Vladd Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 The future is here? http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/selfpublished-author-joins-kindles-elite-millionseller-list-2300724.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 ^ Excellent! (I gotta write me a book!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 That is AWESOME! Well done to him, taking on the big guys himself and winning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Brilliant!! Note to self - must get my novel finished Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 More on the BBC's news web site: The rise of the indie author. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aviv chadash Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 I think this is great news. I have no sympathy for publishers, who pushed up the price of eBooks. Hopefully this will encourage them to retreat from their path of greed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 ^ Not if the music industry is anything to go by . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Hmmm. Is this good news? I'm not so sure. I agree that publishers are artificially holding the price of some ebooks high (particularly books only available in hardback and ebook format), I suspect in order to protect their sales and profits on the paperback edition, but I think they should be looking at the bigger picture. If they want to compete with the rise of ebook sales, maybe it's time to rethink the idea of hardback editions released a year before paperbacks, and also trying to maintain the same prices (or sometimes higher) than the hardback or paperback editions. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to pay a reasonable price for my ebooks, as I appreciate all the work that authors and editors put in to producing their work, but a digital format once produced, doesn't cost the producer anything further, so why should I pay a higher price just because it's only out in hardback? Maybe there is a good argument for this, but I can't see it myself. Now I'm also not saying that there aren't good authors out there who don't get a publishing deal, mostly because the publishers have to think of the cost of editing, marketing and producing the finished product, so they have to be reasonably sure they can sell the book and recoup their costs to make a profit. But, I have to question the quality of some of the self published authors. I've read a few now (admittedly, some have only been downloaded samples rather than the full book), and with the exception of one or two, I've been disappointed by the quality of the writing, and in particular, with the lack of editing. I would hate to see the book market flooded with self published authors writing poor quality books, and having to hunt out the good books amongst them. It was interesting to note that in the BBC News article they mentioned that the British couple who had successfully self published two of their own novels now have an agent trying to secure them a deal with a publisher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Really well put Chesilbeach, I agree with everything you have written. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 (edited) Hmmm. Is this good news? I'm not so sure. I agree that publishers are artificially holding the price of some ebooks high (particularly books only available in hardback and ebook format), I suspect in order to protect their sales and profits on the paperback edition, but I think they should be looking at the bigger picture. If they want to compete with the rise of ebook sales, maybe it's time to rethink the idea of hardback editions released a year before paperbacks, and also trying to maintain the same prices (or sometimes higher) than the hardback or paperback editions. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to pay a reasonable price for my ebooks, as I appreciate all the work that authors and editors put in to producing their work, but a digital format once produced, doesn't cost the producer anything further, so why should I pay a higher price just because it's only out in hardback? Maybe there is a good argument for this, but I can't see it myself. Now I'm also not saying that there aren't good authors out there who don't get a publishing deal, mostly because the publishers have to think of the cost of editing, marketing and producing the finished product, so they have to be reasonably sure they can sell the book and recoup their costs to make a profit. But, I have to question the quality of some of the self published authors. I've read a few now (admittedly, some have only been downloaded samples rather than the full book), and with the exception of one or two, I've been disappointed by the quality of the writing, and in particular, with the lack of editing. I would hate to see the book market flooded with self published authors writing poor quality books, and having to hunt out the good books amongst them. It was interesting to note that in the BBC News article they mentioned that the British couple who had successfully self published two of their own novels now have an agent trying to secure them a deal with a publisher. Having a book that is professionally published isn’t always an indication of quality either, though. High-concept ideas can quite often generate large sales even if the book itself is pretty poor (yes, I’m looking at you Dan Brown). By-passing publishers means that the writer gets more of the cut though, and it also means that books that publishers won't take risks on, because of the editing, marketing and printing costs etc can see the light of day. I think if I were going to attempt this I would almost certainly get my book edited professionally, but after that I'd be interested in giving this a punt to see how it goes. Edited June 22, 2011 by Raven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 The trouble is you have to have the money to get it edited in the first place - that's the reason why a lot of indie writers don't, because they just don't have the funds. It is then not a reflection on the writing par se, but more an indication of how expensive it still is to self publish in the first place - take it from me, as I have done it. The costs are endless. I don't know about other authors, but my own bank balance is certainly not a bottomless pit. Not so long ago, I was holding down 3 part time jobs just to try and make ends meet and I wasn't managing that very well. Personally I think that anything that helps the indie authors and levels the playing field has to a good thing - it has always been the case that you have to weed the wheat from the chaff even with commercially published books, as not everyone likes the same thing, and writing is very much a subjective thing anyway. You know what they say about one man's junk being another one's treasure. At the end of the day, writers need money in order to keep on writing, and anything that increases their meagre earnings and enables them to do that has to be a good thing, for both them and the reader - and don't forget that authors are readers too - they have to be in order to find out what works and what doesn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrballa23 Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Thats good for us self publish authors know matter where you from but publishers do over look us I have my book in ebook form for download I have sold more books in a short time that way and from the libraries buying it and on the street and through internet as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I haven't read the article yet, but Chesilbeach and Talisman have made some excellent points. I have far too many books on my TBR pile to even begin contemplating taking on the ebooks of self-published authors, but even if I had the time, I would be very wary of giving them a go. This is largely because of the amount of unedited work that I just know is out there. As Talisman said, you really need to separate the wheat from the chaff, and I have neither the time nor the patience for that. Having said that, I received a review copy of an ebook earlier this year to read. The editing wasn't great at all and that definitely played a part in my huge disappointment with the book. I only finished reading it because I felt obliged to. But I also agree with Chesilbeach about getting your work edited. I know (because I'm now an editor myself!) that it is really expensive, but I also think that you have to spend money to make money, and that investing in a good editor is most definitely worthwhile if it can turn a novel that is unintelligble dross into something that people would be willing to buy and recommend to others (that's an extreme example). That's my opinion both as a reader and an editor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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