World, Writing, Wealth discussion

This article seems to indicate that so far in 2017 many people are reading fewer ebooks from traditional publishers (the big 5, small and mid-sized publishers).

Do you read their print equivalents instead?

Note: Bear in mind that this article focuses on traditionally published (as opposed to self-published) books.

https://www.janefriedman.com/publishi...

I've seen a lot of articles lately crying e-book sales are down, yet practically everyone I know is reading more than ever - two truths that are far from mutually exclusive. And publishers statistics simply can't track what we're actually reading.

I've got such a glut of cheap/free e-books on multiple devices, it'd take me years to read them all and I very likely never will. However, since I'm commuting again, I'm reading a great deal more this year than last year, probably 3x as many books. But I'm not buying books this year, unless something really catches my fancy.

I think publishers often make the mistake of conflating the two, particularly with ebooks - which are much easier to pick up free and/or cheap and just keep around than their paper equivalent.

I have read about the same, but that is not very many. I am mainly reading indie ebooks, in part to give other indies a helping hand.

Those articles decrying the decline in ebook sales usually only focus on sales from the traditional publishers. With people reading more ebooks from indies, and sticking to print with the traditionals, they're technically right. At the end of the day, those articles are nothing more than an outlet for the traditional publishers to whine about losing sales as self-publishing has increasingly democratized the industry.

Krazykiwi wrote: "I've seen a lot of articles lately crying e-book sales are down, yet practically everyone I know is reading more than ever - two truths that are far from mutually exclusive. And publishers statisti..."

Hi Krazykiwi: what prompts you to download all those free/cheap e-books? Is it because they sound like a truly great read? Or is it because they sound okay, but are free so what's to lose?
Do you think free downloads that are never read might give self-pub authors false (and cruel) hope because they probably won't translate into sales for future books by the same author ( future sales presumably being the reason to offer free downloads of a first or second book.)
I wonder what indie authors think about their free download numbers. Do they feel many are never read? Or do they assume that downloads translate into books read? Would love to hear more from indie authors.

Joanna, I have given up on free downloads because when I tried them, I got no reviews or any evidence that they were read. I see huge numbers in the statistics of such free downloads I am convinced that most of them do not get read, so I stopped doing it because I could not see any benefit to me.

Joanna wrote: "Krazykiwi wrote: "I've seen a lot of articles lately crying e-book sales are down, yet practically everyone I know is reading more than ever - two truths that are far from mutually exclusive. And p..."

I have zero intent to collect for the sake of collecting. I download things I think I will read. I use ereaderiq to track books I would buy anyway, but I know they come up free often enough so I can just wait until they come around again. And I grab the free Amazon imprint book Samsung gives away every month, but I tend to get around to reading those :) I unsubscribed all those freebooksy type newsletters though years ago, too much repeat traffic and too many of those downloads were disappointing. I prefer to find books more organically anyway.

But I also use ereaderiq to watch for sales, since I buy books too. My TBR pile is very far from just indie freebies.. in fact that's one of the reasons the indie freebies from authors I don't have a history with tend to fall to the back of it.

I've been reading e-books since the days of palm pilots, and I read very fast, when I have time. So I've had 20 years to get up a collection - and I know in the right mood, or when I'm commuting as I am right now, I can knock through a book or two in a day, so it's worth it to me to have a stack of unread books to hand. But there's probably books I have had nearly that long and just never been in the mood for (yet).

I very much doubt any hope (real or not) it gives an author is even remotely on any reader's mind when they download a copy. I'll tell you this though. I used to tag the books I downloaded as freebies here, until I got harangued one too many times by an author for not having reviewed it yet. So I stopped doing that a long time ago.

That said, some of my all time favourite indie books were in fact free downloads, and I reviewed them too.

Thank you Ian and Krazykiwi for your responses to my question on free downloads. It's interesting to get both an author's perspective and a reader's view on them.
I think there should be some mechanism/trigger that bars a reader from downloading more than one freebie from any author. In other words if, for example, you had downloaded one of Ian's books for free (when he was still offering them) you should pay for any subsequent Ian book you download on your account.

Joanna wrote: "Thank you Ian and Krazykiwi for your responses to my question on free downloads. It's interesting to get both an author's perspective and a reader's view on them.
I think there should be some mecha..."

It's a good idea from an author's point of view, but places like Amazon are just stores, and all they ant to do is move stuff with the least effort. I can't see them cooperating because it would be troublesome to implement.

I look at offering free ebooks the same way I look at free samples in the grocery stores...You would think the store is losing money by giving away samples when the prevailing attitude from the customers is they just want something for nothing, but the reality behind the scenes is that those samples do translate to real sales. Think about it this way, the large chains are only interested in their bottom lines. They're not doing anything unless they expect it will help the bottom line. Even all the "green initiatives" some of the major companies announce are more than just PR stunts. Walmart hasn't been installing solar panels on the roofs of many of their stores for the environment and the goodwill - they expect to reap a financial benefit from it.

Sure it's hard to quantify how many sales translate from the free books we give away, and we can never be sure how many of those giveaways are ever read, but to take Amazon for a moment, it's not hard to get a book in the "free" bestsellers list and keep it there. A new book in the "just released" list benefits from the exposure, but it's temporary as the book quickly falls from the list. But a free book perennially on the "free lists" is constantly in front of consumers when they scan those lists. That puts your name, and your overall brand front and center all the time...that is free advertising, and you'll reach a larger targeted audience than you would paying for Facebook ads.

J.J. wrote: "I look at offering free ebooks the same way I look at free samples in the grocery stores...You would think the store is losing money by giving away samples when the prevailing attitude from the cus..."

That is the plus argument for the technique. The question then is, do those people who continually browse the "free" list actually go on an buy other books, or do they keep browsing the free list?

To return to the original question: I have read more non self-published e-books (i.e more ebooks from traditional publishers) this year than in my entire life. Now that I am reaching completion of my first draft of my third thriller, I am devouring any new (mostly traditionally published) psychological thriller book in my genre as soon as I hear about it, or after I read a review. The ease with which I can just order online and read in my kindle is fabulous.
To me, $9.99 is a bargain. Twenty years ago when I wrote my two previously published thrillers, I would buy the hardcovers of authors I followed at about $20-25 a book. So, today's e-book price is half of what I used to pay.