This is a follow up post to Monday’s Kindle Thoughts – A Reader’s Perspective. I want to take the time to give my thoughts on the Kindle from the perspective of a writer. First, a writer should know all about the means by which their readers will take in their work. Although this is not the primary reason I wanted a Kindle, it is important to me to know how my work looks in the most popular reading device on the market. To that end, I do have a Kindle Edition Ebook available. More on that later.
In the post on Monday I touched on the very curious pricing that I’ve noticed. Before I owned a Kindle, I just naturally assumed that ALL books would be $9.99. Soon I realized that the classics (out of copyright) were mostly free. Bonus! I read The Picture of Dorian Gray and believe me, I otherwise would never have even considered reading that book. I quickly discovered that it was not just the classics that were free or deeply discounted. To give you an idea of what I mean, look at the top ten on the bestseller list as of 9pm Alaska time:
See what I mean? 9 of the top 10 are free. Why would a writer do this?
You can bet it’s not sheer generosity and goodwill. It can truly be only one thing, right? Marketing. Building a loyal base. Crazy like a fox, me thinks.
Think about it. You just got this great reading device and you can’t wait to test it out on a new book or two. You see this best seller list and think, “Hey, what have I got to lose? I’ll look at the reviews for “Daring Chloe” at number 1 and give it a go.” Okay, so Laura Jensen Walker didn’t make a penny from that sale. But what she did do was create an opportunity to make a fan. She made an opportunity to sell herself. So what if she didn’t make a penny this go round. Hell, she’s sitting on top of the Kindle best seller list. Do you think that maybe her name might ring a bell with her next book? Or let’s say the folks are conscientious enough to write a review after reading the free book. Now, she’s got dozens of reviews to bolster her standing and she has some name recognition. And here’s the thing: Tomorrow, the book could be selling for 8 or 9 bucks.
I caught a Tweet the other day from one of the folks I follow. It lead me over to Amazon where his book had just been published. Well, he has been a very personable fellow and I pony’d up the 4 bucks for the Kindle book. I noticed there had been no reviews yet so I promised him a review after I read the book. Reviews are the lifeblood that can help to make or break a book, near as I can tell. I have to say, I love his book. It’s called TimeSplash and at over halfway through I can tell you it is a very fun read. Just one of the things that makes Kindle such a cool writer’s tool.
Ebooks, publishing, pricing and author pay are all wound into this symbiotic mass of writhing worms. I think the outcome is still anybody’s guess. Meanwhile, we can watch from the sidelines and hang on for the ride.
A favor?
Like I said, I’ve got an ebook over at Kindle. It’s called The Writing Experience. I’ve got it on sale for 99 cents I’m asking folks to go over and get it and then write a review. If you hate it, email me your snail mail addy and I’ll send ya a crisp dollar. I’m very curious to see how the addition of reviews affects the standing of a book over there. What’s that you say? You don’t have a Kindle? No worries. You can go here
If you choose to participate, thank you very much. If not, no worries – I’ll still luv ya.
I just downloaded your book.
Mine, “Seducer of her Dreams,” is selling well on Kindle-for an unknown-at $1.00. It won’t pay the rent, but people will take a chance on it at that price.
.-= Laura Eno´s last blog ..The Bricoleur – Guest Blog =-.
Woot! Thanks Laura. I’ve just downloaded yours as well. Looking forward to the read!
George
Laura,
Thank you so much for the review over at Amazon. It really means a great deal to me that you downloaded and took the time to write a review.
I’m looking forward to my read of Seducer of Her Dreams. It sounds like a spicy and fun read.
George
Wow, you’re on Kindle. How cool is that! Can friends of published authors have bragging rights, too? I already feel brilliant simply by association.
.-= jan geronimo´s last blog ..When a Question Is the Answer =-.
Hey Jan,
It is I who bask in your light, my friend. And what the heck. Brag away!
George
Thanks for the Kindle information. Review has been posted but it can take up to 48 hours to show. You must do a post to tell everyone how to get their ebooks listed on Kindle. I would love to read how to do that.
Amanda
.-= Amanda Evans´s last blog ..Improving Sales According To A Copywriter =-.
Thank you Amanda.
Brilliant! Okay, I’ll do a post next week on the Amazon text publishing platform.
Thanks again.
George
Amanda,
I know you had downloaded the book a while ago. Thank you again. And thanks for the wonderful review over at Amazon. Also, I am so inspired by your comment and can’t hardly wait to post how to publish on Kindle. I know you have some ebooks and I believe it will be a wonderful platform for your work.
George
Okay, first…I had no idea I could get Kindle books on my PC. This is AWESOME! I have my laptop with me everywhere I go and it will make reading books on the go even easier – so thank you!
Couple things…
First – I’ve downloaded the book and think it’s great, as usual no nonsense Tumblemoose stuff here.
Second – I’ll do George one better on his offer – if you buy this eBook and don’t like it, I’ll give you your money back as well. Think I’m kidding? Try me. Order this book for a whopping .99 cents and if you don’t think you got WAY more than your money’s worth – send me a copy of your receipt and I’ll send you a $1 too. Really, somebody out there take me up on this!
George didn’t put me up to this, he never would do that as we know. But I believe in what he is doing here, and he puts out stuff that is twice as good as some of the $47 eBooks you see out there.
Anyway, download and enjoy…if you don’t I got a dollar waiting for ya’
Matt
matthew (at) smallbizbee.com
.-= Matt | Small Biz Bee´s last blog ..How To Build A Good Website That Keeps Your Customers Fully Satisfied =-.
Matt,
I got home from the library last night and saw this comment sitting in my email. I was completely speechless. Still kinda am. Your heartfelt words here really have really bolstered my confidence and put a big grin on me ol’ mug.
All I can really say is, Thank You.
George
I mean every word of it. And the refund requests haven’t come flooding in, so you must be doing something right! =)
Have a good weekend,
Mat
.-= Matt | Small Biz Bee´s last blog ..By: @wheredidyou =-.
George,
I did not know either that there is an app for the pc to read kindle books. I have been thinking about buying a kindle for some time, and I found your last blog post very helpful. And this one, from the writer’s perspective, is very informative.
.-= Ulla Hennig´s last blog ..The crazy days are over =-.
Hi Ulla,
Thank you for coming by. I’m very happy that you found the info here useful. If you start reading Kindle books on your PC, I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on the experience.
George
I’ve always wanted a Kindle but it’s awesome to know that we can read the stuff on our computer. I guess that will suffice till I get a Kindle eh?
Thanks for your great perspective on this too! Probably going to download your book here soon. Great stuff!
.-= Christopher´s last blog ..8 How Phrases That Can Hold You Back =-.
Hey Christopher,
I actually haven’t tried it yet since I have a Kindle, but it is on my to do list today to download and see what the interface looks like.
Thanks for getting my book, I appreciate it!
George
Hi George, Thanks for the plug for ‘TimeSplash’ – and for the Amazon review. Very much appreciated.
I’ve just downloaded your book too. Unfortunately, it costs $2.99 here in Australia – because every Kindle Store book costs $2 extra in Australia. That’s right, there are no free Kindle books here! Still, I’m sure it’s worth the extra two bucks! It may be true for all Amazon’s “international” sales – I’ve heard the same kind of thing from disgruntled UK Kindle owners. I can’t explain it. It’s not as if the shipping costs extra. Just Amazon making money, I guess.
Speaking of which, since this is a writer’s perspective on the Kindle, I thought some of your readers might be interested in this. My book is available from the publisher, which runs its own bookstore. It sells for $5.50 and, if people buy it there, I get 40% of the sale price per copy sold ($2.20). On Amazon (in the US) it sells for 20% less, at $4.40 and Amazon keeps 65% of that. So my publisher gets 35% of $4.40 ($1.54) and I get 40% of that ($0.61).
The upshot is that for a Kindle sale, I make about a quarter of what I make when my publisher sells it! The same is also true for the other online retailers like Fictionwise. This discrepancy in author income is generally true for all ebooks that are commercially published. So, if you want to support your favourite author, buy their books from the publisher directly rather than through Amazon or other online stores.
Graham,
Thanks for coming by and commenting. Wow, interesting stuff about Amazon.AU as well – I had no idea. This certainly bolsters the idea of paper as opposed to ebooks. Which seems just bass-ackwards to me. With virtually no distribution or printing costs, an ebook should net the author a great deal more than a printed version.
I truly did love TimeSplash. I’ll look forward to your next.
George
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