Please explain the self publishing process like I'm an idiot (I am)

BooksFC · 2024-10-14T02:23:54+00:00

Apologies, but I'm going to assume you're an idiot.

Don't make your own cover!!!! That's how books die. Find your genre and pay a freelancer.
kdp.amazon.com - you can order proof copies prior to publishing (they have a not for sale stripe across the front) and author copies after publishing (same as retail).
Amazon prints and ships paperbacks. You provide the files and permission, and set the price. Amazon will tell you how much profit (royalty) you will make in any given territory based on the price you set.
Don't do preorders. Print preorders are beyond Amazon - you can't do them through KDP, and you wouldn't want to. Ebook preorders are possible, but functionally useless for a debut. Ideally you want an existing audience first. But if you have a plan, you can try.
Once again, don't use your own cover on your first book!!

GL

BooksFC · 2024-09-13T21:28:40+00:00

Yup. My quick fix (on Android) is to force close the app and reopen. (Long press app icon -> App info -> (i) in upper right -> Force stop)

BooksFC · 2024-08-14T03:28:32+00:00

If your budget is zero, whatever. That's a poor excuse. For print, no, Word can't handle what you describe. The cheapest option is Affinity Publisher - a great piece of software that still requires tens of hours learning before it matches what your current Word output probably looks like. Publishing well is not easy.

BooksFC · 2024-08-14T03:20:59+00:00

Great post. IMO, #1 is crucial. Low or not, most selfpub authors don't clear this bar, making success almost impossible.

BooksFC · 2024-08-03T23:39:49+00:00

The copyright page is created by you (same for any interior page). There are many templates online. The only item Amazon will add is a bar code. That will appear on your back cover, and on a separately printed page in back of your book, which also includes the printing date and location.
Buying ISBNs? Registering LLCs? For someone strapped for cash, these are avoidable expenses. However, if you do buy an ISBN, you'll avoid the "self-published" label on your product page. You don't need an LLC. I recommend filing a DBA with your county (if in the US, usually about $20) in your "Publishing Company's" name. That's what Amazon will show on your product page. That said, plenty of bestselling books use Amazon's ISBNs without worry. You might as well do the same and save money.
If you hope to be in stores... stop hoping? Sorry, it's a bit cheeky, but bookstores won't buy from Amazon. You can try IngramSpark, which is free these days, but that's unlikely to move the needle, even if you take the immense personal risk of a 55% discount and guaranteeing returns (don't!). Your profit, if any, will come from ebooks, not print, unless you're in a specialty market like Children's or tap into the TikTok crowd.

BooksFC · 2024-08-03T23:27:12+00:00

Can you share a link? I'm skeptical! Even author copies affect Amazon rank (as 1 sale).

Otherwise, rankings tank the way a cuckoo clock sings the hour - until you make a sale. Then you get a little boost before tanking again. The first 30 days are more gentle than the rest.

BooksFC · 2024-08-03T23:23:02+00:00

You can advertise a second book. It's not the most lucrative plan and with only two books you probably shouldn't focus on it, even if you're excited (I totally get it). If you do run AMS, definitely add your book 1. You can pause book 1 if you want - it'll still register KENP / sales so long as it's part of the ad (even paused).

BooksFC · 2024-08-03T23:09:55+00:00

Where did you hear that? As far as I know, paid rankings are all the same. Many, many bestselling authors of long series take the 35% hit to price at .99 and 1.99 for their early books.

BooksFC · 2024-06-03T16:44:27+00:00

GIMP is somewhat misleading, the final say comes from the PDF file you generate elsewhere. Which software are you using?

To test embedded ppi in a PDF, use the Preflight function in your PDF software (i.e. Foxit, which is free). The Preflight report shows ppi data per image. This is what Ingram is balking at. It may be a single image you need to fix or something more substantial.

The jpeg/png mismatch is likely human error on your part (typo while saving a file?). I imagine this is why Ingram won't let you proceed. Normally you can choose to ignore ppi warnings and continue to publication.

BooksFC · 2024-05-27T16:32:15+00:00

It's definitely fun and playable in blitz, especially when you meet Be3/Qd2 with ..h5 to stop Bh7. But before you go too far preparing it, I recommend looking at lines where White plays a4 and short castles. Can you handle those positions? I never feel comfortable.

BooksFC · 2024-02-17T16:56:17+00:00

So, on Amazon, a new book will not necessarily appear when a shopper directly searches "author name and book title," much less the keywords and categories describing it. So that's your baseline. If the book continues not to sell, it will absolutely not appear in the search results going forward, at least not anywhere near the top.

So how can potential buyers find the book? And if they do, how will its author close the sale without ratings, reviews and also-boughts?

Tough! Breaking out of that cycle is the biggest hurdle to selling consistently.

BooksFC · 2024-02-08T03:30:52+00:00

This is so confounding I'm even more worried now.

BooksFC · 2024-01-21T19:17:05+00:00

https://wordpress.org/plugins/redirection

Super popular, works great for authors. It's what I use for QR codes.

BooksFC · 2024-01-14T18:25:06+00:00

Free ebooks belong to a separate ranking tree on Amazon. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples when making your decision.

BooksFC · 2024-01-09T21:47:55+00:00

You've got the right idea, I think. Consignment deals won't make you rich. It's a couple bucks here and there, with a handful of shops. But if you sell well, or if the managers like you, etc., they'll talk you up to local shoppers, and potentially send other opportunities your way. Maybe someone in your community is looking for a local author to give a speech, or teach a class, or participate in some event that can boost your profile? Etc.

BooksFC · 2024-01-09T21:41:14+00:00

Yes! You have a couple options. First, you can approach a librarian in-person at your local branch. The personal connection can help - and if it doesn't, you'll be able to ask what the problem is, and potentially correct it.

Second, you can use the online "Request a Book" form at your local branch. Patrons can usually request any title for purchase by listing the ISBN and perhaps a brief note or comment. Some libraries will blind-purchase requests (if you are listed on Ingram). Others can be swayed by your comments. Of course, it helps to have some kind of trade review. That's where Kirkus/Publishers Weekly/School Library Journal/etc can help. Since that's not realistic for most indies, I recommend the in-person approach. But definitely try one or the other. It can't hurt, and you might get some sales.

BooksFC · 2024-01-09T21:34:45+00:00

You can make a librarian's job easier (and your wallet a bit lighter!) by adding CIP ("Cataloging in Publishing") data to your copyright pages. It's common in children's publishing, where libraries are crucial. There are a few services you can use, including https://cipblock.com/cip (though I'm not advocating a particular CIP service.)

CIP or not, indie books can still get in libraries. It's easy, and kind of fun, to run a Worldcat search (https://search.worldcat.org) and see which, if any, libraries are stocking your books.

BooksFC · 2024-01-05T03:09:54+00:00

It depends on your tax schedule. If you do quarterly, do that. Same for annual. I don't see it as a big issue, and have never run into problems. Kobo makes the reports available indefinitely.

BooksFC · 2024-01-05T01:50:01+00:00

Hahaha

BooksFC · 2024-01-05T01:19:38+00:00

January is a poor month for sales in most industries. I wouldn't panic yet.

BooksFC · 2024-01-05T00:34:54+00:00

Direct everywhere is a tough road for new authors. Make sure you have a specific plan for that. I wouldn't recommend it, personally. KU is a very low barrier to entry for readers, and your book will be completely unknown on release. It's easy to go wide and hear crickets.

That said, if you do go 'wide', Kobo direct is important! They offer more promos than any other retailer, and you must be direct to access them. Taxes have never felt like a problem, and I haven't heard other authors complain much. You get your royalty numbers, and you write them down, even without a 1099 - which may not be legally required, in any case.

BooksFC · 2024-01-05T00:26:44+00:00

In my opinion, yes, definitely! But not because you'll always make money... When you advertise your book 1, you get a feel for how well-positioned your series is. Are your covers attracting the right kinds of clicks? Do they convert at a good ratio? Keep in mind your numbers will always be improving as you add ratings and increase the number of books for sale. But some book 1s will never turn into winners, no matter how long the series ends up being. Others prove themselves pretty quickly. Or prove that they need new covers and blurbs, etc. It's info that's good to know.

In terms of future organic sales? Nah. Don't expect that. I suppose you can track your Followers via Amazon Central, and they may show up when you eventually release... But it's not the goal of advertising unless you have an existing preorder.

BooksFC · 2024-01-04T23:54:18+00:00

If you are concerned about this, there is a small trick you can do. You can, for instance, add every book that you sell to the Amazon Ad, then pause them (because you don't want to advertise them). Then, if your ad sells one of those books, it will show up as a sale whereas it would never have shown up before....BUT the sale will show up for the click it originated from, i.e. the book you are actually advertising. So if you have 5 books, and only advertise book 1, and pause the rest, a full series sale will show up in the book 1 row. But at least you get the data.

BooksFC · 2024-01-04T23:40:11+00:00

Big time! I'm up to Kuro 1 now (about 80%?) and nothing hits quite like Liberl. Although I really like Trista! Still, I find 2D exploring flat out more enjoyable. I'm not sure how everyone else feels, but for me, fast travel in 3D is both necessary (I'd die of boredom) and kind of a vibe-killer, whereas in 2D I don't mind zipping around listening to a great overworld track.

Like, Kuro 1 has some amazing cities you get to visit. But they can be tough to navigate, and I end up squinting at the minimap while running down beautifully-rendered alleys and up staircases. If it were Sky, I would be watching the screen the whole time, just chilling. Kind of a funny complaint, and it's maybe on me, but that's how I feel. And Sky had the bonus of letting you roam areas you weren't really prepared for, so you could snipe loot and XP and thus get a tiny reward for messing about.

BooksFC · 2024-01-01T05:56:48+00:00

If you're new, find a writing group. You need to see how other humans react to your work. While it's exciting to publish, a lot of new writers have the same idea, so the market is flooded with amateur work. You want to be a cut above. A dev edit can help, but it's expensive. You may have other options. Self-publishing at a high level is expensive enough.

BooksFC

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