Tag: self-publishing

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CreateSpace Merging with Kindle Direct

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What Does This Mean to Indie Authors?

books on display IndiaYou may have gotten an email recently saying that CreateSpace (CSP) and Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) will become one service in the coming months. They want you to move your account and books over to KDP.  In order to do this, you will need a KDP (Amazon) account. Most indie authors already have this set up to sell their eBooks and audiobooks. If you don’t have an Amazon account, click here to begin.

Don’t Worry

leonid_pasternak_-_the_passion_of_creationYour books won’t change in the way they’re sold. They will still be available on Amazon worldwide. Kindle Direct Publishing will also include the ability to purchase ads to promote paperbacks on Amazon.com. You can now use the Amazon Advertising website, advertising.amazon.com, to access your account and manage your campaigns using your KDP login.

Once in KDP, your paperbacks will still be printed in the same facilities, on the same printers, and by the same people as they were on CreateSpace. KDP now offers author copies available at printing cost. You will also be able to order proof copies in draft form after the book is reviewed with the KDP Print Reviewer.

Moving Your Account and Books

In the coming weeks, CreateSpace will begin to automatically move your books and account. You can do this yourself if you want. A link put on your dashboard will allow you to move books all at once. CreateSpace is doing this in phases, so don’t be alarmed if you don’t see this link immediately.

Will it Affect Royalties?

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Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

During the move, your books are still active on Amazon for sale and you’ll still earn royalties. However, you will not be able to create a new book or edit an existing one until the move is complete to KDP.

Payment times will change with KDP to bimonthly rather than monthly. Check your tax information and bank information to make sure everything is up-to-date.

Should I Change my Book Cost?

Some books (if less than 100 pages) will have additional printing fees in the United Kingdom or Europe. Based on this change, you may want to update the list prices of your books.  If this affects you, you will receive a separate email from CreateSpace about it.

If you want to see how KDP will change your royalties, a simple calculator available shows the minimum to charge for your book. Testing several books, it looks like there may be only a few cents difference – in your favor! Most authors will not have to make any changes.

enable editingcalculator explanation

KDP_Paperback_Royalty_Calculator

(NOTE: Click the link to save the calculator to your computer first. We recommend saving it to your desktop so you can find it easily.  Open it and then click the yellow banner on top to “ENABLE EDITING.” It won’t be usable until you do).

Select whether your book’s interior is in black & white or in color, put down the PRINT COPY page count and current price. Click outside the box to calculate. The calculation will show you the printing cost, the minimum amount you can charge for it and your royalty amount.

TO FIND OUT MORE ON YOUR OWN:

https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GSJULX3WGP36HQ3R  -More information
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9IAmAhRwWQ&t=151s  – Video on how to move your books

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Adventures in Publishing: Why I Chose to Go Independent

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Guest Post by Sheri Fink, Best-selling, Award-winning Children’s Author

Traditional or Independent?

One of the biggest decisions today’s aspiring authors make is whether to go the traditional route with a publisher (whether large or small) or to explore the independent publishing path. I chose to go independent and many writers have asked me about my decision. So, here’s the scoop: when I made a commitment to myself six years ago to bring The Little Rose children’s book to life, I had limited experience with self-publishing and was beginning to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the variety of publishing options available. I attended writers’ conferences and networking events with writers. I asked both traditionally published and independently published authors about their experiences. I learned so much and decided to independently publish The Little Rose for several reasons:

 Passion and Speed

I felt a burning need to get the uplifting message of The Little Rose to children quickly. I didn’t have the time or patience to woo an agent, find a publisher, go through the whole process, and then wait for a slot on their release calendar several years later.

Control

I wanted to be 100% happy with the final result of all of my hard work. I wanted to choose the right illustrator to bring my story to life and to influence the ultimate look and feel of my book. Even though I published independently, having a high-quality product was really important to me and I knew I could find the right partners to make that goal a reality

Entrepreneurial Spirit

I’ve always been very entrepreneurial and I was excited about the possibility of building a business around doing something that I absolutely loved. I also learned from other authors about the value of the rights tied in with a book and felt like I would be able to make those decisions for my brand better than a big publisher could. And, my background was in marketing. I believed that I could leverage my knowledge and skills to be successful.

Happiness

When I talked with other authors, the happiest ones tended to be the self-published authors. They had control over their destiny, their schedules, their agreements, their rights licensing, etc. That really appealed to me. My best advice for authors who are exploring traditional vs. independent publishing is to talk with successful authors who have already done it. See what their experiences were like and what they would do differently knowing what they know now. Find out who’s happy and why. Writing and publishing my first book was one of the most challenging and rewarding things I’ve done. Since the successful debut of The Little Rose, I’ve independently published six additional books across three genres. Independent publishing is exciting and easier than it’s ever been before (although it’s still not an easy business), but it isn’t the right solution for everyone. Only the individual authors can truly decide what’s right for them, their books, and their careers.

 About Sheri Fink

Signature_File_SF_Jan2016

Sheri Fink is an inspirational speaker, a #1 best-selling author, an award-winning entrepreneur, and the creator of “The Whimsical World of Sheri Fink” brand. Sheri writes books that inspire and delight kids of all ages while planting seeds of self-esteem. All five of her children’s books have become #1 best-sellers, including The Little Rose which was a #1 Amazon Best-seller for over 60 weeks. CBS Los Angeles selected her as one of the top three authors in the local area, a distinction she shares with Dean Koontz. Sheri’s brand is the recipient of the prestigious Gold Mom’s Choice Award for the best in family-friendly entertainment. Sheri’s newest adventure is a contemporary romance. She was inspired to write Cake in Bed, her debut novel, to empower women to be their authentic selves and to not settle for less than they deserve in life or in love, because everyone deserves to have their cake and eat it too … preferably in bed! Discover more about Sheri and her books at www.SheriFink.com

 

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5 Reasons Why Selling to Libraries Needs to be a Top Priority

Springfield Writers' Guild

library-bookshelfAccording to the ALA Materials Survey published in March 2015, the most popular categories in public libraries were Children’s picture books, general fiction, mystery/thrillers, cookbooks and memoir/bio. The complete list is here.

Libraries are a commonly neglected target in the marketing of self-published books. Publishing expert Amy Collins explains why this might be a big mistake.

Read More: 5 Reasons Why Selling to Libraries Needs to be a Top Priority

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Should You Convert Your Books to Audiobooks?

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man-with-earbudsJohannes Gutenberg introduced his printing press to the world in 1439. The device, with its ability to move the type, started a social revolution, and I have no doubt, the morning after the announcement, Mister Gutenberg found himself besieged by authors wanting to get their books printed.

Getting Our Work Out There

Getting our works, our visions, and our efforts before the reading public has always been the biggest challenge to a writer. Move forward several hundred years to 2017, examine the printing landscape and discover the new social revolution occurring. We’ve entered the world of not printing books. The downloadable, transportable, adaptable audiobook has invaded.

Consider these statistics gleaned from a WSJ article written July 21, 2016:

  • Audiobooks sales increased 121% in 2016 over 2015 (USA and Canada)
  • Downloads of audiobooks increased by 38% over that same timeframe
  • As of the date of the article, Audible, the largest producer of audiobooks, stated its subscribers would listen to over 2 billion hours of narration in 2016.

Grab it and Run

My case for why authors need to grab onto this phenomenon and hang on for dear life has been made. Classics are being converted. I have listened to Jane Austen’s Persuasion, as well as Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea and The Snows of Kilimanjaro. I also “read” my scriptures with sound buds in my ears.

All of us search for more readers, or in this case, listeners. I started converting my books to audio midsummer last year. Six of my eight novels have been completed and are available on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. I plead guilty of trying to enlarge my fan base. Along my route to more sales, I stumbled on the fact that working with other talented, motivated, gifted artists was fun. I recommend converting your books for the enjoyment of working with the producers, if you cannot find any other reason.

A final thought

Last August 2016, I attended a writing symposium for the Western Writers of America in Dodge City. One of the presentations considered audiobooks and the author turned her discussion into an infomercial for the company that converted her books. No problem with that, I respect loyalty. I spoke to her after her hour.

The conversation was thus, more or less:

“You enjoyed working with company (located in Seattle),” I asked.

“I’d never go anywhere else. They were great, and they charged me a very reasonable amount.”

“They charged you,” I desired clarification.

“Not much, but what I liked best was that they had six narrators they could have used for my book. I think the one they chose was perfect.”

“Wait a minute,” I said, “they only had six narrators, and they chose the one that produced your book. What if you hadn’t liked the job?”

With that look that reminded me I was but a child in the audiobook world, she said, “You’ll learn. The company I used is one of the best in the field. I heartily recommend them to you.”

I thanked her, and left feeling a bit of pity for her. The company I use does not charge me a dime, allows me to negotiate my own contracts (within reason) with the producer I select, and supports me with the marketing.

I won’t stoop so low as the writer in Dodge, and brag about who I use by name, but if you have questions about converting to audiobooks, and you want a biased, (there, I said it) opinion, contact me.

By Guest Blogger -Kwen D. Griffeth

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griffeth-kwenKwen D. Griffeth is a member of the Springfield Writers’ Guild, Springfield Missouri. He has eight books to his credit – now all in audio format as well as digital and print, available at Amazon.com. See more at kwendgriffeth.com

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How Do Readers Decide to Read Your Book?

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How do book readers decide to read your book? They don’t. You do. How do you get them to want to read your book?

marketing

Through marketing. Whether you self-publish or go the traditional route, you must market your own book(s). Traditional publishers may purport that they will market your book – but it’s much the same as what some of the Print-on-Demand (POD) publishers do. They put it on Amazon and Barnes & Nobel, provide the title to libraries, academic institutions, and book sellers. It is still primarily up to YOU, the author, to get your book before the public. YOU must let them know it’s available, valuable, and worth the read, and whether it’s educational or entertaining.

They Must Want What You Have

In order to want something, you need to know it exists. One definition of marketing is convincing people to want what you have. How readers know about books has changed massively with the growth of technology. With all the modern technology tools available, authors no longer have to rely on a single-minded source (like a book publisher) to tell us about books. A good CEO (the self-published author) knows how to find avenues to market their book and get it before their readers.

Sell Your Dream

Marketing for an author is selling your reader on a dream. You have the power of words. As a wordsmith, you must craft the logline (a single-sentence summary of your book) into a hook that will draw that reader in. Make them crave more of what’s tucked between its covers. “Marketing isn’t optional for the self-publishing author–it’s absolutely vital,” says Kelly Schuknecht, marketing advisor with SelfPublishingAdvisor.com. How else will new readers know that your book exists? How else will they know where to track it down and buy it? You can’t sell readers your dream if they don’t know it exists.

Six Marketing Pointers

Here are a few ways to help sell that dream and market your book.

  1. Pitch it to the right audience. Perhaps one of the biggest mistakes that new authors make is believing everyone in the world will love their book. Wouldn’t that be lovely? Truth is, people who love the genre you write will love your book. Fantasy/paranormal lovers may not pick up a nonfiction biography. Romance readers may not like horror. That’s okay. Each group has a particular genre. Search them out, and pitch to those readers.
  2. Find different avenues to market your book. Schedule book signings at libraries or craft fairs, read aloud at libraries or schools, set up a free giveaway of the e-book to draw attention to the next, print banners, bookmarks as giveaways, business cards; do a press release; have a launch party either in person or online. Do an online book tour.
  3. Set up an online presence. Do you have a website for your author page? Amazon, Create Space, Goodreads, Smashwords, and others offer a free page. You can also set up a Facebook author page. Do interviews with yourself or your characters. Make it fun and appealing. Sink the hook.
  4. Advertise online. Get your book into all the various websites that will take your book for no cost. Here are a few: Bookfinder, Goodreads; GalleyCat Facebook Page; bookdaily.com; indiebookoftheday.com; ilovebooks.com; bookangel.co.uk.
  5. Be engaged. Respond to readers on platforms they love and in your genre. Send out the occasional tweet; engage in Facebook or LinkedIn conversational groups. Guest blog on other authors’ sites if permitted. Get your name out there.
  6. Give back. There are a lot of fun ways to do this. Consider giveaways, donations, free webinars or live chats, speak at other writers’ groups. There are many ways in which you as an author can interact with your readers. If you offer your book for free, put it on Twitter with a #freebook hashtag to get a lot more action.