All interesting. But all this echatter started my wheels turning in *this* direction: if ebooks truly are our future, how does an author best promote his/her titles? As (correctly) pointed out to me by "AM" in Mr. Bransford's comment section, an author can cost-effectively reach thousands of potential readers through blog tours and websites. And there are many wonderful ones out there, but the King is, of course, the distributor: Amazon. And if all authors are competing for space on the Almighty Amazon, who do you think will win? Prolly not debut authors, when Stephen King has a new kid on the block. Prolly not a midlister, when Stephanie Meyer waxes poetic.
I don't mean to sound bitter, I'm truly wondering how it might work. Limited distribution channels mean limited opportunities for author promotion.
And, too, taking this to an extreme: will booksignings fall by the wayside? I insist on stubbornly clinging to the idea that readers *like* meeting an author in person. And getting something signed.
Because as much as I love my Kindle, I love my signed books even more.
Please, weigh in! :-)
2 comments:
FRom a marketing perspective - if you meet someone in person - it takes 7 times to touch an online person in the same way. I thinkn consumers love to meet authors - online marketing shoudl be in addition to
Hi, Shelli! Oh, I totally agree - I *love* meeting authors. I suppose my thinking is along these lines: if in the future there are only 2-3 places to purchase an ebook, how does a consumer find a book he or she likes that isn't by a MEGAAUTHOR? The point-of-sale marketing opportunities are slim. Bookstores allow so much more opportunity to a debut author. I say all of this knowing how much I love my Kindle. Just musings, of course - I may be old-fashioned on this one, but I can't see books being totally replaced by electronic files, a la music downloads. :-) Thanks for chiming in!
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