For the past couple of days I’ve been catching up with my dashboard blogs. One of them, Joe Konrath’s “Newbie Guide to Publishing,” has an ongoing dialogue about publishing your work on e-books versus the ‘legacy’ big 6 publishers or print publishing. There are several valid points to consider when deciding whether to go e-book self publishing or through the traditional method.
Today the Wall St. Journal featured an article about the same subject, “Cheapest E-Books upend the charts.” The writer believes that 99 cent titles from unknown authors puts big pressure on the big publishers.”As digital sales surge, publishers are casting a worried eye towards the previously scorned self-published market.”
The link to the entire article is at the bottom of this blog.
Digital sales are surging. Just look at the latest figures from booktrade.info:
E-book sales growth showed no signs of letting up in February, increasing at an even faster rate than they did in January. According to AAP’s monthly sales estimates, e-book sales jumped 202.3% at the 16 publishers that reported results, hitting $90.3 million. The rest of the trade segments, however, all had declines in the month with adult hardcover sales plunging 43%, to $46.2 million at the 17 houses that reported figures, while mass market paperback sales tumbled 41.5%, to $29.3 million at the nine reporting houses.
Then we have the recent article that announced that owners of the Kindle e-Reader will be able to download products from their local libraries later this year. Humm, now libraries across the country will begin buying e-books.
To be fair, I need to let you know that the other blogger I follow, JM Tohline, has the opposite view. His post today reads, ” Hey look, I can avoid the fiery hoops of the Publishing World.” Some good points there too.
Although I haven’t made a choice, the writing on the wall, for this newbie, has become more clear.
alvaradofrazier.com 