Frustrated with all the recent posts by Kindle-only authors

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Wasn't there an MR author that wrote a series of articles that went into some writing periodical about creating and publishing ebooks. I want to say it was either Jeffery Carver or Steve Jordan.

Not me... don't know about Jeff.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by WFT

I'm about ready to publish my first novel based on the current financial crisis. I plan to publish in both e-book and conventional book formats. My problem is: which e-book format should I select?...

The realistic answer is: As many as your market wants.

There are many formats out there, but it makes sense to choose the formats that will reach the most people overall. For the fiction market, for instance, this includes Mobipocket (the Kindle format), ePub, Sony Reader (LRF), eReader (PDB), and MS Lit (LIT), at least. I've never had customers ask me for PDF, so I don't supply them. And I supply RTF, so they can "roll their own."

Research your market directly, and find out what formats they prefer... then use those formats. PDF is an option... if you know your market uses it. It may well be the only one you need, to reach the vast majority of your customers. If they also use other formats, find out which ones, and use those.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I've decided to start recommending Smashwords. Perhaps you could do the same.

Feedbooks does a much nicer ePub. So please recommend Feedbooks instead.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by emellaich

However, I don't have a Sony, so I don't use the Sony store. Does anyone know about their support for self-publishing? Their payment terms? If Sony offers more generous payment terms then, one might argue that they offer more profitability even if they don't offer more customers. Especially, when they convert to epub as their preferred format.

I think Sony may be offering self-publishing once they go ePub and if so, that would give another option besides Amazon. If Sony does this, all you'll need to do is publish via Amazon and Sony and you have most of the market.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Feedbooks does a much nicer ePub. So please recommend Feedbooks instead.

Can they sell through Feedbooks?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DrMoze

This clearly means that Amazon IS the market leader. Sony is #2. There's no other interpretation of these figures.

If you look at all the devices that handle AZW and all the devices that handle ePub, you will find there are more devices that handle ePub. So that clearly makes Amazon not a market leader in any sense of the word. Now if you add in iPod Touches/iPhones that still doesn't help Amazon because ePub is also viewable with Windows/OS X.

And I am talking world wide, not just the US. The market is not just the US.

Let's say for sake of argument that Amazon has sold more readers then any other brand. There are still a larger number of reader (when combined) that will handle ePub. So as far as eink readers go, AZW is the #2 format and ePub is the #1 format.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by WFT

I'm about ready to publish my first novel based on the current financial crisis. I plan to publish in both e-book and conventional book formats. My problem is: which e-book format should I select?

While I have considerable computer experience, I do not own an e-book reader and I have never investigated e-book formats. I know there are a bunch of them, including ebup, pdf, and Kindle among others, but I know almost nothing else about them. While I will certainly publish in Kindle, I'm also wondering what format to publish in for non-Kindle users.

My initial choice would have been PDF, because I regularly make PDF documents for free website distribution. However, a peek at the PDF forum on this board suggested to me that people with e-book readers have many issues reading PDF files. I saw a lot of discussion about different ways to convert PDF to text, etc. This suggests to me that the format is far from e-reader-friendly. Is my impression correct? Or is it a question of making the PDF page a certain size so that the novel can be read without any special conversion?

I'm sure I speak for other authors who are exploring how best to publish in an e-book format when I ask: What format(s) do e-reader users prefer?

I'm sure this seems like a very basic question. I even saw one post that said this is no longer an issue. Well, I beg to differ. It's an issue from my point-of-view because I want to get my new novel into as many e-reader devices as I can sell successfully.

So what format(s) do each of you prefer?

The best thing to do is to start with a well made HTML file. Then you can use Calibre to convert to MS Reader, LRF, ePub, Mobipocket, eReader, and maybe a few other formats. Sans DRM of course.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Can they sell through Feedbooks?

No. So when you do tell authors about Smashwords, also tell them to check every conversion to see if they are good.

[doreenjoy]

Mostly, I'm frustrated when people come here and their first and only post is hawking their self-published book.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by doreenjoy

Mostly, I'm frustrated when people come here and their first and only post is hawking their self-published book.

I only mind that when it's in a limited format range such as AZW only or PDF. I'd like for once someone to come on and say it's available for every reader.

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I only mind that when it's in a limited format range such as AZW only or PDF. I'd like for once someone to come on and say it's available for every reader.

Isn't it just 'spam' then? I mean fine if it's posted in the 'Deals & Freebies' sub-forum, but it does get annoying when someone comes into Writers' Corner and is just there to sell a product. Feels off, like having a get together in a coffee shop and a stranger sits down at the table who then proceeds to pull out a book of carpet samples.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

Isn't it just 'spam' then? I mean fine if it's posted in the 'Deals & Freebies' sub-forum, but it does get annoying when someone comes into Writers' Corner and is just there to sell a product. Feels off, like having a get together in a coffee shop and a stranger sits down at the table who then proceeds to pull out a book of carpet samples.

But is it truly spam if it's on topic?

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But is it truly spam if it's on topic?

Probably not, but it still 'feels' off to me.

[ahi]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I only mind that when it's in a limited format range such as AZW only or PDF. I'd like for once someone to come on and say it's available for every reader.

Feel the same way about ePub, what with my having a Sony PRS-505.

And yeah, Moejoe, I would say a good few author's posts seem to be rather spam-like. Perhaps a separate "Book Introduction" or "New Book" subforum (with well-displayed rules about commercially motivated posts in "Reading Recommendation") could help?

- Ahi

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by ahi

And yeah, Moejoe, I would say a good few author's posts seem to be rather spam-like. Perhaps a separate "Book Introduction" or "New Book" subforum (with well-displayed rules about commercially motivated posts in "Reading Recommendation") could help?

- Ahi

Something like that, but I don't know what would work. It just irks me a bit when I see all this "99c" popping up everywhere. It's pretty much spam (by which I mean the sole purpose of the post is to flog a product) and like Doreenjoy said earlier, the poster has little to no intention of being part of the community or contributing in any way.