I don't know if all y'all realize that Dying Embers is now available pretty much everywhere* books are sold online. Using Draft2Digital, the electronic version has been uploaded to all the big, non-Amazon names, as well as a few I've never heard of:
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Apple
Page Foundry (Inktera)
Tolino
Oyster
Which is all well and good. I like everyone to be able to snag a copy of my book if they so choose.
The problem, of course, is letting everyone know they can now get Dying Embers through whatever outlet they choose to use. I mean, I can put it here and on FB, and tweet about it. But that only reaches those people who already know about me. :waves:
So, I went searching for ways to advertise to those other markets. When I go looking for ways to advertise to Kindle users, Google is chock-full of places. The others? Not so much.
Oh, I can get some non-Amazon advertising piggybacked on those sites geared for Kindle people. Some of them allow for links to other vendors. But since the site is focused on Kindle readers, not a lot of others head over there to look for books. The plethora of book sites for other devices just isn't there.
Amazon holds about 60% of the ebook market (depending on where you're getting your numbers) and it's not hard to see why based on this search I've been doing. There's just more ways for people to find your books when you're published through Kindle. Which is kind of sad. Of course, Amazon also makes it way easier to actually publish a book, make your book visible, get you sales data... But that's a post for another day. Perhaps if B&N tried some of the things that make Amazon so popular, they'd have a bigger marketshare and more books would be published through them. :shrug:
So, anyway, I'm still looking. If I find anything, I'll let y'all know.
Now it's your turn. Do you have some other device besides Kindle that you read books on? How do you find new books? And if you're a Kindle user, what's your go-to place to find new books?
*I recently chose to delist the book from Scribd. Not really keen on some of the things I've heard about them. I hadn't gained any sales from them anyway, so no measurable loss on my part. If you're a Scribd subscriber, I apologize for any inconvenience.
I use my ipad for ebooks, and I read most of them through ibooks, but I also have the kindle app. I guess I mostly use Amazon although I could use the Apple appstore, I just haven't done that yet. For a new author/book, I generally go to the Amazon kindle store and check out the freebies. A lot of book 1s are listed free, so I'll get them and if I like them I'll buy the rest and if I don't no worries as it didn't cost. Sorry to be a cheapstake, but I'd hate to spend a lot of money on books I really didn't enjoy. I hope this helps.
ReplyDeleteI love it when you give your insights, Fran. I suspect you're like the target reader. Thanks for the input. I have a local acquaintance who does the same thing with her iPad. She buys Kindle and reads them on the ipad. Man, Apple's marketing must really be falling down on the job for ebooks.
DeleteI've heard that about first books - give the first one away and readers will buy the others. I'm not at a point where I can do that yet, but I'm considering it for the series I'm launching next month. When the second and third books come out next year, maybe.
You aren't a cheapskate. You're a typical shopper. And like I said, your insights are always helpful. =o)
I have the Kindle app on all my electronics - iPhone, desktop, laptop, old iPad (and I mean like first generation because I can't even upload software updates LOL but I can still read on it. ;) ). 99.9% of my sales come from Amazon. Which is one reason I keep all mine in KDP Select. The few times I went broad exposure, I lost more money from borrows on KDP than I made in sales at the other outlets. *shrug* Maybe, eventually, I'll put them all out there. When I have time to think. LOLOL
ReplyDeleteI just have my Kindle and the Kindle app for my PC, but I get where you're coming from. Amazon just makes it so much easier. Good to know about your experiences with Kindle Select. I'm weighing everything. I know Dying Embers sales have still been plugging along at Amazon since I left Select, but I haven't seen more than 5 sales elsewhere, so I'm not sure.
DeleteIf you get time to think, let me know. We'll do virtual lunch or something.
How do I find new books? By perusing the library, book store, or hanging out in the blogosphere. Goodreads occasionally too. Mostly, it's books I hear about online.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Crystal! And thanks for the insight. I wish I could get my books into libraries and book stores, but at this point, it's not likely. The only way I get into a library is if I donate a copy or the library happens to hear about me and orders a copy. (Which means as of today, I'm in two libraries - I think.) Brick & mortar stores are flat out.
DeleteYeah, I mostly hear about books online these days, too. I'm glad you found your way here. =o)
The ONLY way I read e-books is through my Nook. Otherwise I'm reading paper. I refuse to get anything Kindle related, but happy when people buy my books for it. Just because I don't like Kindle, doesn't mean other people can't.
ReplyDeleteI heard BookBub has a lot of iBook subscribers. Don't know if that's true or not, since I haven't seen any numbers from Apple (via Smashwords for my self-pub) yet (not enough time has passed, I guess). I do know that I do not get the most of my sales from Amazon (I sold 150 copies--yay!--of a Kensington book during Jan-Mar and only 28 of them came from the Zon--based upon Novel Rank's numbers).
As for finding new books...Word of mouth. Not from reviews, either. I ask people what they're reading. If they're gushing about the book and it's in a genre I love, I look up the book and read the first few pages. I've found new authors (to me) that way. Seems to work the best, too. So I can only hope that someone will gush about my work and spread the news. Hahahaha! :D