E-Books - 5 Top Questions - A Short Intro to Digital Media for Authors Who Haven't Got a Clue I am a fairly techie person. I'm on the pc so much, sometimes I think it could be more practical to have a microprocessor implanted directly into my brain so I wouldn't have to spend time at my desk constantly. But although I'm pretty expert with the Internet, social networking, WordPress, web pages, etc., there's two areas by which I am a bit of a late bloomer. The first is mobile technology (I'm going to be talking much more about that inside a later article). I only just experienced my first "smart" phone (a Blackberry) less than Six months ago. Even though I work with authors Constantly, the 2nd area to which I'm admittedly a late bloomer may be the world of digital format books -- eBooks.
Actually, both of these things (mobile technology and digital format books) are extremely, greatly related, and if we authors do not have a clue about them, and how they work together, we are most probably to miss on half (if not more) in our potential book sales. In fact, a lot of my clients and colleagues have been enjoying #1 bestseller status in eBook rankings much more quickly than in paperback (especially in the US, where eBooks appear to have caught on faster than here in Europe...but we're catching up fast).
booksI used to think an e-book only agreed to be a Pdf that was pretty much a duplicate of your print book. And up until not too long ago, which was true. Then, along came the Kindle, along with a whole new market opened up. But THEN, "smart" mobile technology, such as iPhones, iPads and so a number of other formats entered to the scene. It's a confusing quagmire of technology, and it's Super easy to obtain overwhelmed with the options.
So I thought I'd write a VERY basic summary of some of the practical things to consider for eBook creation and distribution for authors who're self-publishing.
Question 1:
Must you bother publishing your book in an e-mail if you have a print edition?
Answer:
ABSOLUTELY YES!!! Amazon actually sells MORE Kindle eBook sales of computer sells print books! Can you believe I didn't even own a Kindle until a few months ago? What was I thinking? Besides huge sales volume, the simple truth is you can charge less making must more in royalties with an eBook than a paperback book.And finally, eBooks don't have to be so long as print book to make them salable. I have bought some excellent eBooks that couldn't have been more than 30,000 words, but were worth it I paid for them.
Question 2:
What eBook formats are there? Which format must i use?
Answer:
There are many formats, however the two you need to be worried about the majority are Kindle (a bespoke format from Amazon) and the ePub format, which is used by ipad along with other companies.
books onlineKindle may be the big leader in eBook sales (being around for almost Five years now), but ipad is catching up with currently nearly one fourth of all eBook sales finally count. Also, the ePub format works with many other cellular devices besides the ipad. You should use BOTH formats, as well as PDF.
Question 3:
Where do I have to go to set up accounts for an eBook?
Answer:
My suggestion is by using THREE: Amazon (for Kindle), Lightning Source AND Smashwords for other electronic formats. They all distribute to totally different channels (the only overlap I have found between LS and Smashword Kobo).
For Kindle, go to the Kindle Direct site and get started. Make sure to read all their guidelines before submitting anything. It's not necessary to come with an ISBN, but I think it's a good idea to have one.
For Lightning Source, go to their house page and download their listing of "CoreSource" Fulfilment partners (there are probably about 60 of them, including MBS Books, Lulu, CyberRead, The Book Depository, Kobo and many more. They deliver eBooks in Adobe Acrobat ebook Reader, Microsoft Reader, and Palm eBook formats. You may need a new ISBN for your eBook version.
If you go to the Smashwords website, you'll see their distribution partners on their home page as Apple iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, Sony Reader Store, Kobo and also the Diesel eBook Store. Again, you don't need an ISBN, but I think it's a lot easier to make use of your own, as it associates your book with YOU like a publisher, and not with Smashwords.
ebooksQuestion 4:
How do you get my book into digital format for Kindle and ePub? Do I just upload my PDF of my print book?
Answer:
Nope. Each company has their very own formatting guidelines and it is Vitally important you follow them. If formatting is not your "thing" someone can help you prepare your book for gifs. Smashwords will even send you a summary of suggested formatters, who are all quite reasonably priced.
The Kindle Direct website is a little confusing (I believe it is because their gradually updating their information), but when you hunt around it enough, you may have a of suggested places where you can get your book formatted for Kindle. The one I've been using is called "LiberWriter" (LOVE the name!) at
http://liberwriter.com/. You can test them out free of charge, after which if you wish 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. They also actually react to personally to customer support requests (always an advantage).
Question 5:
When it comes to money. How do you price my book, and what type of royalties am i going to receive per sale?
Answer:
The short answer to how to price your book reaches LEAST 50% Under your print version. So, if your print book costs $15.95, then price your eBook around $7.95 or less. If, however, you're using this book more or less like a promotional tool (as opposed to a proper "book"), consider selling as low as $0.99.
Regarding royalties, it goes such as this:
Smashwords
Wholesale compensation = 60% of retail (when sold on sites apart from their very own)
Example: in case your eBook is selling for $7.95, the writer would get $4.77.
When your eBook comes ON the Smashwords site, you get 85%. Quite simply, if your eBook is selling for $7.95, the writer would get $6.76.
Lightning Source
LS take 7.5% obtained from net (in other words, the author gets 92.5% of net sales). Net is calculated by taking their email list price and subtracting the discount you're giving the distributor. For example, if your eBook is selling for $7.95 and wholesale discount is 50%, net world be $3.98, and also the author would get $3.68. Of course, you could set your discount at a much lower rate wholesale discount in order to acquire a higher profit (example: at 30% discount, you would receive $5.14).
Kindle
You will get as high as a 70% royalty rate from Kindle, minus "delivery" costs. Deliver pricing is in accordance with your quality. On Amazon.com, the delivery cost is $0.15/mb. So, in case your eBook that's selling for $7.95 is 5mb in dimensions, your royalty could be: $7.95 X 0.70 = $5.57 - (5 X $0.15) = $4.82.
NOTE: to qualify for a 70% royalty your Kindle list price must be between $0.99 and $9.99. If it's higher or lower, you're restricted to 35%. This means that you'll actually make More income selling your Kindle at $9.99 than you'd if you were selling it at $18.99, and you could possibly sell a load more Kindle versions of the book should you price it as low as is reasonable. For example, I make only about $5.00 per print copy of my book that sells at $24.95, but I make almost $7.00 on my Kindle sales which are priced $9.99.
ALSO: The 70% royalty is NOT valid in most countries. If you select 70% as well as your Kindle sells to someone who not live in one of the participating countries, you will receive 35% for those sales. It IS valid in countries for example US, UK, Canada, Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, Switzerland, and many more. The 70% royalty is NOT valid (as of this writing) for sales made to residents from the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, Nz and several other countries. See Kindle Direct for the latest listing of sales territories that qualify for the 70% royalty.
Please note, these prices and calculations are correct at this moment, and could have changed ever since then.
The key idea with eBooks is to get your book OUT in as many formats, and in as numerous distribution channels you are able to. Make sure that links to where people can purchase these items is extremely visible and easy to find on your website.
I really hope this short introduction has given you a little more details about the practical why, how and where of eBooks. There's a LOT more to speak about, especially how to make the most of the eBook format and how to market it. But, we'll save that for another day.
I would greatly thanks for visiting hear about your personal experiences, so please LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW or drop us a line via my website contact form to allow me know what you've learned during your own eBook adventures.
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