Greetings and Salutations!

Welcome to the longest-running* yet least-read** blog on the internet! Here you'll find me writing about all the things that I write about, which strikes me, just now, as somewhat recursive. In any case, enjoy :)

* not true ** probably true

Monday, April 18, 2011

If Amanda Hocking and Joe Konrath had a baby

...I bet Joe's wife would be really pissed.

But seriously, here's the thing: For the past two weeks I've been researching the new world of publishing, trying to find the common denominator between the success that Joe Konrath has enjoyed in selling his works in electronic format, and the success that Amanda Hocking has had.

A few conclusions:

  • Konrath and Hocking write in different, almost mutually exclusive genres  
  • Konrath came from the world of traditional publishing, while Hocking was a complete unknown
  • Konrath has spent a decade promoting his work, while Hocking has far less experience (though as Belinda points out, she didn't just sit on her tookus)
So what do these epubbing titans have in common? A large number of works available for purchase at a reasonable price.

At the end of the day, if you want to make money publishing your work electronically, you need to have a body of work for readers to discover, and cross-buy. Each offering will boot-strap the other works (if your work is any good).

Conclusion: I need to stop worrying about research and marketing, at least right now, and start finishing some dang writing.

3 comments:

Dream Pedlar said...

Have you noticed how the good published authors rarely talk about their publishing woes?
Plus I wouldn't like to read a work that was put together in a week or 15 days - http://amandahocking.blogspot.com/2010/08/epic-tale-of-how-it-all-happened.html
And you said it yourself - start finishing some dang writing. :)

Meaghan said...

Yes, this is exactly right! Time to stop worrying about what's going to happen when the book is finished... Because it won't matter until I write the words "The End" Or, more likely... "To be continued...."

Michael McClung said...

Another thing I forget to mention - they both have multiple series. This is an important factor.