I want to ask a question.
You’ve written a book. What direction should you take? Should you concentrate all your energy into querying literary agents and wait for months with bated breath in the hope one asks for a nibble? Or should you take the plunge and go it alone down the e-book road?
I am a book lover. I love holding a book in my hands, to feel the paper rough between my fingers. I love my book case. I love dust jackets….oh God, I love books full stop. Doesn’t everyone?
Up until now, I’d never considered owning a Kindle or Nook and, as an author, I couldn’t imagine my books being in any other format other than paper. I never thought the Kindle would ever take off. After all, how do you ask an author to sign a computer screen?
But, am I behind the times?
A couple of days ago I read a story in the Evening Standard newspaper which kind of got me thinking. I reiterate ‘kind of’. I’m not totally convinced, yet.
Most of you have probably already heard of Louise Voss. She was a struggling UK writer who couldn’t find an agent, took matters into her own hands, and published her novel on Amazon’s Kindle. She is now selling 50,000 books per month and has been offered a six-figure, four-book deal by publishers HarperFiction.
This also seems the case with writing duo Sarah Griffiths and Mark Williams, who write under the pen name Saffina Desforges. Their success on Kindle has led to discussions with a top New York agent.
We, as writers, already enter our stories into competitions and dedicate hours a week to social media so we can proudly boast our conquests to agents. Being able to brag at e-book sales is just another plus point, isn’t it? As author Linda Regan told me last year, “Agents have to sell you as well as the book. You have to be interesting.”
This all sounds super cool and easy, but is it? Going it alone sounds a mighty bit scary if you ask me. But, as I am the curious sort – and probably the only writer on planet earth that hasn’t looked at e-book (or indie) publishing – I had a nose around the Amazon web site.
So, let’s look at what I found.
Marketing.
If I was considering the e-book route, and let’s just use Amazon for this example as it’s the only site I looked at, I’d have to market the book myself. Okay, this I don’t find scary. It’s 2011 and I have Twitter and Facebook. Oh, and my good friend Kristen Lamb’s social media book ‘We Are Not Alone’ to guide me through – it should be a doddle. Plus, I have Kristen’s phone number and I know where she lives. She also taught me how to shoot a gun. There is nowhere she can hide 🙂
A big fat tick can go next to marketing.
What’s next?
Formatting.
Huh? I saw something about an rtf file and as I save all my work that way, I think I can tick that one too. Moving on swiftly.
Cost.
Books sell for as little as 96p on Amazon. How can anyone make any money from that?
Well, from what I can see, Amazon’s cut is 30%. I’ll round my book off at a £1 to make things easy, and because it’s late and I can’t be bothered to go fetch my calculator. I’ll earn 70p from each sale. Hmmm, that’s about the price of a chocolate Snicker bar these days, isn’t it?
Right, so unless I sell a hundred thousand copies, I’ll never be rich. Then again, writers don’t write for money. They write for the love of it, so that doesn’t matter.
(N.B. There is another plus point to this 96p Kindle e-book downloading, which is – I’d have saved a fortune on the rubbish Vampire Diary books).
Another tick.
Other bits worthy of a mention.
I retain the rights to my novel and, as the author, I’ll have full control of the book cover, pricing, and well, absolutely everything.
Tick, tick, tick.
I’ve tried to find some horror stories on the web regarding e-publishing on Kindle, but there really aren’t any out there.
So, that is why I am turning to my trusty followers. Have I missed something?
What do you think of e-publishing? Do you know anyone who has published on Kindle? Would you consider publishing your novel on Kindle? Have you already published on Kindle? What are your experiences? Do you know of any successes or, more importantly, have you heard any horror stories? Let me know.
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Donna Collins' Blog 
I refer you to a great post by Bob Mayer for one possible answer:
If I Were An Unpublished Author, Would I Self-Publish?
There is some really fantastic advice in this post, and I think this is the approach I’ll be taking, as soon as I can actually finish something.
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Amanda, thanks for that. I haven’t read this post by Bob, but will definitely check it out. How long do you have left on your novel before you see an end in sight?
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You’re welcome.
As for my novel, I have one full draft done, but its needs A LOT of revision, and I haven’t had time to focus on it this past month as I get ready to start my PhD (which officially starts tomorrow *gulp*).
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Oh wow. Good luck with that!
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Donna,
Sounds intriguing. Never thought of trying this route. Doing it alone is scary to me also. The question I have would be since this is the first thing I have ever written would they have an editor go over my work or should I find an editor on my own? I like the thought of being in control but I feel I still need guidance.
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I think everything is down to you – but I’m no expert, lol.
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Frankly, I would rather have a publishing house behind me. That being said, I’m watching these shifting sands very closely as I complete my novel. It’s been suggested to me that self-publishing while sending queries and pimping to publishing houses could bring about the best of both worlds. Watching you closely, as you seem to be ahead of me on this front. 🙂
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I, Like you, prefer the idea of a publishing house behind me. I still have to finish the book so I have a little time to decide. Thanks Piper xxx
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You guys were ahead of me in WWBC, so I’m keeping a close eye on both of you as you go the publishing route too. I don’t even know what I don’t know, but that’s okay because I can learn between now and when I have a publish-ready novel complete. Keep us in the loop guys.
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Oh God, don’t follow us. You never know where you may end up 🙂 I’m reading your evo later on. Finally, I’m catching up with my life!
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My first novel was already in print before ebooks came along, and I never thought I’d use Kindle to publish ebooks, but I have. I even have quite a few books downloaded on my little tech machine. It’s obviously not the same as holding a paperback, but a lot easier to carry when going on holiday. I’ve also used Smashwords for my ebooks. Smashwords convert to Epub and many other formats.
A lot of top name author’s are now self-publishing, and when I say self-publishing, I mean setting up their own company.
Prices: Never sell your first book at .99c. When you have at least two books to sell then you can drop the price. A bonus with epub is you can read samples before buying.
When my second novel is complete I will upload to ebook first and then to print.
Take the plunge and go for it 🙂
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Ellen, what is your print to kindle sale ratio? Is there a huge difference?
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I’ve only recently been a convert to Kindle. I got one in June, and I have to admit (as much to my book loving self too), that’s it’s great. It really is so handy for reading documents and manuscripts on.
And I would totally consider self-publishing. From the (countless) articles I’ve read on the subject — and everyone really does seem to have an opinion on it don’t they? — it’s all about a back-list it seems. Whether it’s in print or e-book form, if you have multiple books at your disposal, you’ve got a better chance at hitting the Amazon best-seller lists and therefore get a few sales.
I’m watching the publishing world very closely at the moment. If I was completely honest and we lived in an ideal world? I would go down the agent/traditional route. But, most of us rarely have that opportunity and I won’t let it hinder me.
Go and get yourself a Kindle, Donna. If you’re anything like me you’ll be more appreciative of the physical books you have, (and I’m totally not admitting to sniffing a brand new paperback yesterday because I missed having a book in my hand!! – lol).
🙂 x
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Oh I think you’ve just sold the Kindle too me, lol. Kristen showed me her Nook thing and it was pretty cool. I think I may have to go shopping 🙂
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I know what you are saying – I LOVE MY KINDLE but I love books too. I thought I would never want an ebook reader but I now have the best of both worlds and choose how I want the book and how quickly!!
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I sell far more books on Kindle and Smashwords than I do in paperback, Donna. And, you can see the results real time. My advice would be to definitely go for it, but set up your own company. If you can’t convert to ebook yourself (Smashwords is easy) check out Jim Brown he converts to Kindle for a reasonable price. You can have the best of both 🙂
Don’t be fooled about Amazon best seller lists. You can reach #1 without selling a book. There are many ebook distributors out there.
Perhaps we should set up a book publishing tour on +1 Donna?
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I love my kindle – I found I couldn’t justify the space my books were taking up and got one about a year ago. I’ve never looked back. I’ve bought more books since I got one, as I don’t mind giving totally unknown authors a go via the samples option. I still buy physical books but now it’s just ones by authors I absolutely love.
I’m in the process of writing my first novel and have been following the whole indie movement like an obssessed Justin Bieber fan. I think it’s a great option but it depends on what the author wants. If an author would like to have 100% ownership of their books, build their own business, and get the majority of the revenue then self-publishing is the way. But it’s a lot of work to get your book noticed with so many e-books being released daily by other self-publishers. And you have to be prepared to invest real money into it, as editors and cover artists don’t come cheap. But the monetary returns are worth it if your e-book sells; Amazon give 70% to you if you price your book £2.99 or above, and 30% for anything under £2.99. As publishing houses only give authors 12% to 15% for e-book sales (regardless of price), Amazon’s deal is a good one.
I think the traditional route is better if you want to see your book in stores, in a physical copy and you’re not prepared to spend a lot of time or money on self-marketing and editors/artists. Personally I plan to do both; I’m close to finishing the first draft of my novel and while revising it I want to work on short stories and release those on Kindle in one form or another. (Another plus of Kindle: you can buy short stories, which are impossible to find normally unless they’re in an anthology).
It’s an exciting time to be an author!
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Alexa, thanks so much for your input. As you can dee, I haven’t looked too much into it at this stage, but the feedback is extremely positive and encouraging. Good luck with your novel, by the way.
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My take on your theme is that e-books and the net (meaning, really, social networking) are certainly important – indeed, increasingly so these days. But they don’t define the totality of writing/publishing – which to me is what authors have to think about. Print, e-books – or for that matter, shouting it from the rooftops – all serve the same purpose; transmitting your ideas to others.
To me, the reality of the human social world is one of complexity and layers; mechanisms of publishing and communication reflect that. They add to each other – not supplant. Authors have to think of all of them. It also means that trad publishing won’t vanish overnight, and it’s still “the” device for legitimising authors.
Yes, there are Cinderella stories of those who ‘make it’ purely by e-publishing. But not often. No more often, I suspect, than the stories of those whose books are snapped up instantly by an agent and end up on the NY Times best seller list (sigh, whimper…)
On the other hand, publishing is in some difficulty worldwide at the moment. It’s not just the assault of the electrons. It’s also the indifferent world economy. And don’t forget that an e-price of (say)$2.99, even with Amazon’s cut (or whatever) still gives about the same author return as a royalty on a retail-price trade paperback.
So there are plusses and minuses all the way – and, as some people have remarked in the comments, maybe both need to be pushed at the same time.
Still, the advice I’ve had (and follow, for the minute) is to push the trad route first. I think others commenting here have said the same thing. That’s step one. And the other route, e-books, is still open if that doesn’t work (a nice lesson from the martial arts – if one thing doesn’t work…try another).
If of interest, I blogged my own take on e-books – this as an author trained in fiction writing & somehow now doing non-fiction, so far published by purely trad means, since way back (gulp):
http://mjwrightnz.wordpress.com/2010/10/23/futurising-e-books-part-deux-one-sort-of-googleisation/
Hope that’s of interest. And good luck.
Matthew Wright
http://www.matthewwright.net
http://mjwrightnz.wordpress.com
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Matthew, thank you so much for your comment. I too am a martial arts girl, so the ‘try a different one’ is close to my heart, lol. I think you hit the nail on the head at what my apprehension of e-book publishing is – author authenticity. For some reason, the traditional route of agents and publishers just seems the right way. Still, I will keep an eye on e-books, and am going to invest in a kindle. xx
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Thanks for a thought-provoking article, Donna. Kristen ridiculed me for a year before I finally bought a Nook a month ago. I like it fine, but I don’t think it’s magic. I’ll still read hard-copy books, too.
So far as looking at e-publishing for myself, I never understood how to get a book from my Word files into someone’s Nook or Kindle. Then I noticed one of your commenters mentioned Smashwords, so I Googled it and learned of at least one way to do it.
I’m probably six or eight months away from having a novel truly ready, but my thought at this point is e-pub and then begin querying. I’m not impressed with the idea of waiting a year or two for a publication date IF someone agrees to publish it.
Meanwhile, I’ll try to build up my Twitter and blog following.
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I mentioned to Kristen in March that the thought of reading a book from a Nook or Kindle didn’t appeal to me as it would hurt my eyes. I have to wear glasses when on my computer, but I don’t have to wear them when reading a book. Kristen grabbed her Nook (I swear she has it tucked into her bra 24/7) and made me look at it. I must confess, the screes was nothing like a computer screen. It reminded me a little of a ‘Hetch-a-Sketch’ game. You guys across the pond may not know what that is and it doesn’t really matter 🙂
I am extremely close to buying a Kindle and giving it a go as a reader first.
Thanks David, xxxx (and a few more for good luck) xxx
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Hi! I share the same sentiments. I’ve published my science fiction novel Scarab, on kindle and haven’t looked back. I intend to do the same for my next book, The Level. Why? Well, Amazon provides quite a bit of support for writers through blogs, their writer’s center and the like. It is the most wonderfully empowering feeling to know you have your fate in your hands, albeit that you have to make your own way, marketing wise. The path is long and torturous, but as writers we don’t really have a choice but to write and share this with others. Self publishing is a way to do this.
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Stavros, I like your thought process 🙂
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I love my Kindle, but, on that glorious day that I get published, I’d love a paperback to sign. Ideally, I want a publishing house behind me. As Piper said, though, must keep watching those “shifting sands”.
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Piper is a very wise girlie! I, too, sway more to paperback than Kindle. But, things are changing and, like you, I am also watching those changing sands. I think when you read a story like Saffinas, you can’t honestly come up with a viable reason why you shouldn’t try e-publishing.
Good luck, Paige. Keep me posted on how you do. 🙂
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Hi Donna,
Great post! Kindle = you just gotta! Best invention ever!
I read a paperback last night as the other half was using the Kindle and although the book is brilliant, it was much more cumbersome and awkward to read and I had to turn the pages myself! *shock, horror!*
As for the rest of it, my advice is this: Be prepared to work hard – damn hard!
Converting, uploading etc can be learnt, but it is time consuming and laborious. Luckily, we now have someone else do it, as we do the proof-reading, covers and acquiring ISBNs etc, but until you have made enough out of a book to speculate, this isn’t always possible.
Writing is only a small part of it too. My life is spent blogging, commenting on blogs, tweeting and FB’ing. Kristen Lamb’s book ‘We are not alone’ will explain more on the WANA principle and how to ‘pay it forward’ with social media (and vice versa).
Aside from all of that, the freedom is exhilarating!
As you mentioned, we have now turned down representation at this present moment from a top NY agent and continued alone. We have sold over 80,000 copies of our debut novel and the new book, Snow White is already in the top 10 in two categories on Amazon UK after a week.
This doesn’t mean that we wouldn’t consider a deal or seek one in the future, but for now, we are happy holding the keys ourselves.
Good luck to you and anyone else who tries it.
Saffina Desforges
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Saffina, thanks for commenting.
I am really pleased that you are doing so well, and are such an inspiration for others wishing to try or follow the E-publishing route. I’m still undecided. I have a couple of agents who want to read my book when its finished, so will no doubt send it off to them first. However, reading your story (from Kristen’s column), I don’t think an author/writer can go wrong with the likes of Kindle – unless they are NOT hard working and want victory to just fall into their laps.
Did you turn down reputation because you are financially better off to manage yourselves? Do you intend on taking the ‘print’ route one day?
I will be following your story very closely from now on. A true inspiration.
Donna xx
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Hi Donna, it’s Mark Williams, the other half of the Saffina Desforges writing duo. (Not to be confused with the personal “other half” referred to in Saffi’s comment!)
A couple of points.
First, Ellen Dean says: “Don’t be fooled about Amazon best seller lists. You can reach #1 without selling a book.” I assume she means pre-orders, or the free list? Rest assured to get into the Kindle best-seller list involves shifting significant numbers of books (we’ve been to #2 on Kindle UK three times).
Also, Ellen says the first book should not be 99c. Easy to say when you’ve had a book in print and have a fan-base. The aim of the new writer is to get books out and build a readership. Readers will happily risk 99c on a new author.
We’ve sold close to 100,000 books (80,000 on Kindle alone) with no paid publicity or publishers’ hype. I doubt we would ever have come close if we’d charged a high price to start with.
On going to agents first:
Having an agent is NO guarantee of getting a publishing contract. If you honestly believe a book is ready to send to an agent then it should be good enough to publish yourself.
Why waste months / years for agents to go through their process, then for a publisher to actually agree a contract, then another year or more after that before the book actually sees print?
If it does see print it will be given a few weeks in the book stores, probably spine out on a dark shelf in the corner, and if sales haven’t materialised (and without huge publicity they won’t in that time) it will be remaindered or pulped. Ninety per cent of all paper published books fail to sell a thousand copies.
Alternatively, self-publish, get paid from day one, and get paid a better royalty. Keep total control, and reap the rewards.
Supposing you get a publishing contract and the book, a year or so down the line, is finally in the shops and sells for $10. You get a 15% royalty. $1.50. Two Snickers bars. How many people will find this book in the retail store in those few weeks it’s available? How many of those who do know it’s there will risk ten bucks on an unknown name? Especially if they can buy three indie books at $2.99 on Amazon for the same price?
Far more readers are likely to pay 2.99 on Amazon than $10 in a bookstore. And far more again will pay 99c!
As above, the ten buck sale in store will net you $1.50. Selling at $2.99 on Amazon you get a $2 royalty, and don’t have to give 15% of that to an agent who did little more than introduce you to a publisher.
Once you’ve sold a few the agents and publishers will come knocking anyway. But you’ll be able to negotiate from strength.
Re: your question to Saffi, we would welcome a deal to get our books into print, because that’s still a huge market. But we were not prepared to hand over control to an agent who wanted us to give them our next book exclusively for three months to see if they could sell it to a publisher, who would then sit on it for a year or more before it finally reached the market at a rip-off price, and for which we would get just 15% instead of 70%.
And we certainly were not prepared to have an agent edit (ie rewrite) our work to fit their idea of what would sell. Especially given agents had said our first book, with 100,000 sales, was “unsellable”. Nor were we prepared to be dictated to about our cover design, when we could e-publish, and at what price.
We will at some stage come to an arrangement to see our books in paper format. But it will be on mutually beneficial terms.
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Wow Mark, thanks so much for your reply.
When I wrote this post, I knew nothing about Kindle or e-publishing. I am a paperback reader and haven’t really stepped outside my box. But, after reading all these comments, I am coming round to the idea of e-publishing. I like the idea of keeping control. Handing over certain percentages to industry bigwigs has never sat well with me. but saying that, the thought of going it alone scares the hell out of me.
When sucess has been as ‘big’ as yours has in e-publishing, it’s easy to understand why you refuse to hand over tha large ‘chunk’ of your control.
I wish you both all the success you deserve, and thank you so much for spending the time and commenting on this post.
Donna xx
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A pleasure to be here, Donna. As explained on our guest post over at Kristen’s we never expected the success we have had. We sold literally nothing in the first few months, and had we been in a bookstore that would have been the end of our book career.
Thanks to Kristen’s WANA ideas we sold 50,000 in the next three months and our new book, just released, reached the top five hundred on Kindle UK in less than eight hours.
Self-publishing isn’t an easy option, but for the new writer starting out, unless your publisher is prepared to throw money at promotion, it’s unquestionably the best option.
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Love your comments Mark. And congrats on selling so many ebooks. That’s absolutely fantastic. I mentioned reaching no #1 on Amazon without selling a book because I know a new author whose book went to #1 and he had no pre-orders or sold a book.
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Thanks Ellen. Bewildered by this though. There are some niche categories where very few sales can rank you highly, but the actual Kindle chart is highly competitive and requires thousands of sales a day to reach the number one spot on Kindle UK and much more on Kindle US.
BTW agree totally about setting up a company.
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Hi Mark
I totally agree with you. Publishing on Kindle or similar is a great way forward. Above all, it gives one a sense of empowerment. Here at last is a way to nurture, position, and fuss over your own books. Sales of my own novel, Scarab, are doing just fine, and I know that when my next book, The Level is finished, it will find a home on Kindle. A Kindle or a Nook isn’t just a reading device. It’s a dream generation machine. Long live the ebook revolution!
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