More Authors Start Their Own E-book Store

[Critteranne]

This site (A Writer's Work) was started by some romance and mystery authors:
http://www.awriterswork.com/

The books include previously published books as well as new books.The authors include Nicole Byrd, Jasmine Cresswell, Kathy Lynn Emerson (historical mysteries), Lori Handeland, Patricia Rice, and others. I've heard of most of the authors on this list.

On top of that, no DRM! (They offer ePub and PDF.) And the prices look good. About the only downside I see is that this is one of those sites that e-mails you a link to the download and then only gives you three days to download it. Aargh!

[dreams]

This looks to be pretty good. No DRM, no geographic restrictions, and ePub and pdf formats. I agree that the books seem to be reasonably priced.
It looks to be just starting up and will be continuing to add authors and books.
I took the below quotes from their site.

How Do I Download My E-Book?

First add each AWritersWork.com selection you want to your shopping cart. When you're ready to check out, click on "Shopping Cart" then "Go to Checkout."

You'll go through PayPal's secure payment system.

Once your payment has been processed (it should only take seconds), you'll be taken to a secure page to download your e-books. That's where you'll have your choice of ePub or PDF for each book you've purchased. Once you select ePub or PDF for a book it will begin the download process. When one book is finished downloading, move on to the next.

You'll also receive a confirmation e-mail containing the URL to that same secure page with the link to download each book you've purchased. So, if you have a problem downloading or if you don't get back to the download page right away, you can use the link to go back to the page again. The URL will be good for three days. After that it goes poof!

Can I Order From Anywhere In The World?

From anywhere PayPal will accept payments. All books are in English at this time.

Are these works protected?

Absolutely – by copyright laws.

However, we are offering these works without electronic passwords or encryption or DRM (Digital Rights Management) because of the difficulties they impose on readers. We are hopeful that, in turn, readers will honor our rights. If we find that trust is abused, we will need to revisit this decision.

[SimonSays]

Fantastic!!! I hope this catches on....but not to the point where paperbacks disappear completely. Really not ready for that

[dmaul1114]

I think this will be a trend.

E-books allow a way for non-established authors to sell their books without having to get a contract, and for established authors to say screw the publishers and sell books on their own.

It's happened in music with up and coming bands having MP3s on their web sites, streaming music on their myspace or facebook pages etc. And some established bands like Pearl Jam, Radiohead etc. eschewing labels and putting music out on their own with MP3 sales on their website, having CDs made themselves to sell on the website and in some stores etc.

I can definitely see it becoming a trend with books as well.

[Daithi]

I think this is a great concept. It had occurred to me that the publishers should band together and sell ebooks through their own website and cut out Amazon, but it hadn't occurred to me that established authors could band together and cut out both Amazon and the publisher. Good for them! What a marvelous idea!

[Kali Yuga]

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

I think this will be a trend.

I think this is hardly different than Scribd, Amazon DTP, or a dozen other sites that allow authors to directly publish their works.

As with those sites, the cover art is generally substandard, there's no way to know if the work is edited, there's almost no emphasis (or apparent respect for) graphic design, no paper or POD options, no review or recommendation engine. I doubt the site will even generate enough revenue for any kind of serious marketing push.

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

E-books allow a way for non-established authors to sell their books without having to get a contract, and for established authors to say screw the publishers and sell books on their own.

So does POD, and self-publishing has always been an option. The cost of entry is lower, but we're not talking about huge sums anyway. So along with positive changes (e.g. authors selling direct, no international barriers) there are negatives (e.g. few ways to pick authors out of the massive slush pile, no mechanisms for region-specific marketing).

It'll probably work out fine for these authors, since I presume there is no exclusivity; they don't really have much to lose, if they are fine with DRM-free files. Then again there isn't much to gain either, since these appear to be mostly backlist titles, there's zero marketing, no advances and so forth.

Also, keep in mind this site apparently focuses on presenting authors who were already published by someone else; so they're redlining... off of the decisions made by publishers in the past. Not much help from this site for the novice authors.

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

It's happened in music with up and coming bands having MP3s on their web sites, streaming music on their myspace or facebook pages etc.

Sure, and some small unsigned bands are making a smidgen more money than they used to by selling CD's and T-shirts at shows -- and while this has been an option for years, AFAIK virtually no one has charted without being signed to a label (small or large). So for the band that is happy to play out and isn't looking for big sales it's handy, but hasn't fundamentally changed the dynamic yet. If anything, a label will now expect an unsigned band to have an online following as a demonstration of its ability to sell recordings.

Meanwhile, larger bands have occasionally taken the initiative to form their own labels (Beatles/Apple, Led Zeppelin/Swan Song, Madonna/Maverick, Neil Young/Vapor etc). It's rare with books but not completely unheard of (City Lights). So, not necessarily seeing a huge change their either.

[frozennorth]

Bookmarked the site. Thank You Critteranne.

[guyanonymous]

And it starts (well, continues).

These authors get it - and likely make more on each of these book sales than they would do if they had publishing deals. Numbers will build through word of mouth their volume of sales will increase (if the books merit it!). Hopefully they'll leverage the strengths of social communities either via their website or via promotion on other suitable venues.

[Kali Yuga]

Originally Posted by guyanonymous

These authors get it - and likely make more on each of these book sales than they would do if they had publishing deals.

All of these authors were published at one point. You'd almost certainly never know any of their names otherwise (that is, of whatever names are recognizable).

Originally Posted by guyanonymous

Numbers will build through word of mouth their volume of sales will increase (if the books merit it!).

Increase, perhaps. Better royalties than via publishers, sure. More sales than they'd get via Amazon DTP, doubtful. Enough to earn a living, extremely doubtful.

And again, self-publishing and author-run outfits really aren't new. City Lights is in many ways a success, but it didn't replace traditional publishers or send Random House et al running for the hills either. Neither will this site.

Originally Posted by guyanonymous

Hopefully they'll leverage the strengths of social communities either via their website or via promotion on other suitable venues.

Maybe, but maybe not. The design of their website certainly doesn't indicate a great deal of web savvy; new releases on that site will have zero marketing dollars (except whatever the author bothers to put into it), no reviews, smaller audiences, no special promotion deals, and so forth.

Getting a higher royalty doesn't always work in your favor if you can only reach an audience that is a tiny fraction of an Amazon or Apple.

[guyanonymous]

As ebooks increase, I personally believe that this type of site will do better - especially when social means are leveraged as opposed to traditional advertising. Other means (print on demand) may well serve these folks better than traditional publishers for that aspect of sales (lulu.com lets them do it all, toss on an isbn and have their stuff sold through amazon and other booksellers who choose to buy the book). Non A/B list authors, even now, get minimal advertising and promotion, and do a lot of that stuff themselves (book signings, self-promotion via press releases, web sites).

I have to admit - I've not seen (noticed may be a better word) an advertisement for a book of any sort in years. I find books through social means (word of mouth, seeing what others are reading, seeking out books in similar genres/series/etc based which usually leads me to user-generated lists on social sites OR the social aspects of commercial sites. And through that, I find a much wider range of books to read (old and new) - many of which aren't available through any local bookstores in an easy way.

While not really applicable (but I feel like blabbing), the pbooks I do buy, I now usually get online (amazon.ca or indigo.ca) as they cost me less (base price, shipping, taxes) than any local stores. I used to feel guilt about doing that - but realized that local shops failed to serve my needs; the staff rarely know the books themselves unless they're on their top 10 wall/new release wall and it takes them far longer to get the books, at higher expense, that I do seek out.

[gastan]

Interesting site for romance novels. I wish them well and hope they make it work. It would be nice to see a similar site for other genres.

[Critteranne]

There is already Closed Circle, set up by three previously pubilshed science fiction and fantasy authors (Lynn Abbey, C. J. Cherryh, and Jane Fancher):
http://www.closed-circle.net/

They're all well-liked, well-reviewed authors -- but not authors with clout along the lines of, say, a James Patterson or Stephen King. C. J. Cherryh is huge as far as acclaim and awards go. Unfortunately, so far, the choice of titles for all of these authors is limited -- a few older titles. Maybe as the electronic rights of more older titles revert to them, more titles will go up. But newer publishing contracts will keep those rights longer. I think some of the titles they're offering were originally published by Warner's Questar imprint, which died in the 1990s -- explaining why those authors still have electronic rights for those titles.

[dmikov]

Yeah I hope writers co-op like Closed Circle will be the future, not only it is easier for authors to hire distribution and maybe editing, but it would help customers identify style and quality. Assuming the like minded individuals are forming cooperation.
I for one would start buying from co-op with Vernor Vinge or Gene Wolfe in it, knowing my favorite authors will not surround themselves with bad authors.

[Critteranne]

Originally Posted by dmikov

Yeah I hope writers co-op like Closed Circle will be the future, not only it is easier for authors to hire distribution and maybe editing, but it would help customers identify style and quality. Assuming the like minded individuals are forming cooperation.

I hope these companies take off. There are a lot of great authors whose older books are out of print or who are no longer published. This would be one way for those books to come back into print. (I also like it when companies like e-Reads bringing them back into print -- that would be a good alternative for authors who don't want the risk or trouble of starting a corporation.)

Originally Posted by dmikov

I for one would start buying from co-op with Vernor Vinge or Gene Wolfe in it, knowing my favorite authors will not surround themselves with bad authors.

And maybe like Vinge, more authors will produce heavily annotated e-books, like the annotated edition of A Fire Upon the Deep. That would be sooo coool. Like having a commentary track on a book.

[David.Niall.Wils]

This is exactly how Macabre Ink Digital got started. I wanted to get my books back in print, then I started helping do the same for others...there is absolutely no sense letting words waste away on your hard drive. I'm formatting short stories as well at $1.00 apiece.

I hope some of you will check it out.

David Niall Wilson