The publishing world has been abuzz over the past few days as Amazon took the plunge and officially announced their latest wheeze - Kindle Unlimited. As an indie self-publisher myself (check out my book on the other tabs of this blog!), the first question I asked myself was, "How will this affect me?"
I did a search online to see what initial thoughts were out there, but many of them focused on the issue of what royalty would be received as part of this program. The general thinking seems to be that royalties will be cut and therefore this will be a bad deal for authors. I'll comment on that in a minute as well as some highlights some other key points which don't seem to have emerged yet. But first of all, just to recap what Kindle has announced, just in case you have been hiding under the proverbial rock for the last few days (Hey, it's summer and I know some people have better things to do than stay in front of a laptop 24/7!
To quote Amazon directly:
Kindle Unlimited is a new service that allows you to read as
much as you want, choosing from over 600,000 titles and thousands of audiobooks.
Freely explore new authors, books, and genres from mysteries and romance to
sci-fi and more. You can read on any device. It's available for $9.99 a month
and you can cancel anytime
So what does this mean to me? Here are some initial thoughts:
1) Quantity of books published becomes important (OK, even more important!)
I've lost count of the number of times I have read old publishing sages saying the same thing. Focus less on marketing and more on writing. The simple truth is that the more books you write, the more "shelf space" you will occupy and the more likelihood that people will come across some of your work and find the rest. Of course, writers are born to write and readers were born to pay to read what writers have written, so it all makes a lot of sense. It strikes me though, that there is another reason - now there is a way for avid readers to download books en masse that are not being given away for free. Previously, under KDP Select, a buyer could only borrow one book a month, now they can acquire as many as their device will hold. They have more shelf space that you can fill. If you only write one book, you can only get one royalty from that one reader. If you write ten, they may acquire ten - and hopefully read all ten! The numbers game becomes more important as royalties go down - to compensate your volumes have to go up!
2) Shorter may be better
We don't have all the details as to how the royalty system will work in practice yet. But, simply based on what Amazon has come out and said, it seems that a flat royalty will be paid out on all qualifying books (I'll come on to the qualifying in point 3). That would mean that the same royalty would be paid out on a 120,000-word epic as on a 10,000-word short story. If it works like that it does sound a little unfair. A writer would be wise to split his/her tome into 3 x 40,000 slices and therefore get three times the royalties (assuming of course the reader stuck with you all the way to book three!)
3) Don't hold back in the first 10%
To qualify for a royalty under Kindle Unlimited, you simply have to coax the reader through the first 10% of your book. Perhaps that is another reason to keep your book on the shorter side, for a 10,000-word book only requires the reader to battle through 1,000! However, the key message here is to make sure you give the reader every chance to make it to that 10% level. Now, obviously, any writer worth his/her salt will invest vast amounts of time in getting the beginning absolutely right - you want to hook the reader right in and propel them through what is coming. But now there is real, financial, skin in the game. It may be worth looking at the first 10% of your book to see if there is anything that can be improved, perhaps some back story that can be deferred until later in the book or perhaps there are some cliff-hangers that you can introduce.
4) Everything comes to he who waits
What I find fascinating is that royalties will still be earned, years after the download happens, as long as that 10% threshold is hit. In the past, as KDP Select only allowed one book per month, the expectation was that the reader would be very selective in purchasing and would be likely to read that book in the same month. Indie authors have had to deal with the grim prospect that their freebie books would be downloaded and left to rot on Kindles without ever being read. That still might happen, but at least the prospect now exists that there could be some financial reward down the line if the book ever gets rediscovered.
5) Whither KDP Select?
What remains to be seen is what happens to the KDP Select program once Kindle Unlimited gets fully underway. Will there be a high degree of cannibalization? The question is why people sign up to Amazon Prime - is it more for the books or for the delivery? Will Amazon Prime now focus on delivery and other bells and whistles and leave Kindle Unlimited to deal with ebook side? Obviously Kindle Unlimited gives you much more bang for your book (apologies for the terrible pun!) so I don't see many people wanting both. However, the way this is being set up, it's an all-or-nothing decision for a publisher - if they like what KDP Select does for them and want to keep it, they have to swallow Kindle Unlimited as well. Amazon didn't have to like the two so they are clearly doing this deliberately as part of their strategy. In the end, we might find out that KDP Select is redundant anyway.
So how does this affect me? Well, on balance, I am quite excited and intrigued by this. That's probably because I also also happen to curate 30 or 40 religious e-books for another author, that all fall into the 10,000 to 20,000 word count - and I think they could really benefit. At the moment, I am not finding that KDP Select is doing a heck of a lot for me, in terms of free download exposure or borrows. I am prepared to give this the benefit of the doubt and see how it goes.
Hope the above gets you thinking. Feel free to share any of the above, but link back to this page please..!
Showing posts with label Kindle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kindle. Show all posts
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Making the most of an editorial review
Great article from http://emmadarwin.typepad.com/thisitchofwriting/how-to-get-the-best-out-of-an-editorial-service.html - check out the blog and buy the bloggers book as a thank you for this helpful advice!
How to get the best out of an editorial service
More and more writers are using editorial services - hardly surprising when in any one year there are apparently one million manuscripts trying to find a publisher in the UK and two million in the US - but a full editorial report is very expensive, and I'm always anxious that writers should know what they're getting, and get what they need. So here are some thoughts, garnered from my own and other editors' experience, and from the many friends and students who've told me about the reports they've had.
First, it's never, ever essential to get one of these reports. All that's essential for you to write a publishable novel is you, a stack of paper, a pen and a very large library: your own or someone else's. And I'd always suggest that you take your work as far as you can on your own, and only seek feedback when you're stuck. I do understand the desire for an early 'Is this worth pursuing?' kind of feedback, but if you're still unsure what kind of a beast it is yourself, then you're not in such a good position to decide what to do with the feedback you get.
And no, an editorial report can't get you published. But then nothing can, except writing a book which a commercial publishing company thinks will earn enough money to make it worth it, and then finding an agent who thinks that and knows which publishers will too. Editorial reports are one way to help you write that book, while talent, hard work, perseverance and luck have even more to do with it.
SOME GENERAL THINGS TO THINK ABOUT, when you're considering a particular editorial agency. If you can't find the information on the website, then ring them up.
Who are their editors? One of the agencies only uses published writers, and all their names are up on the website. Others are coy about who they use. Good publishers' editors are wonderful, but busy: 'a publishing professional' may be an editorial assistant (though maybe a star editor-in-the-making), a literary agent's assistant, or from the marketing department. And the focus may be different: there are lots of things which agents and publishers say about a book which are perfectly true, and perfectly unhelpful to the writer, because publishing is about product. But, as all published and unpublished writers know, writing is all about process: what you're looking for is help with the process of making it a better book.
How long will the report be? Roughly how much about the book and how much about the market for the book? How long will it take? A few weeks is reasonable, several months is not.
Can you talk to the agency about what you need and whether they can supply it? Can they do that, or do they have a one-size-fits-all approach? If they're not helpful and friendly, as well as sensible and professional, then you don't want to give them your money, let alone your writing.
What is being offered? Is it possible to follow up on a report, either with a query, or with a proper conversation by email, or better still by phone? An editor makes their best estimate from the manuscript of, for example, how much technical vocabulary to use, but it can only be a guess (I've had people who needed show/tell explained in detail, I've had people who didn't need 'prolepsis' defined...) so there will always be things in the report which you could do with asking about, as well as some things which you'd like to discuss in more detail, or an idea of a solution to a problem which you'd like to fly by the editor.
Do they have relationships with literary agencies, if they think your book might be ready for that? 99.99% of manuscripts any editorial agency sees are nowhere near ready, but you never know. An editorial agency's reputation is on the line when they send a book on, so if they've got any sense they only send on the ones which they're confident are fantastic. That means that a literary agent will really read it properly. You must make sure, though, that you understand the basis on which this is done. First: do they insist on controlling all your submissions? I'd be very wary of an editorial agency who did this, because it's one thing to make use of their links to literary agencies, but quite another to find yourself restricted from doing what you choose to do with your own work. And how is it all paid for? This process costs the agency time and money, and most of the editorial agencies get a small finder's bonus from the literary agency if the latter take a book on, and another if it actually sells to a publisher. Some may charge the writer a further fee for this further process. And at least one takes a percentage of the writer's advance if it sells, which is a very different thing.
And if you're really feeling cheeky, you could ask how much of what you pay goes to the editor - though they may well not tell you. With many agencies, the editor only gets 1/3rd of what you pay, with others it's 2/3rds. We really want to help, but we do also have to eat: we juggle this work with all the other bits and pieces we do to pay the mortgage, since, as Hilary Mantel said at the Booker the other night, writing novels alone certainly doesn't. What you're paying for is the editor's time and experience, and to some degree you'll get what you pay for.
WHEN YOU'VE DECIDED TO USE AN AGENCY
Decide what you want the report to focus on, and make that clear in a covering letter (not just the 'here it is' email, which may not get forwarded to the editor). It's true that in some ways you want to know how the novel strikes the editor without, as it were, anticipating that. But it's hugely helpful to us to have a bit of a steer. Do you want to know how to make this book its own best self, or do you want to know how to make it fit the market? The two are very different goals. Do you want to know if you should give up on this book, or keep going? Do you want to know if your linked short stories work as something that would sell as a unit, or not? And so on.
Having said that, there's not very much point in an editor giving detailed tweaks to fit the genre demands of a very particular market, if the whole novel is nowhere near good enough to get the time of day from an agent: a good editor will discuss your concerns, but will also be very upfront about what they think the novel needs. We've all had the experience of a writer who is dreadfully worried about some aspect (characterisation, say) which is in fact absolutely fine: the characters are great, but the structure means there's a huge sag in the middle, and the prose really isn't up to scratch.
WHEN YOU GET THE REPORT
It hurts. It always does, even if they say lots of positive things. I don't know about you but, deep down, secretly, when I get feedback on my work I'm hoping that my agent or editor will tell me that it's completely wonderful and I don't need to change a word. Only it never happens, does it? And, actually, how much use would a report be if it did? So be aware that your first reaction may be furious resistance, especially if the editor has, sensibly, spent much of the report on what isn't working yet. I would suggest that you leave the report on your desk, and go to the pub. At least, that's what I do.
When you come back to it, bear in mind that, yes, it's one person's opinion. But it is an educated, informed opinion from someone (hopefully) with a knowledge of the craft of writing as well as how the book trade works. And you've paid for it. So try to read the report with an open mind. There are usually some 'Aha!' bits, as in 'Aha, they're right, though I hadn't seen it clearly.' And there are some bits which you just disagree with. You may well be right, but bear in mind that it could be the resistance talking. If you really feel that from top to bottom the editor has mistaken what kind of book it is, and based the whole report on that wrong assumption, then talk to the agency.
Equally, don't be so humbly grateful to have your work read and heard - and it IS a thrill to have several thousand words of professional attention directed at your work - that you meekly do everything it suggests even though part of you is screaming that it's killing the book.
If you do use an agency which offers follow-up contact by phone, have a think, before you talk, about what you want to ask. Even email a few outline questions first, perhaps? We engage deeply with your work, but if it's a few weeks since we wrote the report, your work will have had other books piled on top of it in our memories, and it takes a few minutes to bring yours back up to the top. And though it's tremendously important to digest the report and think it through first, if you're going to get the most out of such a conversation, don't leave it too long before you ask for that contact, because the longer you leave it, the less helpful an editor will be able to be.
In the end it's your book: as with any feedback, from anyone from your best mate to a copy-editor when the novel's in production, you have the choice: accept, adapt, ignore. Accept means 'Yes, they're right, I'll change it as they suggest.' Ignore means, 'Okay, but I think even a gently-bred Victorian lass would, actually, hit him. So the punch stays in.' Adapt is the interesting one. If someone you trust says something doesn't work, then you have to listen. For them, as a representative reader, it doesn't work: they're right, by definition, for them. But the solution they suggest may be completely wrong: they may suggest cutting it, when actually you need to do it better (go back and make the character's buried anger more apparent, so it's believable when she hits him). They may suggest a big family row when actually your character would drag his sole enemy to a lonely moor. One important thing about learning to be a writer is to learn to hear feedback fully and open-mindedly, judge the quality of the feedback not by whether it feels good but by whether it's useful and who's giving it, and learn to grow your own solutions.
A MORAL TALE
Sometimes I see a previous report on a novel that's come to me, and it can be stunning how much the writer has brought the book on with that feedback. But one report I did was the second of three by three different editors on the same book. There was a lot right with it, and a lot wrong: it had huge potential and huge flaws. I saw the other reports, and each one said the same things as the last. That writer had spent the best part of £1500 - half the cost of a Masters - and changed almost nothing each time. And s/he already had an MA in writing, so it wasn't lack of experience of how to deal with feedback. I can only assume that at some level s/he was deeply resisting the changes that s/he ostensibly wanted to make, so that each time s/he got back into it, a little voice was saying, 'But that's okay' and 'Well, it's got to be like that, hasn't it...' and s/he ended up waxing its legs, instead of doing major surgery. It was very frustrating, because it was one of the very rare books which was the beginnings of something which I could absolutely see on a bookshop table...
First, it's never, ever essential to get one of these reports. All that's essential for you to write a publishable novel is you, a stack of paper, a pen and a very large library: your own or someone else's. And I'd always suggest that you take your work as far as you can on your own, and only seek feedback when you're stuck. I do understand the desire for an early 'Is this worth pursuing?' kind of feedback, but if you're still unsure what kind of a beast it is yourself, then you're not in such a good position to decide what to do with the feedback you get.
And no, an editorial report can't get you published. But then nothing can, except writing a book which a commercial publishing company thinks will earn enough money to make it worth it, and then finding an agent who thinks that and knows which publishers will too. Editorial reports are one way to help you write that book, while talent, hard work, perseverance and luck have even more to do with it.
SOME GENERAL THINGS TO THINK ABOUT, when you're considering a particular editorial agency. If you can't find the information on the website, then ring them up.
Who are their editors? One of the agencies only uses published writers, and all their names are up on the website. Others are coy about who they use. Good publishers' editors are wonderful, but busy: 'a publishing professional' may be an editorial assistant (though maybe a star editor-in-the-making), a literary agent's assistant, or from the marketing department. And the focus may be different: there are lots of things which agents and publishers say about a book which are perfectly true, and perfectly unhelpful to the writer, because publishing is about product. But, as all published and unpublished writers know, writing is all about process: what you're looking for is help with the process of making it a better book.
How long will the report be? Roughly how much about the book and how much about the market for the book? How long will it take? A few weeks is reasonable, several months is not.
Can you talk to the agency about what you need and whether they can supply it? Can they do that, or do they have a one-size-fits-all approach? If they're not helpful and friendly, as well as sensible and professional, then you don't want to give them your money, let alone your writing.
What is being offered? Is it possible to follow up on a report, either with a query, or with a proper conversation by email, or better still by phone? An editor makes their best estimate from the manuscript of, for example, how much technical vocabulary to use, but it can only be a guess (I've had people who needed show/tell explained in detail, I've had people who didn't need 'prolepsis' defined...) so there will always be things in the report which you could do with asking about, as well as some things which you'd like to discuss in more detail, or an idea of a solution to a problem which you'd like to fly by the editor.
Do they have relationships with literary agencies, if they think your book might be ready for that? 99.99% of manuscripts any editorial agency sees are nowhere near ready, but you never know. An editorial agency's reputation is on the line when they send a book on, so if they've got any sense they only send on the ones which they're confident are fantastic. That means that a literary agent will really read it properly. You must make sure, though, that you understand the basis on which this is done. First: do they insist on controlling all your submissions? I'd be very wary of an editorial agency who did this, because it's one thing to make use of their links to literary agencies, but quite another to find yourself restricted from doing what you choose to do with your own work. And how is it all paid for? This process costs the agency time and money, and most of the editorial agencies get a small finder's bonus from the literary agency if the latter take a book on, and another if it actually sells to a publisher. Some may charge the writer a further fee for this further process. And at least one takes a percentage of the writer's advance if it sells, which is a very different thing.
And if you're really feeling cheeky, you could ask how much of what you pay goes to the editor - though they may well not tell you. With many agencies, the editor only gets 1/3rd of what you pay, with others it's 2/3rds. We really want to help, but we do also have to eat: we juggle this work with all the other bits and pieces we do to pay the mortgage, since, as Hilary Mantel said at the Booker the other night, writing novels alone certainly doesn't. What you're paying for is the editor's time and experience, and to some degree you'll get what you pay for.
WHEN YOU'VE DECIDED TO USE AN AGENCY
Decide what you want the report to focus on, and make that clear in a covering letter (not just the 'here it is' email, which may not get forwarded to the editor). It's true that in some ways you want to know how the novel strikes the editor without, as it were, anticipating that. But it's hugely helpful to us to have a bit of a steer. Do you want to know how to make this book its own best self, or do you want to know how to make it fit the market? The two are very different goals. Do you want to know if you should give up on this book, or keep going? Do you want to know if your linked short stories work as something that would sell as a unit, or not? And so on.
Having said that, there's not very much point in an editor giving detailed tweaks to fit the genre demands of a very particular market, if the whole novel is nowhere near good enough to get the time of day from an agent: a good editor will discuss your concerns, but will also be very upfront about what they think the novel needs. We've all had the experience of a writer who is dreadfully worried about some aspect (characterisation, say) which is in fact absolutely fine: the characters are great, but the structure means there's a huge sag in the middle, and the prose really isn't up to scratch.
WHEN YOU GET THE REPORT
It hurts. It always does, even if they say lots of positive things. I don't know about you but, deep down, secretly, when I get feedback on my work I'm hoping that my agent or editor will tell me that it's completely wonderful and I don't need to change a word. Only it never happens, does it? And, actually, how much use would a report be if it did? So be aware that your first reaction may be furious resistance, especially if the editor has, sensibly, spent much of the report on what isn't working yet. I would suggest that you leave the report on your desk, and go to the pub. At least, that's what I do.
When you come back to it, bear in mind that, yes, it's one person's opinion. But it is an educated, informed opinion from someone (hopefully) with a knowledge of the craft of writing as well as how the book trade works. And you've paid for it. So try to read the report with an open mind. There are usually some 'Aha!' bits, as in 'Aha, they're right, though I hadn't seen it clearly.' And there are some bits which you just disagree with. You may well be right, but bear in mind that it could be the resistance talking. If you really feel that from top to bottom the editor has mistaken what kind of book it is, and based the whole report on that wrong assumption, then talk to the agency.
Equally, don't be so humbly grateful to have your work read and heard - and it IS a thrill to have several thousand words of professional attention directed at your work - that you meekly do everything it suggests even though part of you is screaming that it's killing the book.
If you do use an agency which offers follow-up contact by phone, have a think, before you talk, about what you want to ask. Even email a few outline questions first, perhaps? We engage deeply with your work, but if it's a few weeks since we wrote the report, your work will have had other books piled on top of it in our memories, and it takes a few minutes to bring yours back up to the top. And though it's tremendously important to digest the report and think it through first, if you're going to get the most out of such a conversation, don't leave it too long before you ask for that contact, because the longer you leave it, the less helpful an editor will be able to be.
In the end it's your book: as with any feedback, from anyone from your best mate to a copy-editor when the novel's in production, you have the choice: accept, adapt, ignore. Accept means 'Yes, they're right, I'll change it as they suggest.' Ignore means, 'Okay, but I think even a gently-bred Victorian lass would, actually, hit him. So the punch stays in.' Adapt is the interesting one. If someone you trust says something doesn't work, then you have to listen. For them, as a representative reader, it doesn't work: they're right, by definition, for them. But the solution they suggest may be completely wrong: they may suggest cutting it, when actually you need to do it better (go back and make the character's buried anger more apparent, so it's believable when she hits him). They may suggest a big family row when actually your character would drag his sole enemy to a lonely moor. One important thing about learning to be a writer is to learn to hear feedback fully and open-mindedly, judge the quality of the feedback not by whether it feels good but by whether it's useful and who's giving it, and learn to grow your own solutions.
A MORAL TALE
Sometimes I see a previous report on a novel that's come to me, and it can be stunning how much the writer has brought the book on with that feedback. But one report I did was the second of three by three different editors on the same book. There was a lot right with it, and a lot wrong: it had huge potential and huge flaws. I saw the other reports, and each one said the same things as the last. That writer had spent the best part of £1500 - half the cost of a Masters - and changed almost nothing each time. And s/he already had an MA in writing, so it wasn't lack of experience of how to deal with feedback. I can only assume that at some level s/he was deeply resisting the changes that s/he ostensibly wanted to make, so that each time s/he got back into it, a little voice was saying, 'But that's okay' and 'Well, it's got to be like that, hasn't it...' and s/he ended up waxing its legs, instead of doing major surgery. It was very frustrating, because it was one of the very rare books which was the beginnings of something which I could absolutely see on a bookshop table...
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Bloggerdise - Getting A Review
Here is a great tip contained in a blog post at Indies Unlimited:
http://www.indiesunlimited.com/2012/05/10/please-sir-can-i-have-a-review-by-m-m-brownlow/
I have repeated it here to save you the trouble on clicking on the link!
I am definitely going to check this out but I find reviews really hard to come by!
"You’re trolling for something to read. You wander the aisles of your favourite bookstore or click your way through your favourite online shopping spot, checking out the covers. Once you find something that looks interesting, you flip over to the blurb and then you check…the reviews. If you’re anything like me, you have the cover and you have the blurb, but the reviews can remain elusive.
I hate begging. I have no problem giving away my works for free if it’s going to get me something in return (like a review), but finding people to actually read my books can be difficult. Then along comes Bloggerdise. (www.bloggerdise.com) Bloggerdise is a site where authors can create book banners to pair up with bloggers who want something to write about. It’s easy to use, the bloggers usually review ebooks, and the site itself is free! If you’re like me – and I’m hoping you are ‘cause otherwise I sound really pathetic – your marketing budget is as close to zero as you can get away with, so a free way to get reviews is perfect.
The connection between author and blogger often happens fairly quickly. Like most creatures, bloggers seem to be attracted to shiny objects, so my experience is that the flashier your book banner, the faster you attract reviews. Communication is done via email, so an interested blogger will contact you at the email address you provided to request a copy of your book. Most bloggers seem to take pride in the fact that they can read and review books relatively quickly, so in most cases, the blogger will be writing their review of your book within a couple of weeks. However, the style of each blogger is a varied as the styles of the authors they review, so it’s a good idea to check out their blog to see what and how they write before accepting.
Last night, for example, I managed to score a review on one blog and an author interview on another. Because of the nature of the “Author Spotlight”, I’ve been given a date for my interview to appear, which is June 20th. The blogger on that particular site also requested an author picture and up to five different links that readers could use to find me, or my books. As for the book review, I’ll be notified of the exact date a little later, but can expect it within two weeks. It’s a little too soon yet to see how this new site will impact my sales, but word of mouth is a good thing, right?
Just head on over to the site, sign up for a free account, and post your book out into cyberspace. What’s one more site, right? With a little luck, bloggers will soon be flooding your email with offers to read and review your books, or you can track them down on the “Blogger” side of the website and beg someone for a review.
http://www.indiesunlimited.com/2012/05/10/please-sir-can-i-have-a-review-by-m-m-brownlow/
I have repeated it here to save you the trouble on clicking on the link!
I am definitely going to check this out but I find reviews really hard to come by!
"You’re trolling for something to read. You wander the aisles of your favourite bookstore or click your way through your favourite online shopping spot, checking out the covers. Once you find something that looks interesting, you flip over to the blurb and then you check…the reviews. If you’re anything like me, you have the cover and you have the blurb, but the reviews can remain elusive.
I hate begging. I have no problem giving away my works for free if it’s going to get me something in return (like a review), but finding people to actually read my books can be difficult. Then along comes Bloggerdise. (www.bloggerdise.com) Bloggerdise is a site where authors can create book banners to pair up with bloggers who want something to write about. It’s easy to use, the bloggers usually review ebooks, and the site itself is free! If you’re like me – and I’m hoping you are ‘cause otherwise I sound really pathetic – your marketing budget is as close to zero as you can get away with, so a free way to get reviews is perfect.
The connection between author and blogger often happens fairly quickly. Like most creatures, bloggers seem to be attracted to shiny objects, so my experience is that the flashier your book banner, the faster you attract reviews. Communication is done via email, so an interested blogger will contact you at the email address you provided to request a copy of your book. Most bloggers seem to take pride in the fact that they can read and review books relatively quickly, so in most cases, the blogger will be writing their review of your book within a couple of weeks. However, the style of each blogger is a varied as the styles of the authors they review, so it’s a good idea to check out their blog to see what and how they write before accepting.
Last night, for example, I managed to score a review on one blog and an author interview on another. Because of the nature of the “Author Spotlight”, I’ve been given a date for my interview to appear, which is June 20th. The blogger on that particular site also requested an author picture and up to five different links that readers could use to find me, or my books. As for the book review, I’ll be notified of the exact date a little later, but can expect it within two weeks. It’s a little too soon yet to see how this new site will impact my sales, but word of mouth is a good thing, right?
Just head on over to the site, sign up for a free account, and post your book out into cyberspace. What’s one more site, right? With a little luck, bloggers will soon be flooding your email with offers to read and review your books, or you can track them down on the “Blogger” side of the website and beg someone for a review.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Amazon KDP - the first 90 days
I have just completed 90 days of being signed up exclusively to the Amazon KDP program - so how was it for me?
There were two main benefits that I was looking for - for people to borrow my book out of the lending library (so I would be paid a fee) and also to take advantage of the 5 free days of free promotion in that period (i.e. I was allowed to give the book away free for 5 x 24 hour periods.
The lending was not at all a success! Only one book was borrowed in the whole three months, earning me a whopping $1.60! To be honest, I cannot say I am surprised for a number of reasons. Firstly, I am a very small fish in a big pond and there are hundreds and thousands of other options. Secondly, my book has been priced at either 99 cents or 2.99 and one would think that borrowers would prefer to borrow a bestseller and save themselves ten bucks (the borrower can only borrow one book free per month). Thirdly, because I am enrolled in this program, savvy borrowers will know that I am likely to offer my book for free at some point in the 90 days, so why waste a borrow?
Frankly, I think it highly unlikely anyone is sitting around daily just praying that I will give my book away - chance would be a fine thing!
Anyway, I was always more interested in the freebie side of the equation. This was rather more successful although of course not in the least lucrative. I reckon that I gave away well over 600 books during the 5 free days, with a peak of 200 books in one of those days. Not bad, although I could probably have done better.
How did I use the free days? I spread them out. One right at the start and one very near the end and the other three pretty evenly spaced. I didn't opt to roll 2 or 3 days together as I wasn't sure that was the best way to approach it. I am not really any the wiser having done it all day by day. I think it is more fun to spread it out, personally.
However you space it, the key is to be as well prepared as you can be and make sure your advertising on various sites and boards, or Twitter is all in place for your free day. The days where I did not advertise as much showed much lower downloads. One snag is that by the fifth day, if you are using the same marketing channels, you may not be reaching as many new people as you would like.
Did my free sales generate any further sales when I reverted back to a selling price - the answer is yes but not a huge amount and the trickle soon dried up completely. You do get the benefit of appearing in Amazon's "people who bought your book, also bought this" section, which must have some real benefit. But there was no real explosion of sales, even though I got pretty high up in the free charts.
Did I get a lot of reviews from the freebies? Hardly any, which is disappointing but hardly surprising - for a start I don't know just how many people actually ended up reading the book in the end, and secondly, why should I expect people to leave a review just for me, out of the kindness of their hearts - how many reviews have I left for other Indie writers - perhaps two or three at most.
Having said all of that - have I re-enrolled in the program for another 90 days? Yes I have - probably through a sense of inertia as much as anything (you are automatically re-enrolled if you do not opt out). We will see how it goes this time, but like anything else - you only get out what you put in...
I am also conscious of the fact that to upload my manuscript to other sites such as Smashwords or Barnes and Noble would require some re-formatting and jumping through hoops - and I am not sure I am going to see the sales from it. My understanding is that Amazon is currently where it is at from a e-book perspective.
There were two main benefits that I was looking for - for people to borrow my book out of the lending library (so I would be paid a fee) and also to take advantage of the 5 free days of free promotion in that period (i.e. I was allowed to give the book away free for 5 x 24 hour periods.
The lending was not at all a success! Only one book was borrowed in the whole three months, earning me a whopping $1.60! To be honest, I cannot say I am surprised for a number of reasons. Firstly, I am a very small fish in a big pond and there are hundreds and thousands of other options. Secondly, my book has been priced at either 99 cents or 2.99 and one would think that borrowers would prefer to borrow a bestseller and save themselves ten bucks (the borrower can only borrow one book free per month). Thirdly, because I am enrolled in this program, savvy borrowers will know that I am likely to offer my book for free at some point in the 90 days, so why waste a borrow?
Frankly, I think it highly unlikely anyone is sitting around daily just praying that I will give my book away - chance would be a fine thing!
Anyway, I was always more interested in the freebie side of the equation. This was rather more successful although of course not in the least lucrative. I reckon that I gave away well over 600 books during the 5 free days, with a peak of 200 books in one of those days. Not bad, although I could probably have done better.
How did I use the free days? I spread them out. One right at the start and one very near the end and the other three pretty evenly spaced. I didn't opt to roll 2 or 3 days together as I wasn't sure that was the best way to approach it. I am not really any the wiser having done it all day by day. I think it is more fun to spread it out, personally.
However you space it, the key is to be as well prepared as you can be and make sure your advertising on various sites and boards, or Twitter is all in place for your free day. The days where I did not advertise as much showed much lower downloads. One snag is that by the fifth day, if you are using the same marketing channels, you may not be reaching as many new people as you would like.
Did my free sales generate any further sales when I reverted back to a selling price - the answer is yes but not a huge amount and the trickle soon dried up completely. You do get the benefit of appearing in Amazon's "people who bought your book, also bought this" section, which must have some real benefit. But there was no real explosion of sales, even though I got pretty high up in the free charts.
Did I get a lot of reviews from the freebies? Hardly any, which is disappointing but hardly surprising - for a start I don't know just how many people actually ended up reading the book in the end, and secondly, why should I expect people to leave a review just for me, out of the kindness of their hearts - how many reviews have I left for other Indie writers - perhaps two or three at most.
Having said all of that - have I re-enrolled in the program for another 90 days? Yes I have - probably through a sense of inertia as much as anything (you are automatically re-enrolled if you do not opt out). We will see how it goes this time, but like anything else - you only get out what you put in...
I am also conscious of the fact that to upload my manuscript to other sites such as Smashwords or Barnes and Noble would require some re-formatting and jumping through hoops - and I am not sure I am going to see the sales from it. My understanding is that Amazon is currently where it is at from a e-book perspective.
Marketing Your Book - A Tip
It is hard to believe that it is not far off 2 months since my last post! I have been busy doing other things but I decided it was time to come back to my blog and kickstart the activity.
I certainly don't claim to be an expert on marketing a book but here is one thing that I am trying to do, when possible. I am trying to be alert to items of news which have some link to the story or characters in my book - and then use them as a marketing opportunity.
You might find that these opportunities are few and far between, and they may come along out of the blue - in fact they usually do!
A golden opportunity came my way a few weeks ago and I have to confess that I didn't make as much of it as I should have. Here is an extract from the Guardian newspaper:
Coca-Cola and Pepsi are changing the way they make the caramel colouring used in their drinks as a result of a California law that mandates drinks containing a certain level of carcinogens bear a cancer warning label.
The companies said the changes will be expanded nationally to streamline their manufacturing processes. The changes have already been made for drinks sold in California.
Coca-Cola and Pepsi account for almost 90% of the soda market, according to industry tracker Beverage Digest.
The American Beverage Association, which represents the broader industry, said its member companies will continue to use caramel colouring in certain products but that adjustments were made to meet California's new standard.
"Consumers will notice no difference in our products and have no reason at all for any health concerns," the association said in a statement.
A representative for Coca-Cola, Diana Garza-Ciarlante, said the company directed its caramel suppliers to modify their manufacturing processes to reduce the levels of the chemical 4-methylimidazole, which can be formed during the cooking process and as a result may be found in trace amounts in many foods.
"While we believe that there is no public health risk that justifies any such change, we did ask our caramel suppliers to take this step so that our products would not be subject to the requirement of a scientifically unfounded warning," Garza-Ciarlante said in an email.
The Centre for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group, in February filed a petition with the US Food and Drug Administration to ban the use of ammonia-sulfite caramel colouring.
A spokesman for the Food and Drug Administration said the petition is being reviewed.
But he noted that a consumer would have to drink more than 1,000 cans a day to reach the doses administered that have shown links to cancer in rodents.
The American Beverage Association noted that California added the colouring to its list of carcinogens with no studies showing that it causes cancer in humans. It noted that the listing was based on a single study in lab mice and rats."
Of course, if you have read my book you should be able to spot the tie-in to my story - a forced change to the recipe of the a soft drink beverage. I did take the opportunity to post a couple of Twitter feeds encouraging people to read about another beverage company who had been forced to change their recipe, but I wish I had done a bit more. In an ideal world, getting some kind of newspaper coverage or interview would have been ideal - easier said than done of course when you are an Indie writer.
Sometimes, the opportunity is much smaller, such as when I saw the picture of a dead bird pictured on a friends facebook page (it had flown into one of their house windows) - that was an easy opportunity to comment on the picture - all the friends who clicked on the picture would have learnt about my book - and the good thing is that it all happens in a natural, non-invasive way (and it is free of course).
Another great example I have was when there was talk of Sir Fred Goodwin of Royal Bank of Scotland fame (or should that be shame) being stripped of his knighthood - an event that once again had close parallels with an element of my story.
I am sure that if you keep your eyes and ears open you will find many examples relevant to your book.
I certainly don't claim to be an expert on marketing a book but here is one thing that I am trying to do, when possible. I am trying to be alert to items of news which have some link to the story or characters in my book - and then use them as a marketing opportunity.
You might find that these opportunities are few and far between, and they may come along out of the blue - in fact they usually do!
A golden opportunity came my way a few weeks ago and I have to confess that I didn't make as much of it as I should have. Here is an extract from the Guardian newspaper:
Coca-Cola and Pepsi are changing the way they make the caramel colouring used in their drinks as a result of a California law that mandates drinks containing a certain level of carcinogens bear a cancer warning label.
The companies said the changes will be expanded nationally to streamline their manufacturing processes. The changes have already been made for drinks sold in California.
Coca-Cola and Pepsi account for almost 90% of the soda market, according to industry tracker Beverage Digest.
The American Beverage Association, which represents the broader industry, said its member companies will continue to use caramel colouring in certain products but that adjustments were made to meet California's new standard.
"Consumers will notice no difference in our products and have no reason at all for any health concerns," the association said in a statement.
A representative for Coca-Cola, Diana Garza-Ciarlante, said the company directed its caramel suppliers to modify their manufacturing processes to reduce the levels of the chemical 4-methylimidazole, which can be formed during the cooking process and as a result may be found in trace amounts in many foods.
"While we believe that there is no public health risk that justifies any such change, we did ask our caramel suppliers to take this step so that our products would not be subject to the requirement of a scientifically unfounded warning," Garza-Ciarlante said in an email.
The Centre for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group, in February filed a petition with the US Food and Drug Administration to ban the use of ammonia-sulfite caramel colouring.
A spokesman for the Food and Drug Administration said the petition is being reviewed.
But he noted that a consumer would have to drink more than 1,000 cans a day to reach the doses administered that have shown links to cancer in rodents.
The American Beverage Association noted that California added the colouring to its list of carcinogens with no studies showing that it causes cancer in humans. It noted that the listing was based on a single study in lab mice and rats."
Of course, if you have read my book you should be able to spot the tie-in to my story - a forced change to the recipe of the a soft drink beverage. I did take the opportunity to post a couple of Twitter feeds encouraging people to read about another beverage company who had been forced to change their recipe, but I wish I had done a bit more. In an ideal world, getting some kind of newspaper coverage or interview would have been ideal - easier said than done of course when you are an Indie writer.
Sometimes, the opportunity is much smaller, such as when I saw the picture of a dead bird pictured on a friends facebook page (it had flown into one of their house windows) - that was an easy opportunity to comment on the picture - all the friends who clicked on the picture would have learnt about my book - and the good thing is that it all happens in a natural, non-invasive way (and it is free of course).
Another great example I have was when there was talk of Sir Fred Goodwin of Royal Bank of Scotland fame (or should that be shame) being stripped of his knighthood - an event that once again had close parallels with an element of my story.
I am sure that if you keep your eyes and ears open you will find many examples relevant to your book.
Monday, January 9, 2012
A Kindle Primer - Part 1
Hi all
I came across a very comprehensive and useful guide to getting on Kindle today and I wish I had come across it before I had completed the publishing process! There is a lot of relevant material no matter which format you are publishing in.
Anyway, you might find it useful so I am putting it here. It is far too big to put all in one post so I am going to split it up into chunks...
I should of course give credit to the author - Ruth Francisco, who refers to the following book below:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0034KYZWW/ref=s9_simh_gw_p351_d1_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0CQDH38TCK6CZQTDDNAF&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846
It has received some very good reviews so why not check it out...?
Anyway - onto the useful stuff....section 13 and section 14 are both gold mines which I intend to mine myself in the next few weeks!
HOW TO GET STARTED
There is no charge to upload your manuscript to Amazon Kindle (or any of the other ebook platforms, including Smashwords, PubIt, Kobo, iPad, Borders, Android, Sony, and Diesel). You do not have to own a Kindle to publish on Kindle. You do not have to own a Kindle to read Kindle books (there is a free download application for your computer on the Amazon website).
There are a handful of simple steps. Prepare your manuscript, then proof and format it to perfection. Prepare your sales pitch, design a cover, decide on a price. Once you have these elements together, it takes only about one hour per venue. You can finish writing a novel on Monday, post it on Tuesday, and start making money on Friday (it takes a few days for Amazon to process it).
For Kindle, it is easier if you have a U.S. bank. Smashwords pays through PAYPAL, and is therefore more international. Kindle pays monthly, Smashwords pays quarterly.
PREPARING YOUR MANUSCRIPT
1. COPY EDITING. Have at least three people (preferably fellow writers) read your manuscript for typos. And/or hire a professional (which will cost $300 – $1,000). If you need or want an editor, someone who chops and cuts and moves material around, and questions you about word choice, narrative flow, storyline, etc., that will run from $2,000-$8,000, and will take two weeks to a month.
Do an Edit/Find on redundant and passive words, such as ‘that’, ‘starts’ and ‘begins’, ‘of the’, ‘turned’, ‘the phone’ and ‘some of the’, ‘was’ and ‘were’.
If you cannot afford a copy editor, here's another technique several indies have employed. Transfer your book file to your Kindle and use the text to speech mode. Read along with a hard copy of your manuscript. You'll be astonished by what you catch. Very helpful and costs nothing.
NOTE: Kindle, Smashwords, and most ereaders allow readers to download a sample before buying your book. Most readers will do this, SO MAKE THE BEGINNING OF YOUR BOOK FABULOUS. It must read so a person is intrigued, has to know more, will not sleep until he reads more.
2. Put all of your files into one Microsoft Word document (including title page), single spaced, justified. Times Roman or Arial font, or something simple. (Not courier.)
(NOTE: Many prefer using the EPUB file format. See Christian Cantrell’s Blog below.)
Before you upload to Kindle, check your formatting as Amazon converts it using HTML.
Make sure you have no tabs. Do an Edit Replace for ^t, replacing it with nothing. Then highlight your entire document, and use the Format, Paragraph, Indent first line feature. (Or you can double space between paragraphs.)
If you are using Word, go to your Tool Bar, and Click on your formatting display icon (the Paragraph symbol). Have a look at your manuscript. You might be surprised at what you find.
Kindle is much more flexible about format than Smashwords, but to save you from formatting your manuscript twice, you might want to abide by Smashword rules (which you can read at Smashwords.com).
Titles and headings should not be larger than 18 pitch (not for Kindle, but for Smashwords), and limit the number of extra line returns to 5 (again for Smashwords).
At the end of chapters, put 4 or 5 line returns (again for Smashwords).
3. After your title page, you want to put something like:
Digital Edition
Copyright © 2010 by Author Name
All rights reserved
The © symbol supposedly protects the text internationally. As I understand it, as soon as you've created a text, it's copyrighted in the U.S., but that allows you only the ability to stop republication by someone else. If you register the copyright with the Library of Congress, you are able to collect money damages. For more information, see http://copyrightregistery-gov-form.com/
For the Smashwords Edition, you’ll want to put:
Smashwords Edition
Copyright © 2010 by Author Name
All rights reserved
NOTE: You own the rights if you publish on Kindle or Smashwords. If a publisher reads what you have on Kindle, and wants to do a DTB (dead tree book), you have all rights to sell it to them. I know of several indies who have found publishers this way.
4. SAVE: When you are done formatting, SAVE AS a web page (HTML). This is the document you will want to upload to Kindle.
5. COVER. A great cover does a lot to sell a book. You can design your own with free online photos and a photo manipulation program. Photoshop is great but expensive. Gimp is free. An excellent list of websites where you can download free photos is:
http://www.photoshopsupport.com/resources/stock-photos.html
You want the title and author name to be really big, with a single intriguing image. A light cover, letters at least 1/4 the size of the cover, lots of red. Yellow is good for title. (Look at a Kindle book called THIN BLOOD, a brilliant cover.)
While you are working on your cover, reduce the image at times to 1-1/4 inch high—this is about how big it will appear on the computer. If it doesn’t pop out at you, or isn’t easily read, change it.
6. BLURB: You need to write a short synopsis, not more than 400 words. Shorter is better. Give the synopsis to friends and ask if they’d be intrigued enough to read the book.
SHORT BLURB: You need to write a very short synopsis of 400 characters. This shorter version you’ll need for Smashwords, and for self-promotion on blogs and websites.
Spend serious time on these synopses. This, apart from your cover, is your main sales tool.
7. PRICING:
A lot of writers first post their books for .99 cents because a number of Kindle readers routinely buy only .99 books. It is a way to get a following. Think of it as an introductory price. The minimum for which you can get at 70% royalty is $2.99, which is why many indie Kindle books are $2.99. The DTB publishers often list their books at $9.99 or higher because they can. Many writers think it's the DTB publishers’ way to suppress the ebook market, and to maintain a demand for DTBs. But readers have made it clear on the forums that they think it is unfair to post an ebook for more than a paperback.
In other words, $9.99 is probably too much for an indie ebook. Keep it under $5.00.
At some point you might want to change your price. If, for instance, you post at .99 cents and it sells like crazy, getting you to the top 100 Kindle Best Sellers list, you might want to keep it at .99 cents until you drop off. (The big deal about the top 100 is that it is a visible list that is promoted by Amazon. A major goal is to get on this list.) But if you are not making a lot of sales at .99 cents, you might as well go to $2.99 for awhile. I've had books that began to sell more when I raised the price.
There is no stigma for .99 books on Amazon. DTB Publishers sometimes run very cheap specials (or free) for their best sellers. Everyone, in other words, is trying to find a good price point.
Another technique--Amazon will "discount" your book if it is being sold cheaper elsewhere. You can sell it lower at Smashwords, or keep it the same and sign up for distribution at Kobo, which automatically discounts. Then Amazon will slash your price from say $2.99 to $2.39. People will think they are getting a deal.
You'll simply have to test out what works best for you.
8. UPLOADING: You are ready to upload. There are a number of websites you can upload your ebook. Kindle, Smashwords, PubIt, etc. Kindle is the best, so we’ll start with that.
Go to
https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/signin
Register, then follow directions.
-Upload book and synopsis. Set price. Remember, you may want to start with a promotional price of .99 for two weeks, then move to $2.99 where you'll get the 70 percent royalty
-Be sure to preview your book. It is laborious, but necessary.
-Add your bank account information with electronic routing number. If you are unsure about your wire routing number, call your bank.
-Follow directions and add tags, categories, and other information.
-Kindle takes several days to upload your book, and will send you an email when it is complete. While you wait, start working on your marketing strategy.
9. CHANGES. At any point after you have published, you CAN make changes. You can change the price. You can make editorial changes and upload again. You can change your cover and synopsis. Amazon may take your book offline for up to 48 hours, so you don’t want to do this excessively, but it is hugely comforting to know that once “it’s gone to print”, it’s not “carved in stone”.
10. BACKLIST TITLES. Many authors are uploading to Kindle previously published books when they get their rights back. You need a letter from your publisher confirming Reversion of Rights. Upload your book. Within a few days, Amazon will contact you and ask you to scan in your letter and send it to them. Within four or five days, your book will be approved.
-Smashwords does not require such a letter.
11. Barnes & Noble has recently established an epublication website, PubIt. It works much the same as Kindle:
http://pubit.barnesandnoble.com/pubit_app/bn?t=pi_reg_home&code=4aa51434099049dc9bbb6f75872a952f
12. AMAZON KINDLE for UK WRITERS:
You have to join on the USA site with your UK password if you are already a customer, and when you create your account it has US and UK buttons to turn on or off.
UK royalty is 30% regardless of where you are. They send a check in £. If it is sold in US then they send a check for 70% (if it is between $2.99 and $9.99). They only send checks when it is over $100, and will charge you $8 per check.
I came across a very comprehensive and useful guide to getting on Kindle today and I wish I had come across it before I had completed the publishing process! There is a lot of relevant material no matter which format you are publishing in.
Anyway, you might find it useful so I am putting it here. It is far too big to put all in one post so I am going to split it up into chunks...
I should of course give credit to the author - Ruth Francisco, who refers to the following book below:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0034KYZWW/ref=s9_simh_gw_p351_d1_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0CQDH38TCK6CZQTDDNAF&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846
It has received some very good reviews so why not check it out...?
Anyway - onto the useful stuff....section 13 and section 14 are both gold mines which I intend to mine myself in the next few weeks!
HOW TO GET STARTED
There is no charge to upload your manuscript to Amazon Kindle (or any of the other ebook platforms, including Smashwords, PubIt, Kobo, iPad, Borders, Android, Sony, and Diesel). You do not have to own a Kindle to publish on Kindle. You do not have to own a Kindle to read Kindle books (there is a free download application for your computer on the Amazon website). There are a handful of simple steps. Prepare your manuscript, then proof and format it to perfection. Prepare your sales pitch, design a cover, decide on a price. Once you have these elements together, it takes only about one hour per venue. You can finish writing a novel on Monday, post it on Tuesday, and start making money on Friday (it takes a few days for Amazon to process it).
For Kindle, it is easier if you have a U.S. bank. Smashwords pays through PAYPAL, and is therefore more international. Kindle pays monthly, Smashwords pays quarterly.
PREPARING YOUR MANUSCRIPT
1. COPY EDITING. Have at least three people (preferably fellow writers) read your manuscript for typos. And/or hire a professional (which will cost $300 – $1,000). If you need or want an editor, someone who chops and cuts and moves material around, and questions you about word choice, narrative flow, storyline, etc., that will run from $2,000-$8,000, and will take two weeks to a month.
Do an Edit/Find on redundant and passive words, such as ‘that’, ‘starts’ and ‘begins’, ‘of the’, ‘turned’, ‘the phone’ and ‘some of the’, ‘was’ and ‘were’.
If you cannot afford a copy editor, here's another technique several indies have employed. Transfer your book file to your Kindle and use the text to speech mode. Read along with a hard copy of your manuscript. You'll be astonished by what you catch. Very helpful and costs nothing.
NOTE: Kindle, Smashwords, and most ereaders allow readers to download a sample before buying your book. Most readers will do this, SO MAKE THE BEGINNING OF YOUR BOOK FABULOUS. It must read so a person is intrigued, has to know more, will not sleep until he reads more.
2. Put all of your files into one Microsoft Word document (including title page), single spaced, justified. Times Roman or Arial font, or something simple. (Not courier.)
(NOTE: Many prefer using the EPUB file format. See Christian Cantrell’s Blog below.)
Before you upload to Kindle, check your formatting as Amazon converts it using HTML.
Make sure you have no tabs. Do an Edit Replace for ^t, replacing it with nothing. Then highlight your entire document, and use the Format, Paragraph, Indent first line feature. (Or you can double space between paragraphs.)
If you are using Word, go to your Tool Bar, and Click on your formatting display icon (the Paragraph symbol). Have a look at your manuscript. You might be surprised at what you find.
Kindle is much more flexible about format than Smashwords, but to save you from formatting your manuscript twice, you might want to abide by Smashword rules (which you can read at Smashwords.com).
Titles and headings should not be larger than 18 pitch (not for Kindle, but for Smashwords), and limit the number of extra line returns to 5 (again for Smashwords).
At the end of chapters, put 4 or 5 line returns (again for Smashwords).
3. After your title page, you want to put something like:
Digital Edition
Copyright © 2010 by Author Name
All rights reserved
The © symbol supposedly protects the text internationally. As I understand it, as soon as you've created a text, it's copyrighted in the U.S., but that allows you only the ability to stop republication by someone else. If you register the copyright with the Library of Congress, you are able to collect money damages. For more information, see http://copyrightregistery-gov-form.com/
For the Smashwords Edition, you’ll want to put:
Smashwords Edition
Copyright © 2010 by Author Name
All rights reserved
NOTE: You own the rights if you publish on Kindle or Smashwords. If a publisher reads what you have on Kindle, and wants to do a DTB (dead tree book), you have all rights to sell it to them. I know of several indies who have found publishers this way.
4. SAVE: When you are done formatting, SAVE AS a web page (HTML). This is the document you will want to upload to Kindle.
5. COVER. A great cover does a lot to sell a book. You can design your own with free online photos and a photo manipulation program. Photoshop is great but expensive. Gimp is free. An excellent list of websites where you can download free photos is:
http://www.photoshopsupport.com/resources/stock-photos.html
You want the title and author name to be really big, with a single intriguing image. A light cover, letters at least 1/4 the size of the cover, lots of red. Yellow is good for title. (Look at a Kindle book called THIN BLOOD, a brilliant cover.)
While you are working on your cover, reduce the image at times to 1-1/4 inch high—this is about how big it will appear on the computer. If it doesn’t pop out at you, or isn’t easily read, change it.
6. BLURB: You need to write a short synopsis, not more than 400 words. Shorter is better. Give the synopsis to friends and ask if they’d be intrigued enough to read the book.
SHORT BLURB: You need to write a very short synopsis of 400 characters. This shorter version you’ll need for Smashwords, and for self-promotion on blogs and websites.
Spend serious time on these synopses. This, apart from your cover, is your main sales tool.
7. PRICING:
A lot of writers first post their books for .99 cents because a number of Kindle readers routinely buy only .99 books. It is a way to get a following. Think of it as an introductory price. The minimum for which you can get at 70% royalty is $2.99, which is why many indie Kindle books are $2.99. The DTB publishers often list their books at $9.99 or higher because they can. Many writers think it's the DTB publishers’ way to suppress the ebook market, and to maintain a demand for DTBs. But readers have made it clear on the forums that they think it is unfair to post an ebook for more than a paperback.
In other words, $9.99 is probably too much for an indie ebook. Keep it under $5.00.
At some point you might want to change your price. If, for instance, you post at .99 cents and it sells like crazy, getting you to the top 100 Kindle Best Sellers list, you might want to keep it at .99 cents until you drop off. (The big deal about the top 100 is that it is a visible list that is promoted by Amazon. A major goal is to get on this list.) But if you are not making a lot of sales at .99 cents, you might as well go to $2.99 for awhile. I've had books that began to sell more when I raised the price.
There is no stigma for .99 books on Amazon. DTB Publishers sometimes run very cheap specials (or free) for their best sellers. Everyone, in other words, is trying to find a good price point.
Another technique--Amazon will "discount" your book if it is being sold cheaper elsewhere. You can sell it lower at Smashwords, or keep it the same and sign up for distribution at Kobo, which automatically discounts. Then Amazon will slash your price from say $2.99 to $2.39. People will think they are getting a deal.
You'll simply have to test out what works best for you.
8. UPLOADING: You are ready to upload. There are a number of websites you can upload your ebook. Kindle, Smashwords, PubIt, etc. Kindle is the best, so we’ll start with that.
Go to
https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/signin
Register, then follow directions.
-Upload book and synopsis. Set price. Remember, you may want to start with a promotional price of .99 for two weeks, then move to $2.99 where you'll get the 70 percent royalty
-Be sure to preview your book. It is laborious, but necessary.
-Add your bank account information with electronic routing number. If you are unsure about your wire routing number, call your bank.
-Follow directions and add tags, categories, and other information.
-Kindle takes several days to upload your book, and will send you an email when it is complete. While you wait, start working on your marketing strategy.
9. CHANGES. At any point after you have published, you CAN make changes. You can change the price. You can make editorial changes and upload again. You can change your cover and synopsis. Amazon may take your book offline for up to 48 hours, so you don’t want to do this excessively, but it is hugely comforting to know that once “it’s gone to print”, it’s not “carved in stone”.
10. BACKLIST TITLES. Many authors are uploading to Kindle previously published books when they get their rights back. You need a letter from your publisher confirming Reversion of Rights. Upload your book. Within a few days, Amazon will contact you and ask you to scan in your letter and send it to them. Within four or five days, your book will be approved.
-Smashwords does not require such a letter.
11. Barnes & Noble has recently established an epublication website, PubIt. It works much the same as Kindle:
http://pubit.barnesandnoble.com/pubit_app/bn?t=pi_reg_home&code=4aa51434099049dc9bbb6f75872a952f
12. AMAZON KINDLE for UK WRITERS:
You have to join on the USA site with your UK password if you are already a customer, and when you create your account it has US and UK buttons to turn on or off.
UK royalty is 30% regardless of where you are. They send a check in £. If it is sold in US then they send a check for 70% (if it is between $2.99 and $9.99). They only send checks when it is over $100, and will charge you $8 per check.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Decisions, Decisions - Kindle
Hi again.
In my last post I promised I would talk a little bit about a few of the decisions I had to make when I listed my book on Kindle. These are decisions that you will have to make yourself if you ever decide to self-publish:
1) DRM vs Non-DRM
DRM stands for Digital Rights Management and it is basically a way to stop your book from getting downloaded and shared on the internet without you getting paid any royalties (aka pirating). Unfortunately, the selection on Kindle is a one shot deal, you cannot change your mind later - so you have to think carefully.
The drawback to using DRM is that it may prevent people from transferring their purchase across their own Kindles (e.g. a PC version and Ipad version, or the real Kindle) - that might put off potential purchases. The plus side of course is that you limit the risk of thousands of people ripping you off (although I bet there is software that can remove the DRM anyway).
In the end I decided not to use the DRM facility. Doing some research on the internet showed that this appears to be the way the industry is going and, quite frankly, the risk of my book "going viral" are pretty small - and in a way it would be quite gratifying if it did!
2) Setting the price
I had to decide what price I would ask for my book. I really gave myself two options - 99 cents (US) or 99 pence (UK) which would accrue royalty at 35%, or the minimum price to obtain a 70% royalty which was $2.99 of 147p (can't find the pounds sterling sign on this keyboard!). The good thing is that you can change the price whenever you like.
I went for the minimum price to get the 70% option figuring this would be much more lucrative and not really wanting to "give away" my many, many hours of work for such a paltry sum. However, after just a few days of selling, I changed my mind. I realised that you need to price based on customer perception of value and not my own perception. Why should a potential reader take a chance on my book out of millions out there? I realised I need to take away the potential barrier of price, realising that selling more books at a cheaper price would in itself be a handy marketing tool
as Amazon will link the book to other books that my buyers have also bought.
So, we will see how that pricing strategy goes. Infact, I will give an update in a few days time, on my first couple of weeks live.
c) Choosing a category
I also had to decide which categories to place my book in so that people can find it. Amazon now only allows two categories to be selected, whereas it used to be five. Limiting it to two was extremely difficult, but the good news is that it can be changed later (although it may affect your rankings in the Top lists).
It wasn't too hard to place the book in the Juvenile Fiction - Action and Adventre section. The hard part was deciding whether I wanted to use the other category to classify as a "Christian book". It's no secret that there is Christian content right through the book - Mason and his family are Christians, we read about them at church and talking to the pastor. Mason's principles and beliefs help him make some tough decisions. But, at the same time, I never intended that this would be a Christian book per se. The plot would work pretty well without any of the aforementioned elements and my intention was to be a bit different and include that dimension which is often lacking in childrens fiction and tends more towards an atheistic worldview.
In choosing the second category, I was wary of choosing something which would potentially limit the number of people who would read the book or even seriously look at the synopsis. On the other hand, I thought it might not be a bad idea to mark the book for something of a niche market who would see the Christian elements as positive or not merely neutral or even negative. So...in the end..I decided to mark as Christian...and hoping for the best!
On a related point, I did read advice which encouraged the selection of relatively obscure categories where there might not be much competition to get into the Top bestseller list - which would further aid marketing. This seems to be good in theory, but I have found that Amazon seems to place you in certain lists based, perhaps, on the content of your synopsis and the general categories selected. It's something I need to do some research on...
4) Lending Library
Finally, I needed to choose whether to enrol the book in the Kindle Lending Library. This needs to be for a three month period and requires exclusive listing with Amazon on Kindle. Any listings on Smashwords etc needs to be removed. There are two benefits to being in the program (US only) - if people borrow your book you share in a fixed pot for all shared authors in a given month. Dec 2011 and Jan 2012 were both $500,000 each. It sounds a lot but I imagine it will spread very thin.
What appealed more to me was the ability to offer my book for free for any 5 days out of the 90, as a marketing device. Normally, Amazon does not permit free listings unless you can prove the item is being given away on other devices (plus I am not sure how easy it is to change that.)
I decided to take the plunge and enrol and see how it goes for the 90 days. I figured I can always change and enrol on Smashwords to give me access to Sony, Ipods/Ipads and Nooks. Speaking to other self-publishing authors indicates that the majority of their sales come through Kindle anyway - but it is always handy to be accessible in as many places as possible.
That's all for now!
In my last post I promised I would talk a little bit about a few of the decisions I had to make when I listed my book on Kindle. These are decisions that you will have to make yourself if you ever decide to self-publish:
1) DRM vs Non-DRM
DRM stands for Digital Rights Management and it is basically a way to stop your book from getting downloaded and shared on the internet without you getting paid any royalties (aka pirating). Unfortunately, the selection on Kindle is a one shot deal, you cannot change your mind later - so you have to think carefully.
The drawback to using DRM is that it may prevent people from transferring their purchase across their own Kindles (e.g. a PC version and Ipad version, or the real Kindle) - that might put off potential purchases. The plus side of course is that you limit the risk of thousands of people ripping you off (although I bet there is software that can remove the DRM anyway).
In the end I decided not to use the DRM facility. Doing some research on the internet showed that this appears to be the way the industry is going and, quite frankly, the risk of my book "going viral" are pretty small - and in a way it would be quite gratifying if it did!
2) Setting the price
I had to decide what price I would ask for my book. I really gave myself two options - 99 cents (US) or 99 pence (UK) which would accrue royalty at 35%, or the minimum price to obtain a 70% royalty which was $2.99 of 147p (can't find the pounds sterling sign on this keyboard!). The good thing is that you can change the price whenever you like.
I went for the minimum price to get the 70% option figuring this would be much more lucrative and not really wanting to "give away" my many, many hours of work for such a paltry sum. However, after just a few days of selling, I changed my mind. I realised that you need to price based on customer perception of value and not my own perception. Why should a potential reader take a chance on my book out of millions out there? I realised I need to take away the potential barrier of price, realising that selling more books at a cheaper price would in itself be a handy marketing tool
as Amazon will link the book to other books that my buyers have also bought.
So, we will see how that pricing strategy goes. Infact, I will give an update in a few days time, on my first couple of weeks live.
c) Choosing a category
I also had to decide which categories to place my book in so that people can find it. Amazon now only allows two categories to be selected, whereas it used to be five. Limiting it to two was extremely difficult, but the good news is that it can be changed later (although it may affect your rankings in the Top lists).
It wasn't too hard to place the book in the Juvenile Fiction - Action and Adventre section. The hard part was deciding whether I wanted to use the other category to classify as a "Christian book". It's no secret that there is Christian content right through the book - Mason and his family are Christians, we read about them at church and talking to the pastor. Mason's principles and beliefs help him make some tough decisions. But, at the same time, I never intended that this would be a Christian book per se. The plot would work pretty well without any of the aforementioned elements and my intention was to be a bit different and include that dimension which is often lacking in childrens fiction and tends more towards an atheistic worldview.
In choosing the second category, I was wary of choosing something which would potentially limit the number of people who would read the book or even seriously look at the synopsis. On the other hand, I thought it might not be a bad idea to mark the book for something of a niche market who would see the Christian elements as positive or not merely neutral or even negative. So...in the end..I decided to mark as Christian...and hoping for the best!
On a related point, I did read advice which encouraged the selection of relatively obscure categories where there might not be much competition to get into the Top bestseller list - which would further aid marketing. This seems to be good in theory, but I have found that Amazon seems to place you in certain lists based, perhaps, on the content of your synopsis and the general categories selected. It's something I need to do some research on...
4) Lending Library
Finally, I needed to choose whether to enrol the book in the Kindle Lending Library. This needs to be for a three month period and requires exclusive listing with Amazon on Kindle. Any listings on Smashwords etc needs to be removed. There are two benefits to being in the program (US only) - if people borrow your book you share in a fixed pot for all shared authors in a given month. Dec 2011 and Jan 2012 were both $500,000 each. It sounds a lot but I imagine it will spread very thin.
What appealed more to me was the ability to offer my book for free for any 5 days out of the 90, as a marketing device. Normally, Amazon does not permit free listings unless you can prove the item is being given away on other devices (plus I am not sure how easy it is to change that.)
I decided to take the plunge and enrol and see how it goes for the 90 days. I figured I can always change and enrol on Smashwords to give me access to Sony, Ipods/Ipads and Nooks. Speaking to other self-publishing authors indicates that the majority of their sales come through Kindle anyway - but it is always handy to be accessible in as many places as possible.
That's all for now!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
How to Get Your Book on Kindle...
Rather than put my feet up now that my book is live on Amazon, I thought I would share with you my experience of getting the book onto Kindle. I am sure there are many who, like me, were a bit fearful of trying to have a go and are strongly considering paying someone else to Kindle-ise your book for you.
Having been through it myself, I can tell you that there really is nothing to worry about AND, if you do a couple of simple things BEFORE you get to far into drafting your manuscript it can be even easier!
I don't intend this to be a detailed exposition of how it is done. It has already been done many times before and I'd rather share the website that I used rather than repeat it all here:
http://declanconner.com/kindle-formatting/
Declan Conner is an experienced self-pubber and although the layout of his site is not very orderly, there is a wealth of excellent material there - and not just on formatting.
Anyway, here are a few things that I think might be worthwhile knowing:
1) The biggest time saver for me would have been knowing that it is good practice when writing for Kindle to only have one space after a full stop (a period if you are reading this from the US!), whereas normally you would have two, Yes, of course I did not know that and had to go through the entire manuscript to delete them all. Infact I had to review a couple of times to weed out the ones I missed and I probably did not get them all of them in the end!
2) The same applies to a slightly lesser extent on the indenting. I had used a different convention than suggested by Declan so I had to re-edit the document to get it right.
3) The one thing you might not have encountered before is bookmarking and hyperlinking. This allows the reader to easily navigate from the table of contents to individual chapters. Declan also recommends putting bookmarks at the end of each chapter so you can be taken back to the contents page. I found Declans guide here a little confusing but I still managed to figure it out.
4) Once you have the manuscript properly formatted, you need to create the file in the right format. To do that you can download Mobipocket Creator from the Amazon site. The good news is that it really couldn't be easier to use and you can have the finished file in less than a minute.
5) The file needs to be checked to make sure it looks OK in the Kindle format. I downloaded the Kindle Preview tool but ended up managing to see it in my Kindle PC version automatically - so that was good.
6) At this point you are ready to upload to Kindle. This was a little trickier than I had anticipated, simply because there are a couple of very important decisions that need to be made. By this point it was in the early hours of the morning and I was struggling to maintain focus. Some of the key decisions include:
a) Should I protect my file (DRM) or leave it open?
b) At what price should I sell my book?
c) In which category should I sell my book?
d) Should I participate in the Lending Library program, which meant I was signing exclusively with Amazon for a minimum of 3 months?
I will write more about each of these in future posts. But the good news is that once I had these worked out, the upload process was really very smooth. Within 3 or 4 hours, my book was for sale on Amazon. The wonders of modern technology eh?
The only snag was that my cover was missing. The upload process should have used the image within the Kindle file but it didn't seem to be working. So I went back and uploaded that separately - within a few hours it was up. Phew!
Having been through it myself, I can tell you that there really is nothing to worry about AND, if you do a couple of simple things BEFORE you get to far into drafting your manuscript it can be even easier!
I don't intend this to be a detailed exposition of how it is done. It has already been done many times before and I'd rather share the website that I used rather than repeat it all here:
http://declanconner.com/kindle-formatting/
Declan Conner is an experienced self-pubber and although the layout of his site is not very orderly, there is a wealth of excellent material there - and not just on formatting.
Anyway, here are a few things that I think might be worthwhile knowing:
1) The biggest time saver for me would have been knowing that it is good practice when writing for Kindle to only have one space after a full stop (a period if you are reading this from the US!), whereas normally you would have two, Yes, of course I did not know that and had to go through the entire manuscript to delete them all. Infact I had to review a couple of times to weed out the ones I missed and I probably did not get them all of them in the end!
2) The same applies to a slightly lesser extent on the indenting. I had used a different convention than suggested by Declan so I had to re-edit the document to get it right.
3) The one thing you might not have encountered before is bookmarking and hyperlinking. This allows the reader to easily navigate from the table of contents to individual chapters. Declan also recommends putting bookmarks at the end of each chapter so you can be taken back to the contents page. I found Declans guide here a little confusing but I still managed to figure it out.
4) Once you have the manuscript properly formatted, you need to create the file in the right format. To do that you can download Mobipocket Creator from the Amazon site. The good news is that it really couldn't be easier to use and you can have the finished file in less than a minute.
5) The file needs to be checked to make sure it looks OK in the Kindle format. I downloaded the Kindle Preview tool but ended up managing to see it in my Kindle PC version automatically - so that was good.
6) At this point you are ready to upload to Kindle. This was a little trickier than I had anticipated, simply because there are a couple of very important decisions that need to be made. By this point it was in the early hours of the morning and I was struggling to maintain focus. Some of the key decisions include:
a) Should I protect my file (DRM) or leave it open?
b) At what price should I sell my book?
c) In which category should I sell my book?
d) Should I participate in the Lending Library program, which meant I was signing exclusively with Amazon for a minimum of 3 months?
I will write more about each of these in future posts. But the good news is that once I had these worked out, the upload process was really very smooth. Within 3 or 4 hours, my book was for sale on Amazon. The wonders of modern technology eh?
The only snag was that my cover was missing. The upload process should have used the image within the Kindle file but it didn't seem to be working. So I went back and uploaded that separately - within a few hours it was up. Phew!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)