Is Amazon playing Indie Authors?
Mark Coker (founder of smashwords) seems to think so. And this is some of what he had to say about it:
"Every indie should get their books distributed to as many retailers as possible. Every author should be at Amazon, but they should avoid the temptation to enroll in the KDP Select program because of its exclusivity requirements."
"From a global market share perspective (and this is a global market!), Amazon’s share is declining over the last few years. Authors who go exclusive – even if only for three months at a time – are harming their ability to capture this global growth."
Is this true? Read the rest and decide for yourself, as for me I believe this is sound advice. I have been exclusive on two of my books with Amazon for a bit and have been happy with the results, but being exclusive does have its disadvantages. I want to reach more readers and when it comes time to renew , I may just not. What do you think? To read the full article via selfpublishinadvice.org click HERE.
So how do writers reach readers without promoting?
That's a very good question.
"Go to where those readers are on the internet."
"That’s the secret: Connect and chat with the same intention that prompted your book — of being interesting, informative or inspiring in your particular way (or all three, which is easier in a short comment than a long book!)"
"If you follow the advice here and take the trouble to go where your readers are and reach out to them regularly, they will spontaneously want to share with you, learn from you, grow with you."
Makes sense- what do you think? To read the full article click HERE.
Now the question is which service do you prefer? Bookbaby vs. Smashwords- which is better?
"Until recently there was only one sensible option to distribute your ebook outside of Amazon, and that was through Smashwords. "
Read the article and compare distribution and the fees.
The bottom line- "Financially, the decision on which route to go with will vary depending on your price point and your projected sales, but decisions are seldom strictly financial ones. Other factors come into play."
Read more of the article to see what those factors are and to see comparisons between Bookbaby and Smashwords. Find out also a little of what the other distributors have to offer and where they are in the lineup. Click HERE.
So there you go... some links that will hopefully help make building your platform a little easier. Good luck!
Thanks for the drop by,
Hello A.D.
ReplyDeleteDid you get the answers to your interview questions I sent you via email? I never got an answer back from you.
Thanks :)
Vanessa
eeriestories75 (at) gmail (dot) com
Thanks for this post, very informative for a future indie author! Sarah xo http://youmaysayimadreamer-sh.blogspot.co.nz/
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