Jason Matthews's Blog, page 14

Linda Joy Myers, A Mother-Daughter Saga

Linda Joy Myers, President of the National Association of Memoir Writers, discusses the power of memoir and her books including Don’t Call Me Mother–A Daughter’s Journey from Abandonment to Forgiveness. Hosted by Jason Matthews and Marla Miller.

Amazon author pages:

http://www.amazon.com/Linda-Joy-Myers/e/B002BMES9Y/

http://www.amazon.com/Jason-Matthews/e/B004A8W4BG/

http://www.amazon.com/Marla-Miller/e/B000APJYSE/

Websites:

http://www.namw.org/

http://ebooksuccess4free.wordpress.com

http://marlamiller.com/

G+ Pages:

Linda Joy Myers — https://plus.google.com/117132361743147951976/posts

Jason Matthews — https://plus.google.com/117850331447734054313/posts

Marla Miller — https://plus.google.com/103300511748809913411/posts

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Transcending Dreams One Indie Author at a Time

TranscendingDreams features indie authors and their books one at a time. Check them out for addition exposure. Founder, Sarah Grooms, is a typical indie herself: hardworking receptionist, mother of a two-year-old, writer, avid reader. Finding time to spotlight others on the website and blog is no small feat. Props to Sarah for helping so many others.

Sarah, how did it begin?

It started out with me reviewing some books for my friend and co-worker’s blog but after getting to know a couple of the authors, I really wanted to do what I could to help promote their work. So I’m starting to network with other bloggers and authors… making this website to spotlight Indie authors and making it easy for readers to find them (I link all the books to amazon). It’s gotten kind of time consuming but I have a blast doing it.

What do your sites say to people?

Hey Indie authors, bloggers, readers, and reviewers! Looking for a platform? Check out my website (www.transcendingdreams.net) and my blog (www.transcendingdreams.com)! If you want to contact me about a review, book release, cover reveal, having your blog linked to, or even to review with me, email me, transcendingdreams (at) gmail (dot) com. I’d love to hear from you! It wouldn’t be fair not to mention the wonderful woman who got me started in this world of writing – Brandy (www.romancebookworm.com). Support your Indie authors; pass along my email and let them know that they can have some free publicity on my site. Keep reading!

Sarah embodies the indie spirit beautifully. Work hard, love your family, be a good friend, stay active with your passion and support those who share your dreams. Well done.

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Win Charles I, Win with Cerebral Palsy

Amazing story of overcoming life’s greatest challenges, author Win Charles shares triumphs from her book, I, Win. Working as an author and artist overcoming cerebral palsy and the painful loss of her mother. Truly inspiring, a lesson for us all. Hosted by Jason Matthews and Marla Miller.

Amazon author pages:

http://www.amazon.com/Win-Kelly-Charles/e/B009VNJEKE

http://www.amazon.com/Jason-Matthews/e/B004A8W4BG/

http://www.amazon.com/Marla-Miller/e/B000APJYSE/

Websites:

http://authorwincharles.com/

http://ebooksuccess4free.wordpress.com

http://marlamiller.com/

G+ Pages:

Win Charles — https://plus.google.com/106824487947010070120/posts

Jason Matthews — https://plus.google.com/117850331447734054313/posts

Marla Miller — https://plus.google.com/103300511748809913411/posts

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Click here for the home page of How to Make, Market and Sell Ebooks All for Free.

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Draft2Digital vs Smashwords Self-Publishing Options

Draft2Digital is an attractive newcomer to publishing for indie authors. Open for about a year and based in Oklahoma City, it’s similar to Smashwords, which since 2008 has been the main venue for getting ebooks uploaded to retailers who otherwise don’t or didn’t have a self-service option. I’ve been a loyal SW user since 2009 and love what Mark Coker has done for the entire industry.  My books will definitely remain on the SW shelves though I also appreciate what some users are reporting on the benefits of Draft2Digital. (Notice that D2D is still in beta mode and may not be fully functional for awhile. You may need to sign up for an activation code, which arrived for me in about 2 minutes. Shout out to author friend, Cheri Lasota for telling me.)

Benefits (pros) authors say about D2D:

no formatting hoops to jump through (that is a biggie for non-tech types). Unlike the strict rules for passing the Smashwords Style Guide and meat-grinder for proper ebook formatting and conversion, Draft2Digital simply asks you to upload your MS Word doc as it is and they will figure out your formatting needs. Yes, it sounds too good to be true and makes me wonder if human eyes are required to get the job done. Turns out it’s all automated, with a computer system that does its best to figure out your formatting needs. Is the computer pretty accurate? Probably, but still a machine in beta stage. On the site they do mention, fancy page formatting doesn’t always convert well. The recommendation is to be as consistent as possible through the document, and their computer will have an easier time figuring out your formatting needs.  (My advice is to learn some basic formatting for MS Word doc even if you do upload there.)

The easiest and most popular format is a Word document. Upload your story in Word .doc or .docx format, and we’ll convert it into an ebook. RTF, HTML, and Open Office’s .odt should work fine, too. Anything Word can read, we can read.

More pros:

they automatically convert a CreateSpace file for making paperbacks. Wow, that is cool because I’ve had more headaches getting Word formatted for CreateSpace than I did for Smashwords. Again, I hope the formatting is really intuitive because it sounds too good to be true. At least they have a preview mode for checking first.
they let you sell their conversion from your own site, without having any Edition stamped upon like the Smashwords Edition. (Some authors feel the self-publishing stigma comes into play here.)
the time is reduced by huge amounts. Unlike Smashwords, where it can take a week to be approved for premium status and then another week to have distribution go to all of their partners, D2D apparently has extremely fast conversion and nearly immediate distribution to retailers. For example, make a change to your document and have the Apple version updated in very little time. That’s a nice feature.
updated sales data in nearly real time. Instead of having to wait several weeks to find out how sales are doing, D2D users get sales results throughout the day. Nice.
they upload to Amazon while SW never seemed to get that contract ironed out. (I would not use D2D for this of course; I’d upload to Amazon KDP directly, but it’s nice they offer. They also offer uploading to Kobo and Barnes & Noble, but I’d go direct with them too.)
can also pay with checks and electronic bank deposits (international), not just PayPal like SW, good news for many authors especially those in other countries.
payments are monthly instead of quarterly

Cons:

D2D doesn’t have a bookstore on the site like Smashwords does. I do sell some, not a lot but some, books directly from Smashwords and that’s important to me. My books are searchable in their system and SW does have a large reader base. Also, in the brief period of time after uploading when an author’s book is on the front page of  Smashwords, hundreds to thousands of people might consider buying your book. That can help get the ball rolling.
since there’s no bookstore, you can’t create coupons like you can at SW for a marketing campaign or to give certain readers a special deal. Coupons can be effective for boosting sales/readers/reviews.
they don’t currently offer some of the retail partners that SW does (Sony, Diesel, Baker Taylor, Page Foundry), but that could change soon. IMHO those channels aren’t nearly as important as Amazon, Apple, Kobo and Barnes & Noble, which is supported by D2D.
they don’t currently sell ISBN’s in case you wanted one. Again, not an issue because even SW recommends not buying an ISBN but they do offer them for sale and some authors prefer that.

Royalty amounts are the same. I might wait to publish a new book title to know more, so hopefully in a few months I can report my personal results. However, some constants should remain in place. Everyone should sell directly through KDP Amazon. If you go with either Smashwords or D2D for the other options, it still makes sense to have a properly formatted MS Word document before uploading. The simplest way to do that is to read Building Your Book for Kindle or the harder and more thorough way is the Smashwords Style Guide or you can read the Formatting chapter in How to Make, Market and Sell Ebooks, which is the really the best of both worlds and so much more to sell ebooks. Everyone should probably also upload to Smashwords, even if you do prefer D2D, because Smashwords has a bookstore and currently some distribution partners not covered by D2D.

Have an experience with D2D or SW to share? Please do.

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Click here for the home page of How to Make, Market and Sell Ebooks All for Free.

Subscribe to this blog for updates on what Indie authors can do to sell ebooks.

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Barnes & Noble PubIt Changes to Nook Press, Too Late?

PubIt is now Nook Press. Smart move for Barnes & Noble, or is it too little too late? Amid speculation that the Nook ship is sinking, or at least taking on water fast, this move to enhance the self-publishing indie author platform feels like a last ditch effort. My opinion: I hope it works but should have been done long ago. Here’s the email they just released (note some cool new features and some serious concerns below):

Dear Publisher,

Over the past two and a half years, our working partnership has made PubIt! a resounding success. Because of PubIt! publishers like you, we’ve been able to offer millions of NOOK® customers exciting new content from independent authors.

Our success is your success, and we’ve been working hard to bring you a platform that takes our partnership—and self-publishing—to the next level. Today, we’re pleased to introduce to you NOOK Press, our new and improved self-publishing platform!

NOOK Press is self-publishing made simple. With the NOOK Press platform you can write, edit, collaborate, publish and sell your eBooks all in one place—at no cost.

The NOOK Press platform features these exciting new tools and services:

NEW! One-stop Publishing Solution: Write, edit, format and publish your eBooks in our web-based platform, instantly reaching millions of NOOK customers within 72 hours.
NEW! Easy ePub Creation and Editing: Upload your manuscript file and make changes directly in NOOK Press. Editing and previewing in one session saves you time and effort.
NEW! Integrated Collaboration: Collaborate with editors, copyeditors, and friends, allowing them to review and comment on your manuscript without ever leaving NOOK Press.
Visual Sales Reporting: Our new visually-enhanced sales report makes tracking your sales progress even easier.
NEW! Instant Chat: Live Chat customer service is now available to quickly answer your questions Monday through Friday between 9am-9pm EST.
Pathway to Passionate Readers Everywhere: Publish once and reach millions of customers using NOOK and NOOK Reading Apps in the US and UK and more coming soon.
Same Great Terms: Our favorable PubIt! business terms and commitment to a transparent retail partnership remain unchanged.

NOOK Press Presents

Our booksellers are currently hand-selecting titles for a new merchandising program: NOOK Press Presents — Our Top 100 Picks for Summer. NOOK Press Presents will be an ongoing merchandising channel for independently published content that comes to NOOK through NOOK Press.

Once you moved your existing PubIt! account to NOOK Press your titles will be considered for this program, which will promote books across the NOOK ecosystem.

Get started with NOOK Press today! Click here to be guided through a quick, one-time account syncing process. Once completed your PubIt! account, sales, payment, and title information will automatically appear in NOOK Press. To find out more about the changeover to NOOK Press, see our support page here.

We’re excited to turn the page together on a new chapter in self-publishing!

Sincerely,

The NOOK Press Team

Like many indie authors, I’m really wanting this to work. We need more avenues for sales than just Amazon and the smattering of others including Smashwords, Apple, Kobo, etc. If you’re already selling there, switching a PubIt account to Nook Press is simple. This was my screenshot after doing so, and it asks which titles you want to offer for sale–then viola, it’s done.

The sales and payments page is also better, with all the information on one page and a graph of sales. You can also create a profile now (yeah!), something that was seriously lacking before. All information for payments automatically switches from the PubIt account, so no worries to reinsert bank account info, addresses, etc. It’s really simple. The ability to work on their site, collaborate with editors, friends, cover designers sounds intriguing–will have to report back on that.

Now for the serious concerns. Once an ebook is listed for sale, changes can’t be made without dumping the existing project and losing the reviews, ranking, etc: NOOK Book Details can be changed after you put your Project On Sale as a NOOK Book, but at this time, the NOOK Book itself cannot be updated or replaced. To update or replace a NOOK Book that is currently On Sale, you would need to take the Project Off Sale, download the ePub from the Project page, create a new Project, upload the downloaded ePub or create a new Manuscript in that Project, and then put that new Project On Sale as a NOOK Book.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW:
Once you click Put On Sale, there will be a period of time of approximately 24-72 hours before your Project goes On Sale as a NOOK Book. During this interim period, you will be unable to edit your NOOK Book Details. Once your Project is On Sale as a NOOK Book, you will be able to edit the NOOK Book Details again. If you choose to change or update your NOOK Book’s title, please note that the NOOK Book will lose any existing customer reviews, sales ranking, star ratings, and links to other products with the previous title. The only NOOK Book Details you cannot change after your Project goes on sale as a NOOK Book is whether your NOOK Book is encrypted with DRM.

This makes me moderately happy. Like other indies, we all just want to sell ebooks. Back on the Nook bandwagon? Perhaps.

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Click here for the home page of How to Make, Market and Sell Ebooks All for Free.

Subscribe to this blog for updates on what Indie authors can do to sell ebooks.

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Indie Author Larry Jacobson Making Dreams Come True

Indie Authors #48 features Larry Jacobson, who spent six years sailing into the unknown where the unrelenting oceans served as teacher of seamanship, personal strength and perseverance. In his book, The Boy Behind the Gate, Larry reveals the crucial steps that will motivate you to make your dreams come true. Hosted by Jason Matthews and Marla Miller.

Amazon author pages:

http://www.amazon.com/Larry-Jacobson/e/B004XTWTW6/

http://www.amazon.com/Jason-Matthews/e/B004A8W4BG/

http://www.amazon.com/Marla-Miller/e/B000APJYSE/

Websites:

http://www.larryjacobson.com/

http://ebooksuccess4free.wordpress.com

http://marlamiller.com/

G+ Pages:

Larry Jacobson — https://plus.google.com/110981612495061156960/posts

Jason Matthews — https://plus.google.com/117850331447734054313/posts

Marla Miller — https://plus.google.com/103300511748809913411/posts

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Click here for the home page of How to Make, Market and Sell Ebooks All for Free.

Subscribe to this blog for updates on what Indie authors can do to sell ebooks.

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+Jason Matthews author

Out Of Sync with Belinda Nicoll, The Only Constant is Change

Indie Authors #47 interviews Belinda Nicoll, on her move from South Africa to USA on September 11th, 2001. The expat discusses

change, conflict and culture shock in her memoir, Out Of Sync. Hosted by Jason Matthews and Marla Miller.

Amazon author pages:

http://www.amazon.com/Belinda-Nicoll/e/B0086X3N70/

http://www.amazon.com/Jason-Matthews/e/B004A8W4BG/

http://www.amazon.com/Marla-Miller/e/B000APJYSE/

Websites:

http://www.myriteofpassage.com/

http://ebooksuccess4free.wordpress.com

http://marlamiller.com/

G+ Pages:

Belinda Nicoll — https://plus.google.com/111672162253700762003/posts

Jason Matthews — https://plus.google.com/117850331447734054313/posts

Marla Miller — https://plus.google.com/103300511748809913411/posts

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Click here for the home page of How to Make, Market and Sell Ebooks All for Free.

Subscribe to this blog for updates on what Indie authors can do to sell ebooks.

add me to your Google Plus circles.



+Jason Matthews author

Big Tease from Nook Pubit Barnes & Noble

Just when the thought of life getting more suspenseful seemed impossible, Barnes & Noble sent me this email:

Dear PubIt! Publisher,

We’ve got some exciting news on the horizon, and as an integral part of our self-publishing community, we want you to be the first to know! Stay tuned for an upcoming announcement on our next chapter in self-publishing. We appreciate your partnership and look forward to an even stronger relationship in the future.

Sincerely,

The PubIt! Team

Any guesses what it could be? I’m scratching my head–I’ve literally got nothing.

Let’s just say sleep is going to be challenging until the announcement comes. Hopefully the news is that Barnes & Noble is really going to embrace and promote indie authors in a method similar to Amazon. Because that would be exciting.

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Click here for the home page of How to Make, Market and Sell Ebooks All for Free.

Subscribe to this blog for updates on what Indie authors can do to sell ebooks.

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Award Winning Novelist Betsy Graziani Fasbinder

Indie Authors #46 interviews Betsy Graziani Fasbinder, discussing her recently released novel, Fire & Water, and more. Hosted by Jason Matthews with Marla Miller.

Amazon author pages:

http://www.amazon.com/Betsy-Graziani-Fasbinder/e/B00BLOIRRM/

http://www.amazon.com/Jason-Matthews/e/B004A8W4BG/

http://www.amazon.com/Marla-Miller/e/B000APJYSE/

Websites:

http://www.betsygrazianifasbinder.com/

http://ebooksuccess4free.wordpress.com

http://marlamiller.com/

G+ Pages:

Betsy Fasbinder – https://plus.google.com/107297246424286362818/posts

Jason Matthews – https://plus.google.com/117850331447734054313/posts

Marla Miller – https://plus.google.com/103300511748809913411/posts

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Click here for the home page of How to Make, Market and Sell Ebooks All for Free.

Subscribe to this blog for updates on what Indie authors can do to sell ebooks.

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+Jason Matthews author

How Many Sales to Amazon Bestseller?

Want to be an Amazon bestseller? Of course you do–every author does! And we’re talking about the top five of all categories, not just some little niche like Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Animal Care & Pets > Dogs.

According to a recent study by Publishers Weekly, you need to sell approximately 300 print books on Amazon in a single day to crack the top 5 bestsellers (fun fact–Amazon guards their secret algorithm with the same staff that protects Google and the recipe for Coca Cola–jk).

How would this correspond to ebooks? Hmm, good question. Since Amazon sells roughly 20% more ebooks than print, my guess is you would need to sell about 360 Kindle books per day to crack the top 5 bestsellers. (Reminder, not talking about niche categories here, where the top 5 can be achieved with just a few to a few dozen sales per day.)

Of course, these are rough estimates based on cross-referencing other sites that use, er… rough estimates, but still a nice ballpark number to shoot for.

Next question–how on Earth does one sell 360 ebooks in a single day and maintain that? If I had the answer, this post would not have been written. Blogging, activity in social media and writing a book that readers recommend like crazy is a good place to start. How about that for an answer.

Here’s to your 15 minutes of fame, may it stretch waaaay beyond its expiration date.

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Click here for the home page of How to Make, Market and Sell Ebooks All for Free.

Subscribe to this blog for updates on what Indie authors can do to sell ebooks.

add me to your Google Plus circles.



+Jason Matthews author