tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post221098446576684198..comments2024-03-28T02:00:11.260-05:00Comments on A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: JK Rowling Will Self-Pub Harry Potter EbooksJA Konrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comBlogger163125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-75034875973681479122011-06-28T19:51:52.720-05:002011-06-28T19:51:52.720-05:00I'm still holding out hope that Amazon, BN, iP...I'm still holding out hope that Amazon, BN, iPad, and Kobo do reverse exclusivity and bar the Potter books from their devices, and let's see Sony carry the ball.<br /><br />Blog posts galore!Author Scott Nicholsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09778999586794284457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-37431367500370310872011-06-27T12:02:11.195-05:002011-06-27T12:02:11.195-05:00I seriously doubt J. K. Rowling, Stephen King, or ...I seriously doubt J. K. Rowling, Stephen King, or anyone with an immediately recognizable and wealth-producing name would sell their books for less than $5.99. I think those of us on the low end of the spectrum will be in no danger. There's something about being used to a much higher standard of living -- and earning -- that makes it difficult to sell at a cheaper rate.Jacklyn Cornwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07703031152094274587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-8031542636787829012011-06-27T11:58:09.770-05:002011-06-27T11:58:09.770-05:00Stephen Leather,
You’re right that low prices ben...Stephen Leather,<br /><br />You’re right that low prices benefit consumers more than producers, but you also have to take into account the product. Rice is a commodity, books a luxury good. As a rule, the demand for commodities is more or less stable regardless of price (in technical terms: the demand is inelastic), while the demand for luxury goods depends very much on price (demand is highly elastic). In other words, people only eat so much rice, but the cheaper you make books, travel, amusement parks, etc., the more they’ll be consumed. <br /><br />Now, I agree that indie authors will lose the comparative advantage they have with lower prices. But there’s an equally good case to be made that it will be cancelled out by the cheaper overall price of books.W. Deannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-52476574675686100762011-06-26T01:09:50.278-05:002011-06-26T01:09:50.278-05:00>Not that a signing does
>anyone but the st...>Not that a signing does <br />>anyone but the store any good.<br /><br />Just to be fair, most signings don't do bookstores any good these days, particularly if they dedicate a staff member to it and/or publicize it in any way. If the author isn't a big name (regionally or nationally), people generally won't show up. <br /><br />When I worked at Borders in the early 90s (when it was still a good bookstore), I was surprised to discover that the vast majority of signings ended up with zero sales and (often) no visitors. <br /><br />Even big celebrity authors don't necessarily result in profits. Ann Rice pulled in somewhere around 900 people, with a lot of sales, but most people brought their own copies of the books. Any profit from the sales was lost in the advertising and extra employees that had to be added to handle the event. <br /><br />I have seen some authors who work hard to ensure that a certain number of fans show up to all their signing events, but they are definitely in the minority.Jamesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-72547364506830235992011-06-25T16:05:04.698-05:002011-06-25T16:05:04.698-05:00@ Robin Sullivan - Sounds like you're putting...@ Robin Sullivan - Sounds like you're putting all your eggs in one basket. I wish you luck with that. Everything adapts. Turkeys adapted by losing the ability to fly, but I never understood that!Stephen Leatherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08179238880325952527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-7653239111285941862011-06-25T06:03:34.137-05:002011-06-25T06:03:34.137-05:00@Stephen Leather said...
I'm all for Indie pub...<i>@Stephen Leather said...<br />I'm all for Indie publishing and now a third of my income comes from eBooks, but you shouldn't think that what is good for JK Rowling is also good for self-published Indie authors trying to make a living...</i><br /><br />Well, my husband's self-publishing income isn't 1/3 of our household income it is 100% as I quit my six-figure day job in April. Self-publishing allows him to do something that most "professional" authors can't which is earn a living wage. And I'm now taking advantage of the ebook revolution to build a nice little indie press of my own that I'm quite proud of. <br /><br />What I know is that things will always change but if you keep abreast of what is going on then you can adapt. It is those that evolve who will always come out ahead.<br /><br />Rowlings is making a virutal on-line amusement park for readers. If she develops a platform that resonates with them (a place for the author and reader to connect) then others may benefit from doing similarly.<br /><br />But what I find very encouraging is that SHE is in control. What we are seeing is further errosion of a system that used to hold a pretty tight grip on how authors make money and when I see that happening - I'll applaud it everytime. <br /><br />Robin Sullivan | <a href="http://bit.ly/ivMp8P" rel="nofollow">Write2Publish</a> | <a href="http://bit.ly/kgyKuE" rel="nofollow">Ridan Publishing</a>Robin Sullivanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00613910688999698522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-46676828716676284532011-06-25T05:13:24.187-05:002011-06-25T05:13:24.187-05:00@Stephen Leather
I don't really see it as tur...@Stephen Leather<br /><br />I don't really see it as turkeys voting for Christmas. First off, I'm not "cheering" this move. I think it is fascinating, and I am especially interested in the details of how she is doing it and how the power relationship has changed over the years between her and her publisher, but that's about it. I don't see it dramatically affecting my bottom line either way.<br /><br />Even if she sells her books for $2.99, which I very much doubt, what effect will that have on my sales? None. She won't even be on Amazon to take up the top spots in the charts, so that minor potential effect on ranking won't even exist.<br /><br />What she could do is speed up the transition of a lot of people to e-books. In the long term, that would have happened anyway, but she will quicken the pace to some extent.<br /><br />Your long term business plan should, at the very least, entertain the possibility that all the big guns will have some or all of their future projects as lower priced e-books.<br /><br />I'm okay with that because I think that by the time that happens, the pie will have grown big enough that they won't distort the market too much. If they enter the market ahead of the curve, they will just grow the market quicker.<br /><br />By the last AAP figures out on Thursday, e-books had 19% of the market. At its peak this year in February, they had 29.5% of the market. The UK is only at around 8%. The rest of the world is far behind.<br /><br />The global book market is worth $80bn to $90bn, of which the US is just one (albeit large) market. There is a huge amount of room for e-books to grow further both in the US and the UK, and elsewhere.<br /><br />So if we want to look at what it might mean "down the line" we are looking at three times as many people buying e-books in the US, ten times as many in the UK, twenty times as many in the rest of Europe, and even more in the rest of the world.<br /><br />There is plenty of room for Patterson, Child, King, Roberts, and all of us too.<br /><br />Besides, as John Locke conclusively proved, advertising, book trailers, ads in cinemas, expensive publicists, radio interviews, and press releases don't sell e-books. Word-of-mouth does. And the only way to jumpstart that is with social networking.<br /><br />Those big guys (and their publishers) aren't used to the social media hustle. They are used to large plinths in bookstores, being the only guys on the rack in airports, posters in the window of every chain.<br /><br />There's no real coop online. They will have to learn a new game.<br /><br />DaveDavid Gaughranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13236692339928690142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-44576889885194940652011-06-24T21:30:22.971-05:002011-06-24T21:30:22.971-05:00@ W Dean
"In every other market, lower price...@ W Dean<br /><br />"In every other market, lower prices across the board benefit everyone"<br /><br />Sadly that's just not true! Yes, it might benefit the consumer, but not necessarily the producer. Lots of poverty across north east Thailand because the price of rice is relatively low. Lots of child labour in Asia making cheap trainers. Lots of American firms going out of business because companies in China can make their products cheaper.<br /><br />JK Rowling, Patterson, King etc can make a great living selling cheaply. A few Indies might be able to sell millions and make good money. But what about all the Indies in the long tail, selling a few dozen a day or less? How will they survive if $2.99 becomes the norm. Or 99 cents? Low prices do not benefit everyone, they tend to benefit the market leaders.<br /><br />I'm a huge fan of Indie publishing, an even huger fan of Joe's, but I just think that those Indie writers jumping up and down cheering JK Rowling's decision to self-publish eBooks should start looking at what it might really mean down the line.<br /><br />Cranberry sauce anyone? Stuffing?Stephen Leatherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08179238880325952527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-85152581483553653282011-06-24T21:15:34.149-05:002011-06-24T21:15:34.149-05:00@ Robin Sullivan
"When I want to improve my ...@ Robin Sullivan<br /><br />"When I want to improve my tennis game I look to someone who plays better than I do. I'm excited because I want to see what she does and how she does it and encorporate leasons learned to my own authors."<br /><br />Absolutely watching great tennis players might improve your game. But you wouldn't expect to play against them at Wimbledon, would you? You might learn how to improve your backswing by watching TIger Woods but that doesn't mean you'll ever be a professional golfer. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for Indie publishing and now a third of my income comes from eBooks, but you shouldn't think that what is good for JK Rowling is also good for self-published Indie authors trying to make a living... cStephen Leatherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08179238880325952527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-50478094093971517372011-06-24T19:42:39.352-05:002011-06-24T19:42:39.352-05:00I've thought about peak oil's impact on pu...<i>I've thought about peak oil's impact on publishing...if physical book distribution became too expensive...if $8-10/gallon gas meant the trips to the bookstore had to be less frequent....</i><br /><br />Depends on how bad they let things get. If it gets too bad, the corporations themselves will collapse and nothing will be valuable except commodities. (Invest in gold and silver now...) But if the ship only starts listing and we can still bail, you're right, it may force ebooks to the forefront for economic reasons. Physical books take a great deal of oil to print, store and ship. In comparison, the Internet runs on far less.<br /><br /><i>If your prediction comes true, ghostwriters are going to see a huge increase in contract work.</i><br /><br />Dust off your resume. ;)Selena Kitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-75018866037413339352011-06-24T17:05:19.508-05:002011-06-24T17:05:19.508-05:00RE:
"So who will agents and the Big Six tak...RE: <br /><br />"So who will agents and the Big Six take on if their biggest authors start to jump ship?<br /><br />Snooki"<br /><br />Selena, now you've gone and done it. My cup of afternoon Sumatra no longer tastes as good as it did 45 seconds ago. ::grin::<br /><br />But I do have to say that fear this is exactly what we're looking at -- sub-par memoirs, autobiographies and even fiction about and by celebrities. I was in my local bookstore recently, and I noticed that publishers are dredging up some seriously *old* names (rock stars, actors, etc.) that I haven't even contemplated in a decade. I'm starting to see *fiction* written by these people. Seriously --?<br /><br />To be fair, I made some of my money off ghostwriting for one of these celebs. If your prediction comes true, ghostwriters are going to see a huge increase in contract work.Melissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17964273930628647763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-6880384771620038222011-06-24T12:25:32.249-05:002011-06-24T12:25:32.249-05:00Selena Kitt said: "By the way, it won't b...Selena Kitt said: "By the way, it won't be vampires or zombies... it will be peak oil..."<br /><br />LOL. I love this remark. I'm in resource planning and have to keep up on this sort of thing. I've thought about peak oil's impact on publishing...if physical book distribution became too expensive...if $8-10/gallon gas meant the trips to the bookstore had to be less frequent....Margo Lerwillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00773653995392669855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-68371963651677453122011-06-24T12:03:30.562-05:002011-06-24T12:03:30.562-05:00When are the J.D. Salinger books -- including the ...When are the J.D. Salinger books -- including the unpublished ones he had inside the walk-in vault at his house -- coming to Kindle and Nook?Jeff Kayhttp://www,thewvsr.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-53788154220885692432011-06-24T11:59:52.356-05:002011-06-24T11:59:52.356-05:00As for Seattle Mystery, in a weird way I respect t...<i>As for Seattle Mystery, in a weird way I respect their decision. Sometimes you fight not because you have a real chance of winning, but because you feel that not fighting would be an unendurable affront to your dignity. </i><br /><br />I'm with you, Barry - in the minority, most likely. I get it. Some things are worth taking a stand for if you really believe in them. But things are hardly ever black and white. <br /><br /><i>So who will agents and the Big Six take on if their biggest authors start to jump ship? </i><br /><br />Snooki<br /><br /><i>I can't see it being in Amazon's interest to restrict access to KDP. The more titles on sale the better. The cost of displaying each one is marginal. If it sells one copy they are up.</i><br /><br />I don't know. They're getting a big media backlash right now for the spam and plagiarism going on through the Kindle store. Amazon may start putting more restrictions on KDP - and they may do it through their imprints.<br /><br /><i>...the only one necessary in the creation of art is the artist. </i><br /><br />Yes! It always seemed insane to me that the people who actually created the art were the folks getting the tiniest slice of the pie. Who would sign up for that?<br /><br />Writers are masochists apparently. Egoic masochists. :)<br /><br />The good news is now we can be RICH egoic masochists. And then we can take over the world! Bwahahahahah!<br /><br />At least, until the apocalypse...<br /><br />By the way, it won't be vampires or zombies... it will be peak oil...Selena Kitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-42957219793497084462011-06-24T11:46:34.746-05:002011-06-24T11:46:34.746-05:00@Shea - a zombie apocalypse would be interesting.....@Shea - a zombie apocalypse would be interesting...<br /><br />MikeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-63594800457869223762011-06-24T11:14:28.343-05:002011-06-24T11:14:28.343-05:00"Price will be one of the main communicators ..."Price will be one of the main communicators of brand and quality (regardless of whether it communicates accurately) among the millions and millions of ebooks that will be available."<br /><br />I don't really see how it could be an accurate communicator; if enough people say 'I'd never buy a $2.99 ebook because they're low quality', then every self-publisher will starting pricing their ebooks at $3.99 instead.<br /><br />I do agree that pricing too low can cause people to ignore your products because in one of my past jobs we saw sales increase on some occasions when we increased prices. But the solution to that is easy: increase the price.Edward M. Granthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08149744619931445003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-55333557115789753262011-06-24T10:51:02.954-05:002011-06-24T10:51:02.954-05:00@David Gaughran
Yeah, too right. But I suppose we...@David Gaughran<br /><br />Yeah, too right. But I suppose we should remember that the Egyptians would have been absolutely horrified to find out that we have been using flimsy tree mush instead of beautiful stone monuments to record our greatest thoughts.Doctor T.http://helpyourchildwithmath.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-2044830646794342972011-06-24T10:50:48.164-05:002011-06-24T10:50:48.164-05:00@Shea I'm relieved there won't be a zombie...@Shea I'm relieved there won't be a zombie apocalypse. For now, at least. ;)<br /><br />@Stephen Leather<br />I don't think your scenario will play out. <br /><br />Price point will be part of the branding as more and more authors self publish. Many big names (and no names, too) will see themselves as more Nordstrom (9.99+) than 99c store. <br /><br />Price will be one of the main communicators of brand and quality (regardless of whether it communicates accurately) among the millions and millions of ebooks that will be available. <br /><br />Kate Madison<br />WriterKMadison.blogspot.comKate Madison, YA authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17889201364054735420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-9832774280857255212011-06-24T10:45:26.696-05:002011-06-24T10:45:26.696-05:00"When you think about it, there's no real..."When you think about it, there's no real reason for them to be there, except that "the business is there". But of course, they ARE the business."<br /><br />To a large extent the people are the business and most of them probably don't want to leave New York. The IT companies I've worked for could have moved to India and saved money, but they'd lose 98% of their employees in the process... eventually they could be replaced, but in the meantime the company would go bust because there'd be no-one who knew how to do the work.<br /><br />Also if my experience of movies is anything to go by I'm guessing there's a lot of face to face contact in the current business model which wouldn't work as well; there's a difference between going to a bar with Joe Writer's agent and each of you sitting in front of a TV screen with a six pack talking over the Internet.Edward M. Granthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08149744619931445003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-62769505473909343502011-06-24T10:25:00.065-05:002011-06-24T10:25:00.065-05:00Stephen Leather,
While you’re probably right that...Stephen Leather,<br /><br />While you’re probably right that the comparatively low price of indie books confers an advantage, it doesn’t follow that lower prices overall will harm indies. In every other market, lower prices across the board benefit everyone for the simple reason that cheaper books mean more books sold. <br /><br />There are also some ‘psychological’ benefits. Rowling’s switch to e-books will add legitimacy to all e-books in readers’ minds in a way that all the Hockings and Lockes cannot. It will erode the stigma of not having a big name publisher’s imprint on your book. <br /><br />Third, tastes and habits change; and the reading audience has grown larger. Ed McBain was a heavyweight in his genre. But so were H. G. Wells, Jules Verne, Edgar Rice Burroughs, H. P. Lovecraft and Isaac Asimov in each of their genres. Most of the works of these writers are now public domain, yet they haven’t decimated the sales of contemporary writers.W. Deannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-91961903348365985012011-06-24T10:21:57.744-05:002011-06-24T10:21:57.744-05:00@DoctorT
The kids growing up today won't even...@DoctorT<br /><br />The kids growing up today won't even have bookstores to be nostalgic about, unfortunately.David Gaughranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13236692339928690142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-39952082337755176382011-06-24T10:15:51.897-05:002011-06-24T10:15:51.897-05:00I hope the demise of the bookshop leads to a comeb...I hope the demise of the bookshop leads to a comeback of the library. We still need a place where we go and touch, feel, and smell, and flick through books as well as read them. Or maybe this is only for dinosaurs now?Doctor T.http://helpyourchildwithmath.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-59846315491963989452011-06-24T10:15:13.624-05:002011-06-24T10:15:13.624-05:00Am I the only one relieved there will be no zombie...Am I the only one relieved there will be no zombie apocalypse?Shéa MacLeodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06210828050630587619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-43313899008603482772011-06-24T10:02:38.097-05:002011-06-24T10:02:38.097-05:00Good post, Joe, as always.
Question: why do you s...Good post, Joe, as always.<br /><br />Question: why do you suppose none of the big 6 is even thinking about taking the obvious step of moving out of New York?<br /><br />When you think about it, there's no real reason for them to be there, except that "the business is there". But of course, they ARE the business.<br /><br />The high rents, crushing taxes, and impossible cost of living (apartments, utilities, etc) would all be ameliorated by a move to another state. This act alone would make the needle move in a favorable direction and could impact their receding bottom line.Mike Dennishttp://mikedennisnoir.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-67703070350862777702011-06-24T09:56:22.497-05:002011-06-24T09:56:22.497-05:00I agree with other's comments that JK Rowling ...I agree with other's comments that JK Rowling going E can only encourage young adults to buy or use Kindle's etc - and hopefully then stumble upon other Young Adult fiction to read.<br /><br />I know 2 people who have self published decent Young Adult fiction, have good websites, much forum use, competitions etc - and aren't selling much; making me think carefully about marketing requirements before self publishing my own YA work.<br /><br />Mike<br />[seeking moderately selling YA authors who need more product to take on my YA novel under co-writer label for cool royalty cut: realgoodbookstoread@gmail.com<br /><br />]Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com