I’m not going to head off into some a chicken and egg philosophy discussion. I am going to open this up for discussion: Where do you begin your e-book adventure?
Too often, I think, we writers believe there are two ingredients for success. I’ll not define success because we all have our own definition of it. I’m sure there’s not one writer who doesn’t want to see their name on the bestseller list. I’m talking about whatever you view as success.
One is a traditional book publishing contract. It seems daily now we are learning a contract isn’t always necessary to even hit that elusive bestseller lists. Is there anyone who hasn’t heard John Locke’s or Amanda Hocking’s story? Both achieved their success without a traditional contract.
The other ingredient often thought necessary is a print edition of your book. Some writers even believe that a print edition is necessary before the e-version. Somehow the tangible, hold-in-your-hand product is a sign of being a successful writer. I think this is a matter of tradition.
Two of my books were released as print and e-books at the same time. I found some who purchased the e-book, later purchased the print version. This might be considered successful because people want the product so much they’re willing to buy both.
The question remains: How should you publish your book to be successful? Do you need to publish a print edition before an e-edition? Or the other way around? Do you need to do both?
What do you think? For me, dual release has been successful. (Success for me is that the product gets in the readers hands.) What will be successful for you? Which will come first?
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