Self-repubbing backlist books - early results

[starrigger]

Folks who are following the trend of authors self-repubbing their backlist titles might be interested in a blog post I just put up, reporting on the first few months of my own experiment. Other authors have stepped up with some of their own results, as well--some struggling but hopeful, some with sales I can only envy.

http://starrigger.blogspot.com/2011/...ks-anyway.html

[abookreader]

Thanks for sharing that Jeff. It is really fascinating for me to read about authors who are experimenting with new avenues to connect with readers.
We hear much about Konrath and Karen McQuestion and the others who have hit it big, its nice to see about those are closer to the starting line and the challenges they are finding.

Your books aren't exactly in my range of interest but I have two sons who might be interested. I'll pass along your titles to them for a look.

[ficbot]

I think $400 a month would be great, personally

[SensualPoet]

Thanks for the blogpost (and the commenters to the blog)!

Authors who have a backlist also have some reputation and the ability to generate a bit of buzz.

Having a strong cover is really important -- that absolutely cannot be overlooked.

Please don't overlook kobobooks for international distribution. Amazon Kindle is obviously critical; but so is customer access to a fully commercial ePub platform.

Lastly, at some point existing large publishing groups will figure out that, in fact, they CAN make money from their backlist by simply making it available.

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

Having a strong cover is really important -- that absolutely cannot be overlooked.

Please don't overlook kobobooks for international distribution. Amazon Kindle is obviously critical; but so is customer access to a fully commercial ePub platform.

Lastly, at some point existing large publishing groups will figure out that, in fact, they CAN make money from their backlist by simply making it available.

Actually, the question of covers is one I haven't seen proved one way or the other. Sure, a good cover might get that initial click for a closer look. But my own numbers don't clearly indicate that people are gravitating toward the books with better covers. (And there's no mistaking the better ones; I did the others myself. Sooner or later I'll replace them.)

Pretty much everyone who sells through Smashwords is also selling through Kobo, Sony, Apple, and Diesel--it's part of the package, though you can opt in or out where you choose. A lot of us are going directly to B&N instead of going through SW. (Which, of course, is a fully commercial epub platform, also.) But for me, and for many, sales at B&N and Amazon are the huge majority.

The large publishers are putting backlist into ebook; it just takes time. And in many cases, they probably don't have the rights. This is an important time for authors to make sure they protect their own rights to those books, if they have the slightest desire to do what we're doing.

[kurzon]

Kristine Kathryn Rusch has been running a series of posts about midlist backlist.

http://kriswrites.com/2011/01/26/the...times-part-15/

I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on some of the mass of backlist out there. And I'm all for writers doing it themselves, because they get a bigger cut of the proceeds, and yet the cost of the book is cheaper for me! Win/win.

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by kurzon

Kristine Kathryn Rusch has been running a series of posts about midlist backlist.

http://kriswrites.com/2011/01/26/the...times-part-15/

I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on some of the mass of backlist out there. And I'm all for writers doing it themselves, because they get a bigger cut of the proceeds, and yet the cost of the book is cheaper for me! Win/win.

Thanks for that link. I hadn't seen her series, and now will have to find time to read through it. Looks fascinating.

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by starrigger

Actually, the question of covers is one I haven't seen proved one way or the other. Sure, a good cover might get that initial click for a closer look. But my own numbers don't clearly indicate that people are gravitating toward the books with better covers. (And there's no mistaking the better ones; I did the others myself. Sooner or later I'll replace them.)

I recommend this thread to you: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...73&postcount=1

SP

[starrigger]

That's an interesting discussion, SP.

I just thought I'd mention that since I posted that report (linked above), the general trend has been upward. This is now turning into a source of genuine income, rather than the beer money that it started out to be. I just have to hope that Barnes & Noble thrives, because the Nook store is doing best for me by a very large margin. Amazon, second best. Smashwords, third.

[Blue Tyson]

Good! Plenty of authors out there with work that should have a fanbase of beer money++ at least.