Okay, currently downloaded the Smashwords guide everyone suggested and am in the process of reading it. But after looking at the Smashwords site, I was wondering whether I should publish there or on Kindle? Anyone know which works better?
Okay, currently downloaded the Smashwords guide everyone suggested and am in the process of reading it. But after looking at the Smashwords site, I was wondering whether I should publish there or on Kindle? Anyone know which works better?
I am on Amazon through KDP and have Smashwords distributing to everyone else.
So far all my sales have come through amazon. So I was considering putting one of the books into KDP Select just to see what kind of bump I'd get from lending. I know I would have to remove that book from all other online stores. Just wondering if anyone has done this and can tell me how long it would take for the book to disappear from the Smashwords distribution chain?
I'd hate to end up with a nastygram from Jeff Bezos for violating the exclusivity clause.
So the answer is it depends, but it could take a few months, you might need to get Smashwords to help with troublesome retailers, and you need to keep a close eye on Kobo. But if it does go wrong, Amazon is not going to blacklist you forever because it messed up. (I didn't have any issues with Smashwords during this... they were quick to respond, and did sort Kobo out.)
Speaking of troublesome retailers, I just saw that SW is ending their agreement with Flipkart, for the very reason you mentioned...people going back into Select got slapped down by KDP because their books were still listed on Flipkart. I had the opposite problem--mine never showed up in Flipkart's catalog. In the end, it turned out to be a good thing, because it made it easier for me to go back into Select.
Interesting. So people are *only* doing KDP and no other e-retailers?
All I knew was KDP. Thanks to AW, I heard of Kindle Scout (a little closer to real publishing it looks like) and Smash Words. I got on Smash Words and I really like their navigation. You can get SM to the Kindle by downloading in Kindle format and copying it in using the USB. I'm going back to KDP (since, like the Hotel California, you can check out but you can never leave) -- but not as Select.
Hi Arianna,
I just went through this same dilemma myself when I published my first book last month. Here's what I learned:
It's possible to publish directly to Kindle and Nook (Nook's version is called PubIt), which I recommend doing because you then have complete control over how the end product looks. You also have instant feedback on sales through their dashboards, which is very nice if you're impatient like I am.
I thought that I could publish to other formats on my own as well, but over time learned it wasn't as easy. You can only publish to iBooks if you have a Mac, otherwise you have to go through an aggregator like Smashwords. Kobo has a new service that supposedly allows authors to publish directly, but my experience was not good. They were slow to answer emails and they require an ISBN (which would cost $125 to buy yourself). And other readers, like Sony, don't allow authors to publish direct at all. I tried Google Books, since they sell ebooks, and that was a disaster that I don't care to repeat.
So in the end, I used Smashwords, and I'm pretty happy with it. Their meatgrinder wasn't as hard to get through as I had feared (formatting a Word doc takes a little time to get right, but it was worth the trouble). My ebook through them is less "pretty" (no images - it was too much hassle), but the words are all there, and that's what's most important. I'm still waiting for them to send the book to Sony and Kobo, but it went up on iBooks almost right away, and has been sent to Diesel and another one (I forget the name now).
As for ISBNs, that was an issue that had me confused at first. This is what I learned: you need one for sites like Kobo and iBooks, but not for Amazon or Nook. Those sites supply their own numbers (Amazon's is an ASIN and B&N's is called a BN ID). If you use Smashwords, they give you an ISBN for free. You can't use the Amazon ASIN or B&N"s ID on other sites, and can't use the SW ISBN outside of their service. However, if you do choose to buy an ISBN for your ebook, you would then be able to use it for all the different sites, since you would own it outright. But it costs $125 to buy one from Bowker.
I don't know as much about libraries, but I don't think every ebook on Kindle is available to libraries. The recent news about Kindle is that OverDrive (the major provider of library ebooks) now supports the Kindle device. But to get a book in OverDrive's catalog is probably a different matter entirely, and I don't know how friendly they are to self-pubs.
I hope that wasn't too confusing. I tend to get wordy when I try to explain things. I've been told I would be a terrible teacher.
I use InDesign. Affinity Publisher is also pretty good and is a one-time payment product.And all day I've been going crazy for the layout, the paper version, of a collection of my writings and poems, on Amazon.
What program do you use to layout correctly, for printing?
Thanks so much, I'll try nowI use InDesign. Affinity Publisher is also pretty good and is a one-time payment product.
Which particular bits of information do you mean? (I don't think anyone's going to slog through five pages of this thread and comment on every single bit of it.)This is a super interesting thread. Is the information on self-publishing still accurate, given it was first written almost a decade ago?
Yes, good point. Sorry for the noob mistake—I’ll ask more specific questions next time!Which particular bits of information do you mean? (I don't think anyone's going to slog through five pages of this thread and comment on every single bit of it.)
No worries! Feel free to quote the bits you're keen on. Somebody with current experience will wander along and offer advice.Yes, good point. Sorry for the noob mistake—I’ll ask more specific questions next time!
for digital sales I can send customers straight to my own website
This is very true.You need to have an audience first for that to work. How did you find yours?