Why do some successful KU authors not even bother publishing paperbacks?

[guest630]

.

[okey dokey]

Some authors do publish a few paperbacks to sell at book cons and book fairs.
Also, the higher price makes the ebook a great bargain.

But there are major problems with publishing paperbacks aimed at bookstores.
Authors tend to price the paperbacks too cheap and think that ending up with $2 or $3 profit is OK.
But they slowly go broke at that margin.

They have to pay shipping to the bookstores. The books are on consignment, which means they can be returned. Stores will order only a handful of copies at a time, thus adding to your shipping cost.
Royalties for sold books are held for 60 to 90 days, despite stores having a 30-day return policy the buyers.

So if you want some paperback copies, find a good Print On Demand (POD) book printer and only order a few copies at a time.
And despite what some book printers might tell you, a setup fee is not a standard practice. Book printing is a very competitive field and you can find some with no setup fee.

[guest642]

I noticed that a good number of very successful KU authors don't publish paperback KDP versions. These are new books that would not be affected by the Createspace closing and transfer woes. Is there a particular reason for this? Force all sales into ebooks instead of diluting out sales rank to the paperback version?

Too hard? Don't want to learn how to do it? Intimidated? In a genre where readers don't have the money/time/care to order and wait for a paperback copy (i.e. Romance) when they can just read everything with KU?

No idea. I make paperbacks of all my books, but it's an obligation to my readers only. I barely make $500 a month from it.

[Amanda M. Lee]

Isn't KDP print on demand easy to setup for selling on Amazon only? It takes an hour to format a PDF for KDP printing.

KU authors are locked into Amazon exclusivity, so there's no reason to accommodate physical bookstores or other services that require existing stock.

There's zero setup cost to use KDP's POD. Free ISBN, etc.

So if you are in KU, why not throw up the paperback version via KDP POD?

Exclusivity only affects ebooks, not print books. Some people don't want to bother with it because it's extra time and they sell very few copies.

[Lex]

I have paperback versions of all of my books, so I'm only guessing at why someone would decide not to.

I do all the formatting and cover design myself, so there's no cost to me but my time. And I sell enough paperbacks to make the effort worth it. That being said, the income from paperback sales ends up being about 5% or less of my earnings in a month.

If I were someone that had to pay for the more expensive cover package and the additional formatting required for a paperback, I can see how I might decide it isn't worth the cost. Especially if these are authors releasing a lot of books.

[Tom Wood]

It's my understanding that you (mostly) make a paperback version so Amazon will compare your (mostly lower) ebook's price to the paperback's list price and show buyers how much they are saving.

[Amanda M. Lee]

I make about 2K a month in paperbacks but that's like 1.3 percent of my take home. I do them for myself and to have them but they're so small on my scale of revenue sources it's almost laughable.

[Arches]

Exclusivity only affects ebooks, not print books. Some people don't want to bother with it because it's extra time and they sell very few copies.

Oh! Didn't realize that print wasn't exclusive.

Is print that bad for KU-style fiction? I've only done nonfiction so far, and print outsells ebooks in my niches. These authors are raking in 20K+ a month... I would have guessed they were leaving a few grand on the table, but I suppose that is chump change to some.

Amanda hit the nail on the head. I don't do it because I don't want the hassle of managing paper books and trying to get local bookstores to stock and restock them. I could sell paper books on Amazon only, but I'm always busy with other things that seem to be either more fun or more profitable, like writing the next book.

[guest215]

Ditto what was said before.

Formatting for print verisons costs money, and covers for print versions cost money. Even for those who do those things themselves, it costs time, which equals money. I keep thinking about dropping paperbacks and not doing them anymore. Updating the front and back matter is a drag, and not worth it. In the past, I've done the print version just because books used to look more "legitimate" if they had a print version, but I don't know that this is true anymore.

[Mark Gardner]

A friend of mine who has been a NYT best selling author for many, many years wanted my advice on producing a hardcover, since his big 5 publisher didn't want to do a hardcover. I laid out how easy it would be for him to self-publish the hardcover, and he basically decided that even with me holding his hand, that self-publishing would be a huge hassle. Despite the simplicity of producing quality paperbacks, there are still those that don't want the hassle.

[Superchaise]

A friend of mine who has been a NYT best selling author for many, many years wanted my advice on producing a hardcover, since his big 5 publisher didn't want to do a hardcover. I laid out how easy it would be for him to self-publish the hardcover, and he basically decided that even with me holding his hand, that self-publishing would be a huge hassle. Despite the simplicity of producing quality paperbacks, there are still those that don't want the hassle.

*snipped image of books*

I'm coming out of my lurking place to say, wow, those are gorgeous! Congratulations.

[guest120]

Never say never, but I don't plan on publishing physical copies because I'm estimating the ROI wouldn't be high enough relative to the required time/effort, etc.

[veinglory]

A lot of popular ebooks are also a bit short for paperbacks.  They might be over the minimum but readers don't like books that look more like pamphlets.

[dgcasey]

So if you want some paperback copies, find a good Print On Demand (POD) book printer and only order a few copies at a time.

Or just go ahead and use KDP to print your paperbacks. When you decide you need to order some for a book fair or con, just order author copies from KDP. Their quality is as good as CS ever was and they seem to be pretty damn quick about it. Something CS definitely was NOT towards the end.

[Tom Wood]

If you plan on using IngramSpark, and need a block of ISBN numbers greater than ten, the membership in IBPA is a good deal. You get a 15% discount off ISBN numbers, and all the setup, revision and access fees at IngramSpark are waived for IBPA members.

https://www.ibpa-online.org/page/ListofBenefits

[Lorri Moulton]

I noticed that a good number of very successful KU authors don't publish paperback KDP versions. These are new books that would not be affected by the Createspace closing and transfer woes. Is there a particular reason for this? Force all sales into ebooks instead of diluting out sales rank to the paperback version?

I have no idea.  I have ebooks, paperbacks and audiobooks.  I want to make my readers (and listeners) happy! 

[Mark Gardner]

A friend of mine who has been a NYT best selling author for many, many years wanted my advice on producing a hardcover, since his big 5 publisher didn't want to do a hardcover. I laid out how easy it would be for him to self-publish the hardcover, and he basically decided that even with me holding his hand, that self-publishing would be a huge hassle. Despite the simplicity of producing quality paperbacks, there are still those that don't want the hassle.

*snipped image of books*

I'm coming out of my lurking place to say, wow, those are gorgeous! Congratulations.

Thanks! Lurkers always welcome.

[angela]

I put up paperbacks for a tiny % of fans who want them. I don't sell many, but I do them myself. If it cost me $100 to get someone else to do the cover and formatting, I wouldn't bother because they would never earn out. I can't really blame people for not bothering. Also, if you need to fix something down the road, it's easier then it's only in one file.

[prolificwriter]

One of the main reasons I do paperbacks is because I use them for my final read throughs. It always surprises me how many more errors I can find by reading a physical copy of a manuscript I’ve already proofread digitally. The extra $1k a year is just a bonus. 

[Writer]

For a five figure sales month in ebooks, I'm doing good if I make a hundred bucks in paperback sales. Sure, putting out paperbacks costs me nothing but time + the price of extra stock photos, since I design the backs/spines myself. And it's only the ticking of a box to get a print pdf from Vellum at the same time I'm generating ebook files. I do it 'cause I don't like to waste even a tiny revenue stream - I figure the paperback sales help cover the cost of my mailing list.

But it does take a couple hours to design a pretty back cover and do the title set-up. I can definitely understand authors who've gotta pay for covers and formatting not bothering. It can easily be an additional expense of $150 or more. I'm almost at the point of not doing them anymore myself just to avoid the nuisance. I used to love seeing them on my own shelves, but with dozens of proofs sitting around the house it's becoming a space issue. Sometimes I donate them to used bookshops and give them away free to fans just to get them out of the house.

[LilyBLily]

I always do a paperback; I have friends who only read paper.

[JRTomlin]

Even though paperback sales are a tiny percentage of my sales, it is still money I see no reason to leave on the table. It is pretty easy to do. I don't pay someone for formatting or and rework the ebook covers for use on paperbacks.  There is no extra cost. Even the time factor to do it is minimal. A couple of hours and then they pull in a little extra money every month. Well worth it as far as I'm concerned, but that's me.

Then again my sales are in a genre where there may be slightly more people who want a paperback.

[Max]

Even though paperback sales are a tiny percentage of my sales, it is still money I see no reason to leave on the table.

This for me.

[LV-246]

Like Amanda said, paperback is 1% of my income. Takes me an hour or so to do, but it's not really worth the effort.

[Eric Thomson]

Paperback and hardcover are a tiny fraction of my income, but I enjoy formatting and graphic design, and at this point it takes me a hour to finalize both once a book is ready for publication.  Why leave money on the table?  All of my books are avail in pb and hc.  Taking a break from writing and editing to prep print editions isn't a cost in time but a blessing.

[Astrid Torquay]

Does genre have anything to do with it?

I write in historical romance, which, from what I can figure out, is still a heavily print-oriented market (at least for the big publishers). So even though I expect most sales to be digital, I want a paperback available.

Plus my covers are purrrty.

Plus I got the impression it looks more professional (I'm a real publisher, I am!) and the cost is not a huge add-on (extension of ebook cover, extension of Vellum license, and since in Australia a block of 100 ISBNs is way cheaper per unit than a block of 10, I have to use those babies up!)

[Crystal]

Exclusivity only affects ebooks, not print books. Some people don't want to bother with it because it's extra time and they sell very few copies.

Oh! Didn't realize that print wasn't exclusive.

Is print that bad for KU-style fiction? I've only done nonfiction so far, and print outsells ebooks in my niches. These authors are raking in 20K+ a month... I would have guessed they were leaving a few grand on the table, but I suppose that is chump change to some.

The money isn't there in some genres. Less than .5% of my income last year came from paperbacks. It's not really worth the effort. I only publish paperbacks because I have very vocal readers who want them.

[Rinelle]

I haven't bothered with print because my first few attempts sold almost no print copies. Time taken to put them together isn't that big a deal, but getting a full wrap around cover is.

I'm planning on doing print for my newer books soon, but I've run into another snag - KDP print won't ship a proof copy to me here in Australia!

[TimothyEllis]

My first attempt didn't even get a cricket. The crickets themselves were not even interested in coming out.

The main blockage for me is the cover. All that fiddling about getting the middle bit the correct size. For now, it's in the too hard for now basket. And that's mainly because doing 24 books is now too big a task for me to want to even start.

Also, I dont intend selling hard books at cons. And that is partly a tax issue.

[Morgan Cole]

I've made paperbacks for my books, it wasn't hard honestly. Even including the learning time it only took a few hours total. I used Word for the interior layout and Photoshop to setup the cover.

That said, there's no ROI in it. I've got paper copies of my books, a friend or two ordered a copy and some randoms bought one or two. Still, it's not much effort.

[Jack Krenneck]

As always, I think a lot depends on genre.

Paperbacks in epic fantasy seem to do fairly well. I cover my costs for the cover within a month or so and after that it's profit. The work involved is minuscule as well.

Obviously, ebooks is where the money is but paperbacks are worthwhile (depending on genre) and they're on an upward sales curve for indies. I think Amazon is slowly working on displacing trad pub paperbacks. Give it a few more years and I think indies will have a much bigger share of the Amazon paperback market. 

 

[VanessaC]

I realise the original question was about successful KU authors - so that's not me as I'm still starting out.

For me, starting out is a steep learning curve and I wanted to make things as simple as possible.  My current series, in KU, has no paperbacks available yet - if / when they earn out and I can afford to upgrade the covers, I may add paperbacks although only after (yet another) thorough read through and typo-hunt.  My next planned series I intend to have paperbacks, but that's really vanity - I want books to hold and put on a shelf. If I sell a few other copies, that's brilliant, but the paperbacks will mainly be for me.  Shallow, moi?! 

[AnneRTan]

It took me a long time to get my books on paperback in CS, mostly because of cost and adding to my endless to-do list. Now that the books have migrated over to KDP, I still haven’t gotten around to dealing with the errors. I don’t sell enough copies to justify it.

[Rickie Blair]

Just for fun, I checked my last month's income on KDP; 2.6% came from paperbacks. It varies from month to month, though.

I use Vellum, so producing the print interior file takes only a minute or two. Uploading takes seconds. The only cost to me is paying the cover designer for the expanded cover, and that usually earns out within a couple of months. (Although, to be fair—I get free ISBNs, so that isn't a factor for me.)

I agree with those who say, "why leave money on the table?"

Plus, it's nice to be able to order print books for contest prizes and thank-you gifts.

[Edward M. Grant]

KU readers probably aren't going to spend $15-20 on a paperback when they could read a hundred ebooks for that money.

[idontknowyet]

KU readers probably aren't going to spend $15-20 on a paperback when they could read a hundred ebooks for that money.

I still buy paperbacks not as often but when I travel mainly. It's always nice to have something that you don't mind if you forget it somewhere or set it down. Your not going to stress if someone takes it. Unlike my ereader which would stress me out greatly.

[GeneDoucette]

I pay for cover design, and the designer only charges another $75 to do a full print cover. That's the only cost I'm seeing, because formatting is done by Vellum (which I paid for a few years ago, so it's not an ongoing cost) and while I haven't ever seen a lot of sales from print, they haven't been zero, so why not?

Right now, with one of my books traditionally published, I'm seeing a significant increase in print sales from people who bought the print edition of The Spaceship Next Door. If I didn't already have my catalog available in print format, I'd miss those sales.

[Anarchist]

KU readers probably aren't going to spend $15-20 on a paperback when they could read a hundred ebooks for that money.

My books are in KU. I sell quite a few paperbacks.

[Travelian]

I've already paid for Vellum. My print cover only cost me $45. My only decision is whether to only print with KDP. Or spend the extra $500 on ISBNs to distribute through IngramSpark.

[Jack Krenneck]

KU readers probably aren't going to spend $15-20 on a paperback when they could read a hundred ebooks for that money.

They're two different markets, but when the ebook has visibility (in or out of KU, but KU helps) the paperback has greater visibility too and a chance to find its own audience.

[Edward M. Grant]

They're two different markets, but when the ebook has visibility (in or out of KU, but KU helps) the paperback has greater visibility too and a chance to find its own audience.

Good point, I guess that can help.

[guest153]

Is print that bad for KU-style fiction? I've only done nonfiction so far, and print outsells ebooks in my niches. These authors are raking in 20K+ a month... I would have guessed they were leaving a few grand on the table, but I suppose that is chump change to some.

Nonfiction is a very different beast. Many people will go back to nonfiction books and flip through the pages for quick reference, so you'll find nonfiction tends to do better in print than genre fiction does, particularly in the indie space.

Some cover designers will charge extra for ebook and paperback covers, and if you don't know how to format a book for print, you'll have to pay a formatter to do it, pay $100 to upgrade Vellum to handle print (or $249 if you don't already have the ebook version of Vellum), or teach yourself how to do it on your own with Scrivener or Word (something they may not have the time or patience for). If they want to go with IngramSpark, there's also the setup fee and the ISBN cost (and it's ridiculous what Bowker charges for ISBNs in the US). So the cost/benefit may not be worth it for some authors.

I do print formatting as an occasional side hustle, so it's very easy for me to put out paperbacks and costs me nothing but time (and I've gotten efficient enough that it also doesn't take a whole lot of time to do). But if I didn't have those skills, I might think twice about putting out my books in print. My biggest money maker in digital is my urban fantasy series. But in print, it's actually not that great. In fact, some books of mine that do horrible in digital can see a fair amount of print sales.

[guest390]

Some indies simply don't bother. My first series is on kindle and audio. But I haven't done paperbacks. Mainly because once my contract with Podium expires in 2020, I'm having the series reedited. So it's just money spent with little benefit.
The problem with paperbacks is the same as it has been for the entire history of indie publishing - distribution. To get yourself in bookstores takes more time and effort than it ends up being worth.
Indie took off in the digital realm. We could price our ebooks to fit the budget of veracious readers. Now with audio books taking off, you see indie doing well there too. I think, as much as price, it's because indie was born from new technology. We do well with innovation. Our readers are comfortable with new tech and means of consumption. 

[Edward M. Grant]

On the other hand, with B&N apparently in trouble, the difficulty of getting books onto their shelves may not matter for much longer.

[Al Macy (aka TromboneAl)]

As for paperbacks taking time or money, I find that it only takes me an hour or two.

With Scrivener on my Mac, creating the paperback is just a few button clicks.

For the cover, I take the cover that my designer did, add a free image for the back, push things around in the template, and I'm done. Easy and fun (after you've done it a few times).



I actually do the paperbacks first. I publish it so that I have a place for ARC reviewers to leave a review.

[guest153]

As for paperbacks taking time or money, I find that it only takes me an hour or two.

With Scrivener on my Mac, creating the paperback is just a few button clicks.

No, it doesn't take that long to do if you know what you're doing. But some people just don't want to learn to do it. They're either not very tech savvy to begin with or they don't want to waste an hour or two to format a paperback. Some of the clients I've worked with have done their own paperbacks in the past and found they'd rather just pay someone to do it.

I know how to wash my car myself, but it's faster and easier if I just go to a car wash.

[kdiem]

I'm not in KU, but I have paperbacks for people who prefer them.

*cough* And for my mom. She's purchased a copy of my ebooks at a couple different stores and still can't figure out how to get them loaded onto her ereader even with assistance.

In any case, they're not a big proportion of my sales, but any income is good at my level. For others, it may not be worth the hassle. For big sellers, it's leaving money on the table if they don't.

[Tonyonline]

Yep another one here that's not successful but has a limited amount of paperbacks (100) printed that I, firstly send one to the British library and five to the other five book depositories, and yes, it's so easy to get them done and not too expensive, and I then give some out to family and friends. Oh, and a couple each to the two local libraries near to me.
The rest I gradually give out as and when.
I also upload the PDF to KU so they're available on there too.

I just like knowing they're available in paperback, I like the idea that someone can put them on their bookshelf or pass them on.

[Bill Hiatt]

I think there are still some readers for whom the paperback gives the appearance of legitimacy. Lots of readers still love paper, though I find many of them aren't that eager to try self-published titles yet.

Paperbacks also make nice gifts and contest prizes. They can also be good visual advertising. Friends of John Smith, who won a paperback in a contest, may not know what's on his Kindle, but they can see what's in his bookcase. I've also been known to read one of my own books in public, like while I'm waiting for my car to be serviced. People don't generally ask me what I'm reading, but some of them do look at the cover. The same people wouldn't look over my shoulder to see what I was reading on my Kindle.

I have paperbacks for both my KU titles and my wide ones. It's true that KU readers are probably not interested in paperbacks most of the time, but paperbacks give one an opportunity to reach a wider audience. A significant number of people still order paperbacks from Barnes and Noble, for example.

I can format a paperback decently in a couple of days myself, but I invested in Vellum. It's a one-time cost, but spread out over all the paperbacks I'm like to do in my lifetime, it's not that much per book.

It's true that some cover designers sell each cover type ala carte, but the ones I've dealt with include the paperback cover in the standard price.

I don't worry about bookstores. I can always order author copies if I find a place that takes consignment. Most indie authors have a tough time getting books into bookstores any other way, and nice as it would be, I'd rather chase possible dreams than almost impossible ones.

[dgcasey]

Even though paperback sales are a tiny percentage of my sales, it is still money I see no reason to leave on the table.

This for me.

Same here. I logged into KDP the other day and saw something I ain't never seen before. Two paperbacks sold on the same day and when looking at which ones, it was books One and Two of the trilogy. Those were actually the first sales of those two paperbacks ever. It warms my heart to know that someone spent $36 on those two books. It also gives me pause to think I had better make sure I'm putting out the best product I can. To ask someone to spend that much on paperbacks and then give them something substandard would be uncalled for.

[maiasepp]

One of the main reasons I do paperbacks is because I use them for my final read throughs. It always surprises me how many more errors I can find by reading a physical copy of a manuscript I’ve already proofread digitally. The extra $1k a year is just a bonus. 

I totally agree - I have a copyeditor review the manuscript and then have a proofer review the print version. She even finds layout problems.

[Decon]

I'm not a successful author, but I always publish a print book at the same time as the eBook.

Here is why I do this:

1, I have already paid for editing the MS as an eBook and therefore a print book requires no further editing input.

2, I use the free ISBN and it costs nothing to upload.

3, I already have the eBook cover, so there is little additional cost to add the spine and back cover.

4, I format my own, but even using a formatter costs little.

5, The print book on my sales page shows a considerable saving over the cost of my eBook, but it also allows me to show a price of at least $3.99 for the eBook without it looking too stupid a low price. In other words it gives the notion the eBook is value for money at a reasonable price point.

6, The vanity in me likes to show something tangible for my efforts by way of a line up on my bookshelf. It also proves I am an author to those who visit and take an interest.

7, I know it s virtually impossible for self-published to get distribution to bookstore shelves,so that part doesn't bother me.

8, As someone said, proofing a physical book can help to discover errors.

As I have said, I am not a successful author and yet I can't understand why anyone who is successful, or not, would leave both money on the table, or not use a print book as part of their marketing budget to show the discounted price of the eBook.

By definition, a successful author will have visibility. Without a doubt, people buy print books from Amazon.

I sell 5/10 print books per month of the first book in my signature, courtesy of visibility via sponsored ads, so you don't need to be successful to sell a few print books to cover costs. That book doesn't sell enough eBooks to give it what I would call a successful cat rank, but it has visibility via the ad. This gives me a small annual income of around $400 for the print version + some print sales  on my other books, and so that more than covers the cost to have having my next print book available.

In the interest of transparency, I format print books for clients, but what I list are genuine reasons for me to publish my print books.

[Mark Gardner]

I'm not a successful author, but I always publish a print book at the same time as the eBook.

Here is why I do this:

I agree with all eight of your points. (Although I disagree with the impossibility of indies getting on bookstore shelves, but that's another conversation.) I would add a number nine: Having physical products to sell as boutiques and small events around your town is a boon. You can make some nice money if your printing costs are under control, and you price effectively. I've found that doing PTA and Chamber of commerce events are free to little cost, and often a singe book sale will cover those fees, making the exposure worthwhile.

[Pandorra]

All of my ebooks are also set up with pb except the novelettes, which are to thin in my opinion to bother with. My highest price book is one that actually looks and works better as a paperback and I sell more of those than the reg novels (its illustrated and that was a **tch to format) but I don't order any for here at home, I just leave them as an option for customers. I think PoD is a good compromise for now.

[Bill Hiatt]

One of the benefits of the switch to KDP Print was that I realized I was actually selling more paperbacks than I realized. (I guess I wasn't checking the CS dashboard often enough.) Looking at the historical data, I was surprised to see how much paperback royalties had added to my income. (Ebooks were still the bulk of that income, but paperbacks were more than just the dribble I thought they were.)

[DrewMcGunn]

I'm not sure I qualify as successful, but I make enough off the POD paperbacks to cover their cost in the first month after publishing.

Last month, I sold 25 paperbacks across four books. It was a bit more than 3% of my gross revenue.
The month before, I sold 56 paperbacks.

My cover designer charges me $50 for the paperback. I've found that the format for paperback takes different formatting than Kindle, but a few hours and I can do both myself.