The Seven Secrets of Ebook Publishing Success - BAIPA May 14, 2011

My Backstory

The Problem with Big Publishing
Ossified business practices have changed little in 50 years
Backward looking acquisitions
Books acquired based on perceived commercial potential
Manhattan sky rise rents add no value to a book
Requiring authors to take on publisher responsibilities (editing, marketing)
Unable to take a risk on every deserving author
Readers shut out

My Answer to the Problem: Smashwords
Ebook publishing and distribution platform
Free ebook publishing tools for authors and publishers
Ebook conversion, publishing and distribution
Marketing tools
Distribute to Apple, Sony, B&N, Kobo, ScrollMotion, Diesel, etc.
85% net back to author/publisher

How Smashwords Works
UPLOAD
Author/publisher uploads a Microsoft Word file, formatted to our Style Guide
Free conversion to 9 ebook formats
Ready for immediate sale online
DISTRIBUTE
Distribution to major retailers
GET PAID
Authors/publishers receive 85% of net = 60% list from major retailers

Indie ebooks published at Smashwords 140 6,000 28,500 75,000 (est)

THREE BIG TRENDS RESHAPING THE RULES OF PUBLISHING (and what it means to you)

TREND ONE Bookselling moving to the Web

Bookselling moves to the Web
Superior book buying experience
Customer drivers:
Price
Convenience
Selection
Self-published books (P- & E-) displayed side by side with traditional books
Big publishers lose primacy
If brick & mortar disappears, publishers lose key value proposition: exclusive access to distribution and readers

Percentage of book purchases made online vs B&M, P- and E- Brick & Mortar Web Today?

TREND TWO Authors Become Publishers

Authors becoming publishers
The power in publishing is shifting to authors
Free and low cost self-publishing allows authors to bypass publishers
Democratized access to distribution
Favorable economics for indies
reap up to 100% of retail price, vs. 5-17%
More professional authors will go indie
Mass exodus imminent?

Number of books published indie vs. traditional Indie books Today? New trad. books

TREND THREE: As Reading Moves to Screens, Ebooks Will Overtake print

Reading moving to screens

Ebooks as a percentage of US wholesale trade market Source: Association of American Publishers, publishers.org

Ebooks to overtake print Print books Ebooks Today?

Ebooks replacing print faster than most realize
In January 2011, Sourcebooks earned 35% of revenue from ebooks
Jan-Feb 2011 vs Jan-Feb 2010
E-Books increased by 169.4% while all categories combined of print trade books declined by 24.8% (Source: AAP press release, April 14, 2011)
Ebook unit market share even higher
Some best-selling indies selling 1,000 e- for every p-

Why ebooks are hot
Screens can offer better reading experience than paper
Changeable font size A A A A
Portable and compact
Ebooks offer better purchasing experience
Huge selection
Convenient sampling and purchasing
Lower cost than print

Indie Authors and Small Presses Have Opportunity to Out-Publish Big Publishers
Asymmetric competition
field tilted in indie’s favor
Smaller indie authors/publishers
democratized distribution
instant access to global market
lower expenses
closer to customers
never go out of print
earn more per book

Indie ebook economics will drive revolution
Higher profits than traditional
Earn 60-100% list price for indie e- vs. 5-17% traditional
Price ebooks for less yet still make more per copy than traditionally pubbed print authors
$8 indie ebook earns ~ $5.00, vs <$.40 trad MMP
$.99 indie ebook earns $.60 - $.70
Lower price = reach more readers = more sales at higher profits per sale
MMP=Mass market paperback, aka “pocket book” in some countries

How to produce and publish an ebook

Planning your move to ebooks
Forget (some of) what you know
Don’t try to make e- look like p-
Ebooks consumed differently than print
Less = more with ebooks
Liberate text from complex formatting and layout
Design for reflowability, small screens

Ebook devices (and customers) shape shift text
Example of Smashwords novel, All Good Things Die in L.A. by Anhoni Patel
iPhone, using the Stanza reader. User-selected options: Font: Verdana; Background pattern: Stone carving; text color: Dark Violet; Font size: larger than normal

Multi-format important
PDF does not = ebook any more
Multi-format lets customer enjoy your book their way
Top 4: EPUB, MOBI/PRC, PDF, HTML
Expands your selling & distribution options

How to Create an Ebook
Preparation
Most books originate in Word or other word processor
Anticipate the shape shift
Simplify formatting and layout, see Smashwords Style Guide at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/52
Conversion Options
Automated (e.g. Smashwords, Amazon)
Direct from book layout software (e.g. save as PDF, EPUB)
DIY conversion tools (Google ‘ebook conversion tools’)
Hire ebook formatter/designer/coder (Complex books)

Pricing

Pricing
Determine objective
Maximize readers, profits or both?
Price lower than print
Low price is marketing tool
Non-fiction supports higher prices than fiction
Price is not sole determining factor
High prices may encourage piracy

Distribution

Ebook retailers want indie ebooks Mobile apps

Content Distribution Options Direct to customer Direct to retailer Distributor Publisher Pros High margin, direct contact with readers, retain all rights Good margin, exposure to millions of readers, real time reporting, retain rights Good margin, time-savings, access to multiple retailers , aggregated reporting and analytics, retain rights, priority support Advance, access to B&M retail, editing and revision, marketing and promotion, prestige Cons Customer service burden, credit card processing fees, tough to attract traffic Time consuming to manage multiple relationships, not all retailers offer direct option, distributors may offer higher margins Delayed reported from retailers (1-4 weeks), takes 7.5-10% commission on retail price Low royalties, reporting delayed up to six months, limited distribution, Lose rights, can go out of print quickly

The Seven Secrets to Indie Ebook Publishing Success (how to participate in the ebook revolution)

Secret #1

#1 Write a Great Book
With the power to publish comes the responsibility to be a great publisher
Honor your reader with a great book
Be fanatical about quality
Edit, revise, edit, revise, repeat
Leverage beta readers
Invest in a great cover image

Would You Buy This Book?

Professional Covers Not Expensive (this was $45)

Secret Two

#2 Write Another Great Book
Build a backlist
Each new book offers the opportunity to market your backlist
The best-selling authors/publishers on Smashwords offer deep backlists
Build trust with your reader

Secret Three

#3 Maximize Distribution
If your book is not available, it’s not discoverable
Retailers invest millions of dollars to attract readers to your book
Consider using a distributor to get your book sold in as many ebook stores as possible *
spend your time writing, producing, marketing
* Smashwords is a distributor, so of course I believe this

Ebook retailers want indie ebooks Mobile apps

Secret Four

#4 Give (some of) Your Books away for Free
The most misunderstood, most underutilized market development tool
If you have a deep backlist, offer at least one book for free
Eliminates financial risk for first-time readers
The highest grossing authors/publishers at Smashwords offer at least one free book
Additional resource: Read FREE, by Chris Anderson

Secret Five

#5 Patience is a Virtue
Ebooks can develop differently
Trad. print books – big sell-in, then yanked from shelves, then sales go to near zero
Ebooks – can start small and grow slowly before breakout
Ebooks are immortal
Never go out of print
Think of each book and each retailer as an asset that will yield income over the long term
Each retailer listing is a seedling, nourish it

Secret Six

#6 Trust Your Readers and Partners
If you practice paranoia, you and your books might as well live in a cave
Trust your readers
DRM is counterproductive
If you don’t trust your readers to honor your copyright, you’ll reach fewer paid readers
Trust your supply chain partners
If you limit distribution due to lack of trust, you’ll limit your success

Secret Seven

#7 Marketing Starts Yesterday
Marketing starts before you write your book
Cultivate your social network
Contribute, share ideas, support your fellow writers and publishers
Don’t spam your network
Your social network will help you reach first readers
Your readers are your sales force
Give them tools to market your books for you
Network your books with hyperlinks
Resource: Smashwords Book Marketing Guide

BONUS Secret Eight

Secret #8 Architect for Virality
Secrets #1 - #7 help maximize virality
Books have always been a word of mouth business
Your readers determine your success
It’s all about word of mouth (and mouse)
Understand the power of your “first reader”

The Viral Dream First reader More Readers

Viral Decay, The Reality First reader Readers

Negative Virality First reader This book sucks!!!! = Last reader

How to Architect for Virality
Implement the Seven
Eliminate friction that limits
availability
sampling
purchasing
enjoyment
Additional resource: Read The Viral Loop by Adam Penenberg

The 7 8 Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success
Write a great book
Write another great book
Maximize distribution
Give (some of) your books away for FREE
Trust your readers and partners
Have patience
Marketing starts yesterday
Architect for virality
Visit the Smashwords Blog, 9/16/2010 for the 7 Secrets to Failure: http://blog.smashwords.com/2010/09/seven-secrets-to-ebook-publishing.html

Summary
With great change comes great risk
Leverage change to your advantage
Power of publishing is shifting to authors and small publishers
Readers determine your success
Opportunity to reach readers has never been greater

Ebook Publishing Resources
Smashwords Style Guide (how to format an ebook)
Smashwords Book Marketing Guide (how to market any book)
Mark’s List – Low cost formatters, cover designers [email_address]

Thank you for listening! Q&A Connect with Mark Coker: Web: www.smashwords.com Blog: blog.smashwords.com HuffPo: huffingtonpost.com/mark-coker Twitter: @markcoker Email: first initial second initial at smashwords.com

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The Seven Secrets of Ebook Publishing Success - BAIPA May 14, 2011

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The Seven Secrets of Ebook Publishing Success - BAIPA May 14, 2011 — Presentation Transcript