Amazon offers indie authors reward for going exclusive

[anamardoll]

@CWatkinsNash,

If you're interested in my two cents, I just went through the process.

The best thing, in my opinion, is to start with a clean ePUB. You can get that from Sigil (free!) and Sigil is perfect for fine-tuning. You can also load the ePUB in half a dozen computer ePUB readers and view how it will look (Nook app, Kobo app, Aldiko, Moon+, etc.). You can then load that ePUB directly for sale on B&N and GoodReads.

Next step is converting ePUB to mobi. I tried the Amazon conversion, the Calibre conversion, and a couple of online tools, and the Calibre conversion was by far the best but there were a couple things (like the TOC location) I didn't like that I couldn't figure out how to fix by hand. Oh, well, the reader most likely won't notice. Load that mobi onto Amazon for sale.

Next is the Smashwords (Kobo, Sony, Diesel, Apple) word doc and yes that is a nightmare (for me). I went ahead and gave 52 Novels (Konrath's formatter) $75 to just format the dang thing themselves. And even they can't promise "perfect" 1:1 such that my starting ePUB matches the ePUB that Smashwords produces. And they do this for a living. Anyway, it takes 52 novels about 2 weeks to do their thing.

Two weeks is significantly shorter (in my mind) than the Amazon 90 days. Plus, GoodReads and B&N are immediately available.

[DiapDealer]

I owe no loyalty to a format. I am first and foremost a reader. Mobi, drm, Amazon, ePub, B&N, exclusive, non-exclusive, all inclusive... I really just don't care. I own a Kindle. So right now, most of my purchases are through Amazon. But my next reader may be something else. Who knows. It's not a frickin' marriage or anything. I may even go with two different walled gardens in my household at the same time. I'm crazy like that.

So just as I will decide what's best for me at any given time as a reader... I'm going to allow authors that same latitude to make the best decisions for them at any given time as a writer. Some people make it sound like a 90 day exclusive deal with X is akin to drowning puppies or something.

I was thinking about going to McDonalds, but now everybody has me stressing over their stranglehold on the McNugget. I'm not certain I can justify it, now.

[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

@CWatkinsNash,

If you're interested in my two cents, I just went through the process.

The best thing, in my opinion, is to start with a clean ePUB. You can get that from Sigil (free!) and Sigil is perfect for fine-tuning. You can also load the ePUB in half a dozen computer ePUB readers and view how it will look (Nook app, Kobo app, Aldiko, Moon+, etc.). You can then load that ePUB directly for sale on B&N and GoodReads.

Next step is converting ePUB to mobi. I tried the Amazon conversion, the Calibre conversion, and a couple of online tools, and the Calibre conversion was by far the best but there were a couple things (like the TOC location) I didn't like that I couldn't figure out how to fix by hand. Oh, well, the reader most likely won't notice. Load that mobi onto Amazon for sale.

Next is the Smashwords (Kobo, Sony, Diesel, Apple) word doc and yes that is a nightmare (for me). I went ahead and gave 52 Novels (Konrath's formatter) $75 to just format the dang thing themselves. And even they can't promise "perfect" 1:1 such that my starting ePUB matches the ePUB that Smashwords produces. And they do this for a living. Anyway, it takes 52 novels about 2 weeks to do their thing.

Two weeks is significantly shorter (in my mind) than the Amazon 90 days. Plus, GoodReads and B&N are immediately available.

That's waaaay too complicated!

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I do have a problem with the Kindle app for iOS. I have an iPhone and thus a small screen. The margins Amazon forces upon us are way too big for a small phone sized screen. I don't know if the Android version has the same problem or not.

It has a bit of a margin, but not so much that it bothers me. Though I never use the Kindle app on my phone, I read the books in the account in the Kindle app on my TouchPad.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

So just as I will decide what's best for me at any given time as a reader... I'm going to allow authors that same latitude to make the best decisions for them at any given time as a writer. Some people make it sound like a 90 day exclusive deal with X is akin to drowning puppies or something.

Nitpick, but it's exclusive forever until you opt-out, in 90 day automatically-renewing chunks (once you pass the no-take-backs period of 3 days or whatever it is).

Is this pendantry? Maybe. But if you're a B&N reader, it's not 90 days exclusive to YOU, as in "wait 90 days and it'll come back". When the author deletes their book from the store, the link you bought is gone. If the author puts the book back up, it's a new listing (iiuc) and the reader would have to buy it again with no guarantee that it will stay this time.

So, no, it's not 90 days if you already bought the book before the author went KDP Select.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

That's waaaay too complicated!

LOL, it really only took about 5 days of work on my part. I'm sure that's less than it used to take for printing presses. And I'm VERY anal about formatting being just right.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

That's waaaay too complicated!

There are no rose gardens without thorns.

[teh603]

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

The third format, of course, is the Smashwords Word doc. That's its own monster to deal with. (If I ever do get around to writing that book, I really hope they have a better system in place at some point.)

This is why I write in the Linux equivalent of Notepad. You don't have to strip out what isn't there in the first place, and most of them are smart enough to let you set them for DOS/Windows mode instead of Mac or Unix mode. Once you're done with the basic writing and editing, import it into Word or OO/LO and then compile it. Haven't had much trouble yet.

Although Smashwords seems to be slower than usual on premium approvals lately. Maybe they're actually going through and looking for the stuff they need to remove?

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by teh603

This is why I write in the Linux equivalent of Notepad. You don't have to strip out what isn't there in the first place, and most of them are smart enough to let you set them for DOS/Windows mode instead of Mac or Unix mode. Once you're done with the basic writing and editing, import it into Word or OO/LO and then compile it. Haven't had much trouble yet.

Does it support italics and pictures and bold and hyperlinks? I'm curious; my book has all those things.

But I'd want a clean ePUB anyway, not the meatgrinder version.

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

LOL, it really only took about 5 days of work on my part. I'm sure that's less than it used to take for printing presses. And I'm VERY anal about formatting being just right.

As am I. And I'm a little controlling when it comes to the code as well. When I fix ePubs in Sigil, I work in split view or switch back and forth because I have to see what it's doing even though no one is reading those documents but me. (When an author releases a bunch of scattered shorts, I often later compile them into one ePub.)

Thanks for the info you posted earlier. I'm one of those stubborn fools that would do the Smashwords fight myself. I used to do print design and web design, so that probably explains my obsession with ebook design. When a format for displaying information presents itself, there's a part of me that has to learn it.

Oddly, though, as a reader I'm very forgiving as long as the results aren't too awful. All but the worst formatting "disappears" if the story is interesting enough. But when it comes to anything I produce myself, even if it's just a memo, I'm a bit of a perfectionist.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

As am I. And I'm a little controlling when it comes to the code as well. When I fix ePubs in Sigil, I work in split view or switch back and forth because I have to see what it's doing even though no one is reading those documents but me. (When an author releases a bunch of scattered shorts, I often later compile them into one ePub.)

...

Oddly, though, as a reader I'm very forgiving as long as the results aren't too awful. All but the worst formatting "disappears" if the story is interesting enough. But when it comes to anything I produce myself, even if it's just a memo, I'm a bit of a perfectionist.

Except for being willing to wrestle with Word, we're practically twins.

[teh603]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Does it support italics and pictures and bold and hyperlinks? I'm curious; my book has all those things.

But I'd want a clean ePUB anyway, not the meatgrinder version.

Italics and bold, that's in the style sheet. Pictures, probably. The only pic I use is the duplicate of the cover that Smashwords recommends. Dunno about hyperlinks; never used them. I'd imagine you'd add them manually once you'd finished writing the manuscript.

Irony is, I got in the habit of writing in .txt when I was GPLing my stuff on deviantArt. Starting out in .txt was just plain easier than converting an OO document into something dA could process.

But all that is for the meatgrinder version, and not for a self- compiled epub. I've never made one of those, at least not yet.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by teh603

But all that is for the meatgrinder version, and not for a self- compiled epub. I've never made one of those, at least not yet.

This is very probably why your GoodReads upload came out wonky.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Synamon

If someone is tech savvy enough to root or hack an eReader, they are tech savvy enough to remove DRM, which renders your whole argument ridiculous. If they aren't that tech savvy, then they are locked into their eReader the same way someone is locked into a Kindle.

If they are tech savvy enough to root a T1, then they can install the nook app and maybe have a better nook then a nook since you don't have that tiny partition for non-B&N content. It stops being B&N content if the DRM is stripped.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

I don't disagree with that, except with the obvious "no one actually knows the unit numbers sold and kept" caveats.

World wide more readers are sold that handle ePub. But of those, most are not B&N DRM friendly. The number of Kindles world wide vs readers that handle B&N DRM is greater.

If you, Random Indie Author, are confident that you don't need my money: great! But I honestly don't owe you a purchase, I'm tired of being told "no, I'm Amazon-exclusive, but google Apprentice Alf!" when that misses my point entirely, and it's a little tiresome when I buy books from you (Random Indie Author) and then you yank your title off B&N and my download link goes wonky. I think I have the right to be touchy when I pay money for a title only to have it taken away.

I can see this scenario happening and if it every happened to me, I would be pissed...

At B&N you can buy an eBook for someone as a gift. So if someone was to buy an eBook for me as a gift and before I got a chance to download it, it was pulled to go be sold exclusively at Amazon, I would be pissed big time. That would be the author stealing the book from me.

Now to all authors here who feel it's OK to go exclusive with Amazon, do you really want to risk stealing eBook(s) from people?