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Old 01-23-2013, 12:21 PM   #31
mr ploppy
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I should point out, however, that I do not read or buy books that are Amazon exclusives. I do not wish to support authors who give Amazon exclusivity. So even if a book looks interesting, I pass on it if it is an Amazon exclusive and by the time it is no longer an exclusive, I have wholly forgotten about the book and the author.
Trouble is, you need to be Amazon exclusive in order to give them away free on there. They don't even price-match the free ones anymore.
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Old 01-23-2013, 12:28 PM   #32
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True and in addition if you want to give them away free anywhere (e.g. on my website) they can't be part of the KDP plan. Which means they have to be priced at least the minimum price - 99 cents currently.
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Old 01-23-2013, 01:58 PM   #33
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Trouble is, you need to be Amazon exclusive in order to give them away free on there. They don't even price-match the free ones anymore.
You sure? Mine is currently priced matched to free.
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Old 01-23-2013, 05:41 PM   #34
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You sure? Mine is currently priced matched to free.
That's what I've heard on various blogs and Facebook groups, and a lot of titles that were previously permo-free by going the Smashwords route have reverted to full price now.
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Old 01-23-2013, 09:12 PM   #35
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That's what I've heard on various blogs and Facebook groups, and a lot of titles that were previously permo-free by going the Smashwords route have reverted to full price now.
Maybe, but do a search on Amazon and see for yourself. I just did and I found 56k free ebooks. Randomly poking around I found titles that were free via the price match method that are still free.

So not sure what they saw, but seems fine at a glance at least.
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Old 01-24-2013, 09:12 PM   #36
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I am always hesitant to buy an ebook from an indie author because so many of them are poorly edited (if edited at all). Consequently, it has been my practice to look for free books by an author, "buy" them, and if I like the author and find the book at least moderately well-edited, actually buy other books by the author. I did this with VydorScope's books (although I still have to buy the newest release) and just yesterday with a series by Melissa McPhail. I haven't even quite finished the free book from her when I bought the second book in the series.

The same has been true with numerous other indie authors: Shayne Parkinson, LJ Sellers, Rebecca Forster, Tracy Falbe, Michael Hicks, and Vicki Tyley to name a few. In each case I read their free book and immediately purchased everything else they had published. I would not have bought any of their books in the absence of the free book to start.
I'm similar I guess. I'm a bit of a hoarder so I'm also guilty of the download and not read - BIG TIME.

However, I do have an indie review blog so if an author can get onto my schedule (which admittedly is pretty difficult), the book will at least get read by me. I won't claim a massive readership because that would be a blatant lie. But I have been known to discuss indie books I've liked elsewhere, refer to them in group challenges in GoodReads, post reviews in Amazon and GoodReads and also, I will tend to purchase a book given to me if I like it enough. If I think it's good and fitting, I'll often buy multiple copies as gifts.

Having said all of that, without very reasonable copy editing, the work won't get much air time from me. I won't go to a huge effort to spread bad press - but I won't do anything to promote either. I appreciate that it's quite difficult for an self-pub to get decent copy editing, but I think I end up doing more harm than good helping the distribution of poorly edited works.

I've always wanted to try and post links to decent editing and cover art/illustration services on my site to help out indie authors looking for those services, but I wouldn't know a good editor if I tripped over one - and I wouldn't want to advertise sub-standard services.
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Old 01-24-2013, 09:59 PM   #37
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I've always wanted to try and post links to decent editing and cover art/illustration services on my site to help out indie authors looking for those services, but I wouldn't know a good editor if I tripped over one - and I wouldn't want to advertise sub-standard services.
IME, most good editors do not advertise. They rely only on recommendations from clients. The reason is they do not want to be flood with the garbage that most indy writers put out.
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Old 01-24-2013, 11:15 PM   #38
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IME, most good editors do not advertise. They rely only on recommendations from clients. The reason is they do not want to be flood with the garbage that most indy writers put out.
Good point. Most are unlikely to ask to be mentioned on my site then.
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Old 01-25-2013, 06:06 AM   #39
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Interesting about your bias against Amazon exclusives. Do you hold the same views for the print publishers? For B&N Exclusives? Baen Only books?
Yes and no. Yes, I do not knowingly buy B&N exclusives either. No, I will buy Baen-only books. I know that seems hypocritical, but I view Baen differently, as I think most ebookers do, than the retailers. More importantly with Baen, at least for me, is that of the Baen authors I read, and there are only a very few, I'm not much into military sci-fi, I always buy the hardcover and I buy it at a local retailer. After I have bought the hardcover, I would, in the past, go to Baen and buy the ebook for $6. Now that they have increased the price by 50%, I'll just read the hardcover.

I think that an author should make his/her book available to anyone who wants to buy it, even if the price is free. I should not have to buy it and then convert it to another format and hope that the conversion went well or spend time cleaning it up just to read a book. I already have hundreds of books to read and there are thousands more I can get without having to convert.

I also do not want to give Amazon the idea that I approve of its desire to be vertically integrated in the book business. I do not want to see the day arrive when the only place I can buy a book is at Amazon. What will happen on that day when Amazon decides that there is more money to be had in only making zombie books available?

I've heard the argument that someone else will pop up and challenge Amazon. The reality is that won't happen and any attempt to do so will take time before Amazon buries the new competitor. Look at what is happening in the UK market where Sony has started the 20p campaign. Amazon is willing to lose millions of dollars in price match. Do you think Books on Board could do the same?

The Sony campaign is really an attempt to make Amazon lose money, not sell more books. Since the campaign has started and Amazon has price matched, most of the 20p books sold have been sold by Amazon, not Sony.

Anyway, I do not want to encourage Amazon or authors to continue exclusive arrangements and so I simply refuse to buy or review such books.
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Old 01-25-2013, 06:10 AM   #40
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Old 01-25-2013, 06:17 AM   #41
rhadin
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I've always wanted to try and post links to decent editing and cover art/illustration services on my site to help out indie authors looking for those services, but I wouldn't know a good editor if I tripped over one - and I wouldn't want to advertise sub-standard services.
It is very difficult to determine who is and who is not a good editor for a particular book. Someone who was a great editor on your zombie book might be a horrible editor for your teen romance novel. There are, unfortunately, no for-certain methods for finding the right editor for your current project.

Using myself as an example. I have edited more manuscript pages over the course of my 30-year editing career than most editors -- hundreds of thousands of pages. I have edited several thousand books. I have an extensive resource library at my fingertips (I mean print resources, not online resources) and I have taught editing to others multiple times.

Sounds pretty good, I think, but I would be the wrong editor for most of you. My experience with fiction is limited; not nonexistent but limited. The bulk of my editing work is medical editing of books written by doctors for doctors. Could I do a good job for you on your novel? Yes, I believe I could -- depending on what you want by way of an editor. Are there editors who are better than me when it comes to fiction? Most definitely. But even someone who has only edited fiction for the past 20 years may not be the right editor for you and your book.

Finding an appropriate editor is a hit-and-miss proposition. This is one of the values of an established publisher like Random House. They have experience with numerous editors and usually do a good job matching the editor to the author and the book.
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