Blogger: Mary Keeley
Location: Books & Such Midwest Office, IL
It’s Friday, the sun is shining in my window here in the Midwest, and I’m counting our blessings. Today’s post will focus on the exciting possibilities in our brave, new publishing world.
I turned a corner this week. I’ve been a hold-out, one of those lovers of holding a printed book in my hand, reluctant to switch over to the techie method of reading. After all, it just doesn’t feel the same to curl up on the couch with a cup of tea and my . . . electronic reader.
Then came a momentary pause for reflection. In researching for this week’s blogs, I was reminded of the Industrial Revolution. Even though it began out of the urgent need for economic development and independence, I wondered how much push-back to change occurred as manufacturing shifted from handmade production to machine and factory production. Thanks to creative industrial visionaries and inventors who pressed on to meet the needs of the day, America’s economy grew, and our country no longer had to rely on Britain for goods and supplies. Today we continue to be the grateful economic beneficiaries.
It’s time for hold-outs everywhere to embrace e-publishing. It’s a great time for authors! Here are a few of the exciting opportunities. Chime in with more as you think of them.
- You are no longer at the mercy of traditional publishers’ acceptance or rejection of your books.
- Nonfiction authors don’t have to wait until their platform can compete with big name authors, but they can be published now. A successful e-book or two can be the very thing that propels a platform’s growth.
- If an e-book sells well and garners lots of buzz, it may attract a traditional publisher to offer a print contract.
- Published authors have a means to re-release out-of-print backlist titles. (Lots of buzz about this one and its pros and cons!)
- Although priced lower than the price point of a print version, the impressive growth of e-book sales measured against diminishing print sales may result in greater royalty earnings.
- Quick e-book translation services are popping up, creating the opportunity for your e-book to be readily available worldwide, which then creates…
- Opportunity for broader ministry reach for the Christian message woven in your book.
Note: I’d be remiss if I didn’t caution you to choose an e-book publisher wisely. Do your homework. Thoroughly research the publisher and don’t simply trust their testimonials. Understand the implications of the contract’s wording.
And don’t view e-publishing as the ultimate solution to your publishing and financial woes. A book that didn’t capture a publisher’s attention might have been inherently flawed and won’t captivate e-book readers either.
If you don’t have an agent to handle this process for you, it’s worth the expense up front to have a lawyer, experienced with publishing contracts, review it and advise you before you sign.
In no way do I mean to diminish the importance of traditional publishers. But while we wait for them to adjust their business models, published and unpublished authors have exciting e-publishing opportunities available to you.
Which of the opportunities listed are most interesting and applicable to you right now?
How does your outlook toward e-book publishing change as you consider the opportunities?
Can you think of additional opportunities and potential? What are the disadvantages?
Lynn Dean
Mary, I love what you’ve written here!
In researching the California Gold Rush just this morning I ran across the name of John Studebaker. Who knew that he got his start making covered wagons to carry the 49ers west and hand carts to carry gold out of the mines? Then he went on to make automobiles. Rather than seeing himself as merely a wagon maker or builder of wheelbarrows, he broadened his vision to see himself as a producer of conveyances of many types for many uses, and this broader vision kept him viable for almost a century!
I self-published my first project on CD-ROM because it was a curriculum with full-color graphics and embedded weblinks, and my target market was definitely a niche. It would not have been of widespread interest to a traditional publisher. Nevertheless, it has sold extremely well in its niche as I’ve developed a speaking platform the last 12 years. A unique publishing mode for a unique market, but of course the demand for high quality is the same across the board. Just because a project is self-published is no excuse for an inferior product.
Some people wonder if self-published authors are just in it for vanity and profit. I could say the same if my ego demanded recognition and huge royalties from a big-name publisher. Instead, like Studebaker, my vision is broader. I see myself as “telling HIStory”–writing the stories that show how God works in the affairs of men to bring Him glory. Opportunities may arise to do that on paper, through e-books, or on disks or audiobooks. Like the apostle Paul, maybe we should look for ways to become all things to all men so that by whatever means we might reach some.
It’s a GREAT time to be a teller of tales!
David Todd
One other advantage of e-publishing is the speed with which books can get to market. Say you wanted to write a book about the pros and cons of the current Occupy Wall Street and related demonstrations. Assuming you could write 2,000 words a day (easy for a fulltime writer), you could have a 20,000 word book to market in less than two weeks, and take advantage of a limited window to perhaps make some sales.
What you said about the lack of platform for non-fiction was my primary motivation to e-self-publish my historical/political book, “Documenting America”. I have no platform for this, though years of study have made me confident that I could write the book and make it interesting. So I wrote it, begged a cover from my accomplished son, and it’s now published. Sales are slow, but I’ve been waiting most promotion activities until I have the print version in hand. Possibly I haven’t fully embraced the e-reader era. However, those who have done more research than me indicate non-fiction does not, at present, sell as well in e-format as does fiction, except perhaps for some niche market.
One of the main disadvantages is the potential to publish a book before it’s fully edited. This is true for eSP, though may not be for small, independent e-publishing houses. I don’t know how much editing they do.
Lilly Maytree
I have been a book collector for years, and wouldn’t dream of giving up all the pleasures searching for my treasures (and then bringing them home!) has given me. But, as an author, there are many books I must read for research, and even the industry, itself, that really do not fit in with my personal collection. Ebooks are fantastic for this. Not to mention that I can find them and have them within minutes. Now, my “library in the clouds” is becoming very important to me.
My biggest original complaint about buying books online has been that one needs to know what they are looking for before they can find it. I always had such fun “discovering” some new author or subject by just meandering down bookstore isles. But I have now been meandering virtual isles long enough to realize the advances in the organization of titles and all the various means of advertising (free reads, too — are you kidding? When’s the last time you heard of a bookstore saying, “We’re giving away books, today!”) has equalled, if not excelled in this pleasant diversion.
So, while I still continue to haunt bookstores and add more bookshelves to my library at home, I at least no longer have to keep counting books in my virtual library, every day, just to see if they’re actually still there after I turned off the machine. Which I consider something of a small victory for someone “born out of time” to begin with. As for the publishing side, I do have an ebook of my own out there, too. But that decision was the publisher’s and came with the deal. However, my mind is getting crowded with ideas of doing some of my own. As soon as I can be more confident of leaping over that chasm of formatting technicalities instead of plunging into it.
At the moment, it still looks pretty scary.
Peter DeHaan
A wise friend once said that all change is resisted, mourned, and viewed as loss.
However, for those who can look ahead, change is also an opportunity to be seized — and much can be gained by doing so.
Voni Harris
Such hopefulness! I think maintaining control over the Christian message in your work is the paramount benefit.
Blessings,
Voni
Janet Ann Collins
My publisher does both traditional and e-books and when my first one, The Peril of the sinister Scientist, became available on Kindle in ’09 I remembered the thrill of being allowed to mend a Gutenberg Bible years earlier. Yes, the printing press did replace hand-written mss, but I don’t think hard copy books will ever go away completely, at least not in the foreseeable future.
Mary Keeley
Thanks for your helpful contributions to the conversation! Wise pros, cons, and wait-and-sees abound.
larry carney
Another aspect which should be mentioned is how this impacts libraries. No longer are they bound by prohibitive the costs of physical books; imagine how many more books your local library can purchase! (Since the Kindle allows a “sharing program”, which I think libraries are allowed to use, not too entirely sure though).
I am glad you have embraced the e-reader, Mary, for like you said even though there is a new frontier for writers, we still need agents to show us what we are getting into and to impart their years of experience in the inudstry to writers who may know how to write a book, but no idea what to do afterwards.
The best part of the e-reader era, though? All the new voices. Writing has finally gotten the equivalent of the “garage tinkerers” like the computer industry has, in that a person working on their book can now readily reach the market much like tech start-ups do.
Brad Huebert
I self published a parable that wouldn’t have fit on a traditional bookstore shelf with modest results. It was exciting to get it into print and I did have it professionally edited, but without a massive effort on my part it didn’t have the “oomph!” needed to truly break out. Funny thing though—it got picked up by a traditional publisher in Germany, was translated, and is now in its second printing. Go figure!
Sharon A Lavy
More people realize it is not either/or. We have a place for both paper and electronic books. At least I do.
Julie Surface Johnson
I’m excited about e-books from another standpoint,anonymity. Let me explain.
In 2008 I self-published Over Coffee (We Shared Our Secrets). Dealing with healing from post-abortion stress (PAS), the subject was too controversial for traditional publishers. I’m pleased with the job Winepress did. However, I came to realize that those who are hurting from PAS don’t want exposure from a book cover. So, I’ve just had Over Coffee released as an e-book and am hopeful that those millions of women and men who need help can find it in the privacy of their e-readers.
Michelle Ule
I hadn’t thought about that aspect, Julie, but it’s a good idea.