I’ve been getting quite a few hits lately from search terms such as “when do I self-publish my novel?” and “when does a book need to be published for the Christmas market?” I already pontificated on the issue of self-publishing for Christmas in this post, but that only dealt with one time of year. Now I’d like to talk…
Tag: e-publishing
Lights… Camera…. READ! How Writing Goes Live
One thing which made the transition from my business brain to my bookish brain lately was a certain trend in the music industry, which now seems to be making inroads into the book industry. It’s all becoming more and more about live performance. Part of what I do for a living (my actual living, which pays…
What Makes Me Buy A Self-Published Book?
It’s summer holiday season. Therefore it’s self-published e-book time. I’m currently loading up to my Kindle. But what makes me choose one non-traditionally published book over someone else’s? It’s tough to know which marketing works, and which doesn’t; as a reader, I have to say that I find a lot of book marketing intensely annoying, and at best…
Is the Bestseller Dead?
In this post back in the wilds of 2013, I explored (with the aid of some lovely data. And maybe some pretty shoddy guesswork, it has to be said) how many books an author has to sell in the English-speaking world to achieve bestseller status. In most countries, a bestseller is defined only by what…
2014: The Year That Was (Part 1)
Taking inspiration from J.K. Rowling, who wrote the last chapter of the Harry Potter series long before half the books were even published, I’ve decided to write my 2014 reviews now. It will save time at the end of the year, when I’ll be very busy with TV appearances, liposuction and smiting my enemies. Only…
Print Vs E-Books… FIGHT!!
It’s the Smackdown we’ve all been waiting for! But who will win the battle of the fiction ferriers? Part 1 today. Part 2 later. Part 3 if the comments get nasty. 1. Smell Everyone always goes on about the smell of bookshops, or of new books. I’m not so sure it applies – to fiction, at least. The only…
5 Old Bookselling Rules which No Longer Apply
…and, from the emerging author’s perspective, are they a Woo-Hoo, or a Boo Hoo? 1. Back Catalogues Sell Slowly, Or Not At All Back in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, when a reader stumbled across a new author, their latest book was often the only one available. If the author were really successful, the bookshop might stock…
Only 33.5 Authors wrote Bestsellers in the 1980s. Fact
It’s Reeling in the Years time. First stop, those big-haired, blockbusting 1980s. You may not know this yet, but book sales were remarkably different in the ’80s. (I know, because I’ve charted the last 3 decades already into earth-shatteringly revealing, multicoloured pies, and I don’t mind telling you, I haven’t been this excited by data since checking my Santa…
Self-publishing and e-publishing ——The authors are revolting!
Revolting, I tell you! Depending on who’s talking – author or print publisher – it could have either meaning. This whole publishing lark has opened up. A quick look at the bestseller lists from recent years, following the e-book revolution, shows it. People are reading different stuff nowadays. Whether it’s because they’re finally able to get what they…
Tara Sparling writes 