Author Topic: Your industry predictions for 2020?  (Read 9728 times)

Arches

Re: Your industry predictions for 2020?
« Reply #50 on: December 31, 2019, 01:23:39 AM »
Pricing will continue to be debated constantly in 2020.

Last night I accidentally discovered a new book by one of the few authors who is an autobuy for me. It's on pre-order for 99 cents. I went to her website and nothing on it says the book is available on pre-order. I'm on her mailing list, but have heard nothing. I want to help her gain more readers and I also want her to earn a decent amount of money, so now I'm in a quandary. Do I do the cheap pre-order? Do I wait a couple of days and buy the book on the day it releases whatever the price is? Do I read the book in Kindle Unlimited first, and then buy the book at whatever the full price is later on? With a deep discount pre-order price I'm not sure what her strategy is. Maybe she plans a blast on release day and hopes to run up the ranks with the title at 99 cents? If so, then if I buy on release day, am I helping her much more than if I buy the book on any other day?

I am not convinced that a deep discount for the final book in a long series is necessary. I'm not planning to discount my own book that's releasing this week.

I admire your desire to help a fellow author, but you really are overthinking this. If you like someone's books, buy them as cheaply as you legitimately can. You aren't responsible for figuring out some author's crazy marketing scheme. That's their job, and it they aren't going to be generous with the folks on their mailing list, namely their most loyal fans, that's the author's mistake.
 
The following users thanked this post: Anarchist

LilyBLily

Re: Your industry predictions for 2020?
« Reply #51 on: January 01, 2020, 01:44:43 AM »
Today the book released as free, so I "bought" it. No newsletter from the author even though I checked and am subscribed to her mailing list. The book still is only "Coming Soon" on her website and not linked to a sales page. I'm not knocking her for not updating the website; I'm remiss about updating my own. Considering I have a release this week, maybe I should go do something about that.
 

Arches

Re: Your industry predictions for 2020?
« Reply #52 on: January 01, 2020, 03:56:29 AM »
I have to admit I don't understand what the author in question is trying to accomplish, but if she puts the book out for free, she presumably wants to give it away for a reason. Probably as a first in series. I hope you enjoy the book and go on to buy many more of her works in the future.
 

notthatamanda

Re: Your industry predictions for 2020?
« Reply #53 on: January 02, 2020, 10:40:35 AM »
It's not 99 cents or free if you sign up for Prime or First Reads or something?  Amazon is kind of sneaky with that these days.
 

DCRWrites

  • Blurb unlocked
  • *
  • Posts: 18
  • Thanked: 5 times
  • Gender: Male
  • Creator of Doc Vandal; A Writer Writes
Re: Your industry predictions for 2020?
« Reply #54 on: January 03, 2020, 07:12:42 AM »
For once it appears I'm ahead of the curve: I signed a licensing agreement for my Doc Vandal series back in December of 2018. With any luck I'll have an RPG supplement hitting the stores this year and there's merchandising options in the contract.

As for the industry itself, I don't see any major upsets this year, rather a number of small changes heading in the same direction they have been. The 'Zon is going to try squeezing a little more money out of all of us with increased ad spends and the like but I'm not seeing any major changes on the immediate horizon.

If I had a single hope for the year it would be to see the end of badly composited photomanipulation covers. Some of those really hurt my eyes. :)

Genres: Pulp Adventures, Science Fiction, and Fantasy
 
The following users thanked this post: sliderule

okey dokey

Re: Your industry predictions for 2020?
« Reply #55 on: January 08, 2020, 08:27:31 PM »
QUOTE:
". . .'tiered publishing' where every book published passes through an autobot drafting system. Books that have too many formatting errors, too many spelling mistakes and grammatical problems still get published, but go into the pool of books that is never shown to the general reading public. The authors of those books can still get their family and friends to buy by giving them the link to their book, but they aren't accepted for AA marketing . . ."


What an insane idea.
Using those standards, The Color Purple would not have seen the light of day.
it would not have been enjoyed by millions of readers enroute to the Pulitzer Prize and a major motion picture.

And the indy publishing world would have died of still birth.

Let's stop and think, folks.

 

The Bass Bagwhan

Re: Your industry predictions for 2020?
« Reply #56 on: February 27, 2020, 11:18:14 AM »
QUOTE:
". . .'tiered publishing' where every book published passes through an autobot drafting system. Books that have too many formatting errors, too many spelling mistakes and grammatical problems still get published, but go into the pool of books that is never shown to the general reading public. The authors of those books can still get their family and friends to buy by giving them the link to their book, but they aren't accepted for AA marketing . . ."



In turn, I think it's an idea with merit, but I can see the near-impossibility of implementing it — and I'd do so differently. I can see value in some kind of recognition or acknowledgment system that an author has made and spent the effort/resources to ensure their writing meets certain, basic standards. It could weed out a lot of crap from search engine results, and make some junk writers who have no intention of doing anything except try to "cash in" on what they see as a quick buck to think twice about publishing rubbish. KU 1.0 was rife with opportunists publishing utter garbage to score the nominal rental fee.
But again, how such a system could be fairly implemented is hard to imagine. You couldn't really rely on bots.
My only prediction for 2020 is that the "gap" between high-volume writers and writing mills—and the associated promotional blitzes—and writers who produce occasional great books will widen even more. Getting any kind of visibility for the once-a-year writer who doesn't have the resources or energy, or motivation for that matter, to employ mailing lists and AMS campaigns, etc ... well, it'll be very discouraging. Finding a small, dedicated audience will be next to impossible. The old "gatekeepers" of traditional publishing days are being replaced by financial and social media requirements that many writers will find insurmountable.
 

CaptnAndy

  • Short Story unlocked
  • **
  • Posts: 62
  • Thanked: 21 times
  • Gender: Male
  • I’m a writer, who writes about what interests me.
    • A.G. Kimbrough Books and Blog
Re: Your industry predictions for 2020?
« Reply #57 on: February 28, 2020, 03:08:33 AM »
If the threat of a pandemic becomes a reality, people will be reading more as they fort up in their homes. Daily headlines are headed in that direction. Stay safe my friends.
When I read Heinlein's Stranger in a strange land, I Grokked, and the die was cast.
       Many of my books are science fiction and don’t include steam punk, fantasy, time travel, magic, elves or faeries.
       As a naval and military history buff, I also have written several books that feature warships, aircraft, airships, spacecraft, and military action.
       If Things Get Better With Age Then this 1944 model is Approaching Excellent.
 
The following users thanked this post: Tiffmeister