Category Archives: Amazon Kindle

Notes on Book Publishing

Some collected tips, hints, and tricks to get your book written & published. I just published yet another book, this one a collection of interviews and writings on writing I had laying around, or had published earlier in some other … Continue reading

Posted in amazon, Amazon Kindle, b&n, bestseller, iTunes, kobo, LibreOffice, lulu, Onlywire, Scribd, smashwords, Storify, synnd, writing | Leave a comment

You may have thought self-publishing ebooks was bad – try audiobooks…

(photocredit: Brett Jordan) The problem with audiobooks is Amazon – exactly why anti-trust laws were created. Amazon bought Audible. And got exclusive contracts with iTunes and others, such that they essentially are the only on-ramp to major distributors.(That’s called a … Continue reading

Posted in amazon, Amazon Kindle, iTunes, LibriVox, lulu, OverDrive, Podiobooks.com, publish | Leave a comment

How to Get Your Audiobook Linked Up With Your Kindle (and Hardcopy) Books on Amazon

Just had an audiobook go live… by itself. Needs links. So I was supposed to email somebody in Author Central about linking this with the Kindle version it was based on. You see, they both have the same title, just … Continue reading

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How to Publish Public Domain Books and Profit Nearly Forever, Part 1

(photo: 401(k) 2012) I found sometime this year that it was more profitable to publish than it is to write. And publishing copyright-free material was faster than about anything.[Update: the list of How-To steps have just been posted.] I now have … Continue reading

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Lulu gets finicky about publishing ebooks – tsk, tsk.

Is the business plan for publishing public domain and PLR books dead? No, but the rumors would make you think so. (photo: seebrownflikr) Got this from Lulu today: Please note that we no longer accept public domain or other content … Continue reading

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Why Lulu Made Me Buy a MAC for Self-Publishing

iTunes, unlike Amazon, doesn’t seem to be a walled garden. But there are hurdles which they put in place to keep indie authors out. Here’s some solutions to the problem. (photocredit: Kyle MacDonald) This began for me when Lulu decided … Continue reading

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Update: The Distributors Discriminate (against your profits.)

In any book sales, it’s bulk vs. originality. There’s room for both. (Photo Credit: Phil Roeder) Viable book sales depend on volume of books first, quality second, originality third.  But this isn’t how the distributors see it. No reason for … Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, Amazon.com, International Standard Book Number, iTunes, Kobo Inc., LibreOffice, lulu, Nook, public domain, publishing | Leave a comment

Why Aren’t Authors Happy Publishing Their Book?

Most authors don’t make a lot of money from publishing… (Photo: Diana Brown) …and what they don’t know is killing them. I’ve done my own study of DBW’s author survey. In addition to their earlier year’s surveys, this also adds … Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, Amazon.com, E-book, Ebook Publishing, iTunes, Kobo Inc., lulu, OverDrive, public domain, publishing | Leave a comment

Cracking the Lulu ebook Reject Problem

A faster way to clear up those cryptic Lulu ebook rejects. Just a note in passing… I was working away converting and uploading when I stumbled on a faster and surer way to get your book through that meatgrinder that … Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, E-book, epub, Google Play, HTML, LibreOffice, Portable Document Format, public domain, publishing | Leave a comment

Market Research Starts With Amazon?!?

Indie SOHO Publishing needs market research to succeed. Start with Amazon. (graphic: Chris Piascik) Why? Because they will tell you if your book as even a fighting change of breaking into the big time. While Amazon has been consistently shrinking … Continue reading

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Staring an Indie SOHO Publishing Career and Making Income Immediately

You Can Publish Your Friend’s, Neighbor’s, and Strangers’ Books From Your SOHO Publishing Business… (photo:epSos .de) …with no more than the tools you already use to publish your own books. It’s long been said that there is more money selling … Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, Amazon.com, book, iTunes, lulu, Print on demand, public domain, publishing, SOHO | Leave a comment

How to Keep the IRS From Nickel and Diming Your Book Income

A Little-Known Way to Get the IRS Off your Self-Publishing Back (Graphic: DonkeyHotkey) Just a (hopefully) short note about author earnings on Lulu. Stumbled on this while researching my recent posts and thought you’d want to know. Disclaimer: this isn’t … Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, author, book, E-book, Ebook Publishing, hardcopy, lulu, print version, publishing, self-publishing | Leave a comment

The Numbers Racket and Amazon’s Public Domain Problems.

Amazon’s problem with public domain books are overcome by sheer numbers. (Photo: Conor Lawless) You beat Amazon at public domain publishing by having a lot of dogs hunting for you. Recently was in the middle of a test which had … Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, Amazon.com, book, E-book, Ebook Publishing, epub, Goodreads, ibookstore, iTunes, lulu, publishing, smashwords | Leave a comment

Solving Competition and Making Profits by Indie Publishing

Competition Can Be Both Good and Bad For Indie Publishing –  Particularly With Public Domain Books (photo: Ronel Reyes) Some ebook distributors don’t want you competing with other titles, others encourage it. Amazon and Google seem to be at different … Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, Calibre (software), google, International Standard Book Number, iTunes, Kobo Inc., LibreOffice, lulu, Nook | Leave a comment

Why It’s Great to Be An Indie Publisher Now – Profit Forever

Why I Love Indie Publishing – Perpetual Passive Income Makes My Day. Oh, that’s right – I already wrote about this… I was reminded when I was looking to see if anyone else had been writing about publishing public domain … Continue reading

Posted in Amanda Hocking, Amazon Kindle, google, iTunes, Private label rights, public domain, publishing, Search engine optimization | 1 Comment

Getting Booksales on Amazon – and Everywhere Else

There are two distinct venues for selling books – Amazon and Everywhere Else. (photo: Nicholas Eckhart) This separation was made clear to me when I worked to publish a large handful of books to Amazon that I’d already published elsewhere. … Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, book, E-book, iTunes, Nook, public domain, publishing, Search engine marketing, Search engine optimization, self-publishing | Leave a comment

Solved: Amazon Just Rejected Your Self-Published eBook? No Problem.

Just had a couple of rejects from Amazon – I needed more choices for ecommerce, and found a solution. (Art: Daniel Broche) Amazon certainly isn’t the only game in town. When they reject your book, it certainly feels like that. … Continue reading

Posted in amazon, Amazon Kindle, Android (operating system), Apple Inc., E-book, ereader, google, Google Play, LeanPub, Mobile payment, PayPal | Leave a comment

Getting Your Book Discovered, Finding More Sales, Having More Fun

Writing and publishing Your Book isn’t even half your job – the rest is getting it discovered so it sells and pays you back. (photo: Jayp0d) The third leg of the stool every author sits on is Discovery. (The first … Continue reading

Posted in Amanda Hocking, Amazon Kindle, google, iTunes, John Locke, publishing, Search engine optimization, Web search engine | Leave a comment

The Espresso Network – the 7th Book Distributor.

Found a new place for Indie Authors to Publish their books – the Espresso Network. (Photo: Illinois.edu) This was an interesting find – and wound up with another way for you to self-publish books. Yes, of course it’s free. The … Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, Assembly line, author, E-book, ebook, Ebook Publishing, LeanPub, LibreOffice, lulu, Portable Document Format, publishing, smashwords | Leave a comment

How to Edit a Book Into Shape and Stay Sane

The Route to Producing a Book Requires You Organize to Maintain Your Sanity. (Photo: Matt Elwood) This is always the rub. Editing is what most writers hire out. It’s also known as proofing. But it’s a craft on it’s own, … Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, book launch, Calibre (software), E-book, google, iTunes, LibreOffice, lulu, napoleon hill, publishing | Leave a comment

When to Cave Over a Fake Copyright Claim

When they have a lawyer and you can’t afford one. (Jurisdictionary – lousy packaging, great course.) Hopefully, you don’t have a lot invested in that book. Might be a crying shame, but get over it. The two questions you have … Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, book, E-book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, iTunes, lulu, Private label rights, public domain, publishing | Leave a comment

Is there any Real Money in public domain (self-)publishing?

Why you can make a financially free lifestyle with public domain (self-)publishing, but getting rich (quickly) is elusive. (Photo: Jeneraly) For several years, I’ve been evolving the business plan of re-publishing public domain books as an off-shoot of self-publishing, Recent … Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, Copyright, E-book, Internet, iTunes, Kobo Inc., lulu, public domain, publishing | Leave a comment

The Great Amazon Suck – Why Other eBook Distributors Don’t

How to Blow-Off Any Chance at a Fan Base. (Cover: Seattle Weekly) [Rant Alert] For all the hype about Amazon, you will seldom see any fan clubs for Amazon or its execs. (Just lots of those “smiley” boxes.) That became … Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, book, E-book, iTunes, Kobo Inc., lulu, Nook, public domain, publishing, self-publishing | Leave a comment

“Edward’s First Book” – A Children’s Story About Self-Publishing.

(Just a first draft. Illustrations to follow.)  – – – – Edward would wake up at night because of the voices in his head. They weren’t unpleasant voices, but they did want something. They wanted to be heard. Not just … Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, book, Book cover, book launch, Goodreads, LeanPub, lulu, publishing, self-publishing | Leave a comment

An Author’s Guide to Memberships – How to Sell Books Online

Writers: Get Your Books Selling Online Better – Build a Membership I’ve long said (over and over) that the key to any author earning real income came from writing well and prolifically having multiple books for sale on all possible … Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, Amazon.com, AWeber Communications, Bookselling, Flickr, iTunes, lulu, Private label rights, public domain, publishing | Leave a comment

How I Got My Financial Freedom from Publishing Books

(artwork: keep_bitcoin_real – modified) You can publish your way to financial freedom. I did. It’s a story I haven’t really told before, but probably should have. I’ve been publishing books since around 2007, according records on Lulu.com – where I … Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, Assembly line, bestsellers, book sales, Bookselling, iTunes, Kobo Inc., lulu, public domain, publishing | Leave a comment

Why You Don’t Have to Be a Bestselling Author to Get Financially Free

(Photo: Alfred Cunningham) To Make a Living as a Writer, You Only Have to Publish Books Well. Why keep beating your head against a perfectly good brick wall? Look over some facts: Some bad books sell well. Some great books … Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, author, Dorothea Brande, Golden Rule, google, Google Play, iTunes, napoleon hill, public domain, publishing | Leave a comment

Rough Getting Paid – Single-book Author Income

(Photo: Ruth Sharville) Some authors have only one book in them – how do they make a living as an author? These people write and publish (or not) – then move on with their lives. Much like the old Zen … Continue reading

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The Author as Producer – it’s not just about ebooks anymore. Case Study 04

Becoming a Media Producer: Even Better Than an Author The point I have to pause here is to tell you that you’ve just morphed into something more powerful and more creative than you’ve ever been before. Books, especially ebooks, have … Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, Amazon.com, iTunes, lulu, Market Samurai, Portable Document Format, public domain, publishing, Scribd, smashwords | Leave a comment

At last, you’re published – telling the world: Case Study 05

(Photo: “Riverside Stompers – Wolfgang Straka 2007 e”) Time to let the world know about your book. Technically, you’ve been published ever since you first submitted to Lulu to get your ISBN. The completely-published part was when you got it … Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, Blog, Blogger (service), E-learning, google, IBooks, iTunes, publishing, Search engine optimization, YouTube | Leave a comment

What Begins Well, Goes Well – and You Can Always Start Over

So, I was all set to get back to publishing books – when I discovered I really should drop back and punt. (Not hand it over to someone else, but like you’re playing as a kid and doing both sides … Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, Blogger (service), book, Ebook Publishing, google, IPhone, iTunes, napoleon hill, publishing | Leave a comment

Your Ebook self-pubilshing future just happened.

This is the future of ebook self-publishing – here and now. Why wait for the big corporations to get their ebook readers which will support epub 3 so you can have video and audio along with your book? What GalleyCat … Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, audio, bittorrent, E-book, epub3, future, Internet, publishing, self-publishing, video | Leave a comment

When Your Case Study Becomes the Next Case Study (11)

If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here This could have happened to you – or maybe not. The scene was this: I was listening to some podcasts while working (as radio these days is nearly … Continue reading

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Self Publishing: Employing Emissaries and Spies for More Profit

If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here Spying is probably the oldest profession (well, excepting maybe one other). The most widely reprinted book on warfare (Sun Tzu’s Art of War) has a whole chapter on … Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, E-book, emissary, google, iTunes, lulu, publishing, redirect link, secret, self-publishing, spy | Leave a comment

How to Publish 76 Books In a Year

…And Earn a 6-Figure Passive Income for Life This podcast available for download. So much for that hiatus. Since you’re one of the brilliant, charismatic followers of this blog and podcast, you know I just gave you a complete brain … Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, E-book, google, iTunes, lulu, passive income, public domain, publishing, steve scott | Leave a comment

Lessons Learned from Steve Scott

When I last left you, I was involved in an over-excited discovery about how to create an online empire from a single year’s worth of concentrated effort. Then I kept going for three more days, sorting out all the questions … Continue reading

Posted in Affiliate marketing, Amazon Kindle, analysis, ebook, income, Podcast, self-publishing, steve scott | Leave a comment

How to Write Less and Publish More – A Rich Adventure

You should be seeing a podcast audio file from LiveSensical.com – If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element. Can you actually write less and profit more? Introduction Deep in the heart of … Continue reading

Posted in amazon, Amazon Kindle, ebook, entrepreneur, livesensical, paperback, Podcast, self-publishng, short read | Leave a comment

How to Completely Fail and Go Broke in Public Domain Publishing

Bottom line: it’s all a numbers game that’s been rigged against newcomers. Let’s go over some patently obvious facts: 1. Public Domain books are a commodity. They are sold like cattle at auction. People buy as low as they can. … Continue reading

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Beyond the Ebook: More, Bigger, Self-Publishing Profits

Missed Profits Following Conventional Wisdom Conventional Wisdom (which is usually 95% wrong) says you should be happy with your ebooks and how they are selling. The problem with that logic is that the biggest sellers aren’t doing that. The biggest … Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, createspace, ebokos, hardback, income, lulu, paperback, profit, royalty, sweet spot | Leave a comment