RG informs me that the "preprint" of my (short) draft "On Life and Death" reached 2.500 reads. But nobody buys the completed book of the same title (for 6.25 dollars) on the Amazon. This may look strange, but such is the present reality. I suppose that people buy digital books of other kinds.
yes, I think that people still buy books both digital and hard copies. However, have in mind that you compete with the publishers of a gigantic scope and reach, such as OUP, CUP, HUP, PUP etc.
Also, do not get impressed too much with numbers in this field. RG counts clicks, not reads or engagements.
We live in a very non-poetic and intellect-unfriendly age, when getting a decent response by a human being to a claim/hypothesis or argument borders on a miracle.
Best wishes!
Pehar Drazen - I agree with what you say. Some kinds of books sell well, but others do not. I was surprised when I saw that a book of the author who was the president of a large philosophical society and the editor of a philosophical encyclopaedia, was in a very little demand (it was ranked lower than my books at that time). This author must have been well known to many people, but it did not help.
"We live in a very non-poetic and intellect-unfriendly age, when getting a decent response by a human being to a claim/hypothesis or argument borders on a miracle." --- This is a very good claim. And it is correct. But past ages were probably not much better in this regard. "I sing to myself", wrote a Chinese poet some twelve centuries ago. The same holds for many poets & sages, small and big equally.
I/the publisher just placed this on the Croatian market:
https://www.knjizara-dominovic.hr/jezik-kao-tvorac-kolektivnoga-tijela-naturalisticka-perspektiva-proizvod-43481/
Now, it will be interesting to see what happens, and how the relevant journals respond. :)
My only request to the publisher was to have the book cataloged at the Croatian National Library.
I reduced my expectations to 50 copies sold over the first two years. :=
You know the scene very well.
Best wishes again, and thanks for your reply.
Pehar Drazen - My congratulations! Since you have the isbn, the publisher has the obligation to send at least 4 copies to Nacionalna & sveučilišna knjižnica, which is obliged to register and keep at least one copy (others can be sent to other libraries, if I remember well).
Mario Radovan Thanks! Actually it's 9 copies - the book is co-financed by the public fund released by the Science and Education Ministry. 2 remain in Zagreb (one archived one to be read within the library), and the rest go to the offices of the NSK at Pula, Dubrovnik etc.
My first books (computer science) were financed by the publisher, because they were in high demand. I now write "philosophical reflections"; I could ask somebody for money, but I do not like to fill forms; so, I print a small series, and put the book on the Amazon (or RG) in digital form.
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