Print-on-Demand and Kindle Sales - A Comparison Revisited: Opportunity for Authors Who Self-Publish

Forbes magazine recently ran an article discussing the publishing industry's current attitude and misunderstanding of the ebook revolution in the publishing industry. The Publishing Maven posted a short blog post about this article.

Forbes states Amazon has for the first time sold more Kindle books than print books. Publisher's attitudes range from dismay to denial, claiming Amazon is simply making up the numbers. Perhaps buggy makers reacted the same way when automobiles first began to appear on the roads.

I think publishers are missing the point, and the opportunity, ebooks offer. One publisher complains there is less profit to be made in ebooks. For the publisher perhaps, but not for authors who self-publish directly and bypass the traditional publisher. Yes, the industry is changing but it does not mean publishing will no longer be profitable. It simply means the source of revenue is going to come from a different type of book, in this case digital instead of print.

Editors, designers and cover artists will still be necessary and might make a better living working as freelancers contracting directly with authors. Some of the big publishing houses will survive because they will adapt in time. Others will not. Self-publishing, I predict, will become more common and accepted in the publishing world. 

In my opinion, it is the move to self-publish and not the print-on-demand print model or ebooks driving the change in the publishing world. POD and ebooks are allowing authors to self-publish and make more money doing so. This, and not changes in technology, is what will lead to the demise of many of the traditional publishing houses.

In an earlier post I shared sales figures for the past few months of my print-on-demand paper books and Kindle sales. Today, even with a few hours left for books to sell, I totaled up my sales for the month of May. My books are seasonal to some extent in sales. Summer months are significantly slower. This May sales for print books dropped significantly from previous months but were still nearly double from a year ago in May of 2010 (note to self - you have got to find a way to get your customers to buy books year round!).

Kindle sales dropped this month as well but I still sold 63 Kindle books, only 4 fewer books than print books sold.

The one trend I have noticed since I introduced Kindle editions of several of my books is sales for ALL of my books have increased significantly, particularly the books available in both POD and Kindle editions. My best guess concerning this jump is Amazon must be combing the sales results for both versions, boosting each version higher in the search results.

My best selling Kindle book, The Game of Basketball, shows up first for an Amazon search for "basketball" and second for "coaching basketball." Game Strategy and Tactics for Basketball shows up third on Amazon for a search of coaching basketball. The Game of Basketball today was listed 7th in books and Game Strategy and Tactics for Basketball was listed 4th. 

Game Strategy and Tactics for Basketball is my best selling book in paperback and has sold well for two years. The introduction of the Kindle edition has not hurt sales of the print-on-demand edition and the past basketball season was the best yet for sales of this book. The Game of Basketball languished as a paperback with disappointing sales on Amazon. The introduction of the Kindle edition not only took off as a Kindle book, but seems to be driving sales of the paperback version as well.  The Game of Basketball has steadily climbed in Amazon paper book rankings and sales.

Perhaps what publishers resent is the opportunity for authors to self-publish and simply bypass the publishing houses. Publishers also seem to resent Amazon's role in all of this as well as the technology driving the changes.

People are still reading, and buying books, and this is a good thing. Technology and online retailers like Amazon are making it possible for authors to have direct access to distribution and customers, bypassing the old publishing gatekeepers. Books, editors, designers and authors are not going anywhere. Publishers might be going the way of buggy makers.

Paperback Sales versus E-book Sales in the Past Seven Months

With the end of May almost here, I sat down and took a quick look at my sales figures in the past few months, not in terms of income, but in terms of total books sold, both POD paperbacks and e-books (Kindle Books). The totals startled me a little bit and are indicative of the current trends in the publishing industry.

Starting with the month of November, 2010, and finishing with the month of May, 2011, I have sold 623 paperback books on Amazon (these numbers do not include Expanded Distribution Channel sales or specialty retailers). During the same time period I have sold 291 Kindle books. Please note as well, my first Kindle title went on sale in November and only sold 3 copies. The two totals combined indicate I have sold 914 total books during the past seven months. The 291 Kindle books account for roughly one third of my total sales.

The reason I compared sales from November of 2010 through May of 2011 is because I did not start selling Kindle books until November of 2010.

The Publishing Maven posted about ebooks making up such a large portion of the book market currently, basing her post on a recent article in Forbes Magazine. Joel Friedlander has been writing and commenting a great deal about ebooks lately at his blog, The Book Designer.

The lesson to be drawn from these sales figures, at least for me, is in the future, every edition of a new book I release will have at a minimum a POD paperback version and a Kindle edition of the title. Ebooks are here to stay but so, it would appear, are paperback books, at least for a few years longer.

Book Covers Do Make A Difference For On-line Sales

Aaron Shepard stubbornly claims simple book covers work best for internet sales, particularly on Amazon. I agree with him to a point. Aaron's covers are super simple and he takes a bit of grief for his covers. His books on self-publishing sell well because he is an expert and the content is valuable and worth the money spent by the customer. Aaron is not going to win any awards for cover design.

I do believe simple covers work best with the small size of the cover photos Amazon provides in the product listings.  Complex artwork and design simply does not show up well.

Even with Search Inside, customers will still judge a book by its cover. Detailed product description information, reviews, and tags all play a part in the customer's decision to buy a book. But it seems the cover still plays a role in encouraging the customer to click on the book's product page to examine all of the above items.

I have learned the hard way covers do play a role in this process. My book, Better Basketball Practices, is for individuals who want to plan, organized and conduct more efficient basketball practice sessions. This is actually an important topic for basketball coaches and very few coaches are able to conduct quality practices on a consistent basis. Sales for the book have been poor despite considerable positive feedback via e-mail from the coaches who have purchased the book.

The cover was ultra basic and while I thought the design was fine, The Publishing Maven hated it. In fact, she hated it so much she created a new cover design for me without asking. I simply received an e-mail with two design options attached. My feelings were not hurt in the slightest - male ego can cause you to do funny things - and I promptly uploaded the new cover file with CreateSpace.

The results have led me to believe covers do make a big difference, even for on-line sales. Sales for the month of May for all of my titles are annually either the lowest or second lowest for the year. Sales for this single title this month alone are equal to the total combined sales for this title since October when it was introduced. Anecdotal evidence, yes, but it has gotten my attention. Future releases will require high quality covers and over time and as I can afford it, some of my older titles will get new covers.

And no, Christie does not design and produce covers professionally. She simply created this one cover for me as a favor. Joel Friedlander, the The Book Designer does though.

Should You Write Your Non-fiction Book?

I recently had an individual contact me to ask questions about the content of one of my non-fiction books (I only write non-fiction). In the course of corresponding the individual asked if I was considering writing a book about a topic within the broad scope of my field of expertise. Unfortunately, the topic is not one I consider myself to be an expert in. For example, I might be a doctor who practices internal medicine. I would not be the specialist you would see for knee replacement surgery.

The individual asserted correctly this topic was one that would have broad appeal to the market I write for. This made me stop and think about the possibility of writing the requested book. I thought about books I had written and had not sold well. I also thought about the titles I have written that have sold well and are continuing to do so. In the process I came up with a set of guidelines to use in determining future titles I will invest the time and energy to write, publish and market.

First, is there a market for the book? Not do I want to write the book, is there a demand, need or market for the book? My two biggest duds in terms of sales have no demand. There was not a market for the book. The time, effort, energy and money invested were wasted. My successful titles sell because there is a need for the information. Some of my books are not big sellers but they sell a few copies each month. Over time, those small monthly sales add up. Those books were worth writing as well.

The second question I arrived at is am I an expert in the topic? If I were to write a book on a topic in my field that I was not qualified to be considered an expert, would this impact the sales of the books I am a legitimate expert in. The risk to my credibility is not worth risk to me.

Do I have the time and skill to effectively market the new book? Can I develop an effective plan? As I publish more books, I find I spend more time on marketing efforts and less time on producing new books. More books that sell means more income for the business. Selling books requires time and effort. Time and effort are required to write more books. You can see the situation develops into a bit of a catch-22.

Some other questions include:

Do I have the ability to reach my target audience?

If I am not an expert, am I willing to invest the time to develop the expertise?

Will the book be profitable?

How will I sell my book? 

Just as I have developed my own checklist, authors should develop their own list to determine if a books should be written.

The only common item each list should have is does the book NEED to be written? Not from the author's perspective, but from the perspective of a reader? Will some one buy and read the book?

The Real Kindle Killer!

This is a fascinating article and thought provoking. Technology is changing the printing and self-publishing industry, there is not doubt. But is new always better?  For those considering including ebooks as part of your offerings, this is a good read.

The Real Kindle Killer!

Amazon to Allow ePub on Kindle Reader?

Rumors are always interesting and often untrue. If this rumor is true, it will further change both the ebook industry and the self-publishing industry.

The new rumor floating about is Amazon is planning to allow the sale and reading of ePub books on its Kindle reader. It will take me a few days to absorb this if true and begin to ponder the ramifications of what this means for the industry at large and for my tiny self-publishing empire specifically.

No, this is not an April's Fools joke and I am not making this up. For more information, check the link posted below:

http://goodereader.com/blog/tablet-slates/amazon-to-allow-epub-ebooks-on-the-kindle-e-reader/

Shortening the Learning Curve for New Self-Publishers - BookStarter

Self-publishing is a business. There is a lot to learn. You can try to teach it all to yourself and this approach will lead to a lot of hit and miss learning. As my Dad calls this approach, its a "scattershot" approach to doing something. You hit some of what you want and miss a lot of what you want.

Education can be expensive, but it is also an investment in yourself and the future of your business. For those who might consider some formal education in self-publishing, try BookStarter. You can also visit the Facebook page of BookStarter.

Am I affiliated with BookStarter in anyway? No. But the cover of my best selling Kindle Book was done by none other than Deanna Riddle, the owner and founder of BookStarter. This company is her dream and her passion - check it out.