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"The opportunities for writers to reach readers with their words have never been better. This is just a golden age, an incredible time. All of the traditional gate-keeping systems have fallen away, and power is shifting from traditional publishers to the authors themselves. We're witnessing a confluence of multiple disruptive revolutions happening at the same time. We've got the rise of self-publishing, and the rise of e-books. So between these big events, now it's possible for any writer, anywhere in the world, instantly publish a book at no cost." - www.fastcompany.com/.../paypal-dont-mess-with-erotica-writers
A bit of backstory to explain why this article is right:
Amazon has been offering deep discounts on paper books, as well as rock bottom e-book prices, as low as $.99. This deep discounting has put downward pressure on publishers and retailers alike to lower prices.
In response, six major publishers and Apple agreed that they would not sell books wholesale to retailers who did not agree to their pricing structure. They created a system called `Agency Pricing' which meant the publishers agreed as a group what the price-point of books would be, and that they wouldn't allow themselves to be undersold. Friday 13 April, the agency pricing model was struck down by the Department of Justice*, as `monopolistic collusion'. Publishers can no longer collectively determine the bottom price for their books and make it stick. Final price determination has reverted to the hands of retailers.
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/51519-weighing-the-consequences.html
Amazon's lowballing on prices is widely believed to be the real cause of Borders Bookstore's demise. Many consumers browse in bookstores, then purchase from Amazon. Industry speculation is rife that Barnes & Noble may also fold, now that the agency pricing model is gone.
What is picking up the slack is e-tailed books.
Consumers never got onboard with agency pricing. With the agency model, publishers had determined that a $12.99-16.99 pricing was what they needed for profitability with e-books. But given the alternative of low-cost e-books, consumers increasingly turned toward purchasing e-books from indie publishers, self pubbed works on sites like Smashwords with an average price range of $2.99-$5.99, as well as original e-books with a .99$ to $2.99 price point from Amazon.
This downward pressure has had the traditional publishers screaming that the sky is falling. Which it is.
1. Reactions to this pressure on publishers' profits include:
a. Lower advances to authors;
b. Elimination of budget for publicity to support authors & books,
c. Elimination of editing function, `outsourcing' it to agents,
d. Increased reliance on `mega-hits' for profits, resulting in
e. Decreased willingness to purchase `mid-list' books, and
f. Increasingly less opportunities for new, unknown authors. It is getting harder and harder for a newcomer with no track record to break in. This tightening of the belt has driven more and more authors into the arms of trad-pub's competition, perpetuating the cycle.
2. Those with good stories to tell and no traditional publisher to publish them have responded by going to indie publishers, self-pubbing on Smashwords or Amazon. Plusses:
a. E-book sales are the growth edge of the publishing industry. E-book sales have been climbing, paper book sales have been slowly decreasing. As an example, Books-A-Million, the country's second largest book outlet, reported a 9% drop in book sales, at the same time reporting a 133% *increase* in e-book sales.
b. Increasing numbers of self-pubbed authors have found that they make more money with e-books than they would with trad-pub.
c. Amazon has a program: "Kindle Direct" where you can self-publish under their KDF program. Author gets 70% of royalties. At a (fairly standard) $2.99 price point, that's $2.10 per download. Which is a damn sight better than 10% (for paper) to 17.5% (for digital) of 7.99 for trad-pub. ($.79 vs. $2.70 – you do the math. Which would you prefer to receive?) Plus, an e-book won't get remaindered, or shoved off the shelves after the 6 weeks allowed for a paper book to sink or swim.
d. An e-book can be up and in the marketplace within 48 hours of upload vs. up to 3 years from first submission of the manuscript.
3. Genre fiction – romance, mystery, fantasy & SF are doing well in the e-publishing world. There are review channels that help works get found.
4. Marketing budgets for publicity are virtually non-existent for mid-list books. Authors are expected to handle their own promotion.
a. Works are chosen to pub by trad-houses increasingly on the value an author can bring to promoting their work. Even fiction proposals are expected to demonstrate an awareness of outlets for self promotion. That may be the *single* factor that makes an acquisitions editor choose one book over another.
b. Self-promotion has gotten much easier in the age of social media. An integrated campaign with a blog, FaceBook & Twitter, plus sending copies to online reviewers and developing a guest `blog-tour' seems to be standard.
If you have to do the same work for e-or trad pubbing, WHY NOT GO THE ROUTE WITH THE FASTEST AND HIGHEST RETURN ON INVESTMENT???
5. Even if your reason for writing is public acclaim, e-pubbing works. Although the New York Times Review of Books used to NOT review any e-books or books by indie e-publishers,that has changed. Due to popularity, NYTRB has now opened the door to reviewing e-books. And - trad-pub properties are now being discovered via online channels, then picked up. Fifty Shades of Grey being the current example, and Amanda Hocking being another.
Conclusion: The role played by traditional paper-copy publishers is changing. E-pubbing may prove more flexible, profitable, and offer better career options to writers than trad-pub.
For more information, see the article below.
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/international/london-book-fair/article/51566-london-book-fair-2012-amazon-woos-authors-on-busy-show-floor-.html
A bit of backstory to explain why this article is right:
Amazon has been offering deep discounts on paper books, as well as rock bottom e-book prices, as low as $.99. This deep discounting has put downward pressure on publishers and retailers alike to lower prices.
In response, six major publishers and Apple agreed that they would not sell books wholesale to retailers who did not agree to their pricing structure. They created a system called `Agency Pricing' which meant the publishers agreed as a group what the price-point of books would be, and that they wouldn't allow themselves to be undersold. Friday 13 April, the agency pricing model was struck down by the Department of Justice*, as `monopolistic collusion'. Publishers can no longer collectively determine the bottom price for their books and make it stick. Final price determination has reverted to the hands of retailers.
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/51519-weighing-the-consequences.html
Amazon's lowballing on prices is widely believed to be the real cause of Borders Bookstore's demise. Many consumers browse in bookstores, then purchase from Amazon. Industry speculation is rife that Barnes & Noble may also fold, now that the agency pricing model is gone.
What is picking up the slack is e-tailed books.
Consumers never got onboard with agency pricing. With the agency model, publishers had determined that a $12.99-16.99 pricing was what they needed for profitability with e-books. But given the alternative of low-cost e-books, consumers increasingly turned toward purchasing e-books from indie publishers, self pubbed works on sites like Smashwords with an average price range of $2.99-$5.99, as well as original e-books with a .99$ to $2.99 price point from Amazon.
This downward pressure has had the traditional publishers screaming that the sky is falling. Which it is.
1. Reactions to this pressure on publishers' profits include:
a. Lower advances to authors;
b. Elimination of budget for publicity to support authors & books,
c. Elimination of editing function, `outsourcing' it to agents,
d. Increased reliance on `mega-hits' for profits, resulting in
e. Decreased willingness to purchase `mid-list' books, and
f. Increasingly less opportunities for new, unknown authors. It is getting harder and harder for a newcomer with no track record to break in. This tightening of the belt has driven more and more authors into the arms of trad-pub's competition, perpetuating the cycle.
2. Those with good stories to tell and no traditional publisher to publish them have responded by going to indie publishers, self-pubbing on Smashwords or Amazon. Plusses:
a. E-book sales are the growth edge of the publishing industry. E-book sales have been climbing, paper book sales have been slowly decreasing. As an example, Books-A-Million, the country's second largest book outlet, reported a 9% drop in book sales, at the same time reporting a 133% *increase* in e-book sales.
b. Increasing numbers of self-pubbed authors have found that they make more money with e-books than they would with trad-pub.
c. Amazon has a program: "Kindle Direct" where you can self-publish under their KDF program. Author gets 70% of royalties. At a (fairly standard) $2.99 price point, that's $2.10 per download. Which is a damn sight better than 10% (for paper) to 17.5% (for digital) of 7.99 for trad-pub. ($.79 vs. $2.70 – you do the math. Which would you prefer to receive?) Plus, an e-book won't get remaindered, or shoved off the shelves after the 6 weeks allowed for a paper book to sink or swim.
d. An e-book can be up and in the marketplace within 48 hours of upload vs. up to 3 years from first submission of the manuscript.
3. Genre fiction – romance, mystery, fantasy & SF are doing well in the e-publishing world. There are review channels that help works get found.
4. Marketing budgets for publicity are virtually non-existent for mid-list books. Authors are expected to handle their own promotion.
a. Works are chosen to pub by trad-houses increasingly on the value an author can bring to promoting their work. Even fiction proposals are expected to demonstrate an awareness of outlets for self promotion. That may be the *single* factor that makes an acquisitions editor choose one book over another.
b. Self-promotion has gotten much easier in the age of social media. An integrated campaign with a blog, FaceBook & Twitter, plus sending copies to online reviewers and developing a guest `blog-tour' seems to be standard.
If you have to do the same work for e-or trad pubbing, WHY NOT GO THE ROUTE WITH THE FASTEST AND HIGHEST RETURN ON INVESTMENT???
5. Even if your reason for writing is public acclaim, e-pubbing works. Although the New York Times Review of Books used to NOT review any e-books or books by indie e-publishers,that has changed. Due to popularity, NYTRB has now opened the door to reviewing e-books. And - trad-pub properties are now being discovered via online channels, then picked up. Fifty Shades of Grey being the current example, and Amanda Hocking being another.
Conclusion: The role played by traditional paper-copy publishers is changing. E-pubbing may prove more flexible, profitable, and offer better career options to writers than trad-pub.
For more information, see the article below.
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/international/london-book-fair/article/51566-london-book-fair-2012-amazon-woos-authors-on-busy-show-floor-.html
