Have Your Book Buying Or Reading Habits Changed?

I’ve been selling my print mystery novels at farmers markets and craft fairs this summer. It’s one of my favorite things to do as I inevitably have interesting conversations with people who stop to chat about books.

I started selling books through different types of craft fairs six years ago, and I’ve noticed an interesting change in book buying and reading habits. Three and four years ago, a small percentage of customers were asking if my books were available as ebooks, which they were at that time. (Not all of them are at the moment, but that’s another story). Happily, I handed out a bookmark or business card with my website or my publishers’ website with ordering information. I don’t know how many sales this generated, but I imagine there were a few.

Since last Christmas, (always a big sales time for me) I’ve noticed a distinct drop in the number of people asking about ebooks. My print sales are as strong as ever, and I’ve also had people ask if my books were available in audio format (not at this time, no.)

A number of folks have told me that they used to read ebooks, but now prefer print again. There’s something about the smell of a new book, the act of turning a page, and of course there’s been lots of media coverage about lousy sleeps if you read a backlit screen before bed.

Ebooks have not only changed book buying habits and the way we read but, in some ways, I think they’ve also had an impact on our commitment to reading. One thing I’ve also noticed in myself, friends, and colleagues, not to mention numerous blogs on the topic, is that the books we download aren’t necessarily read.

One reason might be the sheer volume of inexpensive books we’re downloading. The other reason is that the vast majority of books I download, for example, are by unknown authors. If I don’t like the opening chapter, I’m far less likely to continue reading with a free or inexpensive book than I would have if I’d invested ten bucks or more on a print book.

A recent blog in Digital Book World discusses eight reasons why people by books. And while it doesn’t compare buying habits from earlier years, it does offer several insights. One of these is that there are books that sell well but are not read. Sometimes, the buyer feels social pressure to read, other times they simply want the book around to show that they are well-read people.

These days, I prefer a mix of print and ebooks. I love reading print books before bed, but as someone who also reads a lot away from home, an ebook is simply easier to carry around in my purse. I read many more unknown authors than I used to, thanks to my ebooks, but I also spend less money buying books.

A sign of the times, perhaps? Or just practicality as I approach retirement age and realize that I’ll be downsizing my home sooner rather than later. Habits change. Preferences change. Technology changes, and one’s own needs change. Book buying and reading habits certainly reflect this.

Debra

Do You Sell Paperbacks Through Amazon Anymore?

A curious thing happened last week. Amazon sent an order request for one copy of my oldest mystery novel, Taxed to Death. It was the first print order in two years. Given that I published the book nearly two decades ago, I’ve done zero promotion for this book in recent years. Working on the Casey Holland series with my current publisher takes up all the time I have. So, even though the book isn’t an e-book (that’s another story), I was surprised to see the order. It was also funny to see my ranking drop from about 5 million, to 700,000 with one sale, but that also is another issue. Anyhow, this out-of-the-blue order got me thinking, why now? It’s possible that someone came across the title during tax season, and wanted to read something more fun than income tax guidelines. Who knows?

When the sequel to Fatal Encryption was released in 2008, I got involved with social media and took part in a number of Amazon forums for independently published authors. My posts resulted in a few paperback sales for both titles. But then the e-book revolution took hold. To no surprise, paperback copies of my books stopped selling. By 2011, I’d left the Amazon forums to focus on the Casey Holland series. Writing and publishing one book a year has left little time for social networking.

Yesterday, I checked the rankings of all five of my titles and found that the paperback versions of the second two Casey Holland mysteries have never sold on Amazon. But since I’m a Canadian author with a Canadian story, the book does sell through Canadian stores and Kobo, so I’m not complaining. Like most people, I’m buying a lot fewer paperbacks than I used to. Also, it costs me quite a bit to mail a book from Canada to Amazon’s warehouse. Since Amazon expects a 55% discount, I’m actually losing money with sales. So, you see why I’m not complaining? They also want me to keep at least one copy of my books in their warehouse, otherwise they’ll list the book as out of print. You may ask, why not go out of print where Amazon is concerned? Well, I’m planning to add more self-published titles in the future, and some of them may involve the further exploits of young intrepid tax auditor, Alex Bellamy.

I’ve read occasional posts on other forums about dwindling paperback sales, so I’m curious about the sales of other authors, especially those from Americans who either publish independently or with smaller publishing houses. Have your paperback sales noticeably dwindled over the past five years? Do you notice a bump in sales if you start promoting your paperbacks?

A few months ago, I blogged about a survey which revealed that about 70% of all books sold are paperbacks, however I’m not sure if this applies to mysteries. As for paperbacks in general, do you think most paperback sales are generated from the titles of well known authors? Let’s discuss.

Do Print Books Still Sell?

What sells, what doesn’t; what works, what doesn’t? I’ve been pondering these issues a fair bit, as I’ve had a number of interesting discussions with fiction writers over the past month who are both self-published and traditionally published, and who sell print and/or ebooks. Clearly, many authors are still looking for the most efficient and productive means to sell books, and while technology and ebooks have certainly evened the playing field in terms of visibility and promotion opportunities for authors, the reality is that about 90% of the fiction listings on amazon probably far sell less than a hundred print copies. Some of the reasons for this are poor attempts at promotion, no reviews, a poorly written book, and the fact that amazon carries millions of titles. But what about the author who promotes everyday, garners a few good reviews, and has written a fine book?

I don’t have all the answers, but here’s what I and others have noticed from our experiences. First, if you want to sell print copies of your novel, then a lot of really good reviews from established reviewers can help. The reviewers don’t have to be connected to newspapers. There are some credible, online reviewers. If even one of them likes your book and posts their review on several different blogs, forums, and websites, this can help boost your sales, or so it did for me in both print and electronic formats.

Second, if you want to sell more print copies, I recommend getting out there and meeting book buyers. Arrange bookstore meet and greets, and attend book festivals; even certain craft markets can be good venues. Two events I took part in this fall sold more print copies than they had in three years of selling through amazon. In fact, when I look at my stats over the past five years, the more events I took part in, the more books I sold that year. Not every event resulted in sales, but 75% of them did. On the other hand, social networking does not generate sales 75% of the time for me, although it has helped with ebook sales.

The bottom line is that a good book, word of mouth, and participation are still effective selling tools. As far as print fiction goes, I don’t see technological advances changing the tried and true methods anytime soon.

My Alex Bellamy mysteries can be purchased at
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n