Publish as ebook vice paperback - Writers Forum

cmonova · 03-06-2008, 05:31 AM

For some reason my old username is no longer.....hence the new name...

Wrote a book on operating a computer business. Had the paperback done about a little over a year ago and have sold like 200 copies. Am now thinking maybe I should switch it and go with a pdf version vice paperback.

No idea if that will help sales, but I could lower the price a bit, etc.

Any thoughts. Only selling I do is thru my website for the book, amazon and craigslist.

Appreciate any comments.

jm_publishing · 03-09-2008, 02:09 PM

What's the name of your book? Who's your publishing house? (Are we allowed to mentioned specifics? If not - no biggie. Respecting privacy/confidentiality/sensitive topics/matters...)

Congrats on getting your book out there - and on your book sales...

My two cents is... E-version is a great idea, but why switch over completely?

Obviously "costs" is in the equation, but if you sold 200 copies last year... why not focus efforts on pumping up the marketing and selling more?

Will your publishing house support you on putting out new versions each year?

I would actually need more info in order to provide different levels of feedback, but this is a hot topic...

Mike C · 03-09-2008, 03:43 PM

While you're stirring your tea - who is/are JM Publishing?

SeattleCPA · 03-15-2008, 12:13 PM

I think ebooks are great if you've got a niche-y topic. Peek at the sites referenced in the sigs below to see the ebooks I'm now selling... (basically 20-40pp pdfs)

eBooks, IMHO, are often going to be a better deal for writers these days than paper books.

Better to get $20 for 100 copies a month than $.50 for 2000 copies a month--and a heck of lot easier.

lin · 03-15-2008, 12:47 PM

As soon as I saw this I was thinking, "He should ask Steve". And here's the man with the word on this stuff.

For both formats, I'd suggest you strengthen your marketing.

Let me suggest you to stop by Self Publisher's Place sometime and check it out. You can place your book, with link and cover art there free, and also on the promo thread in the forum.
This isn't my site, but I think it's got potential to help a lot of people with self-publishing as it grows. Your experiences in publishing your book would be of great interest there...and show up on search engines with your link.

Steve, I think you could also offer some great information there and get some use out of the site.

lin · 03-16-2008, 12:52 AM

Quote:

My two cents is... E-version is a great idea, but why switch over completely?

Obviously "costs" is in the equation, but if you sold 200 copies last year... why not focus efforts on pumping up the marketing and selling more?

Will your publishing house support you on putting out new versions each year?

I don't think any of this makes any sense at all. Expense to put out a pdf????? You save your word doc as a pdf and offer it for download.

Malone · 03-16-2008, 04:55 AM

I'm planning on creating a website and putting my first novel on it in .pdf for free viewing. If it gets lots of hits, cool. I could possibly use this as leverage against a publisher if I ever decide to go that route.
I don't think the small return that could be achieved through online sale of a .pdf would make it worth it, so why not just get your name out and book distribution out there? The same person who may see the site, think, "Eh, I'm not going to go through the trouble of getting out my credit card and paying two bucks for something that may suck," would probably be much more willing to just download or view the file, and hopefully fall in love with your work. Fan base +1. Good enough for me at this point in time.

Though, obviously, not profiting from work is only cool in fairy tale land for most profession writers.

Non Serviam · 03-16-2008, 06:58 AM

Yeah, there are some publishers who distribute free .pdfs or .rtfs of the novels they sell. They find free .pdfs boost sales of the dead tree versions.

If you're going to upload it for free as a .pdf, you might as well offer a dead tree version for sale as well. No downside to doing that if you do it via Lulu or Createspace.

Malone · 03-16-2008, 07:33 AM

I have neither the means nor motivation to give money to a vanity press company just to get my book in publication. That's if you were referring to my statements.

lin · 03-16-2008, 01:08 PM

Clifford Irving's new novel is only available from his own website. He offers a free pdf of the first chapter or two of the novel to anybody who wants to read it.

This seems like a good model. It overcomes the idea that people would be buying a pig in a poke, but has the potential of generating sales: whatever degree of sales offering you have.

Your chances of generating enough pdf downloads to impress a publisher might not be zero, but damn close to it. And that's even if you could prove your figures. Forget that model and work on figuring out something that works to get your stuff out with the best return to you--in money or whatever gratification you're interested in.
Perhaps a free three chapter pdf with the full novel available for a few bucks per download.

Judith Tramayne · 03-31-2008, 10:13 PM

Actually selling ebooks makes millions. I'm in a forum where all they talk about is marketing. Something I don't see on this forum much. The marketing "gurus" there make millions and they laugh all the way to the bank.

Part of writing is knowing how to market. It's getting harder for mid-list authors to even get money to promote their books. Why do you think they're flocking to the Internet.

EBooks or Audio books are now where it's at. Why? Because of the instant downloads and extreme low cost for getting your writing read.

When I first started on the Internet 10 years ago, you had to tell people what an ebook was. Now it's a whole different ball game and if you're not offering an ebook or audio book for a price, you're shooting yourself in the foot.

Frankly, I would rather control my income and not have Amazon (takes 55%) or a print publisher only giving me 6 to 12% royalty.

Think about your audience -- some of them are just being born today. The rest have grown up with computers. It's natural for them to love ebooks. And with the number of MP3 players now being sold, there is a terrific demand for audio books.

Novels make wonderful audio books and you can do this with your computer, a free software program and a $4.99 microphone.

I would rather sit on my tush in my nice comfy home then go on the road to book signings where you might get 10 to 100 people.

If you know how to market, you can drive thousands to your site who will buy your ebooks or audio books.

I know most writers would rather write than market -- but on the Internet, marketing is EZ.

Judith

cpickett · 04-02-2008, 09:47 AM

I agree with Judith and the others who have pointed out the various uses of ebooks.

While it is not as common yet for fiction readers to seek an ebook, for information products, it is the first thought in some circles. There are many people who've built huge businesses without offering much if anything in hard copy. Others combine offers like PDF (which you can set up for free to get started BTW), and an MP3 or manual and CD.

As Judith said, marketing is key and many times that's where authors are shy or not as knowledgeable. Thing is, in the 21st century, people expect to have what they want in the version they want. Covering as many bases as you can, as you are able financially, can only help to increase business if marketed properly.

One last point about pricing, there are two worlds when it comes to digital products. On bookseller and publishing sites, ebooks are sometimes cheaper than print figuring there's no material cost. However, for many info product marketers a 50 page "how to" ebook can be offered as an incentive for free to anywhere from $15 to 30 or 40. The price and value is dependent on the information offered, not a preconceived notion that all paperback books fall in a certain price range.

It's an interesting scenario and I'm hoping what it will eventually do is raise the value of all writer's work someday.

Hope this gives you food for thought.

lin · 04-02-2008, 11:18 AM

Enough of this petty stuff...what about the VICE ????