In an era of declining sales, declining readership and shrinking marketing budgets, publishers are looking for authors with a “profile”. Or better still, a small following. Podcasts are yet another way of getting the word out about your book, without spending a penny on editing, printing or design.
Ask Scott Sigler. He offered his first novel, Earthcore, as a free, serialized podcast on iTunes and his personal site. By the time he’d released his second and third novels, he had 30,000 listeners and publishers lining up to take his books.
Sigler, 38, likens his distribution method to that of public broadcasting, adding that giving away content pays off even if fewer than 10 percent of the samplers ultimately make a pledge.
To me, this is very exciting. Not only can you have a hand in pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps, it’s a remarkable chance to connect with your readers. Once I was involved with a highly successful, albeit niche, video game and I can tell you: we didn’t get rich, but there was a tremendous amount of satisfaction meeting our rabidly devoted fans.
(apparently, bookninja!)
Tags: ebooks, free books, getting published, podcasts
Hey, glad you got some value out of that article. It’s very exciting, I agree. It’s the connection with the readers that makes the real difference.
Scott, I’m really pleased you stopped by.
When you decided to put your first book online, did you have any idea how successful that strategy would be, or was it a cheaper alternative to publishing?
Scott, I really like what you’ve done with your podcasts. Brilliant! I recently published a piece in Apex Magazine and I’ll be recording a podcast version of the piece later next week. Any tips on increasing distribution? As I still own the copyright to my piece, it will be available on Apex’s website and my own; any suggestions for getting it listed with the big guy (iTunes)?
Chris – I knew it would be successful, just from the sheer numbers involved. Every writer in the world has picked up a bestseller, read some if, and said “how can this guy even be published, let alone a bestseller?” We’re a petty and bitter bunch, but the reason that guy can be a bestseller is out of millions of people buying books, many of them have different tastes than you. The internet works the same way — no matter what you write, if provide good quality, consistent distribution and you offer it for free, a tiny percentage of people are going to think you’re the greatest thing ever. When the total online audience is a billion people, that tiny percentage can add up to be a crapload of people.
So I knew that EARTHCORE would be successful, because I was one of the first people to put out a podcast novel and the first one with real marketing experience. I knew how to get the word out. The more people that tried it because it was free, the more that would become fans.
So yeah, I assumed that I had a good book, that I could put it out for free, build an audience and turn it into a publishing deal. It was really just a case of being in the right place at the right time, then working my booty off for three years to keep putting out quality product.
Geoff – I don’t have a lot of tips on increasing a one-off distribution. To me, this model works when you put out content consistently, week after week, for 3-5 years. I think you get real fans after they’ve been entertained multiple times. They start to “buy in” that you can bring the goods and be part of their weekly entertainment budget (that’s the time budget, not the $ budget, as there are only so many hours in the day).
What many people don’t realize is the total time commitment required to make the podcasting strategy work. I’ve basically flushed every weekend and every vacation day for the last three years to get my audience. Online, no one understands you’re just one person recording into a computer. They know it, but it doesn’t feel that way, because you sound just like an ABC or NPR podcast. Online, you are the same as any other show, no matter who produces. And as equals, you have to match their weekly production output.
So, consider podcasting 2-4 full novels. That gives you enough content for 2-3 year, and lets you steadily build up an audience.
The podcasting method works, there is no question, but don’t underestimate the time involved.
Thanks, Scott. I really appreciate your taking the time to answer our questions.