This is something I've been wondering about for a while, and I've never seen it discussed here.
From a pure marketing perspective, I like the idea of compiling books and selling, say, the first three in a series, as one unit. I see a lot of people on here who do just that, and I can see how it makes sense on a number of levels.
HOWEVER:
This is what concerns me, and I was wondering if anyone else has considered this. The number one goal for most people trying to sell a decent number of units is to get on (and stay on) bestseller lists. Let's say you have a book selling 60-80 copies a day. That's enough to keep you on the first page of a sub-genre list like space opera most of the time. But if you sell the book singly and as part of a compilation, my concern is you could split those sales. Two books selling 30-40 would probably both fall off the first page, which could lead to a continuing process of less exposure, fewer sales, further erosion in chart position.
I see the sense of doing a compilation on something like Wool, which has seen such enormous success and exposure that it can maintain its position no matter what. And I also see some sense in trying to breath life in old releases that have run their course to the point of falling hopelessly off of the charts. But I wonder about the unintended consequences of doing it with an active series that sees decent sales.
I'm curious what others think about this.
From a pure marketing perspective, I like the idea of compiling books and selling, say, the first three in a series, as one unit. I see a lot of people on here who do just that, and I can see how it makes sense on a number of levels.
HOWEVER:
This is what concerns me, and I was wondering if anyone else has considered this. The number one goal for most people trying to sell a decent number of units is to get on (and stay on) bestseller lists. Let's say you have a book selling 60-80 copies a day. That's enough to keep you on the first page of a sub-genre list like space opera most of the time. But if you sell the book singly and as part of a compilation, my concern is you could split those sales. Two books selling 30-40 would probably both fall off the first page, which could lead to a continuing process of less exposure, fewer sales, further erosion in chart position.
I see the sense of doing a compilation on something like Wool, which has seen such enormous success and exposure that it can maintain its position no matter what. And I also see some sense in trying to breath life in old releases that have run their course to the point of falling hopelessly off of the charts. But I wonder about the unintended consequences of doing it with an active series that sees decent sales.
I'm curious what others think about this.
