First Word

When considering whether you should do just an eBook or a combined eBook print run, here are some considerations to weigh in your decision-making process. Are you a first-time author without a following or platform ? Releasing your first book as an eBook and selling it for free or $2.99 or less will built a following for your next book. You can begin to build your platform and create a following. Are you writing a book series ? Again, an eBook enables you to build that important following without spending a bundle to produce the book. You can release the first book for a lower price or for free and then increase the price on the next one. Are you a first-time author who can't get a publisher's attention? You can produce your ebook for a lower price and release it to build interest and create a built-in audience for you to prove your value if you opt to go traditional on the next book.

The representative from Smashwords visited our amazing Writers Who Mean Business meeting and shared his well-earned wisdom on the eBook market. An important point came out about pricing your eBook higher or lower. He noted that at the price point of $2.99 versus $9.99 that the quantity of sales at the higher price point was much lower. Yes, he conceded you make more money but you sell fewer books. At the lower price point you sell more copies at a lower price, but in selling more copies, it comes out the same price-wise, but you have reached more readers, and over time more readers creates a snowball effect. They tell their friends -- and you continue to build an all-important following. You earn the same amount of sales or perhaps more as word of mouth spreads, and if you end up with a solid following (aka fans), you can increase your price point on the second or even third book. You can also create a solid following by selling the first book in your series for free and then when you...

eBooks are slowly emerging on the publishing scene as a viable, less expensive means to publish your book. The risk of losing money with eBooks is much less than print publishing, as the costs are considerably less. In working with a hybrid publisher such as 3L Publishing , the author's self-investment in his or her book is much less and much less risky. While the investment in the editing and book production is about the same, the cost to pay for printing is much less. You pay a one-time eBook conversion fee -- and we do the rest. Unlike printing, you convert your book once and then reap the rewards. We like to suggest authors do shorter digital print runs and print up 100-300 copies at an average cost of $2-$3 a book vs. $5-$7 for print on demand (think Lulu or Lightspeed). Then focus on the eBook channel. If the print version sells better than the eBook version, it makes sense to focus on the print media. Otherwise, if the eBook version sells best, authors can count on larger ov...

Most authors have big dreams about receiving a major advance and winning the lotto big time with their best-selling book. It's a nice dream, right? Well in today's ever-changing publishing world, you now have many options to chose from, but realize that hitting the NY Times Best Seller list is just as difficult as it is to win Lotto no matter what method you chose. I thought I would take a moment to distill three important things every author should know about going the traditional publishing route: 1. You have to get an agent -- and that is just the first layer of qualification. It can be quick and easy to get a literary agent or it can be just as tough as getting a publisher. You might be weeks or months away from getting an agent. 2. Once you get an agent, you're still playing the time game -- the agent then has to shop your manuscript to the publishing houses. This is a game of waiting for one person to read and vet and pass to the next person to read or vet. Then...