Posted on 2012-Nov-16
Shortcuts to Bestsellers
If you happen to be an author in this transformational period when major publishers are busy lobbying one another to work together as a joint venture, indie authors might wonder where you will go from here. On the road to bestsellers, heavy traffic is concurrently occupied by the Big 6 vehicles that somewhat prevents you from seeing the driveway ahead. But then, shortcuts have been built and trailblazed by self-publishers who figure out their own way to arrive at the same destination as the powerful publishers are heading.
Self-publisher the Savior
Although there are a lot of accusations how the increasing self-publishers’ books are messing up the book industry, David Gaughran stands his ground to articulate that they are the actual savior instead of destroyer. To set the record straight, David took us straight back in 1939 when Robert de Graff’s Pocket Books lowered the paperback’s price margin.
Pocket Books’ Mass Popularity
Pocket Books’ success went berserk and the 100 millionth paperback was sold in 1944. Several established authors grew worried that that hardcover business might have come to an end had Pocket Books continued to threaten the market with a mere 25 cents per paperback. What set paperbacks apart from hardcovers at the time was the ability to appeal to an audience with popular genre writing.
History Repeats Itself
David points out how a particular genre can sell by itself. He also refers to Carolyn E. Lipscomb’s report about the mergers and acquisition in the publishing industry that left the decision-making power to set a book’s price in fewer hands. When book prices are inflated, the consequential conflict arises since the publisher’s interest remains profitability. Conversely, readers need to cling to an affordable price in order to sustain their reading activity, especially during the economic slowdown.
The Personification of Indies
“Indies are the new pocket books,” David states. The omnipresence of independent authors and small presses thus resolves the shortage of unobtainable good materials. They provide the content at the cost of what readers are willing to pay. Economics-wise, indie authors need enough to pay their bills at the end of each day. Instead of zeroing the book value, they are bold enough to sacrifice their profit margin temporarily in order to come up with their unique stories and gain higher trust when their books are distributed to wider readership. In fact, free book promotion carries with it the new obligation that requires the best quality and love-at-first-sight storyline for an emerging author who does not have any certificates backing up their resume.
The Core Value of Zero
Free book promotion can also allow imaginative individuals to exude their authorship and bring fresh materials to the storytelling industry. Unlike the traditional publishing route that the writer might have to use up their life savings to have one book published, self-publishers had better invest their time and energy learning new tips and tricks how to tweak the look of their book and promote it via social media connectivity. Essentially, the more the stories are brought to the market, the more readers respond to RSVP to consider and eventually discover greater alternatives beyond what’s similar to their bookshelf collection.
Label: Self-Publishing
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