It reads like one of those classic one-liners. Two authors sit down to discuss the modern publishing industry. One author asks the other if he would accept half a million dollars for a two-book deal.
The punch line’s a doozy. Half a million dollars? Not on your life.
“I can do better in the long term on my own,” he says, simply by self-publishing e-books and print on demand (POD). And he’s half-a-million-dollars serious.
It may read like one of those classic one-liners, but authors’ Joe Konrath and Barry Eisler’s recent discussion of e-books and self-publishing is no laughing matter. Konrath, a successful author and blogger, argues that authors can make more money self-publishing through online e-books than through traditional publishing companies.
“Currently, my novel The List is the #15 bestseller on all of Amazon,” Konrath said in his conversation with Eisler. “I wrote that book 12 years ago, and it was rejected by every major NY publisher. I self-published it on Amazon two years ago, and it has sold over 35,000 copies.”
Since the release of digital readers like Kindle, Nook, and iPad, e-book sales have skyrocketed. This year alone, Amazon made more Kindle book sales than hardcover sales, and for every 100 paperbacks sold, Amazon sells 115 Kindle books. Industry e-book sales were up 169.4% for the first two months of the year, and in February alone surged 202%, even while hardcover sales plunged by almost half.
E-books are outperforming traditional printed media, and self-published authors are profiting from their surging popularity.
Konrath’s e-book, The List, has sold 35,000 total copies so far. Priced at $2.99 apiece, Konrath has earned some $73,255 in profits, and $17,500 of that was within 12 days of online publication.
He hasn’t been the only author to benefit from e-book sales.
Most people have heard the story of Indie author Amanda Hocking. After her books were rejected by traditional legacy publishing houses, Hocking turned to e-book publishing. Her e-book Trylle Trilogy debuted on USA Today’s Top 50 list, and since then sales have only climbed. She recently signed a two million dollar deal with traditional publisher St. Martins, but only after making millions of dollars through e-book publishing. Hocking’s experience has proved that authors can make money self-publishing. A lot of money.
The reasons are simple. In the traditional publishing industry, authors wait months to see their work in published form. In the e-book business, however, publishing is virtually instantaneous. What’s more, writers keep up to seventy percent of the royalties, an unheard-of percentage in the legacy publishing industry, where net royalties are somewhere in the region of ten to twenty percent. And, as Konrath notes, the sale of e-book rights is almost always “forever.”
“Once they're live, they will sell for decades,” Konrath says. “Someday, long after I'm gone, my grandchildren will be getting my royalties.”
E-book accessibility, convenience, and low prices are driving sales.
E-books offer readers instant access to their favorite titles, and most e-books are available at markedly lower prices than printed paperbacks. Savvy readers can find thousands of e-book titles for free. Many classics are available at no cost, and debut releases by new authors are often offered without charge for a limited time in an effort to increase readership.
Book retailers like Barnes & Noble and Amazon have cashed in on the e-book boom by marketing upgraded digital readers, while electronic companies like Apple offer iphone and tablet applications.
It’s no wonder then that the Kindle is Amazon’s bestselling product of all time.
Despite drastically lower e-book production costs, traditional publishers continue to offer authors low royalty rates and conservative contracts. Some traditional publishing companies like Penguin and Harper Collins refuse to lower prices for their e-publications. Penguin Publishing is selling the Kindle version of The Wise Man’s Fear for $14.99 on Amazon—only two dollars short of the hard copy, sold discounted for $17.47. The Kindle edition of David Baldacci’s The Sixth Man is being sold for roughly the same price as the hardback version—$14.99, at the behest of its publisher, Hachette Book Group.
Public reaction to high e-book prices has been highly critical, invoking a backlash of one-star ratings for high-priced e-books. Given e-books’ paperless production, readers feel that they should be considerably cheaper than hard copy forms, but some publication companies have resisted lowering prices. Amazon recently lost a legal battle with HarperCollins over the right to regulate e-book prices. Prices for Harpercollins books have been steeper as a result, often equaling the price of printed soft or hard copies. Mark Coker, the CEO of Smashwords, an online ebook distributor, argues that authors are losing faith in traditional publishing companies. If readers boycott expensive e-books in favor of cheaper ones, the traditional publishing industry will have to adjust to remain competitive in the e-book market.
E-books are also creating a stir among public libraries. Publishing companies like HarperCollins recently restricted the number of times e-books can be loaned to patrons, infuriating librarians everywhere. The decision, librarians said, unfairly restricted underprivileged customers from accessing books they would not be able to read otherwise, and disinclined libraries to purchase e-books. The Christian Science Monitor reported that librarians were “appalled” at the new lending cap that allows e-books to be lent only 26 times before expiring.
Many speculate that e-books will soon replace printed formats, as more and more people are turning to electronic readers for easy access to thousands of book titles. E-books continue to outsell traditional hard copy editions, and although the full impact of e-books is not yet known, one thing is clear: The publishing industry will never be the same.
University of South Alabama fiction writing professor, Carolyn Haines, had a few comments to add about e-publishing. Since “anyone” can put up an e-book, quality could become a real issue. In traditional publishing, agents and the publisher “vet” the books.
“This doesn’t always guarantee great reads, and many wonderful books have been left behind," Haines said. "But there is a sense that a traditionally published book has gone through a process.”
“Those who consider the self-publishing route should seriously consider hiring a book doctor—someone who really knows content editing as well as copy editing. A well-done self-published book can attract an audience, as Konrath and Hocking demonstrate.” (Hockings’ first book was rejected repeatedly by traditional publishers—now they’re paying her $2 million. That must be sweet.) “But a poorly written book, even at .99 cents, will not grow an audience. Take the time and trouble to do it right,” Haines said.
And remember. The cover sells your book, she added. “Publishing is changing. We might as well take the ride with joy instead of fear.”
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