4 Comments

1. Brett says:

   January 13, 2012 at 11:01 am

   His followup blog post is also good.
   In this post:

   http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2012/01/reality-check.html

   He addresses a number of claims people are making to excuse his success. The highlights: he sells more of his unpublished works than previously published stuff, and he believes a lot of those sales are people who have no idea who the heck he is.
2. Crockett says:

   January 13, 2012 at 3:52 pm

   And this is the solution to piracy …
   Sorry for the ‘tired old suggestions’, as some big media execs like to call them, but hey … this is reality no longer theory.

   DO – Make media accessible
   DON’T – Over price it

   DO – Give the largest portion of the returns to the creator
   DON’T – Forget to cut the middlemen

   DO – Resist the urge for restrictive DRM
   DON’T – Treat your customers like criminals

   DO – Enjoy an explosion of literary works and accessibly afforded by the advent of the Internet and digital technology
   DON’T – Try to sue, lobby or sabotage it out of existence to protect your own paper castle
3. end user says:

   January 13, 2012 at 6:08 pm

   People will always make money and be successful in any market. Then there are people who will call a delivery method/market a failure because they expect it to make the same amount of $$ as their current business plan.
4. oldguy says:

   January 14, 2012 at 2:58 am

   I have been reading through the comments, and particularly Joe’s responses to others. Both for the referenced blog posting and newer/older ones going back a while. I come away with a few observations.

   Writing is often a solitary activity, but marketing that result is a social one. In today’s world of online social media, all the tools are in the hands of the authors, they are in control. It still takes time, but not a lot of money.

   Ebook self publishing trends put marketing into the hands of the author, not the publisher. Want to give away away a pile of copies to spur interest? It’s the author’s decision. Want to give away the first one in a series? The author’s decision. What is right “price” to charge to maximise income (price vs volume)? The author’s decision.

   There is no such thing as a rejection slip. Out of print is a thing of the past, for both the author and the audience.

   Ignore all the hoopla about private pirating and copyright extensions and stuff. It’s distracting you from the real job, writing good stuff that people want. People will want to pay you, if you don’t price yourself out of their market. Focus on the things you can control.

   It takes hard work and perseverance to be successful, as well as more than a little talent – and luck.

   Fame, and the fortunes that can come with it, are transitory. Author’s have to keep working and producing to keep the buzz running. Keep adding to the virtual bookshelf, new books sell old books. Keep watching the trends of technology and society, it can change your tools for delivery and marketing – overnight.

   Every book deserves to be published, but not every book is worth buying.