Re: do ebook publishers consider your downloads/sales?

You're asking a lot of questions at once, so let's take them one at a time,
as I understand them.

If you are giving a book away for free, those "downloads" do not count
favorably toward anything you do in the future. It doesn't even really prove
an audience, since many people that download free books are collectors...not
readers. In fact, they will hinder the sale of that particular book later,
should you choose to publish it. Not only did you extinguish first rights,
but you have extinguished a large portion of paying audience.

But, I don't think you're using "download" to mean free download? Just call
sales "sales." The fact that they are downloads after sale makes no
difference.

Ebookling isn't a publisher, per se. It's a self-publishing route, and to be
honest, I can't see what they bring in that I can't get elsewhere...and with
much higher royalty rates than they offer. To be blunt, it's unlikely that
they're going to care much how many copies any given book sells. It's not
their model to give much thought to what they put out there. I SUSPECT the
rejects from Ebookling are based more on content offered than on prior sales
figures. No, I haven't dealt with them, but they aren't much different than
a hundred other similar outfits, really.

But traditional ebook publishing... Will very low sales affect the
willingness of the publisher to accept another book from you? Possibly.

If it's another book in the same series, the publisher may hope each new
book will bring in more readers to the whole thing...or may drop that
series, because the first was a dud and/or you aren't marketing well.
Likewise, the publisher may cut newer authors a break and give them time to
build the audience slowly with repeated releases.

If it's a different genre, the publisher may give you the benefit of the
doubt that the genre of the original wasn't as popular or you weren't as
adept at writing it as you are the new one.

The new book may just be MUCH better, whether the same or different genre,
than the first was...or much worse. That will be taken into account.

And unlike conglomerate sales in mass market and hard bound, there is NO
single entity that tracks all ebook or POD sales. What does that mean? Indie
e/p presses cannot depend on convenient industry figures of what your last
book sold elsewhere to decide not to sign you on. While they may have an
idea of the big sellers out there, based on bestsellers for other publishing
houses or on distribution channels that post bestsellers, it's not as easy
to peg the low sellers, unless they are complaining about it.

That means publisher B will accept a great book from an author that sold
poorly at another publishing house, when a conglomerate might check the old
figures from another conglomerate and not sign the author on. It is a plus
side for us.

Brenna
-- 
http://www.brennalyons.com    http://www.facebook.com/brenna.lyons
"Though it went against his base nature, Davon -- son of Ares, Horseman of
War, and holder of the red sword -- had to make peace. What an odd turn his
life had taken." ALL'S FAIR...
http://silverpublishing.info/product_book_info/coming-soon-c-2/all-s-fair-p-178


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