Early last semester, Full Fathom Five (FFF) made an appearance on our blog as link of the week because of its new digital-only imprint. This week, in an article posted on Digital Book World engages the growing problem of digital acquisition and the increasingly disappointing results of genre-focused acquisition strategies. Samantha Streger, the Director of Digital Publishing at FFF, spoke about the issue that digital publishers are facing today:
Today, a paranormal romance ebook priced at $2.99 is just one of many thousands of paranormal romance ebooks priced at $2.99 or less. And that’s to say nothing of the huge number of ebooks that are available for free. Many publishers have found that the value of giving away free ebooks in order to build up reviews has all but disappeared.
What is the answer to the deflating profitability in ebooks? How should this problem be addressed?
Streger shared a list of five tactics that show promise when it comes to thinking creatively about acquiring and standing out with those acquisitions here, and challenged those in digital publishing to think differently. Even with something as “new” as ebooks, we’re seeing change in the landscape, and it’s important that these changes are engaged and that we can shift our positions and perspectives in ways that will best utilize what we’re presented with.