Quote:
Originally Posted by gmw
The first is dependent on who you are talking to, and which ebooks. On MR there is a widely held view that the majority of independently published books are rubbish - and this independently published author cannot argue that the view is not justified (I just don't think it applies to me!  ).
But this little gem:
"The competition among ebooks, though stiff, isn't as hopeless."
made me want to weep.
Copied from Amazon earlier this evening:
New Releases
Last 30 days (189,777)
Last 90 days (558,875)
Coming Soon (51,176). |
Yes, the competition is ferocious, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. (I hope to have my first two ebooks finished in two or three months.)
But the key word is NICHE. There may be a gazillion ebook publishers out there, but there are also a gazillion customers, all with different interests. And, as far as I know, none of the competitors have the stature of Facebook, Google or Wikipedia, which are virtual vacuum cleaners.
My theory is that IF 1) I can write a good book, and 2) I can somehow get the attention of people with an interest in that particular topic, I can succeed. That's probably going to entail more than dumping a book on Amazon. I'd plan on promoting it on various websites, especially targeting bird clubs if the books is about birds, for example.
I have no illusions about becoming a millionaire, but I'm fairly confident I earn enough to make it a profitable hobby. If I can't even accomplish that, then hopefully I'll at least earn enough money to get drunk.
P.S. I forgot to mention, the shameful quality of so many ebooks that you mentioned is another cause for hope. It's a pain in the butt, because prospective customer have to sort through a mountain of crap before they find a good book. But if you can write a good book and somehow get the public's attention, that should move you past the bottom 430,000 books.