Old_Man_Steve2016
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- Joined
- Mar 11, 2016
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- 164
The founder of Smashwords has a blog and every year, (apparently) he makes a prediction on the industry for the coming year.
Smashwords: 2017 Book Industry Predictions: Intrigue and Angst amid Boundless Opportunity
For our wallet's sake, let's hope so.
2. The glut will grow more pronounced
So many bad books out there clogging up the front pages!
3. Ebooks will face greater commoditization pressures in 2017
So much for selling that box set for $49.95.
4. The publishing industry will begin to recognize KDP Select as the cancer that it is
Basically, the issues with KDP Select will outweigh the benefits
5. Boiling Frogs
But KDP Select is too powerful and convenient so their incremental changes won't be noticed, to the point where your previously profitable book is no longer making money because they're letting people read it for free.
6. Large ebook retailers pushed to the brink
The competition, including Smashwords (though he didn't say it) are going to fare poorly against the Amazon juggernaut and lose out as more authors stick to KDP and thus can't sell their books at their firms.
7. Kindle Unlimited will continue to harm single copy ebook sales in 2017
The KU system is KO'ing the sale of Ebooks since the subscription model makes more money for Amazon than the single copy sales system. It also means less money for subscribing authors.
8. Many indies will quit or scale back production
This hurts the industry in the long run, as opportunities for cross-promotion drop and the industry 'hollywood'-izes or goes completely free (for the reader) and monetizes the reader instead.
9. Industry consolidation will hit self-publishing
The services that self-published authors call upon will consolidate and thusly prices will go up for the indie author. The $40 cover becomes the $90 cover, the $250 editing project becomes the $600 project, and so forth as competitors leave the field or get merged.
10. Amazon to face anti-trust scrutiny for unfair business practices
Maybe in the EU, but not likely with the pro-corporate climate in the US these days.
So 2017 shapes up to a year of tough times for the indie writer, according to the Smashwords guy. What say my fellow authors? Is there a trendpoint that he missed?
Smashwords: 2017 Book Industry Predictions: Intrigue and Angst amid Boundless Opportunity
Ten Publishing Predictions for 2017
1. Indie authors will continue to capture greater ebook market share in 2017
For our wallet's sake, let's hope so.
2. The glut will grow more pronounced
So many bad books out there clogging up the front pages!
3. Ebooks will face greater commoditization pressures in 2017
So much for selling that box set for $49.95.
4. The publishing industry will begin to recognize KDP Select as the cancer that it is
Basically, the issues with KDP Select will outweigh the benefits
5. Boiling Frogs
But KDP Select is too powerful and convenient so their incremental changes won't be noticed, to the point where your previously profitable book is no longer making money because they're letting people read it for free.
6. Large ebook retailers pushed to the brink
The competition, including Smashwords (though he didn't say it) are going to fare poorly against the Amazon juggernaut and lose out as more authors stick to KDP and thus can't sell their books at their firms.
7. Kindle Unlimited will continue to harm single copy ebook sales in 2017
The KU system is KO'ing the sale of Ebooks since the subscription model makes more money for Amazon than the single copy sales system. It also means less money for subscribing authors.
8. Many indies will quit or scale back production
This hurts the industry in the long run, as opportunities for cross-promotion drop and the industry 'hollywood'-izes or goes completely free (for the reader) and monetizes the reader instead.
9. Industry consolidation will hit self-publishing
The services that self-published authors call upon will consolidate and thusly prices will go up for the indie author. The $40 cover becomes the $90 cover, the $250 editing project becomes the $600 project, and so forth as competitors leave the field or get merged.
10. Amazon to face anti-trust scrutiny for unfair business practices
Maybe in the EU, but not likely with the pro-corporate climate in the US these days.
So 2017 shapes up to a year of tough times for the indie writer, according to the Smashwords guy. What say my fellow authors? Is there a trendpoint that he missed?
