Getting In to Google Play (and Books a Million Online)

SharonRose · May 12, 2012

Hello there,

I'm doing my first book and have a question about ebook distribution.

It looks like a combination of Kindle, Smashwords and PubIt would give you excellent reach. However, there are two ebook outlets that are still a mystery to me – Google Play and Books a Million online.

They don’t seem to be on Smashword distriubtion list, and I checked their websites, hoping for a PubIt-like author section, but didn’t find anything.

Does anyone know how they work?

Sharon

retromovie · May 12, 2012

There is a page somewhere that tells you what to do, you'll have to slog away to find it, but no casual email enquiry address because I looked.

merrihiatt · May 12, 2012

Sometimes it's easier to find things by not searching a specific website, but going to Google. I found the following links through a general Google search.

Here's a link regarding uploading your book to Google Play Books. http://authoritypublishing.com/ebooks-information-products/how-to-submit-your-book-to-google-ebooks/

Here's a link regarding BAM. http://www.booksamillion.com/publishers/books.html#consideration You'll note at the bottom that they say they only feature titles carried by one of their distributors. They are: American Wholesale Book Company, Ingram Book Company, and Baker & Taylor.

SharonRose · May 12, 2012

Oh, fantastic! Thanks so much, Merrihiatt, for the great links. Much appreciated.

And you are so right on about just using Google - I forgot about that.

SharonRose · May 12, 2012

Just a quick follow up ....

The link was all about Google Ebooks (where they add you to their book search database and very nicely list links to your retailers). Google Play, on the other hand, is this new, snazzy site that sells books, movies, music and games – Itunes for android. If you haven’t seen it, it’s well worth a look, really nicely done. Here’s the link.

Google Play
http://play.google.com/about/#utm_source=HA_Desktop_US&utm_medium=SEM&utm_campaign=gplaunch

Happily, the Partners Program link in the aritcle takes you to both programs, so I found it (!), How Selling Books on Google Play Works. And it looks promising - they accept uploads from individual authors in epub and PDF. Yea! They coyly hold back, however, from saying what the author’s percentage is, only that it is a “majority of the revenue.” Hmmmmm. Anyway, here’s the link to that page.

Selling Your Ebook on Google Play
https://support.google.com/books/partner/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1079107

EveLanglais · May 15, 2012

Google does take books. You first upload it in PDF which they use for the sample then add the epub which is what they sell. Their fees are a little higher than Amazon and Smash, but not unreasonable. What you do need to watch them for is discounting your book much lower than what you price it at. Sales are low, at least for my stuff unlike the other channels I use, but when it comes to books, it's all about making accesible to the reader. As for BAM, I have a few on there. Lightening Source is who I use for that. They're a bit of work to get setup, but once done easy to use. If you're looking for more good markets, don't forget Omnilit. They are linked with AllRomance and have a steady following. Hope that helps. Eve

SharonRose · May 16, 2012

Thanks Eve!

Omnilit? I'll definitely check them out. As you say, really good distribution is surely key.

I've been studying Lightning Source - they look great. When a customer orders from Ingram, do you know if Ingram takes a cut? In other words, if you discount your book by 50%, does it all go to the retailer or does Ingram slice some off?

I just learned that with Createspace's EDP, of the 60% discount, CS takes something like 15%, Ingram takes another 20%, and the retailer only gets 25%. I know LS is a sub of Ingrams, but it could still go either way.

EveLanglais · May 16, 2012

LSI doesn't charge setup fees for ebook and I'm not sure how/where they get their cut lol. I set the price for the book, the discount amount and they seem to pay me based on that. Once you've been selling for 90 days through their network, as long as you hit $100, you start getting checks monthly. They don't do huge numbers, but they get me into the harder to reach stores likes BAM, Lybrary and a few others.

merrihiatt · May 16, 2012

Thanks for finding better links, Sharon.

Getting In to Google Play (and Books a Million Online)

SharonRose

Om Shanti Om

retromovie

merrihiatt

Writing! Writing! Writing!

SharonRose

Om Shanti Om

SharonRose

Om Shanti Om

EveLanglais

New kid, be gentle!

SharonRose

Om Shanti Om

EveLanglais

New kid, be gentle!

merrihiatt

Writing! Writing! Writing!