Category Archives: Self Publishing

Self Publishing, Writing

Writers Union of Canada to vote on admitting self-published authors

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

The CBC is reporting that the Writers’ Union of Canada is expected to vote on a measure to accept self-published authors as members at the end of May. From the article:

“…The Writers Union of Canada represents over 1,900 authors from across the country. For the past year, an ad hoc membership committee has been gathering feedback from chapters across the country on whether the organization should revoke its long-standing policy of not admitting self-published authors. Members will vote on the issue at TWUC’s AGM in Ottawa at the end of May…”

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eBook, Self Publishing, Writing

FINALLY! A Publisher Figures Out That DRM Is Useless!

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

c|net Australia has just put up an article “Tor Books: piracy not an issue despite lacking ebook DRM” that state what I and others have been preaching for years.

From the article:

“One year after Tor launched its DRM-free store, the publisher has said that there has been “no discernible increase” in piracy.”

On April 25, 2012, Tor Books UK removed DRM from all of their ebooks.  According to a blog post by Julie Crisp on the Tor Books site, “We made this decision in conjunction with our sister company in the US, for our shared brand imprint. It was something that we’d been exploring for quite a while and a move that we felt committed to for our particular area.”

DRM is copy protection added to ebooks and other media by publishers and retailers supposedly to prevent piracy.  It assumes that the person legitimately buying the media from the retailer is a thief.  As a purchaser, I find this kinda insulting; if I was a thief, I wouldn’t be buying the work in the first place.  Duh!

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Dead Tree Books, eBook, Writing

BBC News reports that self-publishing is a ‘wonderful phenomenon’

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

BBC News is reporting that 2012 was a record year for the UK publishing industry.

The Publishers Association Statistics Yearbook reported total revenues of £3.34B with digital sale hitting £411M, and sales of physical books coming in at £2.9B.

“Self-publishing has been a wonderful phenomenon,” said Richard Mollett, chief executive of The Publishers Association. “It has thrown up a great new interest in writing and reading.”

You can hear the whole bit from the Today programme HERE.

You can visit the Publishers Association HERE.

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.

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 →