tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post4049435646740106023..comments2024-03-28T02:00:11.260-05:00Comments on A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Looking at Kindle BestsellersJA Konrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-81369909245342947912013-04-06T05:44:20.972-05:002013-04-06T05:44:20.972-05:00I'm fairly new to Kindle publishing and this b...I'm fairly new to Kindle publishing and this blog post has been one of the most inspiring I've read. <br /><br />Clarice Berniere<br /><br />The Fantastic World of Sean ClearyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-5298410222736281912011-05-04T22:38:36.716-05:002011-05-04T22:38:36.716-05:00I definitely agree with Kathleen. For me, I think ...I definitely agree with Kathleen. For me, I think even a bad cover will get some interest if the book is really amazing. Then the fans will be the impetuous for the changed book cover, because they'll comment to the author and the author will change it to reach new fans. <br /><br />Write a good book. Fans will come, they'll spread interest, and they'll make you change to reach new readers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-48219075123154827862011-04-30T05:51:13.272-05:002011-04-30T05:51:13.272-05:00Konrath, you're my new inspiration to become a...Konrath, you're my new inspiration to become a Kindle author. Thanks for sharing all the insights on this wonderful blog.Manohttp://onemano.biz/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-50239778650639715682010-05-19T07:25:20.214-05:002010-05-19T07:25:20.214-05:00I'm late to the game here, but the thing that ...I'm late to the game here, but the thing that nobody mentioned here that has always been a huge part of the key is WORD OF MOUTH. Word of mouth is primarily what drives most print book sales, and it's going to be the same with ebooks. Sure, best-seller lists, help and can help jump-start it. But even without that, authors who have 30,000 readers loving their books are going to have 30,000 salesmen out there selling their books for them...ebooks or print isn't going to make a difference for those salesmen/women.<br /><br />So what if there's 3 billion ebooks for sale and 2.9 billion of them are junk? If that's the case, then 2.9 billion of them won't have any salesment, and the remaining .1 billion will have salesmen/women out there in increasingly compounding numbers.<br /><br />The goal hasn't changed. Write a good book. Then write another.Kathleen MacIverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16445884398825552734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-76981876663469821112010-04-17T18:12:07.791-05:002010-04-17T18:12:07.791-05:00Jude,
Amazon is ALREADY saturated with "self...Jude,<br /><br />Amazon is ALREADY saturated with "self-published garbage" in print. The thing is... most readers never see most really bad books. They don't have good sales, they don't have the visibility.<br /><br />You have this imagined vision of people being completely inundated and overwhelmed with self-published drek on Amazon, but that's not how the Amazon shopping experience works.<br /><br />It leads me to wonder how many books you've bought on Amazon. I do almost all my book shopping there. Originally for print, and now for my Kindle books.<br /><br />Traditional publishing may not die, but it will lose much of its strength because it will not adapt to E in time.<br /><br />Just like ipods have almost completely replaced CDs, ebooks will eventually do the same with print. As someone who was a die-hard print book reader who is already embracing and LOVING my Kindle, all I'm saying is... any reader who says "I'll never read ebooks" has never TRIED reading one on a dedicated e-reader. (and the iPad doesn't count because it's not a dedicated e-reader. It's like reading on a mini-laptop) The second they do, most fall in love and never want to go back to print.<br /><br />Sure, many people still want to OWN books they love in print, but it's a little different.<br /><br />With e-readers being sold in Wal-mart, Best Buy, and Target, get ready for word-of-mouth to start spreading. You may never own an e-reader, but be careful about saying never. I said it too.<br /><br />I was totally wrong.Zoe Wintershttp://www.zoewinters.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-82472981861430534482010-04-17T12:34:12.182-05:002010-04-17T12:34:12.182-05:00I used to walk into Blockbuster to get a video and...I used to walk into Blockbuster to get a video and realize that 95 percent of the inventory was crap (as far as I was concerned). And I'd seen the 5 percent worth watching. It got depressing after a while.<br /><br />Now I use Netflix. Instead of a thousand titles, they've got a hundred thousand. And 99 percent of them are crap (as far as I'm concerned). But I've got no problem narrowing down my search criteria, skipping past that 99 percent, and keeping my queue filled.<br /><br />It's much less frustrating than Blockbuster ever was. In fact, it's not frustrating at all. It's fun. The more titles Netflix stocks, the bigger that one percent grows. May its inventory grow forever.<br /><br />The same thing applies to Amazon. To put things in highly technical terms, Amazon now has a jillion book SKUs. More than any human being could ever "wade through." Let's say that one day Amazon arbitrarily eliminates all of the self-pub/vanity SKUs.<br /><br />Okay, now there are only half a jillion SKUs. Seriously, what difference would that make? It's like complaining that Google indexes too many web pages. Yeah, get rid of all those "amateur" sites. That's the ticket.Eugenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03182644885948983861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-27693505862942858852010-04-17T11:36:54.050-05:002010-04-17T11:36:54.050-05:00"Being an agent is a full-time job. Being an ..."Being an agent is a full-time job. Being an editor is a full-time job. I doubt if most readers have the time to wade through mounds of rubbish to find the one book in 10,000 that's actually publishable. I know I don't."<br /><br />Nobody is forcing you to wade through mounds of rubbish. Nobody is forcing anyone to read indie books. The Amazon store is set up so anyone can easily avoid reading an indie book.<br /><br />My system is simple. I look at books in genres that interest me (romance or thriller, for example). If I like the blurb, and an indie book is highly rated (ranking or reader comments on Amazon), then I click the sample button. It's easier than browsing in a physical bookstore. I click to open the sample and start reading. If it it's a story I won't enjoy (poor writing, for example) I usually know it within 30-60 seconds. If it engages me I click "buy", and for less than $2.00 I have entertainment. That's a great deal.<br /><br />If you don't like indie books then don't sample or buy them. On Amazon you can identify the big publisher books quickly (often by price alone), and the publisher/imprint is clearly marked on the product page. This is true in the hardcover Amazon store as well as the Kindle store. <br /><br />Nobody is forcing the reading public to buy independently published books. Hey, I skip the seafood section at the grocery store. <br /><br />If you don't like them -- pass them by.<br /><br />Anna MurrayAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-23648664654759369232010-04-17T11:30:19.342-05:002010-04-17T11:30:19.342-05:00Yes, ebooks will eventually represent a larger sli...<i>Yes, ebooks will eventually represent a larger slice of overall sales (10%? 20%?0) Ebooks are just another format, like audio.</i><br /><br />How about 50%? That's where music is at.<br /><br />But guess what? At 50%, a print midlist is no longer sustainable by publishers using offset printing and returns. Which means they'll have to switch to a POD model.<br /><br />The problem is: bookstores need to have returns. Buying on credit is the only reason they're still in business.<br /><br />Once ebooks become dominant, it will mean the end of bookstores, warehouses, and ultimately, big publishers.<br /><br />There will still be bestsellers, sold in Wal-Mart. And small press books, sold online. But the current model--and the quantity it sells and the money it makes--will be gone.<br /><br /><i>Sites like Amazon will become saturated with self-published garbage, and the discerning readers who do choose ebooks will flock to publishers' websites where they know they'll find a certain degree of quality.</i><br /><br />LOL. I get more hits than the Random House website does. Publishers won't ever be able to make their websites become hubs.<br /><br />As for saturation, have you been in a Barnes and Noble lately? There are 150,000 books on the shelves, and 99.9 percent of it is irrelevant to specific consumers. Yet eyearone can still find that .1 percent they are looking for.<br /><br />The Internet has billions of websites. Yet people can still find stuff rather easily.<br /><br />Amazon isn't ever going to become 'swamped', even if the number of Kindle books jump from 500,000 to 5 million. In fact, Amazon already sells millions of products (books, movies, music, everything else) and it's still easy to browse.JA Konrathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-85977135815888294652010-04-17T11:22:56.886-05:002010-04-17T11:22:56.886-05:00Also, Kindle ebooks are returnable. So the risk o...Also, Kindle ebooks are returnable. So the risk of trying an indie author are minimized.David Wiseharthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01438917127132239969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-3686293167222922962010-04-17T10:05:13.430-05:002010-04-17T10:05:13.430-05:00Ellen -- I agree 100% with your observations. In t...<i>Ellen -- I agree 100% with your observations. In the past we had to rely on the agents/publishers to vet for good writing (the whole gatekeeping thingy).</i><br /><br />Being an agent is a full-time job. Being an editor is a full-time job. I doubt if most readers have the time to wade through mounds of rubbish to find the one book in 10,000 that's actually publishable. I know I don't.Jude Hardinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09994813046526310594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-88682741960391088142010-04-17T09:21:47.772-05:002010-04-17T09:21:47.772-05:00Ellen -- I agree 100% with your observations. In t...Ellen -- I agree 100% with your observations. In the past we had to rely on the agents/publishers to vet for good writing (the whole gatekeeping thingy). <br /><br />With the Kindle I can sample and vet a new author myself (indie or traditional), and for some reason I'm able to read faster in digital format.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-46949815902202481542010-04-17T09:05:50.031-05:002010-04-17T09:05:50.031-05:00"Is it lower price? Does sampling (the abilit..."Is it lower price? Does sampling (the ability to try an "indie" book without risk) have something to do with it?"<br /><br />I think it's both. Self-pubbed authors with paperbacks do occasionally post on Amazon's Kindle threads. When I go to look at their book, I see a high cover price and no way to check out a sample. There is simply no way I'd buy a book from a self-pubbed author without some way to check the quality of the writing. I could go Google and see if they have a website with an excerpt on it, of course, but I'm unlikely to go to the trouble. And there is still less chance of me paying $15 for a book sight unseen. So those books tend to go largely unpurchased.<br /><br />Compare this with an indie writer on Amazon. The price is usually $2.99 or less, and there's an extensive sample right there for me to check out. This makes it a whole lot more likely that I'll buy it IF it's good, and so will a lot of other people. If the writing is lousy, on the other hand, it will sink down into that abyss Moses mentioned, never to be seen again.<br /><br />So no, I don't think Amazon will become "saturated" in any way that makes it impossible to find good books there. The good stuff will sell and the bad stuff will be ignored. That's what is happening now, and that is, I believe, what will continue to happen.Ellen Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14631100471564370572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-90181480729870352392010-04-17T05:53:05.194-05:002010-04-17T05:53:05.194-05:00Sites like Amazon will become saturated with self-...<i>Sites like Amazon will become saturated with self-published garbage, and the discerning readers who do choose ebooks will flock to publishers' websites where they know they'll find a certain degree of quality.<br /><br />Traditional publishing wins.</i><br /><br />On this particular point, I don't see it going this way. Like another said, Amazon has had tons of garbage books on them for a long time, and it hasn't made people stop using Amazon. That's because the crappy books just sink into the abyss, and so you don't really find those on Amazon unless you're actively looking for them.<br /><br />Why go to a publisher's website, when you can get everything quickly, cheaply, and easily all at one place? Unless publishers stop selling books via Amazon, but that would be suicide for their businesses, so why would they?<br /><br />And of course, anyone with a Kindle is definitely going to shopping at Amazon. And iPad people will use iBooks.<br /><br />There are ways to try to determine which books are up to your standards on Amazon. You can at least look at reviews and sample chapters. And if you still guess wrong, you're out $1.99 or $2.99 if the book is that cheap.<br /><br />p.s. I hope I managed to make sense at 4 am.Moses Siregar IIIhttp://sciencefictionfantasybooks.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-16998959660300698502010-04-17T00:32:43.113-05:002010-04-17T00:32:43.113-05:00I sold 10,000 ebooks of AFRAID at $1.99 in the fir...<i>I sold 10,000 ebooks of AFRAID at $1.99 in the first month it was out, and 3000 in the five months afterward. <br /><br />That alone says what the future is, and how the future will be priced.</i><br /><br />I'm certainly a late adopter of technology. I follow everything about new advances with phones, internet, software, hardware, etc but rarely do I participate in the actual product. I don't use facebook apart from testing their ads for my own analytics. I don't tweet on twitter, although I do follow my peers for their worthy chatter. I also don't have a smart phone, in fact I still use a $50 prepaid piece of crap ... and only because my wife needs to find out which playground the kids and I are destroying that particular afternoon.<br /><br />Despite this, I am considering the purchase of an iPad, if only to save money on books. Here's the thing, new hardcovers retail for $45 ($42 USD) in Australia and trade pb for about $32 ($30 USD). Thankfully, the bestsellers often get discounted by retailers, but they're still crazy expensive. Hell, I even forked out $18 for a secondhand novel last week. At these prices books are a luxury. <br /><br />An ebook for $1.99 or even $9.99 is an absolute bargain in my eyes.<br /><br />Which is why I, Mr Reluctant-Ebook-reader-Man, will end up buying an iPad.Chris Batesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-20358528230947773612010-04-16T23:05:20.588-05:002010-04-16T23:05:20.588-05:00Sites like Amazon will become saturated with self-...<i>Sites like Amazon will become saturated with self-published garbage, and the discerning readers who do choose ebooks will flock to publishers' websites where they know they'll find a certain degree of quality.</i><br /><br />Amazon already had tens of thousands of vanity published books on the regular Amazon store before they put up the Kindle store. Authors have been putting their vanity books on Amazon for over 15 years. Nobody was complaining about all that garbage, perhaps because those books were priced much higher and never showed up on the bestseller lists? <br /><br />What has changed? Why are the indie books selling in digital format when indies (or vanity, as they used to be called) don't sell in hardcopy format?<br /><br />Is it lower price? Does sampling (the ability to try an "indie" book without risk) have something to do with it?<br /><br />Has the ebook format opened up a previously hidden, totally new market segment for these books? Konrath mentions that he thinks he has new readers (different set from the readers he developed on the hardcopy circuit). What is this new market segment, and why is it profitable for independent authors?<br /><br />I have my own theories, but I'd be interested in hearing what others think. Joe seems to be figuring it out, and I suspect Amazon knows a LOT about these readers (after all, they have the demographic data on all these new media consumers). If Amazon thought indie books were hurting their profits they'd remove them from the store . . . but that isn't happening. <br /><br />What gives? I find it intriguing, and I'm seeing a few quiet nods to this concept of a new market (distinct from hardcopy) from the publishing industry. I'm not sure what to make of it myself, but it cannot be denied -- it is there and growing.<br /><br />AnnaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-44090515974860357182010-04-16T21:39:54.326-05:002010-04-16T21:39:54.326-05:00That alone says what the future is, and how the fu...<i>That alone says what the future is, and how the future will be priced.</i><br /><br />Well, none of us has a crystal ball, but if I had to make a prediction, it would go something like this:<br /><br />Yes, ebooks will eventually represent a larger slice of overall sales (10%? 20%?), but they will never replace print. Neil was spot-on about that. Ebooks are just another format, like audio. <br /><br />Sites like Amazon will become saturated with self-published garbage, and the discerning readers who <i>do</i> choose ebooks will flock to publishers' websites where they know they'll find a certain degree of quality.<br /><br />Traditional publishing wins.Jude Hardinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09994813046526310594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-77855847757146002712010-04-16T20:47:22.855-05:002010-04-16T20:47:22.855-05:00Just got home from my local Barnes & Noble. I...Just got home from my local Barnes & Noble. Instead of the normal best-seller display in front of the door, they had a Nook kiosk. An employee hyped and demonstrated Nooks to everyone who walked in.<br /><br />Barnes & Noble understands that the future belongs to ebooks. Clearly, they'd rather be on the train than on the tracks.<br /><br />David Wisehart<br />Author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003AOA4IQ" rel="nofollow"><i>Devil's Lair</i></a>David Wiseharthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01438917127132239969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-23219668509693201792010-04-16T20:12:50.448-05:002010-04-16T20:12:50.448-05:00Hey Jack,
I totally agree about Craft plus a big ...Hey Jack,<br /><br />I totally agree about Craft plus a big backlist. I think Kept is a good ebook, it's of "trad publishable quality." I know this because complete strangers often email me to tell me that, BUT it could be better. It has it's flaws. I think my next two novellas are much stronger both emotionally and stylistically so I really hope that is reflected in sales but it will take some time to know for sure.Zoe Wintershttp://www.zoewinters.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-38598472223999673132010-04-16T19:56:44.348-05:002010-04-16T19:56:44.348-05:00Neil is a smart guy, and he has left comments on t...Neil is a smart guy, and he has left comments on this blog before that I've agreed with.<br /><br />He's in a delicate position, however. How is he supposed to answer a question about ebooks? He can't panic and say "We're all doomed!"<br /><br />I sold 10,000 ebooks of AFRAID at $1.99 in the first month it was out, and 3000 in the five months afterward. <br /><br />That alone says what the future is, and how the future will be priced.<br /><br />In July I'll be making 10k a month on ebooks. 120k a year, for starters. That's more than 90 percent of all writers earn with traditional publishers.<br /><br />NY Publishing has shown no signs that it is trying to adapt to this future, only signs that they are trying to delay this future. And by the time they do adapt, what writer will want to sign with a big NY house when they can make more on their own?JA Konrathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-1925558067549327812010-04-16T13:01:33.213-05:002010-04-16T13:01:33.213-05:00Zoe,
I’ve been looking at Joe’s numbers for a whi...Zoe,<br /><br />I’ve been looking at Joe’s numbers for a while, and they seem to support my central belief about book sales. That the majority of successful platforms have two qualities. <br /><br />(1) A lead book, that works like a bestseller. <br />(2) A big backlist.<br /><br />With respect to pricing, and the Amazon recommendation system, I think a book only becomes a self-perpetuating phenomenon if it enters the top 1%. And I think a book only enters the top 1% in one of two ways.<br /><br />(1) Luck.<br />(2) A big backlist.<br /><br />Joe had a big backlist in print. He doubled the might of his backlist by self-publishing on Kindle. He had that free ebook experiment that sold 200,000 copies, which worked like a bestseller and pulled everything upward. Kapow! He got hit with the moneybomb.<br /><br />Ever since I realized that I intend to continue working as a full-time author for the next fifty years, I don’t pay attention to sales anymore. I don’t waste time self-promoting my latest shiny thing. Instead, I spend all my creative energy working toward two things.<br /><br />(1) Craftsmanship. <br />(2) A big backlist. <br /><br />Joe’s a good cheerleader, and an example of the future. Because of Amazon.com and Kindle, he’s evolved from New York Author to Indie Author. Joe is now writing his own destiny. More writers need to hear his story.<br /><br />- JackJack H. H. Kinghttp://jhhk-author.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-57604924595374017132010-04-16T10:45:49.400-05:002010-04-16T10:45:49.400-05:00Actions speak louder than words--especially when y...Actions speak louder than words--especially when you're passing gas.Rex Kuslerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06629682795065138786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-52258390832787173322010-04-16T10:13:47.287-05:002010-04-16T10:13:47.287-05:00"I never brag," he boasted."I never brag," he boasted.JA Konrathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-6821041327456463212010-04-16T10:10:13.975-05:002010-04-16T10:10:13.975-05:00I grew up in Iowa, and in the summer of 1969 I att...I grew up in Iowa, and in the summer of 1969 I attended a basketball camp in Prairie Du Chien. The one thing I remember, other than it being hot and humid in those gyms, was Bob Cousy telling us: you don't need to brag. If you're good at something people will notice. (Maybe it wasn't Bob Cousy who said it, but it makes for a better story that way.)Rex Kuslerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06629682795065138786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-67141675289310593912010-04-15T21:19:28.387-05:002010-04-15T21:19:28.387-05:00(I'm from the Midwest, and always heard that n...<i>(I'm from the Midwest, and always heard that no one like a braggart.)</i><br /><br />I've got to use that one sometime. I'm not from the Midwest, but that's brilliant :*D<br /><br />It's a very handy get out of whatever you're about to say next card. I tend to need a lot of those.Moses Siregar IIIhttp://sciencefictionfantasy.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-57285157165592984612010-04-15T20:55:00.910-05:002010-04-15T20:55:00.910-05:00@Moses - Yep, I knew about the ultimate percentage...@Moses - Yep, I knew about the ultimate percentage if one went through Smashwords but I was trying to keep the post from going on further than it already did. ;)<br /><br />But, the point is that Apple is allowing the $.99 and $1.99 price point. With the new Amazon program, Amazon isn't. And then there is the problem of Amazon insisting you cannot have it listed at a lower price somewhere else.<br /><br />Which is why I asked if the new Amazon terms will be an all-or-nothing situation for everything you list, or can you choose which program each book will go into?<br /><br />And might Apple's terms of allowing prices under $2.99 pressure Amazon to rethink the bottom level of the price point? Only time will tell on that one.<br /><br />Although, if your book is selling great at $2.99, then there really isn't a need to worry. Again, time will tell.J.A. Marlowhttp://jamarlow.comnoreply@blogger.com