The book biz it is a changing.
I belong to a number of list serves where all we talk about is our self-published titles on Kindle, et al. We talk marketing, we talk formatting, we talk money.
Ka-ching!
The stigma of self-publishing is definitely on the wane. Then again, those of us on those lists are all traditionally published authors. We've got backlists of proven winners. We can write and we're not afraid to experiment.
I wish we could say we always know what we were doing, but we don't. And even if someone lists his or her successful strategy, doing the same trick doesn't always come up with the same results.
Right now I'm experimenting with pricing for the first title in my Jeff Resnick series. It's currently at 99 cents on Smashwords (all e formats), iTunes and Kindle. Is it selling like hotcakes? No. But it is selling better than it was at $3.99. Does that mean that those who buy it at 99 cents automatically buy the rest of the series at $3.99? No, it doesn't. But it's a loss leader.
Have I gained a lot of new readers because of the price jumping up and down between free (in the UK for three weeks in June) and $3.99? You bet. TENS OF THOUSANDS of them.
Right now I'm experimenting with formatting. I'm taking down the current versions of the books and putting up versions with hyperlinks to my Kindle/Nook sales pages for the other books in the series and other titles I have up there.
Has this worked? I can't yet tell about the novels -- but for a number of the short stories, you better believe it! We're not talking hundreds of copies here, but enough so that I can see a difference.
I love the fact that I have control over my product. I love that I can change strategies and chart the success or failure of my pricing experiments. I love that I can change my covers on a whim. (I've "whimmed" a few times on the short stories.)
But the best thing of all is that new people are finding my work--and for the most part, work that was just sitting on my hard drive for years. What's really amazing is that some readers are discovering my Jeff Resnick books and THEN finding my New York published books.
How cool is that?
Thank you for leaving us less dazed and confused.
Posted by: Pj Schott | July 21, 2011 at 08:50 AM
I've been a fan of your Booktown series from the beginning. When I saw your Jeff Resnick series I definitely wanted to read those too, but didn't have an ereader. Thanks to you, I now have one and I'm hooked. I've downloaded a lot of .99 cent books and have discovered authors new to me that I really like and will definitely keep up with. Thanks for your awesomeness!
Posted by: Bev | July 21, 2011 at 10:48 AM
Glad you liked the books and are loving your Kindle, Bev.
A lot of people told me they wanted to read the books but didn't want to buy or use an ereader. Now the books are available as trade paperbacks, too. The best of both worlds!
Posted by: Lorraine | July 21, 2011 at 10:51 AM