Authors know that the market is saturated
with books more than ever. This is great news for us readers, but I’m also a
writer. Lately, it feels like the climb toward financial success is a little
steeper every year. For many of us, the quest to become even noticed is
daunting. Over recent months, indie authors are joining the lament of
traditionally published authors in the slowing of sales and diminishing income.
Mark Coker of Smashwords tells us why this is happening and how to succeed in
the future.
Coker states that there is a glut of
low-priced, high-quality ebooks on the market. He specifically uses the word quality, making it clear that there’s an
even larger tsunami of drek out there. His point is that a growing number of
good writers have turned their backs on contract offers to self-publish. He
could be right in stating that the supply of ebooks is outstripping the demand.
Sure, Kindles and other devices can load thousands of books for a lifetime of
happy reading, but there are hundreds of thousands of new books being published
every year!
After explaining other factors in the ebook
slowdown, Coker lists twenty points for succeeding in today’s market. Really,
none of his points are new to building a successful career. They are simply
reminders of the importance of thinking long-term, writing better books,
diversifying, having a plan, networking, and treating publishing like a
business. But will many writers follow his advice?
Let’s face it life has never been profitable
for most authors. These times merely represent another version of what writers
from previous decades struggled with all their lives. Sure, you can now
publish a book without ever physically touching it, and have access to
promoting strategies that weren’t available twenty years ago. But it’s still an
uphill battle. I suspect it always will be. There is no magic bullet to
financial success for writers, but I do recommend that you read his blog. Reminders are important too.
