How you consume books as a reader impacts how you are publishing and marketing your own indie books. That's inevitable as we all exist inside our own worldview, so we assume that everyone else behaves the same way.
But what if you are missing out on sales and new readers because of this?
What opportunities are you leaving behind because you have a blind spot for how others read?
I spent last week at the Oregon Coast Business Masterclass with Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith and as part of the (many) useful business sessions, we discovered how differently people read.
Last year, I moved into IngramSpark and am doing more print because of this realization. I was ignoring print (beyond Createspace POD) because I don't really read print and Dean hadn't considered hardbacks for non-fiction because he didn't see that as something people wanted.
So here's how I read/buy/borrow/listen to books right now. I'd love to know how you read, so please do put a comment at the bottom of the article so we can see how differently we consume books.
I primarily read ebooks on my iPhone Kindle app by day and Paperwhite by night
I only buy ebooks from Amazon Kindle. I was one of the first people to get a Kindle device in Australia in 2009 and became locked into the eco-system (happily as a reader) because ebooks were a third of print prices.
There was no iBooks and no Kobo at that point in the market, so as the first mover, they got me early. You can see this happening with how Amazon is aggressively moving into India as well as the Middle East.
I have rarely read fiction in print since and now I turn down fiction in print because I don't like the format.
There was a comment in the group about the benefit of keeping a To Read pile in print because it reminds you to read something over time. But that works exactly the same for me with ebooks.
I have around 80-100 samples (or KU books) on my Paperwhite/app at any one time. In my reading time, I will scroll through my samples and dip into what catches my eye from my reading list. I often ‘buy' the same thing twice and it means it will jump to the front of my queue. Here's why sampling means your first few pages are so important.
I am a Kindle Unlimited subscriber and borrow books
This is a separate subscription to Amazon Prime. I borrow my maximum 10 books at a time. This is often indie non-fiction or new fiction authors I want to try out without taking a risk on.
For fiction authors who are not in KU, I will try a sample. If they are KU, I just get the whole thing. I have discovered new authors this way for fiction and non-fiction and have gone on to buy non-fiction in print or audio this way too.
I will not buy a novel from an author who is not already trusted. I will either download a sample or borrow it. I understand as a reader that KU is a library so if I want the book, I need to buy it physically, which I sometimes do.
I am an Amazon Prime member for the free shipping of print books
We also watch Amazon Video along with Netflix and BBC iPlayer. We only watch streaming TV and film and Amazon stole us from iTunes, where we used to buy films. I never use my free Prime ebooks, preferring to use KU or buys.
I buy non-fiction paperbacks and hardbacks I want through Amazon – usually with free Prime shipping.
These are usually beautiful hardback expensive books for my personal (very small) print library, mainly image based, around travel, graveyards and death culture e.g. I have behemoth books like The Red Book by Carl Jung with paintings in.
I also have business related non-fiction for reference, like Kris's contracts book and the one on Goals.
I buy non-fiction, gift books and books for kids (also gifts) in my local physical bookstores in order to support independents locally.
I do this every week or two, spending usually £50 a time. I also note down any fiction I see and get a sample on Amazon later – hence why I support them also by buying 🙂
I am an Audible subscriber
I listen to one non-fiction audiobook per month. If I find it useful, I will often buy the hardback and ebook versions as well as I consume these more than once and have them for reference. I also buy extra non-fiction audiobooks if I really want something.
I only buy hardback fiction at conventions to get autographs of fiction authors I love (very few of them)
Then I will rip out the signed page and stick that in my journal and leave the print book in the room as I will have already read it on ebook. (That probably horrifies you but we live a location-independent lifestyle and have a 1-bed apartment and I don't read print anyway!)
I am a voracious reader
Books are my main outgoing for entertainment and education, and I read around 150-200 per year, as well as buying for gifts and promo copies of my own books.
Book discoverability. How I find books as a reader
For fiction, I discover books by:
- Browsing categories I read on Amazon and filtering by Last 30 Days to find new books. If I find a cover & title I like, then I download a sample, or borrow on KU. I will also surf the also-boughts, drilling down multiple levels into books to find others I might like
- Emails from Amazon recommending books I might like
- Checking on my favorite authors and pre-ordering. I have 5-8 authors I will pre-order fiction from who I started reading years ago e.g. James Rollins, Daniel Silva, Dan Brown, John Connolly – and other books I love here.
- Physical discovery in bookstores and at conventions
For non-fiction, I discover books by:
- Podcast recommendations and interviews. This is by far my biggest discovery for non-fiction now. If I want to learn about a topic, then I go looking for podcast episodes on it, then I will buy the book from the interview. I will often buy in multiple formats – ebook, audiobook, and print for reference.
- Searching for a topic I want to learn about on Amazon e.g. investments
- Social media recommendations/discovery. If I see a tweet from someone interesting and then I see they have a book, I will sample that. I will also get samples of people I follow on
So that's how I read and discover books. Will I find your books as a reader?
Please leave a comment below about how you read and discover books, or any questions, and join the conversation.
My reading profile is similar to yours, Joanna. We downsized into a much smaller house (an excellent decision for busy people!) and got rid of practically all of our print fiction, so now I read fiction, craft books, and business-related nonfic almost exclusively on my Kindle. I don’t belong to KU.
I write historicals so there’s a lot of background reading involved, and most of the books I buy for research purposes are paperback or hardback. Many are used copies from Amazon (I read a lot of older books) but I buy from my local bookstore (one of those Waterstones that looks like an indie) whenever I can, even though Amazon would be cheaper, to support the store.
I have an Audible subscription and nearly always have an audiobook on the go, either fiction or non-work nonfic.
I don’t download samples much. I find books through Goodreads, book blogger recs, discovering new comps through networking, history magazines and blogs, and The Guardian book pages. Despite all my efforts my eyes are always bigger than my belly and books tend to pile up waiting to be read. I also belong to a book club and that gets me reading books I wouldn’t normally have chosen.
Not surprisingly, setting aside more time to read is one of my 2018 goals.
I also have books ‘piled up’ to be read on my Kindle and in print 🙂 But that behavior is part of what makes the publishing economy go round, so hopefully people are doing it with our books too!
Hi Joanna,
We too are looking at downisizing the next time we move, and I have shifted tons of books already in my move to ebooks. The only things I buy in print are cookbooks, because I love writing notes in the margins and there is nothing worse than being in the middle of a recipe with goopy hands and having your ipad time-out. Been there. Done that.
But I can see a future where making notes in an e-book will be much easier and I’ll be able to voice control the time-out, so when that day comes, good-bye cookbooks.
I have bought a few writing reference books in print, but only a very few and I’m moving to ebooks for that as well.
The only other book I like in print is something inspirational, like The Art of War, so I can leave it on my coffee table and pick it up and open to a random place. But I don’t need many of those.
I find non-fiction through podcasts, blogs, and personal recommendations. Fiction? Much tougher. Mostly personal recommendations. My last new favorite author discovery was through randomly participating in the Kindle Scout voting, and having the book win. Loved it! So I went on to buy her other books.
I’m with Jane and need to set aside more time for reading fiction!
-Jessica
We’re quite similar then, Jessica – and the downsizing is always a huge thing on moving house. Which books are worth taking onwards! When we left Australia, we found it almost impossible to give our books away – sadly.
Wow different world. For context I am just trying to learn how to start writing stories hence being here.
I only recently got a Kobo so I will buy non fiction (mainly writing craft books since I got it) books on that. If I *especially* like them I will then I will re-buy in print, if available.
The only fiction I have on the Kobo is stuff I can’t easily get in print and in that case it is either an author who’s craft book I am reading so I can see if I want to listen to their advice 🙂 or a recommendation.
By far my preferred way to read fiction is in paperback and I find most of my fiction by browsing a books store, unless it is a book I know I want e.g. the books store doesn’t have book 1 in a series grrrr, then I will amazon it.
I am still not convinced by the Kobo, it is better than reading on my phone or iPad but I still don’t like the image quality. It may be my age (early 40’s) but I vastly prefer the feel of a ‘real’ book. I find referencing things in it difficult and not knowing how big a book is is hard too.
As for KU, my thought is is a book is worth reading it is worth buying, and vice-versa if I buy it I am more likely to read it rather that it being in a big to read pile. The same with free giveaway books — they generally don’t end up getting read by me.
I have audible (I just use the ‘free’ credits) and listen to it when I have run out of podcasts, it has generally being non fiction, stuff like Big Magic. I find the experience fun but not as nice as reading.
It’s not your age – I am 42 🙂 It’s more of a preference borne from your ability to get print books at a reasonable price – so I moved to Kindle in Australia because new print books were over $30 and I couldn’t get what I wanted second-hand or fast enough in libraries. That switched me!
Interesting to hear you also like non fiction in audio.
I read both eBook and print books although my preference is the print book. I love picking up a book off my bookshelf or desk and randomly flicking through a page which sometimes becomes a trigger for my creative thought processes. I use the kindle app to read while travelling or when sitting in the hairdressers chair! I have my favourite reads both in print and eBook to pick up the reading wherever I am.
Thanks Mala – that’s why I have non-fiction in print too 🙂
I read on kindle only because of my pet sitting etc job and Mini won’t have space for books, My coffee machine is more important, ha, ha.
I buy academic books for my PhD in print (I need page numbers, unfortunately) and I nearly always buy non-fiction in print because I find it’s easier to refer back to. For fiction, I either read it on my Kindle Touch (I’m old school) or in print. I stopped buying paperbacks but then a branch of The Works opened in Newcastle and I can often get three novels for a fiver, so I don’t mind taking a chance on new authors I’ve never heard of for that price. Then I take the paperbacks to Barter Books in Alnwick (my favourite place on Earth) to exchange them for something else when I’m finished with them!
I’ve never listened to an audiobook but I know it’s something I need to get into with my own books. It’s definitely on the To Do list for 2018.
Interesting on your print behavior! The Works is remaindered books I think, so they get over-printed stock from publishers dirt cheap. I wonder if that model will change as publishers move to smaller print runs or print in demand for many books?
I read almost all on Kindle– I like the complete convenience of finding, sampling, and ordering a book and then having it forever on my machine.
I haven’t tried KU yet because I get enough book ideas from BookBub and other sources (and Kindle WiFi hates me).
I haven’t tried audiobooks either. Intriguing, but the experience sounds too passive for me.
I do still use some paper: if a series catches my interest I might reserve it at the library to save money. And I’m considering getting a top favorite or two in paper because some kinds of searching don’t work as well on Kindle.
Thanks Ken – audiobooks are more for when you’re doing something else e.g. I listen when out walking for long distances
Great blog post, Johanna, and comments, everyone else!
I’m an avid reader of what I guess is narrative-style natural history non-fiction (David Quammen’s Song of the Dodo is the best book in the world, apart from Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams!). I rarely read fiction. There’s a room at my parents house in which I’ve accumulated thousands of printed books. I’m middle-aged, have always lived in rented shared houses, and would never be able to take my books with me.
When I go out, I always want to have something with me to read, and, because I’m never quite sure what I’ll be in the mood for, my habit was to take three books with me when I went out. That’s heavy and a bit silly.
About two years ago my dad gave me his old style Kindle when he upgraded. After a few months I turned it on. I purchased one ebook for £9.99 which I already had on my shelf. I’d still stick a couple of printed books in my bad too, but I found that I habitually read on the Kindle! I downloaded several more books – again, ones I had on the shelf.
I’ve now accumulated several thousand ebooks and very rarely purchase a printed book. I never take a print book out with me. I’ve just discovered audio books and downloaded one of yours, Johanna, a Write. Publish. Repeat, and Let’s Get Digital.
I very rarely visit the big high-street book store – Waterstones – these days. I used to virtually live in there! I buy everything on Amazon. I read a lot of ecology books and they tend to have a lot of charts and tables. So I’ve purchased a few of those in print, via Amazon – but, every time, I’ve also purchased the ebook version (usually for £40 or whatever, grrr!)…..and, despite the naff formatting, I still read even those books on the Kindle. The printed version just sits on my shelf! One of these days they’ll create an ereader that can handle technical / text books properly without giving eye strain.
I stumbled upon a blog post about self-publishing about six months ago, in which the writer said he’d been convinced to go indie by Johanna’s podast and after reading Be the Monkey. I immediately purchased that book on my Kindle, have read it about five times, and have downloaded and listened to all those podcasts, and Simon Whistler’s, Stephen Campbell’s etc. I purchased Scrivener after catching one of Johanna’s videos and haven’t opened Word since! I now have c.15 book manuscripts on the go! All natural history. A small niche I’m sure but I enjoy writing (now I have Scrivener) and am on a bit of a mission to get my opinion on things ‘in e.ink’. I’ve started to experiment with the free Dictation thingy on my Mac and it works really well. I have a cheap mic and have found it works fine sitting on the beach in Ventnor (Isle of Wight). But I type a lot in cafes too. I’m also setting up a wee charity and so am exploring how selling POD and ebooks might help with fundraising.
I’ve rapidly migrated away from reading print books, and can see myself heading more and more towards audiobooks because I can just walk around listening to them (and innumerable podcasts!). I’m most excited about global prospects. I’ve done a lot of work out in Cambodia and, deep in remote forest field sites, after a day of tracking tiger prey, the Khmer field staff get out their smart phones and start to play games and, sometimes, read books. That’s how some are learning English too. Same in Borneo, West Africa, Colombia, Isle of Wight. These book-shop-less regions are leap-frogging print in favour of digital
Thanks for the comment, Steve, and for purchasing my books and audiobooks 🙂 I’m thrilled to be part of your author journey. It sounds like your conversion to digital was slow but complete once begun. Glad you’re trying dictation too.
Very interested in your comments about Cambodia and other developed countries – as I’ll be talking about on the next show, that is absolutely the future.
Hi Joanna,
I primarily read fiction Ebooks, but want paper or hardcover for nonfiction. I find my readers are the same–and my nonfiction print sales (with CreateSpace) outstrip Ebook sales with audio nonfiction sales about equal to Ebooks on a couple of my most popular titles. (But I don’t have nearly the # of fiction titles yet that you have *s*). I’ve just started with IngramSpark to bring special hardcover nonfiction editions out in time for the holidays since many readers “gift” pet care books at this time of year. Also, libraries prefer hardcover for reference titles like mine. Paws crossed, it’s successful.
Great to hear you’re ramping up for the Christmas season, Amy! I’m just doing the same thing and intend to do some hardbacks in 2018 for the gifting market.
I guess I will have to be the different one on this post. I have a Kindle Paperwhite and have quite a few books on it. I like reading on my Kindle but, I still read books primarily. Paperbacks and Hardbacks. It does not matter which one. I still like the feel a physical book in my hand and turning those pages does something to me. Plus I don’t like starting at a screen all the time and reading physical books gives me a break from that.
I primarily read fiction. Mostly science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction. However, I have just discovered Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache mystery novels (Reading my third one currently!) and have become a fan! I tend to get recommendations from Goodreads, Book Podcasts (What Should I Read Next as an example and Coode St. Podcast for SF/Fantasy), and soclal media.
Books are still the cheapest form of entertainment and I don’t mind taking a risk on a new or unknown author. Plus, if I don’t like the book, I can give it someone else or trade it in at a used book shop. LOL!! This is an interesting topic and as a former bookseller I have always been fascinated what people read. Thanks Joanna.
I find books in almost the same manner as you, Joanna. Although for hardcover print (rarely do I buy paperback) I buy cookbooks and authors I want signatures from. I browse books stores and buy rare books, noting down current ones I want to look for on Amazon later (ebook).
As for the books I write, I try to make sure each market is available. Trade paperback (Createspace), hardcover (Ingram) and Audible for the audiobooks. I must say I agree with you about the hardcovers. They’re almost not worth the effort. Ingram gloms most of the money so you’re forced to charge at least $25-30 and I hate that! Unless you’re looking to buy a large quantity and slog them out yourself (or with Amazon’s vendor site which isn’t too bad of an idea if you don’t mind the pain in the butt setup) then that’s the only way you can make it profitable. But…the most important thing is the reader. I know there are people that will only read hardcover or paperback, etc. So, I don’t want to leave them out. :0)
I usually read books via an e-reader. I joined Scribd and I am loving it so far. The selection is not amazing but I would say it has about 60% of the books I want to read. The other 40% I go to kindle and purchase the book outright.
The interesting thing is that I got zero traction with my book on any other platform except the Kindle store.
In terms of how I discover books, usually word of mouth or via search. Sometimes I get suggestions via social media as well.
If you ask me what I prefer, the answer is paper every time–which is strange, since I read about ten ebooks for every paperback. It’s more that I want paperbacks of books I want to show off or loan to friends. The cheaper price point and lack of clutter means I favor ebooks until I know it’s a book I like.
Prime Day offered 40% off KU and ebook deals, so my electronic To Be Read pile is massive at this point. I use Overdrive (or WhisperSync, when it was $2 to add audio to an ebook) for audio. I’ve been trying to have more quiet time to foster creativity, so I’ve cut back on audio books while driving, cooking, or showering.
A lot of my genre reading comes from wondering about a subject, genre, or idea and reading all I can find on it. Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach trilogy had me on a New Weird kick for awhile, now it’s nature-based fantasy.
For literary fiction, I volunteer at a literary magazine, and the weekly meetings will often bring up important works to study — Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera for writing intimacy, Tampa by Alyssa Nutting as an example of not needing a likeable protagonist, St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves for showing the distinction between narrative and protagonist voice. Those I get in paper to loan to other writer friends who may face similar issues on their own writing journeys.
I’m another one who tends to read fiction on my Kindle and print for nonfiction. Sometimes I buy the Kindle version nonfiction book to see how good the advice really is. If it’s good, I often go ahead and buy it again in print.
My Kindle is easier to take along when traveling or going to an appointments with people who are often not on time.
I did recently buy a novel written by an area writer at a booksigning/meet-and-greet event. I wanted to support her and continue the connection –she lives some distance away from me.
There must be something up with me that I love the idea of keeping all of the signed pages of a book together, I’m sorry, but it does seem so wrong!!!! I read basically the same way, paperback is nearly obsolete for me bar kids and cookery books. Saying that I have a few I’m gotten on loan from my sister and I went to a book launch the other week and spent ages ‘inspecting’ the book after, so maybe there’s a piece of me telling me to get back to them. Plus I was thinking for 2018 of going back to basics and reading some of the oldies and classics, and I don’t know if it’s terrible to get them on Kindle as opposed to from the lovely library across the road (I know, they must hate me, a book blogger that only takes out e-books or kiddie books!) Now, sorry, what was I saying … ?!Oh, yes, must get back to paperbacks;););) Great post:)
For Christmas 2010 I gave my wife a Kobo reader and she gave me a Sony reader. Funny that neither of us asked for one at the time but we soon discovered we loved them.
The Kobo reader was a first generation and I bought her the Aura a couple years back but I still have my Sony reader (it was one of the first with touch screen) and see no reason to upgrade it.
Being a Canadian Kobo made sense as I could buy in CAD while Amazon at the time didn’t offer that. Kobo has a wonderful website that feels more like you’re in a book store compared to Amazon (IMO).
I read 99% fiction and mostly ebooks but once in a while my mother-in-law will lend me one of the thriller books she’s read in paperback and I will read that format to. Most non-fiction books are given to me in print.
I do like to discover new authors (to me), some may be indies and some not but I usually like to download a sample or get their permafree ebook if they offer one and then will buy other books if I like them. I do find it hard to dish out the prices some of the big name authors ask for, even if it’s a favorite. I’ll either get those from the library (they have a really good selection of ebooks now compared to a couple years back) or grab them when they do a promo.
I’ve not tried audio books because I know I’m not going to follow along. Even podcasts, my wind starts to wonder and I usually get the transcript if available so I can read it instead.
I’ve finally started publishing and decided to offer my books in print too via CreateSpace just in case there ever is a demand (other than for myself as it’s nice to have the print format to display in our home – hey got to toot your own horn, right!)
You were the first indie I discovered via your Creative Penn website some 5-6 years ago, and have enjoyed several of your books, mostly as ebooks but I did get one in print to see how CreateSpace did them, which I think are quite good.
Thanks Francois, and interesting to hear about your reaction to big name author prices. I agree, some of the prices are crazy and I will only buy fiction ebooks at high prices for a handful of authors I love. I try to keep my own prices reasonable!
Hi Joanna
Thanks for another helpful and interesting article. I know that I miss opportunities all the time because of my mindset and especially my inability to build and tap into an email list.
I read mostly print. I love the smell and feel of a new print book. Reading a new book is an increasingly rare experience. I mostly buy from Book Depository. I have several large book cases overflowing with books.
I had one of the first Kobos but it was a pain to use and often needed to be reset so I never really got into the habit of reading e-books although I sometimes read using Kindle on my computer/tablet. Ebooks are certainly a convenient medium and save the forests of the world. I have tried creating an audio book but I do not find the medium appeals to me. I know kids who love audio so it may well be the future.
Some years ago I had to stop working to look after my elderly mother. This gave me the time to write and publish. It also changed my buying habits (drop in income!). I now mostly borrow books from the library, my local book club and buy second hand from op-shops. I have reluctantly been taking my books to the local op shop because I have no more storage space. I read more fiction than non-fiction, at least one book a week. I mosty use Goodreads, especially their best of the year lists, to find new books. I also add the books I have read to my personal reading list on this site.
I publish my fiction books in both print (POD) and ebook (Kindle) using Amazon. For my non-fiction kids book with lots of images I chose a local printer. The POD page quality did not give a good result. It means I have a sizable stock of boxes full of books in my storage cupboard.
So that’s my author/reader journey.
Thanks so much, Liliane and interesting to hear how you use Goodreads as a discoverability tool. Happy reading!
I love books…all types of books. I do have m y collection of reference books and a revolving library of paperbacks. I still have a few collectors editions of hardcover books. Like others, I have downsized, so keep very few things now. I use my kindle to read or a tablet with apps to read. I keep over 200 books on my kindle, but many are reference books so I have them handy everywhere I go. Considering I work in odd places to fill in time while waiting, I love the convenience of my e-reader and my computer.
I will say, there is nothing like a hardcover book, a cozy fire and a cup of tea to make my day. I still use that as my ultimate relaxation. There are times when an e-reader just doesn’t get it, just like sometimes you need to use a pen and paper to write.
Interesting article Joanna and so important for all authors to consider.
I was very keen to get a kindle when I saw yours at a talk you did on the Gold coast in 2010!! I now read e-books on my smart phone app and on my paper white kindle. The smart phone is more convenient and it is easier to hold but the kindle is better for reading outdoors and at night. For very thick books, e-books are much lighter!!
I buy P books for reference and to be able to see what the books looks like. I usually have E book version of P book if its available.
I don’t get a lot of time to read, so I listen to lots of audio books and in recent years: E-Audio books. I do purchase some but prefer to down load the E-Audio books from Overdrive app (E-Library). I recommend books to my local library all the time which they often will purchase. The Gold Coast City library is excellent – massive selection.
I also prefer to listen to the author narrate the book where possible. Sometimes I will not continue with an audio book, if the voice is either too unpleasant or too fake. I will wait to read the e-book instead, if I am really keen.
I think its very important to remember that the library is a brilliant way to look at books, see what the book ‘feels’ like and then can purchase it if you like it. (I do this a lot) Also, there are so many libraries around the world – they are a great way to sell your book and to promote and market it!!
Wow! That was one of my first talks, Ursula. I was so nervous that day, so I’m thrilled you remember it. Things have changed a lot for me since – I hope also for you 🙂