And now for the news!
This week in the world of self-publishing:
In some cases, an article’s title can mislead, and in other cases, an article’s subtitle can reveal a whole lot more than expected. This is certainly true of a July 11 article by Aaron Pressman in Fortune, which at first glance might seem to be a bad-news memo but in actual fact is rather packed with hopeful news for the indie author. The subtitle? “But growing sales of self-published e-books may offset the drop.” So in other words, readers continue to read, books continue to sell, and the only change that matters is that self-publishing authors get both a larger slice of the total market and a larger slice of their own royalties (as well as all of those other benefits to going solo). According to Pressman, 11% drop in e-book sales reported by traditional publishers is in large part the result of the Big Five publishing houses attempting to curb online retailer Amazon’s influence over the market by controlling (read: boosting) their own e-book prices. Not only is this ploy failing, but it’s failing rather quickly–leaving a real demand amongst avid readers for affordably-priced e-books to fill the gap. And self-publishing authors, as Pressman documents, continue to step up. For more of Pressman’s fascinating article, follow the link!
Pretty insane, right? Not according to Jennifer Blanchard in her July 12 article for the Huffington Post. According to Blanchard, death is set to come for us all–and just dreaming about being the author she’d always wanted to become wasn’t cutting it. (“[Y]ou probably thought I was going to say I’m doing it because I’m dying and want to rush and get my books out there before I kick the bucket. And well, you wouldn’t be totally wrong. I am dying. But so are you.”) At the time she made the decision to publish 9 new books, she already had 5 self-published through Amazon and was making $30-$40 a month. She articulates her dream–and the dreams of many unpublished authors out there–for success as wanting “the big time”:
I want a huge catalog of self-published books, nonfiction and novels. I want a massive, raving fanbase full of ideal readers who buy all my books. I want a traditional publisher to come to me with a million-dollar book deal. I want Hollywood knocking down my door for the movie rights.
But, she says, she and her dreams were not “aligned.” She was “playing small.” And so Jennifer Blanchard decided to change things–and within months of making a public commitment, she was raking in the dividends. “I became an Amazon Best-Selling author,” she says, and “In June, I sold 1,007 books. In a 30-day period.” All without changing a thing about how she writes and what she writes. The only change, Blanchard reports, is that she chose to write and publish more books. “I created this kind of success because I decided to. Plain and simple,” she writes. For the entire story, click here.
“A self-published book took the top slot on the most recent iBooks bestseller list,” reports John Maher in this July 14 update for Publisher’s Weekly. The book in question is Kendall Ryan’s Hitched, Volume 1. Hitched, the first title in Ryan’s “Imperfect Love” series, took the #1 spot on this week’s list for all ebooks sold through the iBooks Apple store–a truly impressive feat, when you think about it. It’s not the only self-published title to make the top 20, with the second volume of Hitched making #15, but it’s the only one to break the top 10. Billie Taylor’s self-published novel Just Friends sits comfortably at #13, Brenda Rothert’s His at #16, and Find Me by Laurelin Paige holds its own at #18. Whether or not this wonderful showing for indie authors can be attributed to the trends in ebook sales documented by Aaron Pressman, above, remains unclear–but you can bet this list will continue to demonstrate a strong showing for indie authors of all brands over the coming months. You can find the original list here.
As a self-publishing author, you may find it helpful to stay up-to-date on the trends and news related to the self-publishing industry.This will help you make informed decisions before, during and after the self-publishing process, which will lead to a greater self-publishing experience. To help you stay current on self-publishing topics, simply visit our blog every Monday to find out the hottest news. If you have other big news to share, please comment below.
ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive Vice President of Outskirts Press. In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog, kellyschuknecht.com.
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