I received an email this morning from a dejected eBookIt.com customer whose book we completed and submitted to retailers a little over 60 days ago. Here's an excerpt from the customer's message:

"I was in shock not to see one single book sold. I realize that millions of books are on the Internet, but there are millions of people out there."

Although Bo wrote a previous post about how books don't sell themselves,I thought I would share my response to this customer, as I'm sure there are others who will benefit from this information and encouragement. Enjoy!

What is an ebook worth?  On the one hand, isn't it just an intangible collection of bits of data that can be duplicated for no cost?  Perhaps the price should be very low?  On the other hand, is it really the data you are selling or the information that you worked extremely hard to create?  Perhaps the price should be high.  Or perhaps you are like most authors and just have no flippin' idea.

Since age 10, I have been a devourer of books -- mostly in audio format.  I like to read, but I love to listen.  There is something about the spoken word that works better with my style of learning.  And I am not alone.  We all have different learning styles, and we all differ in how we like to spend our downtime.  Some of us read, some of us watch, and some of us listen.  So the question is, as an author or publisher, is it worth your time and money to convert your books into audiobooks?

After the first full month of business, we have about 50 authors with books that have been in at least a few of the major retailers for about a month now.  They are realizing that their books, no matter how great they are, do not sell themselves.