New Possibilities

[KennAllan]

Hello, all.

A lot has happened in the two years since my original post on ePublishing. eBook sales continue to climb, as do the sales of various eBook readers (Kindle, Kindle Fire, Nook, etc.). Major retail bookselling chains have failed, putting the whole future of traditional publishing into question. Amazon.com is selling more eBooks than hardbacks. Just today, the following story appeared in The Guardian: Kindle ebook sales have overtaken Amazon print sales, says book seller - For every 100 hardback and paperback books it sells on its UK site, 114 ebooks are downloaded in 'reading renaissance'.

Yup... the times, they are a-changin'...

During the past two years, I have self-published three eBooks on Smashwords and Amazon and enjoyed modest sales (pretty good considering I did NO promotion at all). Since publishing on these platforms is free, my only cost were the countless hours spend figuring out how to format/compile my writings into eBooks. Oh, and the headaches. Lots and lots of headaches.

So, did I come here to boast? Heavens no!

The Faithwriters eBook store has some serious shortcomings: hard to find, books in .pdf format, no rating system, etc. However, with a little work, the Faithwriters eBook Store could be developed into a first-rate shop for selling members' eBooks. It would be fairly easy to tap the resources of Smashwords and/or Amazon and produce a product better suited to today's eBook shopper. In addition, Faithwriters could take advantage of affiliate programs to generate some extra capital. If we all put forth the effort to promote the shop (after all, there are a lot of us) we could probably increase traffic and become known as a valuable site for purchasing reasonably-priced Christian eBooks.

Okay, I've thrown it down... now I'll wait and see if anyone picks it up.

- Kenn

[seasalt44]

I have copied an advertisement from my publisher. The cost is well of $1,300 which is ridiculous!!!! Why can't we do this on FW? Thanks for starting the posts. Brenda

[august_digital_banner]

Books have changed.
It's time signings did the same.

Technology is always moving forward, and with each bit of progress come countless new possibilities.

"At WestBow Press, we keep you up to date by developing innovative ways to connect with prospective readers. First, BookStubs gave authors a way to share their titles digitally, and now, the ever-growing popularity of e-books has called for an alternative to traditional book signings.

Our answer: Behind the Story Online Book Signing events that let you and other authors discuss your books, speak to readers and even offer signed copies of your e-books (via BookStubs) to everyone in attendance - all during an hour-long webinar.

We even promote the event to help you discover new fans.

Readers are no longer limited to bookstores, and with Online Book Signings, neither are you.

Be one of the first authors to reach the e-book audience with a Behind the Story event. "

We can do it FW WAY!!!!!!!

[KennAllan]

That's the spirit!

[KennAllan]

Well... okay. I'll try again in a couple of years.

See ya.

- Kenn

[Laurie]

Good ideas, Kenn.

[seasalt44]

I really don't want to wait a couple of years. I am not capable of setting up anything like this and I know those who are already at work on FW are probably overloaded. So seems we need a volunteer. There are some great thing happening and I think Ebooks should be in the mix. Got any practical ideas about how we can make this happen. I agree the FW could receive a percentage and I am good with that. I think we are missing a great opportunity to ride the wave.

So much for my piece. thanks Kenn for speaking up and caring.

[KennAllan]

Hello again.

Let me assure you, I am not in the practice of throwing out ideas which have no hope of being accomplished; however, nothing can be accomplished without the participation, dedication and enthusiasm of the authors involved. I tossed the idea onto the forum to see if this enthusiasm exists. Apparently, it does not.

I am a long time believer in the future of eBooks (WARNING: People who know me are probably pretty tired of the following story - feel free to skip the next paragraph or two). A couple of writers and myself were publishing eBooks before there was a World Wide Web (it was the late '80s or early '90s... the internet existed, but it was virtually text only). We uploaded our products to private BBS systems all around the country. They were a quality product: They even included moving graphics (.gif) and opening music (.wav) at the beginning of each chapter. We offered the first chapter free and the reader received a password to unlock the rest via email for a small fee.

Sadly, the project failed for several reasons, First, the files were about 1 meg and took forever to upload/download at the available speeds. Secondly, there was widespread distrust in the internet and NOBODY wanted to use their credit cards. Thirdly, our eBooks could only be read on a computer - a very unpopular option for book lovers.

But things have changed. I quoted the following news story from The Guardian in my previous post, but it bears repeating:

Kindle ebook sales have overtaken Amazon print sales, says book seller
- For every 100 hardback and paperback books it sells on its UK site, 114 ebooks are downloaded in 'reading renaissance'.

Okay, I hear some of you saying, "Yeah, but that's Amazon. Can we compete with them?"

Answer: Yup.

Y'see, something unexpected happened early in the eBook Revolution. In reality, an eBook should be MUCH more inexpensive than its hardback/paperback counterparts - no paper, no ink, no delivery charges, no printing charges, no warehouse storage expenses, etc. But when major online booksellers began selling eBooks at an appropriate price, many authors were upset, claiming the low price diminished the perceived value of their work (Poppycock!) In addition, members of the beleaguered publishing industry realized the substantial profit margin offered by eBooks. Prices rose to ridiculous amounts; indeed, some eBooks on Amazon were actually priced higher than the same book in paperback! The prices settled a bit, but $9.95 seems to be the average rate - which is still more than an avid Kindle/Nook eBook customer wants to pay.

Consider this: The sales of eReaders have exploded, especially around the holidays. This means there are millions of Kindle, Nook, etc. customers who are DYING to use their new marvel of technology. These would be our customers.

It's important to remember that whoever taps a market first is the most successful. Nobody has managed to dethrone Google, Amazon or eBay (although many have tried). I suspect there is a sizable market of Christian eBook enthusiasts wanting quality, inexpensive eBooks.

But eBook customers have certain expectations - Availability of popular formats, the ability to read samples and/or a rating system to help weed out the "garbage" (yes, self-published eBook share the same stigma self-published paperbacks experience - maybe worse). Other niceties are an attractive, easy-to-use bookstore layout and a easy-to-remember URL to attract customers.

The URL is easy: Buy one from GoDaddy.com.

Bookshop format: Well, this is clearly the hardest to accomplish without investing a great deal of money... but not impossible. Y'see, I know this guy...

Another problem is the author's fear of tackling the formatting of an eBook. It's not that difficult - really! I intended to be available for help.

My original idea was to turn this project into a ministry. However, like any church, without a devoted congregation it's destined to fail... and I, for one, am too old and tired to take on another doomed project.

See ya.

- Kenn

[ThreeDee]

Your ideas certainly have merit, Kenn. Label me as cautiously optimistic and willing to chat.

The question of competing with Amazon is a big one, and likely deserves a closer look. People shop for ebooks on Amazon, and may even pay more for those ebooks, because they trust Amazon. And earning that trust requires time and effort.

Amazon has a solid reputation for:

* massive selection
* ease of use
* useful information (ie: review, recommendations, sample chapters)

Building that from scratch requires a whole lot of pizazz. Now, please don't get me wrong--I am NOT saying that it cannot be done. My entrepreneurial blood cheers for the little guy, and always will. I'm merely suggesting that the process will not be instantaneous and will require plenty of volunteers.

Granted, once an ATTRACTIVE, USER FRIENDLY and EFFICIENT site or platform was in place, promotion and maintenance would be the kickers. An FW Ebook store could be splashed across our FB page, Twitter and other social media platforms (are we on Goodreads?) with reasonable expectations of success.

We serve a niche market in some ways--although I'm sure we could get into debates about what actually constitutes "Christian fiction," and should consider the political potholes that could result. We should be able to trump Amazon by speaking directly to the needs and desires of that niche market.

The whole idea of creating a site such as this is HUGELY daunting to me, but I'm game to help on the other end. Promotion comes much easier than tech stuff for little old me And we likely have the human resources on FW to drum up reviews, traffic, etc.

Who else wants to gab about this line of thought?

[ThreeDee]

Forgot to add...

Any site such as this would need a "quality gauge." The key to success is delivering a quality product to your market, conveniently and within budget. Who would decide what is and is not an acceptable product quality?

Let's say that I wrote a romance set in 19th century Scotland, fraught with intriguing characters, conflict and a happy ending. But let's also say that it sucked. Like bad grammar, shallow character development, holes in the plot line and a meandering story arc. I think it's wonderful and want to post it on the FW ebook site. Happy day! And let's say that multiple FW members trod down the same path.

Without a quality gauge this site could/would be overwhelmed with poor quality books that eventually tarnish a hard earned reputation, not to mention overshadowing others with much greater potential.

Does that make sense? No offense intended, btw. Simply dialoguing.

[KennAllan]

Hiya, Di.

Lessee... let me try to answer your points in the same order you made them... kinda...

"Amazon has a solid reputation for:

* massive selection
* ease of use
* useful information (ie: review, recommendations, sample chapters)"

All good points. We "could" match Amazon with ALL these except "Massive Selection." We would, of course, be catering to a smaller, specific market. After all, I've never seen a Christian book store as large as a Barnes & Noble. However, this is why the participation of the writers is SO important: volume and the introduction of new titles is what will keep shoppers comin' back. The same is true for successfully promoting the site - it will only succeed if we do it TOGETHER.

As for actually creating a site, yes - it certainly seems a daunting task. For me and you, mebbe, but not for everyone. Have you ever heard of Musician's Friend? Until a few months ago, my son-in-law was in charge of the entire website. The company relocated to California and he's been out of work ever since. The man was born for this type of work and is usually sitting at his computer trying to find something to do. I haven't actually asked him if he'd be interested yet, but I have few doubts he would be willing to work his magic. Check out the current MF website - most of the work displayed is still his.

Oh... did I mention he lives with us?

Quality is always a concern with self-published works, but Amazon is not immune. They offer a free eBook platform for writers and LOTS of it is junk. The same is true for Smashwords. However, these two sites have other disadvantages: Amazon is so large it's hard to zero in on a good faith-based eBook and Smashwords is loaded with trashy horror and erotica. When it comes to choosing a good book, there is no advantage for the shopper at those giant sites, ESPECIALLY if we employ a similar excerpt/ratings system. Also, I've learned that $2.95 is the "sweet spot" for eBooks... it's cheap enough to keep customers patient even if they download a stinker. I would suggest keeping a list of quality books to give away to unsatisfied customers - not only will it make them happy it will promote the author's other works.

Funny how people are so offended to purchase a sub-quality book. I've been to a LOT of stinky movies in my life - what do you suppose my odds are at getting a refund at the box office?

- Kenn

[KennAllan]

Oops... there's a few important facts I forgot to mention.

Amazon has another self-inflicted disadvantage: They ONLY carry eBooks in Kindle format. However, if we use Smashwords as our "publisher," eBooks meeting their criteria will be distributed on the Apple iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, Sony Reader Store, Kobo, the Diesel eBook Store, Baker & Taylor's Blio, Axis360 (libraries!) and ALSO makes the book available in the Kindle format. I've published my books on Smashwords and Amazon and have made more money with the former than the latter.

Often writers are put off by the idea of selling their "children" for $2.99. Well, let's do the math. A book sold on the Smashwords site garners an 85% royalty, or $2.54. To get that kind of royalty from a "traditional" publisher, your book would have to retail for around $17.20. Also, publishers only make a book available for a limited amount of time - an eBook does not suffer this fate.

This option should be particularly attractive to fiction writers. Fiction is a very small part of the Christian publishing industry, making it difficult to get a "big chance to show 'em what you've got." eBooks allow you to show 'em.

Gee... I thought of a few other things I wanted to add but can't remember. Getting old is the pits.

- Kenn

[RedBaron]

I somehow missed this post early on. I think this is an absolutely awesome idea. I'm nowhere near ready to publish anything, but I think this is a great idea. Might want to send Deb and the new owners a PM about it. Not sure if they saw this

[KennAllan]

New owners?

Wow... apparently they're not the only ones who missed something.

Who are they?

- Kenn

[mikeedwards]

Hi Kenn,

My wife Bea and I own FaithWriters since 2-1-12. Sorry I missed this thread. I am very aware of our format short comings. I would like to do something with the ebooks that would help our members. We have started advertising the ebooks much more than they were before but I agree format choices like Smashwords are a big key. I am open for ideas. A newly designed store with an easy way to transfer the books and all the formats would be great. But to get more outsiders we might need to add some of the popular Christian books as a draw card. I do not think a lot of the new authors realize that a book needs to be marketed to sell. I know just writing it and putting it up for sale with zero marketing does not work very well. I'm open, Mike

[ThreeDee]

WOW! Get a load of that Musician's Friend site (Kenn linked in above post). Now that's what we're talking about--modern, flashy without being overwhelming, and very professional. Nice. Really, really nice.

Would it be a problem to bring in some of the popular, top selling Christian books? Assuming they can accept the same terms as all other authors represented, what problems may arise? (I'm truly asking, btw, not being snarky. Sometimes it's hard to tell on the web )

Marketing is key. On the plus side, FW has the social media connections in place already. And perhaps part of the agreement between FW and the posting authors would be to cross-promote?

I'm with you about subpar product showing up on every street corner, Kenn. However a newly launched site/store needs to impress. Perhaps cumulative sales numbers could be used to gauge quality?

(It's pretty exciting to talk about this together, brainstorming and such. Business and writing have been the fuel in my working life, and this projects combines them well.)