E Publishing ... Pros, Cons..?

I'm about ready to take the E publishing plunge

Being complete Novice at this, I'm wondering if those here who are more knowledgeable on the topic could please chime in and make suggestions as to who I should publish with? I've looked into Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kindle, NOOK etc. Any info in this regard would be very much appreciated..

Anyone have experience?

Any advice would be helpful

Thanks.

I'm headed out the door, I'll check in later after work.


John

a reply to: SLAYER69

Here are some questions.

Realistically, how much money would you like to make?

Has your book been edited?

Do you have a promotional budget?

What genre is your book?

I'd say get in touch with TrueAmerican and see which way he went when he published his. I bought it from Amazon, but I have no idea which publisher he used.

a reply to: SLAYER69
You should contact JustMike. JustMike's new book

I know your a great writer. I will buy your book.

a reply to: SLAYER69

I'm in the same boat as you-I need advice and have been working on a subject that I hope makes the cut it so any advice you get would be helpful to others as well.

I dunno...have you posted a chapter in the short stories forum to get some feedback? I've been thinking about doing that so I can get some constructive criticism. As for getting a full E book published? I've Not a clue. All you can do is slap a copyright on your work and and ask around. Good luck.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

I would not put your chapter on ATS. It is then considered published. ATS has the right to use it. It is in the T&C. I know they would not use it but they could.

a reply to: Quantum12

Ah...Well Then of course I'd Advise Slayer not to do that.

Perhaps maybe an "alpha" like they do with video games-a preview that does not represent the final product and where the names and pretense has changed.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie
Right, that is the way.

My neighbor is a self published through Amazon ....he has 2 books out already. I'm not sure how much he's selling ...of course that depends on the book topic, etc. He preferred that route over the others, as he said it was hard to get a publisher and Amazon was the best choice. ...also, he and his partner were school teacher so they did their own proofing. If I find out more from him I'll re post info for you.

a reply to: SLAYER69

"How to publish your book on Amazon"
Publish your book on Amazon

a reply to: SLAYER69

No one seems to have mentioned it much yet, buuuuuuuuut ... publish in a format that suits your readers?

Demographics are different, people are different etc ... If you're going to a convention and you're advertising that way you might want some free paper copies. If it's a comic convention you might get away with giving out some promo codes and promoting digitally. If it's a crime writers conference you maybe want to stay physical etc ...

Guess only other thing in my mind is that you need fans before anyone cares who you're published with. Have seen a few people get obsessed with which company they're published by, or try the strategy of being exposed in multiple markets ... ultimately the time you spend publishing in a pile of areas will be better spent setting up a reading at a genre con or even writing to an agent IMO.

a reply to: Pinke

You have a great point. Nicely said!

When I was in college we used www.magcloud.com...

Hey everyone

Thanks for the info and for providing the links. Checking them out now.

OK, you'd never suspect it by my posts here but putting words together is my primary source of income right now. In my experience, Amazon (createspace for paper, kindle for e) is the best route to go. It's both the cheapest and allows the highest sales.

One book that I have self-published, for example, generates about $800 per month for kindle sales. The exact same book is also for sale via Nook (B&N) and generates about $20 a month. No joke. I actually recently pulled the Nook edition so that I could be exclusive to Kindle - which allows you to generate cash when people borrow it through their online lending system.

I know the knee-jerk reaction is sometimes negative when dealing with a mega-company like amazon, but they have become my bread and butter. They really allow independent artists have a chance to make it. They have "self-published" audio book options, videos, and music. It's hard to make a profit as an independent writer, but it is possible with perseverance, talent, and (let's be honest) luck.

Congratulations and good luck to you!

Please, for the love of god I beg of you -- have it edited. Please!

I cannot express this enough. I can't tell you how many self-published books I've seen with horrible grammatical errors, spelling errors, missing words, ect. Today with self-publishing being so accessible, everyone fancies themselves a great novelist and writer ...

Please ... try and read your works out loud. If you find them long-winded with run on sentences, EDIT! If you are gasping for air trying to finish a long passage, you're doing it wrong! You aren't going to loose your reader by using periods!

Your writing should sound natural when read aloud. Please, PLEASE make sure it does! I beg of you!

Yes, god, Edit twice, Edit three times, Edit some more!

The quality of self published works on Amazon is so poor I just don't even bother with them anymore.

a reply to: SLAYER69
Hi Slayer,

I published my book recently and it was released via Amazon and CreateSpace. Amazon is my main sales point, CreateSpace (who print my paperback version) is just there in case anyone really wants to buy it from them.

There are a lot of things to consider before you publish, but the key ones probably are:
-- if you quote anyone else's IP material in your book (IP = intellectual property), make sure you have obtained all permissions before you publish. This is absolutely essential to avoid any potential grief and expense later on. The "quoting" rules for works of fiction tend to be tougher, especially if you quote from songs, where you'll likely need permission to even use one line of anything that is still under copyright and hence has IP protection. So, be careful! If you can't get permission or it'll cost too much, then you need to edit the material out and rewrite/re-edit as required.

You are the author (and also the publisher), so you are legally responsible for making sure your book is not infringing on anyone's IP rights.

-- make sure your book has been proofed and edited. Some readers might not care about typos or poor practices like e.g. the author using "it's" when they actually mean "its" (ie, the possessive case of "it"), or "typo's" as the plural of "typo" (instead of the correct "typos") and so on. However, many astute and/or knowledgeable readers will quickly pick up that the book has not been proofed or edited properly and mentally assign it to the "just another indie publisher wannabe" scrapheap.

There's another factor that is even more important. Some people have jobs as "readers" and their work is to look out for new material. That is, they read books to see if the story is something their employers might want to buy (eg screen rights), or at least buy an option on those rights. If the book has not been well proofed and edited, they probably won't waste their time on it. There are plenty of other books out there which have been gone over with a fine-toothed comb and won't make them cringe at the ignorant errors as they read. Yes, a typo or two may still slip by everyone, but that's life. As long as you catch almost all of them, even pro "readers" won't be too worried.

-- for print versions, choose a good font that is designed for books. E.g. Times New Roman is not a good font for a book. It was designed as a newspaper font, for text printed in columns. Also, even the font you use for the book's title on the cover can make a big difference. Fonts have their own "feel" and what works for a horror story may not be ideal for a work of fantasy. As your cover is usually the first thing potential readers see, it has to grab them right away and give them a concept of the story. But if the font clashes with any image, then it affects the chances they'll take a closer look and maybe buy it.

-- your cover not only needs to look good, it has to be of a high enough resolution to reproduce well for both print and eBook versions -- and they do not always use the same format of image file. My front cover for KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) is a 1667x2500-pixel jpeg file. My full cover for the print version on CreateSpace had to be "life sized" to fit the actual 6"x9" trade paperback book. So, it's a 13.15" x 9.25" single "flattened" pdf file at 300 DPI. It had to be made slightly over-sized to allow for trimming in the print process and includes 0.9" for the book's spine. And 300 DPI was their specified quality level to produce a good cover image.

-- for a print version, you need an ISBN. If you go via CreateSpace, they will assign you an ISBN on request free of charge. If you publish an eBook via KDP, you do not need an ISBN. Once your book is ready to be released, KDP will assign it a unique code. Not as an ISBN, but so it can be tracked and found on Amazon.

-- an eBook file is not set up the same as a print book file. Most free online conversion software to turn a .doc type file into an eBook file is utter crap. If you don't have the expertise to correctly set up and encode an eBook file, then use a professional service. I used Bookow .com to both typeset my print book and set up my eBook and the results were brilliant and great value for money. (And no, I don't have any shares in the company. I wish I did!)

There are other things but that's enough to be going on with. Feel free to ask me about anything I've mentioned (or haven't!) or shoot me a PM.

a reply to: DAVID64
TA is the publisher. That's how independent publishing works. Amazon just provides the means to get the book out there. They are not the publisher.

Just Mike gave you the low-down on Amazon very nicely indeed!

I am using Amazon Kindle Unlimited for my new fantasy/sci-fi book series. I designed the cover using licensed stock images and photoshop, so I didn't have to fork out for design fees, only the images. It turned out really well. I've done two print-only books through Createspace, one with hefty design fees for the cover (it does look pretty awesome) and the other one with a cover through Createspace's "cover creator" (meh, okay).

A writer friend of mine who is published said that her marketer advised getting over 50 reviews right off the bat. This was a huge challenge for me, and I did not meet it. I have a humble 10 five-star reviews for my book. I then set up a Facebook page for it and use twitter to promote it as well. I will be starting from a better place with the next book, I think... I still feel like I suck at the marketing aspect of it though, and that's my biggest challenge.

As to editing, DON'T choose the "pre=release sales" date closer than you can manage (or at all)!! I made this mistake, thinking I could easily get the book up and edited, no sweat! Then a huge family crisis hit and I was literally editing my book while holding vigil in the hospital ICU. I cringe over a couple small errors I made, but otherwise its well edited.

My published friend went over several of my short stories and returned to me with amazing comments that helped me go deep on editing. I just followed the path she'd laid down and applied her thought-process to the rest of the book she didn't have time to look at.

I'm now working on a sequel/Part II (it is an anthology of short stories and a serial novel), along with a whole other YA series I'm in the process of crafting. I will get my first royalty check soon, and while it is not going to be very much, it feels like a major accomplishment. I hope to keep at it and eventually "make something of myself" as a writer.

Anyway, I wish you the absolute best of luck!

- AB