Price matters.David Hudnuthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14426008116349466958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-63818010709719785192013-03-28T15:27:06.852-05:002013-03-28T15:27:06.852-05:00Reading Babe on Board. I actually had to put my ki...Reading Babe on Board. I actually had to put my kindle down because I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe, let alone read. And that was just the first few pages!!Tracy Sharp - Author of the Leah Ryan Serieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12239533451929739327noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-46191015714405116412013-03-28T15:21:57.736-05:002013-03-28T15:21:57.736-05:00Hilarious!
And so true. There is still a large Ba...Hilarious!<br /><br />And so true. There is still a large Barnes and Noble store where I live, and it seems to be doing OK - but the shelf space devoted to books is dwindling while that devoted to baked goods, clothing, and various novelty items is steadily increasing. Only a matter of time, I suppose. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15182696858429258190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-53717762319635166432013-03-28T12:30:41.392-05:002013-03-28T12:30:41.392-05:00"I'm NOT reading through a plastic bag.&q..."I'm NOT reading through a plastic bag." = "Reading on my cell phone is anathema to me."<br /><br />And those expensive dedicated reader devices can be had now for the price of 3 bound best sellers. <br /><br />But I did just buy a trade paperback Edith Wharton Trilogy because it seemed appropriate and it was pretty. Hate having to use a piece of paper to mark my place. Virginia Llorcahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08354795459855491623noreply@blogger.com