WelÂcome the new KinÂdle comÂpetiÂtor. Above, you’ll find some of the first picÂtures showÂing the ebook capaÂbilÂiÂties of Apple’s new iPad. We should have more thoughts on the iPad comÂing latÂer today. PicÂtures come via gdgt.com, which has been proÂvidÂing excelÂlent live covÂerÂage of the Apple event.
As some of you already know, back on DecemÂber 27th, I released a samÂple of my first short stoÂry colÂlecÂtion A Long Way from DisÂney on Amazon’s KinÂdle store and used social media strateÂgies to marÂket it. I did this for varÂiÂous reaÂsons, but mainÂly because, as I’ve said here on OC before, I believe authors need to take on the role of sciÂenÂtists and experÂiÂment with what’s posÂsiÂble in today’s pubÂlishÂing world. (If you’re interÂestÂed in how I pubÂliÂcized this, see my recent posts at AuthorBootCamp.com.)
From a sciÂenÂtifÂic point of view, the experÂiÂment was a great sucÂcess. I learned a great deal, which I’ll disÂcuss below. I sold a lot of books (at $.99 each)–around 350 in the first week–and I got my name and stoÂries in front of a lot of new peoÂple. I also heard from a numÂber of them who read the book right away and realÂly loved it! For you authors out there, I hope you can relate: GetÂting posÂiÂtive feedÂback on your work from total strangers is about the best feedÂback there is.
[For those of you keepÂing score at home, those sales put $260 into Amazon’s pockÂet and $140 into mine. Not too shabÂby, I think, but also not the split an author might hope for.]
Okay, withÂout any furÂther delay: Here are the Results (what I’ve learned) from ExperÂiÂment 1:
1) Timing can be essenÂtial. I posiÂtioned myself to hit the KinÂdle store just after Xmas, thinkÂing that with many newÂly giftÂed KinÂdles out there, a lot more KinÂdle ebooks would be sellÂing and that I could cash in on this rush. I was corÂrect in this preÂdicÂtion (AmaÂzon sold more ebooks than paper copies over ChristÂmas), but what I didn’t preÂdict was how much hardÂer this made it to reach the Top 100 KinÂdle bestÂseller list, a goal I had set for myself. I wantÂed to hit the Top 100 because it would give the book addiÂtionÂal expoÂsure and stimÂuÂlate more buyÂing from newÂbie KinÂdle ownÂers lookÂing for quick, cheap conÂtent. (more…)
Today, we’re rolling out a sizÂable colÂlecÂtion of Free eBooks, most of them clasÂsics, that feaÂtures major works writÂten by James Joyce, F. Scott FitzgerÂald, Jane Austen, NietÂzsche and othÂers. (We have even thrown in a litÂtle Paulo CoelÂho.) You’ll find 100+ free ebooks in total, and you can downÂload the texts to your comÂputÂer, smart phone (iPhone, Android, etc.) or KinÂdle, dependÂing on the forÂmat you choose. Our eBooks Primer overviews the difÂferÂent downÂload options, so please give it a quick read over. Below, we’ve postÂed a quick samÂple from the new colÂlecÂtion (plus a link to the entire list of Free eBooks). Feel free to offer feedÂback and share the list with friends. Down the road, you can always find this colÂlecÂtion in the top navÂiÂgaÂtion bar. Just looks for eBooks.
Note: Don’t forÂget to check in on Seth HarÂwood’s big KinÂdle experÂiÂment. What hapÂpens when you sell your book for 99 cents on the KinÂdle? Find out as the experÂiÂment unfolds. StoÂry here.
About a week ago, I postÂed here about my PubÂlishÂing ExperÂiÂment Take 1. I spoke of the need for authors (Yes, Authors!) to make experÂiÂments in new media and pubÂlishÂing. Well, now’s the time to put my ficÂtion where my mouth is. Today I’m launchÂing my colÂlecÂtion of short stoÂries, A Long Way from DisÂney, on AmaÂzon’s KinÂdle platÂform at the price of $.99.
Those who read this blog regÂuÂlarÂly may rememÂber my past posts (here, here and here) about the AmaÂzon KinÂdle and recall that I have mixed feelÂings about it. You’ll also know that I’ve been interÂestÂed in what authors such as J.A. KonÂrath have accomÂplished by releasÂing books on the KinÂdle itself. (Heck, some of you even knew about Konrath’s sucÂcessÂes before I did.—Thanks Kurt.) And now, since recentÂly becomÂing a hapÂpy KinÂdle ownÂer myself, I’ve decidÂed it’s time to make an experÂiÂment in this new fold. So let me tell you about it.
PubÂlishÂing ExperÂiÂment 1: If we know anyÂthing for sure about pubÂlishÂing right now, it’s that it is changÂing. Authors, I believe, must become the sciÂenÂtists runÂning experÂiÂments with new techÂnolÂoÂgy, new pubÂlicÂiÂty strateÂgies, marÂketÂing, you name it. There’s just too much monÂey involved for the big (and some small) pressÂes to carÂry out the kind of testÂing and idea-tryÂing that needs to be done. That leaves us indeÂpenÂdent authors to try things out on our own.
In that spirÂit, I’m releasÂing a colÂlecÂtion of short stoÂries in the KinÂdle forÂmat just after ChristÂmas. A Long Way from DisÂney is offiÂcialÂly out now, but I’m “releasÂing it” on SunÂday Dec. 27th, a day I’m callÂing DisÂney ComÂmanÂdo SunÂday! The thinkÂing here is that by askÂing peoÂple to all buy the book on a sinÂgle day, I can go after the top of AmaÂzon’s KinÂdle bestÂseller chart and garÂner more attenÂtion (sales) there, espeÂcialÂly with the after-Xmas new KinÂdle ownÂers.
I’ve priced the colÂlecÂtion low ($.99) because I’m more interÂestÂed in how many copies of the book I can get out there than in how much monÂey I can make off of sales. For those who’ll be countÂing, the $.99 price point will give me 35 cents and AmaÂzon a hefty 64 cents per book sold. They’ll win out regardÂless, but it’s their sandÂbox and I want to play.
You can buy this KinÂdle book on any comÂputÂer once you’ve estabÂlished a KinÂdle readÂer preference/Kindle account. You have three choicÂes here. You can do this with:
You canÂnot buy the KinÂdle book for anyÂone else, and no one can buy more than one copy. It’s cerÂtainÂly an interÂestÂing set of rules, isn’t it? Well, this is what AmaÂzon has set up. If you’d like to aid this experÂiÂment, please forÂward this blog post to othÂer authors, readÂers, KinÂdle ownÂers, and experÂiÂmenters in the pubÂlishÂing field. It should be interÂestÂing to see what this can genÂerÂate with a minÂiÂmum of pubÂlicÂiÂty and zero budÂget.
If you’d like to samÂple any of the short stoÂries from this colÂlecÂtion, you can hear any/all of them free online at my webÂsite and find out more about the KinÂdle experÂiÂment here. I hope you’ll choose to come along and help make some waves with this idea. I do think that the more sucÂcessÂes indeÂpenÂdent authors have with this new means of getÂting things done, the betÂter it will be for all of pubÂlishÂing. PerÂhaps that’ll be our next debate.
I’ll be back latÂer this week with a few stoÂries from the colÂlecÂtion and then again next SunÂday for the big sales kickÂoff! See you…
LookÂing to take back some of the e‑book marÂket from AmaÂzon’s KinÂdle, Barnes & Noble has released its new readÂer, the Nook. This week, Walt MossÂberg, the influÂenÂtial tech reviewÂer, gave his thoughts on the new gadÂget. NeedÂless to say, it’s not a good PR day when he says that it feels like a prodÂuct “rushed to marÂket.” Watch the video review here.
With six pubÂlished novÂels under his belt, you might think J.A. KonÂrath has it made. But, if you know much about the curÂrent pubÂlishÂing marÂket, you could cerÂtainÂly quesÂtion that. Made or not, JA made a very interÂestÂing disÂcovÂery recentÂly when he sat down and comÂpared his HypeÂrÂiÂon ebook royÂalÂty stateÂments with the proÂceeds he’s brought in by putting up four novÂels on AmaÂzon’s KinÂdle store all by himÂself.
What did he learn? That self-pubÂlishÂing ebooks can be a lucraÂtive and very real option for known authors! You’ve got to read the whole post here to get a full sense of the figÂures involved and why this has been workÂing for him.
While we’re at it, if you want more writÂers disÂclosÂing their royÂalÂty stateÂments in blogs, have a look at what Lynn Viehl has to say about the proÂceeds from her NY Times BestÂselling books at Genreality.com. Thanks to April HamilÂton at PubÂleÂtariÂat for bringÂing this to my eye.
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