As Charles Dickens writes in A Tale of Two Cities: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." The same could be said for being an indie author nowadays, living in an exciting time where we're free to write and publish our own stories without having to rely on the arbitrary approval of traditional publishers. But it also means we're responsible for all our own marketing and publicity, dealing with reader expectations, good and bad reviews and piracy.
Then, there's the issue of free books.
Don't readers understand that asking authors to give away our books is destroying our livelihoods? I wonder if they really care? Between the freeloaders and the pirate sites downloading our books illegally, there's not much chance of earning a crust in this job. But then, since most people see writing as a hobby, I guess they reckon we don't need to be paid.
Ah, the wonderful world of readers' illusions.
Unless this culture of entitlement changes, I can see more and more writers quitting the business. Why put all that time, effort and money into writing, editing, polishing and marketing a book only for it to be either stolen or ignored by the general reading public until they can grab it for free?
In the four years I've been published, my sales have bottomed out. By now, with 4 books out, I should be selling 4-8 books/day. Instead, I'm lucky to get 1-2 sales/day.
And it's not as if my books are invisible.
According to the experts, I'm doing all the right things - offering my short story (Laura's Locket) for FREE, and Book One (BloodGifted) for only 99c; an active social media presence; a fantastic number of genuine followers on twitter (even a bunch of Russian and Asian hookers, bless their little pearly G-strings. Guess they like reading paranormal romance in their spare time!); a website with a blog, and I'm even on Instagram posting pretty pics that take me hours to create or locate in hope somebody might like it enough to check out my profile - yet the results are enough to turn even a unicorn's rainbow poop brown.
And paid marketing sites aren't as effective as they used to be.
This has never happened before. My cover and blurb are just the same, so I can't blame the lack of sales on that.
Nope, the book world is changing.
With so many free books saturating the market, it's freeloader heaven. Why pay? And that pricey $3.99 book readers are dying to get their hands on? Well, they can simply download it from a myriad pirate sites while sipping their $5 Starbucks coffee.
And they say it's the best time to be a writer.
I suppose that depends on your point of view.
If you haven't yet read my Dantonville Legacy Series, and would like to support an indie author, here's your chance 😊
Get BloodGifted on Amazon
Well said and unfortunately, true! It's natural to pay the hairdresser, cook, plumber and so on because they're doing their jobs and we value their work. People don't think twice to pay for concert tickets or go to the movies because they value the work of the entertainers. Authors entertain people with their stories that they worked on for years and, either the author or publisher, invested a lot of money to publish it, yet people don't value the work of authors.
ReplyDeleteWhen my fantasy series was first published, a doctor I worked with asked for a signed copy. I didn't have copies at home, so I told him that he can buy it on B&N and I'll sign it for him. He looked it up on the website, "It's $12.50," said the doctor who drove a latest model BMW with a long face.
No, he didn't buy my book, he closed the website without saying a word and never mentioned my book again. Nothing is free in life, even books. When a reader gets a free book, the author pays the price for it with years of unpaid work and a lot of money invested into publishing and marketing the book.
Great article, Tima! I couldn't have said it any better. Even the small press publishers I WORK for have a hard time of it, because there are SO many books out there these days. I have gotten paid up-front for selling a short story or two to certain anthologies, but I have no idea how well those books are selling. (I stress the word "work" above because whether or not people think of writing as a hobby, it is STILL hard work.) The competition is tough, the market overwhelmed with books. I have some friends, and have met some people who assume the opposite of the "writing is just a hobby" attitude. They think all writers are wealthy. I wish. I'm far from being in Stephen King's tax bracket! We are in the middle of a sea change in the publishing world. All we can do is keep swimming with the tide . . . or against it, as it sometimes seems we do.
ReplyDeleteYou make some really good points!! An interesting title as well!
ReplyDeleteA bittersweet, despairing commentary that I must sadly agree with, for the most part (as those who know me will not be surprised to hear).
ReplyDeleteI've been with the traditionals, more recently with small presses like Wildside and Creature Features. I haven't self-published since my fanzine days and doubt that I'll ever go that route. The work's too hard and the remuneration's too spotty for me to give the stuff away. I could never pursue this the way a true passionate hobbyist would. (And Wildside and Bastei Lubbe, my current publishers for the Gonji series books, don't do giveaways anyway; and Audible only gives away the audio books to entice subscribers to their service. So I've never even had to consider freebies, beyond comps on a one-to-one basis, and review copies, of course.)
Perhaps I got spoiled by being lucky enough to sell reviews, stories and books early on. But being spoiled is hard to get over. I find countless unworkable flaws in the current publishing model, which I try to dodge or accommodate as best I can. But it's a difficult, uphill slog, for any newbies especially. And I admire any talented new writers who refuse to be defeated by the near-Sisyphean system.
But this is a courageously honest, sobering piece, Tima. I wish you all the luck on your literary Hero's Journey. Oh, yes---it is that and no less. And if talent, skill, hard work and determination serve you well as your arms and armor, you'll find a way to achieve the object of your quest (that object only you yourself must identify).
If not...you'll still have been no less the hero for having poured heart, soul and utter defiance of opposition into it.
You have my admiration for making this monumental effort. Every writer here can empathize with your striving and your lament.
It would never even cross my mind to ask an author for a free copy of their book. I know the time and energy and not to mention money it goes into producing one.
ReplyDeleteHaving to say that, readers expectations of free books is only one problem. There are many. Like the latest I've heard fake books on Amazon.
To wit, using the same story, with protag's and location names changed, and selling several versions of the same story with different covers and different titles...to purposefully fool the bots at places like Amazon.
Not only this, but authors are taking other authors' works...full length novels...and doing the same thing and selling them as their own. Some authors have made big careers out of this.
Adding to the problem is Amazon right at the top for not taking greater care, but also offering services like the all-you-can-read Kindle Unlimited program, where readers can download a number of books for $9.99 a month and the author won't get paid until and unless the reader reads the book, and only then, per page fees, and only after a certain number of pages has been read...10% of the book?
To get around that problem, writers are now putting jump links at the front of the book offering freebies at the back of the book..."Click her to see them now"...which means the reader has effectively told Amazon they'd read the full book, when they just clicked the link, and ensuring the author is paid the full price of the book...even though the reader hasn't read it. Who's this a scam for? The reader or Amazon? It's just an author trying to find anyway possible to earn what he/she deserves, but is this a moral way of doing it? If it's immoral, does this add to the scammy nature our current society lives in?
And don't get me starting on the mega box sets selling at 99c...those are 20-25 authors scamming fellow authors out of their fair share.
Scams are everywhere, and they do make it ultra hard to make a buck, for those of us who are honest in their work and dealings. If we jump into the scamming pool, it makes us just as bad as they are.
Catch-22 at every turn.
But, I'm still of the belief of 'head down, focus on your own work, concentrate on your target audience' and we will attract honest readers.
No one is going to get rich in this business, other than Amazon. We must write because we love telling stories and sharing them with readers, understanding that the 'overnight successes' are few and far between. Write because you love it. If you're writing to make money...a lot of money...you might as well quit now, or really rethink your focus.
A really fantastic article! I agree with many of the things you have said. I've had heard every sorry excuse in the book i.e. - authors make plenty of money (false!), they are too broke to buy a .99 book (again a lie).
ReplyDeleteMy book was pirated on day one. That is really sad being a brand new author, but you're correct, that is the age we're living in. No wonder paperbacks are becoming more popular, and ebooks are becoming less.
Great article.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of being able to publish our own books now and having them on line. But with so much piracy sometimes I think that it was better when books where publish just on paper, that way everybody had to buy them.
And I love it when people tell me about all these people they know that are making a living with their books or blogs. Like I don’t already feel bad.