Just read this interesting article from agent Kristin Nelson's newsletter. She basically said that it's getting harder for self published books to be picked up by traditional publishers because the market gets tapped out:
For example, an attending agent highlighted that a St. Martin's editor was willing to go on record to explain exactly why her house will no longer buy indie authors who have self-published ebooks that have gone on to be wildly successful. St. Martin's claims their data shows that the ebook sales have already tapped out the market.
This wasn't a surprise to me; it's not the first time I've heard it. I've also heard that even if a publisher buys a successful indie title intending to publish a trade paperback edition, and even if they're willing to pay bookstore co-op, booksellers are reluctant to grant that title the physical retail space. They are simply turning down the co-op offer.
Without the support of booksellers, it's going to be difficult for a publisher to make such a buy a success.
I read the article as saying, when a publisher buys the print rights, they find that readers have already purchased the ebook and therefore won't purchase print--I don't think this is about them upping the price of pre-existing ebooks.HSh said:Well maybe if they didn't charge twice as much for the same book? :-/
Yeah, that's how I read it, too. And that's a bunch of crap. There are many readers who prefer the paperbacks (eek) over the e-books.bethrevis said:I read the article as saying, when a publisher buys the print rights, they find that readers have already purchased the ebook and therefore won't purchase print--I don't think this is about them upping the price of pre-existing ebooks.
But enough to sustain a major book deal?bobbic said:Yeah, that's how I read it, too. And that's a bunch of crap. There are many readers who prefer the paperbacks (eek) over the e-books.
Print only is the way I'm trying to go with my current publishers. The problem: $100M they've earned off me. Also, they've always hated that I went independent.Patty Jansen said:A lot of people in the industry are still assuming that the great unwashed body of self publishers is clamouring to be thrown scraps of a book deal from them. This is their loss, because many of us are no longer interested. I would be interested, though, in a print only deal.
Yes, exactly. They seem to be admitting that they don't even know how to sell books that have already proven popular with readers.NoahMullette-Gillman said:There are a lot of people in the world. If the publishers can't find a writer new customers which they couldn't reach on their own - then what's the point of them?
Not only that but many of those authors just seem to 'disappear'. They stop publishing or wait two years for their trad publisher to put product out and they disappear from the race even if they're still putting a book out occasionally.susan_illene said:What kills me is there have been several of my favorite indie authors who have sold their series to a NY publisher and then the new books were far more expensive and lacked that raw edge the previous ones had.
I've worked with nearly every one of the big SIX. Making it in the print market alone is nearly impossible for any publisher, including the big SIX publishers.LJ said:I took this to also mean that the e-book market had already been exhausted because of the book's pre-existing success there. So maybe the publisher was thinking that the print market alone wasn't worth it, to make the investment in the deal?
I still think there would be money to be made, even with that scenario. But if this is what St. Martin's is saying, maybe I'm wrong...
Thank you, Robert. This is so interesting. We're all aware of how fast the market is changing, but really, it's just fascinating watching this happen in real time.Robert Stanek said:I've worked with nearly every one of the big SIX. Making it in the print market alone is nearly impossible for any publisher, including the big SIX publishers.
I'm hopeful of getting more print-only deals though, as my books tend to sell well in translation, adaptation, and other rights outside the US.
That said, I don't think many publishers will admit how much they rely on non-print income to break even / make money.
Robert Stanek
I think a lot of people are missing this part, and it's important. If bookstores won't give the books space as a co-op, they won't sell nearly as well. Books need that space, and the push they get from being located in prime locations like the center aisle and near the cash register, to really move. And if they don't sell well enough to get on the bestseller list, publishers probably wouldn't consider them a good investment once the ebook market is already tapped out.This wasn't a surprise to me; it's not the first time I've heard it. I've also heard that even if a publisher buys a successful indie title intending to publish a trade paperback edition, and even if they're willing to pay bookstore co-op, booksellers are reluctant to grant that title the physical retail space. They are simply turning down the co-op offer.
Without the support of booksellers, it's going to be difficult for a publisher to make such a buy a success.
Fascinating and terrifying at the same time. It's been a rollercoaster and a whirlwind. Hard to even predict where we'll be a year from now.LJ said:Thank you, Robert. This is so interesting. We're all aware of how fast the market is changing, but really, it's just fascinating watching this happen in real time.
It was incredibly hard to get any of my independent books into stores in the early 2000s and the struggle hasn't gotten any easier. It's actually gotten harder.ShayneRutherford said:I think a lot of people are missing this part, and it's important. If bookstores won't give the books space as a co-op, they won't sell nearly as well. Books need that space, and the push they get from being located in prime locations like the center aisle and near the cash register, to really move. And if they don't sell well enough to get on the bestseller list, publishers probably wouldn't consider them a good investment once the ebook market is already tapped out.
Hastings. It is books, music and movies. Mostly rental movies.Robert Stanek said:It was incredibly hard to get any of my independent books into stores in the early 2000s and the struggle hasn't gotten any easier. It's actually gotten harder.
Given the current changes, I'm surprised there still are bookstores in the US. I think we might see a transition to mediastores: devices, books, and more.
Thanks!
Robert Stanek
We don't have Hastings around here, but I remember them. Pretty great I thought!cinisajoy said:Hastings. It is books, music and movies. Mostly rental movies.
That's my thought, too. I'm a lot more motivated to sell my books than a publisher would be since I've done all the work on them already.Patty Jansen said:A lot of people in the industry are still assuming that the great unwashed body of self publishers is clamouring to be thrown scraps of a book deal from them. This is their loss, because many of us are no longer interested. I would be interested, though, in a print only deal.
None of my favorite indies have been offered print contracts (that I know of!), but most of the indies I love wouldn't make it in the traditional publishing world: Nolander by Becca Mills, American Ghoul by Walt Morton, and the Unheralded King of Preston Plains by Jedah Mayberry defy the normal conventions. But they are the stories I've remembered the most over the past year. I doubt they would be picked up by the big six.What kills me is there have been several of my favorite indie authors who have sold their series to a NY publisher and then the new books were far more expensive and lacked that raw edge the previous ones had. Like the editors in that house forced them to change their writing so that it wasn't the same anymore. Not sure if others have noticed that, but it really saddened me since I loved that author's writing until that point.