I read a fascinating blog post yesterday that I linked to on my sister site, PublishingGuy’s News Update.  In the article, author Joe Konrath digs into his most recent royalty statement and highlights some surprising trends. Regardless of your publishing perspective I believe that you’ll find his post interesting, informative, and–most of all–very enlightening.

Classifying himself as a “midlist” author, Mr. Konrath obviously knows his craft, his profession, and the business of book publishing. According to his bio he has a three book deal with Hyperion for his Lt. Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels thriller series, and he also wrote the horror novel Afraid under the name Jack Kilborn.

So as you might guess, Joe lives the life of a published author (and we’re allowed to be at least a little jealous of this).  He’s personally witnessed the glory and the challenges associated with achieving both literary and popular success. More importantly, he understands the changing world of publishing as it pertains to print books and ebooks.

In a gutsy move, he “spills the beans” (his words) and discusses his revenues and royalty income, and from the numbers he lays out he also makes some factual conclusions. For one, he’s noticed that he makes more profit overall by lowering the price of his ebooks. In addition, he clearly recognizes that he’d now make more money by self-publishing his ebooks.

Again, it’s a surprising and informative read. He understandably ends his post by stating (as a formal “disclaimer”) that every author is different and that his traditional publishing success is mostly responsible for this current situation. And he’s right.

But his case supports–with real numbers–what I’m hearing anecdotally from other authors that sell in both the print and digital formats. That is, the book world is quickly changing–and ebooks are leading the charge–for  Konrath, the authors I work with, and most likely for you as well.

He goes on to say that “ebooks aren’t there yet, ” and again he’s right. But my response would be that they will be there soon–and sooner than you think.

As an author, are you ready for the advantages–and challenges–of ebook publishing and marketing? Let me know what you think by commenting below, emailing me, or calling me at 919-247-1832.

We’re living in a unique and special time for authors, and opportunities abound. Hang in there, and till next time–keep publishing!

Henry Hutton
PublishandSell.com
PublishandSell Enterprises
919-247-1832
hhutton@publishandsell.com