Category Archives: Self Publishing

eBook

Smashwords Signs Distribution Agreement with Scribd

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Smashwords has announced they’ve signed a distribution agreement with publisher Scribd.  From the article:

Smashwords today announced a distribution agreement with Scribd, which operates one of the world’s largest publishing platforms and online reading communities.  Scribd receives over 80 million monthly readers to their platform according to their website.

There are two distribution components to the Smashwords agreement with Scribd.

    • Smashwords will supply books to Scribd’s new ebook subscription service, where for $8.99 per month subscribers can enjoy unlimited reading.
    • Smashwords ebooks will also be available for individual sale to Scribd customers under our standard retailer terms.

Ever since Scribd launched in 2007, I’ve admired their publishing platform, their social reading technology and their commitment to content creators.  Scribd has built a massive audience of millions of readers, and these readers are now accessible to the 70,000+ authors and publishers that distribute with Smashwords.

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Dead Tree Books, eBook, Writer Reference

How to get reviews for your book

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

A discussion topic between writers will almost always turn to book reviews.  It’s not easy to count on people who buy your book (or get it for free on a promotion day) to go back to the outlet that they bought it from and write about it when they’ve finished it.

This might be because they didn’t like it – an inevitability that every author has to face; not everyone thinks you’re as bright, witty, charming, creative, or as imaginative as you think you are – or it might be because it’s not terribly easy to post a review on many sites.  It’s getting better, but it can still be daunting for readers; it takes time, involves writing something (and for readers who read on eReaders or tablets with clunky keyboard interfaces it’s a pain in the butt to write anything beyond “LOL” or “:-)”), and it’s inconvenient.  When a reader finishes off a book just as they’re getting off the subway, there’s a good chance they’ll just not review it – even if they loved it and couldn’t put it down.  They might mean to, but it’ll never happen; out of sight, out of mind.

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eBook

Vellum Simplifies Ebook Conversion So Authors Can Focus On Their Craft

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Digital Book World has added a release about Vellum’s ebook creation software for OSX.  From the article:

Authors who want to create their own digital books are often frustrated when converting their manuscripts into ebooks. A Seattle software company called 180g has created a tool, Vellum, that handles the technical ins-and-outs of building EPUB, MOBI, and iBook files—simplifying ebook conversion and giving authors more time to focus on their craft.

Vellum ebook creation software, introduced today, runs on Mac OS X and allows authors and small publishers to easily create beautiful ebooks for iBooks, Kindle, and Nook without any prior experience or training.

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eBook, Writer Reference

Why self-publish an ebook?

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

This seems to be the season of really awkward reports on self-publishing. In yet another “remarkable study into self-publishing,” that distracts with colors and pictures, self-publishing gets another black eye from someone who doesn’t really know the topic.

Well, as someone who helps writers become self-published authors, I have a slightly different viewpoint.

When I first saw the three parts of the “debate” I quickly came to the conclusion that the author didn’t know her subject very well. It certainly didn’t help that the very first two sentences included “road to nowhere” and “in my research.”

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