This presentation was given at the RT Booklovers convention in Chicago April 11, 2012. It analyzes a nine-month chunk of Smashwords sales data, aggregated across multiple Smashwords retailers (Apple iBookstore, Sony, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Diesel, Smashwords.com), to determine if there were potential data-driven metrics that might reveal new viral catalysts that authors can put to work to make their books more available, discoverable and enjoyable to readers. By utilizing the right mix of viral catalysts, authors can maximize reader reader word-of-mouth. Some of the findings are eye-opening, and some are simply just fun. Learn more about viral catalysts and ebook publishing best practices by reading Mark Coker's SECRETS TO EBOOK PUBLISHING SUCCESS, available at most major ebook retailers.
How Data-Driven Decisions *Might* Help Indie Ebook Authors Reach More Readers
1. MONEY MONEY MONEY:
How Data-Driven Decisions *Might*
Help Authors Reach More Readers
RT Booklovers Convention
April 11, 2012
Mark Coker
Founder, Smashwords
Twitter: @markcoker
2. This presentation was first given at the Chicago RT
Booklovers convention on April 11, 2012
On April 25, I modified it to include notes so
Slideshare viewers have better context through which
to understand the data
Visit
http://www.slideshare.net/smashwords/presentations
to access a wide variety of other presentations from
Mark Coker
4. My wife Lesleyann is a former reporter for Soap Opera Weekly
Magazine. We wrote a novel, Boob Tube, that explores the wild
and wacky world of daytime television
5. Despite Representation by Top
Literary Agency, Every Publisher
Rejected it
• Previous soap opera-themed novels had
not performed well in the marketplace
• Publishers reluctant to take a chance
on the book
• The experience opened my eyes to Big
Publishing
6. The Big Publisher Challenge
• Books judged on perceived commercial
potential
• Publishers unable to take a risk on
every author
• Thousands of great writers denied
opportunity to reach readers
• Books forced out of print too soon
7. My Answer: Smashwords
• Ebooks !!
• Provide writers free tools to become their
own ebook publishers
• Open up the printing press to all
• Open up distribution to major ebook stores
• Ebooks are immortal
• Smashwords is now the world’s largest
distributor of self-published ebooks
9. How Smashwords Distribution
Works
• UPLOAD
• Upload a Microsoft Word file, formatted to our Style
Guide
• Free conversion to 9 ebook formats
• Ready for immediate sale online
• DISTRIBUTE
• Distribution to multiple major retailers
• GET PAID
• Author receives 85%+ of net = 60% list from major
retailers
15. What’s a Viral Catalyst?
• A viral catalyst is something that makes your
book more available, accessible, desirable
and enjoyable to readers
• Read the Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success (it’s
FREE!) to learn how viral catalysts spur word-of-mouth
18. ???
So I asked questions
We looked at about nine months of sales
data, aggregated across the Smashwords
distribution network
Some findings are useful, some were just
fun
21. Impact of Price Changes
• Conclusions not clear cut
• Small sample sizes of Top 10, Top 40 not
statistically significant
• Not a clear cause and effect of price
changes to increased sales
• Quite possible authors who change prices
frequently are also promoting their books more
actively
24. How Sales Develop
• This set of data looks at aggegrated
“Classes” of all titles published in a certain
month, are still published, and how their sales
developed from month one to month two to
(etc…)
• Key findings:
• Strong overall growth as ebook market develops and
some titles achieve viral word of mouth
• A lot of randomness: Different classes, even
separated by one month, exhibit dramatically
different growth patterns
• Could speak to the outsize influence of a small number of
breakout hits in each class
30. How Sales Develop: Single
Retailer, Single Title
• This set of data looks at individual titles at
the Apple iBookstore
• Key findings:
• Different books develop differently over time
• Sales rise and fall, then rise and fall again, based on
various factors (randomness, luck, author promotions, new
title releases, retailer promos)
• If authors don’t maintain persistent presence across all
retailers, they miss the spikes and miss opportunity to
harvest the benefit
• Unlike print books, which quickly go out of print, ebooks
are immortal and can yield income for years
31. Slow boil, breakout, slow boil,
breakout
• This title was selling relatively well (5-10 copies a day) then
benefited from major national press coverage (spike #1) then
feature placement in Apple email promo (spike #2). After
each spike, sales settled at higher level than previous.
32. Slow boil, slow build, breakout,
slow boil
• This title did nothing for a month, but then started
growing organically through word of mouth. This book
is likely to enjoy many many years of solid
performance as new readers discover it.
33. Slow boil, breakout, slow boil,
smaller breakouts
• Another title that did nothing at first, but then spiked,
dropped, and spiked again. Titles like this are likely to
continue selling well, and will often break out into their
genre bestseller lists many times.
34. Quick build, breakout, slow boil
• Sold well right out of the gate, then built, then spiked before
dropping back to slow boil. This title is also likely to
experience future breakouts as the author releases new titles,
does promos, and as new groups of readers discover the book.
35. Quick breakout to slow steady
boil
• Another title that will yield the author significant
income over time. Books like this that sell copies
every day usually earn solid reviews. Titles like this
are primed for breakouts if author takes right steps.
36. Slow boil to breakout
• This is the chart for Ruth Ann Nordin (the only author for which I obtained
permission to reveal her identity) and her book, An Inconvenient Marriage. This
book had already been a bestseller at Kobo 12 months before it suddenly broke
out at Apple to become the #1 romance title in the store. The Apple spike was
prompted by a new title release, price changes, and possibly also a free
promotion for a separate title on her list. More discussion in my “Secrets” book.
51. Impact of Price on Unit Sales
• This set of data examines how price
impacts unit sales
• 1.0 = normalized reference point. For
example, books priced in $2.00-$2.99
price band sell 6.2 times more units
than books priced $10.00+
• Key findings:
• Low prices sell more units
• $1.00-$1.99 price point underperforms
58. What Price Earns the Author the
Greatest Yield?
• We know low price yields more unit
sales, but what price yields the
greatest profit for the author?
• Key findings:
• $.99 to $1.99 underperforms, about 60% below
average
• $2.99 to $5.99 appears to be sweet spot for indie
authors and small presses
• Data indicates that some authors are probably
underpricing their works, and might want to
experiment with slightly higher prices
61. How Many Indie Ebooks Sell
Well?
• Sales distribution is a “power curve” not a “
bell curve”
• Key findings:
• Most books do not sell well (very important for authors to set
realistic expectations, and take long term approach to platform
building)
• Sales distribution characterized by small minority of titles
selling extremely well, thousands of moderate sellers, and then
a long tail of poor sellers
• Authors should implement best practices (read the
Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success for ideas!) to drive their
performance to the left of the curve
• As books increase sales rank and move to the left of the curve,
their actual sales increase quickly, especially in top 5,000
68. ~ 3.5 cents per 1,000 words
• The outlier is a 27,000 word ebook priced at $2.99. Indicates that
some authors might have ability to price popular works higher
69. Final Thoughts
• Data-driven publishing decisions are
irrelevant without a great book
• Numbers provide hints at reader preferences
• Don’t write a longer (bloated) or shorter book unless
that’s what the story demands
• If your story demands 200,000 words, go for it!
• Information, properly applied, can become a
viral catalyst
• Read the Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success for
other viral catalysts
70. Free Ebook Publishing Resources
• NEW! Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success
(best practices of successful authors)
• Smashwords Book Marketing Guide (how to
market any book at no cost)
• Smashwords Style Guide (how to format and
publish an ebook)
71. Thank you for listening!
Connect:
Twitter: @markcoker
Facebook: facebook.com/markcoker
Web: www.smashwords.com
Blog: blog.smashwords.com (offers
email subscription option)
HuffPo: huffingtonpost.com/mark-coker