Knowing Too Little Vs Knowing Too Much
One of the perennial frustrations of being published by one of the traditional print publishers is that it takes forever to get any hard data on how your books are selling. The typical print publishers...
View ArticleThe Myth of the Instant 99-Cent Bestseller
With the advent of Amanda Hocking and other authors’ successes in selling oodles and oodles of digital books on Amazon at the low, low price of 99 cents, there’s come to be a sort of common wisdom that...
View ArticleSurprising Discovery: I Read More in Digital
Despite the fact that I’m published primarily in digital form (only one of my books has ever been released in print), I’ve always considered myself someone who preferred paper books to digital. I have...
View ArticleThe Sky Is Not Falling, or Why 99-Cent Books (Probably) Won’t Take Over the...
Over the past few days, I’ve noticed a lot of hand-wringing over the 99-cent book. Yesterday, both the Huffington Post and Nathan Bransford waxed eloquent on the problems with the 99 cent price point....
View ArticleWho’s Published (Are You Listening, RWA?), Part 1
As of this morning, I reached an interesting milestone on sales of my self-published short story. I’ve now earned $1,000 from it. That amount is a net, including the $250 advance I was originally paid...
View ArticleCaught in the Net that Is “Net”
Since last week, the online publishing world has been ablaze with the news that Harlequin is changing the royalty rates it pays its authors from 6% of cover for category romances and 8% of cover for...
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June Sales Data
I know some people are interested in seeing sales trends for self-published work, but if you aren’t interested, please feel free to click away, because this is going to be boring, boring, boring....
View ArticleIs You Is or Is You Ain’t a Publisher
Before I launch into today’s post, a few quick words. I have been on vacation for almost two weeks. Although I got back early Monday, I’ve been playing catch-up in all aspects of my life (family,...
View ArticleMajor Publishers and the No-Advance Digital Model: Thanks, but No Thanks
It can’t have escaped too many authors’ notice that most of the major publishers are opening digital-first/only romance lines. Harlequin was first out of the gate with Carina Press, but now we have...
View ArticleThe Dilemma of Digital Discoverability
By now, I don’t suppose anyone is terribly surprised by the news that some authors (notably self-published “sensation” John Locke) have paid to have reviews posted on Amazon in the hopes of boosting...
View ArticleThe Whim Factor
I’ve been thinking a lot this week about print books, book sales, and bestseller lists. My thoughts have been spurred by several blog posts/discussions, primarily these: A Note on Historical Romance...
View ArticleWhy Backlist is a Gold Mine
I have been debating for the better part of the day whether I should type up this post or not. If it gets me into even more trouble than I already am, I’m blaming Cecilia Grant, Kinsey Holley, and...
View ArticleContrary to Popular Belief, I Don’t Hate Traditional Publishing
In the past few days, I believe I’ve given some people the impression that I hate traditional publishing.1 I don’t. I don’t think publishing houses are evil. I don’t believe authors who choose to go...
View ArticleHow Much Does Amazon Make Per Kindle Book Sold?
Some comments on another blog got me wondering which digital books are more profitable for Amazon to sell–those from Big 5 traditional publishing houses or those put out by authors/publishers using KDP...
View ArticlePrint vs Digital: Which Format Sells More Books?
One of the statistics that’s commonly batted around these days in publishing is that 70% of book sales in trade publishing are in print. This figure is commonly touted by the AAP (no, not the American...
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The Pros and Cons of the Unearned Advance
Because I’m apparently incapable of staying out of trouble lately, I got into a discussion on Mike Shatzkin’s blog the other day about advances and earn-out. In discussing Hugh Howey’s comparison of...
View ArticleIt’s Hard to Take You Seriously When…
For the record, I totally agree with folks who’ve said that the much-discussed, ballyhooed, and denigrated Author Earnings report way overreaches the conclusions that can be drawn from the current data...
View ArticleThe Third Way: Digital Small Presses
In all the emotionally fraught discussions of the past few weeks about the making the choice between traditional and self publishing, there’s been very little discussion about the fact that there is a...
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