Register Guidelines E-Books Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Go Back   MobileRead Forums > E-Book General > Writers' Corner

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 12-04-2011, 11:59 AM   #1
mattlynn
Member
mattlynn can shake the floor when laughingmattlynn can shake the floor when laughingmattlynn can shake the floor when laughingmattlynn can shake the floor when laughingmattlynn can shake the floor when laughingmattlynn can shake the floor when laughingmattlynn can shake the floor when laughingmattlynn can shake the floor when laughingmattlynn can shake the floor when laughingmattlynn can shake the floor when laughingmattlynn can shake the floor when laughing
 
Posts: 21
Karma: 63854
Join Date: Jul 2011
Device: kindle
What People Actually Read

If you look at the Kindle chart and the traditional charts, you’ll notice something quite interesting. They aren’t at all similar. The UK Kindle chart today is topped by Phil Rickman, who is hardly a household name, followed by Damon Galgut and Kerry Wilkinson. The physical chart is led by the latest Wimpy Kid, followed by Jamie Oliver, Lee Evans and Michael Connolly.

Why is that, I wonder? After all, these are all books. Of course you can probably discount Wimpy Kid and Jamie Oliver. Most kids don’t have e-readers yet and cookbooks aren’t a natural for the Kindle. Even so, if you look at the Kindle charts, the ‘big authors’ don’t do so well. PD James and Kathryn Stockett are in the Top 10 and Patricia Cornwell in the Top 20. But heavily hyped writers like James Paterson don’t really do that well. In my own corner of the market, military adventure, I don’t sell as well as Chris Ryan and Andy McNab in the bookshops, but on Kindle I am regularly out-selling them.

One reason might be that the Kindle audience is slightly different from the mainstream audience. It is probably slightly more male – hence the number of thrillers in the chart – and a bit more techie. It may also be more adventurous in its taste.

But the real reason, I suspect, is because it is a much more level playing field. Some books get more push than others online of course. But going into the Kindle store is nothing like going into a bookshop, and nothing at all like the books section of a supermarket. The choice is vast, there are no in-your-face promotions, and word-of-mouth (in the form of reader reviews) is everywhere.

So what we see on the Kindle chart may well be a far better guide to what people actually want to read. I’m not sure the publishers have quite realised that yet though.
mattlynn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-04-2011, 12:14 PM   #2
swhibs123
Pigmy Hippo Trainer
swhibs123 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.swhibs123 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.swhibs123 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.swhibs123 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.swhibs123 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.swhibs123 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.swhibs123 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.swhibs123 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.swhibs123 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.swhibs123 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.swhibs123 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
swhibs123's Avatar
 
Posts: 16
Karma: 618600
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: The Great White North
Device: none
Not sure if that's the case. Books in stores still reach a far larger audience. eBooks still only account for a very small part of the overall market, so I'd say sales in stores are still where you'd get the best idea of what is popular. However, I think it's interesting, b/c it's a pretty good gage at what kindle readers are reading, and it makes you wonder about the demographics for people who buy eBooks.

It's quite fascinating, really. It's a great time to be an author - lots of options for publishing - but even more so, it's a great time to be a reader.
swhibs123 is offline   Reply With Quote
Advert
Old 12-04-2011, 03:27 PM   #3
morriss003
Evangelist
morriss003 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.morriss003 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.morriss003 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.morriss003 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.morriss003 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.morriss003 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.morriss003 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.morriss003 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.morriss003 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.morriss003 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.morriss003 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
morriss003's Avatar
 
Posts: 438
Karma: 3409790
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Maui
Device: kindle
I just checked my Amazon downloads and noticed, as usual, that there are three times more UK downloads than US downloads. I have absolutely no idea why that is.
morriss003 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-05-2011, 12:42 PM   #4
ScalyFreak
Sith Wannabe
ScalyFreak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ScalyFreak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ScalyFreak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ScalyFreak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ScalyFreak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ScalyFreak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ScalyFreak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ScalyFreak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ScalyFreak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ScalyFreak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ScalyFreak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
ScalyFreak's Avatar
 
Posts: 2,034
Karma: 8017430
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: I'm not sure... it's kind of dark.
Device: Galaxy Note 4, Kobo Aura H2O, Kindle Fire HD, Aluratek Libre
Quote:
Originally Posted by mattlynn View Post
But the real reason, I suspect, is because it is a much more level playing field. Some books get more push than others online of course. But going into the Kindle store is nothing like going into a bookshop, and nothing at all like the books section of a supermarket. The choice is vast, there are no in-your-face promotions, and word-of-mouth (in the form of reader reviews) is everywhere.
I'm going to be a cynic and say it has to do with pricing as well. The "bigger" authors seem to me to cost more than lesser known ones do. And by that I mean, the ones who get front billing in a book store, and big marketing campaigns. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in thinking that by the time an eBook costs me as much as a hard back, I might as well buy the hard back. Especially since I can share that with my husband, and give it away if I don't like it, while that would be illegal or at least EULA-breaking, with an eBook.

So I'm not sure that the Kindle sales charts accurately reflect what people in general actually want to read, at least not yet. But they definitely reflect what Kindle owners want to read, and there's a good chance that is different from what non-Kindle owners like and want.
ScalyFreak is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-08-2011, 10:05 PM   #5
EileenG
Zealot
EileenG ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.EileenG ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.EileenG ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.EileenG ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.EileenG ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.EileenG ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.EileenG ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.EileenG ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.EileenG ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.EileenG ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.EileenG ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
EileenG's Avatar
 
Posts: 146
Karma: 7462052
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Dublin
Device: My phone
Okay, I'm going to go out on a limb here, and admit that I buy a lot of stuff on Kindle that I'd be embarrassed to be seen reading on the bus. Also, I'll take chances on e-books that I won't on paperbooks.

But there's another factor here. When I go into a bookshop, there are usually only a small number of novels that I'd particularly want to read. When I go to the Kindle store, my only limit is how much time I have to read them.
EileenG is offline   Reply With Quote
Advert
Old 12-11-2011, 10:54 AM   #6
apbschmitz
Lord of Frogtown
apbschmitz ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.apbschmitz ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.apbschmitz ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.apbschmitz ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.apbschmitz ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.apbschmitz ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.apbschmitz ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.apbschmitz ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.apbschmitz ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.apbschmitz ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.apbschmitz ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
apbschmitz's Avatar
 
Posts: 149
Karma: 1154748
Join Date: May 2011
Location: St. Paul MN
Device: Kindle
I'm not saying this is true, just raising it as a point for consideration. Free and low-cost ebooks make it easy to turn into a book hoarder, which isn't quite the same thing as a book reader. The book charts are a measure of distribution, not necessarily of readership.
apbschmitz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-11-2011, 11:20 AM   #7
HarryT
eBook Enthusiast
HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
HarryT's Avatar
 
Posts: 85,544
Karma: 93383043
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6
Quote:
Originally Posted by mattlynn View Post
If you look at the Kindle chart and the traditional charts, you’ll notice something quite interesting. They aren’t at all similar. The UK Kindle chart today is topped by Phil Rickman, who is hardly a household name, followed by Damon Galgut and Kerry Wilkinson. The physical chart is led by the latest Wimpy Kid, followed by Jamie Oliver, Lee Evans and Michael Connolly.

Why is that, I wonder? After all, these are all books. Of course you can probably discount Wimpy Kid and Jamie Oliver. Most kids don’t have e-readers yet and cookbooks aren’t a natural for the Kindle. Even so, if you look at the Kindle charts, the ‘big authors’ don’t do so well. PD James and Kathryn Stockett are in the Top 10 and Patricia Cornwell in the Top 20. But heavily hyped writers like James Paterson don’t really do that well. In my own corner of the market, military adventure, I don’t sell as well as Chris Ryan and Andy McNab in the bookshops, but on Kindle I am regularly out-selling them.

One reason might be that the Kindle audience is slightly different from the mainstream audience. It is probably slightly more male – hence the number of thrillers in the chart – and a bit more techie. It may also be more adventurous in its taste.

But the real reason, I suspect, is because it is a much more level playing field. Some books get more push than others online of course. But going into the Kindle store is nothing like going into a bookshop, and nothing at all like the books section of a supermarket. The choice is vast, there are no in-your-face promotions, and word-of-mouth (in the form of reader reviews) is everywhere.

So what we see on the Kindle chart may well be a far better guide to what people actually want to read. I’m not sure the publishers have quite realised that yet though.
I must respectfully disagree: I suspect the reason is price. You say that your books outsell Andy McNab's; would I be right in guessing that your books are cheaper than Mr. McNab's? If you're selling a book for 99p, and Mr. McNab's books are selling for £5.99, many people will buy your book even if (no insult intended) they've never heard of you.
HarryT is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
How to explain to people how to read ePubs? robcub ePub 17 10-17-2010 01:21 PM
How many people read more than 2 books at a time? SameOldStory General Discussions 68 08-24-2010 06:33 PM
Education of People who Read E-Books vivaldirules Lounge 52 06-16-2010 09:13 AM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:59 PM.


MobileRead.com is a privately owned, operated and funded community.