Hello my name is.......(Introductions)

[D.L.]

Sounds great! What do you have to charge for a book. I'm unknown and I don't expect anyone to shell out a lot of money for my book - even though it's worth it. :-)

[Christine]

I don't know. I have to look back at my numbers. The print cost depends on the size and length of the book. My early estimate was that the book would cost about $3 to print, but it is a very short book.

You may a lot more money per e-book than print.

[D.L.]

Wow! That's great! Thanks, BookieWormie. I'm not sure how many pages mine would be in print. It's about 81,000 words. (Humorous Sci-Fi - inspired by authors like Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams and Eoin Colfer.) I've given away 105 copies on Smashwords since I published it on September 10 and priced it at 99 cents on Amazon for Kindle. No sales (yet) on Amazon. I don't want to charge more than I have to for the print version. I'd like to keep it lower than $6 in paper format if possible.

[D.L.]

Thanks again. Yes, Smashwords for eboooks is great. They don't have a deal (yet) with Amazon but do produce Kindle versions for sale on Smashwords. For right now though, if you want your ebook available on Amazon you have to publish it separately with them. I published to both on the same day. I'll look at Create Space in a few months after I see how my ebooks fare. If I can provide a paper book for about $6, I'll give them a try. Sounds like those on this forum are pleased with them.

[Mhairi]

I have to admit, I'll have to charge at least $11, if not a bit more, for my 300 page fantasy. It's just under 80000 words, a normal length for a book. I can't charge any less without losing money on every sale. I understand that's a normal price for a trade paperback in the US, so I'm hoping I won't lose too many sales.

[D.L.]

Thanks, Mhairi. That's good to know. Both of my completed novels are a bit over 80,000 words as well. I don't think I'd be comfortable charging $11 for them until (or unless) I'm no longer unknown. If they get some following as ebooks, I could see asking $11 though.

[D.L.]

Hey! I like that! You never know. You only need one customer. Has to be easier than finding a million, right?

[Christine]

I got my proof copy yesterday. It looks good. I share a little video of waiting for it, my writing process, and opening the package on my blog - http://randomthoughtsfrommidlife.word...

But most of you probably already know how that feels.

[K.A.]

I'm Kat Jordan - I write under K. A. Jordan and edit I. C. Talbot's short stories. I. C. is my mother, who was 88 this year.

I've been active on a number of sites - Forward Motion, Authonomy, Kindleboards, Amazon forums (got out of there in a hurry.) and Nookboards.

My blog is http://jordanscroft.blogspot.com - its been up for 4 years. I've written a lot about the changes in publishing that lead to the e-book market as it is today.

I have two published novels - a contemporary and a paranormal romance. My romance novels tend towards PG13. I love creepy scary stories and characters - well - with character.

I'm glad to be here, and meet all of you.

[Editio]

Kat wrote: "I'm Kat Jordan - I write under K. A. Jordan and edit I. C. Talbot's short stories. I. C. is my mother, who was 88 this year.

I've been active on a number of sites - Forward Motion, Authonomy, Ki..."

Thank you for sharing Kat. We look forward to you sharing all your great knowledge.

[K.A.]

More like 'School of Hard Knocks' experience.

I'm always glad to share information. The more sources we have, the better off we all are.

[[deleted user]]

Hi, I'm Shawn Lamb, and I was first traditionally published with Strang Communications, now Charisma House. When they passed on the rest of my YA fantasy series, I went indie. I currently have 3 publish through Createspace for POD and use Kindle and Nook for my e-book versions, and with a 4th on the way.

[Ron]

Hi, I'm Ron Heimbecher and I live in Colorado. My projects are ultra-contemporary and designed for non-intrusive enhanced ebooks. I've had several prototypes in development for the past several years.

A few years back, I self-pubbed a couple of experimental pieces to see how the system worked, and later pulled them when it came to me exactly how much my CRAFT needed to be honed.

I've spent the last six years working with some incredible writers organizations and writers.

Self-pub is a primary option for me for two reasons: Timeline and technology. TradPub is very very slow at both.

[Patty]

Hi, my name is Patty Wiseman, I recently self pubbed with help from a very small and very new publishing company (Desert Coyote Productions.) My book is called An Unlikeley Arrangement. I used Createspace initially. I am now on Amazon and Kindle. Hope to be on Nook soon. I am more than pleased with Createspace. They are fast and efficient and very professional. Self promoting is alot of work. I seem to spend alot of time on line promoting with little results. I am finding booksignings and festivals are the way to go. I love connecting on line with all the other authors and really appreciate their help and advice. For that reason I keep up with my social networking, but for books sales...libraries, small books stores, coffee shops are the way to go. I even sold 20 books at my local bowling alley!! Start calling around. People love author appearances.

[Mhairi]

Hi Patty! Thanks for the advice, definitely something to bear in mind. What genre do you write in?

[Patty]

Hi Mhairi! I write romantic suspense, but I am hoping to have a romantic comedy out sometime after the 1st of the year.

[Mhairi]

Oh fun!! I'll keep an eye out for it. Look forward to chatting to you :)

[Ben]

Hello to all of you legends. My name is Ben Galley, a self-published fiction author from sunny England, currently embedded in part 2 of my fantasy quintology the 'Emaneska Series'. (No.1 The Written can be found on my page). Nice to meet you all, even if it is through this very digital of mediums!

In my opinion, the power has now been put into the author's hands. Like the iTunes revolution has changed the music industry, so has the eBook and internet age changed ours. We mustn't just be authors in this climate, but businessmen and women as well, savvy marketeers, salespersons, social media gurus, public speakers, accountants, web-designers directors. That's the only way we're ever going to get noticed amongst the plethora of us indie publishers currently filling the web!

It's a tough mountain, but no unassailable :)

All the best to you all, I welcome any feedback, comments, reviews, and cake.

Ben

[Patty]

Hi Ben!

I agree, it's a whole new world out there. Online sales really suck in this economy, but I am having good success in public appearances. Get out there and sell! Oh, and have cake! I like cake!!

Patty

[Mhairi]

Cake is good.

[Patty]

Hey, new idea. Serve cake at your public appearances! You could advertise 'serving Black raspberry cream cake' Wonder if people would come? :)

[Mhairi]

Hahahahahaha More likely "Cake and Custard" if I get my chiropractor to cater it - she and her fiance just started their own catering company. Or I could get my friend to make cupcakes for it. She's a dab hand with the cupcakes.

Excellent idea all round!!

[Ben]

I'm having a Mince Pie fest at one of my Christmas book signings, I'm sure that counts! I've hired a trio of disgruntled elves to share them out.

[Patty]

Absolutely brilliant!

[Mhairi]

Oh. Mince pies! I miss mince pies. They have them in the shops but I need to try and make my own gluten free ones :(

[D.L.]

Cookies! Molasses cookies all warm and spicy the size of saucers . . . Bummer. Now I'm hungry.

Speaking of which, several tasty food items appear in cameos in my novels. Just saying. . .

[Patty]

Oh man, now I have the munchies. I actually talk about a Red Velvet Cake in my co-authored novel. The cookies is a great idea. I might incorporate that into my book signings!

[Mhairi]

Much more easily transported than cake, Patty :D

[Leigh]

Of course, coming from Wisconsin, I'd have to opt for the crackers and CHEESE! :p

[Patty]

Ah! well in Texas I guess it would be Armadillo eggs! This self marketing stuff makes for hungry work! Lunch time!

[Leigh]

We have armadillos in Florida as well. (Yes, I live back and forth in both states.) I never knew they laid eggs... LOL (I know they're really jalapeno poppers.)

[Patty]

Very good, Leigh! So how about it friends? Is bringing along a few goodies to public appearances a viable marketing idea?

[Leigh]

People staging a house for sale are urged to provide a snack such as fresh-baked cookies. Why not the same for selling a book?

[Alan]

Editio wrote: "This is a place to introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your self-publishing experiences. What do you hope to learn from this group?
* NO SELF-PROMOTION HERE"

Hi -I'm very happy to be a member of this group. What do I hope to get out of it? The support of a group of people who are all doing what I'm doing -- learning how to promote self-published books in a very difficult environment.

What can I offer? For starters, I'd like to refer anyone who hasn't self-published yet to my publishing service: www.bookbrewer.com. I couldn't be happier with their hard work and dedication. Have a look at their website, and if anyone's interested, I'll be happy to share the details of my personal interactions with them.

[Colleen]

Hello everyone. I have self published 7 books. I started with Lulu, which I did not like. Transitioned to Smashwords, which I love. I have also used Word Clay and Create Space. Prefer Create Space. All of my books are also on Amazon. I use FB pages and have a blog for self-promotion.

- colleen

[Alan]

Alan Tucker here! Author of two books and third one on the way. I'm a graphic designer by trade, dad of two girls, and a soccer coach as a hobby.

Hanging on tight and hoping this whole ride is worth the price of admission! So far, I'm thinking it will be! :D

[Mandi]

Hi, my name is Mandi Tillotson Williams and I have one children's picture book published thus far and it is doing quite well on Amazon. :o) I have one more that is almost done and a third that is written, just needs illustrations. I also just started a chapter book which I am very excited about.

[Viola]

Hello! I'm Viola. I'm a young-ish librarian and traveler, mostly, who is considering trying out publishing through Amazon kindle. I'm very new at much of that and am just starting to research so if anyone has any suggestions or ideas I'd love to hear about them!

[D.L.]

Viola wrote: "Hello! I'm Viola. I'm a young-ish librarian and traveler, mostly, who is considering trying out publishing through Amazon kindle. I'm very new at much of that and am just starting to research so if..."
Publishing ebooks with Amazon is fairly easy - selling them, well, that's another subject entirely.

[Patty]

Ah, the elusive online sales! Kindle is SO great, but the price has to be right. All those free books they offer makes it hard to get your book out there, but if you can spark someone's interest, that is the key! Good luck to you Viola!! Go for it!!

Patty

[Emma]

Hello everyone.

My name is Emma Calin, I am a Brit but live mostly in France. I have been writing all my life and had some success with poetry and short stories but all my novels have been steadfastly rejected by publishers and agents who frequently returned manuscripts unopened as they had no time to even read them.

In April this year (2011) I was convinced by my other half to self publish a short story and a romance on Amazon Kindle. This was a big adventure as I am not tech savvy, neither did I have experience of using social media.

It has been a sharp learning curve - that continues at a pace!

I now have a blog (where I post daily), a website, a Facebook page and a very active Twitter account. Both my books are available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. I have also published on Smashwords - which supplies my books to Barnes and Noble, Apple, Sony and Diesel (plus they let you set up free coupons which make it easy to give out copies at no cost to the author) and more recently I have published to the All Romance website.

All these peripheral activities take hours out of every day and leave very little time to write the next book which is frustrating. I am looking for ways to work more efficiently and I am sure this will come with experience and some more zingy software?

Sales have been disappointingly slow - but when you look back the numbers have been doubling each month so if that continues I will be happy in a year or so!

There are some fantastic folks out there in Indie Publishing Land and they have been an amazing resource - sharing their knowledge and highlighting the pitfalls. I still rely heavily on much of their advice. Bob Mayer has an excellent informative blog and book 'Warrior Writer' http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/86... and Kristen Lamb has been a godsend with her blog advice and book 'We are not alone - the writer's guide to social media' http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/85... - along with the #MYWANA on Twitter.

If I can be of any help to others starting out that would be great, although I am still in the early days myself and finding my way.

This group is a great idea - thanks to Goodreads for setting it up.

Good Luck to all who pass this way.

Emma

[Mhairi]

Hi Emma, sounds like you're going places. Congratulations for taking that step!

[Mandi]

Hi Emma! Your journey sounds alot like mine. :o) I spend tons of time researching and it is slowly paying off for me. :o) Right now, if you search in the kindle store with the search terms: kids kindle book, mine comes up #1!! http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_nos.... It is called Mortimer's Sweet Retreat. I'll post my facebook link for my book too. If you give me your links to your book on amazon and facebook links, I'll go like your pages too. If you get a chance to hit like on amazon and maybe tag it or agree with some of the reviews, I have heard that helps alot. I'll do the same for you. Here is my facebook fan page: www.facebook.com/mortimercrump I have over 700 fans so far but I need lots more :o) I'd like to share what we each have learned to do and not to do? I think teaming up with other authors helps alot.
Mandi

[Hobie]

Hey, I'm Hobie Anthony.

I have an MFA and was taught to go the traditional route with my work. However, I see that using the self-publishing tools can be a useful way to get my work out there while I send other works around to the publishers and agents.

So, I am now selling a novella via all the usual ebook channels - though I prefer if people use Smashwords. I'm also considering self-publishing a chapbook via one of the POD houses or going old-school with a saddle-stitch handmade edition. Perhaps I'll do both, I own the rights!

A short collection of 3 short stories will appear on a pay-as-you-will basis on my website (www.hobieanthony.com) in November or December.

[Tony]

Hobie wrote: I have an MFA and was taught to go the traditional route with my work. However, I see that using the self-publishing tools can be a useful way to get my work out there while I send other works around to the publishers and agents.

Don't forget if you still maintain the copyright for your books (and not the original publisher) you can always re-release your books via self-publishing. Thus be able to continue to receive royalties well after the single release via mainstream.

[Everly]

Hello All,
I guess I should introduce myself in this group. My name is Elle and I am a staff writer at Editio Self-Publishing as well as a writer myself. I am exited about this group because hearing what people are talking about, gives me ideas on what to write articles about. Hope you guys are enjoying the web site.
I also have a new Short story that just came out yesterday called The Colors of Qua

This is a story about what it truly means to be punished, and how sometimes redemption can only be found if you go after it yourself.

Sofia exists in a world between the living and dead, and she must help the souls of the deceased transition to whatever comes next. Although Sofia takes pride in her work, she still believes she is being punished for the secret she keeps inside. When she meets a man who can actually see her, everything changes. Now she must be willing to give up everything she knows in order to find the one thing she so desperately seeks – redemption.

I hope to get a chance to chat with all of you!
Elle

[Barbara]

Hello, I am Barb and new to this group. I have not yet attempted publishing anything, but I have some things I am working on and when I saw this group I thought perhaps here would be the place to learn about self publishing because I know nothing. I am not ready to publish anything soon, but probably within the year. Reading through the posts here I am very interested to see how the various ways to self publish work.

[Kerri]

Hi everyone, I have just self-published my first novel Diary of a Public Radio Slave. It is available as an ebook and as a print book on Amazon. I used CreateSpace to publish the book and I'm happy with the results. Except for the typo on the first round of print books, listing my husband as a "husbad." Sometimes he is. :)

[Leigh]

Kerri wrote: "Hi everyone, I have just self-published my first novel Diary of a Public Radio Slave. It is available as an ebook and as a print book on Amazon. I used CreateSpace to publish the book and I'm happy..."

Freudian slip?

[Kerri]

Leigh, yes definitely a slip of some sort.