Part 1: Why indie authors will break traditional publishers
I think large publishing houses are scared, and for good reason. They’re faced with an enemy that they see as a threat to their business. I’m talking about the growing number of indie authors – those who totally bypass the large publishing houses and self-publish their books in print and digital format. Indie authors aren’t afraid to trek out on their own and play by their own rules.
Indie authors have several advantages over authors who go with a traditional publishing house. And it’s these advantages that could be the downfall of the traditional publishing business.
- Indie authors can distribute their books in any manner they please. They can sell ebooks online and sell print books out of the trunk of their car. The distribution channels for authors is opening, thanks to the internet (the great neutralizer, as I call it).
- Indie authors can seriously undercut large publishers’ prices on books. These authors don’t have a very high overhead and can offer their books at much lower prices and still make a tidy profit.
- Indie authors become their own brand. They create an online presence through their own websites, Twitter, Facebook and other sites. They sell their books to a built-in fan base.
- Indie authors can control the copyrights to their works.
Example: Joe Konrath
Even when publishers do get into the ebook game, it does not always benefit the author – at least not financially. One of my favorite author blogs is A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing by Joe Konrath. He talks about making a living as a writer, including a lot of discussion about ebooks.
In a post he wrote back in October entitled Kindle Numbers: Traditional Publishing vs. Self Publishing. Joe “spills the beans” about his earnings and posts what he has made on ebooks from Hyperion (a traditional publisher) that have been published on the Amazon Kindle. And then he posts his earnings from ebooks he has self-published on the Kindle. Here’s how it breaks down:
Ebooks from Hyperion sold on Kindle
- Earnings from Jan. 1 to June 31, 2009.
- 6 titles published on Kindle.
- Price range per book: $3.96 -$7.99
- 1237 ebooks sold in 6 months.
- Total royalties: $2008
Self-published ebooks sold on Kindle
- Earnings from Jan. 1 to June 31, 2009
- 4 titles published on Kindle.
- Price range per book: $1.99
- 9800 books sold in 6 months.
- Total earnings: $6860
Joe made $4853 more self-publishing his titles on the Kindle. He offered fewer titles sold at a much lower price ($1.99). Why so much success with self-publishing? I think this big difference is due to the fact that when Joe self-published on Amazon, he got roughly $0.70 per book sold (35% of the price he sets).
For the books published by Hyperion Joe receives 25% of whatever the publisher receives. It’s also worth noting that Hyperion and Amazon have to strike an agreement regarding these prices. This leaves Joe with a lot less control and a lot less money in his pocket.
Here’s the interesting part, however, Joe does not own the rights to the books sold by Hyperion. If he did?
If I had the rights to all six of my Hyperion books, and sold them on Kindle for $1.99, I’d be making $20,580 per year off of them, total, rather than $4818 a year off of them, total.
Just by owning the copyrights to his own works, Joe can increase his own earnings by several thousand dollars. This makes a great case why copyright (especially in the digital realm) is becoming such a hot button issue.
Do you think I’m right in my assessment that indie authors will eventually bring the large publishers to their knees? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts.
In Part 2 (to be posted on Wednesday) I’ll be writing about the one large advantage publishers have over indie authors and how that advantage can be minimized.
Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kylemay/ / CC BY 2.0
Related posts
- Part 2: Why indie authors will break traditional publishers
- Smashwords teams up with Barnes & Noble to give indie authors a boost
- 5 Ways Cory Doctorow is scaring traditional publishers
- Publishers still resisting ebooks – at their own peril
- Publishers & booksellers count on big name authors in 2009
Read More: Self-Publishing, Writing, eBooks
Certainly thats more than true, as some said “Everyone has a book inside”
upto now there was a long procedure to get the book to bookstore, but with self publishing things will change in big way.
Biggest change for time being is Amazon Kindle.
More can be read here for publishing on kindle
http://www.ginibiz.com/kindle
Hi Brad,
Great post. I’ve been really encouraged by the success that our small indie press, Tramonto Press, has been having with a book that I co-authored. It’s not a best-seller on Amazon, but it is definitely exceeding our expectations.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned though, is that as an author, you have to be willing to do everything. All the time. There isn’t a moment that couldn’t be spent promoting, selling, shipping, publicizing, reading, etc. If it’s a labor of love, it’s all good.
Rachel Formaro
http://www.alfonsopumpkin.com
http://www.tramontopress.com
Very interesting post. I have decided to go the self-publishing route, although I wouldn’t turn down a book deal at this point! My biggest worry with self-publishing was distribution, but I see that Create Space, a division of Amazon, now has that option. As long as authors put out quality work, I don’t think readers will know the difference between a self-published title and those from big publishing houses.
Tami Boehmer´s last blog ..Holiday is blessing for Miracle Survivor
As an Indie author I agree with everything you’ve said. The big publishing houses should be looking over their shoulders because we’re picking up steam.
Once we dispatch the pre-conceived notion that Indie books don’t stand up to their big name counter parts there will be no stopping us.
As the “Orlando Writing Examiner” for Examiner.com I recently published an article on this very topic…please stop by and leave me a comment.
http://tinyurl.com/yesagch
When I think of major publishers I think of Sarah Palin and Dan Brown. Huge books are what the industry is about. Bestsellers come from a handful of names. Seems like there is nothing there for the rest of us to strive for. Even if we did have a major publisher there would be a trivial advance, no publicity, and the books might be quickly remaindered. The typical book published by a major publisher, but not by a major name, is likely to be pulped in six months.
Brad:
It’s always very reassuring to read comments like yours regarding the ongoing implosion of Big Publishing. Any writer who follows PW dailies, reads the news as the writing on the wall grows larger and larger. Despite the fact of the range of new media, affecting both the product as well as how the product is marketed, the Gatekeepers still maintain the 19th century model as the ideal writers should turn to. It’s ridiculous. The Emperor has been standing stark naked for some time, and with Winter firmly settling in, it’s time they cover up, and try to learn some of the new dance steps. The music is playing.
I really appreciate writers like you who have a forum where they can express these truths without being shot to hell by Lit Agents and Publishers who got in before the screen door slammed. I believe their opinions regarding self-publishing will become more and more pointless as this next year plays out. Ingram has recently become a CreateSpace/Amazon partner, which says it all. The playing field is leveling off as we speak, and if the industry that brought you blockbusters such as “Going Rogue” chooses not to acknowledge the changes, it won;t matter much after all.
One thing that did annoy me this week, was reading how several author/writers organizations have turned on Harlequin after the industry stalwart decided to open up into self-publishing themselves. It only makes smart business sense, but for many authors, apparently letting “just anyone” in to share the warmth was just too much! I hope writers all soon realize the benefits to all of us in increasing the range and volume of available published reading material, before the whole concept of reading fails. I believe it is our only salvation.