Day 8: What You Need to Know About eBooks

Rarely does a day go buy that I don’t hear that the printed paper book is dead or dying, and that ebooks are “pounding the nail into the coffin of the printed book.”   Sadly, authors are buying into this as well, causing them to focus large amounts of time and effort into promoting their ebooks and marketing their print books as an afterthought. 

Is this thinking justified?  Are ebooks replacing the printed book?  In a word, “no”…at least not yet. 

As of this writing, ebook sales represent about 14 percent of the total book sales market.   Yes, more ebooks are being sold.  Amazon states that for every 100 paperback and hardcover books that are sold, they sell 105 ebooks, but even Amazon makes more money off the sales of printed books than ebooks. 

The main reason for this is ebooks don’t retail for as much money as printed books.  In fact, most ebooks on Amazon are $9.99 or less, with many ebooks being sold for as little as 99 cents.  Selling ebooks for 99 cents might seem like a sound strategy if the author is selling thousands of ebooks, but few do.  Forget the ebooks that promise to show you how to sell a million ebooks on Amazon and get rich.  At last count, only 16 authors had managed that feat, and most of them were well-known, established authors, and their ebooks sell for much more than 99 cents. 

Yes, there are authors like Amanda Hocking who have sold a lot of ebooks and have gotten rich, but they are the exception.  Even Hocking has abandoned the self-publishing ebook route and has signed on with a traditional publisher for the access to new markets and the distribution that will provide. 

Despite the major increase in sales of devices like Kindle and Nook, and the surging sales of ebooks, printed books aren't ever going to go away completely, unless for some reason all the trees die and we can no longer make paper.  Many people still prefer to read a printed book.  I have had people tell me they will NEVER buy an ereader or purchase an ebook.  They like to handle printed pages and be able to collect the hard copy volumes and keep them on a bookshelf in their home. 

Did you know that about 30 percent of all Americans don't use the Internet, Facebook, download music, etc.?  Some people just aren't into gadgets.  Instead of buying MP3 players, they still listen to vinyl albums, and new vinyl albums are still being made, by the way.  Some people will always prefer to read books on paper.  Paper books may not be the main way people get their books ten years from now, but they'll still be there.

And who uses ebooks the most?  You would think that it would be a technology used most by young people, but studies have shown most ebooks are purchased by middle-age people in their 40's and 50's.   Another survey indicates that most college students prefer their printed textbooks over ebook versions.   Printed paper books will still be with us for some time. 

I mention these facts and figures to make this point:  ebooks give you another way of selling your book.  They are another product for you to sell.  They make your book available in a format other than the printed page.  What it is not is a sure-fire way of selling books.  Making a book available as ebook does not guarantee more sales,  even though the ebook version is cheaper.  It also does not mean that the book does not have to be marketed, or that it is easier to promote.  It is, however, easier, cheaper and faster to produce, distribute and deliver ebooks.  It’s that instant gratification that has helped make ebooks the fastest-growing segment of the publishing industry.  We’ll get into the specifics of marketing and promoting your ebook as we get further into this series. 

As I mentioned earlier, printed books still comprise 86 percent of total book sales dollars.  Yes, you’ll want to have your book available as an ebook, but printed books are still where the money is, at least for now.   

Coming Up:  Day 9 - Building Your Online Presence