Ebooks are finally taking off. After a decade of fits and starts, they are now hot property. Poetry lends itself to this type of publication. From chapbook to full-length poetry book, they can be mounted on Kindle or Smashwords or Bookbaby or a Nook and made available free or for a nominal or greater sum. But, how do you get everyone’s attention. I read somewhere that in 2010, 1.2 million books were loaded into amazon this way (can’t verify this). If that’s the case–or even close to that number–there’s a lot of noise out there. As I’ve begun exploring these options and learning more about marketing these new delivery modes, I wonder if this is just the mode of the moment or something that will last. Will we read these books 10 years from now or will we be on to something else?
I agree-it will be interesting to see where this all goes. I can only speak for what I know about the popular romance market and it has bought into this in a big way. I already know of a number of authors who have put their backlists online (the ones for which they have gotten the rights back) and they are making a surprising amount of money. Most romance publishing houses have already established e-only imprints and they seem to be selling well. Romance readers have been early adopters in this, partly because a lot of romances (especially the erotic and sci-fi variety) have been online for some years, and many are making the transition–especially if the e-books are cheaper. We are truly living in an interesting time.
By: Kristin Ramsdell on August 7, 2011
at 7:46 pm
They’re already established, though. The key will be how new authors can rise above the “noise.”
By: soulesa on August 8, 2011
at 9:26 am