It’s an exciting time in the publishing industry right now. With the availability of inexpensive eBook readers, the ability to read eBooks on devices like your cell phone or iPad, and the wide availability of eBooks, there are many more choices available for both readers and authors.
Authors no longer have to write their books within the relatively limited areas that the large publishers require to stay profitable. Don’t get me wrong, big houses do take chances and they do offer a large variety of books, but to stay profitable, they only buy books they feel will sell enough copies to justify a reasonable print run. If they didn’t do that, they wouldn’t be able to stay in business. Now, however, authors can choose to write something a little different and sell their books to smaller publishers who specialize in eBooks, which allow those publishers to take a chance on niche books that the big publishers can’t afford to do. Also, in the past few months, self-publishing (or indie publishing as people have started to call it) is becoming a viable option.
What does this mean for readers? Again, choice. You can buy traditional print books, you can buy those same books in digital form for your Kindle, Nook, or other favorite reading device, and you can buy books published solely in digital form. The latter might be any length, from an individual short story, to a novella, to a full length novel, or even a collection of novels.
Also, publishers and authors are experimenting with price. An author needs to earn money, but a lot of authors are thinking that selling at a lower price might cause more sales while building a larger audience. Two popular price points for indie published authors are .99 and $2.99. There are no rules, so you’ll find every price (even free) and every length. (I’m not sure how long the market can support these low prices, but I don’t want to get into that discussion here.)
As for the content of the stories, as I mentioned above, authors have the freedom to experiment with whatever type of story they want to write, and that’s a great thing. After all, the more passionate an author is about the story, the better the story will be.
I’m very lucky that I have found a big publisher that wants to publish my contemporary erotic romance novels. I write three books a year for St. Martin’s Press and I’m loving it. Every now and again, however, I like to write something a little different. Like a futuristic novella with hunky alien men. Or a short story that’s just fun and sexy.
That’s how I wound up with three stories released this month. First, my erotic romance novel called TOTAL ABANDON from St. Martin’s Press. Second, I’ve started a futuristic erotic romance series called Celestial Soul-Mates with Samhain Publishing,. The first installment is called THE KING AND I. Third, a short contemporary erotic romance called THREE. On top of that, I have plans for a few more stories over the next several months.
TOTAL ABANDON April |
 THE KING AND I April |
 THREE Available now for 0.99 Published by: Opal Carew |
TOTAL ABANDON
On the anniversary of Sandra’s divorce, she makes a list of sexy things she’s never done, but would like to, including some of her deeper, darker fantasies. Her friend Devlin finds the list and, with the help of two other hunky friends, proceed to make her fantasies come true.
TOTAL ABANDON is available in print form at all major bookstores and in ebook form at all major on-line retailers including Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, and Kobo.com.
THE KING AND I
Plagued by steamy, erotic dreams, Aria believes she’s been working too hard. A free trip to a luxury resort seems to be the perfect solution, until she’s abducted by an alien who insists she’s his king’s soul-mate. Love at first sight, let alone sight unseen, is a myth. Her increasing attraction to the ship’s captain, though, is weak-in-the-knees real.
THE KING AND I is also available from most on-line retailers.
THREE
Have you ever seen a sexy stranger on a bus or across a subway station and you just couldn’t get him out of your mind? That’s what happens to Lori in THREE, and for the next few weeks, she finds herself obsessing about him. When she’s invited to her best friend’s cabin to meet her new husband and his brothers, Lori comes face-to-face with Mr. Hottie himself. And it turns out his brothers are just as hot as he is!
THREE is available from Smashwords.com and Amazon.com and will be available on other on-line retailers in the next week or so.
So what is your view of this exploding digital market? Do you think it’s a good thing because it will offer so many wonderful choices for your reading or do you think it will flood the market and make it more difficult to choose? How do you think you’ll find the books you want to read, especially if you’re interested in new and different types of stories?
Everyone who leaves a comment will be entered in a draw for your choice of a print version of TOTAL ABANDON or a digital version of THE KING AND I. (Don’t you love choices?)
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