STATUS: TGIF!
What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? TURN YOUR LOVE by Jack Johnson
If you are a regular blog reader, you’ll know that I’ve mentioned JA Konrath’s on-his-own foray into e-publishing and the success he has had. Links here and here for that. The world of publishing is shifting almost daily.
Today Writer Beware talks about a series of recent articles in the news about self-pubbing and the importance of context. Konrath and Strauss both add nice analysis to the on-going dialogue so wanted to share the link.
2011 is going to be one interesting year I think!
More Jack Johnson music on iLike
thanks for the link AND the jack johnson song!
Thank you for the links!
I keep thinking about self publishing as a potential option, but I discount it — not because it’s not a potential option (it is), but I know that I cannot trust myself to know that my work is ready to be published. I need the acknowledgment of someone else approving my work before I’m willing to ask people pay for it.
Also, it just feels like more of an accomplishment, if I publish something through traditional means.
I read Joe’s blog, and have to admit I am excited about his statistics. I can also see the point of the writer’s beware article, citing to put in context. But, from my facebook-writer friends, I also know that most of them who self publish on kindle do earn at least bill-paying money every month. That’s about 400-600 at least. While it’s not much, it is something and it adds up, and might even be the same as a debut advance.
I always hear about all those writers who are unsuccessful on kindle, but I’ve never seen someone really analyse that data. Let’s see what kind of books really are unsuccessful. I bet you will see a lot of info-dump kind of stuff, and not real books.
I think there’s a large community of writers who can make it on kindle. Those that work really hard on their manuscripts, make an effort to join critique groups, and even hire an editor will be successful most of the time. Those that find their old journal, or their family’s history, or their random rantings on blog posts will not.
I believe in writers who are dedicated to their craft. I believe they will always succeed. I know I sound corny, but that’s my opinion.
Thanks for posting the link to that informative blog post. There are a lot of factors that lead to big sales on Kindle or other e-readers, and a major one is promoting and marketing. I don’t know how Joe and some of the other writers who are selling so many books have time to do all the promoting and still have time to write. Promoting and marketing skills have become so important to an author’s success.
The WB piece was very fair and objective. At least I thought it was.
And I agree. It’s going to be another interesting year.
I have followed JA Konrath and am happy for his success and appreciate his blogging. He did recieve a six-figure deal in the beginning so that is an easier platform to jump from to venture into self publishing. That being said, Joe has done a tremendous amount to get his books and name out there. He works very hard at his self-promotion.
Thanks for posting this link and blog. There’s a lot of chaos and a lot of opportunity. Some of it brings success, but it’s hard at this point to generalize. With anectodal reports filtering in from indie over last few months, there’s a strong picture emerging that this new model has merit and at least is worthy of consideration (taking the good, the bad and the ugly all under study). I think what you do with it depends on what you have at your disposal for skill set, and how much risk you’re willing to tolerate, as well as where you’d like your career to head. As an author those are always questions I’m asking myself anyway, so this is more grist for that mill. @Karen makes really excellent points. Not just money, but editing. You can get free lance editors, and if they’re a good editor, technically you’d benefit the same as with a publisher. You can get art, you can do marketing. And when you see $ return as Karen talks about, where you can bill pay at the very least, that might be one marker of success. a 5K advance in one lump sum vs. $417 in revenue (and your production costs are write offs $ for $ – meaning you pay less to the tax man) – what’s the difference? The difference is lump vs. pieces, perhaps, and the eternal ? of will you earn out your advance or not. It’s all fascinating to consider.