Authors, NOW is Your Time To Act!
With all the uncertainty and general scariness of the world around us right now, specifically in regards to Covid-19, many writers have been asking themselves a question they never thought they’d contemplate. Should I even be writing anymore? The answer is absolutely yes.
Yes, we are in a period of social isolation right now. The economy feels like it’s on a roller coaster. Some people have lost their jobs or have had their hours drastically reduced. A lot of people are cooped up in their homes. They’re trying to find ways to cut back. We see reports of bookstores suffering. The natural question is will people be buying books? For the surprising answer to that question, let’s look back over a decade.
In 2008, we were in the middle of the Great Recession, the worst economic situation for the US in almost a hundred years. Everyone was cutting back, but there is one area that didn’t suffer. It was, instead, booming—ebooks. We’re talking something in the neighborhood of a 300% growth between 2008 and 2009 according to the Association of American Publishers.
Then in 2008 we saw the beginning of the ebook revolution. When the economy was tanking, ebook sales were growing. Not just growing, flourishing. Even when people don’t have a great deal of money, they still need entertainment. For just a few dollars, an ebook provides hours of entertainment. It’s something a family can share, and it’s something they can revisit over and over again. In a time of economic turmoil, people turn to reading as a way to escape. Think of that book you’ve read over and over again. People right now are looking for a book like that.
What can you do to capitalize on this? First of all, since physical stores are closing, if you don’t have an ebook out there, get one out there, even if it’s a children’s book. Especially if it’s a children’s book. Parents can’t take their kids out. They want something other than plopping their kids down in front of a tv. The same goes for any other genre.
Second, get into the audiobook game. Audiobook sales have been steadily increasing, and with more people at home, this will only go up. Maybe someone doesn’t want to look at a screen, or maybe they love to hear the characters in their book. Either way, this is a growing market, and for a very reasonable price, you can now have another platform to get your story out there.
Third, write the next book and get it out there where people can buy it. If you’re going stir crazy or have cabin fever or just need to distract yourself, work on the book. If you like writing in a coffee shop because of the ambient noise, well, there are YouTube videos that play just that noise. I did a search for “coffee shop noise YouTube” and quickly came up with 8 and 10 hour videos. You can find the sounds for any environment. Will it be easy? No, not at first, not if that’s not how you’re used to doing your writing, but the human brain is a powerful machine. It can adapt. Just give it time.
No, this is not the time to put your writing on hold. This is the time to double down on it. Ebook sales will increase; audiobook sales will increase, and probably by a great deal. This is a fantastic time to get a new book out there or to step up the marketing on books you already have.
If you have a book written and you’re not sure what to do next, there are some great resources I recommend. First, decide if you want to be traditionally published or if you want to self-publish. Second, contact Eschler Editing through eschlerediting.com and they can either help you prepare to query an agent or small publisher, or they’ll help you with the next step to self-publish.
If your book is already done and published and you want to turn it into an audiobook you can go to acx.com or findawayvoices.com and follow the steps there to find a professional narrator to get your story into audio. All the information you need to create, publish, and distribute an audiobook is on those websites.
If you need help taking your already published book and turning it into an ebook then you can contact The Book Break team and they can help you turn it into an ebook and optimize your book for the best sales.
And finally, if your books are already out there, but you’re not seeing the kind of sales you want, it is definitely time to step up you marketing. The Book Break marketing team can help. You can contact them through [email protected].
Authors, this is THE time to get your book done and out there. This is YOUR time to shine!