Authors who use PressBooks for the free ability to upload and format e-books now have a distribution option thanks to a deal made with BookBaby. In the past if you used PressBooks you would have to export your e-book and upload it to a distribution site. Now, thanks to a deal announced in April, you can sell your books directly from PressBooks. There is a fee for selling on BookBaby but the convenience might make it worth it for some users.
These days readers consume books in various formats. Some prefer paperbacks, others won’t touch anything that isn’t on their Kindle and others like to read books in PDF on their computer. When you set up your sales page for your book make sure you tell your readers how and where they can buy the book in any format you offer. For example, put a buy link for physical copies and link to the Kindle and Nook. Make it easy for your readers to buy your books no matter how they intend to read them.
So many publishers were worried about the e-book revolution and piracy concerns that they couldn’t see the forest for the trees. Now that the dust has somewhat settled publishers have learned that e-books have opened doors for them that they previously thought closed. Zoe Chace writes on NPR that publishers are now using e-books to get new readers and other benefits. We don’t want to say “We told you so” but… Read the entire article here.
We love GoodReads. It is a great resource for both authors and for readers. We regularly run giveaways for our new books and we always get a good response so we are happy to see that Goodreads doubled in size in 2012. To learn all the good news from Goodreads click here and let us know how you use the site to promote your books.
A Meetup is a group of people who get together, often on a regular basis, for a common purpose. Some groups are paranormal investigators or dog owners or readers. Many groups exist in communities around the world that are writers who share tips and critique each other’s work. Checkout Meetup and find out if you have a writers group in your area you can join.
Angela Hoy says that about 75% of Americans don’t own an e-reader and some of them never will! Publishing for Kindle and the Nook is hot, hot, hot but don’t forget that the majority of readers still want to pick up a book and hold it in their hands. To read Angela’s article click here and while you’re at it subscribe to her free e-zine.
Bondfire Books, a new e-publishing company, has been launched by Alive Communications, a Colorado Springs-based literary agency representing Christian and inspirational authors. The company will publish e-book exclusives by such bestselling authors as novelist Karen Kingsbury and Eugene Peterson, author and translator of The Message Bible. Read the rest of the press release at Publishers Weekly.
David Carnoy on CNet wants to know “With some publishers settling their antitrust lawsuit with the government, prices for e-books are expected to come down. But how much of a change will we really see?” Read the rest of the article here.
I don’t know about you, but I spend a ton of money on e-books. Practically speaking, I don’t mind at all because I can take an entire library on vacation (which I recently did on our Spring Break to Puerta Vallarta). But I can’t re-sell them or donate them to the local library like I do my hardback and paperback books. So there is a trade-off.
What do you think?
Is such a bold claim true? We at 42Rules don’t know for sure but it does seem like many of our colleagues and friends are toting around the Kindle’s they received for the holidays! What we do know for sure is that all of the 42Rules books come in a version for Kindle and all of the other e-readers as well. However, if you want an e-reader to read your 42Rules books and you love the Amazon.com catalog then you should consider a Kindle!
