Monthly Archives: April 2012

Was Self-Publishing The Right Decision?

Posted on April 26, 2012 by David Gaughran

Sunday will mark a year since I first uploaded to Amazon. At the time, I was wrestling with a question that many writers are still dealing with today: should I self-publish? The argument about whether to self-publish has been debated … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged agents, anniversary, numbers, publishing deal, querying, rejection, self-publishing, should i self-publish, success | 141 Comments

Pricing, Visibilty & Experimentation

Posted on April 23, 2012 by David Gaughran

This blog focuses a lot on getting the basics right: a good story, cover, blurb, sample, and price. However, all of that means little if no-one is actually visiting your book page to begin with. Competitions, blog reviews, giveaways, guest … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged a storm hits valparaiso, basics, categories, discoverability, popularity, price pulsing, pricing, sub-categories, visibility | 79 Comments

Don’t Be Fooled: Big Publishing Hates Competition

Posted on April 16, 2012 by David Gaughran

The reaction to the filing of the DoJ’s antitrust suit was laughable, if somewhat predictable. Among other things, the DoJ has been accused of working for Amazon – helping them to “destroy the publishing industry.” If you want to sample … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged agency, amazon, antitrust, big 6, competition, DoJ, price fixing, publishers, publishing, readers | 75 Comments

How The Agency Model Led To An Antitrust Suit

Posted on April 12, 2012 by David Gaughran

As reported yesterday, the Department of Justice has filed its antitrust lawsuit against Apple and five of the largest publishers (Macmillan, Penguin, HarperCollins, Hachette, and Simon & Schuster). A settlement has been agreed with HarperCollins, Hachette, and Simon & Schuster; … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged agency, amazon, antitrust, apple, DoJ, macmillan, penguin, price fixing, settlement, steve jobs | 94 Comments

The Anti-Amazon Campaign Jumps The Shark

Posted on April 11, 2012 by David Gaughran

The anti-Amazon stories seem to be coming thick and fast at the moment. Salon posted an article on Sunday written by Alexander Zaitchik called Amazon’s $1 million secret which contained the sensational allegation that Amazon donates $1 million to various … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Alexander Zaitchik, amazon, anti-amazon, big 6, bookseller, co-op, paidcontent, pr campaign, price fixing, salon | 79 Comments

Jodi Picoult and the Myth of the Segregated Marketplace

Posted on April 9, 2012 by David Gaughran

Jodi Picoult made headlines last week for her views on self-publishing, expressed in an interview with the Daily Beast (from Page 2): What advice would you give to an aspiring author? Take a workshop course. You need to learn to give and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged a storm hits valparaiso, backlist, discoverability, discovery, jodi picoult, myths, patrick o'brian, sea of crap, segregated marketplace, self-publishing myths | 181 Comments

March Sales Report: A Bumper Month & Some Old-School Piracy

Posted on April 2, 2012 by David Gaughran

It’s that time of the month again when the slate is wiped clean and Amazon makes us sing for our supper anew. All those beautiful sales vanish from our reports, replaced by a taunting brown streak – which only disappears … Continue reading →