Overview Self-Publishing: Become an Author Tomorrow! Key Attributes of DIY E-Book Publishing

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1 Overview 1. A very quick look at recent ebook trends and sales data 2. E-book publishing and distribution 3. POD publishing and distribution Self-Publishing: Become an Author Tomorrow! Jane Friedman janefriedman.com 4. Sales and marketing 1 2 Key Attributes of DIY E-Book Publishing 3 (Mostly) free to use At-will basis Nonexclusive * Update quickly and at low cost No gatekeeper You control pricing 4

2 Major E-Book Retailers 3 Primary Types of E-Pub Services Amazon Kindle 70-80% of market; cross-platform Apple ibookstore No. 2 in U.S. Multimedia friendly Limited to Mac users DEVICE & RETAIL DIRECT Highest royalties, typically best merchandising opportunities Kobo Popular in Canada and internationally; cross-platform B&N Nook No. 3 in U.S.; cross-platform DISTRIBUTOR They take about 10% of your net. No upfront fees. BOOK BUILDER & DISTRIBUTOR You create the ebook from scratch using software or cloud-based tools. Fees/rates vary. 5 6 Amazon KDP (Device/Retailer Direct) Kindle Select Program Pays 70% for $2.99-$9.99 ebooks Pays 35% on everything else Delivery costs apply to the 70% royalty option Requires exclusivity for 90 days (automatically renews) Distribution via Kindle Unlimited payments vary Make your book free for 5 days out of

3 Kobo (Device/Retailer Direct) Kindle Unlimited You re paid about half a cent per page read Helps boost Amazon ranking Pays 70% on everything $2.99 and above; pays 45% below $2.99 You can set your price to free Usually essential for new authors 9 99 cents 10 $2.99 $12.99 Amazon 33 cents $2.09 $4.55 Nook Press 40 cents $1.94 $5.20 Apple ibooks 70 cents $2.09 $9.09 Kobo 45 cents $2.09 $ Distributor AND retailer Distributor only You give up about 10% of your profits You give up about 10% of your profits Unlimited, free updates Unlimited, free updates Converts Word to EPUB Better customer service than Smashwords Distribution to outlets that matter the most Word docs or EPUB Widest distribution Couponing 12

4 Full-Color or Illustrated Books: Distribution + Creation Tools Kindle Kids Book Creator Quick Note on ISBNs Not mandatory, still desirable Book Creator for ipad ibooks Author Blurb Word document > EPUB conversion Will you get filet mignon or hamburger? What does conversion mean? Ebook file creation EPUB is the industry standard Conversion usually refers to exporting files from one format into another, without any editing or styling (e.g., converting a Word file into an epub file) Example: If you upload a Word doc to Amazon KDP or Smashwords, it will be meatgrinded into an EPUB. What does formatting mean? Formatting usually refers to hands-on editing and styling to ensure the ebook looks good on an e-reading device 15 16

5 Tools to Produce EPUB Possible Ways to Create a Decent EPUB File Comfortable with tech Apple Pages Scrivener Use Scrivener or Apple Pages to get an EPUB file started easily then fine tune the file using an EPUB editor like Sigil or Calibre. Not comfortable with tech Hire an independent service; pay $50 $300 for average book Upload your Word doc to Draft2Digital, let it covert to EPUB, download EPUB file. Use free Reedsy Editor to generate an EPUB Not as easy Easier Cheap ways to get a printer-ready PDF file Print-based self-publishing 19 Draft2Digital free conversion KDP Print (free) Reedsy s cloud composer/formatting Joel Friedlander s Book Design Templates (less than $100) Print on demand 20

6 Print self-publishing (POD) Once you have printerready PDF files, you re set Upload to CreateSpace (free) + IngramSpark ($60) CreateSpace = print sales to Amazon universe IngramSpark = print sales to everyone else CreateSpace IngramSpark Unit cost (printing) $3.63 $3.94 Earnings if sold at Amazon $5.36 $2.41 Earnings if sold outside of Amazon $2.36 $ Where to find professional assistance My website: janefriedman.com/ resources Reedsy or Bibliocrunch Joel Friedlander s Book Design Templates If you build it, will they come? Independent Publishing Magazine: reviews of assisted self-pub services 23 24

7 Biggest Factors Impacting Sales * 1. Brand awareness with readers 2. # of titles / series 3. Book description + good/complete metadata 4. Pricing 5. Book cover Amazon on-page optimization basics 1. Cover image 2. Look inside 3. Product description 4. Editorial reviews 5. Author bio * aside from a quality book! Product Description Use headline, make it bold, then paragraph break Note what appears above read more Product Description You get 4,000 characters. Use them. Use paragraph breaks Use bold lead-ins and other formatting to pull out important sales points 27 28

8 Choosing your Amazon categories (BISAC) Amazon keywords Do your competitive title research! Pay attention to how readers talk about, categorize, and tag books

9 Pricing for nonfiction Look at competing titles Consider what market signals you send with a cheap price vs. high price Consider your audience Your Book Cover First and most important impression you make Must look good in thumbnail size Go for high contrast, clean, and simple Hire a professional designer Weak E-Book Cover Strong E-Book Covers 35 36

10 Book Covers: Before and After Book Covers: Before and After 37 How ebook pre-orders work Giveaways: to spark reviews or sales, and to establish a readership as a new author Amazon allows you to open pre-orders 90 days in advance; other retailers allow for a longer pre-order period. How pre-orders affect sales rank: 38 On Amazon, it affects your ranking at the time of the order Elsewhere, you enjoy a sales rank bump on your release day when pre-orders are counted 39 Through your website or newsletter list Blog tours Amazon s KDP Select (5 days out of 90) Goodreads: for print only BookBub (paid ad) 40

11 Getting Early Reviews Beta reader program (reach out via or Facebook group) NetGalley ($) Book bloggers Blood, sweat, tears Facebook and Amazon advertising Must be carefully targeted Requires A/B testing and quick tests Amazon ads: only pay for sponsored product ads Learn the ropes from Mark Dawson Social Media as Marketing Tool Social media is mostly about awareness & relationships, not sales. Social media is most effective when you have an existing fan/ reader base My massive marketing resource list

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