Chronicles of an aspiring author: Digital Publication
- By Emily Kieson
- Published Sunday 2nd 2007
Emily Kieson
Emily currently lives in Austin TX and spends most of her time writing and enjoying the weather. She loves to write stories and screenplays for all ages. When she's not writing, Emily is teaching horseback riding, working as a vet tech, or painting.
I recently wrote an article about the Kindle: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device
and Sony Reader as new ways for readers to access literature and periodicals without the need for a book. What I didn't mention is that Kindle also offers writers the ability to digitally publish their work and offer it as Kindle downloads through Amazon. View the page here
For authors like myself who have been beating down doors of agents and editors for years, this provides an opportunity to introduce our work to a growing market of technologically advanced reading devices. Since all of the websites I have visited are sold out of both the Kindle and the Sony Reader, I can only assume that demand is high (either that or the marketing teams have devised a brilliant mirage of demand to create demand) and owners of these devices will be looking for new material to download into their new toys.
Notice I did not say "read". Like most other technologies, the Kindle and Sony Reader offer readers the ability to purchase and download material without
it taking up any physical space. Tangible books, on the other hand, require actual space on bookshelves and desks and come with mass and weight that often cause individuals to leave books at home due to the limited space in luggage or totes. These digital readers, on the other hand, allow individuals to carry hundreds of books all at once without actually taking up anymore physical space than the reader.
This sounds great for the reader, but it's also great for the author. This means that owners of the Kindle or Sony Reader will most likely purchase books they might not otherwise purchase simply to have the option of reading them. That and, like owners of other digital media devices, they want to take advantage of the device and fill the memory with downloads, whether or not they plan to use them.
For example, ipod owners have to justify their purchase, even though they may have purchased the small device to listen to only one album. They need to defend their need to have 2GB of memory so they begin filling it with songs they might someday want to hear. Or they'll spend $0.99 here or there to download a song someone thought they might like. It doesn't take up any more space, but provides them with justification for their ipod purchase.
Same for the Kindle. Individuals may purchase the Kindle simply to read the morning news, but, since added books won't take up much more space, they will purchase and download books that they might someday decide to read.
I'm certainly tempted to sell my novel through Amazon just to see what happens. According to Amazon, if an author decides to sell their book to Kindle owners, Amazon keeps 65% of the profit and retains the exclusive right to digital distribution of that particular book. Considering the standard fees and royalties with traditional publishers and agents, this is actually really good. Authors keep 35% of the profits. Not bad.
Maybe I should start writing my acknowledgments page...
and Sony Reader as new ways for readers to access literature and periodicals without the need for a book. What I didn't mention is that Kindle also offers writers the ability to digitally publish their work and offer it as Kindle downloads through Amazon. View the page hereFor authors like myself who have been beating down doors of agents and editors for years, this provides an opportunity to introduce our work to a growing market of technologically advanced reading devices. Since all of the websites I have visited are sold out of both the Kindle and the Sony Reader, I can only assume that demand is high (either that or the marketing teams have devised a brilliant mirage of demand to create demand) and owners of these devices will be looking for new material to download into their new toys.
Notice I did not say "read". Like most other technologies, the Kindle and Sony Reader offer readers the ability to purchase and download material without
This sounds great for the reader, but it's also great for the author. This means that owners of the Kindle or Sony Reader will most likely purchase books they might not otherwise purchase simply to have the option of reading them. That and, like owners of other digital media devices, they want to take advantage of the device and fill the memory with downloads, whether or not they plan to use them.
For example, ipod owners have to justify their purchase, even though they may have purchased the small device to listen to only one album. They need to defend their need to have 2GB of memory so they begin filling it with songs they might someday want to hear. Or they'll spend $0.99 here or there to download a song someone thought they might like. It doesn't take up any more space, but provides them with justification for their ipod purchase.
Same for the Kindle. Individuals may purchase the Kindle simply to read the morning news, but, since added books won't take up much more space, they will purchase and download books that they might someday decide to read.
I'm certainly tempted to sell my novel through Amazon just to see what happens. According to Amazon, if an author decides to sell their book to Kindle owners, Amazon keeps 65% of the profit and retains the exclusive right to digital distribution of that particular book. Considering the standard fees and royalties with traditional publishers and agents, this is actually really good. Authors keep 35% of the profits. Not bad.
Maybe I should start writing my acknowledgments page...
