There is something so pleasant about hold the newly arrived proof copy of your book! It is physical, tangible proof your hard work has paid off. Your book is now a reality and ready to be unleashed on your reading public!
I do not get the same feeling when I see the file appear on my Kindle. It just isn't the same. Perhaps it would be if I had grown up with all the electronic devices my children did. They view digital content much differently than I do. Except for my son, our oldest child, vinyl records just take up space!
With the rapidly changing world of publishing, there are so many decisions a self-publishing author must make. Just one, and it is an important one, is whether to publish a Kindle edition first or the POD paperback edition first?
Actually, for some authors, depending on the niche or genre, the question to consider is should a POD version be published at all? That is another topic for another blog post.
Given the wide range of tools and methods available to promote Kindle books as compared to a POD, the most important of which is the ability to offer free versions for a period of time and a lower price point at any time, it makes sense to release the Kindle version first!
Building an audience for a book, regardless of whether it is a Kindle edition or a POD edition, is essential to generating sales. In this current state of the industry, it is easier to launch a Kindle edition than a POD edition.
So why do I always launch my POD version first? Because the final version of my books is always ready to launch sooner on Amazon in the POD form than in Kindle! I just don't have the patience to wait for the Kindle conversion to be done and then launch the book!
If I could develop some self-discipline, it makes sense to launch the Kindle version first and then release the POD version a week later.
Please disagree with me and comment if you have a better approach to dealing with this issue! I would love to hear what has worked for other authors in this regard, both for my own benefit and the authors who read this blog.
