Posts Tagged amazon

Everyone has a book in their head. Sometimes the impediment is the idea that it is an almost impossible task to get a book into print.

These days, with just a little help, a writer can get her book into the e-book market in a few days. No need to print. There are services that provide e-book services, but since Amazon sells 80% of the books (so I have heard-anyone who knows need to educate me), a writer can get on Amazon very easily. And with a media consultant, a person can set up a web site and allow purchases from almost all formats for e-books.

I used Christine Rose to set up my web site. We haven’t tried all the possible formats, but they do appear on my web site, jfredbeckman.com or Amour et Vengeance. Take a look to see how it works.

Share this with others!

Hide Sites

The Wall Street Journal had an article last Thursday (April 21) on page B1 that shows a study of “cheap e-books.” It seems that there a number of authors selling their books for 99 cents. And doing well. But keep in mind, Amazon takes 65 cents of this. Amazon takes 65% of the sales price up to $2.99.

But it is childishly easy to get a book into the Amazon sales system.  One author estimats that it cost him about $1,000 to get his book in digital e-book form. So a self-publisher can price his book at a very low figure since there is no additional cost. But the WSJ chart showed twelve books (out of the top 50 selling books) at 99 cents and only a few price from there to the $7.99 price. Then there were sixteen at the $13.00 level.

My digital consultant, Christine Rose, thought that my $9.99 price for a new novel and unknown author was too high. (I can always lower my price, but raising it is more difficult). But she sells advice books, which should sell for a lower price (in my opinion).  I think the $7.99 price is where many novels are selling, even best sellers.

But the printing media is loosing the market in a cascading fashion. You don’t even have to print your book. And it is very easy to “improve” or update an e-book.

Only about ten weeks ago, the New York Times has started listing e-book sales in the Sunday edition.

It’s a fast changing world.

Share this with others!

Hide Sites

        If you decide to self publish, you may be satisfied just to get your work out on the e-book market. This is the easiest, fastest and by far the cheapest way to go. This takes a day, a printed version might be three months, if all goes well.

If you want to have a printed copy of your book, this will be discussed in my Blog #3, PRINT YOUR BOOK.

If you think your book is ready, you can make it available on a number of outlets in a few hours. But first you need to go to bowker.com and buy a ISBN number. It will cost you $100 for one number and $125 for ten. I recommend purchasing ten, since you have to have a different number for printed and e-book versions.The biggest sellers now are Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Both make it easy to get your title on their sites. You should have a cover ready and the text in pdf.  There may be more than one number for each e-book format. You can also make your book available in e-book off your website with one click purchase. I am checking this out and will cover this in a later blog.

Unless you are a very knowledgeable person about computers and the internet, you probably want to have a helper looking over your shoulder when you get ready to enter your work in the e-book market.

I read a publication that was five years old that stated Barnes & Noble was going to drop their e-book sales option. How things have changed. They now seem to be the easiest to work with and your take of the price (which you set) is 65%. On $9.99 price this would be $6.49. The Lulu percentage is 56% to the author. I haven’t been able to get the Amazon percentage.

But you can see, no matter what price you set, there is no further cost to you, beyond publicity costs, which you control.

Next blog is on my experience on getting a printed copy of your book.

Share this with others!

Hide Sites