What Gatekeepers?

Here's yet another feel-good story of an author who overcame *publisher rejection* via self-published ebooks:

Check out her books on Amazon. They're pretty cheap if you buy the Kindle versions - starting at .99 and climbing all the way up to a whopping $2.99.

See also - Ebook Goldrush.

Should A Reader Buy A Reader?

As Mr. Costanza once said admirably about the man in the cape (Larry David), I too most certainly do not *follow the trends*.

I've heard the noise about these so-called readers - iPad, Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader, and even the Samsung one - but can honestly say that I knew very little about them until recently.

First of all, I do read a whole lot of books so one might think that I'd be a prime candidate to buy one of these reader thingys.

BUT, I don't travel much at all, keeping me always near my books. And it also means I don't have childless airport time to kill.

I don't read potboilers and popular fiction, generally opting for the classics and time-tested non-fiction.

I live near very well-funded library networks - and take complete advantage! The one in Port Washington, NY (a town of 18k people including Sands Point) has something insane like a $6 million annual operating budget.

So I sort of scoffed at the idea of buying a reader when they first came out - especially also because a lot of their appeal seemed like, at the time, the ability to buy and read freakin' newspapers on them. Recall I LOATHE newspapers; heck I wouldn't even permit my father to bring his into my house!

But the readers have become a whole lot cheaper. With the Kindle at $130 or so it almost feels free - but free only so long as you don't have to pay for content.

What I realized is that most all of the old classics are now beyond copyright (70 years past the death of the author?) and readily accessible for all these readers. THAT'S what I like to read!

AND, these days there are a rapidly multiplying supply of free ebooks out there from not just pro-blogger types but from aspiring upstarts in every field.

So even the most prolific reader could manage to *not pay* for any content for quite some time.

At the mall a couple of weeks ago I spent a solid 20 minutes talking with the Nook salesgirl - who coincidentally was also sleek-looking(!) and hip - about all the pluses and minuses of the various readers.

I got real close to buying either the Nook or the Kindle before discovering that they don't work at night. They've engineered them to work amidst bright daylight rather then when my first wife would be fast asleep next to me. I don't care what anyone says....those little clip-on reading lamps are a pain in the butt. It may be time for twin beds or separate bedrooms anyway.

It's too bad the Sony Reader sucks because I could get it for free. We have a Sony Points credit card with 150,000 points on it - good for $1,500 off any Sony products. In fact the entire company sucks now; we've had trouble spending those points forever. There almost worthless to us.

Anyways, I am looking more closely at these readers these days. I might have to buy one if only for research purposes as to what's actually being sold on them.

I do find the whole reader-mania a little curious though.

I mean, nobody really even reads yet they are all going to run out and buy these tablet PCs - for what exactly? To be groovy/trendy?

Most everyone I've seen with an iPad has been mindlessly watching Netflix motion pictures on it!

Yeah, and how long before the iPad is priced near $200??? Shouldn't be too far into 2011 I would think, not with all the competition out there.

In case any of y'all are interested in the differences between these gadgets....check out - Kindle vs. Nook vs. Ipad - Which E-Reader Should You Buy?

See also - Ebook Goldrush.

Ferriss....Still On A Roll!

The Four RAP Workweek?

I've mentioned Tim Ferriss a few times recently on this blog. He's definitely someone worth heeding.

Tim wrote a post the other day that was, much like his book, positively drenched with good, useful information (for aspiring authors or bibliophiles anyway).

Check it out - How Authors Really Make Money.

While I was reading it I couldn't help but think how profoundly informative his post was - answering questions that no doubt tons of people were ecstatic to see answered.  And I noted the stark difference between it and the snarky/sophomoric content that I generally churn out.  As someone who's keenly interested in amping up their blog readership....these days I'm paying special attention to the style and content selection of Ferriss and other standard-setters.

See also:

Book Review - The 4-Hour Workweek

Ebook Goldrush

Better Blogging Chronicles 7 - PageRank

EBook Goldrush

I'm seeing it more and more these days - people, especially bloggers, are writing and peddling their *ebooks*.

So why is that?

Consider this recent article from the WSJ:

This month, Amazon is upping the ante, increasing the amount it pays authors to 70% of revenue, from 35%, for e-books priced from $2.99 to $9.99. A self-published author whose e-book lists for $9.99 on Amazon's Kindle e-bookstore will receive about $6.99 for each book sold. The author would net $1.75 on a similar new e-book sale by most major publishers.

The new formula makes digital self-publishing more lucrative for authors. "Some people will be tempted by the 70% royalty at Amazon," Mr. Nash says. "If they already have a loyal fan base, will they want 70% of $100,000 or 15% of $200,000 for a hardcover?"
Traditional book-industry players and tech companies are jumping on the digital self-publishing bandwagon. Apple last week announced a digital self-publishing program for its iPad giving 70% of revenue to authors, similar to Amazon's formula. Last month, Barnes & Noble also announced a service called PubIt!, allowing authors to post and sell e-books online.

Seventy percent profit margin....that's huge! It really reduces the windfall profit threshold.

Here's one example of the math:

Mr. Konrath says he's already earning more from self-published Kindle books that New York publishers rejected than from his print books. In the past 14 months, he has sold nearly 50,000 Kindle e-books, and at the current royalty rate, he makes $58,000 per year from his self-published works. When Amazon royalties double this summer, he expects to bring in $170,000 annually.

"I'm outselling a bunch of famous, name-brand authors. I couldn't touch their sales in print," Mr. Konrath says.

Y'all catch that....making MORE from the content gatekeeping publishers rejected!

With margins this high, there're plenty of nuggets out there to be mined.

The other day my brother, who was thoughtful enough to email me this article, informed me he was considering writing an ebook on how Westerners can launch businesses in the former Soviet states. This happens to be his area of business experience.

I thought about it for a second, wondering how big the market for such a book might even be. Then it hit me that the targeted customers would certainly be willing to pay-up for this kind of book before dumping substantially more money into the scary *outlaw economies* over there. My brother could easily price his book at say $100 and given the current ebook margins he'd only have to sell 1,000 copies to net around $70,000. That's not too bad at all.

Surely, given the explosion in iPads, Kindles, and other tablet devices it won't be long before some lucky dude/chick sells 5 million copies of some hot new $10 ebook and garners a profit of $35 million.

Obviously, I should be directing my energies toward an ebook as well. After all, my little angry man/rant posts aren't at all monetizable. Perhaps it's time to get paid for the six years and thousands of hours I've put into teaching myself to write?