Cutbacks mean no host could be afforded for this year's virtual ceremony. Not even a virtual one. This is the age of austerity don't you know.
But as the awards enter their third year, the excitement is almost palpable as people await the announcement of the best self-publishing platform of 2016 with an eagerness normally only reserved for the Oscars.
So without further ado or don't, here's the countdown of the top 5 self-publishing platforms of 2016.
5th: DRAFT2DIGITAL
Nothing happening here. I actually thought the platform had sunk. Been taken down. I mean, the first blog post this year happened in August. By then I'd pulled all my books.
4th: KOBO
Still pretty much a nogo platform. There's no way to promote your work on here. No option to run a freebie.
3rd: CREATESPACE
Still the only place to offer self-published books in print without having to pay for it. Sadly, customers are the ones who have to pay, with each copy inordinately expensive and hence rarely purchased.
2nd: SMASHWORDS
Comfortably second, but a long way from first. I've moved all my novels off the platform because of lack of decent sales. Yes, freebies 'sell' well, and their freebie promotion in March shifts a few, but the platform is suffering, like all self-publishing platforms, from too many books and not enough buyers.
1st: AMAZON
2016 ends with nearly all my books registered on KDP Select. It's proving the most lucrative platform right now, with Kindle Unlimited and the Kindle Owners Lending Library being two innovations that are helping get my work seen by new eyes. It's sad that other platforms cannot hope to emulate Amazon. There's just too many wannabee authors out there and not enough readers prepared to take a risk and buy books by authors they've not heard of.
No one from Amazon was available to collect their virtual award, and no one was available to accept it on their behalf or by a video link from somewhere sunny. Here's hoping 2017 is less austere, and the other platforms can do more to shift books by selfpubbers.
Previous winners:
2014 Smashwords
2015 Amazon
But as the awards enter their third year, the excitement is almost palpable as people await the announcement of the best self-publishing platform of 2016 with an eagerness normally only reserved for the Oscars.
So without further ado or don't, here's the countdown of the top 5 self-publishing platforms of 2016.
5th: DRAFT2DIGITAL
Nothing happening here. I actually thought the platform had sunk. Been taken down. I mean, the first blog post this year happened in August. By then I'd pulled all my books.
4th: KOBO
Still pretty much a nogo platform. There's no way to promote your work on here. No option to run a freebie.
3rd: CREATESPACE
Still the only place to offer self-published books in print without having to pay for it. Sadly, customers are the ones who have to pay, with each copy inordinately expensive and hence rarely purchased.
2nd: SMASHWORDS
Comfortably second, but a long way from first. I've moved all my novels off the platform because of lack of decent sales. Yes, freebies 'sell' well, and their freebie promotion in March shifts a few, but the platform is suffering, like all self-publishing platforms, from too many books and not enough buyers.
1st: AMAZON
2016 ends with nearly all my books registered on KDP Select. It's proving the most lucrative platform right now, with Kindle Unlimited and the Kindle Owners Lending Library being two innovations that are helping get my work seen by new eyes. It's sad that other platforms cannot hope to emulate Amazon. There's just too many wannabee authors out there and not enough readers prepared to take a risk and buy books by authors they've not heard of.
No one from Amazon was available to collect their virtual award, and no one was available to accept it on their behalf or by a video link from somewhere sunny. Here's hoping 2017 is less austere, and the other platforms can do more to shift books by selfpubbers.
Previous winners:
2014 Smashwords
2015 Amazon
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