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[ePub] Hyperink
- Thread starter Scribe4264
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I applied for a job with them but was turned down. Aw'er Jenn Greenleaf wrote one of their "Quicklets." There's a thread in Accomplishments.
I applied a few weeks back to an ad on JournalismJobs and got an e-mail today that included a contract.
Having been torched by not doing my due diligence on Publish America back in 2006, I am not touching ANY contract with even so much as a 10-foot pole until I get as much info as I can.
I'll check the thread and drop Greenleaf a note and see what feedback I can get from that source.
Thanks!!!
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They are a fairly new e-book start-up. I spent quite a bit of time working for them over the last year. The founders-- Kevin and Wei-- are friendly and professional. I would have no qualms about signing their contract.
Any news on how Hyperink tallies its sales figures?
I wrote a book for Hyperink called "How To Get The Most From Your Kindle". I have received my first royalty check, somewhat modest but in line with what I think my sales are. Unfortunately, I have no idea what my sales are! I can sort of guess what they are over at Amazon. However, I have no idea what those sales figures mean at other sources that my book is being sold on, for example are there any Nook sales? Is the book being offered on the Nook? Beats me...
Now, I did attempt to write another book for Hyperink about SOPA and PIPA but I'm glad they didn't accept the book I wrote because my book was a passionate and intelligent defense of the Internet as it is. I can also say that the book I completed was a far superior read than the book they finally accepted from a guy who, at least judging from this effort, not a very accomplished professional writer. He didn't even seem to be well versed on this particular issue. But I digress...
I guess what I'm asking, in a whistleblowing kind of way that is consistent with Pennsylvania state law on the matter, is does anyone know how Hyperink determines its sales? Does anyone know whether Amazon paid Hyperink for either the free versions of my book (or any others) or the "borrowed" versions (It was reported that Amazon was paying writers about $1.60 per borrowed book for awhile...) of my book, or any other Hyperink book for that matter.
I should note that the entirety of my relationship with Hyperink wasn't bad. I had no problem with the Kindle editing. I was also paid my advance in a timely fashion. As for the SOPA PIPA book I intend to write a better one! Half of its already done afterall but there has been some breaking news...
Sincerely,
Philip Shropshire
www.threeriversonline.com
I wrote a book for Hyperink called "How To Get The Most From Your Kindle". I have received my first royalty check, somewhat modest but in line with what I think my sales are. Unfortunately, I have no idea what my sales are! I can sort of guess what they are over at Amazon. However, I have no idea what those sales figures mean at other sources that my book is being sold on, for example are there any Nook sales? Is the book being offered on the Nook? Beats me...
Now, I did attempt to write another book for Hyperink about SOPA and PIPA but I'm glad they didn't accept the book I wrote because my book was a passionate and intelligent defense of the Internet as it is. I can also say that the book I completed was a far superior read than the book they finally accepted from a guy who, at least judging from this effort, not a very accomplished professional writer. He didn't even seem to be well versed on this particular issue. But I digress...
I guess what I'm asking, in a whistleblowing kind of way that is consistent with Pennsylvania state law on the matter, is does anyone know how Hyperink determines its sales? Does anyone know whether Amazon paid Hyperink for either the free versions of my book (or any others) or the "borrowed" versions (It was reported that Amazon was paying writers about $1.60 per borrowed book for awhile...) of my book, or any other Hyperink book for that matter.
I should note that the entirety of my relationship with Hyperink wasn't bad. I had no problem with the Kindle editing. I was also paid my advance in a timely fashion. As for the SOPA PIPA book I intend to write a better one! Half of its already done afterall but there has been some breaking news...
Sincerely,
Philip Shropshire
www.threeriversonline.com
If you're not sure if it's sold for the nook, why not just check the nook site? Or simply google your name and the books title; I usually find that brings up a decent list of both sellers and reviews for me!
From what you've said, it sounds like they've sent you a royalty cheque but not a statement. Check your contract to see what you agreed to - if it doesn't mention a royalty statement then they're not obliged to send you one, and it's kinda your own fault for not bringing that up at the time. Even so, a polite email asking for the breakdown of sales might get you what you want anyway.
From what you've said, it sounds like they've sent you a royalty cheque but not a statement. Check your contract to see what you agreed to - if it doesn't mention a royalty statement then they're not obliged to send you one, and it's kinda your own fault for not bringing that up at the time. Even so, a polite email asking for the breakdown of sales might get you what you want anyway.
I'm just curious how many authors/journalists they have, if any one would possibly even come close to knowing that. I'm only curious, because I popped over and they have A LOT of ebooks. Sounds like a neat way of doing non-fiction, though. (I couldn't tell, but it looks like all non-fiction).
Thank you for the responses.
NKKingston: I had already checked the barnes and noble site but didn't see my book. I guess the question is how would I know even if they did? They also sell books on their own site. How would I know that what they sold there? And the contract I signed looked to put me at a disadvantage but I thought this was an interesting opportunity so I turned my eyes away so to speak. I'm not sure about the royalty statement but I'll check...
Thank you for your feedback.
LWeinberg: Well I do have experience as a print guy (remember print?) and well I thought that the editing was helpful I kind of felt that what I was bringing to the table was pretty much what the entire table. I got the impression that the editors were mostly kids, and not all that experienced.
I wasn't that impressed with the SOPA/Book they did publish.
Or here are the strategically named links: Kevin Gao Hyperink review over at my site. Kevin Gao Hyperink customer review over at Amazon.
Thank you for your feedback. And yes they could use some newspaper editors with book publishing experience. For example, I know I could have gotten interviews for even a short book. Hey, that's what I used to do as a reporter. I can still do that. But no editor asked me to do that! I'm also pretty sure they wouldn't hire anybody with that kind of experience. It's all keywords, not book quality.
NKKingston: I had already checked the barnes and noble site but didn't see my book. I guess the question is how would I know even if they did? They also sell books on their own site. How would I know that what they sold there? And the contract I signed looked to put me at a disadvantage but I thought this was an interesting opportunity so I turned my eyes away so to speak. I'm not sure about the royalty statement but I'll check...
Thank you for your feedback.
LWeinberg: Well I do have experience as a print guy (remember print?) and well I thought that the editing was helpful I kind of felt that what I was bringing to the table was pretty much what the entire table. I got the impression that the editors were mostly kids, and not all that experienced.
I wasn't that impressed with the SOPA/Book they did publish.
Or here are the strategically named links: Kevin Gao Hyperink review over at my site. Kevin Gao Hyperink customer review over at Amazon.
Thank you for your feedback. And yes they could use some newspaper editors with book publishing experience. For example, I know I could have gotten interviews for even a short book. Hey, that's what I used to do as a reporter. I can still do that. But no editor asked me to do that! I'm also pretty sure they wouldn't hire anybody with that kind of experience. It's all keywords, not book quality.
Sales on their site are available in any format on request (apparently they haven't figured out any format on purchase yet), so if someone bought it from their site they could have it for nook. It doesn't appear on be available through b&n. I don't think nook owners are exactly your market, though, so I wouldn't expect to see a lot of sales except through Amazon and their own website.
