Get Rich Self-Pubbing

Get Rich Self-Pubbing Your E-books with J.A. Konrath

 

"Brainstorming on the Beach" Conference with Novelists, Inc.

Here are my notes, keeping in mind this is what I heard and my interpretation.           

 

Self-publishing eBook guru J.A. Konrath shared his experiences with us at the Ninc conference in St. Pete Beach. His sales figures are impressive and I'm not going to repeat them here. You can follow him on his blog, http://jakonrath.blogspot.com

Joe suggests making your website "sticky", i.e. give people a reason to stick around. Content should be informative and entertaining. For example, you might offer an unsold book online for free as a pdf download. Joe calls this a "gateway drug" because these readers will go on to buy your print books.

Publishing houses still provide editorial services, cover design, and distribution, plus they serve as  gatekeepers between the author and readers via bookstores. But should we pay for these services forever, or one time only?

If you are self-publishing, the cover art should be professional, even if you have to hire your own artist. Be sure to get the rights to use your cover design for any promotional purposes and also possibly if your book goes into print someday. Make sure your work is edited, error free, and correctly formatted so it looks professional. You'll need to write the blurbs and back cover copy and get reviews and quotes. You'll want the free preview option and no DRM.

Joe suggests doing a Kindle Nation ad but not necessarily a Facebook ad to attract readers. Participate in the kindleboards and social networks.

When self-pubbing, if you start out at Smashwords, you'll get an ISBN there. You can opt out of the Kindle and Pubit (for B&N) and do those yourselves.

If you have an agent, think above having him sell the subrights to your eBooks, i.e. audio, foreign, film.

Books no longer have a shelf life. "This is infinite. It is forever…It's a buffet mentality. We're not going to have a saturation."