Now What? (Finding the Right Self-Publishing Platform) Sarah H. Baker w/a Sarah Storme, S.H. Baker, and Lydia Parks sbaker46@comcast.net

“Printing”+ Distributing = Publishing Platform Editing Marketing Cover

Major Retailers Amazon Barnes & Noble Apple Kobo (for e-books)

Major Platforms Kindle e-books (Kindle Direct Publishing) Amazon print (CreateSpace) B&N e-books (NOOK Press) Apple e-books (iBooks Author) Kobo e-books (Kobo Writing Life)

Don’t Forget Audio! “Dating service” for audio authors, publishers, and voice actors

DIY with Amazon www.amazon.com “Self-Publish with Us”

DIY with Amazon

DIY with Amazon Steps in Kindle Direct Publishing: Enter book details Verify publishing rights Target your book Book release options Upload or create book cover Upload your book file Preview your book Verify your territories Set your pricing and royalty Kindle MatchBook & Kindle Book Lending

DIY with Amazon Royalty rate?? 70% - for e-books between $2.99 and $9.99 “Delivery” fees subtracted Not available to all markets Other minor restrictions 35% - for e-books between $0.99 and $200.00 No “delivery” fees All markets

DIY with Barnes & Noble www.barnesandnoble.com “Self-Publish with NOOK Press”

DIY Each site has its own self-publishing instructions. They’re similar, but not exactly alike. Most take manuscript in common software forms (like Word). If you’re relatively comfortable on a computer, you can do this without help – and for *FREE! The books are not linked – changes must be made individually. *FREE if you don’t count your time!

Self-Publishing Services Ingram Spark Draft2Digital Lulu Xlibris Outskirts Press Smashwords

Ingram Spark Ingram publishing for indie publishers/authors Download the formatting guide. E-book and Print POD, short run, and offset of 500 or more Distributes to Amazon, Apple, B&N, Kobo, and thousands of bookstores. You are charged for cost of book before royalties. Formatting guide – 23 pages with lots of helpful information Cost of books: 300-page paperback, B&W – shipped, $328 for 50 books, or $6.56 each Distribution: some restrictions for Amazon and iBooks if you have material self-published with them recently.

Draft2Digital Automated; converts Word docs (and others) Distributes for 10% of retail sell price (15% of royalties) You can upload cover art ISBNs provided Converts Word to format for iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Inktera (formally Page Foundry), Scribd, 24Symbols, Tolino, and CreateSpace! Services available through partners, not company

Lulu Has an online store Will sell to Amazon for 20% of profit You create your book through their website Offers services Editorial Assessment - $499 - evaluates sections of your manuscript for its editorial quality and publishing readiness. A portion of your work (typically the first chapter, or about 1,700 words) will be edited to provide you with a specific sample edit. You will also receive a general overview of your manuscript and constructive comments towards improving your writing and book. Other ex: Elite Cover Design: $599 – front and back cover; work directly with designer; changes to initial product at a fee. Other ex: Cover Copy Polish: $249 - marketing professional will assist you in determining whether your title and subtitle adequately reflect the book's content and will help rewrite the hardcover flap, back cover copy, author bio copy, and keynote of your book.

Xlibris Online website Pays royalties minus shipping and handling charges or sales and use taxes May offer useful services, but check the website closely. See example – grammatical errors in the overview is probably not a good sign. A paperback romance for $19.99 is probably not going to sell.

Outskirts Press Nice online site Packages for publishing, marketing, and writing (even ghost writing) “Single-click” package for print ($5k - $8k) Upfront costs Print and e-book

Smashwords Online bookstore and distribution Works on commission -15% of net (10% of retail) Smashwords "ties your books together" Offers hints for editing and marketing Sells to Amazon, Kobo, Apple, Nook, and…Overdrive Easy-to-use dashboard E-books only $10.00 ebook sold at one of our retail partners earns you $6.00 and earns Smashwords $1.00.  The same book sold at Smashwords earns you about $8.00 Ties books together - someone buying one book will find the others that are also available in that format. I use Smashwords for all except Amazon – don’t have to go through converting all the other sites, when I’ll mostly sell at Amazon.

Book-shelf

Dashboards

Communities

So, which one do I use? Decide how much time and experience you have vs. what you’re willing to pay for Editing (concept and/or copyediting) Book cover Marketing (you’ll have to do some of this anyway) Which media will you use? All? Be sure to sell on Amazon! If you’re experienced at editing or self-editing, and you’re comfortable on the computer, you may want to do it yourself. You can also buys services separately, like editing and cover art. Marketing, even if you pay for services, you’ll have to help with. The amount of marketing you do will directly affect sales.

Questions?