Award-winning Author Chooses E-book Over Print Publishing Deal !

Are eBooks starting to win the race with printed hardcover books? This post gives an example of one established, award-winning author who has chosen to bypass a printed publishing deal (hardcover book would have sold for $27.95) for publishing on Amazon for $1.99 per digital copy...He is going for quantity readers over fewer who would/could shell out $27.95 for a book...

I'm betting he will get enough increase in numbers of readers over the vast internet to offset the cheaper price...and then some, maybe...But, I don't know. I will be following up to find out the result...One thing for sure, he will be getting 50% to 80% of the digital sales price...which is probably approaching what he would get from the $27.95 hardcover price after big publishing and the associated companies take their cut...You know 80% of $1.99 vs 7% of $27.95...

This press release is from prweb.com:

Author takes bold move toward the future of publishing.


Award-winning novelist Gary Ponzo (pictured) is prepared to gamble his literary career on the strength of the growing digital book business. He’s turned down a print publishing deal for his novel, “A Touch of Deceit,” in order to publish it as an ebook on Amazon.

“I had to decide what’s more important to me,” Ponzo said. “Do I want profit or do I want readers. Inevitably I chose readers.”

The publishing company sold only hardcover books and the retail price was $27.95. Ponzo felt this was too much to ask in this economic environment. “I don’t want to throw the publisher under the bus, they’re a good honest company. They’re just stuck in an old business model. I felt uncomfortable asking my own mother to spend thirty bucks on my novel. It’s the digital age and I needed to adjust my thinking.”

Ponzo’s novel “A Touch of Deceit,” won the 2009 Southwest Writers Contest, Thriller category. He’s an award-winning author who’s published numerous short stories including two which were nominated for the very prestigious Pushcart Prize. His ebook is available as a digital download on Amazon for just $1.99.

“I spoke with author Karen McQuestion who’s sold over 36,000 ebooks on Amazon,” Ponzo said, “and she recommended I keep the price down. That's the price she felt she had the most success with.”

“A Touch of Deceit,” is a thriller about FBI agent Nick Bracco who recruits his mafia-connected cousin to track down a terrorist in Washington D.C.

Media contact: Gary Ponzo
Website: www.garyponzo.com