Sunday, December 11, 2016

AUTHOR MOAN

Hey, almost nobody is buying my e-books -- my six novels are just sitting on emilyfrankel.com.

Why?                                                                                                              
 why?                     


Why?

Gee, the titles are good, book-covers are good!! The plots -- gee -- they're very good stories. My writing has been praised by critics ... Lotta friends on Facebook and Twitter read my blog ; they say they like my ideas, my humor, my honesty. Why aren't they buying a book?

The $2.99 price is too high?

I dug up facts hoping to comfort myself. According to Pew Research: One out of 10 American adults, 72 percent of adults, read some kind of book last year. That's a steep decline from 1978, when 92 percent of Americans made that same claim. But when e-books exploded into popularity -- driven by the launch of the Kindle in 2007, the Nook in 2009 -- books sales jumped from $61.3 million to $1.54 billion, and  e-books accounted for an increasingly large share of the total trade revenue. Pew and Gallup say the revenue from e-books has been "flattening" -- end of last year e-books totaled $1.37 billion and accounted for not quite 20 percent of total revenue.

Numbers dumberate me! LOUDLY I'm moaning -- I am, I am -- I don't write novels to study percentages, market shares, I don't really care about money.


Okay, audiobooks are getting popular. Researchers said they accounted for the strongest portion of adult book sales in  2015, bringing in $205.6 million, a 38.9 percent increase from 2014. My husband, John Cullum, who has a voice that thousands of fans love, wants to record my books.

Hey ho, haha -- I haven't been able to sell my e-books! Even with Cullum's name, the same thing will happen with audiobooks. Gee -- if I could just get my books in a store window, I'd post this sign.

Hey, here's a video that a critic who wrote a book published. It sums up my moan perfectly.



6 comments:

Carola said...

I'd love to hear an audio version of one of your books read by JC

SCOOPDAA said...

Very Interesting Trend = Think Technology Is Both The Answer & The Problem Due To Competition Such As Video Games, Netflix, Etb.......

Linda Vee Sado of Slippery When Wet said...

It is really difficult just like being an Independent artist. It took several years for our first album to even get any traction and still an uphill battle. You have to love this to spend the time and effort and money releasing too. I am writing a book too and it will probably set there too. Maybe we'll get our reward in heaven har har. It can be frustrating xx

Unknown said...

I read for 2 hours every night on my Kindle. My first ebooks were 2 of yours and I loved them.

I subscribe to 2 emails that promote special bargain priced books. One is called Bookbub and the other is Early bird books. Both drastically lower prices. They reduce them to anywhere from free to a maximum of 2.95. The prices generally go back up eventually, but it makes the author more widely known and hopefully leads to sales of other books by that author. Check it out Em.

Heather Mash said...

Hi Em, This is Heather on the Hill. What market are you aim for to buy your books. The price is right, the writing is good maybe the market has changed what it's interested in reading? Actually, I know you understand how devestated the publishing business is right now they're struggling with lots of changing in the market and variety of ways to publish a book. Sometime things just aren't explainable, but keep writing that's what all authors tell me, just keep writing. Thanks for your lovely message on my wall I wrote you a note back but wasn't sure you saw it. Love you Em, not because you're an author but because you're an amazing friend and loved by many. Stay warm I hear it's really cold in New York City. Plan a trip to a warmer climate when you can and get out. Love and hugs, Heather,xxxxxoooo

Bobbie Pettingill said...

Hey. I didn't know you had ebooks to read! You need to get the word out so everyone can read n share your artistic talents!