Category Archives: Writing

eBook, Self Publishing, Writing

OverDrive and Sourcebooks Launch Ebook Experiment Through Libraries

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Overdrive has sent a letter to librarians worldwide inviting them to join a pilot program called “Big Library Read” running from May 15th through June 1st. This unique program allows all participating libraries to feature the Sourcebook title “Four Corners of the Sky” by Michael Malone simultaneously on all of their respective OverDrive homepages at no cost. The book will be accessible to patrons of these libraries simultaneously.

From LibraryJournal:

“We want to demonstrate once and for all the enormous influence of the library demographic, and that when libraries put an ebook in their catalog it serves a valuable role in increasing exposure and engagement with an author’s work,” said Steve Potash, OverDrive’s CEO.

Data will be collected and track during the program period, and Sourcebooks will track the impact on sales of this book as well as the other seven titles by Malone published through Sourcebooks.

You can read the LibraryJournal article by Michael Kelley HERE.

You can visit OverDrive HERE.

You can visit Sourcebooks HERE.

Writing

Createspace’s Secret Hardover Option

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Much like the secret menu at In-N-Out Burger (an INCREDIBLE California fast food burger chain), Createspace also has a secret menu. One of the more awesome items is the hardcover book option.

As of the date of this post, the current pricing is:

$99.00 – One-Time Setup Fee
$6.50 – Cost per book
$0.015 – B&W per page cost
$0.15 – Color per page cost
$2.00 – Dust Jacket (optional)

Now, there are some caveats to the Createspace book:

  • The hardcover is set up as a separate title in the author’s account, and gets a separate ISBN number.
  • The conversion takes a ridiculously long time to get done (about 10 days).
  • If there are ANY color images (or text) the ENTIRE book is subject to the color cost per page charge.
  • The book isn’t eligible for any of Createspace’s distribution channels. Really. Only the author can order the book to sell or distribute.

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Self Publishing, Writing

Question: What is the hardest thing about publishing an ebook?

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

This question was recently asked in a group I’m part of.  Here’s the whole question:

Question: What is the hardest thing about publishing an ebook?  I’m curious what problems here people have had with publishing ebooks themselves. i’m currently working on two books that I want to release as ebooks, but I’d like to avoid some of the common mistakes and problems if at all possible. I’ll be making enough of my own as it is! 🙂 Thanks!

Answer: The hardest part about publishing an ebook is marketing. It’s exactly the same problem authors have with publishing through a traditional publisher. Marketing will always be the most difficult part; it’s the actual sale to the consumer. In order to get your book to the person who has the least resistance to buying your book, you have to let them know it exists, and that – even for the Big Six … or Big Five … or Big … well, Big However Many Publishers There Are Still Left Dragging Their Dinosaur Tails Behind Them Out There – is a problem. At least with a publisher there’s a possibility that you might – maybe – get spot on a shelf without you having to personally intercede or promise sexual favors (at least initially) for awhile. Continue reading →

Self Publishing, Writing

Camp NaNoWriMo Officially Starts Today!

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

If you are a writer – especially one who can’t seem to find the time, set goals, or who suffers from writer’s block – you should head over to campnanowrimo.org and sign up to write during the month of April.  if you’re REALLY serious, make sure you sign up for NaNoWriMo in November!

From the website:

Based on November’s National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), Camp NaNoWriMo provides the online support, tracking tools, and hard deadline to help you write the rough draft of your novel in a month.

Camp NaNoWriMo was established in 2011 as a project of the Office of Letters and Light, the parent 501(c)(3) nonprofit to National Novel Writing Month and the Young Writers Program. 2013 Camp sessions will take place in April and July.

To find out more, head over to Camp NaNoWriMo‘s “What is Camp NaNoWriMo?” page and get started!

Self Publishing, Writing

Amazon’s KDP Pricing Schedule – Some People Get It, Some People Don’t

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

In a recent article in the Telegraph by Tom Whitehead titled “Self-published authors hit by Amazon online royalties cut” he complains that “Specialist and minor authors are being damaged by Amazon’s online royalties scheme that punishes those who do not want to sell their books at knock-down prices” and “Writers who are likely to have a small readership, particularly in niche markets, are being penalised if they want to sell their books at a high price.”

Really?

Obviously, some writers can’t do math very well – or haven’t scored a book deal with a publisher lately.

Let’s look at the bottom line: with a traditional publisher, the author receives a percentage of the net profits, which means that he’s probably putting down around 15 – 20% of the sales price of any given title. That’s being generous.

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