Why You Should Definitely Create a Paperback for Your eBook

I've observed, recently, that some authors don't bother creating paperback versions of their books. This surprised me, especially given that they were publishing in standard genres and not something that might merit such discretion (ie, erotica). Apparently, they felt that there wasn't enough potential for sales from that format to warrant the time needed to create the paperback file. While I’ll admit that some investment of time (and probably a little bit of $) is necessary, I’m still a bit boggled at the idea of not making the effort. I mean, if you were selling T-shirts, you wouldn't produce only one size. So, why would you not take advantage of a potential revenue stream by producing your book in only one format?

Because, gosh darn it, I'm worth it! ;)

My first novel (Multiples of Six) is now available in 3 different formats, thanks to recent work with ACX. And, while the audiobook was a bit of a bonus effort, I never had a doubt about creating the paperback version. In a world where ebooks are beginning to dominate, there is still a significant traditional readership market to be had. It might just be a matter of going out and getting them the old fashioned way, but that’s part of the fun!

I've probably given away as many paperbacks as I've sold. I’m hoping that changes this fall, but I won’t hold my breath. It’s not a big deal. To me, the paperback is a marketing tool for the independent author. It’s a means with which to put something tangible in readers’ hands. Some people need that. Some people need to see that stack of paper and the accompanying look in your eye that says “I've crafted something that I think you’ll like.” Only then are they willing to give it a shot.

There’s something also very personal about having a paperback copy of your book created. Sure, it sniffs a bit of the old vanity presses, but today's self-publishing is a completely different animal. You're an entrepreneur now. You worked hard to get where you are. And, even if you can count on two hands the number of paperbacks you've sold in two years (like I can), it’s a physical memento of what you've accomplished. It’s your trophy. That’s how I treat it, at least. I don’t expect anyone else to give me one, so I made one for myself.

Personally, I use CreateSpace for my paperbacks. While there is some monetary outlay at the beginning (cover creation, ISBN), additional cost is entirely up to the author. You can purchase copies at a significant discount and in any quantity you desire. My paperback is listed at $12.95 through Amazon and B&N and they regularly discount that at 10%. However, I can purchase for <7$, which allows me to discount the retail price and still make a little bit in the end. The quality is good, the shipping is usually timely, and their affiliation with Amazon makes it simple to link with the ebook.

If not publishing in multiple venues (eg, other than Amazon) is leaving money on the table, then publishing in a single format should be considered the same. In order to maximize your opportunity for income, you should leave no stone unturned. If you're on the fence about paperbacks, go for it. You'll be happy you did and you'll have a nice addition to your bookshelf.

I think the more formats, the better. What say you?

The Same Six Questions - C.W. LaSart

Hello there, and welcome back to The Same Six Questions! Today's guest is C.W. LaSart. In her own words:

A lifelong horror fan, C.W. LaSart resides in the Midwest with her beloved Lou, 3 young children, and 2 neurotic dogs. A mother with a love for horror movies and a father who read her Poe from an early age, fostered in her a love for the horror genre and she has done her best to do the same for her own children, often warning teachers at conferences that it's Halloween at her house every day of the year, and not to worry too much about their gleeful darkness.

The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?

Yes I have. My first collection of short stories,
Ad Nauseam: 13 Tales of Extreme Horror, was released in early March by Dark Moon Books and is doing quite well. I entered a contest for extreme horror and the publisher liked my submission so much that he closed the contest and contracted me for the whole book. I'm excited by the responses I've gotten from it, and it's just fun to be able to share my stories with so many others. The stories are extreme in nature, so they aren't for everyone, but if you're tired of the same old slasher/
zombie/vampire stuff, it may be just what you're looking for.

2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I can't remember a time when I didn't want to be a writer. I didn't necessarily dream of being an author when I grew up, but I always enjoyed writing and planned to continue on. It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I even entertained the thought of publishing what I wrote. Until then, I wrote just for the fun of it.

3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction (say, >1000 words)? What was it about? When did you write it? Do you still have it?

I think it was probably an essay in Jr. High School. Something dreadful about teen suicide and depression. Before that I only wrote poetry. I have a folder full of everything I've ever done, but most of it is embarassing in its immaturity. I used to make little books for my mom in elemetary school. They were blatant plagiarism, but I think she still has them somewhere.

4. When was your first indication, "I can do this (write)"?

I submitted my first short story about two years ago and it was accepted at the first place I tried. Over the next twelve months, I had a phenomenal acceptance rate wherever I tried, but it wasn't until I got contracted for Ad Nauseam that I started to think I may be able to actually do this for a living. I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the three winners of the Cemetery Dance Amatuer Writing Contest, which qualified me to become an Affiliate member of the Horror Writer's Association, which also cemented my resolve that I may be able to do all right.

5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

Oh lord. None of them! They are all such twisted and miserable creatures. I suppose in a way I have already met all of them, since I tend to borrow bits and pieces from people I know, but in their entirety, they are a bit too horrific for my tastes. I would much prefer to meet someone else's characters. Maybe someone from Stephen King or Robert McCammon.

6. It's a dark and stormy night...you're alone in the house...there's a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What's on the doorstep?

A huge spider, selling Avon and wearing toe-socks. I hate toe-socks!

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LOL...thanks for sharing with us today! For more of C.W. and her writing, be sure to check out her Web site, Facebook page, and Twitter profile.

The Same Six Questions is always seeking independent authors to interview. If you're a fan and you know someone who might be interested, please be sure to send them my way.

The Same Six Questions - Jennifer Word

Welcome back everyone! I just spent a week in sunny Arizona. Beautiful state, but we were running around like crazy and I'm glad to be home, sleeping in my own bed.

Jennifer Word is an award-winning poet and editor inSouthern California. She holds a B.A. inPsychology from Pepperdine University. Her short fiction and poetry has been featured in The Storyteller Magazine, The Klondike Sun, Dark Moon Digest, Dark Eclipse e-Magazine, and the Frightmares and Slices of Flesh anthologies. She is also the author of The Poe Toaster, All Because of the Cat, and Higher Love.

Jennifer lives with her two beautiful children. When she's not busy writing, she enjoys Yoga, and taking care of her two cats, two guinea pigs and a plecostamus in a homemade aquarium.

The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?

The Society - Book One: Genesis is my debut novel. It is a Science Fiction/Speculative Fiction novel, and it's book one of a trilogy now available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I have also published three separate stories through Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing.

2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I knew I wanted to be a writer from about age nine or ten. I had a fourth grade teacher tell me I was a writer, and it inspired me to dream big. It was a teacher that started all my dreams of wanting to be a writer.

3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction (say, >1000 words)? What was it about? When did you write it? Do you still have it?

My first story, I wrote in the fourth grade. It was a horror story about a black cat and a curse. I'm not certain how many words long it was, but it won first place in the Make-A-Book contest in my elementary school. Later, I just jumped in and began writing, at age 34, and I wrote five novels in four months!

4. When was your first indication, "I can do this (write)"?

When I received a publishing contract through Stony Meadow Publishing for my trilogy, I said, "Wow, I can really do this!" It was so unexpected, but I was floored! My debut novel is so meaningful to me, and the series means a lot to me. I hope it will inspire many readers to realize that there are no insignificant people in this world. Everyone is here for a reason, and everyone plays an important role in the lives of others, simply by existing.

5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

I would like to meet my main character from my trilogy, Jessica Wembly. She is so lost, yet so important in the role of humanity. I wouldn't mind meeting all the characters from The Society. They are all amazing people, and I have wished so many times that they were real. My children think I am crazy, because I talk about my characters as if they are real people, but to me, they are. They are a conglomeration of people I have met in real life, friends, family. They are everyday people that anyone can relate to.

6. It's a dark and stormy night...you're alone in the house...there's a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What's on the doorstep?

Vampires, werewolves, all the B-movie monsters. I would say, "Bring it on," and I would have the Monster Squad to back me up, including Rudy with his bow and arrow!! And Stephen King would be right there to chronicle and write about the War that would ensue.

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Thanks so much for sharing with us today, Jennifer! For more of Jennifer and her work, be sure to check out her Web site.

Stop back in on Thursday when my guest will be Aliya Anjum! See you then!

The Same Six Questions - Caddy Rowland

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2012 and all that it has to offer! Today's guest on The Same Six Questions is Caddy Rowland. Welcome!

Thanks, Andy! I am a writer from Minnesota who is married to her high school sweetheart. I would love to live somewhere much warmer, but my husband is Minnesotan through and through. I kinda like him, so here we are. We are owned by two parrots, who do talk.

For fun, I love to read, write, paint, hike, walk, enjoy nature (but NOT camping), play Texas Hold 'Em, movies, and just kick back with friends.

When I lost my job in February of 2011 it gave me the opportunity to try to make a go at truly becoming an "indie". I have to tell you, the book formatting was a challenge for me. I don't think with that side of my brain at all.

I have always been a nonconformist and into art. Many times I feel that I have landed on the wrong planet, but I do have a lot of great friends who put up with me, even though I can be quite bizarre. Even a few family members put up with me!


The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?

Yes, I published my first novel on August 1, 2011. Gastien Part 1; The Cost of the Dream (Kindle, Nook, and paperback) is a drama/romance that takes place in France during the late nineteenth century. It will be a series of at least four novels. This series is not a “typical” romance and is enjoyed by men as well as women.

Gastien Part 1: The Cost of the Dream is about Gastien's coming of age, his horrible struggles to become an artist after leaving an abusive home, and learning to become the greatest lover in France. That was not hard to do. For the most part, men did not care if women enjoyed sex during that time period. Gastien wanted to make sure they did.

I released the second book in the series, Gastien Part 2: From Dream to Destiny on December 13th 2011 (Kindle, Nook, and paperback).

Gastien Part 2: From Dream to Destiny takes off where Part 1 left off. It has the “big” romance in it. However, be forewarned that Gastien was a true nonconformist. He stayed true to that and this romance reflects that. It is not at all a typical romance, but Gastien finds himself loved in spite of his terms.

Part 3 of the Gastien series will come out in the spring of 2012.


2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I had always wanted to write fiction, ever since I was in grade school. I had a stack of books that reached almost to the ceiling before I started kindergarten! Books have always been my best friends.

Through the years, I started and quit several stories. Life just seemed too busy! Then, I got breast cancer about 1 1/2 years ago. I am now fine, they caught it very early...but it really brought home the fact that if something is important to you then don't wait until "later" to do it.

So, in November of 2010 I promised I would write for at least an hour a day, five days a week, no matter what. That opened the whole world of writing for me, one that I always wanted to be a part of, but had never been disciplined enough to join.

3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction? What was it about? When did you write it? Do you still have it?

It was a book for children, titled One Little Snowflake. I am a painter, so I also did all of the illustrations for it. Although it is not a lengthy book, the time put into it was lengthy because of all of the paintings.

It is about the circle of life, and it is meant for children with terminal illness, although adults with terminal illness would benefit from it, too. Spring is coming, and the little snowflake is melting. He is scared and does not understand why winter has to end. An icicle helps him understand how we pass on the gift of life over and over through dying.

I wrote it about twelve years ago. I just gave up on it, and I don't know why! I am waiting to hear from a publishing company about it right now. Someday, I may self publish it, if it does not get picked up somewhere else.

Right now, though, I have all of the Gastien Series in my head, and a couple other adult fiction novels that I started and stopped, waiting to be finished.

4. When was your first indication, "I can do this (write)"?

In junior high, I wrote a lot of poetry. I always felt I could write, but...you know...fear...self doubt...

I did some past life regressions in August 2010 and that opened up creative doors for me. I was filled with an urgent need to tell this story. When I sat down in November of 2010 and the words just came faster than my hands could type, I knew I was supposed to write.

5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

Gastien. I would love his talent for painting! I can paint, but that man COULD PAINT! He was one in a million, one of those who could see things in a way others had never thought of yet.

Life was cruel to him in many ways. I would love to let him know how valuable, how wonderful he was. Not just for his looks and painting. He was worthwhile just as a human being. Not many communicated that to him.

Still, he was very good looking. He would be lovely to look at daily. My husband would possibly feel different about having young Gastien around, though.

6. It's a dark and stormy night...you're alone in the house...there's a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What's on the doorstep?

Dead parrots. Since we have two parrots, I used to have a fear that someone would break in and do something violent to them. About that time, I quit reading horror novels, at least for the most part.

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Yikes! Thanks for sharing with us today, Caddy! You can keep up with Caddy on Facebook, Twitter, and her blog.

Remember, new indie authors every Monday and Thursday! See you next week!

Win An Autographed Copy of Multiples of Six!

Would you like a signed paperback copy of my new book? Just swing on by GoodReads to sign up! If you don't know what GoodReads is, then you're missing out on a wonderful community of readers and writers.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Multiples of Six

by Andy Rane

Giveaway ends September 30, 2011.

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at Goodreads.

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