Jason Matthews's Blog, page 16

Amazon UK and EU Direct Payments to Authors

It’s been a long time coming. Authors in the UK and EU have long struggled with a better payment option from US based Amazon.com, typically the largest seller of their ebooks. In the past it was done with US checks that often needed gross amounts deducted by local banks to convert to local currency. This hasn’t been a problem for US authors, as EFT’s (electronic funds transfer) are the common method of payment resulting in direct bank deposits. Now authors in the UK and EU can get that too.

From Amazon:

KDP updates royalty payment options for UK and EU

We are pleased to announce Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) has new payment options available. You can update your account starting today for royalty payments to be made in April, 2013. Your account preferences can be set to receive royalty payments electronically across all marketplaces in British pounds or Euros. In order to be paid by Direct Deposit, your bank account will need to be located in the United Kingdom or in Europe.

For more information, https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help.

A happy day for Indies and readers

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Indie Author Dog Lover – Ferris Robinson

A soft spot exists in my heart for dogs and the people who love them, especially those who learn life lessons from dogs. Enjoy the following interview and excerpt from author, Ferris Robinson, who recently released Dogs and Love–Stories of Fidelity.

What was your motivation?

I LOVE my dogs, and the older I am the more important they are to me. Especially with my boys growing up and leaving home, the dogs have taken on the roles of kids. They sure are easier! Dogs are so sensitive to humans, knowing innately when hearts are broken, or there is much to be celebrated. They love us humans better than we deserve. (I’m a real dog person.)

Who will love this book?

I think dog-lovers will love the book, but also maybe people who ‘don’t get dogs’ will have an ah-ha moment and realize what a void they have in their lives. That’s how I feel really – but know I shouldn’t impose that on everyone. But I try! Especially recently widowed or lonely people. I think people will see their own dogs in the stories, and remember how much they loved ‘so and so’ and how much that particular dog meant to them.

Already made me think of mine. You’re an accomplished author–why have you gone Indie rather than Traditional publishing?

I didn’t try to get an agent for my nonfiction b/c know what a long shot it is, with tons of waiting, rejection, etc. I’m trying to get one for my fiction but will probably self publish it as well if I don’t have any luck. I self-published a couple of cookbooks years ago that I’m actually re-releasing this spring. It’s fun to work it, and you are a huge help and support. Not sure I would have done it without your books and advice.

Thank you. How do you like being an Indie author? Pros and cons?

I like being hands on as an Indie author, writing the press releases, stalking people like you (haha) and working it! I actually published a book on log homes with a publisher but between you and me, not sure what they did to promote it. It makes sense to cut out the middle man in my case and so far, I’m having a ball. The people I’ve ‘met’ online and on your site are incredibly helpful and kind. They all seem to want to ‘pay it forward’ and help another indie out. Nothing cut-throat or competitive at all so far and I am so happy to be part of such a kind and giving community. 

Happy to have you with us. The following is from Ferris Robinson’s book, Dogs and Love – Stories of Fidelity.

Puppy Training – Who’s Training Who?

I am determined to house train my new puppy. I take him outside several times a day, my pocket heavy with treats. I say “Hurry up!” like my training manual suggests so that he will learn to relieve himself immediately upon hearing that phrase.

On a mission, I walk him down the path to my garden. So far he is in no hurry at all, despite my suggestions. Instead he sticks his nose in a clump of bee balm and sniffs. I pinch off a red fringed blossom and squeeze it in my hand, breathing in the sharp fragrance.

“Hurry up!” I coax as he meanders along the path, smelling the carmine-red spiraea and the tips of the lavender and the frothy yellow yarrow that spills over the path. Finally I give up and take a seat on the wooden bench my husband gave me a few years ago. It is the perfect accent piece for my garden, but to my knowledge, has never been used. I am glad to have a spot in the shade to wait. “Hurry up!” I say again as he wanders further down the path.

I have spent countless hours in this garden, but I am always working on a project. I weed constantly. I keep the bird feeder full and the hydrangeas watered and I spread pine straw on a regular basis. When I look at my backyard it is to see what needs replacing and what needs to be added.

This is the first time I have ever sat down and looked at my garden without criticism. I am still. Right beside me an oversized bumblebee trundles over a violet butterfly bush bloom. The bee clings, now upside down, to the conical blossom that has rolled over under the insect’s weight. Undeterred, he continues his mission, frantically eating pollen with what appears to be six hands.

There is a butterfly on another bloom, methodically opening and closing his brown and orange wings. I lean in closer and peer at his busy whirl of antennae as he vigorously sips up nectar. He seems completely unaware of me.

I am still. There is another bee so close to me I could touch him, but he looks different. His tiny body is a soft mossy green and he has a fan tail. Suddenly I realize it is not a bee at all, but a baby hummingbird. His whirring wings make no noise and I wonder if the motorized hum grown hummingbirds make comes with age. I don’t move as I watch him immerse most of his little torso in a single bloom of a vivid pink phlox. I listen hard to see if I can hear him. I can’t.

Instead, I hear the trill of a bird from the woods, then a repetitive chirp-chirp-chirp of another, and then a frenzied twitter of what must be a flock of the same bird. I cannot see any of these birds, but know I am hearing different ones.

A goldfinch glides in for a perfect landing on my full feeder. He is bright crayon yellow and pops out against the black sunflower seeds. I drink him in.

My puppy comes barreling down the path and jumps up on my lap, joyfully licking my chin. He has sniffed every flower and chased every bee and noticed every single thing in the garden. I glance at my watch and realize almost half an hour has passed and I have no idea if my mission was accomplished or not. Still, I do not tell him to hurry up.

I feel the vibration of the baby hummingbird just behind my ear, but I never hear a sound. The leaves rustle and there is a late summer breeze on my face and I think what a lovely spot I have in the world. I am thankful my little dog has not learned how to ‘hurry up’. I gaze out at the garden and think of all I would have missed if he had. I stroke my little dog’s ear and wonder if that was his mission all along.

I enjoyed this very much and know other readers will too. Read more about author Ferris Robinson at her blog.

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Negative Reviews are Good, Really

The reasons (below) are from author Rainy Kaye, who can be found at her website and Book and Blog Services. These are Rainy’s words on why negative reviews are good for Indie authors:

Congratulations! You’re real. In the throes of self publishing and sock puppet reviews, it’s important to establish a piece of work—and the creator behind it—is honest. One of the surest ways to do this is by receiving negative reviews. Since nothing is universally loved, not even Harry Potter, then a book with only five-star reviews is bound to raise a few eyebrows.

Marketing: You’re doing it right. When a book is first born, it usually finds itself passed around from one loving supporter to another. And that’s okay. Eventually, though, your baby will have to find its legs and start exploring the world. That means it will be outside the safety of the village, and into the wild. And some things out there will want to have it for breakfast. In short, if your book hasn’t garnered a few negative reviews, you haven’t sent it out far enough.

Welcome to the classroom. Before publication, a book should have been revised, beta read, and edited. Even with all that, your manuscript likely only saw less than a dozen people. Once out in the world, it—hopefully—will reach hundreds, or even thousands of readers. Among all the voices, some might ring true with thoughts and opinions no one had considered before. Don’t dismiss constructive criticism just because it was accompanied by a one-star.

In the words of Picard. Anyone with even the slightest bit of knowledge about a marketing will tell you that word of mouth is the best way to promote anything. This means you need people to talk about the book. Negative reviews often generate conversation among readers. No need to get involved. Just let it run its course. Engaged readers pique curiosity along the way.

It’s good for the soul. Praise is nice. If you managed to see a book through from start to finish, you’ve earned all the bubbly feedback. But even Shakespeare had critics (and now entire classrooms pick his work apart). Sometimes it takes a negative review or two to keep us grounded and, therefore, real to our fans.

No one likes negative reviews. It’s okay to be privately hurt or even angry about them. Rant to a friend, take it out on the punching bag, or indulge in a whole gallon of ice cream (not the fat free kind, either). Just keep in mind that in the end, you need negative reviews. They’re part of being a real writer.

Fantastic advice, Rainy. Makes me feel much better about my own negative reviews.

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Indie Authors #40, Tips for Christian Genre

Indie authors with Christian genre themes share valuable advice. Featuring host, Jason Matthews and guests, Lisa Grace and Samantha Fury.

Amazon Author Pages:

Lisa Grace – http://www.amazon.com/Lisa-Grace/e/B003H8CMBW/

Samantha Fury – http://www.amazon.com/Samantha-Fury/e/B00418GSVC/

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

Websites:

Lisa Grace – http://www.lisagracebooks.com/

Samantha Fury – http://www.samanthafury.com/

Jason Matthews – http://ebooksuccess4free.webs.com

G+ Pages:

Lisa Grace – https://plus.google.com/103935289635198255908/posts

Samantha Fury – https://plus.google.com/101015850943623419980/posts

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

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Poll-Where do Indie Authors Sell Ebooks?

Take Our Poll

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Amazon Removes Tags on Books for Good

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anyalogic/3212522340/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Maybe you were a reader who searched for books by tags. Maybe you were an Indie author who spent hours in tagging parties hoping to increase your book’s visibility on Amazon’s search engine (whether it actually worked or not). Either way, it seems the death of tags at Amazon is officially official (to the delight of readers who felt cheated by misleading tags).

This isn’t the first time they’ve gone–back in May of 2011 they went on hiatus only to return. But this time it feels like goodbye. A wise move or a sad one?

My friend shared an email from an Amazon employee: The original idea of Tags was to allow customers to tag items they were considering buying (for example, tagging items for a specific person as a gift), tagging products that they have purchased for later recommendations and tagging products to suggest better organization of them for Amazon. Over time Amazon has introduced new features that have replaced the TAGS functionality, including Wish Lists, Customer Reviews and Recommendations. Since the introduction of those features the usage of Tags, and therefore their value to our customers, has declined. We have removed TAGS in favor of the replacement features. Tags that you created are still available under Your Profile page.

Sounds like a concession to readers and other users who felt tags were prone to abuse by authors and merchants, therefore Amazon must have grown tired of the thousands of emails on the subject. Understandable. Let’s just hope Amazon’s new system (probably to be implemented over the coming months and years) does as much good for the people who genuinely benefited by searching with tags.

Personally, it seemed the tags helped a bunch with non-fiction sales, much more than with my novels. What are your thoughts?

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College Football and Indie Author Dreams

Sometimes people ask, “How did you decide to become an Indie author?” Recently, I wrote this article for inclusion in a book.

A few years ago a college football game changed my life. During a timeout, the TV camera zoomed in close on the back jersey of one of the players until his last name filled the screen: Kindle. The camera stayed there long enough to strike a chord in me even though I didn’t particularly care about the game or either of the teams. Kindle reminded me of my dream of being a writer and no longer working as a house-painting contractor. Two full-length novels had been written during my free time and then existed solely on the hard drive of my computer while I tried to secure an agent or publisher, which seemed an impossible task. For months I had weighed the options to go for a traditional contract or bite the bullet and get into self-publishing. I knew ebooks were here to stay and Amazon was the place for them. That unlikely moment during a college football game aided my decision. It said to me that Kindle was important. Kindle could be my way out of painting and into writing full time.

Once the decision was made, I began researching how to make and sell ebooks. I first uploaded to Amazon and Smashwords, then created my own websites and sold from there as well. I became active in social media, online forums and submitted articles in cyberspace to promote my novels. I even published paperbacks. The amazing thing was that all of it was done with free methods, literally at no cost to me, and I was finally selling books. When I shared this information with other writers, their curiosity peaked as to how they could do it too.

The proverbial light over my head lit up. I realized a how-to guide would be my next book: a thorough explanation of everything needed to effectively create, market and sell ebooks and paperbacks without spending a small fortune in the process. To my amazement, I wrote the book in just over a month, and as soon as it was released it began selling like crazy. To date, that title, How to Make, Market and Sell Ebooks All for Free, has sold over 10,000 copies in digital and print formats and continues to sell.

How has life changed now that I have five titles selling? I no longer paint houses for a living, thankfully. Every month direct deposits are made into my bank account by Amazon, CreateSpace, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Udemy, Google, and Smashwords (quarterly). Readers also buy directly from my own sites and fill my PayPal account with deposits. Even though the money isn’t currently as much as I’d like it to be, it is enough to cover my family’s needs and allow me to be a full time writer. Plus I have the hope that my novels will take off someday soon, and then the possibilities are unlimited. More than that, the contacts I’ve made with other writers, readers and people in general have taken off to the level that all sorts of opportunities are happening including offers for speaking engagements, foreign rights, consulting jobs (which I’ve done), and more.

For new writers getting started, focus on doing the little things one step at a time knowing most independent authors will take ten thousand steps before their dreams are realized. If you expect tremendous results in little time, frustration is likely to be the outcome. First and foremost, do everything in your power to present the very best book you can with a great cover, polished interior, excellent editing and such. Then upload and sell from Amazon and other major retailers. Find your favorite elements of social media and stick with those few; whether it’s Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, LinkenIn, YouTube, Pinterest, Goodreads, blogging or whatever—you’ll save energy and sanity by just doing a few things well than trying to be a jack-of-all-trades in social media. Remember it takes time, so be patient yet persistent. And of course, read my guide. It will help bunches.

http://www.amazon.com/Make-Market-Sell-Ebooks-ebook/dp/B003CJU49I/

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Memoir Writing with Cheryl Stahle

Indie Authors presents Cheryl Stahle, teacher of memoir writing and author of Slices Of Life: The Art and Craft of Memoir Writing. Featuring host, Jason Matthews, and guest author, Cheryl Stahle.

Amazon Author Pages:

Cheryl Stahle – http://www.amazon.com/Cheryl-Butler-Stahle/e/B008Q8ZZ8A/

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

Websites:

Cheryl Stahle – http://www.yourbestwritinggroup.com/

Jason Matthews – http://ebooksuccess4free.webs.com

G+ Pages:

Cheryl Stahle – https://plus.google.com/104719358225944804762/posts

Jason Matthews – https://plus.google.com/117850331447734054313/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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Smashwords 2012 Highlights

Mark Coker just released the highlights for 2012 at Smashwords and the ebook industry in general. To read the entire post, click here – http://blog.smashwords.com/2012/12/smashwords-year-in-review-2012-power-in.html. For just the highlights, read below.

From Mark Coker;

2012 was another incredible year for the Smashwords authors, publishers, literary agents, retailers, libraries, and customers we serve.

Here are some of our key milestones for 2012:  

Catalog growth:  We’re ending the year with more 190,500 books at Smashwords.  98,000 new titles were added to the Smashwords catalog this year.  This is up from 92,500 at the end of 2011, and up from 28,800 at the end of 2010, 6,000 in 2009, and 140 our first year in 2008.


More authors/publishers/literary agents choosing Smashwords:  Smashwords today supports 58,000 authors and small publishers around the world, up from 34,000 at the end of 2011, 12,100 in 2010, 2,400 in 2009, and 90 in 2008.

 
Profitability: Smashwords has been profitable for 27 straight months, and our profitability is growing as our business grows.  We’ve done this without bringing in outside venture capital, which means we’re free to pursue our unconventional business model without the interference of outside investors.  Profitability is important, because it means we’re here for the long haul.  It means we have the resources to reinvest in our business for the benefit of the authors, publishers, retailers, libraries, and readers we serve.  Nowhere is this investment more apparent than in our staffing numbers (next item).

 
Employee Count:  We’re ending 2012 with 19 employees, up from 13 in 2011, and 3 in 2010. This year we continued to invest heavily in customer service and software development. 

 
Faster-Faster-Faster:  Thanks to investments in technology and staffing, we’re providing faster conversions, faster Premium Catalog approvals, faster response times to support inquiries, faster distributions to Apple, Kobo and Barnes & Noble, and faster sales reporting.  We will improve further on all counts in 2013.

 
Libraries:  We signed new distribution deals with library aggregators such as Baker & Taylor Axis360, 3M Cloud Library and one other major aggregator not yet announced.  We added support for custom library pricing, and we introduced Library Direct to support libraries that operate their own ebook checkout systems under the Douglas County Model.

 
Ebook Distribution Systems:  We began a complete re-architecture of our ebook distribution systems to enable faster, more accurate ebook distributions and metadata updates. 

 
Smashwords Profiled in Forbes Magazine:  This was a big deal for us.  For the first time ever, we revealed to the world our revenues (Forbes requires that startups they profile reveal numbers).  Later in the year, we received coverage in the New York Times and Time Magazine.  The indie ebook revolution is starting to go mainstream, though I think we’re all still flying below the radar.  That’ll change in 2013.

 
Improved categorization:  We completed adding support for thousands of BISAC categories to help our author’s books land on the correct virtual shelf.

 
Merchandising collaboration with retail partners:  We ramped up our merchandising collaboration with retailers, especially Apple, which has been incredibly proactive and creative in working with us to create new opportunities to connect Smashwords books with millions of their customers (See Apple’s Breakout Books promo).  We continued to build tools to help our retailers identify books worthy of promotional love, because these tools help Smashwords authors sell more books and help retailers satisfy more of their customers, which is their primary objective.

 
Retailers earning millions of dollars from the sale of Smashwords books:  Our retail partners have made incredible investments to help list, maintain, promote, merchandise, and sell our books to their customers.  I’m pleased to say their investments are paying off.  We want our retail partners to do well with our books, because the value they provide to our authors and publishers far exceeds the sales commission they earn. 

 
We released the Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success:  In March, I released this free ebook, which identifies the 28 best practices of the most commercially successful Smashwords authors.  It’s the lastest in a series of free ebooks I’ve written that promote professional publishing best practices.  Along with The Smashwords Style Guide (how to publish an ebook) and the Smashwords Book Marketing Guide (how to promote any book and build author platform), my three books combined have now been downloaded over 250,000 times.  Thousands of our authors and publishers have since put these practices to work. 
Amazon:  Our relationship with Amazon has been frustrating.  Even though Smashwords authors have the freedom to bypass Smashwords and work directly with many of our retail partners, about 80% of our authors choose to distribute through Smashwords.  They appreciate the time-saving convenience and simplicity of centrally managing their books and metadata from the Smashwords Dashboard.  Unlike every other major retailer, Amazon has not yet provided us the ability to do large, automated distributions and metadata updates.  As a result, our authors who would prefer to reach Amazon through Smashwords are forced to upload direct to Amazon.  Although I remain hopeful Amazon will one day see fit to treat us as a partner rather than a competitor to be crushed, killed and destroyed, I’m not holding my breath.  We’ve built a healthy, profitable and fast-growing business without their help, and we’ve done this despite their attempts to harm us and our retail partners.  Unlike traditional publishers which would probably go bankrupt if they stopped distributing to Amazon, we face no such noose.  In the meantime, we focus our energy on helping our true retail partners succeed in the marketplace.
We protected your right to publish legal content:  When PayPal tried to ban certain categories of “objectional” books, we pushed back, and led a broad coalition of authors and pro-books advocates to overturn PayPal’s proposed policies.  PayPal and the credit card companies decided to do the right thing.  It was a victory for all authors, and demonstrated the growing power of the indie author movement, especially when we stick together and work toward a common cause.  At Smashwords, we’re always advocating for the rights of our authors.  Much of this advocacy happens quietly behind the scenes, outside the glare of press releases and media spotlight.  We’re all in this together.
Smashwords Direct: Today, we released Smashwords Direct, a new publishing option at Smashwords that allows authors and publishers to upload professionally designed .epub files for distribution through the Smashwords network.  The service complements our Meatgrinder conversion engine by enabling us to support ebooks with more complex formatting requirements.

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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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Writing Goals and Resolutions

From Indie Authors #38, Writing goals and New Year’s resolutions–how to make the most of them. Featuring host, Jason Matthews and manifesting expert, Jana Matthews, with authors, Alana Woods, Emily Hill and Lisa Grace.

Amazon Author Pages:

Emily Hill – http://www.amazon.com/Emily-Hill/e/B004GRK21A/

Alana Woods – http://www.amazon.com/Alana-Woods/e/B0061UWNN0/

Lisa Grace – http://www.amazon.com/Lisa-Grace/e/B003H8CMBW/

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

Websites:

Jana Matthews – http://newmoonmanifesting.com/

Emily Hill – http://www.EmilyHillWriter.com

Alana Woods – http://www.amazon.com/Alana-Woods/e/B0061UWNN0/

Lisa Grace – http://www.lisagracebooks.com/

Jason Matthews – http://ebooksuccess4free.webs.com

G+ Pages:

Jana Matthews – https://plus.google.com/101843370808029116484/posts

Emily Hill – https://plus.google.com/115897756622234367963/posts

Alana Woods – https://plus.google.com/114531688710125871848/posts

Lisa Grace – https://plus.google.com/103935289635198255908/posts

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