Category: Kelly Speaks

Kelly Speaks, Publishing Trends

Important Book Trends for Self Publishing Authors to Know

As a self-publishing author, it is important that you stay up-to-date on current and anticipated trends in the publishing world. This information will help you make important decisions such as how to market your book, what formats to offer, who your target market should be, and more. The 2012 U.S. Book Consumer Demographics and Buying Behaviors Annual Review recently released some interesting information that may impact your decisions as a self-publishing author. Here are the details.

  • Generation Y, those born between 1979 and 1989, spent the most money on books in 2011. Previously, Baby Boomers had the book buying lead.
  • With 43 percent of GenY’s purchases going to online channels, they are adding momentum to the industry shift to digital.
  • By the fourth quarter of 2011, online retailers’ share of unit purchases had risen to 39 percent, up from 31 percent at the close of 2010. Conversely, chains’ share fell to 30 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 from 36 percent in the final period of 2010.
  • E-book consumption, which rose from 4 percent of unit sales in 2010 to 14 percent in 2011, continued to grow.
  • Among major subgenres, e-books had the most impact in the Mystery/Detective category, accounting for 17 percent of spending; followed by Romance and Science Fiction, where the format accounted for 15 percent of dollars spent.
  • Fifty-seven percent of book spending in 2011 came from households earning more than $50,000 annually, up from 54 percent in 2010.
  • There was a slight dip in women’s lead in book buying. Though still a more powerful spending group than men, women’s share of unit purchases declined to 62 percent from 65 percent in 2010 and their share of spending dropped to 55 percent from 58 percent in 2010.

According to Kelly Gallagher, vice-president of Bowker Market Research, “Consumers can now very easily purchase virtually any book they want, whenever they want it and get it at a competitive price. It’s more essential than ever before to understand who is buying and what their expectations and habits are.”

As a self-publishing author, it is important for you to understand your target market and base your marketing plan on their expectations and habits. For instance, if your readers are buying e-books, make sure you offer a digital version of your book.

I’d love to know, how are you using book publishing trends to help create your book marketing strategy?

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the 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 at http://kellyschuknecht.com.
Kelly Speaks, Kindle

Three Ways to Find Free and Low-Priced Books to Read on Your Kindle

One of my favorite things about reading books on my Kindle is finding free and low-priced books. As a book lover, my reading habit can get pretty costly, but these three awesome lists save me tons of money and help me find new books to read. To take advantage of all the free and low-priced books available on your Kindle, check out these three great lists on a regular basis as they are updated frequently.

Amazon’s Top 100 Free Kindle Books – This list is great because it is updated all the time, and it is based on what readers are actually downloading.

Amazon’s 100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or Less – While these books aren’t free, you still can’t beat the price! Most paper versions will cost you at least $10 to $15.

Amazon’s Kindle Daily Deal – Each day this list features amazing deals on Kindle books. When I was researching this post, I found a book for 88% off! It was originally $16.99, but for one day only you could get it for $1.99.

As you can tell by the number of available Kindle books, e-book reading devices are becoming extremely popular, and Kindle books aren’t limited to Kindle owners.  Even iPad users can take advantage of the great prices on Amazon by downloading the free Kindle app for iPad.  More and more people are choosing to read books on some kind of e-book reading device, and more and more self-publishing authors are realizing that offering a Kindle version of their books can help increase their overall royalties. If you are self-publishing a book, you must consider offering your book in Kindle format. By offering both hardcopy and electronic editions, you can increase the exposure for your book and reach a larger audience. This will ultimately result in greater sales potential for your book.

I’d love to know, do you plan to offer your book in Kindle format?

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the 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 at http://kellyschuknecht.com.
Kelly Speaks, Kindle

The New Kindle Fire: The Next Hottest Thing in Publishing

In just two days (on September 14, 2012), the new Kindle Fire will be released. This handheld device will change the way people read and the way authors publish books. Here are a few of the details.

  • 40% faster performance, twice the memory, longer battery life
  • Perfect portability – thin, light, and durable
  • Over 22 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, books, audiobooks, and
    popular apps and games
  • Ultra-fast web browsing over built-in Wi-Fi
  • Free unlimited cloud storage for all your Amazon content
  • Kindle FreeTime – a personalized tablet experience just for kids. Set
    daily screen limits, and give access to appropriate content for each child. Free
    on every Kindle Fire.
  • Kindle Owners’ Lending Library – Kindle owners can choose from more than 180,000
    books to borrow for free with no due dates, including over 100 current and
    former New York Times best sellers and all seven Harry Potter books.
  • No Set-up Required
  • Read-to-Me — With Text-to-Speech, Kindle Fire can read English-language content out loud to you, when available from the publisher.
  • 1-Click Shopping

Readers are sure to love the convenience and upgraded technology offered by the Kindle Fire. Thanks to Kindle FreeTime, even children will be able to enjoy the hot , new device.

E-readers are already changing the way consumers buy and read books, and they are becoming increasingly popular. It is important that self-published authors offer a Kindle version of their books to meet the needs of readers who prefer using e-readers. By offering both a print and electronic version of your book, you can target a larger market and reach more customers. This will ultimately lead to more sales.

To learn more about the Kindle Fire, click here.

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the 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 at http://kellyschuknecht.com.
Kelly Speaks, Self-Publishing

Top 5 Questions New Authors Ask About Self-Publishing

Whether you are a regular visitor of this blog or this is your first time here, something led you to us.  Maybe you are interested in self-publishing or some of the specific topics discussed on this blog (like book reviews or book marketing).

In many cases, our readers come to us because they searched a particular term on Google or another search engine and that led them to one of our helpful posts.  Below are the top 5 questions readers ask that bring them to our blog.  Perhaps you will find answers to some of the questions you have about self-publishing (each question is conveniently linked to a post that discusses the individual topic in more detail):

  1. How much do authors make? – This post discusses what self-publishing authors can expect to earn in royalties and some of the considerations when it comes to successful book sales.
  2. How much does it cost to publish a book? – Read this post from Wendy Stetina as she advises on what self-publishing authors can expect to invest in the publication of their book, including professional cover design, copyediting, production and marketing.
  3. How do you market a Kindle ebook format? – This guest post from Dana Lynn Smith has been a top post for months.  As the publishing industry shifts from hardcopy to ebook formats, authors want to know how to increase their ebook sales.  Dana tells us just how to do that.
  4. How can you use tags to promote your book on Amazon? – A post by…yours truly about how to use Tags to help customers find your book on Amazon.
  5. Where can I find self-publishing advice? – This one doesn’t have a link because you’re already here! If you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the Self Publishing Advisor blog (top right corner of the page) and you will receive our posts directly in your email inbox.  We’re glad you’re here and hope you’ll come back for more.

I would love to know, what other questions do you have about self-publishing?

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the 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 at http://kellyschuknecht.com.
Cover Design, Kelly Speaks

Are Book Covers Still Important in the Digital Age?

There was a time when readers would venture to a bookstore or library and browse the shelves for a book that grabbed their attention. Despite the old cliché “never judge a book by its cover,” most people are drawn to books with interesting cover art. While there are still people who purchase print books and who enjoy an afternoon stroll through a bookstore, more and more people are purchasing books online and using e-readers. This shift has authors, and artists, wondering if cover art is still important in the digital age.

While e-book formats require less emphasis on physical appearance (interior formatting is simpler and a full cover design is not necessary), they still need “cover” artwork. Since the reader will be viewing the cover on a screen, it is very important that the design is appealing and captures the essence of the book.

As a self-publishing author, it is important to consider the current trends when making decisions about your book. If you are only publishing an electronic version of your book at first, make sure the cover is appealing on a screen and grabs the attention of a potential reader.  The cover design of your e-book format is just as important as the full cover design of any hardcopy format.

I’d love to know, does the cover design make a difference in the e-books you choose to buy?

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the 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 at http://kellyschuknecht.com.