Thus far I have published 4 collections of short stories and 1 longer work. All my books are available solely in ebook format.
For some time now I have been considering producing print versions of my books using the Print On Demand (POD) services of Createspace (https://www.createspace.com/). My reasons for considering POD are:
- Not everyone likes ebooks and the availability of my stories in exclusively electronic format means they are not reaching people who might otherwise read them.
- Even among ebook readers there exist many book lovers who also purchase traditional (print) titles. The availability of my stories in both formats enhances the choices of such readers.
- There is something attractive about the feeling of permanence of print books which, to me at least is lacking in the new kid on the block, ebooks. I, personally like having books on shelves and I am far from being alone in this desire to be surrounded by physical works of fiction and non-fiction.
Having said all that,I hesitate to embrace POD as my longest story, Samantha runs to 29 pages and I am not sure whether people will pay for print books of that length. I could get around this issue by producing an anthology of my writing. However this would, I understand mean that I would lose all my Amazon reviews as these pertain to the individual titles, while an anthology is a different beast and would be reviewed as such.
In short I need to give this matter much more thought rather than jumping in feet first. Any advice from authors who have both ebook and print versions of their works available would be most welcome as would comments from readers of both formats.
K Morris - Poet 
Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog….. An Author Promotions Enterprise! and commented:
READERS – Author Kevin Morris needs answers – please call over to his blog and give YOUR opinion 😀
Many thanks for reblogging Chris. Best regards, Kevin
I didn’t get around to arranging print on demand for my book but I am planning to get it into paperback at some point. I agree with you that there is just something about the feel of a book. I don’t know what the prices are but I can’t imagine that it would be massively expensive to produce a 29 page POD would it? 🙂
Thanks for your comment Jade. I believe that Createspace allows authors to create Print On Demand books free of charge. However, in addition they offer paid for services such as editing. Consequently I could sell my books through Creatspace at no cost to myself. However I don’t know whether readers would pay for a title consisting of only 29 pages which would, I assume be more expensive than the electronic (ebook) version of the same work. Best wishes, Kevin
Wow. I am amazed that anyone is buying works that short at those prices. My novels run around 300 pages each and I have them priced at 2.99$ US. But none of your reviews complain about the length, so your readers must be happy with what they are getting.
Honestly, all of your published works combined come to 129 pages, that’s still on the short side for a POD book.
Thank you for your comment. As I say the idea of producing a POD version of my books is just that, an idea. I won’t be rushing into anything. Regards, Kevin
My four published novels are available in both formats, and I think my sales are better for the paperback. Apart from the joy of having my own published books on my own bookshelf, holding them in my hands, signing them for fans, I love knowing that any potential readers have the choice.
I published with FeedARead.com also for free, though I did pay for an ISBN in order to make my POD books available to order in bookstores.
Perhaps it would be worth your while gathering a few more short stories and/or poems if you enjoy writing poetry, and/or a few of the blogposts you are most proud of and publishing the collection?
Christine
cicampbellblog.wordpress.com
https://newauthoronline.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php
Many thanks for your kind and encouraging words, Kevin
I have 2 short books on Amazon that I created through Create Space. They have a page count minimum and I believe it is 28 pages… That being said, DO IT! Put your writings out there as POD. You can gain a whole new audience, have something physical to carry around with you and unless the book is full color, which means you use photographs, colored fonts etc inside, the prices for the books are reasonable.
Thank you for your comments. That is encouraging and interesting. Best regards, Kevin
I do have a very short book in print of comic poems written in honour of a new grandson. Th price is quite expensive but that’s because of illustrations. I believe it could have been quite low had it been a plain book with none, except for the cover.If you use Createspace, t will tell you the price for buying the books at the end so if you find it too expensive you can always cancel but it is worth getting the Proof copy at least to enjoy the feel of your own book in your hands.
Good luck whatever you decide.
I did mean to add that Lulu is an alternative if you’re in the UK. Though still an American company they do print in a few places outside the U.S. which cuts down on postage costs and speed.Also, if people buy the books Lulu will pay to a paypal a/c whereas Createspace is to a bank or by cheque only.
Many thanks David. That is interesting. I will give Createspace a go. Best, Kevin
Done both versions for my two novels and I think it’s better to offer both choices. My second novel will be available next week so I can’t share much yet. But the first one did better in the printed version. But my books are for children and when I visit a school or a library I can bring paperback copies and sell them while I wouldn’t be able to otherwise. I still favor paperbacks to electronic books, personally. The price difference is, however, an incentive. E-books are great when the stories or novels are short and for adults. For a full book (more than 120 or so pages) and the children or YA market paperback books are a must. That’s a good post about a topic on every writer’s mind. Good luck to you and your readers.
Thank you for taking the time to comment. All the best, Kevin
As someone who published first in eBook format, intentionally, before going to print, I will explain my experience. My novel was published first as an eBook in Feb. 2012, because I wanted to test theories I had developed regarding the direction publishing was heading at the time, and how best to promote online. (I worked with a professional formatter in Canada who has looked after listing for me online, including with a company that sells eBooks to libraries, has collected revenue from those sites, and sent me monthly sales stats and payments directly since then.) I didn’t publish in print until the following June – after I had worked the bugs out of the original manuscript, had the book professionally designed, and worked with a major Canadian printing company to produce a book I am very proud to call my own. Between Feb. and June, I used the eBook to promote the print book. I took pre-orders for the print book, offering several different levels readers could help me raise money I needed to pay for the cost of printing. (I tried crowdfunding, as well, with an online site, but had much more success by going direct to friends and family.) Readers could pay $50 to be acknowledged in the book and receive a limited-edition signed and numbered copy; they could pay $35 to be acknowledged in the book; they could pay $20 for a copy of the book. The retail price was $18.95 (CDN). The eBook has always sold at $9.99. I have never offered it free online, but I am not averse to sending out free copies, either eBooks or print, if people are interested in reviewing or to friends I want to comp.
My sales of both formats have been about equal throughout the past two years – not stellar, but then I never was in this with any expectation I was actually going to make money. What I did learn, however, was that I had an international audience for this novel, and that audience was better served by the eBook. It was just not feasible to mail out the print copy to readers and expect them to pay for both the book and the mailing costs. Also, distribution of the print book (to book stores, libraries, etc.) is very difficult, as finding a competent distributor in Canada is next to impossible. (I have a distributor, but have yet to see any payments or sales figures from them, so will be cutting that relationship – if only they’d reply to my emails!) In fact, I would say that the BIGGEST problem with print books is finding a good distribution system, unless you are able to set up eCommerce through your own website and sell and ship the books yourself.
It turns out that my major market for the print book is actually the Caribbean, specifically the island of Bequia where this book is set. But my stock is in Canada, so it then becomes an expense to not only store those boxes of books, but also to ship stock to Bequia, or else go to the trouble of filling up my suitcase with books whenever I return to the island.
I would have to say that the one mistake I made was in initially printing too many copies of the book, thinking I had a much bigger market than actually existed. For my next novel I have already decided to publish as an eBook first, give it a good six months, meanwhile pre-selling the print edition again (mainly to be able to gauge the demand) then print ONLY a smallish quantity more than the pre-sales number. I will use the same Canadian printer, because they do an excellent job and I can get a quote for a print-run as low as 200 copies that still makes it affordable for me and that will allow me to cover the expenses once I sell those copies. And … I can always go back and order another print-run, which will no longer include the initial set-up costs, so will cost me less per book.
As for your other question about printing a 33-page book, I suggest you combine several stories together and print a longer book. Readers still have a perception that print books should have substance, if the price is that much higher than an eBook. And really, I don’t expect your costs will be that much higher for 3X33 pages, or 4X33 pages, so you might as well go for it and give readers something more substantial that they expect to be paying for. Again, I use my own experience in having published short fiction as eBooks only. These are 40 – 100-page eBooks that are priced from $2.99 – $5.99. It was always intended that, if we were to go to print with these, we would collect the stories (or novellas) and publish them in a quality and very limited edition paperback.
I hope this helps, Kevin!
Thank you so much for your very helpful and detailed response. There is a lot there for me to think about, thank you! Kind regards. Kevin
Happy to help, Kevin. Just let me know if you have any other questions I might be able to advise on.
Reblogged this on theowlladyblog.