An Observer's Tale - 10 Things I've Learned About ePublishing

As we race toward 2012, I thought it would be a good time to share my observations on e-Publishing. The publishing world is evolving at lightening pace. A bevy of attractively priced new reading gadgets *cough* KINDLEFIRE *cough* and a huge commercial push promises to make 2012 the year of the eBook.

I keep up with tons of self-published (and otherwise) authors on the Twitter, Facebook, blogs and the like--trying to learn what I can. As such, I thought it would be appropriate for me to regurgitate my knowledge in the form of An Observer's Tale - 10 Things I've Learned About ePublishing  

This is by no means intended to be a comprehensive tutorial on the process, nor should it be taken as gospel. Just my take.

1. eBooks are like so hot right now: 

 This might be the understatement of the decade, but this digital media stuff is a big deal. In the last ten years we've witnessed the digitization of every major form of entertainment from music to movies. Now it's time for written entertainment to share the stage. Some have labeled it a fad, some a revolution. Whatever your take, I think we can all agree that this is now at the very least a movement--a shift--to a new way of "doing" books. Who knows if paper and pixels will be able to coexist, but I'd bet the family farm that the pixels aren't going away.  

 2. Fit and finish don't just apply to car shopping: 

Hop over to your local online monster retailer and browse the eBooks. Do it like you would browsing for cars at the auto dealership. Why? You'll quickly get into the head of the average book shopper, that's why. It's the shiny exterior (i.e. the cover) that draws them in, the awesome stereo and smooth interior (blurb or back jacket verbiage) that gets their imagination going and the salesperson (reviews) that seal the deal. In an increasingly cluttered book market, presentation makes the difference. 

 3. It's a slow burn, baby:

That tune doesn't apply to ePublishing. There are no golden tickets. Much like in traditional publishing, there is a constant effort to figure out the purchasing habits of fickle readers.  eAuthors are scrambling to try to figure out how Amanda Hocking, John Locke, etc., etc. managed to become Kindle millionaires seemingly overnight. 

I follow both of the afore mentioned authors on Twitter and blogs (One of them follows me, but I'm not namedropping or anything... OK, it's JL and I nearly blew a gasket when I saw his name pop up as a new Twitter follower! Name. Dropped.) and I can tell you neither of them truly claims to know exactly how it all happened. One thing both say: it took some time and they worked hard to promote their stuff. They didn't instantly sell 10,000 books a month. Word of mouth had to build. The Interwebs had to weave its magic. Just like in traditional publishing, expect to have to pay your own dues before you get much payment in return.  

4. Skinning cats and publishing electronically have a lot in common:

There are many, many ways to get a book published electronically, and many more yet to come. 

Total DIY: You can study Kindle/Apple/Barnes & Noble/WhatHaveYou and learn to format and upload yourself. You can get free pictures online and create your own covers with free photo editing software. It's not rocket science, but it's also not without frustration. If budget is a concern, you can definitely do it on your own. Knowing your limits is important, however...

Hire out some of it: Don't have an artistic eye? Cool. There are oodles of folks online that will design a good cover for you. Got a great cover, but don't care to format? Cool. Lots of folks out there will format your book so it reads nice and pretty on the nook, iPad, Kindle, Kobo reader things. See # 2 if you're not sure why it matters.

Hire out all of it: Specialty ePublishing companies are ALL freaking over the place. Go to any online writing community and you'll see their ads. Hangout in the writing dens of Twitter and you'll get a half-dozen follows a day from someone offering to publish your book for a fee. (That and maybe a few unwholesome offers, but I digress ...) Heck, some of them even promote your book in various places. Prices vary. Quality varies. Choose wisely.

5. One is fun, but 8 is great:

Only got one great story in you? I'm sorry to inform you that self-publishing isn't going to pay your next electric bill. Nor will it likely pay any electric bill. Ever. Here's the thing, just like in traditional publishing you have to build a readership in the eWorld. That typically doesn't happen with one great book. It takes several. It takes building a reputation. 

eReading is like any other electronic media thing, which is to say it's about consumption. Unlike Sam the Business Man who buys one non-fiction book every year at the airport to read on layovers, the owner of that Kindle plans on getting her money's worth. When she finishes one book, she's going to immediately jump into another. If you only have one book in the store, she can't buy your next. It's science--or math--or something. 

The best anecdote I've read on the subject relates virtual shelf space to actual store shelf space. The more space you occupy the better chance someone is going to 'find you' and buy you.    

6. Traditional rules don't necessarily apply...:

Suburban cat vampire fantasy doesn't sell you say? WRONG! There are no hard rules when it comes to ePublishing. All those agents and editors in the traditional world aren't wrong (just aggravating) when they shoot down your 'Hamster Falls In Love' picture book idea. In the paper world there are all kinds of upfront production costs that force the publishing machine to make hard choices about what they invest in. That doesn't exist online. If you want to publish it, you can. If you can connect with the people who are interested in what you've written, you'll probably even sell a few copies. And unlike a paper bookstore, even if you're only moving 6 copies a month it'll stay on Amazon's shelf forever.

Heck people are even publishing poetry again. That should really be all you need to hear to understand that up is now down, and that cats now sleep with the dogs.  

7. Well, except for these:

Don't read 6 and assume everything has changed. These basic principals must be observed for any kind of publishing success:

You must have a great story.

It must be extremely well-written.

It must be gleamingly edited. And edited. And edited. And edited ....

You can never shortchange a reader with a poor product. Readers will drop you like a bad habit, even if your book is only .99 cents. 

8. Merchandising! Merchandising! Merchandising!

I'm not talking about action figures (but that would be AWESOME!); I'm talking about selling your story and yourself. Understand where your story fits in terms of genre. Make sure your cover looks better than those 'other books' that pop up in the product search. Know where your readers hangout online--go to them. Use Twitter, Facebook, etc. to their full potential. Learn and heed the rules of responsible, non-D-Bag marketing. Make friends by promoting other authors more than you promote yourself. Make sure your story is available to every kind of reader for every kind of reading device. Make sure your website, Twitter page, Facebook, etc. say, "I'm a pro, not a schmo." 

Self-publishing means you're now a small business owner. That business will sink or swim based upon your effort and nothing else. 

9. All the cool kids are doing it:

ePublishing isn't just a game for the little guys to dabble in. J.K. 'I could buy your country' Rowling is self-publishing her Harry Potter books electronically. So too are many, many highly successful traditionally published authors. Some are completely abandoning the traditional route, others are simply supplementing their paper efforts, using it as a vehicle to explore things that wouldn't normally fly in the trad-world. Regardless of the reasons, don't assume that your too big or too small to make a go of it. It sure looks like there's room for everyone.

10. No one has THE answer:

There is a lot of advice from super-helpful authors out there. They might tell you to Tweet this way, never pay for XYZ, or never use XYZ font--you get the idea. They're all right to an extent. ePublishing is still very much a baby in the grand scheme of things. As such, each individual experience is a valuable learning tool. However, I've learned you'll find more conflicting answers than definite methods of success. Does this mean you should tune them all out? Absolutely not. Just understand that the path to success seems to be different for just about everyone. 

Keep your ear to the ground and be willing to adjust your expectations and tactics as needed. That should keep you on track at least until next year. :)

~EJW~ 

BTW, big WAY TO GO for all of you who reached your NaNoWriMo goals! I'll buy you the frosty beverage of your choosing should we ever cross paths! :)

Will Amazon Change Our Taste for Words?

It’s no great revelation that the ways in which we consume media and entertainment have changed over the last two decades.  In the music industry, the concept of an entire album listening experience died several years ago at the hands of individual song downloads. This has led to a prevalence of artist creating albums full of HIT singles in place of albums comprised of songs that form a cohesive whole. The days of high concept story albums—think Pink Floyd’s The Wall album, where the individual songs don’t necessarily stand on their own, but when listened to as whole become something essential and even beautiful—are mostly over. Sure, intrepid musicians will on occasion create ‘story’ albums, but the experience is lost on the average listener who shops from the iTunes top 10 singles list.

Similarly, Hollywood is a machine driven by consumer demand, and that demand is for bite-sized entertainment. Modern blockbuster movies are long commercials aimed at no one and everyone. They are designed to engage a broad audience from moment to moment, as opposed to engaging an individual from beginning, middle, to end. The handful of films that dare to start a story in the beginning and take a full 2 hours to finish are labeled as high concept and, if they’re fortunate enough to snag a big name in the lead role, might win a few awards.

Please don’t misinterpret this as a shot at consumerism or some heraldry for ‘the good old days’. While I enjoyed the good old days as much as anyone, I also like the freedom of being able to watch and listen to what I want, when I want. The ability to do that is directly tied to the trends in media consumption I mentioned above. Furthermore, I like a good popcorn flick and lord knows I’ve got my share of top 10 singles on the old iGadget.

    

My point is that just like how we learn to enjoy different foods from childhood to adulthood as our flavor palette broadens, I think we (as consumers) have learned to ingest our media in different ways as technology has changed. We all have to accept that when change comes for a visit—no matter how welcome it might be—it’s always going to bring along a few ugly cousins. In the end, there really isn’t much else to do but give them a comfy sofa to sleep on and hope they don’t steal the good silverware on the way out.

I’m thinking about all of this lately, because I see changes happening in how we consume written media, and I’m left to wonder if it’s going to similarly alter our taste for it. Amazon’s recent announcement of a sub-$100Kindle and a sub-$200 tablet reader have sent trimmers through the reading world.  With the tablet, Amazon has clearly put readers in their sites, similarly to how Apple put listeners in their sites with the advent of iTunes/iPods. You see this tablet is going to be all things Amazon in terms of their video content offerings, music and eBooks. A veritable buffet of entertainment options.

At first blush, it might not seem like such a big thing. After all, we have computers, iPads and other doodads that marry all forms of entertainment onto one device. However, Amazon is certainly one of (if not THE) the top book retailers in the world (both paper and electronic) and up to this point no one has really attempted to give books equal space at the table with video and music downloads.  Couple this with the rumor that Amazon is contemplating a book rental service akin to Netflix where Kindle owners pay a flat monthly fee and are able to download as many books as they care to read, and you’ve got the makings of full out assault on the book business.

In the effort of full disclosure, I’m mostly concerned with all of this from the standpoint of an author looking to build a seaworthy business model (ship) prepared to navigate the unpredictable waters of modern-day publishing. Many have theorized that the future of publishing is going to gothe way of short stories or serialized content as more and more folks turn to the instant gratification/entertainment offered by all of these ‘connected’ gadgets. That certainly makes sense, especially in light of a giant retailer pushing written content right alongside its other electronic cousins (music and movies). Plus let’s face it; the attention span of the average person just isn’t what it used to be. Consequently, the idea of giving readers shorter reading experiences that can be digested quickly makes some sense.

Over the next few weeks I’m going to do a couple of more blogs on the topic, specifically thinking about what a ‘Netflix’ model might mean for authors, and what impact it might have on storytelling.  I’m going to try to answer questions I’m having, like: Is there a place for long-form fiction in the future?  I hope you’ll come back and add your thoughts. This is exploratory in nature, and I certainly don’t claim to have the answers. As always, I’m just one guy thinking aloud.

More near in this blog’s future, in an attempt to get into the mind of modern day authors, I’m going to begin running interviews with various independently published authors. Folks who are daring to carve their own path to publication, paths that many of us may be following in the years to come. I think you’ll really enjoy hearing from these authors, both as readers and writers. They’re all super-smart, engaging and (most importantly) dedicated to the craft.  The first interview will be this Wednesday with author, Kimberly Mullican, so please stop by and say hi. Also, if you’ve published a story and would like to do an interview or a guest-post here on the Open Vein, please drop me a line in the comments, via e-mail or on Twitter and we’ll try to make it happen. I’d love to hear from all of you.

~EJW~

.99 Cent Books = Armageddon???

Salutations compadres!  I've been poked and prodded so much in the last week that I'm starting to feel like 'The Catch of the Day' at the local fish market.  That's right, I went to the doctor!  Heck, they even let me run on a treadmill ...

I couldn't help but identify with a lab rat when they started greasing me up and sticking wires all over my chest.  Seriously, an alien autopsy would probably have been less invasive.  A good time it was not.  Maybe that's why my feathers got all ruffled when I thought about today's topic.

I keep reading ... and keep reading ... AND KEEP READING about the scourge of the .99 cent book.  Those of you who are in the ePublishing Circle of Trust will immediately know what I'm talking about.  Those of you outside the Circle might not, so let me catch you up.

(I'm going to simplify a little a lot, but there are lots of little linkable words and phrases if you want to learn more.)

A little while back a small family-run Internet retailer named FREAKING AMAZON--I heard they got their start as shoe cobblers--decided they would let any old author upload their books for free to be sold on their site in electronic fashion.  Amazon, by this point, had officially become the largest retailer of paper books on the planet.  In short: Readers knew Amazon.  Readers trusted Amazon.

Coincidentally, Amazon had also popularized the eReader with their snazzy little device, Kindle.   For the historians out there, they released it in November, 2007 @ $399 US.  I say "popularized", because the Kindle wasn't the first eReader, it just happened to be the first REALLY consumer friendly one in both price and function.  (Yes, they were once MORE expensive than $399.)  Amazon had also become THE place to purchase eBooks--the things you read on an eReader.  Convenient?  I think so.

At the point authors were invited to share their wares on Amazon, eReaders were still relatively niche gadgets.  A little too pricey, and a little too unknown for the common woman or man.  That changed as other companies began to throw their names into the electronic book arena.  Two years after the release of the Kindle, physical book retail giant Branes & Noble released their own reader (Nook) and announced that they too would allow authors to self-publish on their website.  Shortly after B&N, Apple developed their own eBookstore.  All the while, a major Internet eBook retailer named Smashwords was also allowing authors to self-publish.  Even Google got in on the action.  

Fast-forward to Now

eBooks and eReaders are HUGE.  Sales of electronic books are surpassing their paper cousins and that gap is only going to widen with the growing number of popular electronic gadgets capable of functioning as a reader.  As a result, many authors are running to get on board the eTrain.

Economics ... BLECH

An initially unnoticed aspect of authors being able to circumvent the traditional publishing process--you know bleed tears, find an agent, bed-down with a publisher and hope your book made it to the front of the bookstore for a couple of days--and self-publish their work was pricing flexibility.  All of the sites that allowed for DIY publishing also let the author more-or-less set the price of the product (a privilege usually afforded to only publishers).  In the old model, the author's job was to write, not worry about profit margin.  A good thing for many authors who feel as I do about the E word.

So what did authors do when they put on their big boy and girl business undies?  What any entrepreneur would do, of course!  They undercut the poop out of the competition.  Why?  Why does Walmart sell things cheaper than everyone else?  Because they can afford to.  The Indie/DIY author was no different.

eBooks from traditional publishers are more expensive, and here's why.  You're going to pay more for Stephen King and Twilight because the big traditional publishers are corporations with big payrolls.  They have many editors, secretaries, etc., etc. to feed.  They also publish more than one or two books in a year.  That requires coin.  Furthermore, Stephen King and Twilight are responsible for making money for all the lesser-known authors who might not earn back the investment publishers make in them.  Combine that with the cost of making paper books (ya know like ink, shipping, feeding the gnomes who blow on the binding glue to make it dry it faster, etc.), and you've got a formula for mark up.

Here's a pretty solid list of why traditional publishing is 'spensive.   

It's a well known fact that most authors survive off of Saltine Crackers and various canned meat products, and they wouldn't know the difference between a board room and the Bahamas if you showed them a photo.  (I kid, I kid!)   So you see, the idea that an Indie author would be willing to price their baby at a scant .99 cents and think they were making a killing isn't that far fetched.

I'd like to point out that at this point no crimes were committed--by either party--and no animals were harmed during the making of the price war.  Traditional publishers have a right to determine what an acceptable profit is, as do Indie authors.  As with most things, however, the actual decision is going to come down to consumers.

I say tomato, you say I'm destroying an entire industry

There has been A LOT of mudslinging in the transition from paper to electronic publishing ...

Let's pause for a sec to clarify something:  It is a transition.  Not a fad.  Not a phenomenon.  Not a tryst.  This is a lasting change to how we primarily consume a product.  Proof?  I just got my nearly 70 year old dad an eReader for Father's Day on Wednesday of last week.   He told me on the phone this morning that he has already read half a book on it even though he didn't think he'd ever use it.  It seems he really likes being able to enlarge the font.  Now he wants to know how to get some of his favorite old paper books on it!  Call it anecdotal if you want, but for my money when the "old folks" are buying in, the "change" has already come and gone.

Back on task, everyone (including me ... wait for it) has seemingly had an opinion about what has happened to the publishing industry.  Readers, authors, publishers, editors, agents, Wall Street, grandfathers, granddaughters--you name it--have expressed everything from joy to dismay over the first real change to come to the reading medium since we swapped out stone for papyrus.

With those opinions have come accusations and prognostications.  Accusations of wrong doing and right doing in the transition, prognostications of good things and bad things still to come.  I've applauded some, laughed at others and scoffed at most.

The biggest bur to stick under my saddle of late is the scuttlebutt over book pricing.  Former literary agent and current author, Nathan Bransford, posted this poll last week to essentially gauge what the perceived value of a $25 hardback paper book in eBook form is.  He had posted a similar poll last year and the results were compared.  The highly unscientific, yet utterly compelling, findings showed that a year ago 63% of the folks who voted believed an acceptable price for the eBook version of a $25 paper book was greater than $10.  This year, 72% went the opposite direction and said that the eBook version should be priced below $10.  Even as a somewhat random sample that's a pretty big shift.

Nathan isn't the first person to illustrate or surmise that the value of a book is falling.  Consumers are starting to speak up.  THIS EXCELLENT ARTICLE (highly, highly recommended) posted back in March on The Digital Reader noted that of the top 20 bestselling eBooks on Amazon, 9 were priced at $1 or less.  With this evidence in hand a number of people have started predicting a day when all books are free, because no one will be willing to pay for them.  I've also read a number of hostile comments directed toward the authors who are pricing their books in the bargain basement, blaming them for hastening the collapse of the written word's value.

Let's pump the brakes, m'Kay?

Here are my reasonings (told you I had 'em) for why we shouldn't go all 2012 on books just yet:

• The Entertainer: Entertainment and talent have always carried a price tag.  People will pay to escape.  People will pay to enjoy and whiteness things they cannot, or are not willing to do themselves.  It's why we have sports.  It's why we have Lady Ga Ga.  If you can offer an experience of value, someone will pay for it.  From puppet shows in the street to sold out arenas; if you build it, they will come.
• A Change Will Do You Good: eBooks are a market in flux.  It is still way too early to nail down the market price.  Case in point: Back in March 9 out of the top 20 Amazon bestsellers were under $1.  As of this evening, only 1 out of the top 20.  A month from now it will probably be 15 out of 20.  Based upon the survey mentioned above, I'm not even sure readers know what an electronic book is worth to them.  While I'm pretty sure it isn't what a paper book is worth, I'm also pretty sure it isn't nothing.  (That's coming from a reader, not a writer.)
• "I'd Buy That For A Dollar": Worth is highly subjective.  Some people wouldn't pay more than $30 for a meal, but would sell everything they own for a new Harry Potter book.  Others would pay thousands of $$$ for a bottle of wine but not pay anything for digital content they can pirate for free on the Internet.  As such, there will never be "an agreed upon" price for anything.  
• Look To The Past, Not The Future: The music industry went through a similar shift not all that long ago.  People predicted horrible things when consumers were allowed to download their favorite tracks for .99c instead of being obligated to purchase an entire album for $15.  The same mantra of, "Pretty soon we'll be giving it away!" was shouted then.  (Actually, it is still being shouted by Jon Bon Jovi.  :)   Here's a news release from 2005 explaining how Apple and the Big Record Companies were butting heads over  the issue.  The reality is that the music industry for MUSICIANS and LISTENERS has never been better.   What about the Big Record Companies?  Not so much.  Draw what conclusions you will, but I for one think authors and readers will be fine. 
• "A Hamburger Today ...": Fastfood restaurants have been waging the price war for years, yet I still have to pay .99c for a hamburger.  Shouldn't it be free already?   If piracy and price cutting were truly the ingredients for "free" I tend to think my next iTunes purchase would be $0 instead of $9.99.  There is a bottom line for everything, and that bottom line will be set by the people who make a living off of the goods and services being provided.  An author won't work for free so long as there are readers who covet their stories.  Why?  Because milk and eggs aren't free.   

At the end of the day I think that authors just need write good stories.  The money and accolades will come if there is justification for it. 

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  Are cheap eBooks going to devalue literature to the point that no one is willing to pay for it?  Are we headed toward a future where authors, like classical composers of old, are hired by private investors to craft stories that will be free to the public?

~EJW~