E-Books - 5 Top Questions - A brief Intro to Digital Media for Authors Who Haven't Got an idea I'm a fairly techie person. I'm on the pc so much, sometimes It would be more practical to possess a microprocessor implanted straight into my brain and so i wouldn't need to sit at my desk all the time. But although I'm pretty expert with the Internet, social media, WordPress, web pages, etc., there's two areas in which I'm a small late bloomer. The first is mobile technology (I'm going to be talking more about that in a later article). I only just got my first "smart" phone (a Blackberry) under 6 months ago. Even though Sometimes with authors ALL the time, the second area that I am admittedly a late bloomer is the realm of gifs books -- eBooks.
Actually, these two things (mobile technology and digital format books) are extremely, greatly related, and if we authors don't have an idea about them, and just how they work together, we're quite likely to overlook out on half (if not more) of our potential book sales. Actually, many of my clients and colleagues happen to be enjoying #1 bestseller status in eBook rankings much more quickly compared to paperback (particularly in the united states, where eBooks appear to have caught on more rapidly than within Europe...but we're making up ground fast).
booksI did previously think an e-book was just a PDF file which was kind of a duplicate of your print book. Or more until not too long ago, that was true. Then, along came the Kindle, along with a totally new market opened up. But THEN, "smart" mobile technology, such as iPhones, iPads and so many other formats entered onto the scene. It's a confusing quagmire of technology, and it is VERY easy to get overwhelmed using the options.
So I thought I'd write a VERY basic introduction to a few of the practical considerations for eBook creation and distribution for authors who're self-publishing.
Question 1:
Must you bother publishing your book within an electronic format for those who have a print edition?
Answer:
Yes!!! Amazon actually sells MORE Kindle eBook sales than it sells print books! Are you able to believe I did not even own a Kindle until a few months ago? What was I thinking? Besides high sales volume, the truth is you are able to charge less making must more in royalties on an eBook than the usual paperback book.And lastly, eBooks needn't be as long as print book to ensure they are salable. I've bought some excellent eBooks that couldn't happen to be more than 30,000 words, but were worth every penny I taken care of them.
Question 2:
What eBook formats exist? Which format should I use?
Answer:
There are lots of formats, however the two you should concern yourself with most are Kindle (a bespoke format from Amazon) and also the ePub format, which is often used by ipad along with other companies.
books onlineKindle is the big leader in eBook sales (having been around for nearly 5 years now), but ipad is doing currently nearly a quarter of eBook sales finally count. Also, the ePub format is compatible with many other mobile devices aside from the ipad. You need to use BOTH formats, in addition to PDF.
Question 3:
Where must i visit setup accounts for an e-book?
Answer:
My suggestion is to use THREE: Amazon (for Kindle), Lightning Source AND Smashwords for other electronic formats. All of them distribute to completely different channels (the only real overlap I've discovered between LS and Smashword Kobo).
For Kindle, visit the Kindle Direct site and obtain started. Be SURE to read almost all their guidelines before submitting anything. You don't have to come with an ISBN, however i think it is a great idea to possess one.
For Lightning Source, visit their house page and download their list of "CoreSource" Fulfilment partners (you'll probably find about 60 of these, including MBS Books, Lulu, CyberRead, It Depository, Kobo and many others. They deliver eBooks in Adobe Acrobat digital ebook reader, Microsoft Reader, and Palm eBook formats. You WILL need a new ISBN for your eBook version.
Should you go to the Smashwords website, you will see their distribution partners on their webpage as Apple iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, Sony Reader Store, Kobo and the Diesel eBook Store. Again, you do not need an ISBN, however i think it is a lot better to make use of your own, as it associates your book along with you as a publisher, and not with Smashwords.
ebooksQuestion 4:
How do I get my book into gifs for Kindle and ePub? Will i just upload my PDF of my print book?
Answer:
Nope. Each company has their very own formatting guidelines and it's EXTREMELY important you follow them. If formatting isn't your "thing" someone will help you ready your book for digital format. Smashwords will even give back a list of suggested formatters, who're all quite reasonably priced.
The Kindle Direct site is a little confusing (I think it's because their gradually updating their information), but if you hunt around it enough, you'll also find a of suggested places where one can get the book formatted for Kindle. The main one I've been using is known as "LiberWriter" (LOVE the name!) at
http://liberwriter.com/. You can look at them out free of charge, and then if you want to use their services, it's $25 to make use of their do-it-yourself conversion, and $50 to have them format and convert for you personally. Additionally they actually respond to personally to customer support requests (always an advantage).
Question 5:
Let's talk about money. How do you price my book, and what type of royalties will I receive per sale?
Answer:
The short answer to how you can price your book is at LEAST 50% Under your print version. So, in case your print book sells for $15.95, then price your eBook around $7.95 or less. If, however, you use this book pretty much as a promotional tool (instead of a proper "book"), consider selling for as little as $0.99.
Regarding royalties, it is going like this:
Smashwords
Wholesale compensation = 60% of retail (when in love with sites other than their very own)
Example: if your eBook is selling for $7.95, the author would get $4.77.
Whenever your eBook is sold Around the Smashwords site, you get 85%. In other words, in case your eBook is selling for $7.95, the writer would get $6.76.
Lightning Source
LS take 7.5% taken from net (quite simply, the author gets 92.5% of net sales). Net is calculated if you take the list price and subtracting the discount you're giving the distributor. For example, in case your eBook is selling for $7.95 and wholesale discount is 50%, net world be $3.98, and the author would get $3.68. Obviously, you can set your discount in a reduced rate wholesale discount if you wish to achieve a higher profit (example: at 30% discount, you would receive $5.14).
Kindle
You can get as high as a 70% royalty rate from Kindle, minus "delivery" costs. Deliver pricing is relative to your file size. On Amazon.com, the delivery price is $0.15/mb. So, in case your eBook that's selling for $7.95 is 5mb in size, your royalty would be: $7.95 X 0.70 = $5.57 - (5 X $0.15) = $4.82.
NOTE: to qualify for a 70% royalty your Kindle retail price should be between $0.99 and $9.99. If it is higher or lower, you're limited to 35%. That means that you will can even make MORE money selling your Kindle at $9.99 than you would should you be selling it at $18.99, and also you would probably sell a load more Kindle versions of the book should you price it as little as is affordable. For example, I make no more than $5.00 per print copy of my book that sells at $24.95, but I make almost $7.00 on my small Kindle sales that are priced $9.99.
ALSO: The 70% royalty isn't valid in all countries. If you select 70% and your Kindle sells to a person who does not reside in one of the participating countries, you'll receive 35% for all those sales. It's valid in countries for example US, UK, Canada, Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, Switzerland, and many others. The 70% royalty isn't valid (at this moment) for sales designed to residents from the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand and many other countries. See Kindle Direct for that latest report on sales territories that qualify for the 70% royalty.
Please be aware, these prices and calculations are correct at this moment, and may have changed ever since then.
The important thing idea with eBooks is to get your book OUT in as many formats, and in as many distribution channels you can. Make sure that links to where people can buy these products is very visible and simple to find on your website.
I hope this short introduction has given a bit more details about the practical why, how and where of eBooks. There is lots more to talk about, especially steps to make probably the most of your eBook format and the way to sell it off. But, we'll save that for another day.
I would very much welcome to learn about your personal experiences, so please LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW or drop me a line via my website contact page to let me understand what you have learned on your own eBook adventures.
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