Free Copy of The Oort Perimeter by Steve Lake

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by Lord Raiden

lol. Oh, I refuse to sell my ebook through Amazon. They format lock you, and foist upon you a DRM laidened nightmare. Nope, I won't do that. Thus why I've given away the ebook. I am only selling the print version. and that just happens to be done through Amazon. So it sidesteps all their DRM evil.

Your book would only have DRM at Amazon if you chose to have it DRM'd.

[dpierron]

Originally Posted by Lord Raiden

lol. Oh, I refuse to sell my ebook through Amazon. They format lock you, and foist upon you a DRM laidened nightmare. Nope, I won't do that. Thus why I've given away the ebook. I am only selling the print version. and that just happens to be done through Amazon. So it sidesteps all their DRM evil.

Karma++ for this, milord

[pdurrant]

I believe that it is possible to publish DRM-free through Amazon if you create the Mobipocket file yourself, rather than letting Amazon do it.

Originally Posted by Lord Raiden

lol. Oh, I refuse to sell my ebook through Amazon. They format lock you, and foist upon you a DRM laidened nightmare. Nope, I won't do that. Thus why I've given away the ebook. I am only selling the print version. and that just happens to be done through Amazon. So it sidesteps all their DRM evil.

[ahi]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

When you post the ePub, can you fix it up so there are not such huge margins, no paragraph spacing, a proper ToC, and page breaks at the chapters?

Thanks!

And proper, actual em-dashes instead of just --.

Thanks!

- Ahi

[Steven Lake]

Well, from what I've seen, at least on the self publishing side, they only allow you to publish in Kindle format, and only with DRM. If there's a way to sell an epub or mobipocket version via amazon, and it could be open source/open format in the way I prefer (I'm a bit Linux/FOSS/Media Freedom advocate) then I'd be all for it. The only thing I'd need then is for someone here to help me build the file, as I really am a total newb at ebook files. I try, but I ultimate fail. Hence why rwood has been working on my ebook formating for me, since he's so much better at it. ^_^;;

[koland]

Originally Posted by Lord Raiden

Well, from what I've seen, at least on the self publishing side, they only allow you to publish in Kindle format, and only with DRM. If there's a way to sell an epub or mobipocket version via amazon, and it could be open source/open format in the way I prefer (I'm a bit Linux/FOSS/Media Freedom advocate) then I'd be all for it. The only thing I'd need then is for someone here to help me build the file, as I really am a total newb at ebook files. I try, but I ultimate fail. Hence why rwood has been working on my ebook formating for me, since he's so much better at it. ^_^;;

Unless you add DRM, all they publish on any DTP book is a non-DRM mobi file with a stupid name (often just a pile of numbers that aren't even the ASIN) and .AZW extension. I have yet to get any DTP books with any DRM installed. They've also changed the device limit for DTP books to unlimited -- it's an easy matter (for those with the hardware) to save it copy to any other device you want.

There are a number of people who have a Kindle who will not buy a book anywhere else (or even download the free ones from other sites), as they don't want "the hassle" (just as there are readers here who won't convert any book, even if offered free, to their specific format).

For those who will venture out to other locations, Smashwords lets you publish in many formats, all DRM free (and the only formatting issues I've seen are the author's fault, just as with the Kindle). Smashwords has also worked some type of deal with Barnes & Noble, so you might want to check them out.

[Steven Lake]

Ah, interesting. Well, is there a guild on how to offer the ebook on Amazon, and the suggested ebook price?

[pdurrant]

See http://dtp.amazon.com/

Amazon will take 65% of the recommended retail price (RRP), paying you 35%. (I know, outrageous).

If your RRP is over about $10.99, Amazon will almost always discount the ebook by 40%, so an $10.99 ebook will cost the customer $6.59 and will pay you $3.85.

If your RRP is between about $7.99 and $10.99, Amazon will almost always discount the ebook by 20%, so a $7.99 ebook will cost the customer $6.39 and pay you $2.80

Under $7.99, you get 0% discount.

Of course, these discounts are by no means guaranteed.

But if I were you, I would either price it at $10.99 or above, at $7.99 or well below $6. Pricing it between $7.99 and $10.99 is silly - in most cases it will cost the customer more, and get you less than pricing it as $10.99!

Originally Posted by Lord Raiden

Ah, interesting. Well, is there a guild on how to offer the ebook on Amazon, and the suggested ebook price?

[koland]

Originally Posted by Lord Raiden

Ah, interesting. Well, is there a guild on how to offer the ebook on Amazon, and the suggested ebook price?

I'm sure there are others, but I'd check The Book Bazaar forum over at kindleboards.com. Not only are you allowed a thread per book for promotion, but there are numerous threads by other indie authors there (and links to other resources) on just the issues you have asked about. Plus the forums at dtp.amazon.com, of course. Pricing is, as you can imagine, a highly debated subject, but, for my 2 cents - indie authors who are using any type of ebook format need to price more along paperback prices or lower, rather than paper tradebook prices. Some believe only in free or 99 cents, which are good sales tools, but for most authors may be too low (depending on the skills of the author, including editing and proofing .. for others it may be too high). But trying to get 9.99 when bestselling authors and other well-known, traditionally published authors get that only when their newest books are out in hardback is going to be a tough sell. Somewhere in between is where you'll balance income vs. more readers (and most big author's paperback editions sell at 6.39 when they are in the Kindle store, so keep that in mind, as well).

As to the 35% you get from Amazon, it's all relative - you must do all the editing, proofing and promotion (then again, for many authors, they have to do this even with traditional publishing contracts), but you get a much higher percentage from your books (5-10% are more "normal"). You have no up front costs or minimums, as you do with a paper vanity press, nor do you have to fight a high minimum cost just to recover printing charges.

You can also use smashwords.com - not sure their percentage, but suspect it's much higher (then again, their sales are much lower, as well). They let you offer multiple formats (all non-DRM), use coupons or temporary sales much more easily, etc.

[Steven Lake]

Just in case anyone is interested, I've finally got the audiobook files online for this book. You can download them here:

http://www.raiden.net/wrifiles/oort_..._perimeter.zip

[dreams]

for the audio book!!!

I'm set up for my commute next week. I don't purchase from amazon, and I couldn't find a tip jar nor a paypal button on your site. I would like to pay something for your work. Will you be adding at least a tip jar to your site soon?

[Steven Lake]

You're welcome. They're ready by an excellent gentleman named Brian Ganson. He is retired now, but used to do this kinda stuff for a living. Once you guys get through the book, tell me what you thought of it, because I'm really interested. Plus it's why these books are released like this. IE, in order to showcase my skills and get feedback on my writing.

And I'm always open to feedback, good, bad, or otherwise. As sometimes the most scathing reviews can be the most helpful.

[ashes]

Originally Posted by susan_cassidy

If he wants you to buy a copy after getting the free copy, it isn't really free, is it? Kind of a strange request.

i kinda agree! it does sound a little silly

[Steven Lake]

http://www.raiden.net/writing/the_oort_perimeter/

Dreams, there's now a tip jar per your request. It'll say "Raiden's Realm" on it, so don't panic when you see that. It's because my site and I share paypal accounts for all our monies. ^_^

Oh, and PS: Sorry for the late reply in this regard. When I read your post the first time, it sorta didn't click with me. It only clicked after I got my bi-weekly summary via email and read it again.

[weedfreak]

Small point, the epub d/l metadata lists this book as book 2 in the Earthfleet Saga.