- Stay Connected
Socialize
Advantage Indie
For an author, there will never be anything quite like holding a newly published book in your hands as you smell the fresh ink, feel the slick cover, and thumb through a creation that began in your head. A distant second might be adding your signature as people line up for signed copies.
However, there still remains a huge disadvantage for Indie authors when it comes to hard copies and competing with traditionally published titles. Bookstores are obviously influenced by distribution and price, among other factors, making the challenges that much harder. Plus, the stigma of non-traditionally published books refuses to fully go away.
Although more and more bookstores are slowly evolving as they recognize the income they’re literally throwing away, some allowing Indie authors to become vendors and some going the consignment route, the world of printed books still weighs heavily in the favor of the traditional publishing industry.
However, there is one place where the playing field is level, and even favors the Indie author, and that is with Amazon Kindle. Any author can publish an e-book with Kindle and any Kindle user has the same access to the Indie titles as they do works from big name authors.
Where the advantage leans toward Indie authors is that you can do it all on your own and make up to 70% royalties. Or you can sell your Kindle books for 99 cents and make 36% royalties. Or you can opt for a five-day promotion and give your book away for free. That’s why we do not publish e-books for our authors because it’s simple and they can do it easily and make all the profit.
Giving your Kindle book away for free might sound counter-productive, but I did it for one of my titles, and not only did it rank under 200 and number one in its category for five days, sales continued long after the promotion was over.
We all know the story of how the big six got together to set prices on e-book, and although they were caught, they still continue to sell their Kindle books for $9.99, usually quite a bit higher than the printed version. I don’t understand this considering there are no printing costs, no storage costs, and no shipping fees on the Kindle books, but I think it has to do with greed.
Considering the very small percentage they pay their authors for Kindle sales, I guess it’s all about greed. That’s also why some big authors are saying “no thanks” to their publishers and handling the e-books themselves.
I have read articles lately with some people suggesting that an author should not sell their e-books so cheaply, that to do so they must not value their work, and even that they are destroying the industry. I can’t really tell you what my response would be to this, but the first two words would be “Go to…”
My advice to you is to take advantage of whatever tools are available. You don’t have to follow anyone’s rules but the rules you set for yourself. That’s the Indie way.
Neal Wooten, Publisher/Indie Author/Illustrator/Cartoonist
Managing Editor; Mirror Publishing, Milwaukee, WI, www.pagesofwonder.com
Author of Reternity, www.nealwooten.com
Posted by Michele Jennae
on November 5, 2012. Filed under Books,Business,Neal Wooten,Technology.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
5 Responses to Advantage Indie
Leave a Reply
Media Gallery
Featured Photographic Artist – J.T. Liss
J.T. Liss only picked up a camera in 2010, largely based on an overwhelming feeling that he needed to be capturing the images he was seeing as he was walking around New York City, listening to music, watching people. “I felt something overwhelming within me, and went home and got my mom’s point and shoot [...]
Featured Photographer ~ Tess Chenna of Aasha Dreams Studios
Tess Chenna – Aasha Dreams Studios www.aashadreams.com Tess Chenna makes a dent in the world of fashion. She has big dreams and she won’t be deterred. Read more about Tess Chenna HERE! Click on a photo to go to the gallery progression.
The Red Rabbit Speaks
Our editor-in-chief Michele Jennae interviews Sonny Mayugba, one of the partners at The Red Rabbit Kitchen + Bar in Midtown Sacramento.
Laura Marlowe
November 5, 2012 at 8:12 am
Thank you for your timely, informative and well-written article. I have been made aware of many Indie authors’ works thanks in part to Kindle – what a marvel! Indeed, creating and following one’s own rules can be advantageous; as you stated, “That’s the Indie way.” (Speaking of Kindle, congrats to you on 6! I have shared the info with Kindle users, and I look forward to reading the new compilation.) Bravo, Neal!
Laura Marlowe, author of Tommy the Throwaway Dog (Mirror Publishing 2010) and Roo B. Dee and the Lazy Day (Mirror Publishing 2012)
Rebecca Fronzaglio
November 5, 2012 at 10:20 pm
Thank you for such a wonderful piece of info. I didn’t realize all the benefits of Kindle. I will definately look into it soon. You are such a super talent in my opinion. Bravo to you Neal. You deserve alot of credit for your writing capabilities. You sweep us away with your incredible imagination, style, and sense of humor. Best of luck to you with your newest compilation.
Reternity Fan
Rebecca Fronzaglio
author/illustrator
Mommy and Me Let Insects Free
The Un-invited Mouse
Sandra White
November 7, 2012 at 9:50 am
On November 1st, my third novella, “Aunt Beth’s Christmas Treasures,” was released for Kindle. This one, as with the previous two, had been published for Capper’s Magazine a few years ago. All rights reverted to me one year after their publication. I made the decision to go for Amazon’s KDP opportunities primarily to extend the list of my writings with Amazon beyond my two novels. The novellas were written for more of a “homesy-folksy” reader than my novels, which address serious social justice issues. But they’ve allowed me a certain degree of extended exposure; the second novella, “Mom’s Crazy Quilt” had 600 “hits” during the four days I offered it free. As I see it, maybe nothing great is accomplished with these simple publications–but then again, everything helps in this challenging, oftentimes maddening field of writing!
Marilyn Bishop
November 7, 2012 at 3:05 pm
Thanks for the encouragement to look into e-publishing on Kindle. I am so old fashioned when it comes to books (loved your first sentence) and am very “non-techy”. But I will take a deep breath and give this Kindle thing a shot!
Leslie Balcerak
November 9, 2012 at 7:42 am
I love to hold a book in my hand and curl up for a nice reading session. However, I was converted once I was given my first Kindle. Thank you for all the useful information on Kindle version vs hard copy. We write so we can share. This is just another avenue to share our work with the masses!
Have you or any of your authors used the “Look Inside The Book” program offered on amazon? I was curious to see if that made sense to do as well.