Via PW: Amazon just announced that it now sells more Kindle books than paper books:
Since April 1, Amazon says it has sold 105 Kindle books for every 100 print books, soft or hardcover, including print titles that do not have Kindle editions. The figures do not include free Kindle titles.
Change isn’t coming, change is here. We’re in it.
My publishing career is stirring strangely and threatening to turn into a wild ride. I’ve been negotiating two deals that please me–details when they’re finalised. They could turn out to be just what I need–or, y’know, not. Sometimes you have to just throw the dice and make the bet. But, hey, life isn’t boring.
Right now, the trickiest thing for me isn’t lack of opportunity, it’s an embarrassment of riches in terms of choice. But each opportunity is so different, each with its own variables: prestige vs. money; money now vs. money later; short term vs. long; risky vs. relatively safe; new paradigm vs. old; just writing vs. full-bore entrepreneurship.
And that’s just the fiction. My head feels quite bulgy these days.
How about you? How’s your ride? Scary? Exciting? Satisfying? Confusing? I’d love to hear from writers, readers, booksellers, editors, agents, critics, publishers, publicists: everyone involved in the book biz. Let’s talk.
Nicola Griffith 
As a debut novelist, the rapid changes in publishing definitely made me more excited about my book coming out as a Trade Paperback Original! I've had a number of bookclubs tell me that they wouldn't have chosen the book if it had been published in hardcover.
Hi there. i've been following your tweets for a while. Personally I haven't been in the position you are. A few years back I penned a few manuscripts, but I was thinking more “old school” like i'd need an agent, a publishing deal, etc and after a while I got lost in the deluge of query letters and dissappointment some writers face. Now, i'm seeing more people do less to get published or even self-publish(a whole new ball game), and I'm not sure which path to take. I think I have a little more leverage as a writer since I recently had a short story published in a literary journal, but I still feel there is a bit of magic in having someone else value your work and help you see it through to being published, whether hardcopy or kindle. I can see the potential in self-publishing, or trick marketing to get sales, but more than that I am seeing the enormous potential of rapidly developing one's personal brand through a systematic approach to new technologies. But still, i feel that an agent, or being supported by a literary agency is still a good call for the moment. Especially if your work hasn't gotten out there so much. thoughts?
Lise, of all print formats, my favourite is trade paper–easiest to read, to hold, to pack. Congrats. What's the book?
Marcus, I think the world might be heading towards a kind of curated co-op model: groups of writers/readers get together and evaluate the kinds of things they like to read, then find a way to bring something they all agree is good into the world.
I've never been terribly convinced that 'branding' is the answer for writers–at least writers whose work changes. Tom Clancy? Yes, a brand. Stephenie Myer? A brand. Even Phillip Roth (always about the same thing). But Jennifer Egan? Me? William Boyd? Not brands.
I've learnt to just keep writing, and weigh every opportunity in context. What makes sense one year doesn't the next.
Does any of that helpl?
Definitely. I think I fall into that category. I followed the early model of “write what you know” so I penned a novel about a few twenty-something Jamaicans and the lives they lived in a more uptown atmosphere. This was a theme I liked… a sort of “searching, seeking young person in odd social atmospheres”, but along the way I wrote a few different things… sci-fi, literary fiction etc. I think a person being a “writer” is subjective relative to their published works.. so yeah I see what you are saying. I do feel that my “main” ideas tend to be written about people exposed to different social circles in different locations, but I'm not sure how to lable that, though there is a common theme. I guess as it relates to the Kindle and so on, in a way you might be able to have a faster forum for people to read your works (if they so choose) but like you said.. opportunity in context without losing steam seems like a decent way to go
Marcus, good luck with it all.
I self-published a trilogy in October 2008. I did query quite a few agents (80+), but finding anyone interested in publishing a very long book by a nobody just wasn't going to happen. And I kinda knew that going in.
So I self-published and by January 2009 I also had the trilogy on Kindle.
I did lots of marketing, all online. I watched the sales of ebooks grow. The first two years I made a few hundred dollars a month.
In December 2010, because of the success of the Kindle ereader, my ebook sales took off. I expected them to fall after Christmas. They didn't.
For the last six months, almost 90% of my sales have been ebooks, and my total book sales make up 42% of my income. As I am retired, I'm not very high-income, but those extra bucks sure do help.
I was fortunate that my self-publishing career and the revolution in indie publishing happened at more or less the same time. If I were making the decision to self-publish today, I would weigh the time it takes to get a traditional publishing deal vs the lost sales that waiting time represents.
Catherine M Wilson
http://shieldmaidenpress.com
Catherine can you show us a graph of sales (not absolute number but relative). Sometimes seeing a thing really brings it home to readers (and other writers).
Hi Nicola,
My novel is called Juno's Daughters and it's set on the San Juan Islands (your neck of the woods)!
I love Trade Paperbacks and part of what made up my mind is I asked myself how often I personally–as a writer and a reader–splurged on hardcovers. More often than some, maybe, but not often enough!
Lise, best of luck with Juno's Daughters.
Nicola,
Here are some graphs for you:
http://raqoon-design.com/because-nicola-asked
I'd be happy to discuss real numbers with you privately.
Catherine M Wilson
http://shieldmaidenpress.com
Catherine, do you think the leap (end of 2010) can be attributed to your marketing efforts or to the sudden expansion/acceptance of Kindle reading? (Is there any way to tell?)
My marketing efforts have been opposite the curve on the chart. Lots of effort in 2009. Much less in 2010. Not much this year.
Instead the growth curve parallels very nicely the success of the Kindle. There was a bump each January, as the folks who got Kindles for Christmas bought ebooks. In June of 2009 and May/June of 2010 I saw bumps that might have been from folks who got Kindles for Mothers Day, Fathers Day, or graduation.
The Kindle has also made marketing a lot easier. I offer Book I of my trilogy for 99 cents on Kindle or free from my author website. The ratio of Book I sales to Book II and Book III sales has been fairly constant at 2 copies of Book I sold for each copy of Book II and Book III. Book II and Book III sales are fairly even, indicating that once people go on to Book II, they tend to buy Book III as well, and often at the same time.
Nicola said:
(Is there any way to tell?)
As it happens, it's very easy to tell lots of things, because Amazon reports my Kindle sales as they happen. I can track my sales day to day, so that if I do some particular marketing thing, I can watch for results to show up (or not) in my sales.
Catherine M Wilson
http://shieldmaidenpress.com
Catherine, that all makes sense to me. I'd forgotten that Amazon does real-time reporting. Thank you.
How's the ride? Insane, terrifying and exciting, but I didn't really understand what it would be like until I was in the middle of it : ) With less than 3 months before my debut is released, I'm worrying about promo and edits and the next story. And home life and family and travel. But earlier this week, all that (continuing) crazy proved worth it when I opened my inbox to see the cover art. My name on the gorgeous cover of my book. Wow.
I've had a busy couple of years thanks to ePublishing and my publisher, Whiskey Creek. I'm writing my fingers to the bone and loving every minute of it. I'm thrilled to death that my stories have a home, at least for the foreseeable future.
Cathy, I hope you'll show us the cover and/or link to the pre-sale page at some point. Or at least, y'know, tell us the title.
ssas, how's Whiskey Creek doing?
Always happy to gush, Nicola : )
“Rulebreaker” (formally known as Bad Girl) is coming out from Carina Press in August. The Galaxy Express will debut the cover this Tuesday. She gets waaaay more hits than I do. Afterward, I'll be showing it as often as socially acceptable : )
Thanks for asking!
Cathy, on this blog, if you're a regular, it's always socially acceptable. I'm a big believer in BSP.