As Amanda Hocking said herself, “I don’t understand why the internet suddenly picked up on me this past week, but it definitely did.”
And how.
The writing world is abuzz about Amanda Hocking, the 26-year-old self-published author who sold over 450,000 copies of her e-books in January alone, mostly priced between 99 cents and $2.99. She’s now a millionaire. The writing world has been abuzz for a while about J.A. Konrath, who has very publicly blogged about the significant amount of money he has made selling inexpensive e-books.
Many people in the last week have sent me links about these authors, wondering…
What exactly is going on here? How in the heck are these self-published authors making so much money? Is this the future? And does this mean the end of the publishing industry as we know it?
It’s still (mostly) a print world
Before we delve into what this means for the world of books, I feel like it’s important to take a deep breath and splash some cold water on our faces.
The reality: This is still a print world and probably will be for at least the next several years. Even as some publishers report e-book sales jumping to between 25% and 35% in January, the significant majority of sales are still in print. As I wrote in my recent post about record stores, over a decade after the rise of the mp3 the majority of revenue in music is still in CDs.
So let’s not get out of hand (yet) about the scale of this e-book self-publishing revolution, if it is indeed one. Yes, this is real money we’re talking about. Yes, these authors deserve all the credit in the world. And yes, these authors are also making money in print as well.
But we’re still a ways away from self-published Kindle bestsellers making Dan Brown, James Patterson, Stephenie Meyer, J.K. Rowling kind of money, the old-fashioned way, through paper books in bookstores. It’s not as exciting a story to remember that traditionally published franchise James Patterson made $70 million between June ’09 and June ’10, but it’s still worth keeping in perspective.
Let’s also not forget that Hocking, Konrath and a couple of others are the tip of a very large iceberg of self-published authors, the overwhelming majority of whom are selling the merest handful of copies. As Hocking herself writes:
I guess what I’m saying is that just because I sell a million books self-publishing, it doesn’t mean everybody will. In fact, more people will sell less than 100 copies of their books self-publishing than will sell 10,000 books. I don’t mean that to be mean, and just because a book doesn’t sell well doesn’t mean it’s a bad book. It’s just the nature of the business.
Yes, it’s new, it’s a big deal, it’s seriously awesome for Hocking, who seems like a super nice and humble person. But let’s not also lose our perspective about the scale of the shift taking place. The book world is changing in a big way, but it still ain’t done changed just yet.
The war between the worlds
So. Now that we are all sober and erudite, let me shock us back to life with this statement: Hocking and Konrath and others like them represent an existential threat to traditional publishers.
To understand why, we’re going to need to take a look at how much it costs to make a print book vs. an e-book.
There is a perception out there, repeated endlessly around the Internet, that e-books should cost almost nothing. Electrons are (basically) free, so why should an e-book cost $11.99?
The reality, which I shall bold, italicize, and underline for some emphasis: Paper doesn’t really cost very much.
Let’s start with your basic $24.99 hardcover, the most profitable format. Of that cost, only approximately $1.50 goes toward the paper, printing, and distribution and all the stuff that publishers save with e-books. Repeat: $1.50 out of $24.99. E-books just don’t save publishers gobs of money.
Let’s look at a back-of-a-napkin breakdown of a print book vs. an e-book (all numbers approximate):
$24.99 hardcover:
$12.50 to the bookstore (roughly 50% retail price)
$2.50 to $3.75 to the author (between 10-15% of the retail price)
$1.50 for paper, shipping, distribution (again, approximately. UPDATE this would be for a high-print-run book, HarperStudio cited $2.00 as average)
=
Around $8.00 to the publisher, which is split between overhead (rent, paying editors, copyeditors, etc.), marketing, other costs, and hopefully some profit assuming enough copies are sold.$9.99 e-book (agency model):
$3.00 to the bookseller (30% of the retail price)
$1.75 to the author (25% of the publisher’s share)
=
Around $5.24 to the publisher, split between overhead, other costs, and hopefully some profit
You can see why publishers aren’t exactly leaping onto the cheap e-book bandwagon when there are hardcover sales to be had. They make a lot less money per copy sold. They’re worried about cheap e-books eroding their more profitable print sales. Electrons aren’t saving them much money.
Print is still where it’s at for them, and they’re not crazy to behave accordingly.
For now.
Here come the insurgents
That $8.00 vs. $5.24 per-unit print vs. e-book consideration? Overhead? “Other” costs?
Hocking and Konrath don’t care.
They don’t have overhead, unless you count rent, an Internet connection, the services they contract out, and a laptop. They’re not paying for an army of editors, assistants, lawyers, marketing teams, sales teams, and executives. They’re not beholden to shareholders.
They write books, they figure out the editing and cover design on their own, they blog to try and spread some buzz, and word of mouth does the rest. They can afford to sell their books at a low price.
And because they cut out the middle man (and because publishers’ e-book royalties are low), self-published authors make more from self-publishing a $2.99 e-book (70%, or $2.10) than a traditionally published author makes from a $9.99 e-book (25% of the publisher’s share, or $1.75).
You read that right. More money to the author per copy at $2.99 than a traditionally published e-book at $9.99. Many self-published authors are laughing their way to the bank on that one.
If you aren’t going to be published in print in a big way and you have an entrepreneurial spirit, what’s the point of going with a traditional publisher? Why not undercut the competition and make more money?
The perception of value problem
And yet…
Despite the glaring e-book royalty situation and some notable authors opting for self-publishing (such as Seth Godin), there has not yet been a mass exodus to self-publishing. Most of the biggest bestselling authors are sticking with traditional publishers. Not only is print still where the bulk of the audience is, publishers still provide an indispensable array of services that many authors (such as yours truly) simply don’t have time to handle on their own.
But there’s a problem that publishers are up against as we move inexorably into the e-book era: Perception of value.
Publishers can explain their costs and how e-books don’t save them much money until they’re blue in the face, but on a gut level many people simply don’t believe an e-book should cost $12.99. It feels too expensive. A lot of people will simply not buy one or even go and pirate a copy because they feel like they’re being ripped off.
Why could that be? Yes, you can’t put your hands on an e-book or resell it, but people willingly plop down $12.99 to go to a movie and you can’t put your hands on that or resell it either. Why have books suddenly become exorbitant at $12.99? Why is that too much to pay?
Well, it’s partly because $12.99 is competing against the upstart $2.99 Kindle bestsellers and some other lunatics named Charles Dickens and Herman Melville and Jane Austen, who are giving away their books for free!! (Which, ahem, may be because they’re long dead and in the public domain).
And therein lies a big challenge for publishers.
The price of “good enough”
So.
On the one hand you have publishers who are clinging onto the print world as long as possible and literally can’t afford for prices to erode. They’re counting on their quality control, their marketing, and their curation of what they feel are the top books in order to charge consumers a premium and hopefully instill a perception of value that new e-books “should” cost between $10.99-$14.99.
And on the other hand you have the self-published upstarts, who are willing and able to undercut publishers’ e-book prices all the way down to 99 cents or even free.
Will publishers be able to maintain their prices or will they have to come down? And if they have to come down, how far will they have to go?
As always, the answer will be determined by consumers and their individual choices.
Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight for $8.99 or Amanda Hocking’s Switched for $0.99?
Harlan Coben’s Live Wire for $14.99 or J.A Konrath’s Shaken for $2.99?
Different people will make different choices, and I don’t presume to know how that will play out (and for the record, I haven’t read any of the prominent self-published authors).
Some consumers are more than willing to pay a premium for their favorite authors. I’m reading Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer right now, and it’s so unbelievably incredible that no matter what I paid for the e-book it wasn’t enough.
For other consumers, no book is ten times better than the other and they aren’t willing to pay a premium. Many consumers just aren’t that worried about the writing quality (as perceived/judged by the publishing industry), don’t need the publishing industry deciding what to read for them, and just want a good story.
When the world moves toward e-books and print distribution is no longer where it’s at, publishers are going to have a fight on their hands justifying the cost of their services to authors at their current e-book royalty rates.
They’ll have a second fight on their hands as they try to adapt to a world where there are good books for sale for just 99 cents or less.
What do you think about the new Kindle millionaires, and what do you think it means for the future of books?
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Anonymous says
Kudos to Hocking and Konrath and all self pubbed authors who are fighting back against the system that would never have let their words see the light of day. I understand "gatekeepers," and yeah, I appreciate not seeing total garbage in stores (and yet…why is there still such garbage being printed? Oh yes, because people will buy it because Snooki wrote it, etc). At the same time, I HATE how agents hold authors' careers hostage if they have just the slightest doubt that the author's book won't be a three-quel, movie tie-in mega blockbuster. No one cares about literature anymore, it seems. Writers have to write…and writers need their words read. Agents and editors have been holding writers back and I am thrilled to see them getting out from under the yoke of the oppressors who really just want to use their talent to make money off them…while ignoring the masses who still have good things to share.
Ted Fox says
I say huzzah for them. I've always viewed self-publishing as something of a last resort, but clearly, that doesn't have to be the case. That said, I'd hate to put all that work not only into writing a book but editing, formatting, and designing it, only to see it move 57 copies at 99 cents a pop. Talk about a Buzz Killington. For now, I'll continue to pursue that most elusive of creatures: the literary agent.
David Kazzie says
I think that the most important thing to remember is that for every Amanda Hocking and J.A. Konrath, there are a truckload of self-published authors not making squat.
Breadline Books says
I wonder, how do these self-published e-book authors go about marketing their books? Do they have large marketing budgets, or are their books so good that word-of-mouth is enough to make them millions?
Also, if anybody wants a free book, no strings attached, or knows someone who could use a free book, check out my blog.
Tana Adams says
It's a strange phenomenon on many levels but if you uncover the basic underlying principle of why these novels have seen spike of success I think it boils down to price point. Face it, when you're options are a 9.99 e-book, or more (I've seen them for 14.99, and a select few for 19.99), the .99 options feel almost free. It's the impulse buy of Kindle e-book shopping.
What does it mean for big six publishers? Perhaps nothing. Maybe they'll increase output in an effort to keep up with consumer demand. Books are consumable. Most readers finish a novel in days. They want the sequel available upon demand. They want more books from their favorite authors. In this fast food nation waiting for a novel to come out in a year or two feels like some kind of unimaginable eternity. So the reader goes elsewhere.
I think at the end of the day the writer will come out the ultimate victor. Whether its with a big publisher who gives only a portion of profits back to the writer, but whose distribution is high, or for the self-published author whose garners a lion share of the profit, but distribution is limited (if indeed you can call the Internet limited and in this case I think you can), the writer is still at the nexus of the equation.
I posted about this today as well.
Jamie Wyman says
Authors like Hocking and Konrath are doing well, and rock awesome for them. But, they're still the exception rather than the rule. I think self-pubbing has its place, but it's a matter of what you want out of your writing career. As you said, Nathan, I know that I am not a one-woman publishing house with editors, marketers, PR, legal etc … I know that for the career I want, a traditional publishing deal is the way for me to go. As the business evolves, I can adapt, but print/tradition pubbing defines where I (personally) want to be right now.
(And I'm tired of my well-meaning friends sending me the articles on Hocking telling me that I should drop my agent and go Kindle.)
Vivacia says
The danger of success stories like Amanda Hocking is that people then think "I can do that too". Sadly, it isn't that easy, and even those that managed it don't exactly know how they did it.
Personally it's left me confused about what to do with my novel (assuming I ever finish it). I'm inclined to go the traditional route purely because I trust the feedback I'll get will help me improve, and thereby increase my chances of success. I'm not convinced the same could be said for self-publishing…
Robb says
Well said. I've recently come out of the newspaper industry, which seems to be about 5 years ahead of book publishing in the disintegration mode, eaten by the Internet and electronic news dissemination, along with bloggers/independent journalists and the consumer changing to the opinion that news should be a free commodity, not something you have to pay to get. I think traditional book publishers have about 3-5 years to figure out a solution or they'll be following newspapers into the dust bin of history. And there are upsides and downsides to that.
L.G.Smith says
Hocking says she spends an enormous amount of time on promoting the books. She's invested heavily in social networking and it has paid off.
I haven't read any of her books, and probably won't, but what's 99 cents? Or even $2.99? I'm so used to downloading songs at that price that it wouldn't even faze me to buy two or three books at a time if they were that cheap.
I think publishers should use the Netflix model. Get people to sign up to have ten dollars debited from their account each month and allow them to download a book a week. Guaranteed money.
Project Savior says
What is really going to totally change the system is when one of the top agents bucks the system and e-publishes a line of kindle books. After all the agents do half the work that an author gets from being professional published.
You'll get your quality without the overhead.
HBIC says
As I walked by my computer this morning, I noticed that a friend had sent me the link to the Hocking story on Huffington Post. I saw "self published millionaire" and continued my walk into the kitchen.
As a first time author seeking publication for my first book, I have to admit- I looked into self publishing before I ever considered sending off a submission to a established print publisher. I am many things- A mom, a wine-sipper, a journalist….What I am not, is an optimist.
I have seen several first time authors that have yet to complete their first book and have already stated that they will self publish- no doubt- no need to even consider an agent, or even publishers that allow submissions without agents.
Here is what I think about not even trying to get your book published through a publisher-
When I was in my early 20s, I was poor and depressed. I was awake one night and I caught an informercial for SMC…Tom Bosely was the spokesman, and come on- If the dad from "Happy Days" says you are going to make money- it must be true.
We saved and saved and instead of investing or just living a bit better- we sent our money into SMC and, gosh darn it- we were going to be rich like that little old redneck man in the feathered cowboy hat. If he can make millions, we could rule the world via household items and gifts.
( I think I just heard Charlie Sheen yell, "WINNING!")
As it turns out, those results are not typical as the little man in the feathered cowboy hat seemed to make it sound, we were even more poor than before and I was now set with plenty of candles and dragon shaped incense warmers to unload on ebay for next to nothing.
Hocking may have made the mother load with self publishing ebooks, but to me, she is the old redneck in the feathered cowboy hat.
I want my book in print, with a publisher. I want to smell the pages of my freshly printed novel. Kindle and Nook can not offer the reward of smelling the pages of my book.
Not to mention, if you do not have enough faith in your own writing to at least attempt to have a publisher consider it, why are you writing?
Hocking did try to get published the "old school" way, and I do admire her for not giving up…but to never try the route of print publishers, to me, it seems to lack a certain part of the journey.
Anonymous says
Gulp….there's so much to consider now. I prefer traditional ways because the outcome is more predictable.
Anonymous says
I'm prognosticating that it's not Nora Roberts and James Patterson who will consider leaving traditional publishing first. They have so much penetration into the print market, with their books in every corner grocery store, that it won't make any sense.
It's the midlist mass market authors who have the most to gain from this. Because, see, that 25-30% figure of print–that varies per author. For Nora, it's probably closer to 5% (guessing), just because she is EVERYWHERE.
But for your midlist author who is no longer being carried in Walmart because Walmart halved their book section? The author who used to be in Target, but isn't anymore because Target's shifted more to trade paperbacks? The midlist author whose books may disappear from Borders? The midlist author who isn't in the grocery store or the pharmacy?
For that author, electronic sales might end up close to 50-60% of her sales. For some authors, that point has already come. For others, it'll be here in a few years.
If you get $1.40 from your publisher selling your e-book at 25% of agency net, and you get $1.99 selling your e-book yourself at $2.99, assuming that you sell as many copies of your book at $2.99 as at $7.99, you make more in royalties when e-books make up 53% of the market.
Of course, you may sell fewer copies because you don't have a NY house behind you. And you may sell more, because your book is $5 cheaper.
Of course, you'll have more expenses (like editing and covers). But you'll also save on some of the money you spend on print promotion.
When USA Today Bestselling author Julianna Maclean/E.V. Mitchell announces that she has made more on her self-published book than she makes on a print book, print publishing is in very real danger of losing its midlist.
So, no. I don't imagine that Nora Roberts will walk. What I do wonder is… Where is the next Nora Roberts going to come from?
Anonymous says
I think it's great that both options are open to authors – but I dislike the hatred against publishers from Konrath and his followers, as if publishers were the Devil incarnate.
Publishers have and will serve a purpose for years to come. I have a good contract with a small publisher that nets me 40% royalty on my ebooks right off the top. I'm not scrambling to do all the work myself and can spend more time writing. And I'm happy to do so.
Konrath et al have such a hate on for publishers and claim that they can produce the same quality with two weeks worth of editing, a few hours paying a cover artist and spamming their friends. Uh, no.
Self-pubbing is a great option for certain genres and for certain people. But let's back off on the hatred for those of us who wish to get a traditional contract with a publisher. Don't call us stupid, mentally ill or deluded nuts who need the approval of NYC to continue living.
I'd love to see more failure stories about writers selling their 120K novels for less than a buck and failing miserably. Not because it's bad writing (and let's not kid ourselves, 90% of all the self-pub has to be crap, if not more) but because he/she doesn't have the resources a good publisher has.
I'd name myself here but don't want to get hate mail from all the self-pub gurus and their followers claiming they've made a million dollars this year and I Can Too.
scott neumyer says
Good article, man. Nice and balanced and interesting. As someone who's gone the Hocking/Konrath route since December, I have to say that I never expected to sell the amount of Jimmy Stone's Ghost Town as I have. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made. I can also say that, without the initial price of $0.99 (it's now higher), there's no way I'd have over 50 reviews on Amazon for the book in only 3 months (34 of them five-star reviews). It was the impulse buy that got it into the hands of readers and now word of mouth is keeping it selling… even at $4.95 on B&N.
The thing about Hocking is that she's truly a good, down to earth person with a big heart and a mighty pen. It's great to see her success and for what that might mean for more people. I agree that there are a lot of people jumping into this world with garbage books, but my thought is that the cream ALWAYS rises to the top and it has for many of these authors.
If you write good books, they will sell. Bottom line. Indie authors have NOTHING against traditional publishing. It's just nice to see that there's no longer one viable path to successful publication.
Kudos to them all!
Scott Neumyer
Author of Jimmy Stone's Ghost Town
Anonymous says
While I agree with the points you make in your article, I'd like to add that many publishers could avoid some of the Amazon and chain store overhead by selling e-books on their own web sites. My publisher does this, and is able to pay 39% royalties.
That being said, my publisher also does zero marketing of the titles it produces. This means that unless an author has a substantial back list, they usually make about $500 total on a book before it is yanked from the site, or the publisher tries to get the author to offer it as a free read! Consequently, I can see how it might be preferable to own my work, perhaps sell 500 copies on Amazon.com for 99 cents each, and call it a day.
Nathan Bransford says
anon@7:26-
Check out Amanda Hocking's blog, she's very a refreshing antidote to the publisher-as-devil sentiment that you see around the Internet.
kathrynleighaz says
I'd be lying if I said I'm not all-of-a-sudden feeling warm and fuzzy towards self-publishing. As an aspiring author about to finish polishing my first manuscripte 'til it sparkles – and we're talking way more sparkle than even gorgeous vampires achieve – I'm planning to query the agents on my list and if I don't find representation within the year, I'll probably take a long, hard look at self-pubbing.
Rick Daley says
I think this illustrates the new opportunities afforded through self-publishing and ebooks. But it's important to remember that this level of success does not come without hard work, and if you want to look at the percentage of writers who self-publish and strike it rich like this compared to all writers, you may have renewed faith in lottery tickets.
Mr. D says
I think eBook are the inevitable future. But like in that Star Trek, OS episode, "Court Martial," that funny lawyer made a big deal of his preference for "real" books. There will always be people like that around. I think I'm one of them. At least, for now.
Maryann Miller says
Very good article with a balanced viewpoint. Thanks.
I applaud the authors who are doing so well at self-pubbed e-books. While $1 million isn't that much compared to $70 million, I would be happy to add that to my yearly income. LOL
Amy says
I wonder, how much of a traditionally published book's price goes to pay for things like the inefficiencies of the return system, and offices in New York? Isn't that some pretty expensive real estate?
Elizabeth C. Mock says
I'm a self-published author at the beginning of my career and I decided to self-publish right out the gate. I never searched for an agent or a publisher. It wasn't necessarily because of the money I thought I could make, but because I have some friends in the industry and I know how much of getting published has to do with luck and timing. I just wanted to be able to share my story. I didn't really care how. Less than a year ago, I published my debut novel (the first in a trilogy) and last month I breached 100,000 downloads/sales. My decision to self-publish had everything to do with wanting to publish on my terms. I don't mean that to sound petulant in any way nor do I mean to demean traditional publishing in any way. I just love my day job and want the freedom that self-publishing affords me. I definitely agree with the sentiments that have already been voiced. I know a lot of self-published authors who have only sold a hundred or so copies of their books. I really think that with this low-priced e-book movement we're seeing market forces determining the success of the self-published authors. People want good stories and if a story resonates with people, then it will sell regardless of its origins in traditional publishing or self-publishing. If a story isn't good, it won't sell. I will freely admit that it is a lot of work and requires the backing of a lot of good people to put out a good product with self-publishing. Though the name is a bit of a misnomer in my opinion. I just know that I have been extremely happy with my results and look forward to see what my sales look like this summer when I release book two in the series. I think when weighing self-publishing and traditional publishing what a person needs to ask is what their priorities are in telling their stories. I think both venues have strengths and weaknesses and that while Hocking's story is not the norm, the potential is out there. As with any entrepreneurial venture, however, you have to be prepared to put in the long hours to reap the potential benefits.
Kelly Bryson says
I did a post on Knorath and Hocking last week- there's definately a buzz right now about self-publishing. Amanda Hocking said (via her blog) that she's written 15 or so books, 9 that will never see the light of day, I think. She's very upfront about how hard she has worked. Congrats to her and Konrath both. (PS- Konrath had a list on his site of 100+ authors who are making a good living epubbing their books.)
Nathan- do you think we'll see agents representing self-pubbed ebooks? Wouldn't agents make more on a 2.99 ebook if the author is making more, too? Or would that get an agent blacklisted by the publishers for competing so directly?
Barbara Kloss says
"…some other lunatics named Charles Dickens and Herman Melville and Jane Austen, who are giving away their books for free!!"
Haha! (have all of them on my Kindle. I squealed when I saw they were free. Really.)
Great post. I find this encouraging…in an 'adventurous' sort of way. It's always nice to have options. Just in case.
Gretchen says
Fascinating post, Nathan! Thank you for detailing it all out like this. It is very interesting to see where the industry is heading. Exciting stuff, this changing world of publishing!
If you like "Into the Wild" you should read "Into Thin Air" next. His best, in my opinion, and I'm a huge Krakauer fan.
Lance C. says
I'm surprised that in all of the recent debate about the rise of self-epublishing and what it means to the traditional publishing industry, no one has looked at the last time this happened — when paperbacks burst on the scene in the late 1930s.
The paperback was as much a threat to the hardbound as epubs are now to the paperback. Their low price and general disposability helped reset what people considered a "fair price" for books. The "99% of self-published books are crap" argument had a direct parallel in the "paperback original = crap" belief in the 1950s and 1960s. Yet trad publishing managed to embrace the new format and make quite a lot of money from it.
I'd love to see a good analysis of how that came about. Is that analysis circulating around the offices of the Big 6 today?
YoungMasterCK says
5 things:
1) Amanda Hocking has great professional covers.
2) Amanda Hocking has great prologs/first chapters (that bit you can get in the sample).
3) Amanda Hocking has 9 books published.
4) Amanda Hocking whole library can be purchased for under 14.99.
5) Nearly all authors sell under 10 copies a day.
SB says
I think the "perception of value" issue is going to mean success for both self-published authors and traditionally-published authors. I read e-books constantly and have read gobs of self-published e-books (not just on Amazon, but free stories published on blogs, etc.).
Although I enjoy these self-published books, I can tell that they would have benefited from a publishing process. I often find that the books have lower intrinsic value, due to editing mistakes, formatting mistakes or, sometimes, sloppy writing. But I am willing to read them because they're free or cheap and they tell good stories.
But I am also willing to pay $10-15 for an e-book that I heard was great from a traditional publisher. These books generally feel slicker and read easier. You can tell that there is just a higher VALUE — the value given to a book by a good publisher.
That's why I think there's room in the market for both. Self-published authors are like local bands we hear at a bar and buy the CD from, while traditionally published authors are the CDs we buy after hearing their songs on MTV. As with the music industry, it takes a lot for an unknown author to break into the market. As consumers, we should support good authors by buying their books, whether they're self published or not.
Bob Mayer says
I've made the switch after 20 years in traditional publishing and with over 40 books. I actually have a major mass market paperback coming out in May from St. Martins. But I released my latest thriller, Chasing The Ghost myself, will be releasing my Civil War trilogy: Duty; Honor; Country next month on 12 April for the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War (something a traditional publisher would not be capable of doing) and my next thriller The Jefferson Allegiance on the 4th of July. It's just the reality of the inefficiency of traditional publishing. I just saw a book on PW Daily that was contracted for publication in 2014. Talk about SLOW. And as you showed, the number don't add up. 25% royalty on an ebook isn't going to stand. I've led with two books at .99, the rest of my fiction at $2.99 and sales have multiplied six times what they were four weeks ago.
Anonymous says
Konrath and Hocking have agents already. Not sure what they do and I'm sure Konrath's roaring hatred towards publishers has had his agent apologize more than once behind closed doors.
M.J.B. says
For the first time, I'm seriously pondering using my current standalone book "The Breeders" as an experiment in eBook publishing.
I have Adobe InDesign. I learned how to make eBooks over the weekend (designed as I want them, not just ground up in the Smashwords process). It's pretty darned cool, and I've been lucky enough to fund (via my photography business) professional tools for web design, marketing, video production, and all that jazz.
I'm starting to think it cannot hurt to experiment, if the current agent reading my manuscript doesn't want it (and assuming the other few queries out there reject me).
Now, there are some amazing books out there from traditional publishers. But there are also some really-not-so-good books out there as well. Flat (or unrealistically "quirky!!") characters, cookie-cutter plots, etc. As Nathan said, people may not want to be "told" what to read anymore, because the filters in New York might actually be imperfect.
I still have a book series I'm working on. They're the books I'm truly passionate about. So, why not use a book as a test and possibly make some money off of it under my own publishing company? It could be quite interesting.
Keary Taylor says
I've been really really surprised at all the writers that I hear about lately that have decided to forgo traditional publishing and go straight for Indie. I think what some of them need to realize is just HOW MUCH work they have before them. As an Indie author myself, I've sweated blood for every sale I get. And my stuff was up for probably 9 months before I started to see anything happening and BOOM! All the sudden it took off in the UK!
And yet I find myself torn on what I'm going to do when I finish my current WIP. Everyone around me assumes I will publish this Indie as well but I am leaning toward looking to get an agent and publisher again. I've grown thick enough skin it won't bother me to get rejections again like it did with Branded before I did go Indie. The more I read about the whole market the more torn I feel. I know I can do great Indie, but I also know it is very unlikely that I will do as great as I could if I went Traditional.
Should I go Indie or Traditional? My constant internal debate as of late.
lotusgirl says
I think people are much more willing to take a chance on a new author at .99, but without the publicity of big publishing behind them it's hard for anyone to hear about them.
It'd be interesting to see some percentages of how many self-pubbed books actually sell more than a couple hundred. I haven't bought any of those super cheap ebooks so far. I worry about the quality of the writing. A buck is still a buck and my reading time is incredibly valuable to me. I don't want to squander it on something that hasn't had some rigorous editing. That's not to say that all self-pubbed ebooks are not well edited and all traditionally pubbed are, but it's more likely on traditionally published books. (I have read a great self-pubbed book recently that was very well edited, but I probably never would have heard about it or read it if it hadn't been written by a friend.)
Sean Patrick Reardon says
I think it's tremendous and I wish them and all other writers who have the abilty to take matters into their own hands the best of luck. I just downloaded a novel by James Henderson called "Baby Huey: A Cautionary Tale of Addiction", for .99 cents. It is the best novel I have read in the last couple years and he couldn't get a publishing deal, so he did it himsef. It's now climbing the kindle rankings. I only found out about it from and "indie" review site. Oprah should be calling this guy!
Mercy Loomis says
Thank you for the excellent breakdown! The industry is changing faster than I think any of us thought it would (I expected numbers like these in another 3-5 years, not now) and the big houses need to figure out their future game plan NOW, or they'll be like Kodak during the rise of the digital camera.
Hart Johnson says
I hadn't realized what a small percentage of the total cost was hard copy cost… though the eBook DOES eliminate the waste of books over printed and shipping for returned copies.
Still, I feel like the quality control on the traditionally published books is important to me as a consumer. The self-published stuff I've read all reads several iterations short of 'done' because it is just too easy for us (myself included) to think we've FINISHED the next big thing when there is no layer of reality check besides our crit group who loves us. Until some system of quality control crops up, I am commited to the traditional model, both as author and reader.
Rosie Lane says
I'm thinking hard about self-publishing because I hate pressure. I already have a job and a family and I suspect I would fold trying to jump through the hoops of the traditional publishing route when all I want to do is tell stories and maybe knock a few quid off the endowment disaster that is my mortgage.
I probably will have a crack at the agented route first, but if it doesn't happen, I won't be crying. I just won't be putting a deposit down on a sports car either.
Carrie says
great post. With e-readers and e-book sales increasing I can see more self published authors seeing success if they are good.
I think that mp3s and the internet made it easier for indie and local bands to have success and build a following. It used to be that maybe these bands had to go through one of the big record labels and now there are a lot of smaller labels out there.
Just because the internet made it easier for people to get music out there doesn't mean that all the music is good. I think the same is true of self published books.
Just like many musicians bypassed the gatekeepers of the music world I think that some writers will chose to bypass the gatekeepers of the writing world.
I think it is interesting to see how publishing and books will redefine itself in a digital age.
Rebekah says
While I am impressed with the numbers that Hocking and Konrath have, and great for them, I am still going to keep sending my own manuscripts to traditional publishers.I have no intention of going in without editors, marketing teams, agents and all of the other trappings of traditional publishing. There are millions of self published books collecting virtual dust on servers all over the world because bottom line, it isn't the actual printing process that gives a traditional publisher the advantages – it is the army of editors, agents, copy editors, marketing teams, art departments and all of the rest that make a book successful.
A.C.Heron says
I was hoping you would pick this up when I first heard about Hocking last week. It's certainly made me think more about different ways to get exposure to my works outside the publisher system (besides the experience of a good friend who has tested the self-publishing system himself, Jamil Moledina).
Thanks for your detailed breakdown of things!
sinisterechoes.com says
My problem with self-publishing is that, in spite of Hocking and Konrath, people still have this stigma about it. "Oh, guess you weren't good enough for an agent" type thing. Yes, I know that's not true and it is unfair, but the problem with self-publishing is exactly that, ANYONE can do it, including your Aunt Mabel, who wrote a novel about her cat Tiddles. It's the rotten apple, that spoils the lot.
Alannah
Jake Bible says
Nathan,
I think the movie analogy is the best way to look at this.
Everyone said that movie rentals would put theaters out of business. It didn't. People still go see movies at the theaters and always will. Why? Because you can't get that experience at home. But will I pay $6-$12 to see every movie at the theater? Not a chance in hell. I see only those movies I really want to see right now in the theater. And those movies need to be Big Screen quality, not home viewing possible.
Now apply that to books.
I will purchase a hardcover (or $15.99 ebook) if I want that book right now and really want to read it. Whereas, I will wait for a cheaper version down the line (used books or cheap ebook) if it's no big deal for me personally.
We'll see a happy medium soon, just as we did with the movie industry. Will print books go away? Nope. Never. Will ebooks replace the mass market paperback? Quite possibly. Only time will tell.
And, in all fairness, I have indie published my first novel, and short collection, on Kindle, Nook and Smashwords. I've seen 100 times return in the month it's been up compared to the eight months it was in print with a publisher (I was lucky to negotiate my contract termination). But, I also have a literary agent and am shopping a YA novel to traditional publishers.
I think too many people are drawing lines in the sand (writers and publishers alike) when they should look at this as an expansion of the market, not an either/or situation. As a writer looking to be successful (profitable) in the business, I'll go where the money is. If it's ebooks for one novel then great! If it's traditional publishing for a different novel then I'm all for it!
Everyone needs to take a deep breath and just chill. No one knows where this will land, but we'll all be landing there at the same time.
Cheers!
Jake
Kathryn Packer Roberts says
I agree with David Kazzie, we only here the few stories of how people made it big. And why do we hear those stories? Because it IS so shocking. It still comes down to the fact that they must have done something right in their writing (or so I hope).
The most important thing will always be to write the best you can. If I wrote a crappy book and it sold millions I think I would feel a little silly accepting money for it. But if I wrote a fantastic novel that everyone else praised and didn't make much, that would mean more to me than all the gold in Donald Trump's vault.
Lisa Yarde says
As a self-pubbed author, one thing trad authors will always have over me is some sort of marketing budget and mechanism. I've had to discover how to do those things on my own; hell, I'm still learning everyday. Hocking, Konrath, etc. are the exceptions to the rule and I applaud their efforts, but I don't believe that everyone can duplicate them. Still glad to know some of "us" are making it.
Toby Neal says
I got a kindle for Christmas, and went a little nuts with e-books. THe heady instantaneousness of it! The cheapness!
Then, I found I struggled to "get into" reading like I can with print. I think my brain isn't used to processing the information the same way, and recently saw an article that discusses this in Scientific American Mind- retention is lower in electronic format among students than print.
I also began to miss being able to just pass on a book I liked, something I've always done. I then discovered that many of the .99 cent "bestsellers" were worth just that: .99 cents- while my favorite authors continued to be "worth" more. Reliable excellence.
My book is being shopped for traditional pub deal by my agent. It's hard to sit and wait, and hope, when right an left "everybody" is running out and getting their stuff "instantly" on line and peddling it. But in the end, I want substance. A book in my hands, in stores, with a future of becoming dog-eared by passing it around.
Self pub will continue to be a last resort for me. Call me a gambler…
Rowenna says
I wouldn't be surprised if the next move in the e-book world isn't pulling the plug on a lot of self-publishing through major carriers, restricting it, labelling prominently with publisher/self-pubbed, or segregating it to a "special" section of Amazon and B&N and the like. As a consumer, I would actually appreciate this–call me a cynic, but the quality on average of self-pubbed books is below that, on average, of industry-pubbed books (note–on average. There are always exceptions). I'd rather not wade through dozens and dozens of self-pubbed books when I'm e-browsing, which is often the situation I find myself in. At the same time, they should have an outlet. I think this is going to continue to refine as retailers tweak the e-book shopping experience.
J. R. McLemore says
Lately, the news of Konrath and Hocking have changed my perception of self-publishing. Before, I thought of self-publishing as a last-ditch effort to have a book published, an admittance of failure because editors didn't think it was commercially viable. However, I think these self-published authors are disproving that and in a big way. So the editors didn't like their work. It seems that there are consumers out there that thought otherwise. Hocking and Konrath took it upon themselves to find their readers and delivered. I'm seriously considering self-publishing for my first novel.
Sommer Leigh says
I think there is another perception to take into account as well- most authors currently perceive being published traditionally as providing the validation that self-publishing does not yet offer. However, as more authors head out west into the self-publishing unknown and strike it rich, the perception of self-publishing as a 'last resort' is going to wear away.
What I think all this means is that everything is going to shake up and shake out in the next couple of years. When I hear stories about the big publishers trying to nickle and dime libraries (of all buyers!) and holding out e-book releases for more hard back sales, I get the mental picture of a bunch of old dudes sitting around great marble tables clutching at piles of money ala Scrooge McDuck and bemoaning all those "meddling self-publishing upstarts."
I think these old publishing dudes are going to have to start injecting some Apple innovation and imagination into their business images. Part of the reason consumers love buying Apple products when they could be paying lots less and why so many love Google is because of the inspired and creative image these businesses project.
"We are always changing and thinking up new ideas" seems to be the motto of the current beloved brands. Consumers want this and I think the image of the moneymongering old publishing dudes holding onto the old ways is going to have to give way to something young and new and embracing of technology and change. Right now it seems like everyone else is changing the publishing field with new gadgets, applications, and ideas and publishers are being dragged along by their dentures. I wonder how much better it might be for them if they took control of the innovations and forced distributors (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, self-publishing authors) to chase after them instead?
Katy Madison says
As someone who worked hard to be print published, I'm now stradling the line of both and having surprising success with my e-book. I do little to no promotion for my e-book, which was edited and published traditionally almost 10 yrs. ago. I doubt it would do so well, were it not traditionally published in the first place.
I do think it is unfortunate that people can throw any old thing out there, and sadly most will make little money. There is something to be said for breaching the gates of traditional publishing. The effort and persistence it takes just makes better writers. The process weeds out many writers both good and bad.
Although the idea of having to contract for editing, copy editing, cover art and so on for self-publishing gives me the heebie-jeebies, I may do that for previously unpublished work, but nothing beats the package that a publishing house can give you.
I'm curious why the comparision is always Hardback to e-book, and never includes the picture for mmpbk compared to e-book. I do think publishers are going to have to adjust their margins or writers will take their e-marbles and play elsewhere.