Music and get-togethers this Advent: https://vijayabodach.blogspot.com/2024/12/advent.html

I think the problem with paperback sales stems from asking the wrong question. It's not how can we sell more, it's why do people want them in the first place?

Lots of readers prefer print books to ebooks bc the text is more easily accessible - flipping pages beats fiddling w/a screen and it's more fun, espec for the chance discovery of some new interesting text.  The question ought to be:  why don't indies routinely publish paper alongside their ebooks to expand their market reach?     

Got my threads mixed up so...oops!   

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I think the problem with paperback sales stems from asking the wrong question. It's not how can we sell more, it's why do people want them in the first place? Once upon a time I'd buy them in drug stores. They were everywhere as a matter of convenience. We had no other choice. But now they are an alternative reading option largely for an older demographic. Why? Is it nostalgia? They keep them? There's a reason readers select a physical thing over a virtual thing.

Figure this out and you'll be able to sell more paperbacks because you'll be able to target your messaging. And we can't go by traditional publishing because they have a completely different distribution channel that we do not have access to - like airports. Indies are not Random House.

The old self-publishing business models will continue to fail. We need to understand how the game has changed because it has. And then we need to get back to work, persevere and hope for some luck.

LOL Even with the hard cap they seem to spend more. But yeah, setting a limit is absolutely necessary with them. And at least you don't run into something like with AMS and a surprise 1,000 clicks (and no sales).

I keep meaning to start it, but I never seem to remember it when I sit to watch tv.