What does an eBook author owe his customer?
If you buy an eBook what do you expect from the author?
Now let me ask you another question. If you buy a book from Barnes and Noble, what do you expect from that author?
For many people, the expectations are entirely different. With a physical book, you pay, walk out the door and that is the end of the transaction. You don’t expect Stephen King or Danielle Steele to answer an eMail and you don’t expect their phone number…
Read more on this controversial topic…
February 21st, 2006 at 11:53 am
Good subject Jeff. In fact you are hitting a nerve here because I have just finnished writing by first e-book. I fell victim to Tinnitus a long time ago and after years of tryin to find a way out I had to conceed and live with it.
The reason I put my story into words is because I am certain I can help other people not make the same mistakes as I did and find a new way to come to terms with this dilema.
All I expect the reader to do is to absorb what I ve written. I havent seen many Tinnitus books around yet alone at any e-book mall.
I even checked the CB MAll to see if there were any e-books around on the subject of Tinnitus. This compelled me even more to start writing.
To remark on the question of whether or not the Author should provide online support, I would say yes. I dont expect everyone to understand the book I have written or to even know how to use the help I have provided. The Issue is that I found a way to help myself and it worked !. After all the years of spending thousends of Dollars on hearing aids and Tinnitus Therapies I finally found the key to finding a way out.
I find it my DUTY to answer all queries from my readers. I am certain there will be criticism too. Im not scared of that, in fact Im looking forward to answering questions. The Author is responsable for his work and must be willing to stand by it. Ever artist, actor, musician , politician is expected to do the same.
If the reader can be given the possibility to forward his questions or remarks directly too the Author the form form of a blog or forum then this is surely the best way to promote the whole e-book ideology
As an e-book reader I also expect answers from the Author if I have questions regarding his work.
Wouldnt life be simple and boring if we could all write e-books and stick them to a website and leave them there to make money without providing support?. The only way to learn is to listen !
Greets from Germany
Mark Goeder-Tarant
February 21st, 2006 at 9:46 pm
Well, when we buy a conventional book from a bookstore, we can browse the contents and have some level of confidence as to what we expect from the book. Also, if we buy books from web based shops such as Amazon, we can browse through few pages, read reviews about the book which are often unbiased, and also get an idea about the credibiliy of the author.
In case of E-books however, any person can come up with an ebook by gathering information from public domains and putting it together in form of a book and make a catchy title and cover page. Many affiliates who sell these e-books do not read the book themselves and just get on a bandwagon. So a customer who spends money to buy such e-books should have a right to ask questions for the authenticity of the information or to get their money back if they are not satisfied. But yes, the same feature can be misused by people who want to get a free ride !
Moreover, if the author can listen to his readers he can come up with improvements in his book. Most good books are throughly reviewd by many knowledgeable persons before they are published.
February 21st, 2006 at 9:47 pm
Well, when we buy a conventional book from a bookstore, we can browse the contents and have some level of confidence as to what we expect from the book. Also, if we buy books from web based shops such as Amazon, we can browse through few pages, read reviews about the book which are often unbiased, and also get an idea about the credibiliy of the author.
In case of E-books however, any person can come up with an ebook by gathering information from public domains and putting it together in form of a book and make a catchy title and cover page. Many affiliates who sell these e-books do not read the book themselves and just get on a bandwagon. So a customer who spends money to buy such e-books should have a right to ask questions for the authenticity of the information or to get their money back if they are not satisfied. But yes, the same feature can be misused by people who want to get a free ride !
Moreover, if the author can listen to his readers he can come up with improvements in his book. Most good books are throughly reviewd by many knowledgeable persons before they are published.
http://www.google-success.com
February 22nd, 2006 at 1:48 am
You never know what’s inside the ebook and its quality unless you buy it. There are so much hypes in ebook salespage that promised you will get something in return buying his book/software : earn money in 15min, 24hours, do something and success in 7 days…(publishing ebook etc)
In printed book, if a book is published, it has to pass the editorial inspection and the contents of the book is at least meet a certain level of
quality. But how about publishing an ebook ? Every people can publish ebook, if they cannot write their own, they either grab from Publish Domain or a reharsh of other ebooks and put it on an ebook.
How many ebooks in your opinion, is of original and good quality content ? How many ebooks do you think that it’s really worth the money from $47-$97 for a few ten of pages (40 - 100+) ?? For a $50+ , you can buy an hundreds pages of nicely printed hardcover encyclopedia on many topics, what do you get for an ebook for $47 ? A few ten of pages of ebook that just give you some tips that promised you to make money if you apply these tips !! Can you imagine that ?
I once purchased an ebook that show you how to build a profitable website fast and quick for $77. Do you know what’s inside the ebook ?
A general introduction to how to “pick a domain”, where to register a domain, how to upload files to web server, what is Adsense, RSS, Blog etc…They don’t even show you how to do it, no details on how to implement , and it’s just a compilation of some dictionary kind of ebook ! Even in Wikipedia, you can find more uselful explaination than in that ebook .
If an ebook author prefer not to answering email, then why don’t they go to publish printed book and sell it in Barnes & Noble ? I don’t know how many of the ebook authors can pass the editor criteria, but i think the number is few. If the author don’t want to expect to receive email and respond to it, than just stated it clearly in the sales page: You never know what’s inside my ebook, a useful original content or a reharsh from “reports”, ebooks or soon unless you pay me, NO SUPPORT AND NO REFUND ! That’s it !
Be Original, Be Creative, Be a Good Writer ! Even though you are an ebook author, you still need to provide good quality and informative contents to reader. Don’t publish ebook just for making money. There are already many of these type of ebooks here… please….
It’s not all the customer problem, the ebook authors have the responsibilty for it.
February 22nd, 2006 at 3:04 am
Hi again….
It all depends on what you are writing about. As I mentioned before, I have just finnished writing my own e-book. My e-book is not ceentered on making or promoting your online commercial interests. Im not going to “stuff” cash in your pockets. Its not a get rich scheme and there are no background pictures or red sports cars of people holding up “fistfulls of cash” etc etc.
A book based upon personal experience doesnt have the means of stuffing cash into your pockets. I also dont plan on including “tons” of “free software” to get better rankings or more e-books on learning the secrets to SEO.
When my book is finally out, you get will get no extras. I have worked out a theory and I hope that is it read by thousends of peopl that may suffer from Tinnitus. My readers arent looking for ways to “beef” up there AD-SENSE possibilities and they probably arent even connected with online marketing. Once my book is up and running, I intend on providing live support. 24/7.
So you see, not all e-books are arbout making money or trying to con you ijnto “get rich” schemes. It may be hard to beleive, but some books are written from the heart
Mark Goeder-Tarant
February 22nd, 2006 at 4:19 pm
The special comments here are not necessary. All is extremely clear. The initiative is in hands of the author. If he hold on the philosophy described by you in the previous message, certainly he will care of the buyer, and about of the future of his business too.
February 23rd, 2006 at 8:20 am
Very interesting point to bring up. As a professional book marketer, I believe that the difference lies in two things:
1)
Price. A bookstore book (even a how to business book) typically costs in the $25 range while most ebooks are priced much higher. It is not uncommon to be charged $79, $99 or more for an ebook. Because of this higher price I believe the expectations for author interaction are higher.
2)
Author accessibility. With a bookstore book there are layers of contact a customer might have to go through to get to the author. The publisher’s contact information is what is usually available. With a book purchased online it is a one click option to be in touch with the author.
Do I think this means unlimited consulting is automatically included in each ebook? No.
Will some people still expect it? Yes.
February 23rd, 2006 at 3:57 pm
I think it depends on your definition of “unlimited consulting”.
as an Author I can only do my best when it comes to ansering e-mails or providing support. One of the best ways to provide support is through means of a forum or blog ( as Jims here ). If you can give readers a chance to interract with the Author or even better, interract with each other then then you are building afoundation for future sales based on trust.
Take Jims CBMALL. He offers 100 % personal support WHENEVER HE CAN, even with 1000 s of customers because he knows that in this day and age its what customers value the most………personal support.
One thing I am very much against is offering a 100 % refund if the book isnt up to the readers standards. If I buy an book in the store and read it and dont like it. Bad luck !. The same must apply to ebooks.
You cant compare ebooks and paper back books to other products.
If I buy a product and take it home only to finds its broken….I ll take it back and expect a refund OR a new product again. If I buy a shirt and take it home only to find it doesnt fit….I can change it for another one.
ONCE an ebook has been downloaded……thats it! It can be changed.
If I offer a reader a 90 day ( or even unlimited ) 100 % refund then I might as well be giving it away.
Thats it!.
February 23rd, 2006 at 3:58 pm
“ONCE an ebook has been downloaded……thats it! It can be changed”
I MEANT “IT CANT BE CHANGED OF COURSE “
February 24th, 2006 at 9:02 am
Hi
Whenever I buy an ebook I treat it the same as a print book. I do not expect anything further from the author. I don’t believe anyone else should either.
Unless it is particularly poorly written most ebooks are self explanitory. I think perhaps some people just don’t read the thing right to the end. If they did that they would most likely find the answers they are looking for.
March 1st, 2006 at 10:07 am
Hi Everyone..getting back to the subject of personal support when selling e books, I have to remark that the bas of your sales will be personal support only! I had my site up and running for 2 weeks before I was able to put my product up for sale. In the meantime though, people were using the forma mail to ask me questions about tinnitus or wanted to know when my e-book which I named “My Best Friend Tinnitus”. Juts the title of th book raised quite a number of eyebrows and plus the fact that I was promising live support the best I can. Without personal support on a homepage seeling products, I fail to see how anyone is going to start making sales count.
I have to agree with Jim Mulligan. Support on your own homepage when selling e-books is vital. The more you tell the customer abuot yourself, the more he will be able to identify with the product you want to sell. Something as easy as a Photograph is enough to take “Incognito” effect out of selling e-Books on your page. The customer know WHAT hes buying, WHO hes buying it from and WHEN to expect support. ………after sales support is the key issue. A my own site tinnitus-online.com i tried to put all these aspects into place and see what happens. So far the reaction is great because the promise of personal support has bee given and its now up tp m e to follow though.
Thanx for listening
M.G Tarant
http://www.tinnitus-online.com
“My best Friend Tinnitus” by M.G Tarant
March 6th, 2006 at 1:29 pm
This is an interesting discussion. I am writing an ebook, and I hadn’t really thought this issue over. But now that I am thinking on it, I think it could be turned into a win-win situation for both the buyer and the seller. I think you should build a blog around your product keywords. When you get a question about your ebook, direct the person to your blog for the answer. Then write an article answering that question so others can read it. This in itself will help promote your ebook. You can also later use the information from answering these questions to compose a second book later. Your time answering the questions is profitable, and the customer gets their desired response.
Kelli Workman
http://kellssales.com/auctionaction.html