E-Books: Are they worth pursuing as a writer?

[Roxanne Appleby]

Do many people actually buy these?
Is the amount one can earn sufficient to compensate for presumably much lower numbers of readers? (Compared to the fun of thousands reading your free stories on Lit.)
Is it a hassle?
How many here have actually purchased an e-book?
Might we be able to persuade an AH'er who has published an e-book to reveal the sales figures? (Expectations are low, so no one will laugh, right gang?)

 

[cantdog]

can't resist

E-books aren't worth the paper they're printed on.

 

[neonlyte]

It is virtually impossible to find reliable figures on e-book sales, for commercial reasons e-publishers are reluctant to declare actual sales and choose to issue 'best seller' lists, without statistical back-up, in most cases. Where actual numbers are published, they are generally unaudited, ie, unverifiable.

Prices vary enormously from as little as $2.50 to $15 or more, I've seen specialist articles priced at $200, though these are designed for sydicate publishing through websites, for example - a travel website might purchase a specialist article on a travel destination to boost 'knowlegability' to web traffic.

E-book sales are miniscule in comparisum with printed media, but this will change, as I mentioned on a previous post, most of the major publishing houses are gearing up for e-book publishing in preparation for new electronic devices entering the marketplace.

Pricing structures will likely be dramatically revised with expectations for them to move toward the i-Pod model for downloads. Expect to see e-publishers testing the water early 2007.

 

[cantdog]

That said, I think of the whole idea as a perversion.

When the 'net was coming into being, that is, not yet here, there was a concerted movement in several different places at once to make books available to read through the computer, over the modem lines.

You could look up articles, especially scholarly publications, and usually get a little blurb, a précis or a sampling of the first paragraph (this was in gopher space). And you could find the locations within all kinds of libraries of books and whatnot, but very seldom could you get a review or synopsis-- you had to judge by the title and the catalog number, to decide if the book was something you wanted.

Also, there had been a short story by Ray Bradbury. Civilization had ended, in some way, and people had begun to memorize the great books, to learn them by heart, since the actual objects themselves wouldn't be there. They saw it as a mission to preserve the culture from utter dissolution, by saving the best.

So folks began to transcribe the books. Project Gutenberg was the most prominent of these efforts to turn books into readable files, accessible from anywhere that could access the new network.

But like all the other such projects, Gutenberg provides the texts free. Hell, the whole 'net started out free. We looked down on people who were paying for it.

Naturally, people began, after a while, to add their own original works to the pile of available texts. Other permutations followed, particularly as the growing 'net moved away from the merely text-based into graphics.

So I disdain to purchase an e-book, because I have the idea it ought to be free.

 

[R. Richard]

Do many people actually buy these?
Is the amount one can earn sufficient to compensate for presumably much lower numbers of readers? (Compared to the fun of thousands reading your free stories on Lit.)
Is it a hassle?
How many here have actually purchased an e-book?

I can't say how many people buy e-books. I have an e-book published in Fictionwise and I do get some small renumeration for same. I would obviously like to earn more, but right now, my concern is to get my novels published and get my stories presented to the public. I submitted my first novel "Tails of The Pussycat Lounge" [Tails is correct here] to Renaissance E-Books and not only was it not a hassle, I got some useful feedback. I have now submitted three more novels to Renaissance E-Books and have gotten more useful feedback. Apparently all three new novels will be published if and when the new Renaissance E-Books web site is up and running.

As has been stated before, the current sales of e-books are low compared to conventional printed books. However, the sales of e-books are rising and e-books may well be the wave of the future. In the meantime, I am published.

 

[neonlyte]

Cantdog, very difficult to devise a structured model for the 'free' distribution of e-books, though Lit and similar sites do an excellent job for a limited market and genre. When it's pushed beyond the genre, and opened to the larger writing population the logisitics become daunting, and regretably, solving those problems costs hard cash.

Many writers wish to be paid for their work, others are happy to publish here and elsewhere for free. For those that wish to be paid, the difficulty is in devising a payment structure and the only model to go by is conventional publishing. I'm with you in believing e-books ought to be free at point of use, though my reasons are different.

There is currently no way to prevent an e-book being sold once and copied across the internet, you can put in restrictions about copyright etc etc, and attack the sites that redistribute, but I can download an e-book and all my family and friends can read it in electronic or print form and no one is any the wiser.

So how does one model for the free distribution of e-books AND reward the authors - answers on a postcard please - it is the problem that occupies much of my working time, there are solutions, not all of them palatable to writers or readers.

 

[R. Richard]

There is currently no way to prevent an e-book being sold once and copied across the internet, you can put in restrictions about copyright etc etc, and attack the sites that redistribute, but I can download an e-book and all my family and friends can read it in electronic or print form and on one is any the wiser.

So how does one model for the free distribution of e-books AND reward the authors - answers on a postcard please - it is the problem that occupies much of my working time, there are solutions, not all of them palatable to writers or readers.

You are correct, there is currently no way to prevent an e-book being sold once and copied across the Internet. However, it is quite practical to trace the original e-book back to the person who originally bought the first copy. [I am a computer programmer and I know what I an taalking about.] There will probably have to be some court cases, but the risk of being caught should eventually put an end to "buy once, read by many people." [Of course, once a person has bought a print book, it can be lent to many people.]

I don't see free distribution of e-books. Most people who might illegally copy an e-book are Internet users. It is possible to track down illegal copies via the Internet. Some years back, it was postulated that MicroSoft would never make a lot of money, since their operating systems could be copied and used for free. Wrong!!!

 

[impressive]

I have two ebooks published & another due out this week (with Bel), plus a fourth (also with Bel) under contract. With each release, my sales on earlier pubs jumps. (So it's true that your best promo is your next book.)

From an efficiency standpoint, you earn the most per word on short stories -- but you need a couple dozen or so published and selling 10-20 copies/month in order to call it "income."

I do believe that ebooks will gain popularity and eventually even overtake print. (Perhaps not for a decade, but ...) And, if you've got your foot in the door, it'll be easier to get later work published. I think NOW is a prime time to get that proverbial foot in the door.

Yes, I've purchased an ebook before ... and no, it wasn't my own. *grin*

Ultimately, though, I'd like to be in print ... which is one of the reasons I chose Phaze (because when sales hit a certain target for longer works, they go to print). Of course, that means I need to write some longer works.

 

[neonlyte]

You are correct, there is currently no way to prevent an e-book being sold once and copied across the Internet. However, it is quite practical to trace the original e-book back to the person who originally bought the first copy. [I am a computer programmer and I know what I an taalking about.] There will probably have to be some court cases, but the risk of being caught should eventually put an end to "buy once, read by many people." [Of course, once a person has bought a print book, it can be lent to many people.]

I don't see free distribution of e-books. Most people who might illegally copy an e-book are Internet users. It is possible to track down illegal copies via the Internet. Some years back, it was postulated that MicroSoft would never make a lot of money, since their operating systems could be copied and used for free. Wrong!!!

RR - Agree with all of that. So here's my point, to drive the market, the cost of e-books will fall, the cost of tracking an illegal copy and then pursuing through the courts is not worth while - make the books free (like Microsoft) and find other mechanisms to generate income to reward authors through the free distribution of their books.

 

[cantdog]

Roxanne, it does look as though you came to the right place to have the question answered! Genuine experts! This place never stops amazing me.

 

[cloudy]

Well, this thread made me check mine (haven't in awhile), and I've actually sold a book!

 

[SEVERUSMAX]

Well, this thread made me check mine (haven't in awhile), and I've actually sold a book!

Yippee! Now, hopefully, you're get your check soon.

 

[BlackSnake]

Well, this thread made me check mine (haven't in awhile), and I've actually sold a book!

Once people find your book, you'll sell more. I am starting a Literotica book collection, so those of you with ebooks might want to think about making them available for print.

How about this? You post an ebook and get 100% profit, and you set your own royalities on books you make available for print. Really, what do you have to loose. You already have enough material for anthologies. Why not put a copy on your shelf?

BTW some of you may know this, but a lady with limited means now publishes OnDemand books and is doing very well.

 

[R. Richard]

RR - Agree with all of that. So here's my point, to drive the market, the cost of e-books will fall, the cost of tracking an illegal copy and then pursuing through the courts is not worth while - make the books free (like Microsoft) and find other mechanisms to generate income to reward authors through the free distribution of their books.

The current cost of e-books is mostly quite low.

It obviously would not pay to track ALL illegal copies. However, the main damage would be done by napster-like sites. A few high visiblilty prosecutions should solve a great many problems.

The only real source of income, other than purchase price would be ads. However, I can't really see anyone paying for an add attached to an e-book. The sales of e-books at this time are simply not high enough to tempt a business to attach an ad.

 

[BlackSnake]

The current cost of e-books is mostly quite low.

It obviously would not pay to track ALL illegal copies. However, the main damage would be done by napster-like sites. A few high visiblilty prosecutions should solve a great many problems.

The only real source of income, other than purchase price would be ads. However, I can't really see anyone paying for an add attached to an e-book. The sales of e-books at this time are simply not high enough to tempt a business to attach an ad.

You gotta think out of the box. Ads are to get the writer's name out there. Attract the attention of some main stream folks, and they will take a look.

It might seem like a protest of main stream publishing, but it is a parade put on in front of them.

 

[neonlyte]

That's the unpalatable to writers and readers bit

 

[R. Richard]

You gotta think out of the box. Ads are to get the writer's name out there. Attract the attention of some main stream folks, and they will take a look.

It might seem like a protest of main stream publishing, but it is a parade put on in front of them.

I AM thinking outside the box! I am trying to get three more novels published. If I can do that, I get my name in front of readers and begin to develop a following. At this time, the pay I receive is really not important [and it is just as weel that it is the case.] If I can get several novels published, then I can start to think about the money angle.

 

[BlackSnake]

I AM thinking outside the box! I am trying to get three more novels published. If I can do that, I get my name in front of readers and begin to develop a following. At this time, the pay I receive is really not important [and it is just as weel that it is the case.] If I can get several novels published, then I can start to think about the money angle.

Are you going to make them available for print? I've been thinking about doing a book signing tour around the city and at public events at Piedmont Park. But I'm not completely ready yet. It's not for fame, it's fun.