When eBook Sales Will Soar

Book sales are something that never take a dip.  They increase every year.  What has taken a dip is the sale of physical books.  The reason is convenience, eyesight, storage, and the fast pace of life in general.  Anyone who has ever lost his book marker in his paperback knows the frustration and waste of time spent trying to find where he left off.  eBooks, on the other hand, remember the last page you viewed when you shut down.

My ability to read a paperback isn't what it used to be.  I found I was reading less and less, unless it was on the computer screen.  And as you know, the computer screen can fatigue the eyes and give a lovely headache at times.  But the new eReaders with their special screens have opened a whole new world for me.  Imagine that!  An author who has returned to reading!  I personally use a Sony Tablet with its incredible backlit screen.  Apple has the new Retina screen, Kindle, Nook, and a myriad of other eReaders have advanced their technology so much that reading has become a joy again to many many folks.  My mother-in-law can't read a book easily.  She is treated for glacoma regularly and has macular degeneration which is kept in check with laser treatments.  But imagine her joy at seeing the increased, adjustable sizing of the words which comes along with an eReader. 

Here I am writing on this topic and just discovered the Huffington Post published an article just today on Amazon ebook sales, which in part states: "The online retailer said that since April 1, it has sold 105 e-books for every 100 printed books, including printed books for which there is no electronic edition. The comparison excludes free e-books, which would tip the scales further if they were included."  They also point out that "analysts estimate that Amazon accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. e-book sales."


You can read the entire article here.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/19/amazon-ebook-sales-surpas_n_864387.html

This tells us two things.  eBooks  are here to stay, and if you know Amazon's politics when it comes to writers, you as an author either jump on their bandwagon and join their KDP Select group, which means for 90 days you cannot be published anywhere else, for which you receive a very large financial percentage of the sale price, or you'll be relegated to publishing through their straight KDP and get a pittance for each sale.  If you don't join their KDP Select, it does, however, allow you to be retailed through the rest of the big eRetailers; Barnes & Noble, Apple, Sony, Kobo, etc.  You can also do KDP Select for 90 days and then be published elsewhere.  Kind of a tough choice.  It's guerilla warfare by the 10 ton gorilla against the other eRetailers.  Am I badmouthing Amazon?  Not at all.  Business is business and as Mark Coker states in one of his books Amazon is one smart cookie.  He just wishes Amazon wouldn't view the rest of the ebook retail world as enemy number one.

In mid July 2012 Mashable published an article stating that ebook sales had surpassed hardcover sales for the first time in U.S. history. http://mashable.com/2012/06/17/ebook-hardcover-sales/  This indicates that the trend is continuing with great upward momentum.

Now let's view the drawbacks.  If a collapse of the internet infrastructure ever occurred, sales of ebooks and the eRetail industry in general would also falter and collapse unless an immediate fix was in the offing.  However, if such a collapse occurred, you and I would be looking to just survive rather than spending money on an ebook.  And what of electrons?  No outlet, no charging your ebook.   Grrr!  All that entertainment trapped inside that magic box.

Another drawback is keeping your "how-to" book available in case of an emergency.  It isn't likely you'll be somewhere with a first aid kit and have your eReader along just in case.  So there are definitely books that necessitate the possession of hard copies.    And let's face it.  When you see a book sitting on a table, isn't there just something . . . just that something that you feel when you pick up the book because of the cover and/or name, and you flip the pages to the back, the front, the pitch, and just pick a page inside to read, just to see if it catches your interest?   For me there will always be that desire to touch, even if I choose to purchase it in eReader format.  Because the pages of a book are like an old friend, a favorite teddy bear, the family dog.   If but for a moment you just have to feel the paper and smell the book to get the full enjoyment that comes with reading.
-o0o-

R.W. Williams is author of "A Deadly Suggestion."  A description of this and her other writings can be found at http//:readrwwilliams.com and may be purchased at Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Sony, Amazon, and Apple iBookstore.

When Looking For a Publisher . . . Beware

As a new writer it's human nature to want your book disseminated on as many platforms and eBook retail sites as possible.  After all, if someone sees your book on one site, then again on another and another, it gives the impression that it's all over the place and therefore a good read.  But beware!  Not all  supposed publishers have your best interests in mind.

Take for example one particular publisher who just happened to ask to be linked to my LinkedIn account.  I read his bio and it turned out he is "supposedly" a publisher in England, and for no charge you can upload your manuscript, your articles, your blogs, and he will convert them into all possible formats, just like Smashwords does.  I repeat, there is no charge.  Sounds good so far. 

Then in order to publish your book you have to give him certain information to register.  The usual drivel; user name, password, email . . . . . ah, yes.  The obligatory "Terms and Conditions" check box must be checked before you can enter the site to continue on.  He has also mentioned in his presentation that they make direct deposits to your bank account.  Well, ladies and gents, don't go there, don't check the "I agree to the terms and conditions" box without reading the terms and conditions.  There are none.  I clicked on the terms and conditions line and it went nowhere.  I looked at the bottom of the page and there was another link to the Terms and Conditions.  But, my learned flangernoggins, those terms and conditions went to the dreaded 404 page which stated, "The requested URL /termsAndConditions.php was not found on this server."

Being the ever so concerned possible customer of this company I thought I'd let them know the "Terms and Conditions" link was broken so I clicked on the "Contact" button.  You guessed it.  The same 404 page appeared.  And as a bonus the Help, Site Map, Testimonials, and FAQ page also have a 404 link. 

Looking at the page showing the books they sell in English pounds, it becomes apparent that something more is amiss.  All the books and magazines offered have a price of zero.  Hmm!  So I'm supposed to give this guy my bank account number so he can directly deposit all proceeds to my account but . . . there are no proceeds!  Even "50 Shades of Gray" is free.

By now I'm sure red flags are rocketing up all around you and you are getting the picture here.  He is harvesting your bank account information.   Do your due diligence before even thinking about uploading your book to a company you have never heard of.  Check all links to make sure they work.  And above all else, read word for word the terms and conditions before you hit that button.

Without a doubt, authorship is a sword of multiple uses.  It can be sharp and crisp with wit and come hither skills, sucking a reader into a nonstop marathon of reading, or it can be dull and perform no task other than to irritate the reader by presenting nothing more than a hodgepodge of words unskilllfully strung together.  And the dull edge of the sword is every author's greatest fear.

We often lay awake at night visualizing scenes in our head, grasping at bits of dialog we create to go along with the movie scenes spinning in our mind, and then hope we can remember them until morning.  Those are sleepless nights.  It became apparent midway through my book, "A Deadly Suggestion" that a notebook beside the bed was an absolute necessity, just to put down key words so all the pondering and planning of scenes would all come back to me with my second sip of coffee in the morning. 

I think the most thrilling point in a book is that one moment, that one ah-hah when your fingers are flying and you truly know exactly how your book will end.  Your blood pressure surely raises, your heart rate pounds and you become one with your book, your characters, the ending.  That in a nutshell is when you truly know your book is going to be a winner.