Dan Moren on Apple Books
Dan Moren, writing at Six Colors:
Sharing a little of my own data here: I’ve self-published my own
short stories across most major ebook market places. Amazon
makes up the bulk of those downloads and sales — 53 percent and
66 percent, respectively. Apple comes in a solid second place in
sales, with 21 percent, and third place in downloads with 11
percent. My literary agency has also published my novel All
Souls Lost in ebook across those platforms, and Apple Books
sales are also in second there, accounting for 18 percent of sales
to 63 percent for Amazon.
I suspect my numbers are probably skewed by the fact that my
audience — that’s you all reading this, in large part — are
overrepresented by users of Apple products. That said, to my eyes,
Apple has managed to achieve itself a comfortable, if distant
second place in ebooks without really spending much in the way of
time and effort. Which perhaps explains why they’re looking to cut
costs and reduce focus — if the business works “fine” as is, then
why invest more?
My disappointment stems from the fact that Apple is better
positioned and equipped than anyone else in the industry to take
on Amazon head-to-head in ebooks. But doing so would require the
company to do something different.
★
Dan Moren, writing at Six Colors:
Sharing a little of my own data here: I’ve self-published my own
short stories across most major ebook market places. Amazon
makes up the bulk of those downloads and sales — 53 percent and
66 percent, respectively. Apple comes in a solid second place in
sales, with 21 percent, and third place in downloads with 11
percent. My literary agency has also published my novel All
Souls Lost in ebook across those platforms, and Apple Books
sales are also in second there, accounting for 18 percent of sales
to 63 percent for Amazon.
I suspect my numbers are probably skewed by the fact that my
audience — that’s you all reading this, in large part — are
overrepresented by users of Apple products. That said, to my eyes,
Apple has managed to achieve itself a comfortable, if distant
second place in ebooks without really spending much in the way of
time and effort. Which perhaps explains why they’re looking to cut
costs and reduce focus — if the business works “fine” as is, then
why invest more?
My disappointment stems from the fact that Apple is better
positioned and equipped than anyone else in the industry to take
on Amazon head-to-head in ebooks. But doing so would require the
company to do something different.