Digital vs. traditional print publishing

Digitally published authors have different standards than the traditional print author. Many digitally published authors write shorter works to be electronic books, or ebooks. For example, a thirty thousand word book at publishers like Ellora's Cave is a short novel, while that same length is a novella in NY.  A writer can produce more books at a shorter length, and in turn, release more within one year compared to the hundred thousand word single title novel.  And the key to success for many digitally published authors at places like Ellora's Cave, Samhain Publishing or LooseId is putting out several works over the course of the year. The ability to keep producing is paramount. A nice growing backlist keeps earning money past the month shelf life of a traditional mass market paperback, and a new release keeps interest in an author’s work revitalized. As Raelene Gorlinsky of Ellora's Cave says in a recent article on the Electronic and Small Press Authors Network blog addressing epublishing, "Backlist, backlist, backlist!"

Digitally published authors make an income on all their books, not just one. As Ms. Gorlinsky continues, epublishing allows an author to "get published more quickly, and have more books come out in a shorter period of time—thereby building your name recognition and fan base." It is entirely possible for an author with a larger epublisher like Samhain or Ellora's Cave to make thousands dollars a year on their ebooks. Their income, largely royalty based, not advance based, is a business model that works.

The downside of digital publishing? Shady publishers, piracy, and inequality in professional organizations. The Romance Writers of America supports their authors of traditional NY publishers, but when it comes to digital publishing, the area becomes more hazy. Some feel writers not working on an advance take risks with their work, but the royalty based system in epublishing has a higher royalty rate books remain available much longer than a month. The chance an author takes with epublishing can pay off in the end rather than in advance.There is a group of romance authors looking to make changes within the RWA and the outlook on digital publishing at this YahooGroup. This group of romance authors is currently 600+ strong.

In an economy where NY publishers lay off editors, cut back on acquisitions and the payment methods of an advance, perhaps digital publishing business model is one to consider as the wave of the future.