The latest news regarding Barnes and Noble's Nook platform is that Microsoft is infusing $300 million dollars into the ereader. What does this mean for the ereader market? What about for readers who own or might own a Nook? What about for authors?
In the recent past, there has been talk of Barnes and Noble spinning off the Nook division to a buyer. I've always thought that this would be the death of Barnes and Noble, because without the Nook they would just be like Borders, and we know what happened to them. Why would they ditch a part of their business that is doing well and keeping the afloat? I think part of the answer can be found in how they address Nook users, or more accurately, how they are NOT addressing Nook users. Let me explain.
If you've ever surfed the BN.com website, you know that the powers that be at Barnes and Noble have just not put much time or effort into making it easy to find things, and not just individual books, but best sellers, genre leaders, etc. By contrast, Amazon.com is doing a bang-up job of helping readers find the books that they want. And I'm not the only one that has noticed this, either. And yet, despite their lack of attention to making things easy for Nook buyers/readers, ebooks are helping to keep Barnes and Noble going.
It just doesn't seem like they have things figured out, or even the first clue about how to get things started. If I had to guess, it's not that they have no ideas, but that they don't have the atmosphere in their offices to have people go out on a limb and try something new. Even if they are imitating Amazon with some things, if they work, why wouldn't they do it? That's just smart business to do what works, even if its an incremental improvement; actually, ESPECIALLY if its an incremental improvement. Businesses don't have to do one thing incredibly well, they need to do dozens of things just a little bit better, and they'll be successful. Yet Barnes and Noble seems to just want to sit on what they have and not try to improve things at all, let alone incrementally.
So, back to the announcement that Microsoft is infusing Nook with millions of dollars. What does this mean to the ereader industry? Well, it means that a company with deep pockets is serious about making in-roads into a market that they feel is ripe for taking market share from the leader, i.e., Amazon. In truth, Amazon's share of the market in the U.S. has been slipping, but they are still the leader by a good margin, and they are fighting to keep what they have and continue to grow it. Microsoft is a software company, and that's what continues to evolve as we are moving from normal desktop software to mobile apps. If they can have a part of the growing tablet market that also happens to crossover to the ereader market, that's a pretty tempting piece of the pie.
What about the Nook users, what does it mean for them? Well, hopefully it will mean innovation. With that amount of money, it means that they will have the resources to devote to people who can start making changes to the platform, doing research and development, marketing and more. Hopefully it will mean that buying new books for the Nook becomes easier, more friendly, and that it generates positive word of mouth. It means that people who are thinking about buying a Nook will have more reasons to go with the Nook versus any other ereader.
And finally, what does it mean for authors? Hopefully, it means that the Nook folks will match the royalties that Amazon offers. They aren't much less right now, but they should have no problems equaling what Amazon throws out there. Also, it means that they have the resources, i.e., money to start innovating ways to make it attractive to authors to publish their ebooks on the Nook versus anywhere else. It also means that they can start looking outside the U.S. borders to international markets. Canada is a great place for them to cut their teeth, and they can move on from there to the easy English-speaking markets: England, Australia, New Zealand, and others.
All in all, I'm excited for what the Microsoft money infusion could mean for the Nook. It was only a matter of time before a new start-up company introduced the Kindle-killer, or for an established company with lots of money to try to enter the market. We're seeing the latter, but the former could still happen as well. And it all means good things for readers AND authors. Embrace the change!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
April Doings
So it's been a bit since I've provided an update on things. The industry continues to change rapidly, and some days its a major effort just to hold on for the ride.
I believe that I now have 4 different books in progress: 2 fiction and 2 non-fiction. One of the fiction is a short story that is close to being done, but I've been helping out other writer friends with their books so haven't had much opportunity to finish it up. The second fiction work is a sequel to my first novel "Coordinates For Murder". If you haven't read it yet, I encourage you to check out a free sample on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, and if you like it, buy it. I'm getting noticed across the pond in England, which is a blast! My 2 non-fiction books are things that have been on my mind, and I'm finally doing something about them. The first one is a primer on how to do not only an ebook, but a print book AND an audio book too. No reason why the big publishers should have all of the fun. The other non-fiction book is one surrounding my present efforts at training for a 10K race at the end of June. I have never, NEVER run for fun or for a race, so this is a dramatic change. Even more so because in my past I have vowed that I would NEVER run for any reason, especially just for fun/exercise. And yet, here I am. It will be part memoir of my current efforts at training, plus some motivational things because, as I put it recently on a Facebook posting, if this couch potato can do it, anyone can.
Wow, that's a lot! I'm tired already. But, I received a very welcome email at the end of last week. Essentially, there was interest in featuring me in a regional publication, which made me very happy! Some other details need to be worked out, but it's possible that this might work out to be a long-term arrangement with me getting a) credit for writing articles, and b) getting free advertising in each quarterly publication, which has a print run of about 16,000 units! Yeah, don't tell me that's not cool!
If you want to know when any of these new works come out, drop me a line at dlk (dot) writer (at) gmail (dot) com. Oh, and I can also let you know when the audio version of "Coordinates For Murder" comes out too. Cheers!
I believe that I now have 4 different books in progress: 2 fiction and 2 non-fiction. One of the fiction is a short story that is close to being done, but I've been helping out other writer friends with their books so haven't had much opportunity to finish it up. The second fiction work is a sequel to my first novel "Coordinates For Murder". If you haven't read it yet, I encourage you to check out a free sample on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, and if you like it, buy it. I'm getting noticed across the pond in England, which is a blast! My 2 non-fiction books are things that have been on my mind, and I'm finally doing something about them. The first one is a primer on how to do not only an ebook, but a print book AND an audio book too. No reason why the big publishers should have all of the fun. The other non-fiction book is one surrounding my present efforts at training for a 10K race at the end of June. I have never, NEVER run for fun or for a race, so this is a dramatic change. Even more so because in my past I have vowed that I would NEVER run for any reason, especially just for fun/exercise. And yet, here I am. It will be part memoir of my current efforts at training, plus some motivational things because, as I put it recently on a Facebook posting, if this couch potato can do it, anyone can.
Wow, that's a lot! I'm tired already. But, I received a very welcome email at the end of last week. Essentially, there was interest in featuring me in a regional publication, which made me very happy! Some other details need to be worked out, but it's possible that this might work out to be a long-term arrangement with me getting a) credit for writing articles, and b) getting free advertising in each quarterly publication, which has a print run of about 16,000 units! Yeah, don't tell me that's not cool!
If you want to know when any of these new works come out, drop me a line at dlk (dot) writer (at) gmail (dot) com. Oh, and I can also let you know when the audio version of "Coordinates For Murder" comes out too. Cheers!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
More Thoughts On KDP Select (Follwing The Herd, part 2)
I had an epiphany the other day. I was chatting via email with a writer friend of mine, and something that this friend wrote caused me to completely stop what I was doing. This friend was lamenting the fact that a favorite author had chosen to offer a story exclusively on Barnes & Noble's Nook. I was suddenly shocked by seeing "the other side" of the KDP Select equation.
Let me explain more what I was thinking. Say there were 6 places that you could sell your ebook (there are more, but 6 comprises the vast majority of ebook retailers in the U.S.). Wouldn't you want to offer your ebook at all 6 of those ebook retailers? Of course you would, because you would miss sales to some of your audience. Yet, with KDP Select (or just making the decision to only pursue 1 of the retailers), you are saying 'those other places don't matter, and I don't care about reaching those readers'. Yes, you really are saying that by your actions. Does this make good sense?
From the perspective of the retailer, it makes great sense. It's an exclusive, something that no other retailer can lay claim to. It's the same idea with a reporter getting an exclusive with a celebrity; no other reporter, television show, newspaper, magazine, etc. has what this one reporter has. It's what they use to help sell more copies, more subscriptions, and the same principle applies to the ebook retailers - they are using it to bring in more people who not only want the ebook from the exclusive author, but they might also want some of the other ebooks that the retailer has for sale.
From the perspective of the author, absent a really good incentive, it makes no sense for s/he to only offer their ebook for sale with 1 retailer. What do they gain? Nothing. That 1 retailer isn't the only game in town, and not every reader frequents all of the ebook retailers. Oh, and the incentive? That really needs to be as big, if not bigger, than the potential sales the author is giving up from all of the other retailers that s/he is not selling at for the length of time of exclusivity with the one retailer. For some, that could be a very substantial amount!
But wait, I hear you say, I can offer my ebook for FREE for a few days! That will certainly mean that I make more sales, more than enough to offset what I would lose by not being on the other retailer's sites. Answer: it MIGHT offset the sales you are giving up from the other retailers. There is no guarantee of this, and there are loads of factors that go into the success or failure of a particular book in KDP Select. And remember, a free ebook is not the same as a paid-for ebook, and it has less intrinsic value than one that you shelled out money for.
But what about the Lending Library? I make money off of that! Yes, you do. But will you have a lot of people scrambling to borrow your book? Unless you wrote the Hunger Games or one of a handful of other books getting a lot of press, it's doubtful. Why? Because the audience that can take advantage of this is limited. Only those people who a) have a Kindle and b) also pay for Amazon Prime ($79 a year) can borrow books. AND they can only borrow 1 book per month. So they have to be very judicious in which books they want to borrow. Hence, your book is probably not going to be among those borrowed, or if it is it will be borrowed so infrequently as to not add up to much. Again, does this offset what you lost out on from not being with the other retailers?
Finally, consider this: if you, like my friend, can't get the new story because it isn't available for your ereader, what is the likelihood that you will go looking for it once it is available, if it ever is? The odds are against you going to find it at a later date. And it is possible that because you weren't able to get it when you learned about it, you will NEVER get that story for a variety of reasons. Also consider that it is possible that the opportunity to ever reach that potential customer may never come around again. You have effectively lost out on ever counting that person as a fan of your work, and now have limited the pool of fans for your future works.
Do you agree? Do you disagree? I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
Let me explain more what I was thinking. Say there were 6 places that you could sell your ebook (there are more, but 6 comprises the vast majority of ebook retailers in the U.S.). Wouldn't you want to offer your ebook at all 6 of those ebook retailers? Of course you would, because you would miss sales to some of your audience. Yet, with KDP Select (or just making the decision to only pursue 1 of the retailers), you are saying 'those other places don't matter, and I don't care about reaching those readers'. Yes, you really are saying that by your actions. Does this make good sense?
From the perspective of the retailer, it makes great sense. It's an exclusive, something that no other retailer can lay claim to. It's the same idea with a reporter getting an exclusive with a celebrity; no other reporter, television show, newspaper, magazine, etc. has what this one reporter has. It's what they use to help sell more copies, more subscriptions, and the same principle applies to the ebook retailers - they are using it to bring in more people who not only want the ebook from the exclusive author, but they might also want some of the other ebooks that the retailer has for sale.
From the perspective of the author, absent a really good incentive, it makes no sense for s/he to only offer their ebook for sale with 1 retailer. What do they gain? Nothing. That 1 retailer isn't the only game in town, and not every reader frequents all of the ebook retailers. Oh, and the incentive? That really needs to be as big, if not bigger, than the potential sales the author is giving up from all of the other retailers that s/he is not selling at for the length of time of exclusivity with the one retailer. For some, that could be a very substantial amount!
But wait, I hear you say, I can offer my ebook for FREE for a few days! That will certainly mean that I make more sales, more than enough to offset what I would lose by not being on the other retailer's sites. Answer: it MIGHT offset the sales you are giving up from the other retailers. There is no guarantee of this, and there are loads of factors that go into the success or failure of a particular book in KDP Select. And remember, a free ebook is not the same as a paid-for ebook, and it has less intrinsic value than one that you shelled out money for.
But what about the Lending Library? I make money off of that! Yes, you do. But will you have a lot of people scrambling to borrow your book? Unless you wrote the Hunger Games or one of a handful of other books getting a lot of press, it's doubtful. Why? Because the audience that can take advantage of this is limited. Only those people who a) have a Kindle and b) also pay for Amazon Prime ($79 a year) can borrow books. AND they can only borrow 1 book per month. So they have to be very judicious in which books they want to borrow. Hence, your book is probably not going to be among those borrowed, or if it is it will be borrowed so infrequently as to not add up to much. Again, does this offset what you lost out on from not being with the other retailers?
Finally, consider this: if you, like my friend, can't get the new story because it isn't available for your ereader, what is the likelihood that you will go looking for it once it is available, if it ever is? The odds are against you going to find it at a later date. And it is possible that because you weren't able to get it when you learned about it, you will NEVER get that story for a variety of reasons. Also consider that it is possible that the opportunity to ever reach that potential customer may never come around again. You have effectively lost out on ever counting that person as a fan of your work, and now have limited the pool of fans for your future works.
Do you agree? Do you disagree? I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Follow The Herd...?
So, I've been thinking lately a lot about the KDP Select program. Mostly, I've been wondering if it would be worth my time at this point to put one of my works into the program and see what happens. I know there are many people who have had great success with using it, but there are also many people who have tried it without any benefit, or at least very little benefit. There are opinions on all sides, and I wanted to share with you a little about what's going on in my head on this.
KDP Select appears on the surface to be a really neat thing. You get some free promo days, you get to be part of the Amazon Lending Library, and those things hopefully lead to more exposure, leading to more sales, leading to more bling in your pocket at the end of the day. Sounds good, right? Unfortunately, you give up being able to sell your wares anywhere else, and that is what has me tied up in knots.
See, with the continued growth in ebooks around the world, it behooves the author to try to offer their books in as many places as possible. I'm only speaking from an American perspective here, so people outside of the U.S. will have a much different perspective (and one that I hope you would share with the rest of us!). There are plenty of other countries that speak and read in English: U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and many others that I can't think of. Wouldn't it be smart to offer your books to those folks as well? If so, then the KDP Select program cuts you off from these avenues.
Coming back to the U.S., the next biggest competitor to the Kindle is the Nook from Barnes & Noble. Right now, I'm not confident that the Nook will continue being a viable alternative in a couple of years unless the management figures things out and invests in what their customers want. And Apple is making more and more inroads with ebook readers, both in the U.S. around the world, as is Kobo. All of this points to how unstable this industry is at the moment, since any given week something dramatic could happen.
Should I do KDP Select? I still don't know. I'm leaning towards trying it out with one of my new works, since I wouldn't have to worry about other outlets as those wouldn't even be up. But, it seems like everyone now is doing this, so the effects are diluted, which is why I think more folks are seeing very little results now versus when KDP Select was brand new. There was a short window of opportunity that really helped to "make" some people, but now I fear that it's turning into more of a gimmick than anything. To wit, I find myself seeking out free books that I probably wouldn't pay money for, and I'm stockpiling them on my Kindle. I have no idea when I would get around to reading some of these, but I have them. Do I really want to have one of my works languishing around on someone's Kindle that wouldn't read them for a while, perhaps a long while, if at all? I'm not sure. If they don't read it, then I have no reason to expect them to read anything else of mine.
I certainly haven't gotten many sales of my current novel or short story, but at least I have the satisfaction of knowing that those people that have purchased them, more than likely really wanted to purchase them, and didn't just get them because they were free for a couple of days. It's a form of discrimination - I'm purposefully looking for people that are buyers, and not only buyers but buyers of the kind of fiction that I enjoy writing. Is that wrong? I don't think so. It's not all about the money, or at least it shouldn't be. Money is nice, but it's not everything.
I guess in the end, I'm still in the "waiting" camp. I'm waiting to see if Amazon will take away the exclusivity they have built into the Select program. I'm waiting to see how the industry continues to evolve as ebooks continue their advance around the world. I'm waiting to see if a set of circumstances arises that convinces me to give Select a shot. I'm waiting...are you?
KDP Select appears on the surface to be a really neat thing. You get some free promo days, you get to be part of the Amazon Lending Library, and those things hopefully lead to more exposure, leading to more sales, leading to more bling in your pocket at the end of the day. Sounds good, right? Unfortunately, you give up being able to sell your wares anywhere else, and that is what has me tied up in knots.
See, with the continued growth in ebooks around the world, it behooves the author to try to offer their books in as many places as possible. I'm only speaking from an American perspective here, so people outside of the U.S. will have a much different perspective (and one that I hope you would share with the rest of us!). There are plenty of other countries that speak and read in English: U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and many others that I can't think of. Wouldn't it be smart to offer your books to those folks as well? If so, then the KDP Select program cuts you off from these avenues.
Coming back to the U.S., the next biggest competitor to the Kindle is the Nook from Barnes & Noble. Right now, I'm not confident that the Nook will continue being a viable alternative in a couple of years unless the management figures things out and invests in what their customers want. And Apple is making more and more inroads with ebook readers, both in the U.S. around the world, as is Kobo. All of this points to how unstable this industry is at the moment, since any given week something dramatic could happen.
Should I do KDP Select? I still don't know. I'm leaning towards trying it out with one of my new works, since I wouldn't have to worry about other outlets as those wouldn't even be up. But, it seems like everyone now is doing this, so the effects are diluted, which is why I think more folks are seeing very little results now versus when KDP Select was brand new. There was a short window of opportunity that really helped to "make" some people, but now I fear that it's turning into more of a gimmick than anything. To wit, I find myself seeking out free books that I probably wouldn't pay money for, and I'm stockpiling them on my Kindle. I have no idea when I would get around to reading some of these, but I have them. Do I really want to have one of my works languishing around on someone's Kindle that wouldn't read them for a while, perhaps a long while, if at all? I'm not sure. If they don't read it, then I have no reason to expect them to read anything else of mine.
I certainly haven't gotten many sales of my current novel or short story, but at least I have the satisfaction of knowing that those people that have purchased them, more than likely really wanted to purchase them, and didn't just get them because they were free for a couple of days. It's a form of discrimination - I'm purposefully looking for people that are buyers, and not only buyers but buyers of the kind of fiction that I enjoy writing. Is that wrong? I don't think so. It's not all about the money, or at least it shouldn't be. Money is nice, but it's not everything.
I guess in the end, I'm still in the "waiting" camp. I'm waiting to see if Amazon will take away the exclusivity they have built into the Select program. I'm waiting to see how the industry continues to evolve as ebooks continue their advance around the world. I'm waiting to see if a set of circumstances arises that convinces me to give Select a shot. I'm waiting...are you?
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
March 2012 Happenings
Goodness, a number of things happening for me the past couple of weeks. Let's dive right in!
First, I just completed my first radio interview this afternoon. It was a lot of fun, even though it will only be about 8 minutes long. Hey, can't shake a stick at publicity, so I was all for it. In case anyone wants to listen to it, I'm expecting it to air on Friday the 23rd or the following Friday the 30th. It is on Wisconsin Public Radio, on a show called "Spectrum West". The show airs from 5-6pm Central time on Fridays. What you should learn from this? It never hurts to ask. I learned about this show and what it covers, then fired off an email to the show host to see if he would want to interview me, a local author. Turns out they did, so here we are. Always ask, you never know where the publicity might lead.
Next, audio books. I've mentioned about doing audio books in the past, but I just learned of something that should add a little "Oomff" to my message. Author Barry Eisler does audio books, and he is the narrator. Check out Amazon and search his name for audio books, and you'll see that he has plenty that he narrates. It can be done, people! Why are you neglecting this important avenue to reach more people? If you're writing for a hobby, that's great, but I don't have time for you (I know that sounds harsh). If you want to do writing as a business, as a career, don't overlook a huge chunk of the reading public who prefer to listen to their books rather than read them.
Google ebooks. I'm not sure where this might lead, but I wanted to give it a shot. I just setup an account and uploaded my first novel to them. I've heard people say that Google isn't even on the radar for ebook sales. That might be true now, but if they get their act together (and by moving to the Google Play platform, I think they are starting to) they could be quite formidable - possibly being able to challenge Amazon for ebook dominance here in the States. I'm not sure where this might lead, but I'll try to give you an update down the road on its success or failure.
Ebook sales. I hear so many people either striking it rich or striking out. What I haven't heard much of, but which I suspect is actually more the norm than is reported (for perhaps obvious reasons) are those people who just go along and sell a dozen or so copies each month of each of their titles. Especially non-existent are the stories of the person who put out just one novel and is selling perhaps a dozen copies a month on a good month. No one wants to talk about those (well, almost no one, but Dean Wesley Smith has always advocated that a writer put out a lot of work and be happy with a dozen or so sales a month for each title; it all adds up to solid income) for some reason. Well, I'm here to report on my sales thus far for my first novel "Coordinates For Murder". I must say that I'm actually pretty happy with what I've gotten so far in sales. For the month of February, which was really only half a month since I put the book up on the 18th of February, I sold 9 copies of my ebook. So far for the month of March, I'm up to 5 copies sold. I quickly tapped out friends and family in the first month, so I know that these sales in March are from people that I haven't personally talked with about my novel.
Now, you might think these are small sales, and I will agree with you. What you don't know is that I really haven't done much promotion of my novel. I did send out a press release to local papers, some of which carried it. I did send out press releases to radio and TV, none of which carried it. I did do a radio interview, which hasn't aired yet but I don't anticipate that it will break any records. And I did do a single post on Facebook to let my fans and family know about the book release, plus a little on Twitter and LinkedIn. Other than this, I haven't done anything for promotion, and I don't intend to either. I really need to be focused on my future writings and getting my name out there more. If you like one of my stories, odds are you want to find out if I have other writings, and I don't want to disappoint my readers. So, all in all, I'm happy with my sales results so far. If it could keep on this way for good, and I could add in more stories that did the same, I'd be able to quit my day job and do writing for a living. Ah, the dream...
Why are you still here? Go write!
First, I just completed my first radio interview this afternoon. It was a lot of fun, even though it will only be about 8 minutes long. Hey, can't shake a stick at publicity, so I was all for it. In case anyone wants to listen to it, I'm expecting it to air on Friday the 23rd or the following Friday the 30th. It is on Wisconsin Public Radio, on a show called "Spectrum West". The show airs from 5-6pm Central time on Fridays. What you should learn from this? It never hurts to ask. I learned about this show and what it covers, then fired off an email to the show host to see if he would want to interview me, a local author. Turns out they did, so here we are. Always ask, you never know where the publicity might lead.
Next, audio books. I've mentioned about doing audio books in the past, but I just learned of something that should add a little "Oomff" to my message. Author Barry Eisler does audio books, and he is the narrator. Check out Amazon and search his name for audio books, and you'll see that he has plenty that he narrates. It can be done, people! Why are you neglecting this important avenue to reach more people? If you're writing for a hobby, that's great, but I don't have time for you (I know that sounds harsh). If you want to do writing as a business, as a career, don't overlook a huge chunk of the reading public who prefer to listen to their books rather than read them.
Google ebooks. I'm not sure where this might lead, but I wanted to give it a shot. I just setup an account and uploaded my first novel to them. I've heard people say that Google isn't even on the radar for ebook sales. That might be true now, but if they get their act together (and by moving to the Google Play platform, I think they are starting to) they could be quite formidable - possibly being able to challenge Amazon for ebook dominance here in the States. I'm not sure where this might lead, but I'll try to give you an update down the road on its success or failure.
Ebook sales. I hear so many people either striking it rich or striking out. What I haven't heard much of, but which I suspect is actually more the norm than is reported (for perhaps obvious reasons) are those people who just go along and sell a dozen or so copies each month of each of their titles. Especially non-existent are the stories of the person who put out just one novel and is selling perhaps a dozen copies a month on a good month. No one wants to talk about those (well, almost no one, but Dean Wesley Smith has always advocated that a writer put out a lot of work and be happy with a dozen or so sales a month for each title; it all adds up to solid income) for some reason. Well, I'm here to report on my sales thus far for my first novel "Coordinates For Murder". I must say that I'm actually pretty happy with what I've gotten so far in sales. For the month of February, which was really only half a month since I put the book up on the 18th of February, I sold 9 copies of my ebook. So far for the month of March, I'm up to 5 copies sold. I quickly tapped out friends and family in the first month, so I know that these sales in March are from people that I haven't personally talked with about my novel.
Now, you might think these are small sales, and I will agree with you. What you don't know is that I really haven't done much promotion of my novel. I did send out a press release to local papers, some of which carried it. I did send out press releases to radio and TV, none of which carried it. I did do a radio interview, which hasn't aired yet but I don't anticipate that it will break any records. And I did do a single post on Facebook to let my fans and family know about the book release, plus a little on Twitter and LinkedIn. Other than this, I haven't done anything for promotion, and I don't intend to either. I really need to be focused on my future writings and getting my name out there more. If you like one of my stories, odds are you want to find out if I have other writings, and I don't want to disappoint my readers. So, all in all, I'm happy with my sales results so far. If it could keep on this way for good, and I could add in more stories that did the same, I'd be able to quit my day job and do writing for a living. Ah, the dream...
Why are you still here? Go write!
Saturday, February 25, 2012
J.K. Rowling & Audio Books
So do J.K. Rowling and audio books have in common? Well, for this post, absolutely nothing, other than they both appear here! And really, isn't that enough for you? No? Okay, read on.
So first, if you haven't heard the news yet, J.K. Rowling has announced that she is now writing a new book. Nope, not another installment for the Harry Potter series - she's trying to work her way out from underneath that huge weight. Instead, from what I can see, she is working on a crime novel. This is geared toward adult readers rather than kids this time. So why do I bring this up? The main point that I take from this news is that she is doing something new, something different from what she has spent years on. She's taking a risk and writing books in a different genre than what she has been doing.
What this means, writer friends of mine, is that you too should be looking at branching out to try different genres of writing. Already I can hear the howls: but I'm doing just fine with where I am; I don't think I could write in a different genre; it's just too hard to switch gears; but I'm known for X genre, how will my readers accept something new; and on and on. Look, there are such things as pseudonyms, people. Give them a try! You write sci-fi, but aren't sure if you could do a good romance? Put a girly name on it and throw it out there. You can bang out romance with the best of them, but a western has you tied in knots? Start with a novella-length and put a manly, western-style name on it and give it a go.
The point is, stretch yourself. The things that you learn by trying another genre can easily be incorporated into your "usual" genre, which will probably make those books even better. Another thing to think about? What if the characters from your two different genre books ever met, what would that be like? Would they team up, fall in love, tear each other apart, etc.? You are only limited by your imagination, so give it a go!
Second, audio books. In the grand scheme of things, many independent authors are only thinking about ebooks, and more specifically ebooks on the Kindle (even going with being exclusive to Kindle via the Select Program). Sure, ebooks have been growing in popularity and we've all seen the increase in sales for our own work. But did you realize that this only accounts, at present, for only 20% of total book sales? What about the other 80%? Well, they still buy regular print books. Have you gotten your ebook converted to a print book? If not, go out and do that RIGHT NOW and then come back, because there is another segment of the book buying world that you are also probably ignoring - audio book readers/listeners.
There are plenty of people who are audio book buyers. It just works out best for their schedules to listen to audio books rather than sit and read a print book. Some have a long commute, others listen while exercising, and many other reasons too. So why not audio books? Well expense, of course! They take a lot of money to make because you need to find a narrator, and a place for them to record it, plus costs for editing, plus manufacturing costs for the CDs, etc., etc. Let me tell you, that doesn't have to be the case.
This weekend I was experimenting with some off-the-shelf components and software, and the results that I'm getting are nothing short of professional. I'm really impressed with how quickly I picked up some basic editing techniques and what they did for the final product. Oh yes, I was the narrator for my own work - who knows the story better than the author themselves? It really wasn't that hard to get things setup and going, then do the recording, then do some simple editing. I played around for about an hour, perhaps a little longer, and I have a piece of audio book work that sounds really good. All that I need to do is take this knowledge and apply it to my short story, make a short intro with title, contact info., etc., then edit it all together, and I'm good to go.
Oh, but how to get it out there for people to purchase? Here's the really cool part, which I've heard practically zero about from anyone. Audible.com is really just another arm of Amazon.com (CreateSpace, anyone? Hello?). Audible has a subsidiary called ACX. This subsidiary allows anyone to upload their narrated work and sell it through Audible.com, which connects to Amazon.com. This means that you could have your novel out as an ebook, a paperback book, and an audio book. How awesome is that?!
In case you were wondering what I used for my "studio", here are the pieces that I used:
Acer Aspire netbook (which is now my everything - I do writing, editing, etc. on it)
Zoom H2 digital microphone (borrowed)
Audacity 1.3 audio editing software (it's free!)
That's all that I used. The Zoom H2, which is an awesome unit, connected directly to my netbook via USB cord. I used this as a microphone, recording directly onto my netbook. I used the Audacity software to capture the audio input and do minor editing. That's it, that's all, couldn't be simpler. If I were to purchase all of these things to start from scratch, I would be putting in less than $400 total - a simply mind-bogglingly low amount considering the power that is packed into these devices/software.
There really is no reason for someone to say that they can't get your book, because now you'll have it out in every conceivable format that they would want it in - except perhaps a movie, but you're working on that, right? Cheers!
So first, if you haven't heard the news yet, J.K. Rowling has announced that she is now writing a new book. Nope, not another installment for the Harry Potter series - she's trying to work her way out from underneath that huge weight. Instead, from what I can see, she is working on a crime novel. This is geared toward adult readers rather than kids this time. So why do I bring this up? The main point that I take from this news is that she is doing something new, something different from what she has spent years on. She's taking a risk and writing books in a different genre than what she has been doing.
What this means, writer friends of mine, is that you too should be looking at branching out to try different genres of writing. Already I can hear the howls: but I'm doing just fine with where I am; I don't think I could write in a different genre; it's just too hard to switch gears; but I'm known for X genre, how will my readers accept something new; and on and on. Look, there are such things as pseudonyms, people. Give them a try! You write sci-fi, but aren't sure if you could do a good romance? Put a girly name on it and throw it out there. You can bang out romance with the best of them, but a western has you tied in knots? Start with a novella-length and put a manly, western-style name on it and give it a go.
The point is, stretch yourself. The things that you learn by trying another genre can easily be incorporated into your "usual" genre, which will probably make those books even better. Another thing to think about? What if the characters from your two different genre books ever met, what would that be like? Would they team up, fall in love, tear each other apart, etc.? You are only limited by your imagination, so give it a go!
Second, audio books. In the grand scheme of things, many independent authors are only thinking about ebooks, and more specifically ebooks on the Kindle (even going with being exclusive to Kindle via the Select Program). Sure, ebooks have been growing in popularity and we've all seen the increase in sales for our own work. But did you realize that this only accounts, at present, for only 20% of total book sales? What about the other 80%? Well, they still buy regular print books. Have you gotten your ebook converted to a print book? If not, go out and do that RIGHT NOW and then come back, because there is another segment of the book buying world that you are also probably ignoring - audio book readers/listeners.
There are plenty of people who are audio book buyers. It just works out best for their schedules to listen to audio books rather than sit and read a print book. Some have a long commute, others listen while exercising, and many other reasons too. So why not audio books? Well expense, of course! They take a lot of money to make because you need to find a narrator, and a place for them to record it, plus costs for editing, plus manufacturing costs for the CDs, etc., etc. Let me tell you, that doesn't have to be the case.
This weekend I was experimenting with some off-the-shelf components and software, and the results that I'm getting are nothing short of professional. I'm really impressed with how quickly I picked up some basic editing techniques and what they did for the final product. Oh yes, I was the narrator for my own work - who knows the story better than the author themselves? It really wasn't that hard to get things setup and going, then do the recording, then do some simple editing. I played around for about an hour, perhaps a little longer, and I have a piece of audio book work that sounds really good. All that I need to do is take this knowledge and apply it to my short story, make a short intro with title, contact info., etc., then edit it all together, and I'm good to go.
Oh, but how to get it out there for people to purchase? Here's the really cool part, which I've heard practically zero about from anyone. Audible.com is really just another arm of Amazon.com (CreateSpace, anyone? Hello?). Audible has a subsidiary called ACX. This subsidiary allows anyone to upload their narrated work and sell it through Audible.com, which connects to Amazon.com. This means that you could have your novel out as an ebook, a paperback book, and an audio book. How awesome is that?!
In case you were wondering what I used for my "studio", here are the pieces that I used:
Acer Aspire netbook (which is now my everything - I do writing, editing, etc. on it)
Zoom H2 digital microphone (borrowed)
Audacity 1.3 audio editing software (it's free!)
That's all that I used. The Zoom H2, which is an awesome unit, connected directly to my netbook via USB cord. I used this as a microphone, recording directly onto my netbook. I used the Audacity software to capture the audio input and do minor editing. That's it, that's all, couldn't be simpler. If I were to purchase all of these things to start from scratch, I would be putting in less than $400 total - a simply mind-bogglingly low amount considering the power that is packed into these devices/software.
There really is no reason for someone to say that they can't get your book, because now you'll have it out in every conceivable format that they would want it in - except perhaps a movie, but you're working on that, right? Cheers!
Monday, February 20, 2012
It's Alive!
Finally! After a long wait, much help and a lot of work, my first ebook novella, "Coordinates For Murder", is available. It is presently (as of the publishing of this post) available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, as well as Smashwords for all sorts of reading devices. Over the coming weeks, the ebook will also become available on many other international ebook retailers, such as Sony, Kobo, Apple and more. Additionally, it should become available in a paperback version by the end of February.
It's been a heck of a journey to get to this point, and I'm not slowing down. As a matter of fact, now that I've been through the whole process from start to finish, I want to speed up - do more writing each day, write more stories each month, publish more stories each year. I've got new goals for myself, and I'm really excited with the upcoming stories that I'm planning to work on over the coming months.
I hope that you check out my new novella as well as my short story, "Pins And Dolls", which is also available all over the place as an ebook. Thank you for coming along for the ride and providing me with your feedback. I hope you'll be entertained, and if you are, please tell others about it.
Now, back to the writing!
It's been a heck of a journey to get to this point, and I'm not slowing down. As a matter of fact, now that I've been through the whole process from start to finish, I want to speed up - do more writing each day, write more stories each month, publish more stories each year. I've got new goals for myself, and I'm really excited with the upcoming stories that I'm planning to work on over the coming months.
I hope that you check out my new novella as well as my short story, "Pins And Dolls", which is also available all over the place as an ebook. Thank you for coming along for the ride and providing me with your feedback. I hope you'll be entertained, and if you are, please tell others about it.
Now, back to the writing!
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