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Eighteen Months To Live
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WHERE DO YOU SELL BOOKS OTHER THAN AMAZON?
Getting away from the Smashwords debate...An eBook store I've had some success with that hasn't been mentioned is OmniLit. Thanks to my publisher, I'll even get my book featured on it later this month as part of eBook Month, on March 19th.
https://www.omnilit.com/product-tohel...
Judith wrote: "@Kim. Not sure what you mean about "marketing" my book equally on both Amazon and Smashwords. I uploaded my ebook to Smashwords shortly after it was up on Amazon. No matter how much I market the ..."@Judith: I was referring to marketing as advertising, and thanks for your reply. My book has sold better on Amazon, as well. Good luck to you.
Sharon wrote: "Judith wrote: "the fact is more people have Kindle's than any other eReader; hence more sales on Amazon."This is kind of a US-centric phenomenon, to be honest. The fastest growing eReader brand ..."
@Sharon: Thanks for the phrase tip for advertising on Smashwords!
I've had some success with Apple and Nook, as well as Smashwords, I agree that Kobo is a great site, too. I think it's important to have your books on a variety of devices, because I've had plenty of readers ask for them, and if they aren't on multiple platforms, are disappointed. Amazon is big, but not everyone has a Kindle, so a variety is good. :)
Best of luck!
Best of luck!
We sell books online at Books-a-million and Barnes & Noble and also offer all six R.J. Archer novels in NOOK editions. We list all online bookstores we discover on our website www.SeedsOfCivilization.com. You'll also find a link for Indiebound.org which connects readers with indie bookstores. Paperbacks are carried at Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego, Barnes & Noble/Henderson, NV (the "SciFi store"), Bob's Beach Books on the coast in Lincoln City, OR, and in Mexico in La Paz at Allende Books English-language bookstore and in Todos Santos at El Tecolote Libros—both in Baja California Sur.
Miles wrote: "The majority of my sales are direct from my website - http://spontaneouscombustionbook.comI am able to offer the paperback at a discount, and sell all ebook formats direct. No middle-man means I c..."
Miles, I'm impressed by the technology behind your site. How did you set it up so people can buy books direct? Do you use an outside vendor or did you build it yourself?
Best Indie Bookstore at Bestindiebookstore.com This is a "smaller pond" approach that I've got my novel Night Sea Journey, A Tale of the Supernatural on. Visibility is better there than Amazon, B&N, Smashwords. I feel like my book is just buried on these big sites. BIBS is new and still building audience. Owner does some promotion for their authors on Twitter, and their own advertising.http://bestindiebookstore.com/
Other than Amazon in all international markets as well as US, my book will be on all online distributors in both Kindle and ePub versions, as well as hardcover from the publisher, Amazon, and in all major bookstores and many independents. Release date is May 8, but already have sales of an early accidental release on Amazon. Paperback comes out next December from the same sources. My publisher is Knox Robinson Publishing of London and New York, a specialist publisher of historical fiction, historical fantasy, and some young adult. Will let you know which market has the best sales. I still prefer hardcover and paperback books to e-books, and think it's an important part of the market.
Is this thread about where to sell indie authors' books or where to sell professional publishers' books? I think there's a big difference in sales of indie published books and sales of the professional name publishers. If you have a professional publisher like Knox, I imagine their name, reputation, and promotions play a role in the sales wherever you are selling. But as an indie author, the market exposure is really quite different, even at the same sites.
Just wondering if I'm on the wrong thread, since I'm an indie author looking for sites beyond the big three online ones.
Maybe my mistake. I didn't see anything about this being for Indie writers only, but also didn't go back to the top of the thread! Sorry! I do think that many markets are open to Indie writers other than Amazon and Smashwords, and ought to be pursued when possible, as those are still just a fraction of the reading public. With physical books, many independent bookstores are willing to at least stock the books (which you supply, of course), and some will even allow author events. There are many marketing ploys used by professional publishers and their authors that indies can benefit from: press releaeses, talks, local media, etc. If you've got a story worth sharing, don't limit yourself to eBooks! Best, Victoria
If a book is also in print, what about book signings? In the past I have had fairly good luck by renting a booth at craft fairs and festivals. As an Indie author, I have had signings only at local bookstores.
Interesting, Mona, about the local books signings. I live in a very small town and I've seen some authors here do the same but with little or no results. I've learned that many of the typical marketing ploys don't really work for many indie authors. Press releases are tossed out when they are from indie authors and not from "publicists." And I've met so many indies that complain they've done the drill of book trailers, reviews, banner ads, twitter, blogs, web site, etc., and still struggle fiercely to get sales. I disagree with Victoria that the same marketing ploys can benefit indie authors. The fact is, most of the time they don't. Indie authors need to gain more credibility by producing well-written and well-edited books at a professional level.
Paula wrote: "Interesting, Mona, about the local books signings. I live in a very small town and I've seen some authors here do the same but with little or no results. I've learned that many of the typical marke..."Thanks for the reply. Even well-written and well-edited books will need extreme exposure. That's something I haven't done so far. Actually, I've been neglecting marketing lately while I try to finish my first novel. My two published books were a travel guide and a travel memoir. What few independent bookstores are left will sometimes take books on consignment.
I found KDP to be a scam.Smashwords is the best after Amazon.
J. wrote: "I found KDP to be a scam.Smashwords is the best after Amazon."
In what way do you think KDP is a scam? It's the main launching platform for indie authors and still has something like 65% of the ebook market. It's done very well for me.
Do you just mean it compares unfavorably with other sites? That may be true, but calling it a scam is wayyy overstating the case, and devalues the term "scam." Kind of like if you call everyone a "nazi" then the term loses its impact.
J. wrote: "I found KDP to be a scam.Smashwords is the best after Amazon."
I too would be interested in some elaboration on that statement.
I think "scam" might be a bit harsh; to my knowledge, Amazon has never promised increased revenue to authors. The pros, in terms of exposure, are not miniscule. However, it's always important to think carefully about ceding control over your work (in this case, ceding control over where your work can be sold).Amazon is run by some very smart people, who realize that they have lost market share to B&N (mostly; also others). They are, naturally, going to try to regain that market share, and they do that by being the most convenient and well-stocked of marketplaces. Hence, trading publicity for exclusivity. (Also, their attempt at pricing controls on Kindle books a while back, although there were other dimensions to that.)
On the other hand, no matter how unsavory this publicity-for-exclusivity trade may be, it's a crafty move, and for all that indie authors may be a commodity to Amazon, well, we're also a commodity to every other middleman.
I think it boils down to, "do your best to become informed about the relative merits of each program AND your own stance on the issue, and then go with that." Amazon has its own agenda; knowing yours will help you figure out how you want to interact with them.
(I myself am not using KDP Select, as I am a fan of open-source, and I would like the first book in my trilogy to be, and remain, free.)
I'm thinking 'lost market share to B&N' is a bold statement. B&N is, if anything, the Betamax of e-book publishing.
Moira wrote: "I think "scam" might be a bit harsh; to my knowledge, Amazon has never promised increased revenue to authors. The pros, in terms of exposure, are not miniscule. However, it's always important to th..."You write beautifully (truly). Why are you giving your work away for free?
Graham wrote: "Judith wrote: "No matter how much I market the Smashwords version, the fact is more people have Kindle's than any other eReader; hence more sales on Amazon."I've heard tonnes of people say that, ..."
Me too, Judith. I've sold ten times more books on Smashwords than Amazon as Storm Chase.
Hmm, the figures I recalled were that Amazon had once had approximately 90% of the ebook market, and this had slid backwards over time to around 60%. That is not, by any measure, to indicate that B&N is doing well (sharply increasing nook and ebook sales have paired with net losses), but ... Amazon does not have the nearly-undivided market share it once did. Whether it will regain that remains to be seen.And thank you, Victoria, that's really wonderful to hear! Offering Book 1 of my trilogy for free is about two things, to me:
1) I can show people the worlds I have built up and say, "Here - if you enjoy this, read on!" Because I am a very new author, my work does not have many reviews or comparisons, a reader does not have the same basis to make an informed judgment about my work at the start. When they reach the end of Book 1, they know whether or not my style appeals to them, and they can make an informed choice about Books 2 and 3!
2) Without the backing and promotion of a large publisher, a free sample is one of the best ways (I think) to induce people to take the chance on a new world. I would cite Book of Deacon as a very successful example of this phenomenon. However, hard data on any of these methods is hard to come by!
From today onwards Storm Chase books will no longer be sold on Kindle stores. You can find me on Smashwords, Kobo, B&N etc.
I have a question...How long after your ebook "ships" from smashwords to B&N, and the other online stores does it go live on those sites?
Just a couple comments on Smashwords. I was going to go with Smashwords until I saw the codicil (read the fine print) that says if you use their 'meat grinder'(think that's right), then they have proprietary rights for the version converted with it. Not royalties mind you but meaning you can't take the 'meat grinder' version to other publishers.I do like their formatting tools and have made all my work in that template but I decided to go with D2D because the royalty schedule was the same, they are new and the customer service was good, free ISBNs for all storefronts, and it went to the B&N, Kobo, Sony, without a hitch. You can choose where it goes. I declined iTunes but forget why.
Another topic. Post #73 J dropped the KDP bomb and disappeared. I think he was probably talking about KDP Select and some people will agree. I'm not one of them. Before KDP Select I was languishing. I signed up in maybe the third month and stuck with it. Within 6-8 months I went from languishing in the 150K ranks to the point where the royalty deposits were not insignificant (car payment level).
I decided to let the Select expire and go with other venues. Big mistake for me. After about 90 days of diminishing sales not being balanced by outside sales I withdrew my books and it took me several months to get back to where I was. Now they have added the countdown feature and I did a week long countdown for each of my three full length books. Let's say December was my best month in two years and nearly double my previous best. Not quite mortgages payment but I'm now getting a review from readers once a week and things are chugging along again.
Now let me qualify that. When I was giving away the freebies, I didn't give away the book. I came up with an altered cover and gave away a teaser of about 50 pages. When I do the freebies, I put a few hours in getting the notice on probably a dozen sites. Its a sample but I generally have 700-800 people who dump my sample in their basket. I'm sure half of them don't read it but when I did the subsequent countdown deals for the full books, all three volumes were on the first page of their genre.
OK, getting lengthy but that's my two cents.
Shayna wrote: "I have a question...How long after your ebook "ships" from smashwords to B&N, and the other online stores does it go live on those sites?"
It can take up to 6 weeks.
Createspace.com. But it's part of amazon so... I don't know if it counts...
Thanks Gregor. I have another question how do I put my synopsis on B&N the book is there but no synopsis...
Draft to Digital? Have you guys tried it? You publish with D2D (ebook) and you have the option of publishing in apple store, B&N, Kobo and Amazon Kindle withou really doing anything, just uploading a docx/doc of your book and in minutes you are ready to go. And it takes from hours (Amazon, Kobo) to two weeks (apple store) to publish. I am very happy with Draft to Digital.
I do Amazon KDP Select for the ebook and Createspace for the paperback. Was thinking about trying Smashwords until reading this thread; may not be worth the effort. I learned to do my own formatting, and now I do it well, saving time and money. I also do my own covers; not difficult, and can be fun if you're artistic in that area.
I sell my books through Amazon, Smashwords (and all its associated outlets such as Barnes and Noble, Kobo, etc.) and CreateSpace. As well, I have a supply of my paperbacks and sell them locally myself and through a couple of tourist retailers.
Shayna wrote: "I have another question how do I put my synopsis on B&N the book is there but no synopsis..."B&N takes the synopsis from whatever catalog it gets your book from. For instance, if your paperback is distributed through Ingram, B&N takes all the book info from the Ingram catalog.
Make sure your synopsis is in the catalog for every distributor you use, and make sure it's the same. Even then, you'll be tracking down mangled listings on outlets all over the world.
I second the endorsement of Draft2Digital!!!! I have my books on ALL online e-book vendors and Create Space. Customer service is great at D2D.
Does Draft2Digital help with publishing hard copies of books besides ebooks?
My novel is carried by the following vendors*:Amazon.com (US, Canada, UK, New Zealand, Australia, India)
Audible.com
Barnes and Noble www.barneandnoble.com
Better World Books www.betterworldbooks.com
Books-A-Million www.booksamillion.com
Christian Book Store www.deepershopping.com/jim-vuksic/hom...
Fishpond.com - Australia www.fishpond.com.au
Just Audio Books justaudiobooks.com/authors/jimvuksic/
Powell's Books www.powells.com/
*Distributed internationally by Ingram/Spring Arbor
I've expanded distribution of my books since breaking off exclusivity with Amazon, and now they're distributed by Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Apple, and several others. Most sales by far, however, are through Amazon.
Jim, you sound traditionally published. Does your publisher make your book available as an e-book on all platforms? As a reviewer I'm occasionally surprised by publishers who only put the e-book out on Amazon Kindle. It doesn't happen often, and doesn't make much sense to me. Some small presses do it, though
Amber wrote: "Jim, you sound traditionally published. Does your publisher make your book available as an e-book on all platforms? As a reviewer I'm occasionally surprised by publishers who only put the e-book ou..."Amber,
The novel is available in four formats: paperback (376 pages), e-Book download (Kindle/Nook/Tablet), audio book on CD (9 discs), and audio download.
Sounds like you've got your entire audience covered. Excellent.
My first book is available via both Amazon and Smashwords but the second one is Amazon only (KDP Select). In the 18 months that the first book has been available on Smashwords it's total sales figures are still in the single figure range, whereas it is several hundred sales for the same 18 month period on Amazon. It took a whole weekend to get it formatted according to Smashword's requirements and I couldn't motivate myself to do it for the second book, given the apparent overwhelming dominance of the Kindle.
Smashwords is great for the sheer number of platforms that it can get your book onto but, in my experience, hardly anyone is using those platforms as they're all using Kindles.
I have just been at the San Francisco Writers' Conference and this topic was hotly debated. Most author delegates, whether self-published or not, were in agreement that despite Amazon KDP contributing the most to their eBook sales; using Smashwords was a good way to get their books into other online retail outlets.
To use an analogy, if you open a family-oriented restaurant, you don't exclude children at the door and just allow their parents in !
Wider distribution by definition must be preferable to narrower distribution.
There's my 2 cents worth :-)
Nathan wrote "It took a whole weekend to get it formatted according to Smashword's requirements and I couldn't motivate myself to do it for the second book, given the apparent overwhelming dominance of the Kindle."I've had no such struggles with Draft2Digital. No complex style guide for getting the book formatted. Some months most of my sales are with Amazon, but some months I have more sales with the other e-retailers combined than with Amazon.
My eBook is tied in with KDP and I'm happy with that: I intend to publish another in the same way soon.I do have a lovely paperback I produced with Createspace and that doesn't sell as well. If anybody has found a good way of marketing paperbacks, which I am free to do, I don't suppose I'd be the only one interested.
Format preference may have as much, if not more, to do with sales than the vendor. The following data from my most recent quarterly sales report may not be representative of trade statistics, but it does present an overview of consumer preference.Percentage of Total Sales by Format
Paperback (Print): 50.2%
e-Book Download (Kindle/Nook/Tablet): 43.8%
Audio Book (Compact Disc): 3.7%
Audio Book Download: 2.3%
Sarah wrote: "My eBook is tied in with KDP and I'm happy with that: I intend to publish another in the same way soon.I do have a lovely paperback I produced with Createspace and that doesn't sell as well. If a..."
Sarah,
Have you considered personal appearances at literary festivals and conventions, public libraries, book stores, and book clubs? Attendees may be encouraged to purchase the print format of your work to have it personalized and signed during one of the above mentioned events.
Jim wrote: "Sarah wrote: "My eBook is tied in with KDP and I'm happy with that: I intend to publish another in the same way soon.I do have a lovely paperback I produced with Createspace and that doesn't sell..."
Thanks Jim. This does work, on a small scale and it is good publicity. I really wondered if anyone had found an online selling outlet.
Thank you too for your sales breakdown. That is a surprise that paperbacks slightly exceed eBooks. My sales are more like 90% eBooks and 10% paperback, even after an American friend advised my to cut the price as low as I could. It was high, but the problem there is it is long so production costs are high.
Sarah wrote: "Jim wrote: "Sarah wrote: "My eBook is tied in with KDP and I'm happy with that: I intend to publish another in the same way soon.I do have a lovely paperback I produced with Createspace and that ..."
Sarah,
I believe that sales of print books versus e-Book sales may vary greatly from one vendor to another. Some vendors seem to cater primarily to e-book readers while others seem to focus their marketing strategy on those who prefer the paperback book. There are also a number of authors' works that, for whatever reason, are only published in e-Book format.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...