And all it will take is ONE person to break through on their own and — as we’ve just seen with print publishing lining up lemming-like behind Macmillan (which is using Apple’s iPad as its shield) — the pile-on will begin.

My advice to all writers is, starting reading stuff like Business for Dummies.

Publishers will realize that the digital flattening of the marketplace enables more writers to publish their content and that this will actually serve as a valid competitive force. The deflation of book prices–both electronic and print–will further this democratization.

SOOOOooo, with the rules of business such that volume speaks louder than margin in this case, perhaps more publishing houses will open their doors to more authors, increasing their sales volume while lowering the margin. It’s not rocket science.

~jenn

But people who do are getting hosed. WORSE, the folks with paperbacks, whether new releases or not, because to get that free shipping, people often add a PB to the HOT! NEW! HC they are buying.

I hear a lot of calls for authors to do something else and somehow magically produce and publish, or at least sell, their own books. I do not, however, see a lot of calls for that from writers.

Anyone wonder why that is? I can tell you, because I may be one of the few people commenting that actually HAS some small business experience. Having had, and failed, in a small business, there are a thousand things you must do that are invisible to the customer to keep a small business going.

Here is why authors don’t go into the self (e- or real-book) publishing business.

In order to HAVE a small business you MUST have the following:

Clearance from where you live to run a small business on your premises. If you do not have this, buy or rent space from which to operate same. ($ to $$$) If the authorities find out you are operating a small business from your home (and they will) without this clearance, Very Bad Things can happen. Like fines ($$$$$)

Small business insurance. ($$ to $$$$) If you do not have this and someone injuries himself or you have a flood or a fire, your homeowners will NOT cover you ($$$$$$$$$$$$$$$).

Business licenses. Sometimes three, from city, county and state. ($)

Business tax number.

The ability to process credit card payments ($$. Yes, Virginia, they charge you). You can use PayPal, but that comes with its own set of fees and problems.

Someone to separate your business accounting from your personal accounting. And someone to handle the business tax reporting. If this is you, this is time you won’t be using to write.

A website ($ to $$$$). If you are setting up and maintaining, this is time you won’t be using to write.

Someone to handle orders ($ to $$) After all you don’t want to ship product until you find out if the credit card/PayPal account is good. If this is you….yada.

Someone to think of good ways to promote your books. If this is you….

The sure and certain knowledge that 4 out of 5 small businesses fail in the first 4 years.

A day job, because at the end of 4 years, chances are you will need it.

To sum up, here, to run a small business selling my own books, whether in e- or paper format, I would have to take the odds of 80% failure and the loss of at least 50% of my writing time.

For the record, when our small (scrapbooking, brick and mortar) business failed, our end result was a loss of over $200k.

Start a book business myself? That’s the sound of hysterical laughter you hear. Thanks, I think I’ll stab myself in the eye with a fork a few times instead.

This technology has a long way to go. For us to put our money up front so that Publishers can improve on it is just not where the consumer is going. You improve first then we follow like sheep.

I don’t pay 9.99 for an e-book because it is out in hardback at $25. I wait until I can buy it for $7.99 in paperback and then use a 40% coupon! The digital market needs to analyze the overall market of “books” before setting such a high price point on something you can not sell, trade, share or return.

I buy e-books all the time and the highest I have paid is $6.99 for books that retail at least double the cost. there is no way that I am paying $7.99 for an e-book that is out in Mass Market paperback for the same $7.99. E-books and readers are in the teenage stage right now, I’m not sharing my stuff with you! mentality. When we get to the mid-adult stage, Here’s what I have what do you have? stage, the price point may be worth raising because the e-reader and the e-book technology may be finally worth it. Publishers, you ain’t there yet!