Indie Authors Dominate in Million Title Study of Author Earnings

AuthorEarning's May 2016 Report employs an enhanced methodology to get at books sales data that is often hidden:  "So for this report, we went deeper. Instead of just looking at Amazon’s bestseller lists, we had our spider follow links to also-bought recommendations and also through each authors’ full catalog. This resulted in a million-title dataset, our most comprehensive and definitive look yet at author earnings. We were able to tally up precisely how many indie authors, Big Five authors, small/medium press authors, and Amazon-imprint authors are currently making enough from Amazon.com sales to land in a number of 'tax brackets'."

The results are fascinating. Over the last 27 months, Big 5 publishers' market share by units has fallen from 39% to 23%; their share in gross $ sales has dropped from 53% to 40%. Independent authors' market shares have risen from 27% to 43% (and they now have the highest share) and from 15% to 25% in gross $ sales.

What this means is that independent authors are selling more books, though at much less cost per unit.

AE's report, even though it explores more in-depth than ever before, is still based upon Amazon sales and "18% of Amazon’s daily ebook sales remain unaccounted for in our data." It is nevertheless worth a good look by librarians, supporting at least two tentative conclusions:

• We knew the eBook market was changing with the entry of Indie authors, but this report suggests how very much it is changing, and how very much much we need to learn more about those authors' offerings. A world of potentially worthy titles at lesser costs than we are paying the big publishers awaits exploration but generally remains undiscovered by traditional library acquisition processes. Titles may only come to our attention if they have some local interest. How can we track and offer access to titles of interest?
• It spikes the guns of those who say eBook sales are slowing. The American Association of Publishers claims of stagnant sales are true in one market segment but not the entire market. It's not time to lower eBooks share of our budgets--in case the continued growth of library eBook circulation left anyone believing that.

EBooks are only one part of library services, but surely it is to our advantage to understand in a larger market than our own what drives their sales and consumption. Sales on smart phones are increasing. A price point much less than what the Big 5 charge consumers (never mind the ruinous prices they charge libraries) drives sales. Could we be offering more titles, at a lower cost and perhaps with better muse models, but exploring a growing market?   

The Toronto Star: Libraries Feel the eBook Pinch

The Star has run an article on our friends in Canadian Public Libraries for Fair Book Pricing (CPLFBP). While we might have wanted a more in-depth treatment, ReadersFirst thanks The Star for bringing attention to a continuing problem for libraries and expresses our ongoing support for CPLFBP, a group which includes many RF members.

"And libraries — including ones in Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax and Vancouver — say they’d like things to change, so that they can pay according to their size and needs, rather than using the current one-size-fits-all model." Absolutely! Our Canadian partners face challenges that those in the USA do not--publishers do not consider the size and scope of Canadian libraries when setting prices and often charge in U.S dollars, adding additional costs--but current pricing models are unfair and are holding back library eBook circulation and doing a disservice to library readers.

Let's dispense with the prevarication that libraries should pay five times the cost for an eBook than a private buyer does because eBooks never wear out. Few books maintain high interest over time. It boots us nothing to keep a title forever if it simply sits collecting digital dust. Ironically, the Harper-Collins 26 circ model, much lamented at the time it was implemented, in some cases by librarians who felt threatened by the growth of eBooks looking to score points in a larger debate, is one of the most advantageous models we see once pricing alone is considered.

Paying five to seven times per eBook what we pay for the same title in print ($18 vs $121) is, simply put, price-gouging. Libraries do not get a good return on investment. Why not just stick to print and let titles run out their useful lives that way? Sure, some print copies are ruined after the first circ by coffee spill or dog chewing, but we get more circ per dollar from them.

We are encouraged by at least one publisher (Penguin Random) moderating prices slightly, but we stand with CPLFBP in their efforts to make prices fair and call on U.S. libraries to let their voices be heard..       

Does eBook Reading Lower Comprehension?

Much ink has been used to decry how reading eBooks rather than traditional print lowers comprehension of material. Ironically, the news of the eBook's inferiority as platform is often shared in online posts. It might be thought that ReadersFirst would have a vested interest in promoting the opposite view:  that eBook reading is in no way lessens comprehension. Since we are a group of librarians before all else, however,  we have no such bias. We are interested, as all librarians and educators are, in knowing the truth about reading:  what works, what doesn't, how we might influence the discussion for the best with evidence.

The Huffington Post recently published a blog by Suren Ramasubbu, "Paper Books Vs. eBooks: The State of the Art of Reading," that explores the issue. Ramasubbu does point to a study that suggests eBook readers fare less well than print readers. He also points to a study that suggests both perform equally.  The real threat to reading comprehension is not the medium used for reading, he suggests, but a lack of deep reading caused by other activities, with much electronic communication:

"Reading, especially entertainment reading, such as reading a novel, according to Sven Birkerts, involves an inward plunge into an imaginary world described in the novel. This inward plunge requires a considerable amount of leisure and attention span, which are essential to provide wings to the imagination. Researchers at Michigan State observed a global increase in blood flow to the brain when “paying attention to literary texts” (Mansfield Park, in this experiment), which “requires the coordination of multiple complex cognitive functions.” Such focus activated various parts of the brain associated with touch, movement, and spatial orientation, in effect immersing the reader in the story. The Internet culture that is filled with competing stimuli causes the attention to flit between stimuli, thus limiting imagination and effectively killing it. Reading literary work has many levels and resonates with the reader through the use of language. The linguistic density associated with serious reading requires directed and uninterrupted concentration. Skimming-based reading fostered by the internet is addictive in that it makes directed reading a chore, thus effectively killing deep reading, and consequently, deep thought."

"The verdict? While e-books and e-readers could be beneficial to reading in the long run, no other digital tool bodes well."

Ramasubbu is not so naive as to think we will plunge backwards and give up the digital age. He does suggest that we pay attention to and work to keep skills we are in danger of seeing eroded. And with that, surely every librarian and teacher can find common ground.

What do you think? Is digital reading inherently less effective? Or is deep reading in any format still worthwhile and necessary?

Michael Blackwell, St. Mary's County Library.

A New Business Model at Bibliotheca/3M

A press release from Bibliotheca (now proprietors of the cloud service formerly named 3M) explains that they are adopting a pay-per-use model that will allow "libraries to offer a much more diverse collection of material with practically no risk." Moreover, "At BookExpo America, bibliotheca will meet with key publishers to continue securing content for the model. Several great publishers are already on-board, including Blackstone Audio and Hachette Audio. Working diligently with eAudiobook partner Findaway, bibliotheca expects to offer a wide range of eAudiobooks and eBooks under the new pay-per-use model."

While we aren't getting too excited over a mere press release, RF is pleased to see another vendor presenting an alternative business model for the benefit of libraries. We wish the company luck and look forward to seeing what they develop.

Cory Doctorow Imagines . . . Us

Cory Doctorow (of whom ReadersFirst is a fan) recently posed a question in a post in Locus aimed at envisioning ways for eBooks to get greater readership:

"What if libraries cloned Overdrive in free, open source code, which every library in the world could use, and which libraries could pay independent contractors to patch and improve?"

"Rather than paying an annual fee for Overdrive that pays for the soft­ware and dividends to Overdrive’s investors, the libraries would adopt the model that has made Drupal and WordPress so successful: paying independent contractors for service and upkeep, and collectively shar­ing the benefits of the incremental improvements made through these transactions."

"The openness of the platform is key, because that’s what lets the libraries assert that they are able to collect aggregated statistics on usage and circulation that are sufficiently zoomed-out as to not compromise patrons’ privacy, but are still full of the key insights publishers need to compete with Amazon, their best and biggest frenemy, publisher, and retailer rolled into one."

"The quid pro quo for this arrangement is that the publishers would have to stop shafting librar­ies on e-books."

We at RF love the idea, so much so that we have been working on it, as discussed in our last news post. A number of partners (of whom we are one), including DPLA, New York Public Library, and many others, with grant funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Minitex, is developing an open source app that works across library eBook platforms called SimplyE. As part of the the project, the Library E-Content Access Project(LEAP) will be developing a library eBook marketplace, working directly with the publishers. All of this is non-profit, designed by librarians for the use of libraries. If you are in librarianship, please follow developments. The app is currently in development. Read an initial review here. We will need participation to make the marketplace project scalable. If we can, then libraries will have the very thing Doctorow has called for. It's been a long time coming but may finally be realized.

Thanks, Mr. Doctorow. Your thought-experiment is our action item. Keep being a great voice for libraries and access!

The Future is Here

ReadersFirst has had a look at the SimplyE app.  A big thanks to James English of New York Public Library for the preview. [Full disclosure: James is a participant in the ReadersFirst Working Group)

SimplyE (and soon SimplyE for Consortia) is the name of the app promulgated by the Library Simplified project, funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and NYPL, with Minitex providing matching dollars (and much more!). RAILS and the Massachusetts State Library will help develop and implement the app, with many partners and further support from the Library E-Content Access Project in collaboration with the Digital Public Library of America.

This library version of a Supergroup has asked the question, dear to the hearts of ReadersFirst: “What would make the library easier to use?” Their answer is to build the library app we’ve all been waiting for:

·         Works across content provider platforms that provide APIs (note to providers—get those APIs in order if you want to be in the game)

·         Open source, allowing for continual improvement

·         Brandable—libraries can use their own graphics

·         Easy to use—just enter a library card number go, with no need for DRM signup (though DRM is working in the background) and with a full range of accessibility features

·         Easy to integrate into existing library systems, providing a gateway to all eContent and even the whole catalog

·         Ultimately able to access content from a public library domain and maybe even a nonprofit content exchange, with deals struck with publishers at terms favorable to libraries

Although the app is still in development, ReadersFirst has been able to get many questions answered in its first look at the Android app.

Is it easy to start? Oh, yes! Enter the library card number and pin and it fires up. No need for DRM or emails here. It is the easiest start for any library eBook app.  

Does content really come with three clicks or less? Yes. The app is set up for first browsing browsing, with the main categories being Best Sellers, Staff Picks (a great way to feature less well-known but significant titles), Fiction, Non-fiction, Young Adult Fiction, Young Adult Nonfiction, Children and Middle Grade, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, and Other Languages. Libraries can of course adjust these shelves. Readers may enter keywords in a convenient search box. Swipe left to browse titles and touch “More” at the end of a row to keep browsing. One may sort by author, availability, or collection (“Everything,” “Main, ““Popular”) Titles have a small box next to them that says “Get” or “Reserve” (if not available due to publisher one book/one reader licensing). Touch your title and it downloads. Next one sees a button that says “Read” (with a listing of how long is left on the loan) or “Return Now.” (One may also “Report and Issue.”) Touch “Read” and the book opens.

Does it work across platforms? ReadersFirst seamlessly got licensed content from OverDrive, 3M, and Axis 360 plus Open Access content from Project Gutenberg, Unglue.it, and Standard eBooks (OPen Access content which may be kept perpetually). Touch on a book cover to see the vendor it comes from, along with a plot synopsis and reviews.

Is it easy to adjust font and background color or navigate within the book? Yes. Buttons in the upper right allows easy adjustments of font size, screen color (white, black, sepia), and font type (including OpenDyslexic), and screen light level, plus hyperlinks to chapter starts (RF might suggest a keyword search option). Font sizes can get very large indeed.

Can one easily manage one’s account from the app?  A “bookshelf” icon on the upper left gives access to “Catalog,” “My Books,” “Reservations,” “Help,” and “Settings.” Touch the cover of a title in “My Books” and get the option to read or return. “Reservations” lists the titles on which one has a hold. “Help” actually is helpful, with the ability to request support or many topics for any potential trouble-shooting or questions one might have. This "Help" functionality is part of an advanced ticket management system is powered by Zendesk or Desk.com, who both provide non-profit pricing that libraries can leverage to extend their support services beyond just eBooks.

Are there any other cool features RF hasn’t explored? We haven’t reviewed the accessibility features, but the wide adjustibility of fonts should be very helpful. The app's control buttons may be read aloud in a text-to-speech feature and should offer access for the visually impaired. There’s a lot going on “behind” the app, including interesting metadata harvesting and Readium/EPUB 3 to make titles visually appealing and functional.” Ultimately, the app will be useful for academics, with “citations, group annotations, and embedded assessments.” EAudiobooks wil be supported. Look here for some FAQs. Development is by no means done, and libraries are encouraged to participate to help perfect it.

What’s the Verdict?  This app promises to revolutionize the library eBook experience. Its functionality realizes the goals for which ReadersFirst has been advocating for years. We wish it every success. We’ll post more as its features develop and we get to do more testing. How far it goes, however, is very much dependent upon libraries and librarians. If enough of us get behind it, its use becomes common, and the non-profit marketplace that might develop becomes scalable, we may all benefit from a versatile and easy-to-use app that gives us a one-stop answer to content across platforms and  that can even save us money on materials budgets. Why not get interested and involved? The future is waiting, if we make it so.

Michael Blackwell for RF and St Mary's County Library

The eBook Super Friends

Yes, the name sounds like a new comic, but the group is real and ready to make a difference in library eBook Services. Initiated by LJ Mover & Shaker Veronda Pitchford, the eBook Super Friends present "A meta-opportunity to share information across eBook projects" (thanks to notes from Amy Hitchner, the source of all quotations herein). The group hopes to accomplish the following:

• "Facilitate idea and resource sharing on a national level about eBook and eResource projects.

• Provide a bigger picture direction as a reference for smaller libraries."

Attending the initial meeting were the following super friends, many of them ReadersFirst members. This group--all of them surely members of any "Who's Who" list of digital content providers--and the organizations they represent will be a powerful voice for library eBook advocacy. They will focus on eBooks first but may extend their concerns to many other digital media. 

• Amy Hitchner, Colorado State Library

• Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library

• Christine Peterson, Amigos Library Services

• Kelvin Watson, Queens Library

• Maura Marx, IMLS

• Micah May, NYPL & ReadsersFirst

• Michael Colford, Boston Public Library

• Michelle Bickert, DPLA

• Paula MacKinnon, Califa

• Regan Harper, Colorado State Library

• Toby Greenwalt, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

• Veronda Pitchford, RAILS

• Wendy Cornelisen, Georgia Public Library Service

Expect outreach, resource sharing, and advocacy in the future, with more news to follow from this week's DPLAFest. 

ReadersFirst supports this group and pledges to support their efforts, share their advocacy, and join our voices to theirs for the good of libraries and library readers.

Bezos, Amazon Launch Library Co-opteration Initiative

Dateline: April 1
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos today took the stage with the usual choreographed flourishes to announce a new Amazon program for libraries.

“For too long,” Bezos explained, “libraries have operated in an eBook dark ages, unable to offer a variety of titles due to budgeting limitations, dishing out popular fiction while often ignoring nonfiction and substantive fiction, and seeing patrons limited by outmoded ‘one book/one user’ checkout business models that prevent libraries from realizing the true potential of digital content. Today, those dark ages end.  Amazon is shining a bright light that will allow libraries to enter the 21st Century. We call it “Library Co-opteration.”

“In this model,” Bezos continued, “library readers will get access to all of Amazon’s published titles using a Kindle, the BEST eReader product EVER developed. But wait . . . there’s more. We have lots of other authors, too, with names to conjure with. We’ve worked out arrangements with authors to get paid on a per-use basis. Our first author is James Patterson. One we got him . . .  um, once he enthusiastically endorsed us, all the others lined up, knowing that they had no choi . . . um, that this would be a great way for ALL authors to get more visibility with the help of those great champions of the book, librarians. We have Roberts, Coban, Sparks, you name ‘em, if a book is worth reading, or even if it’s not, we’ve got ‘em.”

“For a mere $1 per library user, libraries can get access to a robust catalog, with every title offering simultaneous access to unlimited library users. There’s even a brandable app. It says ‘_____ library has been Co-opterated!’ Just fill in your name and logo. It’s THAT EASY. The small 'Powered by Amazon' logo is barely visible.”

When reached for comment, the AAP President said “I am ExLIbris of AmaBorg. Resistance is futile. Library life, as it has been, is over. We are being well paid. More books than ever will be read. Reading will once again reach the primacy it once had as a form of entertainment and information. From this time forward, you will service  . . . Amazon.”

A spokesperson for library eBook vendor OverDrive exclaimed, “We’re having to completely revamp our app, again, but soon it will give access to every one of the Amazon Library Co-Opteration titles. And our users will get this bonus feature: OverDriveCo-OpterationRead, with access to titles in the browser of your choice, as long as you’re using a Kindle Fire!”

A bemused ALA President Sari Feldman noted “Our Digital Content Working Group is formulating a response. But Amazon is offering free Kindles to every library user registered in the program. It seems like Amazon might be trying to use libraries, but this initiative could certainly help ‘Libraries Transform’ the reading landscape.”  

Kindle Update

ReadersFirst doesn't sanction or promote any device; however, since many library eBook readers use Kindles (and often not the newest version), we thought we'd share this news from Amazon, mostly so that our member librarians know and can be ready to answer trouble-shooting questions from patrons at library desks and help lines. 

We are not sure if this update (which must be completed by today or done in a more laborious fashion later) will affect Wi-Fi access to library content.  If you know, please post!

Is Spying on Readers Inevitable?

In "Moneyball for Publishers: A Detailed Look at How We Read," Alexandra Alter and Karl Russell of the NYT look at how Jellybooks is tracking eBook readers habits. The results are not too surprising. On a "successful" book (from a marketing standpoint, at least), some 62% of readers finish. On books that have had "marketing scaled back," 90% of readers give up after five chapters.

Alter and Russell discuss some concerns that authors might have over such tracking. They also discuss what it might mean for readers: "But as the book industry gets more sophisticated about how to measure reading behavior and the practice becomes more widespread, real privacy concerns could emerge. . . . Regular e-book readers might not realize that digital retailers are recording and storing the data. A few years ago, California instituted the 'reader privacy act,' which made it harder for law enforcement agencies to collect information on consumers’ digital reading records from e-book retailers. But most other states have not taken such steps." They conclude that "Having Companies Reading Over Your Shoulder Is Probably Inevitable."

We in libraries have long known that major retailers such as Amazon have access to this sort of data. This articles raises, once again, concerns about what library eBook providers might have access to. Are they tracking reading habits similarly? Are our readers aware? If they are, do we wish to see such information ourselves? Do we have the right to see it if our readers haven't specifically given permission? With who else might such data be shared--publishers?

ReadersFirst strongly supports library readers' privacy and advocates that library eBook vendors collect data on reading habits only with readers' full knowledge, only if a library also agrees for it readers, and data not be shared with any one except for libraries--and only then for each individual library's specific readers. We can't control what Amazon does with our readers who get library eBooks there--though we are interested in what Amazon is doing.

What are your thoughts on collecting data on library readers' eBook habits?