quest for readers.

This is an informative read about how we can up our game as authors and compete with the big guns.

New chapter for publishers and the online quest for readers

Link to Crikey

...The relationship between publishers and readers has changed dramatically — and it’s all thanks to digital marketing technologies. Social media and video trailers are flogging more books.

Social media and websites are a major plot development, but not the whole story. YouTube videos — such as book trailers and author interviews — have been embraced by publishers, with many building studios in their offices, training staff and employing production companies to create regular content. Publisher websites are now often full of online quizzes, competitions and updates from authors. Some book titles now come with their own app.

a good viewpoint on publishing

link to an article about publishing. This is a very informative and interesting article in Forbes Magazine by David Vinjamuri,

Publishing Is Broken, We're Drowning In Indie Books - And That's A Good Thing

Publishing is different from other creative industries because the machinery has not yet adapted to the profound technological shift it is undergoing.   


...Most book sales are driven by personal recommendation.  Social media – from Twitter and Facebooks to rating sites like Goodreads – just make it easier to recommend a book to lots of friends at the same time.

Hugh Howey says:

The effect of social media has been massive.  Where social media is really powerful is in the area where the author has no control whatsoever.  Word of mouth for WOOL spread because people were posting it on their Facebook page and Twitter accounts.  It wasn’t through my efforts; but the efforts of readers.  Many people think social media is about what the authors are doing not what readers are doing, and I think they miss the real driving force behind their sales.