Do You Know About The Author Earnings Website? (With Info on Digital Book World and Launch Kids)

Put together by "Data Guy" and Hugh Howey, Author Earnings' purpose is "to gather and share information so that writers can make informed decisions. Their secondary mission is to call for change within the publishing community for better pay and fairer terms in all contracts. The website is by authors and for authors."

It's a fascinating resource, with graphs, charts and explanations "for our fellow geeks" and even translations "for the non-geeks." A recent favorite: "Our data-science awesomesauce now tastes even better." That was for the non-geeks, clearly!

The numbers and trends are revealing and thought-provoking. Like this February 2016 report with its chart showing "Market Share of Ebook $ Author Earnings by Publisher Type," from February 2014 through January 2016.

As they comment,

"In two short years, the market share of paid unit sales between indie and Big 5 ebooks has more than inverted. The Big 5 now account for less than a quarter of ebook purchases on Amazon, while indies are closing in on 45%."

I'm excited to hear Data Guy present at the upcoming #DBW16 - The 2016 Digital Book World Conference + Expo. As he says,

"Publishing independently is no longer a fallback choice for authors in today's market --- it may even be a far superior choice for most now," says Data Guy. "What was good career advice even a year ago might be poor advice today. Every author, however they choose to publish, should educate themselves about the new shape of the market and make career choices that are informed by up-to-date data on our industry."

The focus of #DBW16 is how to not just survive, but thrive, through publishing's digital transformation.  I'll be in New York for their Monday March 7th Launch Kids Children's Books and Digital Media Conference, and then the Tuesday and Wednesday of Digital Book World.

Lorraine Shanley, chair of the Launch Kids event, mentioned in this interview some highlights of Launch Kids that she's anticipating, including:

"...a brand new Nielsen survey of the children’s market, a conversation between bestselling author Jenny Han and Tumbler’s Rachel Fershleiser, and some great panels on brands, startups, and how schools and libraries can work together."

Lorraine also wrote about some of the changes the digital world has had on children's books in this article, Digital Book World's Launch Kids: Looking Forward and Back.

If you're there, say hello! (And if you still want to register, #DBW16 is offering a discount on registration: Use the code SCBWI5 to get 5 percent off.)

The #DBW16 Faculty are a who's who, and you can read my pre-conference interviews with with Christopher Kenneally, Peter Hildeck-Smith, Jane Friedman, Kristen McLean and Lorraine Shanley here and with Stephen Blake Mettee and Kevin Franco here. 

I'll be tweeting with the #DBW16 hashtag, and I look forward to sharing some highlights of what I learn on this blog (and on my own.)

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee