Category: E-book sales

Amazon Prime, Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet, E-book sales, E-books, E-readers, Kindle Fire

Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet

Mona Alvarado Frazier



Oh no, I just pre-ordered a Kindle Fire and now rumors say B&N will debut a new Nook tablet in just a few weeks . I skipped the regular Kindle in lieu of continuing to read “the good old-fashioned way,” until I tried Kindle on my phone. I’m not hooked, but it’s a great way to have books at your fingertips and in your pocket when you don’t want to carry around a one to three pound book in your purse. Plus I hate smudging up my books with the crap that makes its way into the depths of my bag, you know lipsticks, pens, cupcake crumbs. 

But back to the new Nook tablet. It’s about $69 more than the Fire that comes out on November 15, plus it has more memory and has goodies like Hulu. But it  looks like the FIre is still the better choice. Whew, I hate spending money and then finding something better for nearly the same price. 



I put a toe in the e-reader water because the e-book options and low prices are intriguing.This article on e-books tells the black and white story: adult hardcover and paperback sales are down 18% this year. The revenue from e-books has surpassed hardcover revenue this year. This makes for a tempting option to forego traditional “legacy” houses, the Big 6, and jump into the self-publishing world. The battle of opinions on both paths run wide and deep. 


The Wall Street Journal is heating up the debate with their plan to publish e-book bestsellers. Amazon is offering an e-book loan program for their Prime customers.These two items help push the envelop further in deciding whether to buy an e-reader or not and whether to enter the foray into publishing a book in e-reader format.


Everyday I’m tempted to go down the path of self-publishing but I have an agent who is looking at my two manuscripts. When the time comes for a thumbs up  or thumbs down, I’ll have to reevaluate my choices. Who knows, I may read my own novels on my Kindle Fire by next year. 

Authors, E-book sales, E-books, Self Publishing, Writing

E-Books and New Authors

Mona Alvarado Frazier

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. 

IMHO, I think one has to make a personal ‘pro/con’ list of what publishing path to take. One size doesn’t fit all and all that. I do think that self publishing, with an Amazon platform, right price point and hard work can outweigh the traditional venue. This is particularly true for authors who have already published books in the traditional manner and/or have name recognition.


 Although I haven’t made a choice, the writing on the wall, for this newbie, has become more clear. 






Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703838004576274813963609784.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read