Libraries Go Direct To Indie Authors, Rather Than Deal With Big Publisher Ebook Limits

from the lending-has-power dept

It is no secret that many people in the Big Six publishing houses do not understand or do not care for the lending of ebooks. This has made the shift from physical to digital very difficult for libraries. Libraries have been a staple of many communities and those people's ability to have access to new books to read. Now that many readers are going digital, libraries are finding it harder and harder to keep up with demand, primarily because of publishers holding out.

Over at Joe Konrath's blog, we learn of the plight of one such library system in Houston, Texas. Mike and Linda, librarians from the Harris County Public Library, explain to Joe that trying to work with the publishing industry can be a big headache for libraries.

Libraries are not able to purchase all of the eBooks we would like to purchase due to publisher and author concerns about copyright protection in the digital format. Only two of the big six publishers will sell eBooks to libraries, and those pricing models either limit us to a low number of checkouts or charge us more than twice the retail price for a book. Very few picture books are available for us to purchase, even though small children are a large part of our customer base and we often use digital books in storytimes. With adult fiction titles, we can't always offer complete series because of format availability or publisher restrictions. Some publishers would even like to implement a plan that would force people to come to the library to check out eBooks, rather than being able to do it online, which kind of defeats the purpose.

Right off the bat, with only two of six publishers willing to sell ebooks to libraries, we have a big problem. Unfortunately for the libraries, buying and lending ebooks is nothing like the physical world in which a library could just pop over to Walmart or get on Amazon and order a couple copies of the latest hit. With ebooks, they have to deal with licensing issues and other restrictions from publishers that would block any such ability in the digital realm.

Second, there is the lack of availability of ebooks in a variety of formats. If a person comes in without a supported ereader, then that person is left unserved by the library, something that most librarians do not like. What is worse is that person who wanted to read a book had to walk away empty handed, thus limiting the exposure of the book and author to a potential new fan. 

All these problems and more limit the ability of libraries to spread the love of books, which also limits the ability for authors to gain the needed exposure and resulting sales.

So what does the library have to offer? Book borrowing habits are changing, mainly because of eBooks. People are more open to impulse browsing and discovery of new authors and titles and the library provides the collection and staff to aid them in this discovery. Once they’ve discovered a new favorite, the quest for reading gratification leads to backlist purchases. (We speak from personal experience on this.)

This ability to try a new author or series without having to spend money is something that we have supported many times. It is one way to battle obscurity as a creator. Without the ability for readers to try out a new author for free, that author may lose out on potential sales. Libraries are important tools in gaining that exposure and publishers are blocking them from doing their job. So what is a library to do? In this case, skip the publisher and go straight to the author.

Public libraries have always selected print books based on professional reviews and public demand. This doesn’t always work with eBooks. With eBooks, we have to focus on availability and public interest. We are also rethinking our relationship with self-publishing. Many libraries, such as ours, are now looking for ways to purchase eBooks directly from authors and independent publishers.

This is the way to go. We have learned over the years that it is the gatekeepers that tend to be the roadblock toward better exposure and better terms for readers and authors alike. By skipping the Big Six and any other publisher that does not want to allow lending on fair terms, these libraries can expand their collections and better serve the public.

In response to this change in plan from this library, Joe Konrath has decided on some very favorable terms for his books, which he hopes other authors adopt as well.

Blake and I are willing to sell our entire ebook catalog to the Harris County Public Library, and to any other libraries that are interested, under these terms:

1. Ebooks are $3.99

2. No DRM.

3. The library only needs to buy one ebook of a title, and then they can make as many copies as they need for all of their patrons and all of their branches.

4. The library owns the rights to use that ebook forever.

5. The library can use it an any format they need; mobi, epub, pdf, lit, etc. And when new formats arise, they're free to convert it to the new format.

In short, the library buys one copy, and never has to buy it again.

Why is he willing to make such favorable terms? Wouldn't doing so cut into his potential sales? Not in the slightest.

No I'm not. They bought a copy. They can do what they want with it. And my hope is because I don't have restrictions, and keep my costs low, the library will continue to buy my new ebooks as I release them. There are a lot of libraries in the US, and a lot more globally. If I sell every library one of my ebooks for $3.99, that's a nice amount of money.

One could certainly make a nice amount selling just to libraries. Add to that the additional sales as you would gain from exposure with new fans and you could make a nice living. All because an author embraces the advertising power of libraries.

This consensus between these librarians and Joe shows that there is little reason for publisher to continue their unfavorable attitude toward libraries. Libraries have never been a threat to publishing prior to the adoption of ereaders, there is no reason to think they will be now. If publishers are willing to embrace the lending culture that has been around for hundreds of years, they could have a far easier and more successful transition to the digital age.

Filed Under: ebooks, ja konrath, libraries

What If Every eBook Was Its Own Social Network?

from the thinking-beyond-the-book dept

Whenever disruptive innovation comes along, the first (and totally understandable reaction) is to take what was there before, and shove it into the new things. It's why automobiles were originally "horseless carriages." It's why when TV came along, the early shows were really just radio programs that you could see. It tends to take some time before people begin to realize that the new platform or technology allows you to do something truly different -- rather than just "updated." Lots of people think they understand this, but it's often really difficult to comprehend how to really embrace what a platform is good at. However, true "killer apps" tend to come about only after people start recognizing the truly native capabilities of a platform, rather than trying to shove the old into the new with some bells and whistles.

Take ebooks, for example. There has been talk about the fact that now that ebooks are "digital" it means that they can be more "interactive." Yet, what is the "interactivity" that most people have been talking about? Mostly adding audio and video. But that's just taking a book and adding a small bell and whistle, rather than what the native platform is really good at. Adding audio and video is still the same basic thinking. It's broadcasting. It's taking some form of content from the author/publisher and broadcasting it somewhat statically to "the masses."

But that's not what digital technologies are really good at. It's about building communities and giving those communities a voice. This is, of course, difficult to get your mind around, if you're only thinking about "the book" and trying to extrapolate outward.

In our recent discussion about personalizing and autographing ebooks, I thought that such autographs weren't all that interesting, but was intrigued by the idea of greater personalization -- such as an author who can respond to questions directly in the book, or provide new additional content every day. I'm beyond thrilled to discover that author JA Konrath, who we've mentioned plenty of times in the past for his embrace of innovations, connecting with fans and new business models, is thinking along very similar lines, and discussing the idea of making an ebook into a social network itself around the book.

Think about it: what if you could easily connect with others who are reading the book. Or the author. Konrath raises a whole bunch of possibilities. I'm quoting a big chunk here, but his post is a lot longer, and goes into a lot of the thinking behind this (so go read it!), but I did want to highlight this whole section:

Here's how this scenario plays out in my head:

I'm on my ereader, and I get an electronic invitation from a trusted friend to buy Whiskey Sour by J.A. Konrath. It's only $2.99, and the description looks good. Not only that, but it has a community of 12,393 people, so there will be plenty to do.

I buy the book with the click of a button. But rather than begin reading right away, I message my friend who is also in the book, and we decide to join the 4:00pm Whiskey Sour Book Club. There are eight other people signed up for that time slot, and we can all read and discuss the book together. There is also a 3pm slot open, but that's for fast readers, and my speed is moderate at best. The 4pm is a moderate speed club.

Since 4pm isn't until later, I browse the Whiskey Sour Forum, and read a few reviews. I also join a chat session and meet two of the other readers who are in my 4pm Book Club. One of them is a bit abrasive, but the bot monitoring the chat session warns him, then kicks him off. Typing on my keyboard becomes tedious, so I plug in my headphones and we voice chat for a bit, talking about thrillers we liked.

Four o'clock rolls around. I'm in the kitchen, making a sandwich, but my ereader calls my home phone to remind me of the start time.

I read a few pages, enjoy them, then let the ebook read to me until the chapter ends. There are already two people in the bookclub forum, discussing what they read. I join in. Others enter, and my friend links to the FAQ and Author Notes on Chapter 1, which we all discuss.

Whiskey Sour has a full length, author-read commentary, where Konrath explains where, why, and how he wrote certain scenes.

Some of the group wants to continue, but I'm curious to listen to the mp3 commentary, so I beg off and decide to join the 6pm Club for Chapter 2.

The commentary is interesting. Konrath is an entertaining guy, says a lot of funny things. But I realize I'd enjoy it more after I finish, so I pop into the next book club.

Me and another guy read straight through and discuss the book all night, and when we finish I write a review of it in the forum and recommend it to my friends via my ereader. I also notice that Konrath is having a live chat tomorrow, and sign up for it.

The next morning, I find I can't get some of the characters out of my head, so I pop into the forum again and read some of the user created stories. These are fans who have written about the characters in Whiskey Sour. Most of them suck. Some aren't bad. Some are even as good as Konrath. I rate a few, recommend a few, and vote for the top five.

I watch TV for a bit, until a screen comes up saying it is chat time. I sync my ereader with my TV and watch Konrath's talking head as he fields a Skype chat. Several people express that they wanted a longer ending. Konrath says he's working on one, as well as three new chapters which will be inserted into Whiskey Sour at the end of the week.

"Hemingway said that a book is never finished, it's simply due," Konrath says. "But now, books no longer have to be finished. They can continue to grow and improve for as long as the writer is alive. And beyond."

He says that the new additions will be marked as such. People can read the original, or the new version.

I get on my ereader, and ask it to call me when the new material is uploaded. I also ask for updates when people respond to my forum comments, or vote on my review.

There are so many wonderful ideas in here that once you start thinking about it, suddenly the idea that just adding some audio or video to an ebook somehow makes it "interactive" is like saying that putting an engine into a carriage makes it a horseless carriage. You're not getting anywhere near the true potential.

Filed Under: communicating, connection, ebooks, ja konrath, prediction, social networks

More Authors Realizing They Can Make A Damn Good Living Self-Releasing Super Cheap eBooks

from the wave-of-the-future? dept

Not too long ago, we wrote about JA Konrath's claim that we had reached the tipping point with ebooks, where a decent self-published ebook author, who priced their books cheaply (generally under $4) could make a really good living, selling thousands of books per month. I still wasn't convinced that there were that many authors who could really do this, but we're starting to see more examples. There's been a ton of recent news coverage about the author Amanda Hockling, who is making a ton of money from her self-published ebooks. She's pricing them quite cheaply, and selling tens of thousands per month. Her latest book is selling an astounding 100,000 copies per month -- and everything is sold for between $0.99 and $2.99. She can do this, since it's all self-released and all ebook, so the only costs are the money that Amazon (and a few other ebook providers) take (usually around 30%).

As Konrath noted in that original story, no publisher can offer a deal for authors that is that good. Instead, they'd give her a tiny cut of sales, take much longer to actually get her works out there, and then have to price them many times higher. That's not to say traditional publishers don't or can't add value. A good editor and a good publisher who can help market and promote a book can be quite valuable as well. But, we're seeing more and more that for people who can do that on their own, they can get by just fine. And the real issue may be that many book publishers are still very much in denial about all of this, and don't realize that stories like this are going to become more common.

Filed Under: amanda hockling, ebooks, ja konrath, self-publishing

Building An Audience Takes Time, But In The Long Run It Can Provide You More Time To Do What You Love

from the so-get-to-it dept

One of the regular complaints we hear when we talk about people like Amanda Palmer or Kevin Smith is that they have to spend so much time cultivating their "audience" that they don't have time to actually "work." Of course, that should be plainly ridiculous if you just look at those two. In the last year alone, Palmer has put out two full length albums and an EP (all excellent) while continuing to tour... and continuing to build her audience, brand and business (and now without any "help" from a label). Similarly, Smith has toured the country a few times, built a podcast network with a ton of shows (also excellent), released a movie he directed, and previewed a brand new movie at Sundance that he directed, edited, and cut. Oh yeah, and all the while continued to build an audience. Both seem a hell of a lot more productive than the vast majority of content creators I know who went "by the book."

However, there is another (important) angle to all of this. Which is that while building an audience and a fanbase takes time and effort -- which you might think takes away from doing the creative stuff -- in the long run, it can do the exact opposite. As we discussed about Smith's latest plan, the reason why it makes sense is because he's cultivated an audience all these years. Because of that he doesn't have to spend nearly as much time or money "marketing" the new film -- just as Palmer didn't have to do all the traditional "marketing" methods for her latest release, which quickly shot to the top of the Bandcamp charts.

This point was driven home in an even stronger way in looking at another content creator in a different arena. We've discussed novelist JA Konrath a few times in the past -- including his explanation for why authors shouldn't fear file sharing as well as his look at how much money could be made on ebooks. He's continued to discuss this, highlighting how he sold over 18,000 ebooks on the Kindle in January (and that was as of the 26th, so there were still five more days) and how his income for the month would end up being somewhere around $42,000. Yes, for the month.

All very interesting.

But the rest of that post is where things get even more interesting. Robert Niles does a fantastic job comparing Konrath's story to another author -- a freelance travel writer, who complains that there's no money to be made in writing. Specifically, that writer, Mark Hodson, complains that it's tougher to get paying gigs these days and that blogging is all about "working for free." Niles immediately notes the comparison, in which the freelance travel writer seems to be waiting for a paycheck, rather than building an audience who has a reason to buy something.

And here's the key part: while building a loyal audience and community may take time and effort, in the long run, they provide you with the ability to actually focus more on creativity. Niles highlights how Konrath's post talks about all of the sweat equity he put into book signings and blogging and building up his personal brand for a few years -- all of which he no longer needs to do with each new book, because he has an audience who seeks him out (similar to Palmer and Smith). Niles concludes:

The irony? Those who put in the work of building a business often end up with more time to do the writing that they love. As Konrath wrote, he doesn't have to press the flesh at bookstore any longer. He doesn't have to devote time to promotion. With his social media support having reached a tipping point, he can spend more hours writing.

I've found the same in talking with colleagues who are still pursuing freelance work. They spend hours of extra time for each piece they write networking with editors, writing pitch letters, reviewing contracts and filling out various publications' expense forms. I just write stories - what, when and how I want.

While some lament the loss of secure employment for a handful of writers, I'm thrilled to live in an era when anyone with the will to write and drive to connect with a community can earn a living, without having to wait for some editor's approval.

This is the whole point of making sure people understand both sides of the CwF+RtB equation. It's not just about giving people stuff to buy, it's about connecting with those fans, and really building a community. Yes, it takes work at first, but what new job doesn't take work? But the point is that if you've really connected and really built up a community it doesn't take you away from being able to do what you love, it enables you to do more of what you love and do it under your own terms. That's exactly what Konrath, Smith and Palmer have all done, and it's a point that many others strive for, but miss out on if they just think that doing that work isn't worthwhile because it somehow "takes away" from their creativity.

Filed Under: amanda palmer, audience, business models, fans, ja konrath, kevin smith, robert niles