Where to sell a PDF? Surprising Limitation.

Agrajag · 03-06-2012, 01:37 PM

I wrote a small comedic play (under 20 pages) for a yearly religious event in hopes of engaging more people and taking a bit of the edge off the event's dogmatic elements. I did it just for us but it went over so well (at a few such events) that people asked me to make it available for sale.

I was, of course, flattered and decided I might as well give it a shot. So, over the last year I cleaned it up, got it into book format, added some background info, etc. I assumed I'd put it up on Amazon for a buck or two as an ebook and see what would happen.

Then the big hurdle presented itself. This treatment absolutely demands that it can be printed. That's the whole point. It's a play with several roles and people need the script in hand. It's certainly not workable to ask that people have 7 or 8 Kindle's on hand to make it work.

I was shocked to find that there's really no simple way to allow for printing. Sure, I can outline how to install Calibre and do a conversion and then print from within Calibre but that's just not very feasible either. Most people won't bother especially for something so arbitrary.

I then thought just put it up as a PDF but then found that Amazon and Barnes and Noble convert the PDF back to their default formats and you're back to the original problem.

Unless I miss my mark, a PDF is the way to go. The issue is, where can I go about selling a PDF that will reach some people and where I won't need to have my own server hosting it or handle credit card processing and such?

I'm not concerned about theft. If people feel the need to steal it, so be it. This isn't a life-or-death project for me. I'll be blown away if a single person ponies up a buck or two.

Is there no easy way around this? Is there a better solution?

AnemicOak · 03-06-2012, 01:47 PM

You should be able to sell your PDF through someplace like Lulu I'd think...

http://www.lulu.com/publish/ebooks/?...pubpage_ebooks

Quote:

Lulu can also help you publish eBooks to sell to your customers in the Lulu Marketplace that are PDF formatted too.

K. Molen · 03-06-2012, 02:25 PM

You could also set up your own basic website (via a free service like Tumblr or Blogger) and post a Paypal payment link, and then simply e-mail the PDF to people who buy it.

Or you could add a long-term multi-item auction on eBay with a Buy-it-now button.

Agrajag · 03-06-2012, 02:40 PM

The costs would be a bit prohibitive with ebay given their fee and then the PayPal fee, etc. Plus one of the things I was hoping for was to get some free sales from the venue. At Amazon there's a strong chance you'd pick up sales from good reviews, etc. Lulu would be good there if it doesn't convert the doc but it will take 6-8 weeks for it to show up there which misses the holiday.

Justin Nemo · 03-12-2012, 05:25 AM

There is a new ebook website www.ivanovella.com They sell in pdf, mobi and epub etc. Because they are new in the market, you may not get the immediate coverage you are looking for though.

03-06-2012, 01:37 PM	#1
Agrajag Connoisseur Posts: 54 Karma: 2314 Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Cherry Hill, NJ Device: Nook Simple Touch	Where to sell a PDF? Surprising Limitation. I wrote a small comedic play (under 20 pages) for a yearly religious event in hopes of engaging more people and taking a bit of the edge off the event's dogmatic elements. I did it just for us but it went over so well (at a few such events) that people asked me to make it available for sale. I was, of course, flattered and decided I might as well give it a shot. So, over the last year I cleaned it up, got it into book format, added some background info, etc. I assumed I'd put it up on Amazon for a buck or two as an ebook and see what would happen. Then the big hurdle presented itself. This treatment absolutely demands that it can be printed. That's the whole point. It's a play with several roles and people need the script in hand. It's certainly not workable to ask that people have 7 or 8 Kindle's on hand to make it work. I was shocked to find that there's really no simple way to allow for printing. Sure, I can outline how to install Calibre and do a conversion and then print from within Calibre but that's just not very feasible either. Most people won't bother especially for something so arbitrary. I then thought just put it up as a PDF but then found that Amazon and Barnes and Noble convert the PDF back to their default formats and you're back to the original problem. Unless I miss my mark, a PDF is the way to go. The issue is, where can I go about selling a PDF that will reach some people and where I won't need to have my own server hosting it or handle credit card processing and such? I'm not concerned about theft. If people feel the need to steal it, so be it. This isn't a life-or-death project for me. I'll be blown away if a single person ponies up a buck or two. Is there no easy way around this? Is there a better solution?

03-12-2012, 05:25 AM	#5
Justin Nemo Stercus accidit Posts: 330 Karma: 513878 Join Date: Mar 2012 Device: Nookpadle 6	There is a new ebook website www.ivanovella.com They sell in pdf, mobi and epub etc. Because they are new in the market, you may not get the immediate coverage you are looking for though. Last edited by Justin Nemo; 03-12-2012 at 09:07 AM.

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03-06-2012, 02:25 PM	#3
K. Molen Addict Posts: 284 Karma: 4478866 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Toronto, ON Device: Kindle 3, iPad 3, Nexus 10, Nexus 5	You could also set up your own basic website (via a free service like Tumblr or Blogger) and post a Paypal payment link, and then simply e-mail the PDF to people who buy it. Or you could add a long-term multi-item auction on eBay with a Buy-it-now button.

03-06-2012, 02:40 PM	#4
Agrajag Connoisseur Posts: 54 Karma: 2314 Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Cherry Hill, NJ Device: Nook Simple Touch	The costs would be a bit prohibitive with ebay given their fee and then the PayPal fee, etc. Plus one of the things I was hoping for was to get some free sales from the venue. At Amazon there's a strong chance you'd pick up sales from good reviews, etc. Lulu would be good there if it doesn't convert the doc but it will take 6-8 weeks for it to show up there which misses the holiday.

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