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These are the 20 bestselling ebooks in the UK last year.
Do you notice the dash amongst the column of publishers and imprints? That is because @nicolamay1 self-published The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay. She did it herself. And this is her second year in a row in the Top 10.
Do you notice the dash amongst the column of publishers and imprints? That is because @nicolamay1 self-published The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay. She did it herself. And this is her second year in a row in the Top 10.
This is, genuinely, a remarkable feat, and one that deserves recognition. Pretty much every other ebook in that Top 20 will have had a PR campaign, an advertising budget, publisher clout behind it.
Nicola did it by determination, giving readers what they want, and word of mouth.
Nicola did it by determination, giving readers what they want, and word of mouth.
Personally, I think she should have been shortlisted for last year's British Book Awards and the RNAs. To do all that without the help of a publisher. It really is amazing.
Even more so now she's repeated the feat for a second year.
Even more so now she's repeated the feat for a second year.
I am fortunate enough to be the publisher of the print editions of the Cockleberry Bay novels. If you prefer print to ebook, then do please bother your local bookshop for a copy. Or you can get them direct here: http://eye-books.com/books/the-cockleberry-bay-trilogy
The thing is, despite the fact that the series has sold hundreds of thousands of copies, it has still been hard to get them stocked in any quantity in bookshops.
Every other book in that Top 20 will have been piled up in high street shops, I am sure of it. So why not Nicola's?
Every other book in that Top 20 will have been piled up in high street shops, I am sure of it. So why not Nicola's?
The answer is simple.
Prejudice and snobbery.
There is still a perception, especially from the high street chains, that self-published ebook bestsellers do not translate to print sales.
And because of that, 90% of our print sales are through Amazon.
Prejudice and snobbery.
There is still a perception, especially from the high street chains, that self-published ebook bestsellers do not translate to print sales.
And because of that, 90% of our print sales are through Amazon.
We don't want all those sales to be through Amazon. We actively want them to be through bookshops. But, despite the fact that 19 of the 20 bestselling ebooks in the UK are also massive selling print books, in every bookshop in the land, they still won't get behind this series.
They are literally letting the sales go to Amazon. Bonkers.
It won't be the case with Nicola's next series. The first book is coming out in July next year, from a major publisher, and I bet we see it in lots of bookshops.
Same author. Same storytelling.
It won't be the case with Nicola's next series. The first book is coming out in July next year, from a major publisher, and I bet we see it in lots of bookshops.
Same author. Same storytelling.
I am genuinely thrilled for Nicola, who has worked her arse off writing her novels, understand what readers want and, well, giving it to them. Not her fault that bookshops have chosen to miss the opportunity up till now.
But I do think a story like this adds some context to the bookshop vs Amazon debate.
If we relied on bookshops alone, this series would have sold a few hundred in print, if that. With Amazon we are selling thousands and those sales have helped to keep us afloat in 2020.
If we relied on bookshops alone, this series would have sold a few hundred in print, if that. With Amazon we are selling thousands and those sales have helped to keep us afloat in 2020.
