Ebook Production and Distribution

Transcription

1 Factsheet 12 Ebook Production and Distribution Matador Serious Self-Publishing Ebook Production and Distribution Ebooks are an important part of the overall book market, offering authors and publishers another way of making writing available to a wide international audience. The problem is that so many ebooks are now being published that it is difficult to get noticed in the rush. There are many routes to ebook publication, from DIY to outsourcing ebook conversion, and as a self-publisher you have a choice in how you publish. Yet to get the best ebook conversion and the widest ebook distribution, even the most dedicated self-publisher will not be able to rival the abilities of a self-publishing company like Matador. Many ebook distributors will only take on a publisher if they have numerous ebooks to sell; many ebook retailers have strict rules on the ebook formats that they accept. Matador has ensured that our ebooks are compatible with the widest range of formats demanded by the retailers; and we ve worked hard to establish a distribution network for our ebooks that is unparalleled. So as a self-publisher, you could have your manuscript automatically converted by various ebook retailers, you could open accounts with all those retailers; or you could just settle to sell your ebook through one retailer only. Or, you could have your ebook published and distributed by Matador to get the best quality presentation and the widest distribution possible, including through retailers that are usually inaccessible to individual self-publishers, like Waterstones and Barnes & Noble. A choice in ebook publishing At Matador we offer authors a choice of ebook and book publishing. You can choose to start with ebook only publishing; add a print on demand book if you feel there is a demand; or then publish and distribute a book through traditional retail channels if it takes off. Or you can publish your ebook alongside your book straight away to maximize the exposure during marketing activity. It s your choice. Every step of the way we offer realistic advice and expertise, while you make the decisions on publishing your ebook. We can produce and distribute your ebook for you but more; we offer a dedicated ebook marketing service with unique access to industry-wide ebook review channels. Quality of production, distribution and marketing, as with our book publishing services. Can I publish my own ebook? You can publish your own ebook, but there are several reasons why it is better to use an established service to do it for you:

2 Factsheet 12 Page 2 Ebook Production and Distribution 1. Ebook creation: there are several eretailers (including Amazon) who offer a free ebook conversion and hosting service. However, these offer automatic ebook conversion, which usually results in something that is poorly formatted and error-strewn, and which has been created to the standards required by that website only. 2. Distribution 1: most free ebook websites only make your ebook available through their own website. You could open accounts with various such websites, and have them convert your file automatically each time, to be made available for sale through them only. 3. Distribution 2: consider where people go to buy their ebooks do they visit those websites that offer free publication, or do they go to their usual retailer Waterstones, Barnes & Noble, Apple, WH Smith, Foyles, Blackwells? Many proper ebook retailers only take their ebooks through wholesalers and specialist ebook suppliers, and they by and large will only take on a publisher with a lot of ebooks to sell. 4. Libraries: most libraries source their ebooks through wholesalers or specialist ebook suppliers, to which an individual is unable to get access. And libraries worldwide are big ebook customers. 5. Time and expertise: creating a good quality ebook file and distributing it to some retailers can be done by an individual, but you need some knowledge of how an ebook is generated into an XML file and then an epub and Mobi format; and you then need a lot of time to place it with retailers. Even then availability will be limited to a few ebook retailers. Matador offers a top quality ebook creation process, converting most ebooks in-house. We use specialist conversion houses for more complex conversions, ensuring that we always create industry-standard ebook files. We also offer the most comprehensive ebook distribution network that you can find, ensuring that your ebook can be found for sale on all major book retailers websites. Ebook creation It is a common fallacy that creating an ebook is a simple process. It is true that there are various automatic ebook converters available, but all will only output a version of what you input. The old computing adage Garbage In, Garbage Out very much applies with ebooks! If you have some knowledge of computing then you can have a stab at converting to an ebook file (which is effectively a form of the HTML programming language); if not, it s best left to a specialist. There are several processes to undertake prior to creating your ebook, though. Matador offers a range of services, which authors are free to pick and choose depending on their requirements. Copy editing In the rush to get an ebook published, many authors overlook the fact that they must make sure their manuscript is 100% ready to publish! Ebooks containing typos, grammar problems and other errors will quickly give your writing a bad name. We offer an optional on-screen copy-editing service for all ebook authors, which will be carried out by one of our experienced in-house editors.

3 Factsheet 12 Page 3 Ebook Production and Distribution Cover design The importance of a high-quality, eye-grabbing cover cannot be underestimated; it must achieve maximum impact at a glance. As with a book, cover design is important, as it is the only visual cue you are giving to a potential buyer. Ebook cover design tends to be different to regular book cover design because of the limitations of the online sizing available with most eretailers. Our team of in-house designers are experienced in making the most of the limited space available to give your ebook cover visual impact and attract attention. Using either your own image supplied or an image(s) bought from millions available at a discounted rate to Matador authors, our designer will produce a professional bespoke cover design for your ebook. ISBN If you want your ebook to be distributed by many of the ebook retailers then it must carry an ISBN. Our ebook creation includes the allocation and registration of a Matador ISBN with Nielsen BookData, and dissemination of that data worldwide to eretailers through the industry-standard Onix format. You are welcome to use your own ISBN if you wish, but you would remain responsible for the bibliographic data dissemination in that case. If your ebook does not carry an ISBN then it will not be possible to place it with many retailers, as many require an ISBN to be present. Formatting Matador ebooks are created according to the latest conversion standards. This ensures that our ebooks are converted to the highest standard possible and guarantees that the reader experience is the best it can be, and that the file will be accepted by the widest range of retailers. Ebooks are available in different formats, the most common being epub (a non-proprietary format), Adobe s Digital Editions PDF format, and Amazon s Kindle, the latter two being proprietary formats. Different ebook formats are created in different ways. There are two main forms of ebook: reflowable (where the text reflows with a different size screen), such as Kindle and epub formats; and fixed (where the text retains its format and does not reflow as the screen changes), such as Adobe s Digital Editions format. The reflowable ebook formats are best for novels and books with few illustrations or photographs, where text can reflow according to screen size. The fixed format is best for books that have a lot of graphical content or tables. Books with complex layouts that must be retained are often not suitable for conversion to ebook format. Conversion to an ebook involves converting a manuscript or typeset file > XML > HTML > epub, Kindle or another final format. The ebook files must then be tested on the target ebook reader (Kindle, Sony Reader etc.) to check that the ebook displays and behaves as it should. Matador publish ebooks in epub and Kindle formats for most of our novels, even those with some images. We also offer a fixed format conversion service for more complex books with a lot of graphics. epub is the most widely-used nonproprietary ebook format, with epub books being readable on nearly all ebook readers and mobile devices (and on Apple s ipad). Amazon s Kindle uses a different format, and creating an ebook for Kindle involves a separate conversion process to that for epub, but as Amazon is a leading ebooks retailer we also convert to this format as part of what we offer.

4 Factsheet 12 Page 4 Ebook Production and Distribution Ebook Distribution Matador authors benefit from our extensive distribution network, both in the UK and overseas. We make your ebook available through all the major ebook retailers, including Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble (Nook), Waterstones, Google Play, Kobo, BlinkBox and WH Smith. We also offer distribution overseas through many hundreds of eretailers, including Barnes & Noble s Nook. In addition, we offer access to the huge ebook library market through our distribution links with wholesalers and specialist ebook suppliers. We take care of the distribution of ebook files to all of the retailers, and manage the bibliographic data for an ebook on an ongoing basis. Uniquely among self-publishing companies, Matador sells ebooks direct from our own website to customers, giving our authors the highest return on an ebook sale available through any retailer 85% of the cover price. Our ebook sales are protected with Digital Rights Management (DRM), and as well as being able to buy direct from us, we also link to an ebook on the relevant Apple and Amazon product pages to give readers a choice of format and retailer. Distribution channels are constantly evolving in this area, and we shall ensure that our books are available to as wide an audience as possible. Other than for selected retailers, it is currently impossible to ensure that all ebook retailers will list a title. Protection and pricing We place our ebook files with the distributors and retailers direct (where applicable). In doing so, we control the Digital Rights Management (DRM) features, which essentially ensures that anyone who buys an ebook cannot simply then give it away to others. A DRM protected ebook can only be read on an ebook reader or device registered to the purchaser. Eretailers will take a percentage of the ebook s sale price for selling the ebook. This ranges from 55% to 30%, depending on the retailer and the price at which the ebook is sold. As with physical books, we receive sales information from the distributors and retailers, and add this information into our authors accounts each month in arrears. Royalties are paid to authors every three months. Authors also have 24/7 online access to sales information on our website sio they can check on sales at any time. The price at which your ebook sells is your choice. Unless we are asked otherwise by an author, we set the cover price of an ebook at the price we feel is right for the market. Because of fluctuations in currencies and the fact that some countries eretailers have to pay tax on ebook sales, the cover price may vary between retailers and countries. Retailers also have the freedom to discount ebook sales as they see fit; this is entirely outside our or your control, and is a normal part of how the ebook retail market works. If tax is added to an ebook s sale price by an eretailer, then that eretailer accounts for the tax to the relevant authority; it is not your responsibility to account for any local or national taxes levied on the sale of your ebook.

5 Factsheet 12 Page 5 Ebook Production and Distribution Author Webpage Each ebook that we publish is placed in our own webshop. As part of this, authors can add information to their ebook s webpage, like reviews and media coverage, giving a central focus for the ebook online. This is provided to all authors who publish either a book or ebook with us. For authors who want their own dedicated website, we can create and host this for you. We offer a bespoke author website design, creation, hosting and maintenance service. Our designer will create an author website containing anything from a scrolling news section, blog, twitter link, contact form, visitor book... anything you like that will help drive traffic to your website and your writing. The website includes the purchase of a domain name for you, its registration, then hosting of your website on our servers for two years. During that period, updates to the website are made free of charge, so you can update your news, reviews and add any pictures. For further details, see Factsheet 11. Author Earnings With so many different eretailers taking varying percentages of an ebook s sale price, and in many different currencies, it is impossible to list all receipts from all retailers. We thus make a flat payment to authors of 85% of the net receipts from all ebook sales. Authors have 24/7 access online to basic sales information on our website. We receive sales information each month in arrears from a wide range of retailers and add this to an author s account each month. We send a detailed quarterly sales statement at the end of February, May, August and November, along with payment. Costings The cost of creating an ebook from scratch starts at VAT. More complex ebooks containing specific formatting requirements, tables, graphs and images will add to the cost of conversion. We ask to see a manuscipt first so that we can give an accurate costing in advance. Our ebook creation cost includes the bespoke design of a cover, text formatting, ISBN registration and conversion to epub and Kindle formats. If you already have a cover or ISBN then our costs reduce accordingly. The cost of placing ebook through our international distribution network is 80+VAT. If you already have an industry standard epub ebook file, we can distribute oit for you through our network. If you would like more information, or wish to discuss ebook production or distribution, please contact us: ebooks@troubador.co.uk

6 Factsheet 27 Ebook Marketing Toolkit Matador Serious Self-Publishing Ebook Marketing Toolkit By its very nature, a large element of marketing an ebook takes place online... after all, that s where readers buy their ebooks. Because an ebook is not a physical object but an electronic file, telling people about it is of necessity largely an abstract rather than a physical activity. Fortunately for authors, most of these online activities will cost nothing more than time. This factsheet is designed to show what you as the author can do yourself to market your own ebook. It largely includes advice on activities that you can undertake to promote your ebook on the internet, but there are also other activities that you can carry out of a more active nature. Ebook marketing is also something that you will need to keep doing if you want to keep your ebook being noticed and hopefully bought... Plan your marketing campaign! One of the main errors authors make is not to plan ahead enough. The media works weeks, often months, ahead, so if you are serious about interesting them in your ebook, you need to do so well in advance of your ebook s publication. We d suggest that your main marketing efforts to interest the media in your ebook should take place at least a month in advance of your ebook s publication. But it shouldn t stop there. Ongoing marketing is just as important and often it can reap great rewards, both personally and financially. The main thing you ll need in your e-marketing toolkit is a press release. Once you ve got this, you can draw up a list of media that you want to send information to in a bid to secure some media coverage and increase your ebook sales. If you re working with Matador s marketing team, then they will carry out a lot of this activity for you, but if not you will need to do this yourself. Blanket marketing is a waste of time and resources. Although your ebook may appeal to most readers and to a broad age range, you need to identify its strongest selling points. Focus your marketing on these points and you ll have better results. There are so many niche publications out there simply by searching on the internet for the main topics/genres/ themes in your book you should come up with plenty. Again, Twitter can come in really handy as you can search specifically for users who review a certain genre. Think laterally, and be realistic. The Times is unlikely to review your ebook (it currently doesn t review any!), so don t waste your time. Don t just target the obvious media outlets there are thousands of specialist publications, blogs, Twitter users... do some research online first. Send relevant publications an about your ebook (check they accept ebooks for review first, as not all do). Be careful not to be too pushy or send too much text a short paragraph or two about the ebook, an excerpt and an overview of the main themes/genre in the book will be enough to get their attention. Attach the press release to the so that they can then download it to see more. Make sure you personalise each , especially if you re targeting different types of publications. Do your research beforehand finding out the editor s/reviewer s name will go a long way in making you stand out from the crowd. Follow up your initial approach a week later politely! Don t be pushy or rude... journalists have thousands of approaches each week and will only contact you if they want to. If you don t get any response after your follow-up, then assume that it s a dead end and concentrate your efforts elsewhere. In the run-up to your ebook s publication, continue to target likely publications and enter into a dialogue with anyone

7 Factsheet 27 Page 2 Ebook Marketing Toolkit who responds to your initial approaches. Remember also that marketing is an activity that often you cannot draw direct lines to results from. Don t be discouraged if you send out a hundred s and get only a couple of responses; all it takes is for one of those responses to come to fruition and it has been worthwhile. Keep track of what you ve sent If you re planning to send promotional material out to publications, make sure you keep a comprehensive list with all the details on what publication you sent it to, the name of the contact there, the date you contacted them and any other relevant information. That way, when you re doing PR follow-ups you ll have all the information you need to hand. Be a social media butterfly Perhaps the most important part of e-marketing is using social media actively to promote yourself and your ebook. Most authors have their own Twitter and Facebook pages, so if you don t already have these, get them! Opening accounts with them is free. If you already have active social media accounts then you can use these to start promoting your ebook. If you re starting from scratch, it may take a while to make an impression, and you have to stick at it and post regularly to keep people interested and not just about their books, too. Constantly giving a sales pitch will turn fans and potential purchasers away, but there is a healthy balance you can maintain. Many authors show day in day out how they get create opportunities by using social networking to connect to reviewers and bloggers who are interested in their ebooks. Take a look at Factsheet 13 for more information. At Matador we actively use Twitter and Facebook. Twitter is great for on-the-spot updates, finding reviewers for your ebook and getting in touch with other authors and the media. Facebook is great for uploading pictures, like scans of any media coverage, and for getting involved with communities of like-minded authors. It s also key for tracking how effective your page is, providing analytics that can tell you how many people have seen your posts. Spread the word Start connecting with other authors out there (social media is the best way to do this) you re all in the same boat. You can help spread the word about someone else s ebook and they can do the same for you. Arrange to do guest blog posts on other sites for a bit of extra visibility and promotion. A great way for authors to get their ebooks promoted (both self-publishing and mainstream) is to arrange a blog tour. Again, social media is the best way to do this. Connect with bloggers (the smaller and indie ones will generally be the most receptive) and arrange to do an interview/q&a/piece about your book/extract with them. If you can get several arranged (especially all to be posted on the same day) then you ll simultaneously broaden your reach. Imagine every blog that you re posting on has 200 followers if you arrange to appear on 10 sites, you re reaching 2,000 people. The benefit for the bloggers is that they re being directly associated with an author and getting an exclusive piece straight from the author s mouth, thus improving their own site s credibility. Promote, promote, promote Make sure you re doing as much as you can to spread the word about your ebook. Add information about your ebook and a link to its webpage in your author signature, to subtly spread the word to anyone you . Always be ready to talk about your ebook you may just find yourself talking to a reviewer or journalist without realising it! Matador offers anyone who publishes or markets an ebook using their services a dedicated ebook widget ; this is placed into your own as a signature that, when clicked, takes the reader straight to your ebook on our webshop... It s great for encouraging direct links so that people can buy your ebook! To generate your widget (once your cover has been approved), visit Note that you ll need to be logged in first! Have your own author website Having a dedicated site for your work and for yourself as author is a must when you are trying to promote your work online. Potential readers will want to find out more about your ebook, about you as author, and if you have more than

8 Factsheet 27 Page 3 Ebook Marketing Toolkit one ebook they may want to buy it! Giving a single landing page for readers makes it easier for them to see you as a serious author. Not only should your author website look professional and act as an extra tool for promotion, but you can keep in touch with your readers by inviting them to contact you. Even by keeping a blog, you can connect with your readers and build a community. There are various free website creation tools available online, requiring differing amounts of technical knowledge to use them. Or you can take advantage of dedicated author website creation and hosting services such as that offered by Matador to its authors. Take a look at Factsheet 11 for more details. However you decide to get online, make sure that your author website is well designed and that you use it regularly leaving it unchanged for months on end is worse than having no online presence at all. If you have a website, it s a great idea to make a few of pages or a chapter of your book available for free. Readers can then preview your ebook and decide if they want to buy it. Change the sample you offer regularly, and advertise the fact that you ve made something new available on your website. It s all about driving people to your site. Hold a competition Why not run a competition on your website? Do it regularly; it doesn t have to be a one-off activity. Tell people about the competition via Twitter and Facebook... If you have published a book as well as an ebook edition, you can give copies of your book away as prizes. Announce your competition via others blogs and Twitter accounts... Again, it s all about driving people to your website. Use pricing to drive sales Offer your ebook at a reduced cost if bought through a particular retailer for a limited time. For example, sell it at 99p over one weekend only through Kobo, and announce the special offer to all your contacts, relevant bloggers and through your author website. Do it more than once using different retailers. If Matador are distributing your ebook for you, we can usually help to change cover prices with a particular retailer for a limited period. Build up reviews Encourage anyone you know buying your ebook friends, family, fans to post a review on your ebook s webpage and other retailers websites after they ve read it. Any prospective buyers who come across your ebook by chance may be swayed to purchase it if they can see it s had good reactions from other readers. Use snippets from good reviews in your signature and put them on your website. Audio and video Creating an author podcast or a video is a great and slightly different way to promote your ebook. They re both excellent ways to connect to your readers and do lots of different things an author interview, an ebook trailer, a reading, an opinion piece. It s important to keep them succinct and interesting to avoid boring your readers. Not only can you put such things on your own author website, but you can see if other websites will either include them or at least link to them on your website. You can also announce a new podcast or video, giving people a new reason to visit your website and hopefully buy your ebook. Keep an eye out for my next book If you re writing a series of ebooks or simply publishing more than one, it s always worth including a short extract or some information about your forthcoming title at the end of the ebook you re publishing. It s a great way to start generating some sales and promote your next ebook ahead of publication. The majority of readers choose their ebooks by author if they know they loved an author s first five ebooks, they ll probably love their sixth and seventh, too. By just including a little sample this early on you ll already start the ball rolling. Google alerts Although most review sites and publications will let you know if and when they re planning to feature a piece about

9 Factsheet 27 Page 4 Ebook Marketing Toolkit your ebook, some won t. Set up a Google Alert with your name and ebook title so that you automatically receive an that returns top search results for your book meaning you could stumble on a blog post or review you hadn t ever seen before. You can adjust the settings to suit you. Advertising If your book is particularly niche, it may be worth spending a little money on advertising on a relevant publication. Bigger magazines charge up to thousands of pounds for an advert, but you may find smaller publications with a good readership and circulation who can offer you a reasonable deal. It s also often the case that they will throw in a review, as well, meaning that you ll get editorial coverage too. Online advertising can also drive people to your ebook; think about which websites people interested in the subject of your ebook might go to and consider a banner ad on it these are often very reasonably priced. You can also use Google AdWords to target Google keyword searches, so that an advert for your book pops up every time someone in the UK searches on Google for chimney sweep (or whatever keywords you like)! Getting out and about Volunteer to speak at events that will help raise your profile as a writer and spread the word about your ebook. There are countless industry events going on each year do your research and keep up to date with the publishing industry. Not only will it increase your knowledge of the books trade, which will in turn inform your own publishing experiences, but it will strengthen your chances of being chosen to take part in such events. Womens Institute, Rotary Club, Masons, countless sports clubs... Think where people who are interested in the subject of your ebook go to learn more, and offer those clubs and societies a talk about your ebook. Writing groups are another excellent way of interesting others about your ebook, and you may also learn something new yourself! What about libraries? They love to have author events, and they buy and lend ebooks too. Because an ebook is not a physical object, it is essential that if you are promoting your ebook in the real world, you must have something to give out to people that has a link to your ebook on it. Bringing us to... Get some marketing materials printed Postcards, bookmarks and posters are a great way both to promote your ebook and brighten up signings and events. Keep the design simple a full-colour image of your cover, a short extract from the ebook, an endorsement if you have one, and the ebook s ISBN, price and website. Business cards especially are great to hand out. An image of the cover on one side and your contact details on the other will make a simple but eye-grabbing design. Just make sure that anything you hand out looks professional handing out scraps of paper or poorly designed cards will likely put people off. Matador offers a range of professionally designed book and ebook marketing materials (see our brochure), or you can use your local designer, printer or copy shop. Ebook review sites While most blogs and publications only accept physical copies of books to review, a number of sites that accept all formats or solely ebooks are now springing up. We ve collated some of the best in a handy list in our Resource Centre (Ebook Review Sites). If contacting any website or blogger, make sure you check their relevance to your ebook and their review policy. Ebook awards Although few big book awards accept ebooks for review, there are some ebook specific awards that have been set up to highlight the best in digital publishing. Details of these are below. Please note that we do not endorse any of these awards and there may be costs involved to enter your ebook. Global ebook Awards The Global Ebook Awards honor and bring attention to ebook publishing. Now in its second year, the Awards span 101

10 Factsheet 27 Page 5 Ebook Marketing Toolkit specific categories. They are open to all publishers. Each winner is chosen by category rather than based on size or region. EPIC The Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition exists to provide a strong voice for electronic publishing. Their EPIC ebook Awards began in 2000 to recognise excellence in epublished works. The ebook awards are open to all electronically published works: novels, graphic novels, short stories, non-fiction, and poetry. Digital Book Awards The Digital Book Awards recognize innovation, creativity and excellence in all aspects of digital book publishing. Each year, award winners and finalists in 15 categories demonstrate fresh thinking, inspired design, and bold technology integration, pushing the boundaries of what s possible in this constantly evolving publishing arena. elit Awards The elit Awards are a global awards program committed to illuminating and honouring the very best of English language digital publishing entertainment. Now in its third year, they currently have 63 award categories and award gold, bronze and silver medals in each. If you would like more information contact marketing@troubador.co.uk