8Aug13-13S

It’s a perfect moment.

You pull the first book out of the top of the box.  The smell of fresh cut paper hits you.  You crack open the book and breath in the smell.

It’s finally real. Your book is published and it’s here. Time to send a copy to your Mom and siblings. It’s always a special moment, not matter how many books I publish.

One of the most common questions my students ask is “should I print my book?” With the world moving to Kindle and ebook formats, it’s a reasonable debate.

My answer is always “yes.” You don’t want to rob yourself of that moment when the book becomes fully real.  It’s one of those truly joyous moments in life.  So always print at least a few copies of your book.

That is not the only question you should  be asking though.  The better question to ask is “should I be running my bestseller campaign on the printed version of my book.”  The answer to this question requires more consideration.

What to look at:

1. Is price an important consideration? Ebook versions can be moved a much lower cost. In fact many people post their ebook for free or highly reduced price during their campaign.

2. Are you going for International Bestseller status? Kindle does not have a country associated with it, unlike Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.uk. etc.  So if you run your campaign on the kindle version, the opportunity to gain bestseller status in more than one country is lost.

3. If you’re running your campaign on a print version, I’d recommend either using fulfilment by Amazon and running it on the softcover or working with a distribution house where the costs are clearly cover by the wholesale costs of the book.  Many writers find themselves in a loose money proposition when they realize Amazon is wanting books couriered to distribution  houses all over the US a few books at a time.