Even More About E-Publishing

Another cross-post from Wyrdsmiths:

Doug Hulick comments on my post below, asking how likely is it that anyone would buy foreign rights for a self-published e-book. Not likely, I would think. Two questions occur at once. Could English language readers get the original e-book on Amazon? This would knock out the British and Commonwealth Market. Given that translating costs money, would it be cost-effective to translate an e-book, which may be available at Amazon in English? How would it be sold? As print on paper or an e-book? How big are the markets involved? How creative are most publishers?

Doug also points out that Michael Stackpole is an established author in the world of paper books. Marketing becomes less of a problem, if people already know you name.

Finally, Stackpole writes very fast. Per his essay, he can write a novel in two months. That's six novels a year. This will give you a considerable backlist, over time. It also means you might have enough spare novels so you can try self-publishing.

If it takes you a year or more to write a novel, you are less likely to take risks with it.