Comments on Smashwords: Ebook Market Exploding, Says New IDPF Survey

When it comes to quality, readers are the new gate...

2010-05-07T16:07:19.228-07:00

When it comes to quality, readers are the new gatekeepers. You can show 50% of your book for free on Smashwords. If your readers like it, they will pay for the other half. If they don't, they won't. It's that simple. Print publishing simply cannot compete with this kind of innovation.

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/13775

If I upload my ebook to Smashwords, how often does...

2010-04-10T20:58:33.493-07:00

If I upload my ebook to Smashwords, how often does Smashwords upload 'new arrivals' so to speak to itunes and the like?

2010-03-25T00:11:34.658-07:00

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Hope the trend continues, I've published two b...

2010-03-22T05:59:24.081-07:00

Hope the trend continues, I've published two books with Smashwords this month. Delighted with your site. Thank you.

www.discountaudiobooks.com learned from audible.co...

2010-03-22T05:39:29.221-07:00

www.discountaudiobooks.com learned from audible.com, acquired by Amazon, the great potential of ebooks.

Alan's point about "no gatekeepers" is interestingly dealt with on Rasmussen Polls. The public has MORE faith in the lack of bias by non-traditional recommendations than those by recognized pundits (i.e., NYT, WSJ, etc).

If you make an ebook mistake, it was just a couple of bucks anyway.

Kindle lets you take a dabble for free, as does audible.com with a single track.

The publishing companies in NYC will be like Ozmandius in Shelley.

Alan also addresses the feedback. If we make a "mistake" in an ebook, and are blessed with a reader who lets us know, we can fix the ebook and get it republished in 48 hours.

Feedback becomes a blessing not an upsetting moment when you have to wait for the next edition, if there is one.

Liberation. Almost like the Boston Tea Party. Power to the reader and the people. Gatekeepers no longer matter as much, except as recommenders which Smashwords does so well. Thank you for it.

Many of us Indie Authors who put up ebooks years a...

2010-03-21T15:54:02.737-07:00

Many of us Indie Authors who put up ebooks years ago with FictionWise and more recently Kindle Books have faithfully known this was coming. I point to Joe Konrath who sold 30,000 copies of his books on Kindle last year. I will soon have 30 titles on Kindle and 13 with B&N formerly fictionwise. The article is great and will open a lot of eyes and I agree it is about time authors got a larger share for our work. I will be sending this article around to all my friends. Thanks gain,
Rob Walker
Killer Instinct

Thanks for sharing your results, James. I think th...

2010-03-21T08:39:02.997-07:00

Thanks for sharing your results, James. I think this shift is catching everyone by surprise.

I thought I would add some personal data to the bi...

2010-03-21T07:47:52.502-07:00

I thought I would add some personal data to the big picture numbers. In 2008, about 10% of my sales were ebook. By the end of 2009, ebook sales had grown to over 23.2%, with heavy December purchases driving up the annual figure. Since January 1 of this year, my ebook sales have been 42% of total sales.

At first I thought it was people loading up their Christmas ebook readers and depleting gift cards, but this is late March and the trend is holding steady.

Thank you for this spot-on comment, Alan. I tip m...

2010-03-20T19:00:30.175-07:00

Thank you for this spot-on comment, Alan. I tip my hat to you. You get it. Indie authors get it. The days of the gatekeeping publisher filtering books for readers are over. Authors and readers can now connect on their own terms. Authors can be their own publishers. What a concept - publishers and authors desiring a relationship with the customer. Successful indie authors understand this secret, and fans of indie authors show their appreciation. Write on.

Mark - I'm excited by the momentum that's ...

2010-03-20T18:38:36.416-07:00

Mark - I'm excited by the momentum that's gathering, and no doubt the interest generated by the IPAD - and the rival products to follow - will continue to drive the exponential growth you're reporting.

Modestly, you didn't mention Smashwords' role in this. So let me. By providing an easy-to-use, device-agnostic, non-restrictive e-publishing platform, you've given thousands of writers control over their output. And that's released a torrent of new writing.

I hear complaints that without gatekeepers, there's no assurance of quality. But this underestimates readers' ability to discriminate and find their favourite niches. Clearly, they're finding value in writing which previously might not have made it out of the slush pile.

So all credit to you, and thank you for giving many of us the opportunity to shape our writing careers.

And perhaps something else you could add to your list of reasons for the ebook's popularity. Now as never before, reading is an interactive experience. We communicate with each other, reader and writer, and on both sides it enhances our enjoyment. Just like this.