My father, Ted, used to raise show rabbits when I was a kid. He was a judge and kind of a big deal in the community. He read my blog on e-books. The one where I explained the realities of everyone who writes a book self publishing and mid list authors putting up back lists. The one where I mentioned the only way to make money on e-books is to stand out in the crowd-such as already being a best seller or somehow managing to get the best seller word of mouth going. My father e-mailed me after reading that blog and said that FYI "Kindle" means a litter of rabbits. Which is kind of apropos, don't you think? Imagine a litter of rabbits each having a litter every thirty days. Which ones do you buy? And why?
What I find most interesting is, if you pay attention, the non bestsellers claiming to make money on e-books are making money by convincing people they too can make money in e-books. "Read my books and see..." is their slogan.
It would be nice if every book sold. It would be great if everyone's hard work paid off. But there are real market reasons for editors, publishers and marketing departments. I don't think they are going anywhere. Keep writing my friends, for you, for your muse and for those who enjoy the story. Cheers~
How nice to have a parent who reads your blog.I'll bet that keeps you in line. I'm hoping e-books sell. I'm getting ready to publish mine that way. You know, I've got an experiment going with myself. I've decided to read the free books on Smashword. They are quite entertaining as well as well written. All those rules about what you can and can't do in writing a book don't have to be followed. Most of the ones I've read are good.
ReplyDeleteBestsellers are over-rated.
Thanks for the thoughts. It's certainly something to ponder.
Nancy, I can think of one author who does just that! And he's sure to let everyone know his daily sales, too. (Think I followed his blog for about week before I'd had enough of the self-hype.)
ReplyDeleteHi Elizabeth, welcome. I agree e-books can be well written and interesting. I have two out there. May I ask- of the free reads you have from Smashwords, did you go and purchase any other books from the authors?
ReplyDeleteL.Diane, I'm pretty sure we are talking about the same guy- lol.
Cheers~