Author Michael A. Stackpole says; "Books are Magazines"

[DiapDealer]

Musings on Borders demise and other ebook related stuff.

The Magician stands on stage and invites a volunteer from the audience to lend him something. Not a piece of jewelry, or a dollar bill, but a book. The volunteer—an author—hands him a copy of his latest tome. The Magician places it on a stand and waves a hand at it. “Behold, a book.” He then drapes a scarlet silk over it. He waves his wand, utters the word, “Abracadabra,” with great solemnity, and whisks the silk away.

“Behold,” he says with a smile, “a magazine!”

The audience applauds, but the author is stunned. That’s not a magazine, that’s a book! There’s no magic there, there was no trick. It’s a book, and a book is a book, right?

Alas, a book becomes a magazine when it’s marketed as a magazine.

The whole blog post.

He always has a lot to say concerning the ramifications of publishing and writing in the digital age, from a successful author's point of view.

[jgaiser]

An author who understands and is embracing the future. Awesome.

[Dulin's Books]

And if you havent already please purchase a copy of his Talion:Revenant here(epub) or here(kindle) as I'd really like him to get on with writing the sequel Talion: Nemesis

Thank you

[OneandonlyDoc]

Originally Posted by Dulin's Books

And if you havent already please purchase a copy of his Talion:Revenant here(epub) or here(kindle) as I'd really like him to get on with writing the sequel Talion: Nemesis

Thank you

^ That, hardcore. Though he did revise his estimates after he started really digging into J.A. Konrath's numbers, too, so it'll be fewer copies of Talion: Revenant sold that'll get him to work on Nemesis for all of us who've been waiting (im)patiently for the next tale from Nolan's life.

Personally, I'd like to see more Dragoncrown War m'self. Maybe someday...

[Dulin's Books]

yup yup yup

[charleski]

This means readers have the opportunity to buy the books you’re self-publishing instantly. Book retailers and publishers are pointing customers directly at you, customers who have money burning a hole in their pockets

Umm, they'll point them to their store where they'll have the books that you contracted with them to publish. No one's going to be pointing anyone at anything unless they get a cut of the pie along the way.

I'm not surprised that genre fiction is heading back to its roots in the limited-availability magazine model. It's inevitable given the sheer bulk of verbiage involved. He's right, the good news is that authors now have a means of maintaining a long tail at little cost, but you still need something to pull people in.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Dulin's Books

And if you havent already please purchase a copy of his Talion:Revenant here(epub) or here(kindle) as I'd really like him to get on with writing the sequel Talion: Nemesis

I almost forgot about that. Thanks!
I bought it again just to contribute.

[DAHayden]

Smart, and true. For a while, midlist books are going to be racing through the bookstores, in and off the shelves. Only really popular titles will remain for long. But I don't think the industry can sustain that for long. Eventually bookstores will be small with mostly bestsellers and a few books that publishers are trying in the hopes to make bestsellers.

[elcreative]

Originally Posted by DAHayden

Smart, and true. For a while, midlist books are going to be racing through the bookstores, in and off the shelves. Only really popular titles will remain for long. But I don't think the industry can sustain that for long. Eventually bookstores will be small with mostly bestsellers and a few books that publishers are trying in the hopes to make bestsellers.

No bookseller can survive on best sellers... the supermarkets reduce price levels of the best sellers to less than an independent can buy (in small quantities) from the publisher... independent booksellers only stand a chance by carving out a niche market of their own... genre specialisation for instance combined with genuine customer service...

[Arithonne]

This means readers have the opportunity to buy the books you’re self-publishing instantly. Book retailers and publishers are pointing customers directly at you, customers who have money burning a hole in their pockets

Umm, they'll point them to their store where they'll have the books that you contracted with them to publish. No one's going to be pointing anyone at anything unless they get a cut of the pie along the way.

I know for a fact that Michael Stackpole offers his self-pubbed ebooks for sale through Kobo and Amazon as well as through his website. It wouldn't surprise me to learn they're also for sale through B&N and at other places as well. So if a store employee points a customer to the store website to purchase ebooks, they're going to see both the trad-pubbed and the self-pubbed. So yeah, brick and mortar store employees are going to be pointing customers to self-published books too.

[Rainmaker]

Well, there is a point in favor of libraries that you don't have with surfing through their site:
Is to skim through the book, or look at several books.
I noticed I'm not doing it so often as I used to. Before getting a Kindle, I would go twice a month to once a week to the library; and go check some books. I didn't go with the intention of buying, but looking for something interesting to read after I finished what I was currently reading at the time.

Now, mostly I pick a book, by recommendation, reviews, etc. Though once in a while I try looking at random books.... hoping to find a next "jewel".
But, most books don't have that feel, of picking the book from the shelf, reading the back of it, or the first chapter. Usually you can tell if you are gonna like it yb reading the first few pages (mostly, it's not necessarily rule).

But I agree with the fact that self-publishing it's more accessible now with eReaders, now that digital media is easier to spread. And bookstores are going to have to struggle to still draw customers into their stores.

[jhempel24]

Stackpole just rules.

Thanks for this article!

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by Arithonne

I know for a fact that Michael Stackpole offers his self-pubbed ebooks for sale through Kobo and Amazon as well as through his website. It wouldn't surprise me to learn they're also for sale through B&N and at other places as well. So if a store employee points a customer to the store website to purchase ebooks, they're going to see both the trad-pubbed and the self-pubbed. So yeah, brick and mortar store employees are going to be pointing customers to self-published books too.

Are they? Will customers "pointed to the website" see indie authors... or will they only see the Big Pub authors who pay to get displayed up front, crowding indies into the back?

The big problem with the idea that customers will see more indies is, it doesn't indicate how those customers will actually find the indies... or even know to look for them. B&N and Amazon make it harder and harder for indies to be seen past the walls of books that Big Pub pays to advertise. Amazon only recently segregated indie author advertisement in the discussion groups, forcing any posts with links to their books into a separate forum, away from all others.

This is the trend in digital publishing, making sure those with the deepest purses can crowd out the little guys. Yes, indies that somehow "break through" into serious sales will get pushed up front, to make money for the bookstore. The rest are only going to be found by specific, time-taking searches.

[Seli]

Going by articles I have seen elsewhere this is just going back in time. At their introduction paperback books were also sold in the same way as magazines, with the disposable nature that comes with the territory.

[OneandonlyDoc]

Slightly off topic, but has anyone else noticed that magazines are rapidly becoming as expensive as books when you buy them at your local bookstore or newsstand?

I'd rather get a book (or an ebook, as is more often the case these days) than a glossy that's got great potential to be outdated inside of the next few weeks.