The One Constant Is Change
For the past four years and four months, I’ve submerged myself in the self-publishing (SP) world, and I have to say that I’ve noticed some significant changes taking place, and I’ve made some interesting observations over that time.
I want to stress that what you’re about to read has been my experience only, and in no way am I claiming that the information is “correct” or “accurate to a scientific degree.”
Other writers surely have observed and experienced different changes and interesting facts that may not coincide with my experiences. These are just the changes that I have noted in my life as an independent author.
++ At this point in time, readers seem to want free books from indies and $1.99 e-books from trads. When indies discount their e-books for 99 cents (or $1.99) and promote them, they will likely sell only a handful—but if they offer that same book for free and promote it, it’s possible that several hundreds or thousands will download it.
On the other hand, when a traditionally published book is discounted, it will sell well at anywhere from $1.99 to $5.99, depending on the author and the particular book, of course.
Today’s readers never have to pay for a book again if they don’t want to. There are plenty of freebies out there every day, more than one person could ever read. So many, as a matter of fact, I’m sure a lot of Kindles out there are filled to capacity.
++ The longer your book has been available, the less successful your discount promos will be. And by that I mean the more promos you’ve done over time, the less successful they will be. For instance, the first time you set up a Freebooksy promo for your book may result in thousands of downloads (as I mentioned above). A few years down the road, however, it will result in hundreds rather than thousands. This makes sense as the book continues to be offered to the same general group of readers who seek out free books via the various e-book promos.
++ You can increase the number of page reads your books receive in the Kindle Unlimited library in three ways: 1) by buying an e-book promotion, 2) by listing a multiple-book series in the library, 3) by advertising on Amazon. The more books you have in the KU library, the more opportunity there is to accumulate page reads.
Whenever I do a promo, my books enjoy a surge of page reads in the KU library. This can be a great thing, if, for instance, I’ve done a promotion for They Will Be Coming for Us (Book 1 in the Jovian Universe) and it does its job of hooking the reader into the rest of the series.
++ It’s becoming increasingly difficult to entice readers to leave a review. Readers are more likely to record a rating without a review on Amazon, if anything at all. Goodreads readers are inspired to leave ratings and reviews, I think, due to the site’s annual Reading Challenge, which I personally participate in. The challenge is to set a goal number of books to read and then to accomplish that number over the course of the year.
Case in point, there’s no way I’m reading a book and not getting credit for it on Goodreads, so I always leave ratings and reviews for the books I finish reading. I used to read about twenty books a year, but now I read close to fifty. The annual challenge is a great way to get yourself to read more books!
++ Print advertisement may be good for visibility, but it’s not great for sales or reviews. The exception: review magazines in which your book received high marks (a starred review). I’ve done only a few print ads because they usually cost in the hundreds of dollars for the smallest ads offered, and they do not sell a significant number of books.
++ Since AI has come on strong, the amount of offers for fake marketing help that lands in my inbox has increased by a ridiculous degree. I sometimes receive ten offers for marketing help a day. And lately I’ve been receiving some for books I haven’t even written!
Do not be tricked by these so-called experts who send letters filled with statements pertaining to your plot that only a reader of your book would know. The AIs know all about your book because they’ve read the blurbs and the reviews and whatever else that can be found on Google. We’re living in a robot world.
++ Writing a series has pros and cons, as all things do. The biggest pro is that if you hook readers with your first-in-series, they’ll likely read the second and third and possibly to the end of the series. The con: not everyone loves a series. For some, it’s too much of a commitment to make. So while you’re spending time writing five books, a portion of readers prefer a stand-alone. This is more reason to make sure your first-in-series (and each book you write, really) ends on a satisfactory, fulfilling note.
Let me know what your experiences have been in situations that pertain to these topics! I'd love to hear from you.
