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 list@smashwords.com 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

So I Hired a Pro for $45.00

Send email to:list@smashwords.com

for “Mark’s List”

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 list@smashwords.com

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: mc@smashwords.com