MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - There's a better way to beat the ebook pirates

J. Strnad · 04-25-2011, 11:39 PM

I gave up on this thread about halfway through, but I was intrigued by Steven Lyle Jordan's comments.

I, too, write for money. I've wanted to be a professional writer and make my living from writing since I was about 12 or 14.

Writing is hard, lonely work. Marketing your work is even harder. At any given moment, there are probably 10, 20, 100 things I'd rather do...including nothing...than write.

My book makes me about $100/month on Amazon, more or less (okay, often less). It's hard to make myself sit down and write another book for $100/month. If I knew that when I finished it I'd get a check for $100,000, I'd be up before dawn hitting the keyboard! But ebook sales...uhm, not so much.

I'm "working" on another one, but I'm taking my time. It'll happen if I don't get hit by a truck first, but there's no rush. Because the fact is, I can enjoy this idea all by myself without lifting a finger. If other people want to enjoy it, they need to give me some incentive to put in the hundreds of hours of work it'll take to make it available to them.

So I've adopted the NPR model: I'll get sales from the people who care enough to pay three bucks for my book. Many others will mooch it for free--screw 'em, I don't care. My audience is the people who pay the three bucks. It isn't much. I went for coffee with a co-worker and she dropped $7 for a coffee and a snack. A book that gives you several hours of entertainment is worth $3, easy.

I'm just delighted right now that my book is available after being out of print for six years. There's no more work involved, so the money is gravy. I'm happy about it! But like Jordan says, there's not a compelling financial reason to make more books. I will, probably, but as a hobby, not as a profession. Maybe when I retire and have more time.

I don't blame the pirates so much, though, as I do the simple fact that there's a helluva lot of books out there. Pretty soon living authors will be competing with every book that's ever been printed. Fact of life. Supply and demand.

You want to make good money, learn to weld.

04-25-2011, 11:39 PM	#170
J. Strnad Guru Posts: 915 Karma: 3537194 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kobo, Kindle 3, Paperwhite	I gave up on this thread about halfway through, but I was intrigued by Steven Lyle Jordan's comments. I, too, write for money. I've wanted to be a professional writer and make my living from writing since I was about 12 or 14. Writing is hard, lonely work. Marketing your work is even harder. At any given moment, there are probably 10, 20, 100 things I'd rather do...including nothing...than write. My book makes me about $100/month on Amazon, more or less (okay, often less). It's hard to make myself sit down and write another book for $100/month. If I knew that when I finished it I'd get a check for $100,000, I'd be up before dawn hitting the keyboard! But ebook sales...uhm, not so much. I'm "working" on another one, but I'm taking my time. It'll happen if I don't get hit by a truck first, but there's no rush. Because the fact is, I can enjoy this idea all by myself without lifting a finger. If other people want to enjoy it, they need to give me some incentive to put in the hundreds of hours of work it'll take to make it available to them. So I've adopted the NPR model: I'll get sales from the people who care enough to pay three bucks for my book. Many others will mooch it for free--screw 'em, I don't care. My audience is the people who pay the three bucks. It isn't much. I went for coffee with a co-worker and she dropped $7 for a coffee and a snack. A book that gives you several hours of entertainment is worth $3, easy. I'm just delighted right now that my book is available after being out of print for six years. There's no more work involved, so the money is gravy. I'm happy about it! But like Jordan says, there's not a compelling financial reason to make more books. I will, probably, but as a hobby, not as a profession. Maybe when I retire and have more time. I don't blame the pirates so much, though, as I do the simple fact that there's a helluva lot of books out there. Pretty soon living authors will be competing with every book that's ever been printed. Fact of life. Supply and demand. You want to make good money, learn to weld. Last edited by J. Strnad; 04-25-2011 at 11:46 PM.