Self publishing - make a million....or not!

The road to self publishing is paved with gold - yeah, sure!

There's an interesting article HERE on this very subject. It's a refreshing read since all we seem to hear about are the mega sales of folk like Amanda Hocking and J A Konrath, but for every big seller there are thousands of others struggling with low, often non existent, sales. So why is this? Well there's a lot of dross out there, of course.But even well established authors, with a proven track record are finding it difficult to shift units in bulk.

Raymond Benson, a well known  writer, the third official author of the James Bond series, recently wrote about his own difficulties in selling his back list as eBooks and Archive friend, Chap O'Keefe, a very well respected western author, has reported that sales are slow with his own eBook titles. My own eBook, A Policeman's Lot has been out a year and often goes months without a sale - mind you, things do seem to be picking up at the moment and a print version has also just become available. And I have sold a few hundred copies of my short stories that are available for the Kindle - not a massive amount but given that the stories are available for free elsewhere, I'm quite pleased to pick up the odd sale which helps support the Archive.

Is it all about promotion?  Take Joe Konrath for instance - he constantly preaches promotion while making claims of massive sales, often selling a truck load of books before dinner time. And yet I've tried to corner him for an interview with the Archive for some time and had no response. John Locke, on the other hand, has talked to the Archive and this week he became the first self published author to sell a million titles. Congratulations John - we're thrilled for you. I could make the outlandish claim that the Archive is responsible for Locke's success, but of course it isn't as the author is a bloody good writer and his work is addictive. He has also worked long and hard at promoting his books but the most important fact is that they are excellent books.  However  in the spirit of outlandish claims I'm gonna' make it anyway - APPEAR ON THE ARCHIVE AND SELL A MILLION!!!!!!!!

Maybe readers are reluctant to buy eBooks by new authors after being stung by some of the badly written, badly edited crap out there, but that doesn't explain why true craftsmen like Chap O'Keefe and Raymond Benson (expect an interview with Raymond here soon) are struggling to make the eBook model work. At the moment we live in a world where anyone can easily publish a novel to eBook using Amazon, Smashwords or Barnes and Noble, and believe me many do - some it seems bang out something in a matter of days, bung up a cover with Photoshop and then press publish and  their creation is soon available to the world.

I do strongly believe though that true talent will shine through - at the moment self publishing seems to be a craze, but as time goes on readers will soon discover what is good and what is not. But self publishing platforms like Amazon really do need to introduce some quality control if they are to ensure their eShop contains nothing but quality writing, still I fear this will never happen since money is made from the good as well as the bad, and the bad outnumbers the good by seemingly sixteen squillionwilliontwillion to one.

Though have no fear - writers will continue to write, since that is what they have to do, what they must do.

What is the eSecret to success?? THE NAKED TRUTH

Joe Konrath contemplates his next million sales

It's an interesting question - there are scores of eBooks out there, all jostling to be noticed but what is the secret of success in this competitive market? What is it about writers like Amanda Hocking and Joe Konrath AKA Jack Kilborn, to name but two, that make them stand out from the crowd? For every eBook that succeeds there are squillions of others that are never heard of.

Why is this?

I've yet to read Amanda Hocking but I have recently read several of Mr Konrath's books - they are indeed well written and the author certainly knows how to construct a story and grab the reader, but then so too do scores of other writers who have nowhere near the profile of Mr Konrath.

I suspect the answer to Konrath's success is that the author is extremely active in self publicising and puts in as much work getting his books noticed as he does writing them in the first place - known in the writing community for his work in self-promotion. Konrath believes that writers must play a large part in marketing their own books, and his blog, A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing, focuses on this. He has outspoken and somewhat controversial views on advertising, the publishing industry, and internet publicity.


According to the WIKI - In 2006, Konrath mailed out close to 7000 letters to libraries across the United States with fellow mystery author Julia Spencer-Fleming, touting their books to librarians.
Later that year, Konrath signed books in 612 bookstores across 28 states.The booksellers he met on this three month journey were thanked by name in the acknowledgements of his fourth novel, Dirty Martini.

So is it all this extra curricular activity that has made Konrath? Well it certainly can't hurt - I've been following the author around the net, trying to discover his secret, and I've noticed that he's active on all the social networking sites - Twitter, Facebook, My Space. And he regularly goes on blog book tours which is kind of like a real book tour but without getting off your arse. And of course his blog is interesting and although I don't always agree with his views I do find much to learn in his posts. The Archive has been cornering Mr Konrath for an interview for some time but alas our emails go unanswered and our tweets seemingly ignored - so if Konrath is reading this then come on - email the Archive and let's chew the fat.

"I also love print books. I have 5000 of them. But print is just a delivery system. It gets a story from the writer to the reader. For centuries, publishers controlled this system, because they did the printing, and they were plugged into distribution. But with retailers like Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords, the story can get to the reader in a faster, cheaper way. And publishers aren't needed." Joe Konrath

Now from my own experience I know that self publicity can help - the success I achieved with my first Jack Martin novel, The Tarnished Star is proof enough of that, but at the same time I'm nowhere near Konrath's league. Maybe things will change when Tarnished Star is realised as the movie, Lawmaster (scheduled to start shooting 2012, folks).

So perhaps I need to work even harder at self publicising - though it's difficult to see how - I too have profiles on all the social networking sites and this blog you're reading now, is updated several times a day. Christ I even once posed naked with a copy of my second novel in a bid to provoke sales from readers with a thing for the undernourished male body.

Someone once remarked to me that the western is not as commercial a genre as the horror or crime genres within which Konrath seems to have scored his biggest successes, and there may be something in that. But although I do write in other genres I refuse to give up working in my favourite genre of all - the western.

There I'm naked-buy a book and I'll put clothes on

What is the answer?


You know thinking about it - perhaps I do know the answer, maybe I've known it all along. The most important step must be to forget all this, not to worry about success or failure,or even large screen televisions, but to concentrate on writing a bloody good book in the first place. But even that may not be enough to make a splash in the current aggressive book world.

Still who cares?

It's the book that matters!

Just to clear things up - the iPad is awesome but it's not an eReader

The iPad - a pocket computer

With the surge in eBooks and eReaders it surprises me to still find myself reading articles that list the iPad as an eReader, when this is not so. Whilst the iPad is a great piece of kit and you can read books on the thing it is not as well suited to reading as dedicated readers like The Kindle, Nook and Sony devices. For one thing most dedicated eReaders use a technology called eInk which perfectly mimics paper thus cutting down on eye strain and allowing the eBook to be read under the same conditions as a conventional book. The iPad does not use eInk and has a backlit screen that reproduces images in much the same way as a standard computer monitor. Conventional books do not have backlit pages and nor do most dedicated eReader devices.

The Sony - a dedicated eReader

This comes from The Huffington Post - "E-books are just one industry of many that has exploded partly due to the growth of tablet sales. Gartner Research predicted that the worldwide sale of electronic e-book readers (like the iPad, the Amazon Kindle, the Barnes and Noble Nook) has increased by 79 percent since 2009, with 6.6 million units in 2010 compared to 3.6 units in 2009. So many people are jumping on the e-book bandwagon because of the simplicity it presents. In most cases, you download an e-book and it's there at your disposal in minutes or even seconds. Another plus is that e-books are usually cheaper than print books, and some are even free."

As you can see they have placed the iPad in amongst all the other dedicated eReaders - all of the other devices listed are eReaders and use the eInk technology. The iPad then should not be considered if you are looking for a device solely for reading eBooks - mind you, the iPad is excellent for digital comic books.

Just wanted to clear that up - it may be picky but it annoys me to constantly see the iPad marketed as an eReader. I love my own iPad but I know if I tried to read a full length novel on the thing I'd be heading for Headache City.

eBooks are old hat now it's eComics

The eBook revolution is moving on apace but it's not just standard books that are being digitised and comic books, although digital comics have been around on a small scale for some time, are going the same way - Diamond Comics Distributors is planning to launch a digital distribution service via comic book stores.

According to Bleeding Cool, the firm is developing a platform to increase sales of digital titles through brick and mortar retailers.

"Diamond Comic Distributors has been working on a digital programme which will be entirely focused on driving sales of digital comic related content through brick and mortar comic book speciality retailers," a Diamond representative told the website.

"We anticipate making an announcement in the near future. Diamond doesn't sell direct to consumers - as we've always preferred to drive sales through the comic book speciality retailer, who so loyally supports our suppliers, publishers and Diamond."

Founded in 1972, Diamond is the largest supplier of print comic books serving North America. The company has distribution deals in place with most major publishers, including Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse and IDW.

A fistful of western news

Head over to THE EDUCATION OF A PULP WRITER for a fistful of western news including this little snippet -

"Some exciting news Gary Dobbs has been heralding, and I'm looking forward to, is the release of several Black Horse Western novels in eBook form."