Friday, June 3, 2011

More Kindling to the fire


I'll get back to writing about the UK and London soon (in particular when I discover whether I have 'won' any tickets in the rather bizarre lottery system employed to allocate seats for the 2012 Olympics) but first I wanted to tell you about a rather intriguing conversation I had with someone I know well, on the subject of e-books, which is all we writers discuss these days isn't it? Plus I've never blogged on the subject before, and I'm beginning to feel left out.

Anyway, the conversation made me recall a comment Tim made in blogs past about the impact of ebooks, and how publishers might have to fear the reaction of authors, should they take off. I think we can take out that qualifying clause now. Ebooks, like or loathe them, are here to stay, and will continue to grow and expand, while sales of print dwindle. It's a given. I get ever so slightly annoyed when I hear fellow writers in discussion recommending to prospective writers they should still try the traditional publishing route. Ladies and gents, it's dying. You might as well recommend people learn to type on manual typewriters. It's nice but ultimately pointless. In a year's time it will be a no-brainer - self-publish. Make sure you hire hire an editor, a proof-reader too, but self-publish. If it does well, you may get an offer to publish a print edition from whichever publishers have been canny enough to weather the storm. If it's still worth it, or if you want to see your books in glorious print. If not, you've had a go.

Anyway, back to my conversation. The person I was speaking to is a crime writer's and publisher's dream. She must read two or three crime novels a week. If she likes your book, she will go and buy the whole of your backlist, and snap up your latest on the day of purchase. I spoke to her last year about ebooks and she pulled a face. She loved books. The feel of them, the look, all the stuff you hear from book lovers, the sort of stuff I have said in the past. Why do I need a portable book reader when books are the most portable things in the world, she added? Fair point.

Spin a year on and you can guess what's coming. She has a Kindle. What's more, she loves it. Loves the feel of it, the look etc. She loves the way you can get a book instantly. I saw an article in which Amazon said one of it's biggest-selling ebook time slots is between 9 and 10pm at night when people are preparing for bed and realise they have nothing good to read. It's a feeling most of us probably know well. The book you have isn't doing it for you, the TBR pile is uninspiring, the shelves full of books you have already read and don't wish to re-read. If you had the power of transmogrification, and could click your fingers and instantly be in a bookshop with a choice of thousands at such moments, who wouldn't take it? That, my friend said, is another reason she has fallen in love with her Kindle. The immediacy. We can moan all we want about the 'We want the world and we want it now' nature of the modern world, but the bald truth is there are people out there who want to own goods with the least possible hassle and fuss. I love browsing in a bookshop, so do many others, but we're in a shrinking minority.

Then my friend came on to the big question - price. I think I have read a million blogs and articles about ebook pricing and quite frankly I'm bored stupid. I'm sure I won't be when it's my books that I'm pricing - in which case I will be writing here about it and boring you stupid - but it's a debate I hate. It's simple: ebooks released by traditional publishers are overpriced; some of the prices charged by self-published authors are so low as to be unsustainable. I don't go in for the precious guff about there being a difference between price and value. I think there's a reasonable, fair price to charge for ebooks, but certain publishers can't charge it at the moment because they can't afford to lose money. A senior editorial director confessed to me that the book business is in big trouble, 'major irreversible decline' were the words he used. The whole unwieldy publishing infrastructure is geared towards producing, storing and distributing masses and masses of paper. And flogging books to supermarkets and knockdown three-for-two deals to boost flagging sales have already eaten into profits. They were struggling before ebooks came along.

However, my friend, who isn't wealthy but neither is she poor, said the pricing of ebooks had completely changed the way she bought books. The crime authors she loved previously - Billingham, McDermid, McBride, James - she no longer read. Or at least she hadn't bought their new ones, simply because of the what she deemed to be the exorbitant cost. Not when she could buy books which she believed to be just as good if not better by other authors for considerably less money. Now we can argue until the cows come home about whether this is right, and whether the works of Billingham et al is worth the extra cash, but it's pointless. She won't be buying them until the price is reduced to a more realistic level. End of story. Nothing will change that view.

I suggest my friend is not alone. Which gives publishers a real problem. Not just with loss of sales. As Tim suggested, they also have their authors to fear if this pattern is repeated. The authors they value most, the cash cows and guaranteed best sellers. Because if those big sellers begin to see their sales dwindling because of readers migrating to the Kindle, and then not buying their ebooks because they are way overpriced, you don't have to be a marketing genius to work out what will happen. Those authors will hold on to their ebook rights, and start to self publish their own ebook editions and set the price at a reasonable level to win back the readers they have lost. And that's a whole chunk of money the publishers won't be able to afford to lose.

Interesting times.

cheers

Dan - Friday

11 comments:

  1. Dan, I don't own an ereader but I did cheat a bit and I downloaded Kindle's free application for the PC. I have eight or nine books sitting there, waiting for me to remember I have them. It isn't like a TBR pile that shouts "choose me" every time I walk past. Of the books that are on the PC most are Tim's Simeon Grist series, which I read as they were published. One is Tim's CRASHED and the other is Leighton's A VINE IN THE BLOOD both of which I read immediately after they magically appeared.

    Depending on the number of pages in the books I choose, I read four or five mysteries a week. I spend a great deal of time trolling for new books and authors and keeping up with the publication dates of books by authors of whom I am already a fan. Amazon, Fantastic Fiction, and Stop You're Killing me are great sites for finding wonderful things to read. Each site provides descriptions of the books that are reliable so I know if a book fits into the categories of books I like to read. Reviews of most of what I read are on my blog and I put them on Amazon, Goodreads and Library Thing. Free books can be acquired by all those sites and, amazingly, I get unsolicited books from some authors and publishers. Someone will have read a review, liked it, and offered a second book for examination. I think this happens because I have made it clear that I don't do negative reviews; reading preferences are so personal that I don't want to discourage anyone from trying an author.

    The problem with self-published ebooks is there is no easy way to separate the wheat from the chaff when it is the author who provides the blurb. Dan, read some of the information on the low cost books on Amazon; some of what is written is embarrassing for the author. I know that great writers put low prices on their ebooks to encourage people to try them and this may work for them but getting publicity for good books may still be as big a problem as it has been for paper books.

    I have two major problems with the ereader phenomenon and they are tied together. The device is expensive, especially for those on a fixed income, and they are an impossible expense for those with a low income or no income at all. Senior citizens comprise the majority of mystery readers and reading has always been an escape from reality for those who need to be taken out of their own considerable problems for a little bit. The popularity of ebooks has cut into cirulation numbers for libraries and that has led to budget cuts for the purchase of new books and cuts in the number of hours a library is open. This, then, has led to employee lay-offs and to the closing of some branches.

    When libraries purchase ebooks rather than paper ones, they are actually renting the books. After an ebook has been checked out approximately 24 times for most publishers, the book disappears into some black hole. Only one patron can borrow the book at a time; most libraries buy multiple copies of books that will attract multiple readers.

    One of the most annoying comments I have seen, and I have seen it posted more than a few times, reminds me of the woman with whom you had the conversation. Some people are infuriated when a book by a favorite author has not been turned into an ebook. They bemoan the fact that they are deprived of the newest book in the series or one of the older ones they missed. Yet, these same wonderful books are available at the library or the bookstore.

    One thing authors don't mention is the free publicity lost by the use of ereaders. I can't begin to guess how many books and authors I have searched out because I saw someone engrossed in a book while in a waiting room or on public transportation. The Kindle keeps the book a secret and advertises the device, a nice plus for Amazon who, I am sure, makes more money on the device than on the books.

    I'm not a Luddite but I do have a problem with something that is going to make books less available rather than more so.

    Beth
    www.murderbytype.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is interesting -- I got e-mailed a long and very thoughtful response from Beth, but it doesn't seem to be on the site.

    The thing about e-books is that they're here and they're not going away. It doesn't actually matter whether people like them or not. We're in the digital age, and digital is where we're staying for the foreseeable future.

    Like Beth, I love physical books. Love their smell, their look. I thought for years that the book was the closest thing to a perfect object civilization has produced.

    But it's not either/or. I just bought six, umm, texts. A new translation of all the haiku of Basho; the complete stories of Kingsley Amis; the new Anne Perry; "Electric Eden," a dazzling study of the origins of electrified English folk music (John Renbourn, Fairport Convention, bits of Led Zep, etc., etc., etc.); and the first two volumes of A DANCE TO THE MUSIC OF TIME by Anthony Powell.

    I bought the Basho and the Amis as tree books because I'll want them forever. I bought the others for the Kindle, the Powells so I could carry them with me although I already have them in paper. And I may wind up buying ELECTRIC EDEN in paper, too.

    One more point, in response to Beth's thus-far-unpublished post: if you buy any significant number of books, your e-reader pays for itself over and over.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes, that is odd, Tim, because I've just been reading Beth's eloquent and well-argued post too. I hope Blogger hasn't eaten it.

    The first point you make is the most pertinent, and one I keep repeating to the less believing. Ebooks are here and here they will stay. There is no tide that can be reversed. Just a new, shifting landscape we'll have to adjust to. Even publishers, though they may be the last ones to on the evidence so far.

    Great point about either/or too. I think about music I buy these days. Recently I bought a Mickey Newbury box set, lavish packaging and all (buy it, it's great), I picked up a Laura Cantrell CD at her gig, and I also downloaded two or three albums when I read they were out. All will have equal part in my music collection, but it was nice to see an album and be playing it within seconds. This is what's happening with books. People read a review, or see a recommendation, and then get the ebook. No waiting, no forgetting, it's there as soon as they want it. There's a whole generation below us (quite a few in fact) who think like this and will continue to think like it. Books will always have their marke but a generation raised on mp3s and Ipods will grow up expecting to consume their literature in the same way.

    Beth does make some good points about the amont of drek that is being self-published, and some awfully written blurbs. However, I think that underlines the point that it is imperative to get your work edited and proofed before you release. Readers will be savvy enough to see through it otherwise. I'd like to think as ebooks gain a greater foothold the cream will rise to the top.

    And cheers for the heads up on ELECTRIC EDEN. Sounds great.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is the first part of Beth's comment that was eaten by Blogger:

    "Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "More Kindling to the fire":

    Dan, I don't own an ereader but I did cheat a bit and I downloaded Kindle's free application for the PC. I have eight or nine books sitting there, waiting for me to remember I have them. It isn't like a TBR pile that shouts "choose me" every time I walk past. Of the books that are on the PC most are Tim's Simeon Grist series, which I read as they were published. One is Tim's CRASHED and the other is Leighton's A VINE IN THE BLOOD both of which I read immediately after they magically appeared.

    Depending on the number of pages in the books I choose, I read four or five mysteries a week. I spend a great deal of time trolling for new books and authors and keeping up with the publication dates of books by authors of whom I am already a fan. Amazon, Fantastic Fiction, and Stop You're Killing me are great sites for finding wonderful things to read. Each site provides descriptions of the books that are reliable so I know if a book fits into the categories of books I like to read. Reviews of most of what I read are on my blog and I put them on Amazon, Goodreads and Library Thing. Free books can be acquired by all those sites and, amazingly, I get unsolicited books from some authors and publishers. Someone will have read a review, liked it, and offered a second book for examination. I think this happens because I have made it clear that I don't do negative reviews; reading preferences are so personal that I don't want to discourage anyone from trying an author.

    More in next comment.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Second part of Beth's eaten comment:

    "The problem with self-published ebooks is there is no easy way to separate the wheat from the chaff when it is the author who provides the blurb. Dan, read some of the information on the low cost books on Amazon; some of what is written is embarrassing for the author. I know that great writers put low prices on their ebooks to encourage people to try them and this may work for them but getting publicity for good books may still be as big a problem as it has been for paper books.

    I have two major problems with the ereader phenomenon and they are tied together. The device is expensive, especially for those on a fixed income, and they are an impossible expense for those with a low income or no income at all. Senior citizens comprise the majority of mystery readers and reading has always been an escape from reality for those who need to be taken out of their own considerable problems for a little bit. The popularity of ebooks has cut into cirulation numbers for libraries and that has led to budget cuts for the purchase of new books and cuts in the number of hours a library is open. This, then, has led to employee lay-offs and to the closing of some branches.

    When libraries purchase ebooks rather than paper ones, they are actually renting the books. After an ebook has been checked out approximately 24 times for most publishers, the book disappears into some black hole. Only one patron can borrow the book at a time; most libraries buy multiple copies of books that will attract multiple readers.

    One of the most annoying comments I have seen, and I have seen it posted more than a few times, reminds me of the woman with whom you had the conversation. Some people are infuriated when a book by a favorite author has not been turned into an ebook. They bemoan the fact that they are deprived of the newest book in the series or one of the older ones they missed. Yet, these same wonderful books are available at the library or the bookstore.

    One thing authors don't mention is the free publicity lost by the use of ereaders. I can't begin to guess how many books and authors I have searched out because I saw someone engrossed in a book while in a waiting room or on public transportation. The Kindle keeps the book a secret and advertises the device, a nice plus for Amazon who, I am sure, makes more money on the device than on the books.

    I'm not a Luddite but I do have a problem with something that is going to make books less available rather than more so.

    Beth
    www.murderbytype.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love my books. I love my library. I love my bookstore. I love talking about books, sports, politics, or whatever with real people. But my kindle has allowed me to read "Crashed" and many other books because writers are doing epub only and I can't afford the hardback version of things. I'm also discovering new authors, and they don't make my house look like a used book store. I try to use all your blogs and writing sites for recommendations, and I love Amazon's sample function. I am now in hog heaven. The only decision I have to make is what to read next-not a necessarily easy thing ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Stan, thank you for taking the time to repost my latest diatribe.

    When I was growing up, books were a luxury we couldn't afford. The library was my salvation; still is. I live in a working class community with pockets of middle/middle class. There are sections of the city where buying books is a luxury beyond most families. Until recently, I was teaching in a system with an ever-increasing population of immigrant children. These kids go from school to the branch libraries right after school unless they are old enough to have jobs. Our libraries are always busy.

    I think the Kindle is a great device and I will get one when, as promised, Kindle adapts the next generation for use at libraries. I do have a problem with the publishers who are playing games with that availability.


    I found this on Google:



    The resulting data suggests that the largest group of Kindle owners by decade are in their 50s. The next two largest are owners in their 40s at 19.1% and owners in their 60s at 18%, making the total number of Kindle owners between the ages of 40 and 69 an incredible 58.6%. Owners above 70 make up an additional 8.1%, with owners under the age of 40 accounting for just over a third of all Kindle sales.

    There are plenty of factors that could skew these results, ranging from affluency and disposable income to the overall age of visitors who visit Amazon’s boards. But if these numbers are any indication, the Kindle appears to be the first general purpose technology device I know of with an early adopter demographic that favors the over-54 age bracket over the usual 18-34 group, effectively turning one perennial marketing trend on its head.

    http://ghostsofhoratioalger.com/2009/05/results-of-kindle-user-demographic-survey/

    * Age/Sex: This survey found that 66% of respondents identified as female. As has been discussed a number of places, I too found that Kindle users skew older, with 69% over the age of 40.
    * Education: This survey found that Kindle users tend to have significant higher education. 72% of respondents had at least a 4 year college degree. Compiling that 72% were those with only a 4 year degree (35%), while 23% had a Masters Degree and 14% had a Doctoral or Professional (JD/MD) degree.
    * Income: The level of education, which has been found to correlate with income, did not show any significant variance. The income mode fell in the $100,000 – $150,000 range (14% of respondents), but was actually quite evenly distributed among the ranges.
    * Other Demographic Info: 63% of respondents are Married, 79% are white, 46% live in the suburbs, 20% live in the Mid West (and 17% in North East)
    * Computer/Internet Use: 57% of respondents indicated that they spend 6 or more hours per day using a computer. 31% said the spend 3-5 hours per day on the computer. Comparatively, 35% spend 6 or more hours per day using the internet, while 42% indicated 3-5 hours per day. Those who suspect Kindle users are computer friendly and internet savvy could certainly point to these results as indications that they are on to something.
    * Newspaper Use: This study also found some differentiation in how Kindle users use newspapers. While 47% of respondents indicate they access online newspapers at least once per day, only 32% said they use a print newspaper once per day. 33% of respondents never use a print newspaper as oppose to 16% who never visit an online newspaper. 41% of respondents access blogs at least once per day, while 22% never use blogs

    The stats aren't a surprise. Older, financially secure, computer literate, and suburban comprise the majority of Kindle owners. Sort of an "those that have, get even more".


    Tim, Dan, Stan - thank you for taking my comments seriously.

    Beth

    ReplyDelete
  8. I posted a comment thanking Stan for taking the time to re-post my initial comments and for thanking all of you, Tim, Dan, and Stan, for taking my diatribe seriously.

    I added some stats from Google that bolsters my concerns. 74% of Kindles are owned by those older than 50 and the majority have degrees beyond the BA/BS and definitely fall into the higher end of the middle class income bracket.

    Beth

    ReplyDelete
  9. Interesting stats Beth (and thanks for rescuing the post Stan!) The friend I mention is over 50, funnily enough, but while I take the point that some might not be able to afford a kindle, I see kids, and not just those with rich parents, touting Ipods and fancy phones, none of which are any more expensive than a Kindle. Add to that the fact that when you have one books are cheaper - even free if you're into piracy.

    But also, I don't see this in black or white terms. Ebooks good or bad, or books are dead or thriving. It's more complex than that. Books will survive, but things will change. Readers will just have more choice - and lil gluckstern's comments about the sample function are pertinent too. I've read many people extol this feature too.

    So readers will take the purchasing choice that suits them best. The same goes for authors. They'll take the route that suits them best. That might mean a 'legacy' publishing deal; or it might mean self publishing. Or a bit of both. It depends on the book and the circumstances. It's already happening: authors having a published identity, while releasing past books or short stories in ebook only. And, as I say in the post above, I can see a time coming soon when more and more authors publish their own ebook versions, or even walk away from big deals altogether, if they see their sales dwindling.

    ReplyDelete
  10. One, no, two more things.

    First, money. Why should I take a 20% royalty, minus 15% to an agent, when I can get a flat 70% by going direct-to-e-book? Why should I get paid irregularly, on a quarterly system that's usually a full year behind, and that takes the form of absolutely impenetrable royalty statements, when I can have a way to check my sales hourly, in real time, and get paid in full every month by wire transfer?

    And secondly, Beth, as melancholy as it is to say this, those e-reader demographics, while they may suggest disposable income, also mirror the overall novel-reading demographic. This is practically the first piece of tech that wasn't adopted first by young people. And I'm very much afraid that there's a good reason for that.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Tim - There was another post that I wrote that got eaten by blogger in which I mentioned issues with the high school to college age group.

    Dan - Kids do have cell phones because it is the best device in the world to keep parents from going crazy. Now when they go out the door, you know they can reach you if they have to. Makes it so much easier to sleep.

    Kids have all sorts of gadgets that give them instant access to all the things that are important to them. They don't read novels, they don't ever watch television shows that are scripted. Instead, the live by reality shows that are just as tightly scripted and don't represent anyone's reality. Reading isn't passive, television watching is and has the bonus of giving the pack something to talk about the minute each episode is over. I don't thing teenagers ever found it easier to develop their individuality but I think it takes longer now because they don't have the space in their lives to do it.

    My kids don't read much fiction either; they do read a lot of non-fiction, especially political theory and social commentary. Two watch little if any television, one doesn't miss the block of comedies on Thursday nights on NBC. She is also waiting for "Mad Men" to return. All three are interested in film. The oldest never forgets anything she reads; all three are information junkies though none read a daily newspaper or watch network news. They are culturally literate by osmosis. They are interesting people who are interested in many things. They are also adults. High school was not the best time for any of us.

    Since it is better for authors, I will buy more ebooks than I have been doing. I will just have to come up with a system that reminds me they are hiding behind the laptop screen.

    Dan, I am going to use your post today for tomorrow's edition of my blog. I have no idea who reads it but I do know that people check into from just about everywhere except, Leighton, South America.

    Beth

    ReplyDelete