Quote:
Originally Posted by ficbot
Just FYI, but my dad has a book (non-fiction) published by a 'real' publisher in paper, sold 200 copies and his publisher was thrilled. For a new author, the expectations are just very low---no matter if it's indie or not. Imho you simply can't go into this expecting that it will be the instant path to fame and fortune. It just doesn't work that way, and there isn't really a way to *make* it work that way simply because you are competing in a very crowded marketplace for people's eyeballs and attention, never mind their money  |
Agreed. I doubt anyone who has done any reading on the subject of writing and publishing a book has any romantic ideas about fame and fortune. What I, and I suspect, quite a few of my fellow authors do want is to sell beyond the average 200 copies...
That means coming up with ideas that work. What is great about forums such as this is that you can *test* an idea with knowledgeable readers and get good solid feedback, often with anecdotes, as to what might work.
Approximately 3 billion books are "sold" (doesn't include 2nd hand books or freebies) each year in the US alone. That figure is increasing, and I believe that globally the number of books read is increasing and will sharply increase in the next few years.
As an aside, I haven't put my book up for sale yet; that will happen in Oct - this is pure market research. What I can say is that 400+ have downloaded the free pdf and epub versions - so if all I can expect is 200 copies then I really am screwed :-)
My preferred method of marketing would be:
- write book
- put in review bucket
- paste sample
- put price on it
- dump in distribution bucket aka Smashwords or Amazon
- repeat
Unfortunately (and I use that word somewhat with tongue in cheek - have you tried to say something with your tongue in cheek), I am reliably informed via a gazillion blogs on the subject that I have to "reach out", "connect", "promote", and otherwise hang out a shingle to get noticed.
Maybe getting arrested for running an illegal lottery would do it...
The problem is compounded if you're a "foreigner" as I am. Although I once lived in the States, I do not live there now. I live in Bangkok, and whilst that has a great many advantages (none of which I am willing to give up), the ability to promote a book is mostly limited to what you can do digitally.
Approximately 1 million new books are hitting the digital and traditional shelves every year, in the US alone. To get a book seen, especially if is fiction is competing with that number. You can divide it up between fiction, non-fiction and split further into genres and categories if you like - the reality is that someone goes to a bookstore with the idea of buying something to fill a space of time; for some time in the future, and have that space of time be valuable. A book is therefore a "futures contract" on time. An author's track record, sample pages, the underlying fundamentals of the "stock".
I appreciate the heads up, that instant fame and fortune are an unlikely scenario, and to be clear I am not being sarcastic, as such is a common mis-perception of the realities of selling a book - I do think it worth exploring ideas that can take well written books above the average.
The average life expectancy for a male in Thailand is 65 - I'm working on that one too :-)