USA Today reports that ebooks are changing reading habits. Here are the highlights:
–Readers who buy ebook readers report that the amount of reading they do has increased in a big way, sometimes doubling the number of books read in a year.
— The top genres being read were sci-fi, romance, mystery/crime fiction, and nonfiction.
–Having read a particular author before and word-of-mouth were the top two ways readers made their selections.
The New Republic magazine recently presented an article on how books are avoiding the digital decline seen in the music and video entertainment industries.
Generally, CDs declined not because people switched to digital versions that were cheaper but because they listen to songs individually…and wanted to buy only one or two songs from an album.
TV shows suffered the same fate. The packages of entire seasons weren’t always what people wanted to buy and so they turned to individual streaming of single shows.
Books, on the other hand, can’t be offered in pieces. Although some authors have found success serializing their books by releasing single chapters at a time, most readers want to consume the entire work in a single sitting or multiple sittings performed within a short timeframe. This is part of the engagement of readers in a story or nonfiction topic, so books perform better for readers when they are consumed in this fashion.
So, although prices have fluctuated for ebooks, there really isn’t any comparison that can be made for how a reader is impacted by a book. It has to be taken as a complete whole at the reader’s leisure, not in bits strung out over time.
As we move forward into this new world of publishing, remember that. Price your works accordingly, and reserve the low prices and bundling deals as short-term sales.
Often I talk to authors about selling themselves to readers as much as their books. It’s natural for readers to want to know more about authors, their motivation for writing a particular book, even about the writing process.
Nowadays, with short books and short stories being produced in ebook and even print formats, there’s an added ability to market your books. No matter what you’re writing, you can create adjunct books.
Consider a self-help author with a workbook…the workbook isn’t the primary self-help book but it adds to the original publication in a helpful manner. Novelists, too, can use this idea by writing short stories about appealing secondary characters in their stories.
These can be sold, of course, or given away to generate interest in the book. Since most adjunct books are short, the time and effort to produce them is often much less than what the original project required.
Lately there’s been chatter about whether to automatically bundle ebook copies with print copies…so every reader gets one copy of each.
There is of course the idea that every sale then has added value to the reader. Many readers, in opposition to the idea that individuals favor either print or electronic books, are opting to consume both ways. There are even fans who purchase ebooks and, if they enjoy the work enough, return to purchase the print version for their home libraries.
Publishers have generally been resisting this trend because they are concerned that the value of ebooks will be discounted.
In the meantime, consider bundling your own print and ebook versions in special, limited-time offers to enhance sales.
Leonard Riggio, the original founder of Barnes & Noble, is considering buying up the stores and taking them private. He’s thinking about the move because bookstores are still a sound business.
One of the biggest surprises in the constant battle between brick-and-mortar stores and the e-giant Amazon is that after Borders failed, sales of e-books immediately fell. Analysts think it’s because with fewer opportunities to browse, readers just aren’t going to buy as many books.
Congratulate your local bookstore owner with a cup of coffee, a chocolate truffle…and a new sale.
Recently Goodreads announced that they doubled their membership to 20 million. That’s a big number of people who love books. And since many of them are interested primarily in fiction, authors should get their profiles upgraded to an author member profile.
Recently I did a giveaway on Goodreads for my first novel. I expected maybe 100 people to sign up for the ten copies; over 400 did. That’s great exposure.
The exposure resulted in specific actions by Goodreads members. More than 200 added the book to their to-read list, and another 200 added it to their shelves.
Sales figures won’t be in for a while, of course. But since the book is available in print and e-book versions, I’ll check that month when it’s available to see what happened.
The other books I’ve written also received some small attention but not nearly as much as the one featured on the giveaway. If you can spare a couple of copies, give it a shot. For only a few dollars in postage, you might gain a substantial number of new fans.
Last month, Amazon announced that Oliver Potzsch, author of the Hangman’s Daughter series, is their first author to have hit 1 million copies in print, digital and audio combined.
Before you hit the submit button for Amazon’s publishing group, consider that 25% of all books are still sold through bookstores.
Another 23% are sold through other retailers like Costco and other big box stores.
If you’re thinking of giving up on regular publishers just because of all the coverage of digitally published success stories, consider that e-books are one of the biggest changes in publishing right now. Of course the media is seeking out their success stories and covering them in larger numbers right now than traditionally published success stories.
You have a lot of options these days. Be sure to make an informed choice to find the best path for your books.
Amazon announced that it’s poised to start reselling used e-books in this article by Publisher’s Weekly. This is a tricky thing…e-books don’t have a physical presence so it’s difficult to ensure that the copies aren’t pirated.
And of course it’s problematic because it means authors get cut out of yet another revenue stream.
On the up side, of course, every sale means another reader who might become loyal enough to buy your latest the moment it comes out…as a freshly pressed e-book, not a used copy.
What do you think of this trend?
Remember that post about how the closings of B&N could create new opportunities for indie bookstores? I said in a comment that the bookstores should remember to keep focused on creating a gathering space by offering community events that are based around different kinds of books.
Here’s an article from The Atlantic about libraries doing exactly that. They’re even redesigning their interiors to provide more meeting space.
Books bring people together. They always have. The faster indies focus on connecting people in their communities, the faster their sales will grow and the happier authors will be because they’re appreciated in a real, meaningful manner.
Here’s a list from Writer’s Digest listing 5 things for your bucket list.
When I posted this to Facebook (find Writer’s Resource under CreationToContract), I noted that I liked the “Do something bizarre” tip best.
Also of interest is the “Self-publish something” tip. They’re not necessarily talking about a book, either. Blog posts, ezine submissions, and other short bits can be great for the author’s soul. And enhance your platform. And provide potential readers of your books with another way to find out about you.
An unbeatable combination!
Just a little fun for those of us frustrated with the speed-of-light publishing of very low quality works these days.
Writer's Resource/Sunspot Lit 