By Rob Davis “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” This quote from Harvey Dent from the ever-famous “Batman: The Dark Knight” movie and comic is an apt representation of what an ebook goes through as it rests in your hard drive, waiting to be published and sold. As time passes, your ebook seems to get more ‘outdated’, not to … [Read more...] about Guest Post: Top 8 Platforms to Sell Your Ebooks
Distribution
Gumroad: An Alternate Distributor for Ebooks (And Other Products)
We all know about the main distribution channels for indie authors: Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Google. But there are alternative, and potentially lucrative ways, to sell your work. One such alternative is Gumroad, which allows writers, artists, and others to sell their work. It doesn't have to be limited to ebooks either. If you're a non-fiction author, you … [Read more...] about Gumroad: An Alternate Distributor for Ebooks (And Other Products)
Indie Authors: An Overview of Book Distribution Options
When it comes to selling books, most people think of Amazon and Kindle. Although Amazon may be the biggest ebook distributo r, it's not the only option for indie authors. Ebook Retailers Ebay. An unconventional way to sell ebooks. Feedbooks. An ebook retailer designed for mobile reading. Google Play Books. Though the platform is currently not allowing new people … [Read more...] about Indie Authors: An Overview of Book Distribution Options
Two Indie Author Choices: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Although Amazon works with a wide variety of industries now, it originated in books. And it still dominates the book industry. The Wall Street Journal recently wrote about how Amazon "commands an unrivaled customer base for the books, e-books and audiobooks it publishes." Part of what helped Amazon with ebooks is KDP, the platform where indie authors can upload and sell … [Read more...] about Two Indie Author Choices: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Indie Authors: Expanding Your Content
Writing and publishing a book is a great accomplishment, but it doesn't have to end there. Books can be spliced, expanded, and distributed in new and multiple ways online. Gordon Burgett wrote about how to multiple a book's sales by turning it into six books. It works easily with non-fiction books, where you can separate the book by topic and publish mini versions (of just … [Read more...] about Indie Authors: Expanding Your Content
Selling Your Book in Physical Stores
There are many ways for indie authors to sell their books online, but it's not as clear how indie authors can sell their books in stores. It is possible though, you just have to get creative. Book Business, for example, gives a list of third party operators, which manage cultural attractions and park services. Books that provide educational value and fit the niche can be … [Read more...] about Selling Your Book in Physical Stores
Indie Authors: Declaration of Independents Audiobook Contest with ListenUp Audiobooks
Audiobooks are gaining a lot of momentum in the publishing industry. In addition to offering ebooks and print editions, indie authors should consider also producing audiobook versions of their works. According to Publisher’s Weekly, a recent annual survey of industry trends by the Audio Publisher Association (APA) found that “sales of audiobooks rose 20% in 2015 over 2014, … [Read more...] about Indie Authors: Declaration of Independents Audiobook Contest with ListenUp Audiobooks
Indie Authors and Libraries
Libraries are wonderful for indie authors. They open up a whole new audience of readers, but unfortunately the route to getting an indie book into a library is not always very clear. The American Library Association (ALA) has a great fact sheet that goes over what libraries buy, when they look to buy books, what the library market looks like, and marketing opportunities. The … [Read more...] about Indie Authors and Libraries
Indie Authors and Kindle Unlimited
Amazon's Kindle Unlimited (KU) service, where readers pay $9.99 per month and authors are paid out of a monthly fund, seems to be very polarizing. Kindle Unlimited History When KU first launched, many authors complained about it, citing its unfair payment system or how it encourages people to upload short, and often not well written, books (since originally authors were only … [Read more...] about Indie Authors and Kindle Unlimited
Ebook Distribution: Google Play
There's a lot going on with Google Play lately, at least when it comes to ebooks. About a month ago, Google Play shut down its book publisher program, at least temporarily, to new users while they sort out all the accusations about pirated ebooks on the platform, according to GoodeReader. It's a shame, and hopefully Google will reopen again to new authors soon. For … [Read more...] about Ebook Distribution: Google Play
Smashwords: An Indie Author Guide
Smashwords is a retailer and an ebook distributor, and a great choice for indie authors. Why? Because the platform lets you upload once and sell on multiple outlets, saving authors a lot of time, and it offers a number of marketing options. If you want a step by step on how to upload and distribute ebooks via Smashwords, read my EPUBZone article, "Ebook Distribution for the … [Read more...] about Smashwords: An Indie Author Guide
Indie Authors: Digital Comics
Novels, children picture books, and even cookbooks are often discussed in the digital publishing realm, but another type of book is gaining more prominence: comic books. Comics are generally fixed format, because they are so image heavy and where the text is place matters (or else it doesn't make sense). So, to make an EPUB comic book, you will have to manually code and … [Read more...] about Indie Authors: Digital Comics
Readers and Writers: Library News
Libraries are an important part of the book publishing world, and it's been a while since I mentioned them in a post, so here's a collection of links to library news, services, and more. Library Databases "American Museum of Natural History Unveils New Database With 7,000 Digitized Items (Images, Illustrations, Drawings & More)" by Gary Price (see database here) … [Read more...] about Readers and Writers: Library News
Guest Post: Global Fans? Get Global Links
By Cole Lakes - Director of Operations, GeoRiot GeoRiot builds links that work "across countries, devices, and stores." The company also recently acquired BookLinker.net, which creates a universal link for a book "that works for all Amazon stores." If you’re an indie author, chances are you’re taking advantage of Amazon’s international online store to promote and sell your … [Read more...] about Guest Post: Global Fans? Get Global Links
Indie Authors: Print on Demand (POD) Options
For indie authors, it’s good to have options. This means making your book available in multiple formats: ebook, audio, and print. Just a few years ago, financing your own print books would have been either very expensive, take up a lot of garage space, or both. But now there are companies that offer short runs or print on demand, which significantly cuts down costs and … [Read more...] about Indie Authors: Print on Demand (POD) Options