Electronic
Book Publishing
Electronic publishers offer books in a variety of
electronic formats
for
readers to download to their computer, PDA, cell phone, or ebook
reading device.
Many also use digital technology to make some or all of their books
available in print. Ebooks are sold through the publisher's
website, the
online storefronts of ebook
distributors such as
Fictionwise, and, sometimes, online
booksellers (often with restrictions--Amazon, for instance, carries
ebooks only if they are formatted for its Kindle reader).
Epublishing can be an attractive alternative for new writers
frustrated by the difficulty of breaking
into the print market. Some--though by no means all--epublishers have higher
acceptance rates than commercial print publishers, and offbeat
books that don't fit established genre categories, or are
longer or shorter than a print publisher might like, may more easily
find a home with an epublisher,
which can be more flexible in its guidelines. For the most established
epublishers, in the most popular ebook genres (romance, especially
paranormal and erotica), a successful ebook can be a stepping stone to
commercial print publication.
For established writers, epublishing can be a way of keeping
out-of-print books in circulation. It can also be a market for authors
wanting
to write in
genres or on subjects that don't interest
their print publishers, or who want to test-market a new focus or
direction. And for some authors, success with a reputable epublisher
can help re-launch a stalled career.
Also attractive to many writers is the fact that epublishers may
allow a greater say in the editing and
packaging of their books. Epublishers' turnaround times can be
shorter--while
it can take well over a year for a print publisher to consider an
unagented submission or to bring a book to
market, many epublishers are able to respond and publish
in a matter of months (though many of the better-established
epublishers are as flush
with submissions as their print counterparts, and have similarly
lengthy
response and publication timeframes).
While epublishers don't typically pay advances, royalties for
ebooks are usually a good deal higher than for print books--30%, 40%,
even 50% of list price, as opposed to 8-15% for print
publishers. And
ebooks offer flexibility
in regard to format, as well as the possibility of combining graphics,
sound, and various interactivity options
with the text.
Still, there are some issues to consider if you're thinking of
epublishing.
- Limited audience. Despite steady
annual sales growth (the International Digital Publishing Forum
provides statistics)
and excitement over the potential of new ebook reading devices such as
the Amazon
Kindle and the Sony Reader,
ebooks
remain a niche market--according to this
2008 article on the impact of
the Kindle by Hillell Italie of the Associated Press, less than 1%
of the total book market. Even in the genres that are most popular
among
ebook audiences, print books still outsell
ebooks by a sizeable margin.
A number of factors contribute to this. The plethora of competing
electronic formats and proprietary ebook reading devices is confusing,
and all delivery
methods have frequently-cited disadvantages--people don't like reading
from computer screens; PDA or cell phone screens are too
small; ebook readers are too expensive. Cost can be a
problem--most users feel that ebooks should be cheaper
than their print counterparts, but they're often priced as high or
higher, especially those from commercial publishers. And the things
that appeal
to technology enthusiasts, such as portability and storage capacity,
still haven't won over the the majority of readers.
The audience for ebooks has expanded enormously over the past few
years, and it seems likely that it will
continue to do so (though this post on the
future of epublishing from the Dear Author blog, which keeps a
sharp eye on the ebook world, suggests that in some areas, it may have
topped out). For now, however, authors
considering epublication should be aware that they're launching
themselves into a limited field.
- Limited exposure and availability.
While some of the major industry review venues
will consider reviewing ebooks, most still won't. Ebooks are mainly
reviewed online by bloggers and specialized ebook review websites. Nor
have brick-and-mortar
bookstores (where the majority of the bookbuying public still does its
purchasing) yet shown interest in making ebooks available. And
library availability remains concentrated on electronic versions of
books
from commercial print publishers.
Change is afoot in the more
popular segments of the ebook market. A few of the more established
romance-focused epublishers have been able to obtain big-chain
bookstore
distribution for the titles they take to print. In most cases, however,
ebooks from independent epublishers--even where a print option is
offered--are
bought, reviewed, and publicized exclusively online.
- Small sales. This is the logical
corollary to the above. Despite consistently rising numbers,
sales of the average ebook still aren't comparable
to print sales. For lesser-known authors and smaller epublishers, sales
may never rise above two or three digits. Of course, there are ebooks
that do
much better--the bigger romance-focused epublishers regularly rack up
sales figures comparable to print. Outside of those publishers and that
genre,
however, most authors can expect substantially lower figures.
- Lack of stability. Since epublishing doesn't involve
print runs or inventory, it's very easy for would-be epublishers to set
themselves up in business on shoestring budgets, regardless of whether
they have any prior experience with epublishing (or publishing of any
sort). The result is an enormous number of amateur
epublishers, staffed by unqualified people who have
limited ability to select
and edit, never mind market and distribute, their books.
Beyond quality
issues, such publishers have problems with longevity, sometimes
opening up and closing down in a matter of months (more on that below).
Logistical problems or understaffing may produce long delays and other
inefficiencies, and inexperience may result in poor contracts and
questionable business practices. The wise writer will carefully
research any epublisher s/he approaches, and avoid brand-new startups.
- Lack of professional credit.
Epublishers have proved their staying power over the past few
years. Beyond the
romance genre, however, where some epublishers have
achieved mainstream
respect, the commercial publishing world still has
a tendency to discount or devalue epublishers and their
authors. There's a perception that epublishers' staff have little
"real"
publishing experience, that editorial standards are looser, and that
epublishing
is "easier." Epublishers are seen by many as a home for authors who
couldn't make the print
publishing grade.
The issue of credibility is a touchy one among ebook enthusiasts and
epublished authors, and people who discuss it are often accused of
bias.
Bias or not, the perception of ebooks as a "lesser" market is a
reality. If you're
considering epublishing in a genre other than romance, you
need to be aware that not everyone will be willing to
regard your epublished book as a professional
credential.
- Less marketing. Professional epublishers market
their titles--advertising, issuing press
releases, sending out review copies, attending conventions and book
fairs, purchasing ads in genre magazines. But like all independent
publishers, they have limited budgets
for publicity. An epublished
author must bear much of the responsibility for marketing and
promotion.
- No advances. The majority of
epublishers don't pay author
advances. Many writers feel that payment
of an advance is a minimum professional standard, since it gives the
publisher a financial stake in the success
of the book, and therefore a greater incentive to move it into the
hands of readers. Higher royalties, which are
often presented to authors as a way of making up for the lack of
advances,
don't mean much if there are few sales.
- Rights issues. Some epublishers take electronic
rights only, theoretically leaving writers free to separately pursue
print publication. However, commercial publishers typically want to
purchase electronic rights along with print rights. If your
electronic rights are tied
up with an epublisher, it may put the print market out of reach as
well.
Evaluating
an Epublisher
As noted above, epublishers run the gamut from
very amateurish to
very professional. Some tips to help you judge:
- Is there a fee? Like reputable print
publishers, reputable
epublishers don't charge fees, whether for
reading, editing, setup, copyright registration, or anything else. A
publisher that charges a fee or requires you to buy something as a
condition of publication is either a vanity
publisher or a self-publishing service, no matter what its claims to
the contrary.
- What's the website like? Is it
professionally designed and
easy to navigate? Is the text well-written
and formatted? Do the links work? The website is the publisher's
business face, and should reflect a commitment
to professionalism. If a publisher isn't capable, or doesn't care
enough, to create an attractive website free
of typos, grammatical errors, and the like, what kind of books will it
produce? On the other hand, a glitzy website
is not a guarantee of quality.
- What are the staff's credentials?
Do they have publishing, editing, or marketing experience? If not,
how does their experience dovetail with publishing and bookselling? Be
wary of publishers that don't provide this information on their
websites.
- How long has the publisher been in
business? If it has been around for a year or more and has a
good-size
backlist, it's a better bet than a brand-new startup. There's a very
high attrition rate for new electronic publishers,
some of which go out of business without ever managing to publish
anything. (2007 was a particularly volatile year in that regard--this
post from the Dear Author blog gives a partial recap). This can be
a huge problem for authors, who
may have trouble getting their rights back, or find their rights passed
on to third parties without permission.
For a more in-depth look at why it's a good idea to avoid brand-new
publishers, see this
post from Writer Beware's blog.
- Are there any complaints about the
publisher or its staff? Do
some research to find out. A websearch on the publisher's name will
sometimes turn up information--often on authors' websites or in their
blogs. Or contact Writer Beware.
We'll tell you if we've gotten any negative reports.
Don't skip this step. Some epublishers that fail under one name start
up again almost
immediately under another; and staff who leave epublishers under
questionable circumstances frequently start their own publishing
enterprises. Here's just one
recent example: a publisher that fell apart under accusations of
nonpayment and other problems, and whose owner, using a different
surname, started a new epublishing company just a few months later.
It's a very, very
good idea to do some digging into an epublisher's business background
so you
can be reasonably sure it doesn't have a seamy
past.
- Are other writers happy with the
publisher? Contact a few of them, and ask.
- What's the contract like? Many
epublishers post their
contracts on their websites, so you can assess
them in advance. The best contracts ask only for digital rights
(electronic and POD), and
take them for a limited time (1-3 years).
Be wary of a publisher that tries to take
subsidiary rights it hasn't shown any ability to sell, or claims a
financial interest in those rights if you sell
them yourself, or requires you to pay some sort of fee or penalty if
you exercise a termination option. Watch out also for bad royalty
clauses: for instance, publishers that pay on net profit rather than
list price or net income.
EPIC, an association for electronically-published authors, has a
helpful list of contract
clauses to watch out for.
- What's the product like? Order a
couple of the publisher's books. Are they of good
quality? Professionally presented? How's the cover art? Do they show
signs of having been edited? Have they been
proofread? What's the caliber of the writing? Bad, poorly formatted,
and/or sloppily-edited books do not encourage
readers to return and do more buying. Ditto for overly-complicated
ordering procedures.
- What formats are available?
Different people not only have different preferences, but use different
equipment. Avoid epublishers that offer books only in their own
proprietary formats--this will further limit an already limited
readership. Look for a publisher that offers as wide a variety of
electronic formats as possible.
- What about print? Many
epublishers offer a print option (though be aware that some charge a
setup fee to authors who choose it) or have certain criteria (such as
sales threshholds) for taking ebooks to print. In the spirit of
offering readers as many formats as possible, print makes sense--but
there
doesn't seem to be any clear consensus on how much, or whether, having
your ebook available in print may help with sales and/or exposure. See these
interviews with a pair of successful epublishers, posted on the
Dear Author blog, for an interesting discussion of this issue.
- What's the royalty percentage?
Like print publishers,
electronic publishers have fixed costs. But it's
less expensive to store a book on disk and make it available on an
order-by-order basis than it is to print, warehouse,
and ship it in the traditional manner. Royalties, therefore, should be
proportionately higher--20-40%--and, ideally, should be calculated on
the book's download or retail price,
rather than the publisher's net income.
- Are the books reasonably priced?
It's a challenge to sell ebooks to begin with; unrealistically high
prices will make it even more difficult. In industry surveys, book
buyers consistently cite high prices as a major reason for not
purchasing
ebooks.
- How does the publisher market itself
and its titles? As
noted above, ebook authors are expected to shoulder a lot of the
responsibility for marketing, but a professional epublisher will also
actively promote its books--for instance, investing in some form of
meaningful
advertising to attract readers to its site, sending out press
releases and advance reading copies, and attending conventions and book
fairs.
- What about distribution? Wider
exposure means more
sales. Look for an epublisher that sells its books not
just
on its own website, but through ebook distributors like
Fictionwise.
- How forthcoming is the publisher?
A reputable publisher
should be willing to answer your questions about
things like sales figures and formats, give references, make its
contract available for your review, and in general
to provide information about itself and its publications (preferably on
its website). If you
encounter vagueness or resistance, be wary. Again, be careful of
publishers that don't provide any information about staff.
Electronic
Magazines
Like
electronic publishers, electronic magazines are legion. Some are
serious efforts
to take advantage of new technology. These ezines are run by
professionals, and are comparable in quality to good
print magazines. But many are of a lesser (often a much, much lesser)
quality. This is something that should be
carefully considered by writers looking to build a track
record. Not all publishing credits are equal.
Writers considering the ezine market should be especially careful
about contracts and rights issues. Many ezines
don't offer contracts at all, which allows them a lot of leeway for
borderline activities--for instance, publishing
stories
or articles without letting the authors know, editing and changing work
without the author's approval, anthologizing the author's work
without getting authorization.
You're best protected against problems if you take care to submit only
to ezines that offer contracts, have already published
a number of regular issues, and appear to be professionally formatted
and edited. Avoid startups (they tend to go out of business without
warning), and be wary of calls for submissions that
are posted on Usenet or at online marketplaces like Craigslist,
unless you can verify that the people involved have previous experience.
If you publish online, you also--unfortunately--need to worry about
piracy. Plenty of Internet users believe that
online content is there for free use by anyone, and online
material isn't protected by
copyright. There are various ways you can protect
yourself, as well as steps you can take if you find
your work has been stolen; see the link below.
Be aware that most ezines are as sensitive about first electronic
rights as print publications are about first
rights in general. If your piece has previously appeared anywhere on
the Internet, many ezines won't want it, or will
accept it only as a reprint. (Password-protected display or critique
sites, such as those run by various writers' groups, are usually an
exception, since the work there isn't visible to the general public.)
|
