You can help prove the most critical assumption — that FaceBook marketing can drive sales for full price
backlist books if it is done consistently and well (more about that if your books qualify).
NO BACKLIST: A publisher can
backlist your book if your sales are inadequate, which means your book is no longer available for purchase.
Not exact matches
Granted this was for a
book originally e-published, but I hear, all the time, of people taking their
backlists, scanning them in (
if they are out of print) and voila.
If your
books fit the testing criteria, you could have a marketing team promote your
backlist series every week for 4 months, so you don't have to.
If you are marketing a
book, you need to understand how
book marketing strategy is different for new titles («frontlist») versus those that have been on the market for awhile («
backlist»).
My opinion may change as all the industry shifts, but as of right now, the only way I'd buy a self - pubbed
book is
if I knew the person or
if they were previously a traditionally pubbed author whose re-issuing their
backlist.
If I like your book I may glom onto your backlist, if I don't, at least I don't resent you for making me use my scarce book - buying dollars on your (to me) sub-par produc
If I like your
book I may glom onto your
backlist,
if I don't, at least I don't resent you for making me use my scarce book - buying dollars on your (to me) sub-par produc
if I don't, at least I don't resent you for making me use my scarce
book - buying dollars on your (to me) sub-par product.
Another factor any author self - publishing has to consider is the likelihood of success, which is much greater
if the
books are
backlist (have some fame in the marketplace) or even
if just the author has been previously published.
Check out these Nine
books if you've already blown through Debbie's extensive
backlist, including her new release,... Read More
But
if I'd had a better presentation at the end of the
book, it might have led to more
backlist sales as a result.
There's a lot of talk about how there's more competition in the Kindle Store and elsewhere these days — more independent authors publishing and also more Big 6
backlist books being put out in ebook form, but
if you can cultivate a fan base that enjoys your work and will try a lot of what you write, then you can do this for a living, providing you're able to publish regularly and keep getting more stuff out there for readers to consume.
Or... what
if hybrid authors appear to be doing better because they had a
backlist of
books that they were able to prepare for self - pub quickly?
If you have any questions for the Caveman Author about his
backlist or pre-historic
book marketing practices, leave it in the comments below.
They will try and will buy a lot of
books, probably zoom through
backlists if they find something they like.
The latest Author Earnings report demonstrates the earning potential of the
backlist, so writing more great
books should always be the focus
if longevity in this market is your goal.
New titles are the fuel that keep your
backlist sales going and, once you stop writing, even
if you're a bestselling author now, your
books will soon go out of print.
If my indie published
backlist book does well and I make this money back, it would be worth going the indie route again for original works.
Promoting and sharing the
book with those who can benefit will be a lifelong process for me,
if I'm fortunate enough to have a
book on
backlist (i.e. one that gets re-printed year - after - year).
If you are a debut author, while we welcome you to send us a query, we do think it would be better in the pursuit of selling your subrights if you had a few books in your backlis
If you are a debut author, while we welcome you to send us a query, we do think it would be better in the pursuit of selling your subrights
if you had a few books in your backlis
if you had a few
books in your
backlist.
Overall, after analyzing what I've learned, I personally feel that ISBNs are a good investment
if you plan on building a long - term, widespread writing career with a large
backlist of
books.
I've been watching the
backlists to try to determine
if increased sales of one
book boosts the sales of others.
When that went well, some of my author friends asked
if we would do the same with their
backlist books, and our catalog really started to grow.
A large
backlist does help;
if I had just one
book available my earnings would be small indeed.
Based on my own experiences and those of other authors, I believe that the ideal Kindle Store price for many
backlist titles is in the $ 2.99 to $ 4.99 range, and that most such titles,
if they are quality
books with a little bit of marketing effort behind them are likely to sell roughly twice as many copies
if they are reduced from $ 9.99 to $ 4.99 or roughly three times as many
if they are reduced from $ 9.99 to $ 2.99.
It makes sense to me that for the first print run publishers stick largely with the current model but use POD on the
backlist; that could have tremendous benefits to author and pub house both
if done correctly (not to mention readers, who'd be able to order older
books by a favourite writer and not face the flipping frustrating «out of print» or «no stock available» options.
This means that
if a listener enjoys one
book, and can't find the author's
backlist in audio, they may go find it in print or ebook.
By the way, every new
book you publish also boosts sales of your
backlist,
if you mention the
backlist in your marketing (but give it less prominence).
I have seen CreateSpace
books on the shelf at Barnes and Noble, and while I doubt they stock a lot of them (yet) they can be ordered as easily
if not more easily (probably more) as any other
backlist title.
What
if you could relaunch those
books, turning your
backlist into a great source of income?
It's frustrating... I guess the hope is that good
books eventually find their readers... even
if it's down the road and a new
book triggers interest in the
backlist.
If you have several
books under your belt but aren't sure you're ready to be an «authorpreneur,» is it better to keep focusing on your craft, or on digitizing and promoting your
backlist?
And I turned a bit more pro that day when I realized that the size of your
backlist is one of the biggest things in terms of that sustainable income because then, hey, even
if each of your
books only sells 10
books a month you're doing really, really well.
Keep in mind that pricing high and then lowering the price over time might harm your numbers as well... say you release at $ 12.99, then drop to $ 9.99 after 6 months, then $ 6.99 after two years, and eventually down to $ 3.99 for
backlist... sure,
if I am that eager for the
book and I really like what you do then I'll put down the $ 12.99... but
if not, why would I buy at $ 9.99 either?
If John D. MacDonald's
backlist was priced at $ 3.99 each, I'd buy all 20 +
books he wrote.
If your
book doesn't move, it can disappear forever into the black hole of the publisher's
backlist catalog.
Imagine how much money we would all save on shipping alone
if we could print
backlist and print - on - demand
books via the EBM?
As with the 1 -2-3 phase, your website can be a major vehicle for selling your
book (and your
backlist,
if you have one).
If I buy one
book from an author, I can immediately buy her
backlist, without time to think about how much money I'm spending.