12-26-2010, 12:18 PM | #1 | |
Banned
Posts: 1,644
Karma: 213512
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: On the other side of over there
Device: Pandigital Novel, Kindle G1 (broken), iPod Touch
|
LA Times: Joe Konrath can't wait for his books to go out of print.
Then he can sell them himself and make more money.
Quote:
|
|
12-27-2010, 01:08 AM | #2 |
Montreal wins Grey Cup!
Posts: 7,583
Karma: 31484197
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Raleigh, NC
Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite
|
Interesting article. Thanks for the link!
|
Advert | |
|
12-27-2010, 07:13 AM | #3 |
Sci-Fi Author
Posts: 1,157
Karma: 14743509
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Michigan
Device: PC (Calibre)
|
Ya know, this is interesting. If the big guys are turning to self publishing for all their books, I think it signals an end to the big publishers. Because if more and more authors find out that they don't need a big house to get their books published, and ebooks take over as the dominant form of book, a lot of authors will stop trying to beat pointlessly on the big gilded doors. Heck, I'm one of those guys who went self published, and then small house rather than big house too, and I'm glad I did. Screw the big houses and their "your book is ours to destroy as we please" overlords. :P
|
12-27-2010, 08:03 AM | #4 |
Trying for calm & polite
Posts: 4,012
Karma: 9455193
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Mostly in Canada
Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura
|
It will be interesting to see what happens when "big" authors reach the end of their current contracts, for sure.
|
12-27-2010, 08:16 AM | #5 |
Resident Curmudgeon
Posts: 73,968
Karma: 128903250
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
|
If they are going to go Amazon exclusively, all I can say is I hope they fail bigger then they could ever imagine.
|
Advert | |
|
12-27-2010, 11:12 AM | #6 | ||
Professional Contrarian
Posts: 2,045
Karma: 3289631
Join Date: Mar 2009
Device: Kindle 4 No Touchie
|
Quote:
I suspect that the big publishers are going to offer advantages to authors for a long time. Quote:
A small publisher may well be a better fit for an author with modest sales. However small publishers don't always have the resources, contacts or industry pull to boost an author's sales. And there's always the risk that they can go under, which could leave their authors and older books in limbo. Also, let's face it, lots of authors are highly motivated to get advances that are far beyond the reach of smaller publishers, as well as aim for a national reach and/or big sales. For better and for worse, those authors are better served by larger publishers. |
||
12-27-2010, 11:14 AM | #7 | |
Professional Contrarian
Posts: 2,045
Karma: 3289631
Join Date: Mar 2009
Device: Kindle 4 No Touchie
|
Quote:
Exclusives are a part of retail. If the author freely chooses to work exclusively with one retailer, that's their concern. There is still so much competition that it's not likely to give Amazon a permanent lock on the market, either. |
|
12-27-2010, 12:30 PM | #8 | |
Grand Master of Flowers
Posts: 2,201
Karma: 8389072
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Naptown
Device: Kindle PW, Kindle 3 (aka Keyboard), iPhone, iPad 3 (not for reading)
|
Quote:
But I would hope exclusives don't become too widespread; driving to another retailer is much easier than having to buy a new reader. |
|
12-27-2010, 12:31 PM | #9 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,316
Karma: 1515835
Join Date: Mar 2009
Device: Kindle 3 Wi-Fi, Craig CMP738a Android Tablet
|
What does self-publishing do to the editing process? My suspicion is that it's mostly a negative impact. I've downloaded a lot of self-published things from the Kindle store, and a lot of it is pretty bad. (Certainly, not all of it, of course.) There's something to be said for having some kind of gatekeeper that's willing to say no to bad writing.
I guess my question is, is this going to have a bad impact on the signal to noise ratio? It's not an issue for established writers, of course, but it makes a difference to newcomers. |
12-27-2010, 12:34 PM | #10 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,316
Karma: 1515835
Join Date: Mar 2009
Device: Kindle 3 Wi-Fi, Craig CMP738a Android Tablet
|
This concerns me, too. I could easily see Amazon and Apple getting into a pissing match on who can get the most exclusive deals with authors, should Apple choose to get more serious with its iBooks store.
|
12-27-2010, 08:02 PM | #11 |
Is that a sandwich?
Posts: 8,189
Karma: 100500000
Join Date: Jun 2010
Device: Nook Glowlight Plus
|
Also, how does going online only serve the physical bookstore shoppers and public library visitors?
|
12-27-2010, 08:49 PM | #12 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,316
Karma: 1515835
Join Date: Mar 2009
Device: Kindle 3 Wi-Fi, Craig CMP738a Android Tablet
|
|
12-27-2010, 10:54 PM | #13 | ||
Sci-Fi Author
Posts: 1,157
Karma: 14743509
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Michigan
Device: PC (Calibre)
|
Quote:
Quote:
Sorta like having the "Good Housekeeping" seal of approval, but for books. It may not happen right away, but give it time and I bet you'll find that someone does step up and fill that void. Will they be a pay service that indie authors submit their books to for review? Yeah, they probably would. But if they're anything like these couple of pay to review groups I've seen who take the book, and regardless of the fact that they were paid to review it, they give the best and most honest score the book deserves. I forget their name, but there's a couple like that out there. Heck, I saw one of them one time give a book a one star rating even though he'd paid for their review. So if they'll do that, I know they produce good, honest ratings. So who knows, they may end up being the future gatekeepers you talk about. |
||
12-28-2010, 05:06 AM | #14 |
Fanatic
Posts: 528
Karma: 2530000
Join Date: Dec 2010
Device: Sony PRS-T3, PRS-650, Vaio Tap 11, iPad Mini
|
A very US-centric view as usual.
The really big names among authors will surely not abandon the publishers for the following reasons: - the global book market is still dominated by paper books. Therefore you need publishers that print books, deliver them to the bookshops and make sure that they are getting nice shelf space. - the huge influence of Amazon on the book market is very much a US phenomenon (perhaps Canada as well, don't know). The book retail market in other countries is often more fragmented or dominated by bricks & mortar chains. These want paper books as ebooks are still more of a side line - do authors really want to handle issues like commissioning translations etc. on their own? |
12-28-2010, 09:25 AM | #15 | |
Wizard
Posts: 1,316
Karma: 1515835
Join Date: Mar 2009
Device: Kindle 3 Wi-Fi, Craig CMP738a Android Tablet
|
Quote:
As for paid reviews: I don't see how they're reliable. Money is a pretty good incentive to give a good (or at least kind) review. The question always would need to be asked: How would the book be reviewed if it wasn't being paid for? Think about this for a minute: If you're an author looking to have your book reviewed, and you just got done reading a review where the writer basically excoriated a book, would you be lining up to have that reviewer assess your book? You might do it if you'd read the book yourself, and thought the reviewer was fair, but what if you hadn't? I think that if your business model relies on authors paying you to review their books, then bad reviews are bad for business. How many one star reviews will a reviewer be able to hand out before people stop sending him/her books? |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Financial Times Print Edition - Sub sections | ratulb | Recipes | 1 | 11-27-2010 08:05 AM |
Financial Times / FT - help creating a UK print edition recipe | ndeb123 | Recipes | 1 | 09-29-2010 10:55 AM |
Joe Konrath: Has He Changed Your Life Or Not | Robin O'Neill | Writers' Corner | 47 | 09-22-2010 10:05 AM |
Digital Perception (Joe Konrath) | Guns4Hire | News | 8 | 02-18-2010 04:36 AM |
NY Times owner - Print version irrelevant or gone in 5 years | Bob Russell | News | 12 | 02-10-2007 04:26 PM |