PublishDrive announces Amazon Advertising tool updates
PublishDrive is an ebook distribution company that competes with other services like Smashwords, Draft2Digital, StreetLib, and IngramSpark. They’re differentiating themselves with deep reach into the Chinese English-speaking market via their partnership with Dangdang (the Amazon of China), ebook marketing options, and an Amazon Advertising tool you can access within your PublishDrive account. Carla King and Kinga […]
Use Amazon Kindle Print plus IngramSpark for Print Distribution
If you’re like most authors, you’re confused about how to distribute your print book. I’ll get straight to the point. I like a combination of Amazon Kindle Print (used to be CreateSpace) and IngramSpark to get your book into the online retailers. This post explains why.Is your book ready to print?Your book is ready to […]
Walmart eBooks takes on Amazon Kindle: What does it mean for authors?
Walmart and Rakuten Kobo have joined forces to create Walmart eBooks by Rakuten Kobo, a brand that aims to give Amazon Kindle and Audible competition in the ebook and audiobook markets.What does Walmart eBooks mean for ebook authors?If you’re a self-publisher who sells your ebook in the Kobo store, either directly using Kobo Writing Life or an ebook aggregator that […]
Self-Publish Your Ebook with Tools by the Online Retailers
Use tools by the ebook retailers to publish before distributing widelyPublishing your ebook to a single retailer as a test prevents author overwhelm and also avoids what I call “the embarrassment of premature distribution” because any mistakes you make – typos, keywords, design adjustments – can be corrected and re-uploaded quickly and easily. So before […]
The preorder solution for your print books with IngramSpark
Authors have learned that preorders create excitement and greater sales for their books. But Amazon KDP Print (formerly CreateSpace) does not offer a preorder function for selling print books on Amazon. What!? It doesn’t make sense, but that’s the way it is. There are two solutions. One of them is a ridiculous workaround, so this […]
Distribution: How your book gets to your readers
With all the aggregation and distribution services available to you, it can be difficult to choose a path. This post aims to clarify those terms and the tools and services I most recommend to independent authors. Let’s start with this statement and unwind from there. Indie authors can upload ebooks to distribute to eeach online ebook retailer […]
How to get your self-published book into libraries
It used to be very difficult for self-publishers to get their books into libraries. But today, the library system is increasingly accepting of self-published titles. Here’s how you can get your book onto the bookshelves and into their ebook catalogs. Be Big on Smashwords Way back in 2014 Smashwords founder Mark Coker made a deal with OverDrive to distribute […]
PressBooks Video on the Book Publishing Process
If you have a lot of content on your WordPress blog and you want to create a book from it, this is the tool I most often recommend to organize your work. You just download your blog posts to your desktop, then upload them to your free PressBooks account, rearrange, edit, add front and back […]
How to Compare and Choose a Self-Publishing Service
On Wednesday, June 24, 2015, I’m teaching an online course on how to choose between self-publishing services. The web conference is presented by DigitalEd @ PBS MediaShift. It costs $39.00 and by the end of it you should have all the knowledge to make an educated decision and move forward with your book publishing project. If you […]
Make Pre-Orders Part of Your Book Launch Marketing Strategy
This week, Smashwords announced what they say is its most ambitious feature ever, assetless preorders. I always encourage authors to use Smashwords, the largest ebookseller in the world, to publish and distribute their ebooks to the widest network possible. If you’ve got Smashwords and Kindle, then you’ve got the ebook market covered. Not to mention app stores and libraries. […]