K. Elliott's Blog

How to Format Ebooks – Part 2

The freeware is out there — use it!

In part 1 of this blog, I talked about the incredibly wide variety of filetypes out there that each of the big platforms are using. Now I'll tell you how to you get your manuscript formatted and converted to those filetypes so you can sell it as an ebook. Some very enterprising people have written incredibly useful guides on how to manually convert your work into these filetypes, for which I applaud them. If, however, you weren't born already typing code, I suggest an alternative. Not surprisingly, an entire industry of freeware has sprung up over the last few years that will do the heavy lifting of conversion for you. Below are some of the best.

Calibre — a free tool for Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux, Calibre can take just about any starting filetype (though not Word, apparently) and convert it into ePub, FB2, OEB, LIT, LRF, MOBI, HTMLZ, PDB, PML, RB, PDF, SNB, TCR, TXT, or TXTZ — basically whatever you need.

Feedbooks — a website where you can login and use their formatting software to create your own content, which will be made available in ePub, PDF, and Kindle formats among others. Their software is designed for you to actually write your book on the site, but you can just as easily copy and paste from a previously created Word or Text file.

eCub – with eCub, you can import text and XHTML files and create all the necessary components of an EPUB file.

Mobipocket — using this you can create Mobipocket or Kindle books from a variety of filetypes including Word, Excel, PDF, RTF, HTML, XML, and more.

CutePDF — thought I'd add this one in as something that might be familiar to all of us. If you just need to create a PDF file for your ebook, CutePDF is great for "printing" pretty much anything to PDF, including all of Microsoft Office and even web pages. You've likely used this program or one like it already and it's as simple as clicking print and saving the file.

Now, there are numerous other programs out there, some with incredible features that this software can't touch, but I wanted to stick to freeware only — no paying if you don't have to! — and programs that would convert from common, easy-to-use filetypes. Listen, it's great that BookGlutton can convert HTML into ePubs, but for those who don't know coding, that's an added layer of complication to learn basic HTML. Why bother with it if you don't have to?

Of course, there are many smart people out there who have good answers to that mostly hypothetical question, which is why I'm going to leave you with a couple of links to some very in-depth DIY guides to ebook formatting and conversion. Hope this was helpful!

A step-by-step look at how to create an ePub file by hand.

Screenwriter John August's quick Kindle publishing guide.

Joshua Tallent's incredibly detailed guide to Kindle formatting.

How to Format Ebooks – Part 1

There are as many different tips, tricks, andtechniques to formatting ebooks for the various ereaders and platforms as there are… well, ereaders and platforms. Tons of people already have incredibly in-depth guides on what you should and shouldn't do, how to make epub files from scratch, and lots of other interesting thoughts on ebook formatting.

This is not one of those guides.

Instead, I thought I'd try to break it down a bit for someone who just wants the basics and to know what kind of tools are out there and which platforms use which filetypes. Basically, an ebook formatting guide for dummies.

What uses what?

EPUB has become the international standard for ebook publishing, and is supported by the iPad, Sony Reader, Barnes & Noble Nook, Ibis Reader, and Stanza. Each of those readers can use other filetypes as well, but only EPUB reaches all of them. In fact, one of the few reasons EPUB hasn't become the only filetype for ebooks is Amazon's Kindle, which uses their proprietary AZW files. I'm going to try to break it down for each platform, so bear with it if this becomes a bit confusing… because it kind of is.

iPad - The versatile iPad directly supports ebooks in ePub, PDF, and iBooks — which is really just ePub with DRM added in for security. However, iPad also has apps for both the Kindle and for Barnes & Noble which allows you to read their books on the Apple device.

Sony Reader – The current Reader supports EPUB, PDF, Microsoft Word, TXT, RTF, and BBeB, Sony's proprietary ebook format.

Nook – Barnes & Noble's ereader supports eReader PDB, ePub, Adobe ePub, and PDFs.

Ibis Reader — Unlike the rest of these, Ibis Reader is an online device that lets you to read all your DRM-free EPUB's via web browser on a variety of mobile devices, including Google Android and the Apple iPad/iPhone.

Stanza – More an app than a device, Stanza for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch supports books in the unencrypted DRM-free ePub format, DjVu, Comic Book Archive (both CBR & CBZ), and encrypted and unencrypted eReader and PDF files. Stanza Desktop supports DRM-free Amazon Kindle, Mobipocket, Microsoft LIT, PalmDoc, Microsoft Word, Rich Text Format, HTML, and PDFs.

Kindle – Amazon's little ereader that could supports .azw for books, but it can also read .txt files and .MOBI files.

Now that you know the incredibly wide variety of filetypes out there that each of the big platforms are using, there's a bigger question: how do you get your manuscript formatted and converted to those filetypes so you can sell it as an ebook? Check back to part 2, which will tell you how to take advantage of freeware to format your ebook.

Say No to DRM for Hassle-free Ebook Distribution

For an author who has spent months or years painstakingly crafting their novel, finally putting it out there in the world can be a scary thing. Will people like it? What if it doesn't sell very well? Or at all? What if no one even notices its' existence? We want to protect ourselves and our work any way that we can, like the proud (nervous, frightened) parents that we are.

One way that you can protect your ebook is by including Digital Rights Management (DRM) with the book. DRM prevents people from stealing from you by copying and downloading your book illegally. Use it, you are told, and you can rest assured that the people reading your book will have actually paid for it, which is only fair – after all, you should be compensated for all that hard work you put into writing the book! It just makes sense.

Unfortunately, the truth about DRM isn't so rosy. Many readers hate DRM because it reduces their rights and limits the features of their ebooks, such as preventing them from printing the book they purchased. Or if you and your wife use competing ereaders, purchasing a book with DRM for one device will make it unreadable on the competing device. DRM has even been known to harm readers' computers and ereaders! It also tends to increase the price of books that have it, making your work less attractive to the consumer. Perhaps the worst sin, though, is that it doesn't really work. If someone really wants to "steal" your book, they're only a quick Google search away from learning a variety of methods to remove the DRM protection, and that's if they even want to go the high tech route – if they wanted to, readers could copy your novel by capturing screenshots or simply photographing it with a cheap digital camera! The only thing it really does succeed at doing is annoying your readers.

So the solution is letting people steal your work? Actually, yes… sort of. Authors and publishers that have removed DRM protection from their books say that they think it actually helps their success. Much like the recording companies' use of cheap music on iTunes, O'Reilly Media has discovered that DRM-free ebooks at low prices discourage piracy. And that removing the DRM has allowed them to sell their books in more formats, which has made their customer base happy and increased their sales. Writers like Cory Doctorow and Paulo Coelho have even found that giving their ebooks away for free, and without DRM so that people can share them, has increased the sales of all their other books, earning them more money!

"Obscurity," Tim O'Reilly says, "is a bigger threat than piracy." So true – especially for self-published authors who have to work hard to get their name out there and get people interested. Forget about people stealing your book – let them! Your goal is to get as many people as possible to know your name and your books. The number of people who "steal" from you will always be a small percentage, and it's well worth it to make sure you're being read in as many ways as possible and making new loyal fans who will pay for your next book… and the next one after that!

How Piracy Gives Us Exposure

Here is a great video by Neil Gaiman about copyright piracy and the web.  Thought you would find it interesting.  Thanks to our friend Tom Wood for passing it along.  What do you think, does  piracy hurt or help publishers/authors.

Maintaining a Consistent Web Presence Will Increase Sales

According to Wikipedia, 2009 saw 288,355 books published in the United States alone. 558 feature films were released in North America. 1,099 video games were published. Roughly 15,000 TV channels broadcast programming worldwide. And that's not even touching the wide variety and ridiculously huge amount of entertainment the internet provides.

In order for your work to stand out amidst everything clamoring for our attention, you need to be putting yourself out there in as many different ways as possible. Blog. Use Facebook and Twitter. Record podcasts. Start a YouTube channel. Any and all of these things can be important to helping you achieve brand recognition (you being the brand).

But think very carefully before you overextend yourself, because potential fans value consistency and dependability. If you create any of these things and fail to "feed the beast," as it were, you're likely to end up with disgruntled readers or subscribers who stop trusting in you, which will probably lose you fans and hurt your sales over time.

Basically, if you're going to start something, you need to maintain it. Frequently. If you have a website with a blog, be sure to update it several times a week, and always respond to comments to keep the conversation going and personally interact with readers. Facebook and Twitter accounts should be maintained daily, if possible, both by posting content on your page and responding to people. And things like podcasts or YouTube channels should receive new content as fast as you are able to produce it.

Now, this isn't meant to discourage you about using any of these marketing tools. Used properly and consistently, they will absolutely work to your benefit, growing your fanbase and web presence, which will, in turn, increase your book sales. All I'm saying is to look before you leap, and think realistically about how much time you'll need to maintain your web presence while still going about your daily life and finding time to write the novels that you're doing all this for anyway. Make a schedule for yourself and follow it just like you would a regular job. Plan ahead for future posts, tweets, and so on when you find yourself with extra time. And always remember that the people following you and buying your books are your "employer," and your job is to make them want more of you.

Knowing Your Books' Demographic is the Key to Big Sales

Who do you think is going to buy your book?

When you're in the middle of it, riding high on that great plot twist you came up with or that perfect speech you put in your secondary character's mouth, you're probably not even thinking about that question. Or if you are, the naïve, excited answer is probably – everybody!

Who wouldn't want to read your masterpiece? It's brilliant! It's going to open minds and blow people away and change the very foundation of literature. Why would someone not want to read that?

Unfortunately, in reality, even if your novel was that good, a lot of people still probably wouldn't bother with it. Harry Potter books have sold in the hundreds of millions, but even they haven't been read by everyone, and if your book can even sell 1/1000th the copies of Harry Potter, you should be thrilled.

But let's take a step back. Remember where I said you haven't thought about who will be buying your books? Well, stop right there and take a second to do that, because knowing your audience is the number one factor to making book sales. In fact, bestselling author Kathy Sierra breaks it down even clearer than that, saying that books aren't sold due to great writing, ideas, marketing, or even a huge platform – it's all about finding readers who will be genuinely passionate about your concept, buy the book themselves, then sell it to other readers.

Now, granted, Ms. Sierra is talking specifically about writing nonfiction computer books, but the lesson holds. Especially as a self-published author in a sea of people who have far bigger marketing budgets, you want evangelists for readers. People who will praise you to everyone they know and do some of that hard marketing work for you.

How do you get those readers? By realizing who your "ideal reader" is. You can narrow this down by thinking about your story and characters. What world are you exploring? Who's your main character? How old are they, and what's their background – race, socio-economic, etc.? This doesn't mean that only African Americans are going to read my novels, but it's not a bad place to start when looking for that ideal reader. In fact, let's use African Americans age 18-49 as my starting point, then narrow from there by asking questions about this rather big group.

What books have these people read?
What magazines do they read?
Where do they hang out – online and off?
What clubs and associations do they belong to?
Are they mostly single, married, divorced?
What kind of jobs do they have?
Are they wealthy or from a lower income bracket?
What's their highest level of education?
Are they fashion-conscious or "trendy", or oblivious to such things?
Are more of them located in urban, suburban, or rural environments?

The old adage is that you should write to please one person. Well, the same holds true for selling your book, and the more clearly you can define your audience so that you market to that specific segment, the more successful you're likely to be at finding readers who will become true fans.

You Don't Need an Agent to Make Money

Do a quick Google search about whether you as a novelist need a literary agent and you'll find all kinds of people tell you yes, absolutely, you definitely need one if you want to make anything of yourself as a writer. Without one, they seem to say, good luck!

The problem with all of this advice is that it is old. Most of it presumes that you want to send your book to traditional publishers and doesn't even mention the existence of ebooks, let alone the great success they've brought to many writers.

Let's settle this once and for all: you do not need a literary agent to make a lot of money as an author. Anyone with a great book, a moderate amount of computer know-how, and a willingness to sell the heck out of themselves and their brilliant book in every possible way can make a great living writing ebooks (or even self-publishing the traditional route) without a literary agent taking 10-15% of your money out of your pocket. You'll be able keep more of the money your books make, which can make a big difference in income for a writer who is just starting out.

Besides taking a sizable chunk out of the money you make, literary agents don't really have anything to do in the self-publishing world. Their job is to sell you to the publishers by making them think your manuscript is worth their valuable time. But if you don't want their valuable time, what's the point? Even if you absolutely must become the next Stephen King and want to see your book in every big store across the country, agents aren't necessarily the way to go. Make a big splash in the ebook world like John Locke or Amanda Hocking and the big publishers will seek you out.

Some people will tell you that agents are essential once you get to the point where you're talking about print deals and negotiating film rights, and that might be the case when you get to that stage. Of course, you could also find a trusted lawyer for specific deals and contracts for the same result and probably less money.

If you still want an agent, think about this: agents won't represent a self-published ebook unless you stop self-publishing it. Why? Because print publishers want e-rights too, and agents will want to sell all of your rights. You'd have to stop selling ebooks to get an agent to rep it, and then they'll just sell it to a print publisher who will give you far crappier royalty rates!

How Networking Can "Net" You Lots of Sales

Do you know what an author's best friend is? A personal recommendation. Obviously this applies to someone liking your novels and recommending them to people, but I also mean it in the sense of people liking and "recommending" you. Remember, as an author you are really selling yourself in a lot of ways, so if people like you and feel like you're nice, funny, smart, or share interests, they're much more likely to buy your books or tell other people about you.

You should be doing everything you can to interact with fans online and in real life, but you should be just as proactive about meeting "potential fans," which means networking, networking, networking. You should always being prepared to schmooze with people in your daily life, but one of the best places to network is – surprise – networking events. Schmoozing at these kinds of get-togethers isn't a skill that comes naturally to most people, but there are ways to prepare and techniques you can use to make it easier.

1. Always be prepared.

Keep business cards with you at all times, and make sure that the information is clear and up-to-date. Even better, keep copies of your book on-hand, so you can make the sale right there! Come up with a list of things to talk to people about – both questions for them and a sort of sales pitch for yourself… without being too salesy. Regularly search for new events and opportunities in your area to meet people who can help you. Opportunities to network can present themselves anytime, anywhere, so you always need to have your game face on.

2. Make a Want-to-Meet Wish List.

Some of the best people for you to meet and befriend are other writers in your area. Most of the time, writers are thrilled to meet other writers, learn about what you're doing and what successes and failures you've had, and possibly even help you out. To find writers for your list, check out who's doing readings at local bookstores, read up on local blogs, and look into area book clubs and writers groups. Make a list of the people who seem like they'd be interested in your work – or even people whose work interests you. Nothing pleases a writer more than getting praise from another writer, and your compliments might even make them want to buy your work. Best case scenario, you'll sell a few books and make relationships with other writers who will be interested in a little tit-for-tat marketing. Worst case scenario, they might buy a book just to check out the competition. Either way, it's a win-win for you.

3. Give to receive.

The last tip sort of dovetails into this one, but when networking, you've got to be willing to help people out in order to get their help. It's all about reciprocation and mutual gain.

4. Go alone, and don't be shy

Taking someone with you to a networking event is a surefire way to avoid talking to people you don't already know. Going alone might seem scary, but without a friend to fall back on, you kind of have to talk to someone new. If you're still feeling shy because you don't know anyone, remember that that's the point of the event — to meet people – and own that feeling by trying out this line: "Hi, I don't know you." You'll be surprised how well it works.

The Promotional Power of Guest Blogging

As an author you're selling your writing, obviously, but you're also selling you. In the past I've talked about the importance of interacting with your fans and putting yourself out there as much as possible. This isn't new advice; writers have been doing book tours for more than a century, and readings of their work even longer than that. The internet doesn't make any of those things obsolete – any time you can physically interact with fans is a great thing – but it does open up a whole new world of ways to connect with people and get your name out there. If you aren't already using Facebook and Twitter to promote your work, you're behind in the game. But there's something just as useful you should be doing: guest blogging.

I've talked about going on virtual blog tours before when a new book comes out, and it's definitely something that should be part of your all-out "marketing blitz" when releasing a new book, but guest blogging is something that can be done at any time. In fact, it may even be more valuable to do a few guest blogs in between releasing new books, because it's a fantastic way to keep up the traffic on your site and promote sales of all of your work, not just one thing. Plus, if you do good work on other blogs, you'll be expanding a network of people who will work to promote you and help to increase your sales!

So now I've whet your appetite to guest blog, right? Where do you start? Find blogs in your genre and make contact. What does "in your genre" mean? Well, for some things this is easy. If you write sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, or horror, seek out blogs that celebrate that kind of work. Write books that involve food? Blog for a few cooking websites. Chick lit author? Seek out fashion sites. Maybe your hometown has some well-read blogs and they'll be excited to talk about the local boy who made good. Since my work has been critically praised, I might be able to write on blogs that generally focus more on "literary fiction" because I've got that pedigree now. Basically, consider how you brand yourself and think outside the box about who you are and who your readers are.

After you've gotten a few good sites that want you to guest blog, come up with some great ideas for each blog's specific focus and make them some of the best posts you've ever done. Remember, the readers of these blogs aren't the fans that come to your site every day – these are potential new fans, and because of that you need to impress them.  Also, it doesn't hurt to impress the person who runs the site, either, because it could lead to them asking your to guest blog again… not to mention that you want these people championing you to their readers to drive up your traffic and sales!

And don't make the mistake of thinking it's over after you've turned in your brilliant post to the person who runs the site. Find out when it's going to go live and make a point to interact with commenters. Be cool, friendly, and above all try to keep the discussion alive so that people are impressed with the time and effort you spent connecting with them. Even if only a few more people come to your site from each guest blog and buy a book or two, that's more than you would have had and money in your pocket.

Why Offering a Money-Back Guarantee Will Make You More Money

Every sale you make is a small victory, particularly in the beginning, so the idea of giving that hard-earned money back may seem crazy. You already made the sale and put the money in the bank. Why give it back? What do you have to gain? The answer is simple: more sales. And who doesn't want that? If you're not convinced, let's examine some of the myths and realities about offering a money-back guarantee.

Myth: People will take advantage of the offer to get a free product.

What's to keep someone from reading the entire thing and then returning an unusable copy back to you with its spine cracked, page corners folded, and a few unidentified food stains? Yes, it's a legitimate concern, but I can tell you from my experience and the experience of other self-published authors I know that only a very, very small percentage of people will actually take advantage of the guarantee.  Most people understand you are trying to make a living and respect that.  If you delivered the goods in your writing, they'll want to keep it!

Myth: You shouldn't offer a money-back guarantee on an eBook.

Surely you don't want to offer a full refund on a virtual book, since there's no physical product to give back. They can just take the book and run, so to speak. But just like with print copies, you'll find that a very small percentage actually request a refund. Over the years, I have suspected a few people of taking advantage of the offer, but overwhelmingly, returns are legitimate: people who had problems downloading the file, accidentally purchased two books, or got something entirely different than they were expecting. Those that are taking advantage? Well, they probably wouldn't have spent money on it in the first place, but instead they are being exposed to your writing. Who knows? Maybe they'll become a fan and consider actually purchasing the next book. All you've lost is the time it took to process the refund.

Reality: You'll remove their fear that they will waste money.

When you start, you're a unknown commodity, and even if you're a more seasoned self-published writer, most of the people you run into won't be familiar with your work. It's natural for people to be concerned to make the purchase. How do they know they'll enjoy your work? But you know they will, and you're letting them know just how much you believe in your book by offering a money-back guarantee.

Reality: You're building trust with your customers.

When you make a purchase from a site like eBay, it's likely that you check the reviews out before you hit "buy." You wouldn't make a purchase from just anyone. You want some assurances in advance. A money-back guarantee can help provide that level of comfort with your readers, and those that are on the edge about making the purchase will be more willing to take the leap!

Reality: You'll come out ahead of the competition.

A customer may be debating between your book and a book from another author. A money-back guarantee can make your book stand out. After all, your local bookstore probably isn't offering that guarantee, and many other self-published authors probably aren't either.  Why would someone go buy the other guy's book when you have nothing to lose be reading your book?