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Post by Hsin-Yi on Jan 3, 2015 20:17:01 GMT -5
BookSends have invited me to take part in a new bundles initiative that they are launching, where they organise and create and promote bundles for groups of authors (based on genre) and split the royalties 50/50. I'm going to give it a try – thought I would share it here for anyone else who might be interested. Here's the link with more info: readbundles.com/ |
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Post by Miss Terri Novelle on Jan 3, 2015 23:25:27 GMT -5
Interesting prospect and possibly right for the first book of my next series. Will watch with interest to see how this goes.
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Post by Suzy on Jan 4, 2015 3:12:19 GMT -5
I think I'll try this with the first in my Hot series now that it's out of Select. Thank you, Hsin-Yi!
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Post by Daniel on Jan 4, 2015 7:26:14 GMT -5
It would be interesting to know more about their termination clause. Anthology publishers often get non-exclusive publishing rights from you. A book you put into one of these bundles may never be able to go back into Select.
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Post by Suzy on Jan 4, 2015 12:02:29 GMT -5
This is what they say:
Authors allow us to format and publish their novels together in a bundle at $0.99 on ebook retailers. All publishing rights are retained by the authors. Royalties are split 50/50 between ReadBundles and authors, each of whom receive an even percentage of their half. We cover all costs of production and marketing, and you tap your fans for support. Authors start earning money from the very first bundle sold and get paid on a monthly basis after earnings statements are released for as long as the bundle is available.
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Post by Daniel on Jan 4, 2015 12:19:32 GMT -5
I saw that, but it says nothing about termination or changing your mind about being in the bundle. "All publishing rights are retained by the authors" only means that they aren't asking for exclusivity.
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Post by Suzy on Jan 4, 2015 12:40:41 GMT -5
I don't care if I can't put this book back in Select, as long as it can be on sale on its own as well.
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Post by Suzy on Jan 4, 2015 12:52:05 GMT -5
I asked them and this is what they said:
I think we're looking at a 2 month minimum with the option to go on longer if it's working out well. After 2 months, we could either all continue, all stop, or sub in or out a couple of books.
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Post by Daniel on Jan 4, 2015 12:54:21 GMT -5
I don't care if I can't put this book back in Select, as long as it can be on sale on its own as well. That's cool. I just brought the question up because someone else might want to know if they are giving up the option of using Select indefinitely for their title. At this point in time, I wouldn't put my first book into an anthology because I'm not yet ready to give up that option. I don't like how Select looks at the moment, but you know Amazon, it loves to change things. |
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Post by Daniel on Jan 4, 2015 12:57:28 GMT -5
I asked them and this is what they said: I think we're looking at a 2 month minimum with the option to go on longer if it's working out well. After 2 months, we could either all continue, all stop, or sub in or out a couple of books. I like that. What would be really awesome is to have a review period every three to six months where authors could opt in or out of the anthology. |
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Post by Suzy on Jan 4, 2015 14:01:42 GMT -5
I think that's the idea. I posted a thread on KB, as, after my submission, they e-mailed me and asked if I could get more authors on board. They have just launched this, so they want submissions quite quickly.
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Post by Miss Terri Novelle on Jan 4, 2015 17:21:01 GMT -5
In that case, I may submit at the end of the month when my first book goes out of select. If it is only for a couple of months or so, it might be worth the exposure.
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Post by Suzy on Jan 5, 2015 3:34:44 GMT -5
Well most of the people on KB are grumbling about money and how they won't make much. I wasn't actually looking at the money side of things but of the chance of getting extra exposure.
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Post by Hsin-Yi on Jan 5, 2015 6:35:02 GMT -5
Well most of the people on KB are grumbling about money and how they won't make much. I wasn't actually looking at the money side of things but of the chance of getting extra exposure. That was my idea too. I'm not bothered about the money (if I can still sell the book separately and it's a title I've already written, then I don't see how I can lose) - it's just another way to funnel people to my catalogue. Funny - I shared it on another FB group I'm on (Aus/NZ authors) and also got a negative reaction from one of the other authors. But she seems to be very against bundles in general because of poor financial returns... |
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Post by Suzy on Jan 5, 2015 7:03:39 GMT -5
Surprising reaction considering that a) Booksends does all the work and then promote a lot for you and b) the book can be for sale elsewhere. It's not as if they're locking your book up forever, is it?
Gee, when you think how hard it is to get any kind of notice, how can they not see that this would be a good thing? No guarantees, of course but it's all a bit of a lottery isn't it?
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Post by Daniel on Jan 5, 2015 8:07:21 GMT -5
Well most of the people on KB are grumbling about money and how they won't make much. I wasn't actually looking at the money side of things but of the chance of getting extra exposure. That's because you are looking at the situation logically. Exposure is the entire point of putting a book into one of these anthologies. With multiple authors sharing 17.5 cents per sale, it can't be about earning money. At five or six authors per anthology, you can expect to earn about 3 cents a sale. Since the book you contribute can't be permafree, authors may be looking at this deal with the same narrow viewpoint they apply to KU. In other words, they are comparing a regular sale against a sale of the anthology. They aren't the same thing, and they don't serve the same purpose. |
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Post by Suzy on Jan 5, 2015 8:14:07 GMT -5
Yes, but I don't think readers will download the anthology INSTEAD of the book. And it will be for sale everywhere else at the same time.
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Post by Daniel on Jan 5, 2015 8:33:26 GMT -5
Yes, but I don't think readers will download the anthology INSTEAD of the book. And it will be for sale everywhere else at the same time. You could be right, but my guess is that it won't work out that way. Your book would have to show up right alongside the bundle for readers to make the connection, and maybe not even then. I doubt readers would search for an anthology that contains your book just to try and get a better deal on it. One of the down sides of these 99-cent anthologies is that they appeal to bargain hunters. The point of the bundle is to expose readers to your work so they will buy more of it. How many of the anthology readers ever buy books that aren't free or 99 cents? How many of the anthology readers will like your particular story enough (after being distracted by four or five others) to go in search of more stories by you? The answers to those questions will determine the sell through, and that is the true measure of the anthology's value. When you are only going to earn about $30 per 1,000 sales, money certainly can't be the motivation. I see these anthologies as a sort of "going free promo" with a group of other authors who have related books. |
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Post by Suzy on Jan 5, 2015 8:57:34 GMT -5
I see it as a chance to get new readers. New readers might buy the anthology, read my book and then go looking for other books by me. If that's only ten or twenty, it still might mean more sales across the board later on.
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Post by Miss Terri Novelle on Jan 5, 2015 9:46:10 GMT -5
I'm releasing book 3 in the series this week and the plan is to have book 4 done by end of March depending on when our house sells. I intended to go permafree with book 1 as soon as its Select period ends at the end of this month. I'm looking at this for exposure and I don't see a problem putting off permafree until book 4 is out. All that being said, there's no guarantee my book would be accepted since it does not perfectly follow genre tropes.
Either way, book 1 goes wide on the 26th (must get to formatting it for that purpose) and I will submit it then and see.
ETA: I went ahead and submitted it with a note about when it will be out of select so I won't be waiting until it goes wide to have the question of whether it would be accepted answered.
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