01-13-2015, 04:33 AM | #1 | ||||
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Ebooks in 2015: Trends and Forecasts
Two-part report that aims to provide the information you need to catch up and keep up with this complex area of the information industry. First part:
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01-13-2015, 05:03 AM | #2 |
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It seems kind of natural that growth will slow over time in a new market. Of course, the key is that good numbers are hard to find given that many of the major players are fairly secretive about their numbers.
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01-13-2015, 07:16 AM | #3 |
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I think the Kobo quote has a typo:
$14.5 *Million* in 2014 growing to $22 Billion in 2017. I would take that at $14.5 Billion in 2014 but it seems a bit high unless they are including hardware in the mix. |
01-13-2015, 03:20 PM | #4 |
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I think ebooks are getting to the point of saturating the market via Amazon. 3 years ago it was different, authors, especially Independents could make money selling ebooks. Yet we have so many free ebooks now, and with Overdrive and other sources, and with the selling price for Independent fiction being Free to $2.99 that it is a tough time to be an author. And then there is VAT. That crazy tax is going to hurt ebook sellers, especially Independent authors selling overseas. It means price increases across the board for ebooks in those countries.
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01-13-2015, 05:05 PM | #5 | |
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01-31-2015, 05:22 PM | #6 |
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Maybe this is a good time for authors to start worrying more about creating a piece of art and less about the millions of dollars that will put them on a pedestal to be worshipped and treated like demigods?
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01-31-2015, 08:11 PM | #7 |
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I don't disagree. I think one had better be in writing for love of the art rather than money today. Yet I feel for those who need to, or are trying to make a living writing.
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01-31-2015, 11:05 PM | #8 | |
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To make a living at anything from selling watermelons to mining ore to repairing equipment to writing... quality and quantity have to be combined. Editors and proofreaders can help some with quality, but an author who can't crank out several books per year is unlikely to be able to give up their day job. A lot of my favorite authors have been people who not only told a good yarn, they cranked out six or more every year. Walter Gibson's output (not a perfect example, as he was inherantly wealthy) was just scary. |
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02-01-2015, 10:14 AM | #9 | |
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We are no longer held hostage by the publishers waiting for the next release of a favorite author. We simply move on to someone else, and hope we still remember that author when they finally make the next release. |
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02-01-2015, 12:28 PM | #10 | |
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And there's a lot more of those than people realize: an experienced, disciplined author can easily put out 2000 (publishable) words a day which, working just 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, comes out to six 80k novels a year. In the past, full time writers had to scramble to find venues for their output (pen names, short stories, essays, reviews, etc) but without those constraints can work as fast as their muses allow them. Satisfying the True Fans won't be hard, finding them will remain a challenge, though. |
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02-01-2015, 02:09 PM | #11 |
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68% of Americans read less than 10 books a year. If authors started writing 6 books a year, statistics show people would not be buying or reading them anyway.
For the rest there is a strong possibility some would borrow from the library or buy second hand. Or now use a subscription service. Authors need to find ways to create new readers. I'm not convinced publishing hundreds of books is the way. |
02-01-2015, 02:16 PM | #12 | |
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Yes, the people who don't read will continue to not read. On the other hand, people who read a lot but primarily read within several genre will buy more if there is more. It is up to the author to identify a niche that is under served and meet that demand. I often read two books a day on vacation, and a book every few days during the work week. |
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02-01-2015, 02:30 PM | #13 |
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"[QUOTE=fjtorres;3037749]Neither are the prolific authors limited by the publisher's schedules.
And there's a lot more of those than people realize: an experienced, disciplined author can easily put out 2000 (publishable) words a day which, working just 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, comes out to six 80k novels a year." I've written eight books. On a good day I can write one thousand, even two thousand words. But I need to review and revise these words later. And I certainly can't keep writing that quantity of words for more than three or four days in a row. The type of industrial production that you're describing sounds like a recipe for intellectual suicide. PS - Sorry - can't get the 'quote' facility to work. |
02-01-2015, 02:46 PM | #14 | |
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As a reader, I have more ebooks than I could ever read right now. Even free ebooks don't interest me as they once did. I buy fewer ebooks now. With so many sources of entertainment books are losing readers. It is not like it was 40 years ago with crappy Television, few channels, no video games, no Internet for the masses. I honestly worry for the future of books, TV series and movies have largely become the "new books". And I say that as someone who loves books. I see a niche market for fewer and fewer readers not far down the road. |
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02-01-2015, 03:23 PM | #15 |
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