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EBooks

Music and Sound Effects in Books

Thursday, December 8, 2016 by Sabrina Ricci

By Tiffany Bailey from New Orleans, USA (Abandoned Art School 81) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

  Audiobooks are gaining popularity, but sounds are making their way into ebooks as well. Back in 2013, Google submitted a patent to trigger sounds in ebooks. According to GoodeReader, "The sounds would be triggered by events within the book, such as lapping waves, an ominous crescendo, or maybe an outdoor market. The new application would have the sounds stored on a … [Read more...] about Music and Sound Effects in Books

Looking for Innovative Stories? Here’s a List of Ebooks, Apps, Websites, Games, and More

Thursday, January 21, 2016 by Sabrina Ricci

Ebooks, or maybe I should say stories, come in all shapes and sizes: EPUB, apps, virtual reality, games, and more. If you want to see some exciting, innovative new forms of storytelling, check out this list (sure devices have some limitations and enhanced ebooks haven't exactly taken off yet, but there are ways to make ebooks great): Ebooks "A Digital Mozart Book That … [Read more...] about Looking for Innovative Stories? Here’s a List of Ebooks, Apps, Websites, Games, and More

Build An Interactive Holiday Ebook with CircularFLO

Thursday, December 24, 2015 by Sabrina Ricci

Happy holidays! To those who celebrate Christmas, CircularFLO, which allows you to build interactive ebooks without coding, is giving away personalized, free interactive ebooks. You can get your copy at https://www.circularflo.com/download/xmas. Inside you'll find a drag and drop jigsaw puzzle, a hangman game, a matching game, and more. Plus CircularFLO is holding a contest … [Read more...] about Build An Interactive Holiday Ebook with CircularFLO

Reading Ebooks on Your Smartphone

Thursday, November 19, 2015 by Sabrina Ricci

Smartphones have exploded in popularity in the last few years, and because so many people own smartphones, publishers are now thinking about how to best deliver digital content to the small screen. As a side anecdote, four years ago (2011) I was sitting in a marketing class at NYU, and the lecturer was telling us about how she read all five A Song of Ice and Fire books (you … [Read more...] about Reading Ebooks on Your Smartphone

What Rights Do Ebook Owners Have?

Monday, November 16, 2015 by Sabrina Ricci

By NotFromUtrecht (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Over the last few years, there has been a lot of discussion around the ownership of ebooks. The LA Times reported in 2012 about how ebook owners had few rights when it came to their ebooks. Instead of owning ebooks they purchased, they were merely licensing them: Unlike the owners of a physical tome, they won't have the unlimited right to lend an e-book, give it away, … [Read more...] about What Rights Do Ebook Owners Have?

New Ebook Fonts Make Ereading More Like Print

Monday, June 15, 2015 by Sabrina Ricci

By Alexander Pfeiffenberger from Auburn, Alabama, United States of America (eBooks) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The average reader probably doesn't think a lot about fonts, but they are important contributors to the reading experience. A few weeks ago, Google announced a new typeface for Google Books, called Literata. The Next Web goes into more detail, but the gist is Google ebooks now have a font that distinguishes it from ebooks read on a Nook or Kindle, and it was created to give … [Read more...] about New Ebook Fonts Make Ereading More Like Print

Publishing Children’s Ebooks

Monday, May 4, 2015 by Sabrina Ricci

The children's book market is expanding. According to IBISWorld, "e-readers and other popular devices, like tablets and smartphones, make books easier to buy, read and store. Animation and other extra features made possible by these and other devices are making e-books particularly attractive to children." Jane Friedman also reported that "Children are starting to read … [Read more...] about Publishing Children’s Ebooks

A Look at Interactive Ebooks

Monday, April 6, 2015 by Sabrina Ricci

Interactive, multimedia ebooks are starting to gain some traction. In addition to embedding audio and video, some ebook creators are experimenting with game elements, using GPS, and adding activities. A year ago, Digital Book World discussed why enhanced ebooks were not taking off yet. According to Peter Costanzo, "The main problem is that the market as it currently exists … [Read more...] about A Look at Interactive Ebooks

RedShelf: Affordable E-Textbooks

Thursday, February 12, 2015 by Sabrina Ricci

RedShelf is a platform that allows students to access e-textbooks. The company started in June 2010, when the co-founders Tim and Greg were asked by a professor to create a digital course packet. They developed the e-reading technology while still in college, and started forming partnerships with campus bookstores. Now RedShelf has more than 160,000 titles and 160+ bookstore … [Read more...] about RedShelf: Affordable E-Textbooks

Taking a Closer Look at Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited

Thursday, July 24, 2014 by Sabrina Ricci

There has been a lot of buzz lately around Kindle Unlimited, the latest service to enter the ebook subscription game. But what out of all the subscription services  I'd say that this one is the biggest game changer, and that's because it's an Amazon service. After recently finishing Brad Stone's The Everything Store, I have a feeling that right now, Kindle Unlimited is more … [Read more...] about Taking a Closer Look at Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited

New Subscription Ebook Service: Forgotten Books

Thursday, July 3, 2014 by Sabrina Ricci

Ebook subscription services are slowly proving themselves. The three current major ones, Oyster, Scribd, and Entitle, are all growing, in both number of subscribers and number of books offered. And they are not the only services out there, as I outlined in my post, "A Brief Overview of Subscription Services" (The Digital Reader also wrote about Blloon, a new subscription … [Read more...] about New Subscription Ebook Service: Forgotten Books

Finding Ebook Bestsellers

Wednesday, February 19, 2014 by Sabrina Ricci

Social media is a big part of indie author marketing strategies these days. But for those just starting out, it may seem daunting. When I first began using social media for platform building, I felt slightly overwhelmed. But now, after lots of practice and just incorporating social media into my daily routine, I've come to embrace it. And instead of seeing it like a chore, I see it as another way to connect and interact with people, and I've been able to build real relationships through it. Here are a few things I've learned along the way. (And if you want guidance on how to overcome the feeling of being overwhelmed, read Your Writer Platform's "Are You Building Your Writer Platform at Gunpoint?") Don't use social media just to sell books Kristen Lamb's "Social Media, Book Signings & Why Neither Directly Impact Overall Sales" goes into depth on why this is not a good strategy, but basically you don't want to spam people/just make noise, and you will not develop any real relationships this way (meaning, you won't attract real fans). Rachel Thompson suggests spending more time online finding people who may be willing to review your books, and she gives a list of suggestions in her article "Why ‘Read My Book!’ Doesn’t Work…And What To Do Instead" Focus on one or two platforms first, then build from there Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. Pinterest. Google. Youtube. Goodreads. LinkedIn. Tumblr. The list goes on and on. You can be active on all these channels, but it's probably best to pick one or two and work on growing an audience there first. Every social media channel works a little differently, caters to a different audience, and has savvy users who expect others to use the network a certain way. The Book Designer's "Do You Make These Online Marketing Mistakes?" offers tips, such as establishing one audience per channel and using landing pages. Social Media Just for Writers also recommends researching your target market and then choosing your social media platform based on that in "How to Stop Wasting Time and Focus Your Book Marketing." For advice on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and YouTube, read DBW's "The Book Marketing Social Media Hierarchy: Which Sites to Use for Which Purposes." Business Insider broke down the demographics of some of the social media platforms. According to them, the 45- to 54-year-old demographic is growing, "27% of 18 to 29-year-olds in the U.S. use Twitter," LinkedIn and Google+ are mostly male, Pinterest is mostly women on tablets, and Tumblr is mostly teens and young adults. Eventually you can expand into other platforms. For a case study on why, read Kate Tilton's "Why I Use Different Social Media Networks (And You Should Too) by @K8Tilton." For help determining which platform is best for you, read these articles: "Instagram: Should You Be On It?" on Indies Unlimited "How Tumblr Turned a Book Into a Bestseller" on GoodeReader "Pinterest Unveils Buyable Pins, A Way To Purchase Things Directly Within Pinterest" on TechCrunch "Pinterest Update: More Ways Authors Can Use Pinterest!" on Writers Win "Indie Author Marketing Guide: Pinterest" on Musings and Marvels "How I Made it to the Front Page of BuzzFeed Twice, and How You Can Too" on Matthew Barby "Surprising News in Social Media – And a Twitter Tip" on Social Media Just for Writers "Indie Author Marketing Guide: Twitter" on Musings and Marvels "Guest Post: 8 Secrets to Increase Your Twitter Followers" on Musings and Marvels "Guest Post: What Everybody Ought To Know About Facebook Account Management" on Musings and Marvels "Guest Post: Want to Step Up Your Facebook?" on Musings and Marvels "Indie Author Marketing Guide: Goodreads" on Musings and Marvels "Indie Author Marketing Guide: LinkedIn" on Musings and Marvels "Indie Author Marketing Guide: Google Plus" on Musings and Marvels "Which Social Media and Marketing Tools Are Publishers Actually Using Successfully" on DBW Strategize how you will build your platform Erindor Press's "Platform Building Primer" is a good start, and advocates setting expectations and figuring out the best way to share content, either via blogging, email newsletters, or something else (and you can use social media to promote that content). The Loneliest Planet shared a post, called "One Writer's Platform (Part 2) Events and PR," which goes over techniques of marketing offline (such as doing public readings and lectures) but also adds that it's worth taping these performances and uploading them to Youtube to share. Use lots of images/visuals People tend to engage more with posts, tweets, etc. that are visual. According to Rebekah Radice's "5 Steps to Get Massive Engagement With Your Visual Content," "43% of social media users share pictures." She recommends having consistent colors, using templates, appropriate fonts, and to create infographics, images, and videos. Build Book Buzz recommends creating different types of images, including picture quotes, tipographics, and infographics. For tips on how to actually create these images, read Social Media Just For Writer's "Writers: Use Visuals to Market Your Books." Make use of social media tools Here's a list of resources, along with helpful tips and links to additional tools: Kate Tilton Social Media Resources Kate Tilton Authors on Instagram Kate Tilton Book Bloggers on Instagram Social Media Examiner Storyfinds Momentum RelayStation Magnolia Media Network Books Go Social Keep up to date on new platforms and tools Lastly, the social media landscape is constantly changing, so it's good to stay up to date. One example of a relatively new tool/platform is Aerbook, which according to PW turns social media into a virtual bookstore. Earlier this year, Social Media Just for Writers wrote about how indie authors can use Aerbook, which allows you to share previews and even sell ebooks on social media networks, as well as see analytics on your shares. According to the article, there are three product plans to choose from: Aerbook Retail is free, no credit card required. It gives you the social look inside the book, email capture popups within the sample, stats on how the book is used, and the ability to share the link and also get web page widgets that launch the Aerbook. This plan lets you sell the book directly through Aerbook, and our service earns 15% of the purchase price after credit card fees are deducted. Aerbook Plus gives you everything Aerbook Retail delivers, plus lets you add links to other retailers, like Amazon, iBooks, or even your own purchase page. Aerbook Plus is $49 per year. Aerbook Flyer includes everything above, but there’s no direct sale through Aerbook’s commerce service. You’ll add links to other retailers. Flyer also lets you do book giveaways, and includes 500 directly delivered, complete books annually. Flyer is $99 per year. Got any social media tips? Please share in the comments!

With so many new books being published each year, the options for finding new reads are practically endless. More lists catering to different audiences have been springing up over the past couple years to help book buyers. But this post is for both readers and writers. For readers, there are many lists out there that cater to ebooks, and in some cases, to indie ebooks. If … [Read more...] about Finding Ebook Bestsellers

The Art of Flipping (Books?)

Friday, December 6, 2013 by Sabrina Ricci

I'm in the process of looking to buy my first house (exciting and terrifying, I know!). One thing I've noticed is listings for houses on sale tend to use the same key phrases: spacious rooms, great light, charming, near x, y, z freeway, close to shopping, etc. However, even though on paper a house may sound perfect, in person they can be completely different. In the past few … [Read more...] about The Art of Flipping (Books?)

E-Reading Reviews: A Roundup of the Latest E-Book Readers

Wednesday, December 4, 2013 by Sabrina Ricci

By Tom Erik Dale – Sainsbury's eBooks With the holidays come new and improved e-readers, with better screens and more features to make reading more pleasurable. Tom Erik Dale, from Sainsbury's eBooks, has written a helpful guide detailing the pros and cons of the three most popular new e-readers. Read on. E-books are great. Not so much for swatting those off-putting flies, … [Read more...] about E-Reading Reviews: A Roundup of the Latest E-Book Readers

Books in Browsers 2013

Thursday, October 31, 2013 by Sabrina Ricci

I went to my second Books in Browsers last week (see last year's recap day 1 and recap day 2), and was not disappointed! For those who many not know, Books in Browsers is "a small summit for the new generation of internet publishing companies, focusing on developers and designers who are building and launching tools for online storytelling, expression, and art." It takes place … [Read more...] about Books in Browsers 2013

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Books for Indie Authors

Books for Indie Authors

Your First 1000 Copies: The Step-by-Step Guide to Marketing Your Book
Your First 1000 Copies: The Step-by-Step Guide to Marketing Your Book
by Tim Grahl
tagged: indie-publishing and to-read
The Author Training Manual: Develop Marketable Ideas, Craft Books That Sell, Become the Author Publishers Want, and Self-Publish Effectively
it was amazing
The Author Training Manual: Develop Marketable Ideas, Craft Books That Sell, Become the Author Publishers Want, and Self-Publish Effectively
by Nina Amir
Other reviewers have called The Author Training Manual a must-read, and I have to agree. Nina Amir has compiled a great amount of research, experience, and real-life samples that can help any other, self-published, traditionally publishe...
tagged: indie-publishing

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