E-books

I’ve been doing researching and brainstorming on where I want to go with different publishing alternatives. Right now I have three books in my Paul Jacobson Geezer-lit Mystery series published through Five Star (an imprint of Cengage Learning). These are also available in large print and two of them have been released as direct to book club paperbacks through Worldwide Mysteries (an imprint of Harlequin) and as audio books through Books in Motion. I’ve also put the first two out as e-books through Amazon, B&N and Smashwords. In August I can release my third book as an e-book (I’ve had to wait because although I retain e-book rights, my publisher has a one year moratorium before I can publish as an e-book). I’m exploring two directions for this release. Should I release through all e-book channels as I have for my first two novels or should I go one of the exclusive routes through KDP Select or Nook First? One school of thought is to go for the greatest market reach through all channels. The other is to get the advantage of one of the exclusive channels that provide enhanced promotional opportunities. But the exclusive channels disallow publishing through other e-book channels, so there is a tradeoff on potential benefit for foregoing the other channels. I also have a number of completed manuscripts that I’m trying to decide if I’ll go traditional publishing or self-publish so that I can earn full royalties and control when it’s published as an e-book. The advantage of the traditional published route is professional editing, established distribution and not having to manage as many tasks myself. But since my publisher has a one year moratorium on e-book releases, I have to wait. The advantage of the current publishing world is that as authors we have more choices. The disadvantage is that it requires good analysis to sort through the various alternatives. I look forward to seeing what I decide.