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- 4 out of 5 publishers now produce eBooks
- A majority of publishers produce 1/2 of their titles as eBooks
- Nearly 1/2 of publishers produce more than 75% as eBooks
Are you as surprised as I was? I was shocked, really. I guess I shouldn't be, because many of the review sites that I belong to now offer titles in digital form. Just about every book I look at on Amazon is offered in Kindle format.
And here is a statistic from the article about Amazon:
- For every 100 print book Amazon sells, they sell 114 eBooks.
I read another article at The Guardian (HERE) that talked about 4 self-published books making the NYT eBook Bestseller's list the first week in August 2012. Four of them were self-published! Wow, huh? That's rather encouraging.
eBooks are here to stay, folks!
So do these kinds of statistics make you wonder if you could ever self-publish? If you could get a crazy good cover and get your book edited by a professional, do you think you would ever take the plunge and self-publish?
Or are you going to stay the course and get published the traditional way? I know for me, I think that this is probably the safer route. Less work, for sure, in the area of marketing! While you have to journey through the mounds of rejections, once you get a contract, the publishing house has their own marketing. Yes, I know they want you to generate buzz, but face it....we don't have the marketing ability that a big publisher does.
Since I've never been published, and I don't reckon I will any time soon, I may be talking jibberish, but I do find the news on eBooks and self-publishing a bit tantalizing.
So how about you? What are your thought about self-publishing?
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This post is brought to you by
Sherrinda Ketchersid
Sherrinda is wife to "Pastor John" and mother to three giant sons and one gorgeous daughter. A born and bred Texan, she writes historical romance filled with fun, faith, and forever love.
GREAT post, Sherrinda. I'm most interested in traditional publishing for sure. If the right circumstances presented themselves (and I have NO idea what those right circumstances would be LOL), I might consider self-publishing.
ReplyDeleteThe world is changing SO fast.
Interesting stats, Sherrinda! I didn't realize the numbers were that high. :)
ReplyDeleteI know people who have self-published. I plan to continue down the traditional route. I think each method has definite pros and cons, and I feel more comfortable with the traditional publishing route. :) I agree with you, the marketing required of authors is scary enough with traditional publishing. Self-publishing requires so much more. It sounds overwhelming at this stage in my journey. :)
That is interesting about the ebook numbers. You've gotta think epublishing is far cheaper for publishers since there isn't the materials costs and manufacturing costs involved.
ReplyDeleteI like my Kindle, but I still buy most books in print format. There's just something about a print book to me...
As far as self-publishing, I think that if someone is very adept at marketing and understands the industry and has a great platform and connections, he/she can do quite well, and probably make more money that way.
But for me, I want to work with a team (agent, editor, marketing ppl) and...I don't know, I'll be honest--there's something appealing about (1) reaching potentially more people and (2) getting the affirmation that my book is indeed publishable.
Going the self-published route definitely doesn't sound as scary now as it used to, but I still think traditional publishing is for me. Now I just have to try to get a book published before EVERYTHING goes to ebooks. I really want to have a hard copy of at least one book :)
ReplyDeleteJOANNE, the world IS changing fast! Like you, I wonder if there really is a chance that I would self-publish. I can't really see it, but there could be a time when I might consider it.
ReplyDeleteJEANNE T, so I am wondering...the people that you know who have self-published...did they do well? I don't know any, but I'm always curious. :)
Lindsey, I know what you mean about the affirmation of your book getting chosen by a traditional publishing company. It seems like it really is the stamp of approval that you really are an author!
ReplyDeleteCindy, I have a feeling that you will definitely get you a contract way before the fall of the print copy! lol Keep on writing and submitting! It's gonna happen!
ReplyDeleteThere are some self-publishing success stories out there that amaze me. However, I'm kinda old-fashioned and still prefer going with a traditional publisher. At this point in my career I lack the tech savvy and marketing genius to take a stab at self-publishing. I'm not so set in my ways that I won't entertain the possibility, though. I learned not to pooh-pooh change after having said years ago that I would never own a cell phone. (Yes, I really said that and had to eat those words.)
ReplyDeleteKeli, I love old fashioned too, girl! And really, that would be the way I would want to go!
ReplyDeleteYou said you would never get a cell phone??? That is pretty funny. :)