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| G. P Putnam |
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| Published by moi |
I have four eBooks out in the world. Three were published by G.P. Putnam's Sons at the same time the company published the hardcover editions of my last three books. I published the fourth one, an eBook republication of one my
earlier out-of-print books from Putnam. Nonetheless, my impression has
been that children aren't big eBook readers. I've heard speakers
say eBooks are the next big thing for children. But when visiting schools, speaking with librarians and parents, and in give-and-take on-line, I haven't seen it happening. In fact, I've read that eBooks are very much a middle-aged woman reader thing. Not a kid thing, at all.
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| G. P. Putnam |
Then last month I received my most recent statement from Penguin Random House. They've revised the statement, so it's a little easier to read. (Hey. It's not just me who has trouble with those things.) I was surprised to discover that I've sold a few copies of each of my eBooks during the period the statement covers. What was more surprising was how many eBooks I've sold overall.
Now, we're not talking bestselling numbers here. The numbers are just higher than I expected. When I told a family member how many eBooks of
Happy Kid! have sold...Well, let's just say I got a reaction. Our expectations were that low.
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| G. P. Putnam |
Of course, children don't buy many books of any kind. Adults buy books for them. No doubt adults are buying these. Are they buying them for their children's e-readers? Are they buying them for their own e-readers, so they'll have some child reading available for child reading emergencies in cars, doctors' offices, etc.? (I can see myself doing that.) Are they buying them for themselves to read? (I have done that.)
Whatever the reason, someone is buying these particular children's eBooks. I assume that means they're buying other children's eBooks, too.
Very interesting. I only know that I never buy e books. I can't find a good way to circulate them in the school library, since kids have different platforms, and loading the books can be a huge pain. In fact, I had two struggling readers who borrowed old school Kindles, but I had to check out the books on my public library account! Also, the e readers only lasted about three months once they started using them. For now, I only purchase hard backs. We'll see how technology changes!
ReplyDeleteThat's one of the reasons I didn't think many people were buying children's eBooks. Libraries are the traditional purchasers, and I assume most libraries have all the problems you describe.
ReplyDeleteI buy eBooks, myself, particularly when Kindle offers deals. It's a great way to try new authors. I then may go on to buy other eBooks at full price by the same author. However, my eBooks that were published by the publisher are never involved with deals, to my knowledge.
Go Gail!
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