Ebook Publishing Checklist
California State Writers - SacramentoJanuary 21, 2012
Mark Coker Founder, Smashwords
Twitter: @markcoker
My Backstory
• Books judged on perceived commercial potential
• Readers shut out
• Publishers unable to take a risk on every author
Is Big Publishing Broken?
My Answer:
• Ebook publishing and distribution platform
• Authors decide what’s published
• FREE ebook publishing
• Distribution to major ebook retailers
• Authors earn 85% of profit
How Smashwords Works
• UPLOAD
• Upload a Microsoft Word file, formatted to our Style Guide
• Free conversion to 9 ebook formats
• Ready for immediate sale online
• DISTRIBUTE
• Distribution to major retailers
• GET PAID
• Author receives 85% of net = 60% list from major retailers
0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
2008 2009 2010 2011
Indie ebooks published at Smashwords
1406,000
28,800
92,000+
LET’S GET STARTED
Ebooks as a percentage of US wholesale trade market
Source: Association of American Publishers, publishers.org
0
5
10
15
20
2002 2004 2006 2008 2010
Why ebooks are hot
• Screens offer better reading experience than paper
•Changeable font size A A A A
• Portable and compact
• Screens will get better/faster/cheaper
• Ebooks offer better consumer experience
• Lower price than print
• Convenient sampling and purchasing
• Huge selection
Ebooks Enable Democratized Publishing and Distribution
• Free publishing tools empower authors
• Free printing press in the cloud
• Distribution to all major online bookstores
Indies Can Out-Publish Big Publishers
• Asymmetric competition
• field tilted in indie’s favor
• Smaller indie authors
• democratized distribution
• instant access to global market
• lower expenses
• never go out of print
• earn more per book
Indie ebook economics favor indies
• Higher royalties than traditional
• Earn 60-80% list price for indie ebooks vs. 5-17% from traditional publishers
• Lower priced ebooks earn more per copy than traditionally pubbed print
• Earn more on a $.99 ebook ($.60) than a traditional author earns on an $8 mass market paperback ( <$.40 )
• Lower price = reach more readers = more sales at higher profits per sale
MMP=Mass market paperback, aka “pocket book” in some countries
Planning your move to ebooks
Checklist for Publishing an Ebook
Finish the book
Format the book prior to conversion
Prepare cover image
Ebook conversion to multiple formats
Pricing
ISBNs
Copyright
Choose distribution methods, upload
Marketing *
Finish Your Book
• Ebook publishing tools make publishing fast, free, easy, but…
• These tools don’t make it easy to write a great book
• You’re the publisher, act like one
• Edit, edit, edit, revise, revise, revise
• Involve beta readers (then revise again)
• Hire professional editor if necessary
Ebook Formatting
Formatting is the process of preparing your book for conversion to an ebook
Formatting for Smashwords
Over 140,000Downloads!
Formatting Secrets
• Forget (some of) what you know
• Don’t try to make e- look like p-
• Ebooks consumed differently than print
• Less = more with ebooks
• Liberate text from complex formatting and layout
• Separate images from the text
• Design for reflowability, small screens
Ebook devices (and customers) shape shift text
• Example of Smashwords novel, All Good Things Die in L.A. by Anhoni Patel
• iPhone, using the Stanza reader. User-selected options: Font: Verdana; Background pattern: Stone carving; text color: Dark Violet; Font size: larger than normal
Cover Image
Create Your Ebook Cover
• Covers are important
• First impression
• Covers are both marketing and content
• Marketing: Draw reader in
• Content: Adds to enjoyment of book
• Should look
• engaging, matched to target audience
• professional
• good as thumbnail
• good as B&W, greyscale
DIY Cover, or Hire Professional?
• Many high-quality free graphics programs
• Gimp
• Paint.net
• Unless you’re an expert graphic designer or cover designer, it’s usually best to hire
• Email [email protected] for low cost cover designers and formatters
Don’t be Lazy
Don’t be Dim
Le Peuple de L’Etat de New York Contre Dominique Strauss-Khan
Most of us design poor covers
Conversion
Conversion = Turning your manuscript into an ebook file readable on multiple ebook reading
devices
E-reading Devices
Ebook Conversion Options
Conversion Options
1. Automated(Smashwords, Amazon)
2. Direct from book layout software (save as PDF, EPUB)
3. DIY conversion tools (Calibre, Sigil: Google ‘ebook conversion tools’)
4. Hire ebook formatter/ designer/coder (Complex books)
Pricing
Pricing
• Determine objective
• Platform building, revenues, or both?
• Think like a fisherman
• Blended strategy of chum and hooks
• Non-fiction supports higher prices than fiction
• Price is not sole determining factor
Considerations Beyond Price
Considerations Beyond Price
• Length
• Reader passion
• Author platform
• Earn reader trust at each step?
• Marketing that builds urgency
• Series or not
• Perceived value
More info, Google: Pricing Strategies for Ebooks (Interview with Mark Coker)
ISBN
What’s an ISBN?
• What it is:
• Unique digital identifier
• A 13-digit number
• Helps supply chain communicate about book
• Required for distribution to Apple, Sony, Kobo
• What it is NOT:
• Does not connote ownership or copyright
• Does not imply “professional” or “real”
• Not a common discovery method
Where to Obtain an ISBN
• Go to Bowker.com
• Expensive unless you purchase blocks of 10+
• Lists you as “publisher” in Books in Print
• Go to Smashwords
• FREE ISBNs
• $9.95 (not recommended), lists you as “publisher”
Copyright
Copyright Simplified
• By publishing something you created, you have copyright
• Copyright entitles you to an exclusive bundle of rights
• The notation of © is optional
• For best legal protection, go to Copyright.gov and register copyright online
• Learn more at the Copyright Clearance Center at www.copyright.com
Distribution to Retailers
Ebook retailers want indie ebooks
Mobile apps
Does Marketing Matter?
Focus on Discoverability (making your book findable)
• Availability (distribution) precursor to discovery
• MobileRead survey
• See analysis at Smashwords Blog: How Ebook Buyers Discover Ebooks
• Multiple touch points
• 29% rely on recommendations from online communities/message boards
• 18% search for favorite authors
• Nearly 50% use some method of “random” discovery
The Plan Forward
You are the future of publishing
You are your own gatekeeper
YOU decide when your manuscript graduates to PUBLISHED BOOK
Support ALL your retailers
Diversify your exposure
Take risks, experiment
Think Globally
Within a Few Years, the Market for Your Books Outside the US will Dwarf the US Market
Already, ~50% of Smashwords Apple iBookstore Sales are Outside the US
You Have the Tools to Reach a Worldwide Market Today
Final Thoughts
• Power of publishing is shifting to authors
• You and your readers determine your success
• Opportunity to reach readers with your words has never been greater
• Go serve your readers!
Ebook Publishing Resources
• Smashwords Style Guide (how to format an ebook)
• Smashwords Book Marketing Guide (how to market any book)
• Mark’s List – Low cost formatters, cover designers [email protected]
Thank you for listening!
Q&A
Connect with me:
Web: www.smashwords.com
Blog: blog.smashwords.com
Twitter: @markcoker
Facebook: facebook.com/markcoker
HuffPo: huffingtonpost.com/mark-coker
Email: [email protected]