Have you read an ebook, yet? Have you written one? I\u2019ve purchased and downloaded ebooks only related to research and resources, except for one novel by a friend. If at all possible, I always buy the print version. <\/p>\n
I\u2019ve produced several ebooks, however. And I promote them. But they don\u2019t sell very well. What has been your experience with promoting ebooks?<\/p>\n
I keep hearing that ebook sales are up? They\u2019re the wave of the future. I sure don\u2019t see this happening. Do you? Honestly. I\u2019d like to know about your experiences with ebooks.<\/p>\n
This weekend, I was working on my new Web site\u2014yup, I\u2019m going to build a personal Web site and use my Matilija Press Web site just to showcase and sell my books. Well, I was looking at my home page when I realized that I really don\u2019t like a couple of my book covers. The covers that don\u2019t quite make it for me are on ebooks. So I asked my in-house cover designer to redesign them. <\/p>\n
How cool is that to be able to switch out a cover, edit the text or even replace, update, refresh text. You can\u2019t do that with a print book without a giant cost.<\/p>\n
Also, what does an ebook cost you? If you do the work in-house, you post it for sale at your own Web site, it costs you NOTHING. But these books (ebooks) don\u2019t seem to be worth much, either.<\/p>\n
While the content might be absolutely priceless and, while people might pay a good amount to get that particular information in print form, they pretty much ignore and even reject really good ebooks. Why? Do they seem less than a book? Is it that my particular audience isn\u2019t sophisticated enough or high tech enough to consider purchasing an ebook? Is it that they just don\u2019t understand the concept of an ebook? That can\u2019t be true of authors or of people who enjoy cat stories, could it?<\/p>\n
One of my ebooks, for example, is The Author\u2019s Repair Kit<\/em><\/strong>. (We\u2019re getting ready to replace this book cover. Let us know if you have ideas. Mine is to make the title LARGER. I\u2019ll probably get rid of the woman on the cover, too.) Anyway, The Author\u2019s Repair Kit <\/em><\/strong>is an amazingly useful tool for authors with faltering or failing books. This book is designed to help you breathe new life into your book. It has only 27 pages, so it\u2019s not going to cost you a lot in paper to print it out. So why haven\u2019t you purchased it? I\u2019ve even offered it for FREE a time or two and didn\u2019t get many takers.<\/p>\n The Successful Author\u2019s Handbook <\/em><\/strong>is brand new and not too many people have actually benefitted from it, yet, because it is an ebook. (This is the ebook for which we just designed a new cover. Sorry, my webmaster hasn\u2019t posted it, yet. I\u2019ll let you know when that happens. You might go look at the original version today and the new one later, to see what we did and why. http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com<\/a>) <\/p>\n One thing about ebooks\u2014you can\u2019t sell them at presentations or display them at book festivals. Are you an author with one or more ebooks? How do you handle the live promotion of them? I guess one can create promo postcards, magnets, brochures, etc. just like you do for print books. I guess you could print it out and put it in a binder for folks to see. But they still have to go back to your Web site to purchase it. But, it has been my experience that if the customer doesn\u2019t purchase the book on the spot, he\/she is unlikely to do it later.<\/p>\n Ebooks\u2014what is all of the hype. Who is buying them and why? Why do you avoid them? Do you write\/publish them? How do you promote them? How are your book sales? We\u2019d all like to know.<\/p>\n Catscapades<\/strong>
\nInterest is growing in my new print book (still with the printer), Catscapades, True Cat Tales<\/em><\/strong>. I\u2019ve been handing out postcards and magnets displaying the cover of the book. Our cover girl, Lily, is becoming famous. Fans are trying to get into Lily\u2019s head\u2014they are guessing about what she was thinking when this professional photo was taken. One woman said it looks like she is saying, \u201cWhat?\u201d The way she stares right into your eyes is a tad eerie to some. \u201cIt\u2019s as if she can see into your soul.\u201d Others say, \u201cShe looks a little annoyed.\u201d One young woman explained that she thinks Lily is looking down on us. She says, \u201cShe looks regal and sort of above everyone else.\u201d Most say simply, \u201cShe is so sweet.\u201d<\/p>\n