BookBub Alternatives
BookBub may be the dream for most independent authors and small publishing houses but the sad reality is that the only accept 10%-15% of all submissions, almost as bad as traditional publishers. So what do you do when you get that rejection letter? Look to the alternatives.
How Do Self-Published Books Compare to Books from Major Publishers?
Self Publishing doesn’t mean cutting corners. Take a look at this breakdown and see where and how the industry is getting a bad name so that you can avoid perpetuating it.
Vook to Relaunch as Free Self-Publishing Platform Pronoun
Vook announces today it’s rebranding as an author-centric publishing platform called Pronoun. The strategy shift comes eight months after acquiring the short-form ebook publisher Byliner and more than a year after buying Booklr, a data and analytics start-up. As Pronoun, Vook aims to put those two properties to use alongside its own production and distribution system on behalf of authors who publish through the new platform, which will be free to use when it launches publicly. Pronoun-published authors will keep 100% of the royalties from their work.
Amazon Publishing Marches On
Amazon Publishing may have scaled back its plans to have a major New York City trade publishing presence since the departure of Larry Kirshbaum in early 2014, but the company still continues to expand its overall operation. The division is now composed of 14 imprints, based in six cities, and it’s set to publish about 1,200 titles in 2015. Though it was largely focused on commercial fiction when it launched in 2009, Amazon Publishing is now increasing its investments in such nonfiction areas as narrative nonfiction, memoir, and biography, according to Jeff Belle, v-p of Amazon Publishing, who responded to questions via email.
10 Truths About Self-Publishing for Entrepreneurs With a Book Idea
Research shows that 81 percent of people say they have at least one book in them, according to the New York Times. As an entrepreneur, a book is a great way to establish your authority in your industry. It’s estimated that Amazon has earned $5.25 billion from eBooks so far this year, according to George Parker in The New Yorker. For entrepreneurs, this is an opportunity to add income to your business.
Before You Make a Fixed-Layout Ebook: Five Things to Watch Out For
So you want to make a fixed-layout ebook. For starters, are you sure? Publishers aren’t yet convinced that the format is much more than a niche market. But as technology evolves and ebook developers get better at producing more sophisticated FXL EPUB content more efficiently, change could soon be nearer at hand.
Apple wins preliminary court approval for its $450m ebook settlement
Apple has won a preliminary court approval for its settlement of $450m over claims it harmed consumers by conspiring with five publishers to artificially inflate the prices of ebooks. US District Judge Denise Cote granted the appeal in a Manhattan court on Friday according to Reuters, which will see Apple settling with states’ attorneys general over allegations. The case first hit the headlines in 2010 when the US Department of Justice (DoJ) accused Apple and five publishing companies, including Hachette and HarperCollins, of colluding to fix the price of books through Apple’s ebooks service.
7 Brutally Honest Self-Publishing Tips
Let me preface this article with an admission: I’m no expert on self-publishing. My first book came out last week. However, I don’t think one needs to be a veteran indie author to have learned a thing or two about self-publishing. In fact, I think the learning process starts the day you decide to self-publish and continues until the day that you stop. At this point, even though I’m sure my self-publishing journey is going to continue for quite a while yet, I think I’ve learned enough to give those who are just starting out a few good tips. Tips that you may not want to hear.
20 Marketing Questions Self-Published Authors Must Answer
If you’re a self-published novelist, your line of books is your small business. Like any small business, you need a marketing strategy. There are lots of marketing activities that you can engage in to promote your book, but before you start doing any of them, take the time to think like a marketer by asking yourself these 20 questions.
31 Percent of Daily E-Book Sales Are Now by Self-Published Authors
It used to be that publishing an ebook could be an effective branding or marketing effort. It could establish you as an expert in your field, help you market other products or services, and perhaps get you more clients or speaking engagements. But now ebooks are becoming a viable business of their own. Even very small publishers are getting in on the action. In fact, the author’s advocacy group Author Earnings recently reported that self-published ebooks now account for 31 percent of daily ebook sales on Amazon. The graph above shows the percentage of daily sales for independently published ebooks compared to those from other types of publishers. As you can see, ebooks from the “Big Five” publishers still make up more sales than those from independent authors. But self-published authors are gaining ground in the industry. The same study in April 2014 found that 30 percent of ebook sales came from self-published authors. And in February 2014 just 27 percent of sales came from self-published authors.
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