Springtime in the Sonoran Desert

I arrived in Arizona last night with my wife. For the next two days, we’ll be staying with friends in their home surrounded by a stunning desert landscape. There are very few landscapes prettier than the Sonoran desert in the spring. I’ve been all over the world, and except for the dunes of Namibia, I believe the Arizona desert is the most beautiful in the world.

From here, we will drive down to Tucson for the Tucson Festival of Books. I’m a panelist in three sessions: Amazon for Authors, What to Expect With Self-Publishing, and Genre Writing. There will be a lot of great authors at the event and the festival ought to be fun. If you love books, there is no better place to be this weekend.

After the festival, we go to San Diego for two weeks of thawing out. There was little snow in Nebraska this year, but I could answer my wife’s question about the temperature with the fingers of a single hand. We have quests and family visiting us, but I should have plenty of time to catch a few waves.

Before returning home to Omaha, we’ll fly to New York City for 10 ten days to see our other grandchildren. My wife said something about shopping, but I’m sure I can bribe the grandkids to distract her.

When we get home after a month, our new house will be waiting. We’ll have more boxes to unpack, pictures to hang, paraphernalia to buy, and lots of handyman tasks. Maybe we’ll stay away longer, in hope that things will just sort themselves out. Fat chance.

Publishing Trends Viewed from an Omaha Armchair

The digital revolution continues to roil publishing, so here are a few of my recent observations. I suspect at least three of these five are correct. It’s your job to figure out which three.

1. Shift from books to e-books is leveling out
2. Content becoming more profitable than e-reader devices
3. Amazon continues to innovate ahead of traditional publishers
4. Traditional publishers are adapting
5. Indie-e-books are a saturated market

Can traditional publishers fight off the pesky indies?

Shift From books to e-books is leveling out

For the prior five years, my printed book sales as a percent of total sales have declined. Until this year. In 2013, the ratio of print, e-book, audio, and large print sales have all held steady with 2012. In fact, in recent months, I have seen a slight resurgence in printed books. I suspect this means that the e-book phenomenon has reached a mature state.

Content becoming more profitable than e-reader devices

Amazon appears to be shifting its e-book strategy, with increased emphasis on content rather than on selling Kindles. Device prices have dropped as technology-prone readers have for the most part already purchased Kindles. Now, the big money is in selling content and annual device upgrades. Amazon has taken a couple of subtle steps to nudge e-book prices up, or more precisely to inhibit low or zero priced content.

Amazon continues to innovate ahead of traditional publishers

Amazon has recently started two new programs. The Matchbook feature allows publishers to offer a steeply discounted Kindle version to print book purchasers. This is doubly clever. Matchbook encourages book purchases through Amazon rather than competitors who cannot offer a similar deal on the market-leading Kindle. Matchbook also adds revenue without cannibalizing either format, while at the same time furthering Kindle domination. The second program is called Kindle Countdown Deal, which allows publishers to program discounted e-books for a limited time. The trick here is that Amazon "counts down" the remaining discount days to build urgency into the buy decision. Both of these are attempts by Amazon to increase their control over e-book discounting.

                                         Traditional publishers are adapting

Even a battleship can eventually turn. Traditional publishers are flexing their promotional muscles and showing contract flexibility with their bestselling authors. Mid-list authors aren't getting any better treatment, but they seldom made money for traditional publishers anyway. Few care if they jump ship. It looks like it’s turning into a build your platform first world. By the end of the publishing digital revolution, it’s possible traditional publishers will be more profitable. 

Indie-e-books are a saturated market

First giving away books for free quit working, now it’s hard to sell e-books at 99¢. When there are tens of thousands of e-books published every month, it’s hard for any particular author to get noticed, despite whatever financial shenanigans are employed. As more and more indie-authors experience weak sales, a growing number will pursue other endeavors. This will reduce supply until we reach market equilibrium. In the meantime, indie competition will be a slugfest.

If you bought print copies of my books from Amazon, get a Kindle version for 99¢

Many people are unaware that Amazon has a program called Matchbook. If the publisher enrolls their books in the program, Amazon purchasers of print books can get an Kindle e-book version for a steep discount. The price for Matchbook must be between zero and $2.99. All of my books have been set at 99¢. This means if you have ever bought one of my print books on Amazon, you can now pick up a Kindle version for less than a dollar. 



Here is a link that will display all of your eligible titles.  

You'll see all the books you've purchased that are enrolled in this program, but I'm sure you'll jump on my books first. If not, maybe second? Anyway it's a good program, especially for people who have made many purchases through the years, but have only recently acquired a Kindle. 

Happy reading.

"Mike Reads" reviews Tempest at Dawn

The "Mike Reads" blog has reviewed Tempest at Dawn. This is not exactly a New York Times book review, but I liked it because Mike took away from the book what I intended. I love writing Westerns and like the freedom to plot my own stories, but Tempest at Dawn was a five year labor of love. It was a huge responsibility to write about the founding fathers and such an important event in American history. I read or seriously scanned over 100 history books on the Constitutional Convention, and used at least 3 biographies for each of the major characters in the story. And yes, it was a story—a great story with great characters, intense conflict, and hopeful resolution.

Tempest at Dawn continues to be well received by readers and historians. At the time of this writing, and five years after publication, the Kindle version is still ranked #28 for books about the U.S. Constitution. 78 Amazon customers have reviewed the book for 4.5 stars, and 185 readers on Goodreads have given the book an average rating of 3.84.

I'll probably never again tackle a book as challenging as Tempest at Dawn, so it's gratifying that it still sells well and continues to receive attention from readers and reviewers. Thanks.

Get a Spine!

The spine is the most undervalued aspect of book design. This is especially true today, when so many indie-books only publish electronically. Writers are doing themselves a disservice by restricting the market for their books. Granted, the majority of my sales are eBooks, but I also sell a respectable number of print books. I do well with libraries, and despite not pursuing bookstores, I've found my novels carried in the big chains and independent stores. Additionally, some readers who prefer electronic books still look to see if there is a print version to strengthen their purchase decision. My recommendation is that authors insist on a printed version. 

If a print format is produced, then a book becomes a three-dimensional object and must have a back cover and spine. The spine is the most important.

Unless you’re a bestselling author, your books will not be stacked on tables at the front of the store, so only the spine will be seen when your book is on a shelf. The same is true for a library. If you want to sell your next book to a library, people must find and check-out your previous books. So pay attention to the spine. Getting sales is tough enough without your book disappearing in a maze of other books screaming for attention.

The Shopkeeper exceeds 100 Customer Reviews

A few weeks ago, The Shopkeeper has reached a milestone, so to speak. The novel was reviewed for the 100th time by an Amazon customer. One hundred reviews for 4.3 Stars. Needless to say, I'm pleased. Thanks to all of my readers.

My ratio of reviews to book sales is about one half of a percent. So that means one out of two hundred readers return to write a review. I'm not sure if that's good or bad compared to other books, but I appreciate the people who made the extra effort to provide feedback ... good and bad.

I read every customer review. It's surprising how much I learn. One surprise is that nearly half of the reviewers are women. By looking at reviewer profile pages, I'm also surprised how many are young, or at least have young tastes in the other products they buy and review. I want to appeal to a broad audience, so I'm thrilled.

Read reviews of James D. Best books
Read Amazon reviews
Read Goodreads reviews

Steve Dancy Tales -- Kindle Bargain

 

                   The Steve Dancy Box Set

Books provide hours upon hours of entertainment. If you're looking for rousing fiction, consider the Steve Dancy Kindle Box Set. The set includes The Shopkeeper, Leadville, and Murder at Thumb Butte, all three for $8.99, which is five dollars less than buying each book individually. Together, the three Western novels have 790 Amazon Customer Reviews for 4.4 stars and 1,878 Goodreads ratings for 4.0 Stars.

Europe's Infatuation with the American Wild West

Sometimes we forget that American genre fiction is popular overseas—Westerns included. And why not? We might think of the Wild West as uniquely American, but we enjoy King Arthur, Lawrence of Arabia, The Count of Monte Cristo, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, and samurai adventures. If you write genre fiction, don't neglect this market. (The Steve Dancy Tales are popular in foreign counties, especially England and Germany.) 

If you want a feel for Euro-Westerns, visit The Tainted Archive which is based in the United Kingdom. This article is about Sergio Corbucci's spaghetti Westerns. Not as well known as Sergio Leone, Corbucci wrote and directed the original Django, among other Westerns.

(A couple yearsback, I did an interview with The Tainted Archive.)

It used to be difficult to sell in foreign markets, but not anymore. This is another major change brought about by eBooks. Your book can be decomposed into ones and zeros, bytes can sprint across the globe at the speed of light, and then be instantly reassembled in some far off land. In a small way, Scotty of Star Trek fame has been displaced by a Kindle.

The Future of Large Print

The popularity of eReaders has decimated the mass paperback market, and several publishers have even abandoned the format. An eReader can display font in any size, so I assumed the next casualty of eBooks would be large print. Not so. Or, at least, not yet. When I received my statement from my large print publisher, I was pleasantly surprised. How is it that large print holds its own against the ebook revolution?

I think it has to do with the market for large print books. Whether it’s libraries or direct purchase, the market is seniors. Seniors are not gadget prone and remain attached to the feel and simplicity of a real book. No buttons, no touch screens, no hot links. Books are what seniors have read their entire life and only their children prod them to change. Seniors can’t see the point. They get lost in the story and turn the page without conscious thought, just a motor reflex learned through decades of practice. 

The boomers will probably carry their eReaders into old age, but most of their parents will remain loyal to the printed book.

If you're looking for a senior gift, you might consider one of these large print books.

Honest westerns filled with dishonest characters.

All of the Steve Dancy Tales have been published in large print, library binding editions by Center Point. Some have sold out, but are still available through used book dealers.

How do you pick your next book to read?

I'm a compulsive reader. I read everything and I read all the time. I suspect it started when I was in the fifth grade and I spent my breakfast reading the shredded wheat box. I even read the dividers that separated the rows of three biscuits. Nabisco sponsored the television program Sargent Preston of the Yukon and my hero was all over the box and dividers. That's how I ended up owning one square inch in the Klondike. Darn, I wish I still had my deed.

You'll be pleased to know I've graduated from cereal boxes to books. First the Hardy Boys, and then mass paperbacks. I was a junior in high school when I discover nonfiction with Theodore White's The Making of the President 1960. College introduced me to classics.

In adulthood, I wandered books stores and paperback racks looking for my next read. Bestsellers lists had already down-selected which books got prominent display, and I usually picked by author or back cover copy.


The publishing world has changed. Bookstores are becoming rarer, yet there are tens of thousands of more books available. The shelf-life of a book has been extended well beyond presence on a bestseller list. Electronic books are increasingly taking over fiction and narrative prose. Old book selection tools like magazines and newspapers are withering. Literary reviews are being displaced by reader reviews.

So how does a person pick their next book to read? For me, it's easy. I carry my Kindle with me almost everywhere. Writing has crowded out my reading time, so I read in line at the airport, in my doctor's lobby, in the car as my wife runs into a store, or while eating breakfast or lunch. I also have my Kindle with me when I watch television. It's always around when I use my computer. Why? It has to do with how I pick my next book to read. Whenever I hear or read about a book that sounds interesting, I immediately download a sample onto my kindle. I do this while talking to friends, watching television, surfing the Internet, attending book events, or when reading a periodical. After I finish a book, I metaphorically thumb through my samples, usually reading a chapter or two, then select my next book. At any point in time, I probably have twenty books queued up.

Electronic reading devices have changed the publishing industry and reading habits. It has also changed the way we chose books.

1. Back copy is less important than the opening of the book 
2. Bestseller lists mean less than frequent mention on broadcast and cable outlets
3. Social media builds name recognition
4. Word-of-mouth is even more powerful

This means emerging authors have tools to compete with famous authors. More important  sales can occur a considerable time after a promotional event. Book sales are now a long-haul business. Someone might download a book sample weeks, or even months before they make a purchase decision.

In fact, you might consider downloading samples for these books.

Happy reading.

Click to download samples.

Tempest at Dawn: The real story of our nation's founding

The following is excerpt from my essay on the 27th Amendment for Constituting America.

"We often hear laments that our politicians no longer honor their pledge to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.  This is backward.  The Constitution was not written for politicians.  Our political leaders have no motivation to abide by a two hundred year old restraining order.  Americans must enforce the supreme law of the land.  The first outsized words of the Constitution read We the People.  It’s our document. It was always meant to be ours, not the government’s.  It is each and every American’s obligation to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Most popular Constitution Books
Constituting America

The Black Hills by Rod Thompson

As a writer of a western series, I don’t read a lot of Western fiction. In the past, I devoured Owen Wister, Zane Grey, Louis L’Amour, Larry McMurtry, and even Max Brand. Nowadays, I find myself mostly reading western nonfiction to help me put accurate color in my books. The Black Hills by Rod Thompson is an exception. I read and enjoyed this book enormously. This is skillful fiction that should appeal to people of any age, gender, or interest. In other words, this is great storytelling that just happens to take place in the American Wild West. It’s a coming of age saga with characters you end up befriending by the end of the book. The Black Hills is the type of book that will help revive the Western genre—good storytelling with a solid plot, realistic dialogue, and characters the reader cares about.

This is a great Christmas gift or stocking stuffer for a Western enthusiast or picky reader. The Black Hills has 23 Amazon customer reviews for 5.0 stars and at the time of this writing is heavily discounted to $6 for the paperback edition. How's that for an entertainment bargain. And when you finish, you can pass the book along to someone else.

The Black Hills is touted as the first book in a trilogy. Let’s hope Thompson is feverishly working on the second in the series.

A Big Thanks -- 50,000 Copies Sold

Last Friday, I received my annual statement from my large-print publisher. When I entered the sales into my ledger, the total copies of my books sold went over 50,000. Whoa! That may not be a number that would impress a New York Times bestseller, but it's a big number for someone like me who didn't start gifted, famous, or notorious. The best part is that my sales keep improving. It seems I'm gathering a bigger audience all the time.

When I started writing fiction, I was just an ordinary business guy who had written lots of technical nonfiction. I started writing fiction to escape the tensions of the day. Ten minutes at my keyboard and I was transported to another time and place. That was a reward in and of itself, but people I don't know have joined me in my stories. That is the greatest reward of all. Writers may love to write, but they really love to be read. So, thank you. I appreciate the company.

A Rude Awakening

In the olden days—like maybe four years ago—Kindle and Nook readers were fairly tolerant of formatting errors. The technology was brand spanking new and early adopters always accept a few lumps with hot innovations. Times have changed. The cost of eReaders have collapsed and, in many categories, ebooks outsell the old fashioned print variety. Readers have also become more demanding. They want their ebooks professionally formatted so they're never distracted from the story or subject matter.

For the most part, I write novels. My latest book, Principled Action, Lessons from the Origins of the American Republic, was non-fiction. Since it had a table of contents, index, footnotes, illustrations, and section headings, I had it professionally formatted for every eReader on the market.

I thought my novels were different. They were narratives with only chapter breaks to interrupt the flow of words. In fact, I had sold tens of thousands with nary a complaint. Occasionally, I would do an update when I became aware of an indentation problem or a stray character that defied interpretation, but these were rare.

Then I got an email note from Amazon saying a reader had complained that one of my novels did not include a Table of Contents. Amazon concurred and suggested I add one. At first I thought this was odd. I don't have chapter titles, so the TOC would merely be a numerical list. Granted, it could be  navigation tool, but would it really be that helpful in a straightforward novel? Then I checked the five novels I had backlogged to read on my own Kindle. Each had a table of contents and most were only a numerical list. Darn. Times had changed and I hadn't kept up. What else was I missing. Were there other glitches that would jerk my readers out of the story and back to reality?

Since I was busy getting Steve Dancy out of trouble once again, I didn't want to invest the time to insure that my six Kindle books were completely up to snuff. My solution was to go back to my non-fiction book formatter. I used "eB Format" and like the first time, my experience was excellent. The job was done with an expertise that would have taken me at least weeks to learn, and they were reasonably priced and quick. If you have ebooks that need added features or need a thorough scrubbing for format glitches, I highly recommend eB Format. Click on their logo if you would like to visit their site.

Selling Your Books on Amazon

How to Stand Out in the Biggest Bookstore in the World

Amazon is a vast book market. The size is a magnificent opportunity and a huge challenge. Amazon offers over ten million titles and is predicted to sell 50% of all books by the end of this year. Amazon provides numerous plans for publisher and authors to assist in sales, but many of them are hard to understand. It has dominance in e-books, and has growing influence in book publishing, printing, and distribution. But this size and growth presents a problem. How does a single author get noticed?

(If you would like to listen to this presentation as a webinar, please follow this link to Book Street Cafe.)

Selling Your Books on Amazon from James D. Best

The Shopkeeper #1 Bestselling Western on Amazon

The Kindle version of The Shopkeeper has moved to the Number 1 bestselling Western on Amazon for print or eBook formats. The print version of The Shopkeeper has taken the 34th position. The Shopkeeper is also 23rd bestselling Action/Adventure book and the 27th bestselling Historical. Thanks to everyone who is buying the book. It encourages me to get working on the 4th novel in the Steve Dancy Tales series.









Amazon Western Bestseller List

Indi-Publishing Rewrites Promotion

There’s not much you can believe about self-publishing. Information from self-publishing houses is suspect, and most of the other stuff comes from people making their living off striving writers. As someone who has published with a traditional house and self-published, I’ll try to give you the straight scoop.

Read the rest of the article at 1st Turning Point

More on the Kindle and e-books

Last post I said that 42% of my January books sales were Kindle. Now, two months into the year, Kindle sales are 44.2%. More startling to me, 78% of Tempest At Dawn sales are e-books.

Anecdotally, on recent flights to Boston and back, my seatmates in both directions had Kindles. Both said they loved their Kindles and no longer bought print books. A year ago, I seldom saw another Kindle, and now I know many people who own e-book readers. The trend toward e-books seems to be moving faster than I expected, and I was an early adopter and Kindle enthusiast.

So … what does this mean? Everybody's up in arms over the dominant position of Amazon, but the current pricing dispute won't move the flag. Nor will pitting Apple against Amazon. For one, Apple is not a good opponent for Amazon. The Apple iPad may end up a barn burner, but the narrative word is not Apple's primary target. Once again, Apple is trying to capture people who like motion. The kind of customers that talk, text, and tweet people and share videos and photos of friends and celebrities. Games and music are good too, but long text narratives are generally a bore.

For the moment, everyone in the industry seemed focused on pricing. Wrong. In business, pricing makes a good weapon, but a lousy bulwark against attack. The industry needs to reassess the entire value equation for books, assuming that e-books will grab a larger and larger market share. Publishers might also take an under-graduate course in elasticity of demand.

How do you sell books?

"Even Einstein couldn't get far if 300 treatises of higher physics were published each year"
Raymond Chandler, 1945

Selling books is hard. The best sales come from word-of-mouth, but how do you get critical volume so word-of-mouth does any good? Whether you're published by the traditional press or you self-publish you need to hawk your own goods. Promotional budgets for mid-list authors barely buy a local NPR ad to promote your book signing.

Worse, most writers don't like promotional hoopla and would rather retreat to their favorite quiet place to write their next book. My recommendation: allocate a specific amount of time each day to promote previous books and reward yourself with the remainder of the day for writing your next opus. Personally, I try for between one and two hours a day to handle email, update my blog and websites, and promote my books.