eBooks

The E-book as a Starting Point to Print Publishing? - article

Molly Blaisdell — Wed, 25 Mar 2020 17:23:40 GMT

Current Revision posted to eBooks by Molly Blaisdell on 3/25/2020 5:23:40 PM

Many authors see an e-book as a starting place for their publishing dreams. Their ultimate goal is to publish their book as a print book. This is certainly possible, as illustrated by the story of Amanda Hocking’s self-published e-books that caught fire through the following she built through her platform of networked blogs. Her efforts ultimately led to sales of over a million dollars and then to a traditional publishing contract.

Other authors have also found their way from e-book to print success. Author Victorine E. Lieske e-published and found her way onto the New York Times Best Sellers list with her suspense romances. She now offers paperback covers of her novels on her website. Yet another success story is Aaron Patterson’s. He achieved a No. 1 Amazon Kindle Best Selling Book status with his e-Book and now also sells print books. For more success e-book stories, check out Novlr , a website dedicated to reading, writing, and Internet fiction. Generally, successful e-Book authors redistribute with indie-published print books.

Heady stuff, but don’t go crazy with excitement because only relatively few authors are achieving this kind of success. Proceed with the idea that you might succeed if you work hard, your content is excellent, and you educate yourself. There are a myriad of print-on-demand publishing (POD) options available to successful e-book authors. Check out these various POD publisher options from such author sites as AuthorHouse, iUniverse and Xlibris, to expand the reach of your books. More such companies are Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing and Lulu. Be aware that print options continue to evolve. Author Solutions has partnered with several traditional publishing companies to provide a hybrid-platform for self-published authors.

Finally, no one can guarantee that your book will be a hit. All publishing is a risk. The beauty of e-publishing is you have a chance to test the waters before trying paper copies. The low production costs and the ability to test the popularity of a book in the market helps self-published authors make informed decisions. Research the success stories. If your e-books achieve significant sales, educating yourself will put you a step ahead of the competition, if you should later decide to print books.

Tags: article, fiction, Nonfiction

The Dos and Don’ts for New Authors Publishing eBooks on Amazon

A.G. Billig — Tue, 03 Sep 2019 15:04:49 GMT

Current Revision posted to eBooks by A.G. Billig on 9/3/2019 3:04:49 PM

Amazon is a massive marketplace and the competition to attract and retain readers is very high. There are two main advantages to having your eBook for sale on Amazon:

1) it’s a global marketplace so you can reach readers all over the world
2) you have more control over the product (your book) and how it’s marketed

Author and book PR/marketing expert A.G. Billig encourages first time authors to make their books available for sale on Amazon, but advises that it's important to do it right. First and foremost, if you are publishing your eBook using Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, it’s critical to have a high quality product. This means a well-edited book with an attractive cover and title to draw potential buyers in. Second, Billig recommends that authors complete all of the book metadata that Amazon offers, including the description, author bio, and long tail keywords (3 or 4 word phrases). Amazon is ultimately a search engine, so this data will help with your book’s searchability. Finally, Billig advises authors to make the paperback version of their book available for sale in addition to the eBook. There are still readers that enjoy the physical copy of a book and you might need physical copies as well. Billig also offers several points of caution for first-time Amazon authors. Watch the video below to learn more!

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../TheDosandDontsforNewAuthorsPublishingeBooksonAmazon.mp4

Tags: fiction, Nonfiction, video

The Dos and Don’ts for New Authors Publishing eBooks on Amazon

A.G. Billig — Tue, 03 Sep 2019 15:02:46 GMT

Revision 1 posted to eBooks by A.G. Billig on 9/3/2019 3:02:46 PM

Amazon is a massive marketplace and the competition to attract and retain readers is very high. There are two main advantages to having your eBook for sale on Amazon:

1) it’s a global marketplace so you can reach readers all over the world
2) you have more control over the product (your book) and how it’s marketed

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../TheDosandDontsforNewAuthorsPublishingeBooksonAmazon.mp4

Tags: fiction, Nonfiction, video

eBook Distribution Tips for Beginner Indie Authors

Amy Collins — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 16:08:31 GMT

Current Revision posted to eBooks by Amy Collins on 12/17/2018 4:08:31 PM

Amy Collins, President of New Shelves Books, explains the best way to distribute your eBooks. One eBook distributor that she loves is Kindle Direct Publishing. This platform not only publishes your book, but it also offers marketing services. However, Collins does not recommend signing up for Amazon’s Kindle Select program, as it limits your distribution rights. In addition to Amazon KDP, you can go through KOBO Direct. They do a partnership with Overdrive, which is a large door into the library market. This, by the way, is a surprisingly healthy market for eBooks. But don’t stop there! Get your eBook into all the direct places you can, such as Barnes & Noble Nook. And finally, go to Draft2Digital to get your book into places that don’t offer a direct option. If you're curious about these terms or why these ideas are crucial to your indie book sales, listen to Collins in the clip below!

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../eBookDistributionTipsforBeginnerIndieAuthors.mp4

Tags: fiction, Nonfiction, Subscriber, video

eBook Distribution Tips for Beginner Indie Authors

Amy Collins — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 18:29:29 GMT

Revision 1 posted to eBooks by Amy Collins on 12/7/2018 6:29:29 PM

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../eBookDistributionTipsforBeginnerIndieAuthors.mp4

Tags: fiction, Nonfiction, Subscriber, video

eBooks A Great Serial Medium - podcast

John McAlester — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 19:40:27 GMT

Current Revision posted to eBooks by John McAlester on 11/15/2018 7:40:27 PM

With all of the complexities of publishing, the industry has become either further confused by the new worlds opened by the internet. We have some tips for writers to help them navigate this new territory. John McAlester, founder of PigeonLab, talks about how eBooks are following televisions lead with smaller portions of stories, making short stories into a "series" of sorts. The low barrier to entry changes the world of series and can do things that printed books or books that go through a publishing house cannot. Learn more in the clip below!

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../JohnMcAlestereBooksAGreatSerialMedium.mp3

Tags: fiction, Nonfiction, Subscriber, podcast

eBooks A Great Serial Medium - video

John McAlester — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 19:39:52 GMT

Current Revision posted to eBooks by John McAlester on 11/15/2018 7:39:52 PM

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../JohnMcAlestereBooksAGreatSerialMedium.mp4

Tags: fiction, Nonfiction, Subscriber, video

How the Internet has Changed Publishing - podcast

John McAlester — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 19:33:55 GMT

Current Revision posted to eBooks by John McAlester on 11/15/2018 7:33:55 PM

John McAlester, founder of PigeonLab, discusses how the internet has changed the publishing world and how authors can benefit from the rapid changes. With all of the complexities of publishing, the industry has become either further confused by the new worlds opened by the internet. We have some tips for writers to help them navigate this new territory. With traditional publishing declining in popularity, much of the work and impetus lies on the back of the author. The content moves around in much different ways than it did before. Listen to the clip below to find out more!

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../JohnMcAlesterHowtheInternethasChangedPublishing.mp3

Tags: fiction, Nonfiction, Subscriber, podcast

How the Internet has Changed Publishing - video

John McAlester — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 19:33:32 GMT

Current Revision posted to eBooks by John McAlester on 11/15/2018 7:33:32 PM

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../JohnMcAlesterHowtheInternethasChangedPublishing.mp4

Tags: fiction, Nonfiction, Subscriber, video

ePublishing only? - podcast

John McAlester — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 19:27:35 GMT

Current Revision posted to eBooks by John McAlester on 11/15/2018 7:27:35 PM

John McAlester, founder of PigeonLab, talks about how eBooks work well with most types of books, and when you might want to consider print books. With all of the complexities of publishing, the industry has become either further confused by the new worlds opened by the internet. We have some tips for writers to help them navigate this new territory. There are certain genres McAlester highlights that work even better in ePublishing, specifically because of the lack of financial barriers. But what about children’s books? Is it wise to publish those in an ebook format.

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../JohnMcAlesterPrintbookvseBooks.mp3

Tags: fiction, Nonfiction, Subscriber, podcast

ePublishing only? - video

John McAlester — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 19:27:08 GMT

Current Revision posted to eBooks by John McAlester on 11/15/2018 7:27:08 PM

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../JohnMcAlesterPrintbookvseBooks.mp4

Tags: fiction, Nonfiction, Subscriber, video

Trends in Online Publishing - podcast

Sam Slaughter — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 19:25:54 GMT

Current Revision posted to eBooks by Sam Slaughter on 11/8/2018 7:25:54 PM

Sam Slaughter, VP of Content, Contently.Com shares the trends that he sees in online publishing. He’s talking about the way that you can get your content to the computer screens of more people. In particular, he names “sharability” even more than search optimization. What is this shift all about? This trend is even keeping robots from taking over the online world. How does the quality of your content change the way that people interact with it? Listen to the clip below as Slaughter describes the growing way that people are discovering content.

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../TrendsinOnlinePublishing.mp3

Tags: fiction, Nonfiction, Subscriber, podcast

Trends in Online Publishing - video

Sam Slaughter — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 19:25:46 GMT

Current Revision posted to eBooks by Sam Slaughter on 11/8/2018 7:25:46 PM

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../TrendsinOnlinePublishing.mp4

Tags: fiction, Nonfiction, Subscriber, video

Choosing Which Book Formats to Publish: eBooks Vs. Print - article

Suzette Conway — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 18:22:29 GMT

Current Revision posted to eBooks by Suzette Conway on 7/10/2018 6:22:29 PM

When the process of writing is finally completed, what should a diligent author do next? One of the biggest considerations is to define the format for your book. Will you create it as an ebook or a print book or both? There are a number of considerations, including costs, distribution, time to market, and audience reach.

Upfront Costs
Whether you choose print or ebook format, there are some standard development costs. With either format you’ll need to design the cover and the interior of the book and you’ll want an editor to review it for quality, structure, grammar, and more. This is true whether you publish traditionally or independently. The only difference is who bears those costs – the publisher (traditional path) or you (independent, supported self, or DIY publishing).

Printing Costs
There are other costs that are impacted by the format you choose for your book. For instance, printing a book is expensive because it costs money to print (paper, ink, and equipment) and bind the book. Also, if it is a hardcover book, it’s necessary to print the dust jacket in full color. By contrast, creating an ebook is significantly less expensive (and in some cases free depending on the service provider and level of quality) because it’s only a digital file. There are no covers to print in color, no paper required, no ink, nothing to bind.

Distribution
Distribution is another cost consideration. With ebooks, there is no shipping and no employee labor required to handle the books. It’s all digital. Readers simply download a file from the eRetailer. So it’s cheaper. But with print books there is a need to distribute the product, which costs money. Managing books in a warehouse, shipping books, having someone put them on shelves in stores, handling returns… it all costs money. Even if you choose print on demand technology, reducing the effort involved in managing books (i.e. no warehouse of books to handle) you still have a cost. The print on demand (POD) approach, in which the book is only printed when it is ordered, means you don’t have to order hundreds of copies and store them until they are sold. The POD method often has a higher per-book cost to account for this convenience. The other option is offset printing, in which many copies of a book are printed at one time. This brings the per book printing cost down, but the overall cost is often higher because someone must pre-pay for the printing of those books (often in minimum quantities such as 500 or more books) and then hope to sell them all to recoup the costs.

Another cost consideration is the number of people involved. If you print a book, there are more people involved in the distribution and sale of the product and every one of them gets a cut (your publisher if traditionally published, the distributors, and the retailers (bookstores and beyond). Even if you as the author want to get a copy, you have to pay for it. Every book you receive, whether you are selling it or giving it away, is going to cost you. Typically you, as the author, will receive them at cost, with discounts for bulk orders. But there is still a cost. If you produce an ebook, distribution effort and the related costs are reduced, keeping more of the revenue in your pocket.

Time to Market

How fast you can get a book to market is another consideration when choosing formats. It is not uncommon for traditionally published books to be published 12-18 months after they are ready for market. Even self- published authors will find it can take several months to get a print book ready and released. However, ebooks can be uploaded to DIY retail sites for sale and distribution in a couple of hours (once they are formatted and ready to go). So ebooks can be ready to sell much faster than print books.

Audience Reach
Another factor in choosing between ebooks and print books is your audience reach. While the ebook market is growing, it still only represents a fraction of the market. Print books still dominate for now. So even though ebooks are faster and less expensive to produce, they don’t reach every potential reader. Whether you publish traditionally or independently will be a consideration here. If your book is traditionally published your publisher will print and distribute the print book and they will be able to get the book into all the traditional outlets (bookstores, discount stores, specialty stores, etc.). If you have self-published, distribution is often up to you, unless it's included in the publishing package you purchased. With print books this means you must be the one to get the book on the retailer shelves. Unfortunately, many physical retailers (brick & mortar stores) are hesitant to sell self-published books. So you have to get creative about where and how you sell the book.

So does this mean you have to choose only one format – print or ebook? Absolutely not. If you publish in both formats, those die-hard paper readers can order their copies. At the same time, ebooks will keep you competitive and able to reap the reward of those instant deliveries and sales. When you want to get a couple of copies shelved in your public library or on the shelf of your favorite small bookstore, you'll have that option with your print editions. At the same time, you will be able to refer online reviewers, interviewers, and the press to the readily available electronic version.

Only you can decide on what’s best. Review your goals for the book – commercial and otherwise. Then review the options and considerations above. Many authors choose to publish in both print and ebook format. But a growing trend, especially among self-published authors, is to focus on ebooks only.

Tags: article, fiction, Nonfiction

Choosing Which Book Formats to Publish: eBooks Vs. Print - article

Suzette Conway — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 15:09:30 GMT

Revision 4 posted to eBooks by Suzette Conway on 7/10/2018 3:09:30 PM

When the process of writing is finally completed, what should a diligent author do next? One of the biggest considerations is to define the format for your book. Will you create it as an eBook or a print book or both? There are a number of considerations, including costs, distribution, time to market, and audience reach.

Upfront Costs
Whether you choose print or eBook format, there are some standard development costs. With either format you’ll need to design the cover and the interior of the book and you’ll want an editor to review it for quality, structure, grammar, and more. This is true whether you publish traditionally or independently. The only difference is who bears those costs – the publisher (traditional path) or you (independent, self, or DIY publishing).

Printing Costs
There are other costs that are impacted by the format you choose for your book. For instance, printing a book is expensive because it costs money to print (paper, ink, and equipment) and bind the book. Also, if it is a hard cover book it’s necessary to print the dust jacket in full color. By contrast, creating an eBook is significantly less expensive (and in some cases free depending on the service provider and level of quality) because it’s only a digital file. There are no covers to print in color, no paper required, no ink, nothing to bind.

Distribution
Distribution is another cost consideration. With eBooks, there is no shipping and no employee labor required to handle the books. It’s all digital. Readers simply download a file from the eRetailer. So it’s cheaper. But with print books there is a need to distribute the product, which costs money. Managing books in a warehouse, shipping books, having someone put them on shelves in stores, handling returns… it all costs money. Even if you choose Print on Demand technology, reducing the effort involved in managing books (i.e. no warehouse of books to handle) you still have a cost. The print on demand (POD) approach, in which the book is only printed when it is ordered, means you don’t have to order hundreds of copies and store them until they are sold. The POD method often has a higher per-book cost to account for this convenience. The other option is offset printing, in which many copies of a book are printed at one time. This brings the per book printing cost down, but the overall cost is often higher because someone must pre-pay for the printing of those books (often in minimum quantities such as 500 or more books) and then hope to sell them all to recoup the costs.

Another cost consideration is the number of people involved. If you print a book, there are more people involved in the distribution and sale of the product and every one of them gets a cut (your publisher if traditionally published, the distributors, and the retailers (bookstores and beyond). Even if you as the author want to get a copy, you have to pay for it. Every book you receive, whether you are selling it or giving it away, is going to cost you. Typically you, as the author, will receive them at cost, with discounts for bulk orders. But there is still a cost. If you produce an eBook, distribution effort and the related costs are reduced, keeping more of the revenue in your pocket.

Time to Market

How fast you can get a book to market is another consideration when choosing formats. It is not uncommon for traditionally published books to be published 12-18 months after they are ready for market. Even self- published authors will find it takes several months to get a print book ready and released. However, eBooks can be uploaded to DIY retail sites for sale and distribution in a couple of hours (once they are formatted and ready to go). So eBooks can be ready to sell much faster than print books.

Audience Reach
Another factor in choosing between eBooks and print books is your audience reach. While the eBook market is growing, it still only represents a fraction of the market. Print books still dominate for now. So even though eBooks are faster and less expensive to produce, they don’t reach every potential reader. Whether you publish traditionally or independently will be a consideration here. If your book is traditionally published your publisher will print and distribute the print book and they will be able to get the book into all the traditional outlets (bookstores, discount stores, specialty stores, etc.). If you have self-published, distribution is often up to you, unless it's included in the publishing package you purchased. With print books this means you must be the one to get the book on the retailer shelves. Unfortunately, many physical retailers (brick & mortar stores) are hesitant to sell self-published books. So you have to get creative about where and how you sell the book. There are tons of options and you can find more information about this here on the Author Learning Center.

So does this mean you have to choose only one path – print or eBook? Absolutely not. If you publish in both formats, those die-hard paper readers can order their copies. At the same time, eBooks will keep you competitive and able to reap the reward of those instant deliveries and sales. When you want to get a couple of copies shelved in your public library or on the shelf of your favorite small bookstore, you'll have that option with your print editions. At the same time, you will be able to refer online reviewers, interviewers, and the press to the readily available electronic version.

Only you can decide on what’s best. Review your goals for the book – commercial and otherwise. Then review the options and considerations above. Many authors choose to publish in both print and eBook format. But a growing trend, especially among self-published authors, is to focus on eBooks only.

Tags: article, fiction, Nonfiction

eBook Publishing: eBooks Vs. Print - article

Suzette Conway — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 15:08:43 GMT

Revision 3 posted to eBooks by Suzette Conway on 7/10/2018 3:08:43 PM

When the process of writing is finally completed, what should a diligent author do next? One of the biggest considerations is to define the format for your book. Will you create it as an eBook or a print book or both? There are a number of considerations, including costs, distribution, time to market, and audience reach.

Printing Costs
There are other costs that are impacted by the format you choose for your book. For instance, printing a book is expensive because it costs money to print (paper, ink, and equipment) and bind the book. Also, if it is a hard cover book it’s necessary to print the dust jacket in full color. By contrast, creating an eBook is significantly less expensive (and in some cases free depending on the service provider and level of quality) because it’s only a digital file. There are no covers to print in color, no paper required, no ink, nothing to bind.

Another cost consideration is the number of people involved. If you print a book, there are more people involved in the distribution and sale of the product and every one of them gets a cut (your publisher if traditionally published, the distributors, and the retailers (bookstores and beyond). Even if you as the author want to get a copy, you have to pay for it. Every book you receive, whether you are selling it or giving it away, is going to cost you. Typically you, as the author, will receive them at cost, with discounts for bulk orders. But there is still a cost. If you produce an eBook, distribution effort and the related costs are reduced, keeping more of the revenue in your pocket.

Time to Market

How fast you can get a book to market is another consideration when choosing formats. It is not uncommon for traditionally published books to be published 12-18 months after they are ready for market. Even self- published authors will find it takes several months to get a print book ready and released. However, eBooks can be uploaded to DIY retail sites for sale and distribution in a couple of hours (once they are formatted and ready to go). So eBooks can be ready to sell much faster than print books.

Only you can decide on what’s best. Review your goals for the book – commercial and otherwise. Then review the options and considerations above. Many authors choose to publish in both print and eBook format. But a growing trend, especially among self-published authors, is to focus on eBooks only.

Tags: article, fiction, Nonfiction

How Offering Discounts on eBooks Can Generate More Revenue for Authors

Penny Sansevieri — Wed, 02 May 2018 12:36:44 GMT

Current Revision posted to eBooks by Penny Sansevieri on 5/2/2018 12:36:44 PM

It sounds counterintuitive, but offering discounts on your eBooks on Amazon, or even offering them for free, can increase an author's overall revenue. How? By promoting these discounts through eBook promotional sites such as BookBub, BookGorilla, and Kindle Nation Daily, and gaining new readers. Author Marketing Experts CEO Penny Sansevieri has seen good success in using this approach with the authors she helps promote. She finds that it can be really effective when an author has multiple published books or a series of books and the deals can be rotated between them. The eBook promotional sites can provide a lot of visibility for an author and can pull in new readers. Another way to give your eBook a boost on Amazon specifically, she says, is to offer occasional discounts which can improve your discoverability.

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../How-Offering-Discounts-on-eBooks-Can-Generate-More-Revenue-for-Authors.mp4

Tags: fiction, Nonfiction, video

Don't Limit Your Market Share By Just Doing an eBook - podcast

Randy Kuckuck — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 15:51:48 GMT

Current Revision posted to eBooks by Randy Kuckuck on 11/21/2017 3:51:48 PM

Founder of PublishNext challenges authors to reach as many readers as possible by releasing their book in various forms.

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../RandyKuckuckDontLimitYourMarketSharebyDoingJustaneBook.mp3

Tags: fiction, Nonfiction, Subscriber, podcast

Don't Limit Your Market Share By Just Doing an eBook - video

Randy Kuckuck — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 15:51:23 GMT

Current Revision posted to eBooks by Randy Kuckuck on 11/21/2017 3:51:23 PM

Founder of PublishNext challenges authors to reach as many readers as possible by releasing their book in various forms.

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../RandyKuckuckDontLimitYourMarketSharebyDoingJustaneBook.mp4

Tags: fiction, Nonfiction, Subscriber, video

How The Publishing Industry Has Changed Over the Past Decade - video

Christie Henry — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 09:53:48 GMT

Current Revision posted to eBooks by Christie Henry on 6/2/2017 9:53:48 AM

Christie Henry, editorial director at University of Chicago Press, shares her insights on how the publishing industry has changed over the past 10 years. She focuses on the availability of content to both readers and acquisitions editors, as well as the effects of increased choice and more free stories.

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../HowThePublishingIndustryHasChangedOverthePastDecade.mp4

Tags: fiction, Nonfiction, Subscriber, video