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This could be the way out of your financial problems. Learn to publish on Kindle without having to
be a writer. Check out the number one best selling training system for using the Kindle on the
Web. 14 videos come with the training course.
http://www.warriorplus.com/linkwso/qvpsw6/25930/01-08-2012
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There are seven practical steps in accomplishing a successful ebook publishing project:
Choosing the right ebook publishing program
Picking an ebook format
Providing ISBN numbers
Creating ebook covers
Setting up a Payment System
Using an e-reader for testing purposes
Promoting your ebook
As a self-published author of three books, I know how hard it is to find a literary agent or
publishing house interested in publishing your work. One of the first things I did after sending out
queries to no avail was to check out the Print-On-Demand (POD) houses to get my novels printed
and distributed. I did this for my first two books with high expectations. While there are many fine
POD companies ready and willing to publish your work for a fee, I quickly realized there are some
significant drawbacks to this method. The number one drawback for me was the high list prices
assigned to my printed novels. The prices were not competitive in the marketplace. I even tried
offering an ebook format, but it was before the time of digital ebook readers and the current
explosion in digital content. With this in mind I decided to publish my new novel in ebook format
myself. What I learned over the last few months are the practical steps necessary for successful
ebook publishing, which I will share with those of you who want more control over publishing,
distributing and selling your work. In this article, I will focus on two ebook publishing programs,
Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) program and the Google Books Partner Program. If you
wish to save on expenses and control your own destiny, you have to learn these steps in order to
participate in this brave new digital world.
1. Choosing the right ebook publishing program:
Choosing the right ebook publishing program for your work is a critical first step. Fortunately, for
self-published authors, times have changed dramatically over the last few years. Online publishers
like Amazon.com have paved the way for authors who want to produce a competitive product even
if it means a printed format is not offered for sale or a previous title is made available for the first
time in digital format. With Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing program you not only reach the
largest ebook market distributor, but the biggest selling e-reader device, the Kindle.
More recently, Google ebookstore has entered the market with a competitive solution that allows
authors to participate in the Google Books Partner Program to publish ebooks for a variety of
digital e-reader devices and access millions of ebooks from publishers and libraries worldwide.
The biggest advantage with Google is you will have access to many of the other largest selling e-
reader devices including the Nook that use ebook formats other that the proprietary Kindle format.
2. Picking an ebook format:
Another important step is learning the differences between ebook formats and which format is
needed for various digital e-readers. There are many formats, but you don't need to save your
work in every format to publish online. For example, Amazon Kindle uses a unique proprietary
format AZW that is based on the Mobipocket standard. This format is not compatible with other e-
readers on the market such as the Barnes & Noble Nook series. The good news, though, is you
don't have to reformat your novel to publish with Amazon.com. With Kindle Direct Publishing you
can self-publish your books on the Amazon Kindle Store by submitting a standard Word DOC
format and Kindle will reformat for you. Even better, books self-published through KDP can
participate in the 70% royalty program if you meet their requirements, which is a substantial deal.
The Google Books Partner Program and Google ebookstore competes with Kindle Direct
Publishing and the Amazon Kindle Store. Google ebookstore uses the EPUP format, which is an
open standard for ebooks created by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF). The EPUP
format allows e-readers to change the text sizes for a better reading experience and allows the
text to flow or fit the e-reader screen sizes as needed. Currently, Google's program requires
authors to submit their work in Adobe PDF format and in the EPUP format for the ebookstore. The
secret here is to save the Word document format as a Web Page, Filtered (HTML) document and
use a free converter from companies such as Calibre to convert the HTML format to EPUP for
submission to Google. This is more complicated than Amazon's program, but it works just fine.
One of the advantages of the Google program is the ebook can be read on many different e-
reader devices and can be accessed over the Internet and read on demand.
3. Providing ISBN numbers:
ISBN stands for "International Standard Book Number". It is a unique identifier for books, ebooks
and other media. Each title, edition or different format that is published and made separately
available should be identified by a unique ISBN. Both the Amazon and Google programs will
assign electronic ISBN numbers for your ebooks. However, this may limit the number of
distribution channels or publishing houses that would be willing to offer your ebook for sale since
many online book sellers in the U.S. require ISBN identification for tracking, selling and payment
purposes. The best approach is to purchase your own ISBN numbers from an approved agent of
The International ISBN Agency in the U.K. that coordinates all ISBN numbers. One such agency in
the U.S. that can provide ISBN numbers is a company called Publisher Services, a division of Bar
Code Graphics, Inc. For a reasonable price, they will provide a single ISBN number and an
electronic barcode that can be used with any format. One secret regarding the electronic barcode
image is the EPS format provided is not compatible with Amazon or Google ebook formats. The
barcode image needs to be converted to a JPEG format when inserted inside the ebook file.
Don't forget to submit a form to copyright your work with the government. I used the Electronic
Copyright Office (ECO) System to protect my latest novel.
4. Setting up a Payment System:
In order to sell your digital work online, you will need to set up a secure payment process. Again,
there are many solutions available on the market depending on how you intend to sell your work
and receive payments. Fortunately, working with Amazon or Google makes the process easier.
The Amazon Kindle Store requires you to set up a Company/Publisher Account with bank
information. Once the account is set up you can publish titles to the Kindle Store at no cost and
receive payments for each sale. The Google Books Partner Program offers a similar service called
Google Checkout. The main advantages of both programs is the payment security they provide,
the ease of account setup, customer purchasing convenience, faster payment of royalties and
customer support.
5. Creating Ebook Covers:
Another important aspect to any ebook project is creating a professional ebook cover for your
novel. Cover images are recommended for Amazon and Google programs. Again, there are many
online companies and publishing houses willing to provide this type of service for a fee. However,
if you are willing to design and format your own cover page and use existing free images available
on the Internet, then I recommend you purchase an inexpensive ecover application from a
company such as Extreme 3D eCovers. This application is easy to use and the product provides
access to many ecover graphics that can be used royalty free. I produced my ebook cover using
free images from NASA and they only require you to acknowledge the source of the images in
your work.
6. Using an e-reader for testing purposes:
In preparation for self-publishing an ebook, you need to download an e-reader application to your
PC to test the EPUB or Adobe PDF formats before submitting them to Amazon, Google or any
other online publisher. You want to view the ebook and correct any issues before submission. I
recommend the Calibre E-book Management System with their E-book Viewer to convert
documents or read PDF or EPUB formats, or download Adobe Digital Editions to read PDF or
EPUB ebooks. Both downloads are free. I also recommend you add a Table of Contents to your
ebook to make searching and reading chapters easier for the customer. As a side note, you can
also read ebooks on your PC. Google ebookstore provides a web reader for this purpose. Amazon
provides Kindle for PC. Barnes & Noble provides NOOK for PC. The list goes on.
As I have mentioned earlier, there are many e-readers on the market and each requires
compatible ebook formats for reading purposes. The biggest selling e-reader on the market today
is the Amazon Kindle, which accounts for nearly 70% market share. For this reason alone, it
behooves you to make you ebook compatible with this product. Fortunately, it is relatively easy to
submit and publish your ebook for the Amazon Kindle Store in a matter of days. They are
extremely efficient and provide excellent technical support. Another popular e-reader device is the
Barnes & Noble Nook. This device is compatible with the EPUB format and other formats, but not
the Kindle format. As you now know, the EPUB format is required for the Google program. Google
ebookstore and their Partner Program is newer to the ebook game and it will take a little longer to
get your ebook published, but again, they are very efficient and their customer support is also very
helpful.
7. Promoting your ebook:
Last but not least, there is no easy or proven method in promoting a new ebook in today's market
place. It will require time, effort and money; and it is necessary since there are so many ebook
titles available for sale. The good news is with the proliferation of e-book readers and digital
content, the tide has turned for digital publishing. Amazon.com recently reported that they are
selling more digital books than printed copies for the first time in history. Unfortunately, I have
found that neither Amazon Direct Publishing nor the Google Book Partner Program offer a
satisfactory service to promote or drive ebook sales. This type of service will take time to mature.
In the meantime, I recommend you find the best online channels to distribute a Press Release that
reaches your target market and doesn't cost a lot of money. It is also important to drive ebook
sales using your own website, author membership sites and social networking sites. Fortunately,
setting up a personal website is easy to do and you can add URL links to any of the programs,
online book stores, ebook publishing houses, companies, application programs, e-reader devices
and agencies mentioned in this article. After all, it is up to the author to champion their work no
matter how the work is published.
Author Note:
I am in the early stages of promoting my new science fiction ebook, The Guardians. I will use this
experience to write another article on which ebook promotions are successful or not. I can be
reached on my website via the link below. Copyright March 2011 by Don Viecelli.
The author lives in the Chicagoland area with his wife and family. He attended Michigan State
University and earned his MBA at Lake Forest Graduate School of Management in Illinois. He is a
marketing professional in the high tech industry and writes for a hobby. He has always enjoyed
science fiction and plans to continue writing novels that weave real science with fiction.
Author's website: http://home.comcast.net/~viecelli/site/?/home/
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Don_Viecelli
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This could be the way out of your financial problems. Learn to publish on Kindle without having to
be a writer. Check out the number one best selling training system for using the Kindle on the
Web. 14 videos come with the training course.
http://www.warriorplus.com/linkwso/qvpsw6/25930/01-08-2012
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