With all the talk about the price of e-books and what they should be, I thought I'd do a little market research on this issue. In truth, I started doing this research after seeing someone (the name doesn't matter) post on a blog a set of (somewhat loose) criteria for achieving success with fiction published for Kindle.
The blogger's three criteria were as follows (reworded slightly, to fit the format): 1) have a good-looking cover, 2) set the right price (the right price being anyone's guess; however, in this case, $1.99 was deemed acceptable) and 3) have "an established reputation . . . as a writer."
Okay, then. These three things presumably are what will assure you (in the blogger's words) that your "Kindle editions will do real well." (What does "real well" mean? Who knows? Naturally, "real well" could mean different things to different people. But let's table that discussion.)
The blogger (who we'll refer to as Author Y) has Kindle editions of backlisted books that have been selling pretty well. Author Y said that another author (who we'll refer to as Author X) who'd put books up on Kindle would probably do "real well," because Author X and the book met the three criteria.
Let's test these criteria, shall we? And throw in another author for comparison--Author Z.
Now, whereas Author X does indeed have an established reputation (and lots of kudos from folks in the publishing industry) and Author Y has had a long career in the writing business and markets a lot by blogging, Facebook and Twitter, Author Z has no traditional publisher, hardly any reputation to speak of in the business and markets e-books like crazy to readers. Oh, and Author Z's books are priced at $.99 per download (one tiny dollar less than the other two).
Let's compare the numbers (the Kindle Store rankings in weekly averages over the course of a month, for simplicity's sake), between these authors. (And, during the last week, I threw in a bestselling author--Author A (as in A-list? get it?)--whose books sell for the usual $9.99, just for kicks.)
Week 1 Avg. Rank: Author X #14,821 - Author Y #1,334 - Author Z #880
Week 2 Avg. Rank: Author X #20,632 - Author Y #1,294 - Author Z #1,072
Week 3 Avg. Rank: Author X #17,030 - Author Y #1,152 - Author Z #382
Week 4 Avg. Rank: Author X #6,762 - Author Y #1,163 - Author Z #307 - Author A #24,255
Hmm. I think the numbers speak more loudly than words here.
Since Authors X and Y both charge the same price ($1.99 per download), then either Author X has a really lousy cover or that reputation part just doesn't hold water. I would suspect the latter, given that a New York Times bestseller is doing far worse than any of the others.
This all leads me back to the issue of price. Look how well Author Z is doing selling e-books at $.99 per download. Author Z is in fact kicking these other authors' asses in the Kindle Store. This is sans awards, big-time reviews, traditional publisher, etc. So, is the lesson here that it all comes down to price? I don't think so, because Author Y (who markets through blogging and social media) is outselling Author X (who's doing--I don't know, never heard of Author X before this).
Could it be the difference here comes down, not only to price, but to marketing? Because Author Z has marketed relentlessly.
I don't know, but if I were an author putting my backlist on Kindle, I'd set a really low price and not rest on my reputation.
Which reminds me--the New York Times confirms what I've been saying all along about readers' reactions to raising e-book prices so soon. Creating a big, stupid rift between authors and readers in the bargain.
Yeah, thanks MacMillan. I won't say I told you so.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
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8 comments:
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Lucy
http://dataentryjob-s.com
Hi, Debbi. Nice post--and very enlightening. I would like to know what Author Z did to market her e-books so successfully.
Thanks for the information.
Thanks so much, Beth! And, as luck would have it, the mysterious Author Z is more than happy to share such information.
And, also as luck would have it, the author just sent an email on this very subject to another author. What serendipity!
So for your edification (and anyone else's), I shall reprint Author Z's advice here:
The answer is pretty simple. Market to readers (and e-readers, in particular). You can do this by posting to the DorothyL list (since you're a private eye novel writer this applies to you, Beth :)) and other reader sites, because plenty of their members own Kindles and other mobile devices. However, in addition, I'd strongly suggest joining and posting to Kindle and other e-reader forums.
Just read this post by Lee Goldberg: http://leegoldberg.typepad.com/a_writers_life/2009/06/you-can-become-a-kindle-millionaire-part-2.html Basically, I just followed his lead.
Here are some of the forums I posted to:
http://www.kindleboards.com/
http://www.amazon.com/tag/kindle/forum/ref=tag_cdf_bkt_icdf (FWIW, I had a hard time posting on the Amazon forum and you need to look for a particular thread requesting authors talk about their books--they have a "no unsolicited BSP" rule)
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=140
http://www.booksummit.com/forum
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kindlekorner/ (never actually announced my book here, but have been following and making occasional comments--with my book and link to the ebook sales page in the signature line, of course)
These are just a few I know about. For all I know, there may be many more. And be careful, in general, about observing forum rules about BSP. Look for existing discussion threads about authors and their books. Kindle and e-reader users are seeking this info in the forums. You just have to use common sense in how you go about telling them.
Otherwise, market online in whatever way you'd normally do. Blogging, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are all great ways to reach readers. Especially Twitter. I post everyday to one of my blogs and tweet them, and have attracted more than 2,000 followers. One of my blogs http://midlistlife.wordpress.com is the one I use to talk about my career as an author. Blogging everyday on other topics has kept my tweets from becoming nothing but ads for my book, but I do blog a lot about my successes (and occasional failures :)). Twitter lets you engage in dialogue with others (people who might want to read your book, for instance). It's good relationship marketing and doesn't take nearly as long as people think. It takes far less time for me to use Twitter than email, for instance. Plus it keeps my name and my book's name out there, in front of writers, publishers and (MOST important) readers.
Plus don't forget that by marketing online, you can provide a link to the page that people can click on in order to buy your book. Makes it much easier for them to do it.
Nothing to it, but the usual hard work and lots of it. :) Good luck!
Very informative post, and thanks for the follow up from Author z. I agree that we need to be more active on lists that have a lot of readers. When I first started out doing Online promoting I was spending way too much time on author lists, where the sales impact was minimal.
Hi Maryann,
Couldn't agree more. Networking with other authors is fine, as far as that goes. However, authors won't sell books by singing their praises to each other. :)
Debbi,
You know before you revealed that Author Z had emailed you and what exactly they said, I thought I could be author Z but wasn't sure, cause I'm not sure if Kept was doing that well on Kindle by then. Also I think at the time you wrote this post I only had 1 novella out at 99 cents instead of the three I had now.
However, even though Author Z isn't me, it COULD be me, because my experience reflects everything you've said here. All three of my novellas are hanging out under 200 in the Kindle store and I had no platform before I built it, I'm not famous, and I have never had a traditional publisher.
Absolutely, Zoe! My point entirely.
It seems getting awards, recognition in the publishing industry and the usual earmarks of success don't apply in ebook world. It truly levels the playing field for all authors, regardless of previous experience or recognition.
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