Comments on: “Trust Me” Isn’t a Good Sales Pitch (for a Lover or a Book)

By: Is Ten Pages Enough to Judge a Book? | Publishing Perspectives

Is Ten Pages Enough to Judge a Book? | Publishing Perspectives — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 08:01:29 +0000

[...] built up. The question of how to present book sampling has never quite been answered, though as Kevin Smokler noted here, “trust me” is a pretty lame sales pitch and publishing needs to find a better way of [...]

By: What Kinds of Content Should Authors and Publishers Give Away for Free? | Publishing Perspectives

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 22:42:26 +0000

[...] Whether this really works or not is still up for debate. But one thing is certain — publishers and authors need to determine exactly what kind of content to give away and how much. Earlier this year Kevin Smokler argued on this site that the current methodology publishers have for allowing readers to sample books is inadequate. [...]

By: What is the Future of “Freemium” in Book Publishing?

What is the Future of “Freemium” in Book Publishing? — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 07:01:40 +0000

[...] Today’s lead story looks at Flat World Publishing’s “freemium” model for publishing college textbooks. The model isn’t exactly new: authors ranging from Chris Anderson to Cory Doctorow to Seth Godin have long advocated giving digital or online-only editions away for free in order to entice readers to purchase print books. Big Six and other publishers have been experimenting along the same lines, sometimes giving away a free e-book edition of an author’s work in order to entice buyers to purchase the latest paperback or hardcover. To a lesser extent, the free sample chapters given away by publishers online are another example, albeit more modest of the freemium model (see Kevin Smoker’s discussion on PP of why publishers need better book samples here). [...]

By: Kevin Smokler

Kevin Smokler — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:58:42 +0000

Erik,

A fine question. I may missing something but if we’re basically talking about text and a couple of images, why can’t a common format work? Length isn’t the issue as there are 3 minute mp3 and 30 minute mp3s right?

By: The New Ways to Reach Readers « Conversational Reading

The New Ways to Reach Readers « Conversational Reading — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:27:53 +0000

[...] New Ways to Reach Readers The New Ways to Reach ReadersKevin Smokler has an excellent op-ed at Publishing Perspectives on how authors and publishers need to think in order to reach readers. I [...]

By: Erik Christopher

Erik Christopher — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 19:56:24 +0000

I think one aspect we still have to look at is the difference in content published. Fiction titles and those you would buy at the bookstore are much different then say academic materials. A one size or format fits all model wouldn’t work for eBooks in that sense. Too much is being put that an eBook must be able to do this, but unlike music, books serve different purposes and a commonality wouldn’t achieve what those books are intended for. So my question, How do you try to come up with a common format when you have distinctive needs?

By: Paul

Paul — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 17:58:37 +0000

While you were using mp3 as an example, I also like the idea of the author giving a a short reading of an excerpt. There is a personal touch to it.

By: Moriah Jovan

Moriah Jovan — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:07:41 +0000

I sample 1/3 of my books in 7 formats (EPUB, HTML, IMP, LIT, MOBI/PRC, PDF, PDB–all in a convenient zip!). I figure, out of a 730-page book, anybody ought to be able to make an informed buying decision with 200 pages to figure it out.

And they probably won’t have to convert it to their e-reader’s format before they can start reading.

By: The Daily Square – Sing A Simple Song Edition | Booksquare

The Daily Square – Sing A Simple Song Edition | Booksquare — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:30:37 +0000

[...] “Trust Me” Isn’t a Good Sales Pitch (for a Lover or a Book)From Kevin Smokler, a please to do a better job of introducing books to readers. The 21st century in publishing has the same problem that most of us do in adolescence: it’s hard to date. [...]

By: Richard Nash

Richard Nash — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:50:16 +0000

Funny, Kevin, I’ve been been yapping about the sampler problem myself recently. The amount of text necessary to make a sample for fiction is so enormous—the leisure time-sucking equivalent of an early career singer-songwriter’s entire recorded oeuvre. Peddling books has always been about demanding people’s time, rather than their money. MJ’s plan for her is perfect, but for a debut, 25K words is way more than anyone’s going to sample. Effectively, you’ve gotta trust someone, someone with a real matchmaking reputation, to extend your metaphor, an entity with an excellent morning after reputation…