Successful Ebook
Publishing
Slides: www.TheCreativePenn.com/zurich2/Password: zurich2
with Joanna Penn@thecreativepenn
Sunday, 20 January 2013
J.F.Penn - Author The Creative Penn Ltd
Over 55,000 copies soldRepresented by Irene Goodman Agency NYC
* Multimedia courses
* Non-fiction
* Live workshops/ speaking
* Consulting
Blog live Dec 2008 - full-time income from Sept 2011Sunday, 20 January 2013
(1) Pros & cons of self-publishing
(2) Why ebooks?
(3) How to publish an ebook & budget
(4) Tips for success Sunday, 20 January 2013
* Quicker *me to market & income (but it’s not a get-‐rich-‐quick scheme)
* Total control and choice
* Sell by any means as you retain the rights
* Niche markets perfect
* Get into the game! Test the market and then approach a publisher with evidence of sales. Jump the slush-‐pile to agents & publishers
* You need to do it all yourself, or find professionals to help* For a pro result, you need a budget for pros
* Hard to get distribu*on into physical bookshops
* Less pres*ge than being ‘published’ (but the s*gma is lessening every day)
Independent/ Self-Publishing
Sunday, 20 January 2013
5http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2011/12/09/self-publishing-indie-author-definition/
Self publishing or indie author?
* Truly independent - no publisher. Direct to the
platforms, no middleman (so no
vanity press)
* Indies are entrepreneurs and
business people. They are professionals and
invest in other pros (editors, cover design,
etc)
Sunday, 20 January 2013
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Self-publishing will not ruin your chances at a traditional deal (Writer’s Digest Jane Friedman)
Hugh Howey: Indie author: $150,000
per month in ebook sales. Sold print rights
only to Simon & Schuster.
Film rights optioned by Ridley Scott.
Sunday, 20 January 2013
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Hybrid Model. It’s not an either-or choice anymore* Authors are choosing to have some projects with traditional publishers and others as independent - best of both worlds
* Hugh Howey, CJ Lyons, Scott Sigler, Chuck Wendig ... and many more
* Decide PER PROJECT which might be the best route for your book. Empowerment of the author as the centre of the model.
* A third of traditionally published authors are interested in self-publishing their next book, according to a new survey from Digital Book World and Writer’s Digest.
http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2012/07/30/literary-agent/http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2012/04/26/traditional-self-publishing-not-mutually-exclusive/
Sunday, 20 January 2013
(1) Pros & cons of self-publishing
(2) Why ebooks?
(3) How to publish an ebook & budget
(4) Tips for success Sunday, 20 January 2013
http://smellofbooks.com/aromas/new-book-smell/
“But I will never give up printed books”
“I love the feel and the smell”
“I hate ebooks”
Sunday, 20 January 2013
* Sell to anyone in the world over the internet without printing or shipping costs.
* Huge growth market globally in coming years. US & UK ʻmatureʼ.
* Proliferation of smartphones, tablets & e-readers + kids reading on devices = future
* More profit per book even when priced reasonably, unlike print
* Speed of publishing and changes - 24 hours!
* Lower entry costs, lower risk
www.digitalbookworld.com/2013/ebooks-at-50/
Sunday, 20 January 2013
(1) Pros & cons of self-publishing
(2) Why ebooks?
(3) How to publish an ebook & budget
(4) Tips for success Sunday, 20 January 2013
12
http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php
Write your book and publish it to .mobi and .ePub with Scrivener. It’s only $49 for a once off payment and you can format forever.
For complicated multi-media (but book well in advance) http://ebookarchitects.com/
http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2012/02/04/scrivener/
http://www.bookbaby.com/services/ebookconversion
ROUND-UP POST on publishing here: http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2013/01/15/how-to-publish-a-book-101/
Format your edited manuscript
Sunday, 20 January 2013
http://kdp.amazon.com* Biggest share of ebook market revenue* Direct to all Kindle stores worldwide * Published in 24 hours, change whenever you like - pricing/content etc * KDP Select - your book in lending library and also free promos available for ranking - BUT/ exclusivity* Transparent reporting on ranking, sales & income * Payment by cheque/bank transfer monthly 90 days later
Sunday, 20 January 2013
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Sunday, 20 January 2013
15http://www.kobobooks.com/kobowritinglife
* 20% of the ebook market now - beating B&N Nook, 2nd to Amazon
* Aggressive global expansion
* Partners with independent book stores
* ePub format and user friendly interface
* Electronic payment in author’s currency
Sunday, 20 January 2013
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Apple iBookstore. Non-fiction & kids
http://www.apple.com/itunes/content-providers/book-faq.html
* Can go direct or go through distributors. Direct requires a Mac and US tax number (also required for with-holding tax)
* Kids at home with iPads and being used in some schools. Some kid’s publishers moving to iPad only editions. iBooksAuthor
* Takes time so don’t remove later e.g. for KDP Select. Leave it and promote it.
http://blog.smashwords.com/2012/11/how-to-sell-ebooks-at-apple-ibookstore.html
Sunday, 20 January 2013
www.smashwords.com
www.smashwords.com/books/view/52
* Distributes to all ebook stores so use for the ones you can’t get to directly
* Free to publish to, takes % of sales - so they take the risk, but more money later if you’re successful
* Formatting can be a real pain - for those who like to tinker & DIY or pay one of Smashword’s freelancers. ePub just available or Word.
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145431
Fantastic, free book!Sunday, 20 January 2013
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* Pay cost up front (~$199) and get 100% of royalties - so you take the risk & more money if you succeed * Opt out of Amazon, Kobo etc which we can do directly.
* Easier interface than Smashwords - ePub* Offers a lot more services if you don’t want to DIY * Difficult to change once published
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How does the money work? Upfront Costs: * Professional editing ~£300 - £1000* Cover design - ebook ~£125* Formatting - optional: ~£125
Income: * Amazon: 35% under $2.99. 70% 2.99 - 9.99. Pays monthly, 90 days after, by check/transfer in USD & GBP & EUR. Reconciles to sales report (awesome)
* Kobo. Pays monthly, 45 days after by EFT in author’s currency w/ report
*Smashwords. Quarterly by Paypal * Bookbaby. Set payment limit & paid when it reaches that. Check/EFT/Paypal
Sunday, 20 January 2013
(1) Pros & cons of self-publishing
(2) Why ebooks?
(3) How to publish an ebook & budget
(4) Tips for success Sunday, 20 January 2013
21
You
Customer
Book
* Speaking* Search* Articles/blog* Social* PR etc
* Amazon/ Kindle /Nook/Kobo etc* Browsing lists * Algorithms* Bookstores
Sale / Relationship
People will find your book in two ways
Sunday, 20 January 2013
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** Write more books ** * Most authors need 5+ books before they build enough of an audience to make a decent living
* More digital shelf space, more chance of discovery, more reader word-of-mouth
* More fans, wanting more product
* Better craft & better niche & better list
My own sales growth: * May 2011: $200 (with extensive online platform) * Jan 2013: $4000 (3 fiction, 1 non-fiction)
Sunday, 20 January 2013
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The Secrets Of Amazon Algorithms?* You can never sell as many books as Amazon can
* Personalized emails based on your buying preference
* Recommended for you on home page
* People who bought this, also bought
* Understand your customers, genre & expectations. Deliver on the promise.
* Reviews * Sales
* Ranking over time* Likes * Tags
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Correct category for target market
* Look for categories you can rank in as this helps sales algorithms & gets attention
* You get 2 categories on Kindle as well as print. Tagging can get you into others
* Meet expectations of the category
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25
Book Reviews on Book Sales Page
* Social Proof* Recommendation algorithms. Keeps it selling after the spike.
* Add to your description
* US feeds into other stores so focus there
* Give free copies to your list for reviewing. When you get fan mail, ask them for a review
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Great Book Cover http://bookcovers.creativindie.com/
* Optimize for Amazon page and thumbnail size
* Revamp old books with a new cover* Must be able to read it - be bold
* Look at others in the genre Sunday, 20 January 2013
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Killer Back Blurb & Sales Page* Meta-data * Based on your target market research * Can include table of contents * Use keywords that your target market use * Include review quotes in description box - there’s no limit so use it. * Model successful books * Load on Createspace/ KDP * Also extras on Amazon Central
https://authorcentral.amazon.co.uk/
https://authorcentral.amazon.com/
Sunday, 20 January 2013
Non-Fiction Tip: Use keyword research http://adwords.google.com/o/KeywordTool
* Research keywords on Amazon & Google keyword tool
* Use in book title if possible and keywords when loading to book sites (also works for fiction keywords)
Sunday, 20 January 2013
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The Sampling Effect Or Look Inside the Book
* Ebook readers sample. It’s how we buy. If you don’t hook me in the first 3 clicks/pages, I delete.
* You can get millions of samples, but people have to click Buy.
* Do you jump straight into the meat? Give people a reason to get the rest?
* Have you used beta reader/editor feedback to improve the book & first few chapters?
Sunday, 20 January 2013
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Appropriate Pricing / Price Pulsing
* Amazon royalties: Under $2.99 = 35% , $2.99 - 9.99 = 70%
* $4.99 - $9.99 for non-fiction ebooks. Look in your category/niche at what others are charging. What is your market happy to pay?
* Cost / benefit to the customer?
* There are no rules - you can play with it.
Sunday, 20 January 2013
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Strategic use of Free (ebooks only)
* No.1 strategy of many authors who have done well
* It’s a marketing exercise. Gets you more exposure, more data on Amazon algorithms. * Often translates to paid list for a time afterwards, hence the pulsing. Best if you have multiple books.
* Do it through KDP Select or making free on Smashwords which then translates to the other sites
Sunday, 20 January 2013
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Sunday, 20 January 2013