Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America

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SFWA

ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING

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Links checked/Page updated: 2/18/10



Issues to Consider

Electronic publishers offer books in a variety of electronic formats for readers to download to their computers, cell phones,  ebook readers, or other devices. 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, and, sometimes, online booksellers (often with restrictions–Amazon, for instance, carries ebooks only if they are formatted for its Kindle reader).

Epublishing can be attractive for writers who are looking to establish themselves in the most popular ebook genres (romance and erotica). A successful ebook with one of the larger genre epublishers can be a stepping stone to commercial print publication. And for new writers frustrated by the difficulty of breaking into the print market, epublishing offers an alternative. You don’t need a literary agent to submit to an epublisher, 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 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% of list price, as opposed to 6-15% for commercial 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. Ebooks are currently the fastest-growing segment of the book market (the International Digital Publishing Forum provides statistics). But even with this explosive growth, and the flood of new ereaders that have hit the market in the past year, ebooks are still a tiny piece of the overall book market. The Association of American publishers pegs 2009 ebook sales at just over 3% of overall trade book sales. According to Bowker, it’s even less: under 2%. Even in the most popular ebook genre, romance, ebooks account for only around 5% of sales.

    There’s no doubt that ebooks will continue to increase their market share in coming years. For the moment, however, authors considering epublishing need to 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 by bloggers and specialized ebook review websites. Nor, apart from Barnes & Noble with its Nook ereader, have most brick-and-mortar bookstores yet shown much interest in making ebooks available for purchas– though in the more popular segments of the ebook market, some of the larger independent epublishers have been able to obtain big-chain bookstore distribution for the titles they take to print. In most cases, ebooks 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 commercial 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–popular authors with the bigger romance-focused epublishers regularly rack up sales figures in the thousands. 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, the books they publish.

    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 decade or so. But the commercial publishing world still has a tendency to discount or devalue epublishers and their authors–even in the romance genre, where some epublishers have achieved mainstream respect. 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. (For an overview of some of the misconceptions about epublishers and epublishing, see this blog post from editor Angela James.)

    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 and promotion. Professional epublishers do market and promote 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. Like small print presses, the majority of epublishers don’t pay author advances. Many writers and writers’ groups 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 as a way of making up for the lack of advances, don’t mean much if there are few sales.
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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 one 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? For a long time, the best e-contract was one that claimed only digital rights (electronic and POD) for a limited time (1-3 years). That’s still the kind of contract most favorable to authors, but the publishing world is always changing, and some of the larger epublishers have begun claiming various subsidiary rights along with digital rights, and a few have life-of-copyright grant terms.

    Be wary of a small epublisher that demands a range of 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 (a.k.a. a kill fee–for why these are bad, see this post from Writer Beware’s blog), or offers a limited-term contract with an automatic renewal clause that makes it difficult for you to cancel. Watch out also for bad royalty clauses: for instance, publishers that pay on net profit rather than list price or net income, or that pay less than 7% of list for print sales, or reduce royalties for sales from third-party distributors such as Fictionwise.

    EPIC, an association for electronically-published authors, has a helpful list of contract clauses to watch out for. See also this comprehensive blog post on issues to be aware of in digital publishing contracts, from editor Angela James.

  • 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 for more. 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, either on its own or through a third-party distributor such as Fictionwise.

  • What about print? Many epublishers offer a print option (though beware of those that 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 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. Ebook royalties, therefore, should be proportionately higher–30-40%–and, ideally, should be calculated on the book’s list price, rather than the publisher’s net income.

    Be aware that third party e-distributors such as Fictionwise keep a hefty percentage of the sales price–anywhere from 30-60%–so for third party sales, it’s likely that your royalty will be calculated not on list price, but on what the publisher actually receives from the distributor. A good question to ask an epublisher you’re considering is what percentage of its sales, on average, come from third party distributors

    If the publisher also prints books, the royalty rate will probably be lower, but shouldn’t be less than what print publishers pay for trade paperback books–7%-10% of list.

  • Are the books reasonably priced? It’s a challenge to sell ebooks to begin with; unrealistically high prices will make it even more difficult. Do some comparisons to make sure the epublisher you’re considering prices its books competitively.

  • How does the publisher market and promote itself and its titles? As noted above, ebook authors are expected to shoulder a lot of the responsibility for marketing and promotion, but a professional epublisher will also actively support 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 third-party distributors like Fictionwise.

  • What about sales? Sales figures aren’t easy to come by (one thing that all publishers share–large or small, electronic or print–is their reluctance to divulge sales information), but if you can find it, you’ll have a better idea of what you can expect from the publisher. A websearch may turn up message board posts from authors who discuss their sales. If you write erotica, the Erotic Romance Epublisher Comparison Site (EREC) keeps track of sales data.

  • 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.
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Links

Finding an Epublisher and Checking Reputations

  • Mary Wolf’s Guide to Electronic Publishers provides links to many epublishers.

  • Another big list of epublishers from Lida Quillen.

  • Successful novelist Piers Anthony maintains an internet publishing resource that lists and describes electronic and digital publishers, and flags those that have problems or are the focus of complaints.

  • The Erotic Romance Epublisher Comparison Site (EREC) provides lots of information, including epublisher listings, sales figures, and an informative blog.

  • The Dear Author blog covers the romance industry, and frequently provides news and updates on epublishers and epublishing.

  • E-mail Writer Beware. SFWA has assembled a large archive of documentation on publishers that engage in questionable practices. Send us the names of any epublishers you’d like to know about, and we’ll summarize for you any data that’s in our files. If we have no information on a publisher, we’ll let you know that too.

  • Preditors and Editors provides lists of agents and publishers, with “not recommended” notations to indicate those that charge fees or engage in other abuses.

  • Another good spot to research the reputation of epublishers: the Bewares and Background Check area of the Absolute Write Water Cooler. Check the index to see if the publisher you’re interested in has already been discussed.

  • Google Groups is a searchable database of Usenet newsgroups, with message archives dating back to 1981. Writers often post publisher questions or complaints to Usenet. If you’re uncertain about an epublisher, do a search on its name here to see what you find.

  • From editor Angela James, suggestions on how to choose an epublisher.

  • From Dear Author: detailed information on what to look for in an epublisher.

  • More excellent advice on how to evaluate an epublisher, from writer Stacia Kane.

  • Also from Stacia Kane, tips on how to use the resources above to check out a publisher’s reputation.

General Resources

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