“Adversity makes men, and prosperity makes monsters.” – Victor Hugo.
Battling the Monster
Imagine that you created a product. A product that took you years to create. You’ve babied it, poured your heart and soul into it, with the dream that it might change the lives of those folks who experienced it.
An then one day you are ready to introduce it to the world, so you search long and hard to find the best way to get it to the most people!
Welcome to the Monsters’ World
You seek out the biggest, brightest and best avenue to spread the word. So, you reach for the Monster, the female-warrior of all book distributors.
And here is what they say, “Come with me, and only me, and I will take only 60% of your revenue!”
“But for how long must I be with you and only you,” I ask. “Why only a mere 7 years they say.”
“But I want to get to folks all over the world, to libraries, stores, and more!” To which they reply, “Well you can, you most certainly can, but then I will take 75% of your revenue, no more no less!”
“But can I control the price of my product?” To which they reply, “Nay, nay, nay, we shall control it 100% of either way!”
Decision Time
What would you do? Would you cave and feel like you were selling yourself out? Would you fight?
The story you just heard is 100% true. The names have been change to protect the guilty.
After laboring for years to complete my latest book, Extraordinary Results for Life, a sequel to the previous book, Extraordinary Results, this is what I encountered in my attempt to put my audiobooks into the marketplace.
So I made the decision to take the audio versions of both books and distribute them to libraries and stores all over the world. Why? Because I wanted to determine where it sold and for how much. I wanted the value of the book to be based on the content, not the length of the recording or the page count.
Therefore, you will not find the audio version of either book on the monsters’ website. You can find the hardcover and the e-book there along with a bunch of other places, but not the audio book. By the way the audiobook market just happens to be the fastest growing segment of the market.
A Risk I’m Willing to Take
In the end, it may cost me a great deal, you see the monster controls 41% of the audiobook business in the U.S.
All of my life, I have always rooted for the underdog, for some reason there is something about the story of David & Goliath that inspires me and makes me want to buck the system.
Yes, you can label me as a bit rebellious, but aren’t we all in some way, shape, or form?
It’s true, in the end this may cost me, but it won’t cost me nearly as much if I had allowed myself to be bullied by a monster.
A Different Path
I did find a reasonable alternative to the monster to distribute my audio books, it is a company called Findaway Voices, I think they feel the same way as I do. They seem to be more interested in supporting authors and their books, instead of vying for world domination.
If you are interested in supporting me and other smaller business, I invite you to click here and support this project on Author’s Direct. If you would like to invest in the e-book or the hardcover edition, please visit our store and pick the venue that works best for you. You can do that here.
In closing it is my sincere hope that at least one of these books will help you transform your leadership or your life…from ordinary to extraordinary!
As always, thanks for your support… and until next time…be safe and be well!
