Not long ago Apple introduced a book authoring program called ‘iBooks Authoring’. Its an application that makes publishing books to the Apple iBooks store a whole lot easier. One of the reasons my book ALL THAT MATTERS was not published to the iBooks store was because of how difficult it was to do so. To solve this problem Apple has made an application that will make the whole process of publishing to their store easier.
When I checked out the application on the Mac App store the other day I saw loads of comments from people who have already used it publish their own books and that it was very easy.
But will I use it?
The answer is yes and no.
I will use ‘iBooks Authoring’ to post ALL THAT MATTERS so it will finally be available on the Apple iBooks store. I plan to do that as soon as I am done writing MIRROR IN TIME. While I have been writing my second book, I have been planing in the back of my head to hire a third party to code out the book for the Kindle, Nook, iBooks, and other e-book readers. Coding out the first book took up a lot of my time and I just assume put that in someone else’s hands who has more experience than me at doing it.
Why write an ebook? Why not? We live in a wonderful time where we as individuals can self publish our own work and make money at it. It’s never been easier or more cost affective to take something you have created and put it out their for the masses.
At the very least writing an ebook is going to require time. Time for you to write your ebook, edit it, and format it for an ebook reader. Things like cover art can be done through an ebook sell, such as Amazon.com, for free. A lot of the effort of creating an ebook has been made easy for you, the writer, by removing a lot of the stress, time, and waiting that one would normally experience going through a traditional publisher.
At most an ebook is going to cost you time and money. The time to write your ebook, the money it costs to have it edited by a professional editor, the money it costs to have someone professionally design your own cover art. It all depends on how far you want to take it.
I have been documenting my experiences of writing and self publishing. I hope to share my experiences with you in this and future blog posts. Hopefully answering any questions you might have about the process so you do not have to hunt around digging for answers much like I have had to do.
When I say self publish an eBook I am also talking about self publishing a physical book. Companies like Amazon.com offer people a way to sell their self published books on the Kindle eBook reader. They also offer people a Pint On Demand (POD) option which means when someone buys a physical copy of your book, one is created as needed to complete the sale. In almost the same way you can upload your book so it can be sold for eBook readers, you can also upload your book so a physical copy can be sold and not cost you a dime.
In both the eBook and POD options you have the choice to set the price of your book which allows you to determine how much commission you will make for each book’s sale. Wether it be an ebook or a POD book. Isn’t living in the future cool?
Recently sales figures show that eBook copies have been out selling physical copies of the same books. This means that people who are buying books are choosing to buy electronic versions. This could be for any number of reasons. Perhaps its because they don’t have to carry around heavy books anymore. Maybe its because of the ease in which you can purchase an eBook. Or still it could be because eBooks tend to cost less than physical books. Whatever the reason may be, its clear that people are making the shift from paper books to eInk eBooks.
Amazon.com is now selling more Kindle books than paperback books. Since the beginning of the year, for every 100 paperback books Amazon has sold, the company has sold 115 Kindle books. Additionally, during this same time period the company has sold three times as many Kindle books as hardcover books.”This is across Amazon.com’s entire US book business and includes sales of books where there is no Kindle edition. Free Kindle books are excluded and if included would make the numbers even higher.
For anyone who has not yet read on an eBook device like the Amazon Kindle, I can honestly say from my own experience that reading on such a device has been a great experience. Its like staring at a piece of paper. I have never once experience eye strain from reading on an eBook device. The technology is sound and proven.
Creating something and getting paid for it has never been easier. In fact I think the hardest part is just creating. Give yourself some time each day. Even if it is just a couple of minutes and write, photograph, or create. Whatever it is. Just create!
This has been an unusually busy work week for me. It is a real wonder that I can even find time to blog right now. I have had to create several “plans of corrections” this week for the state of Alaska who visited my facility a couple of weeks ago. That has been keeping me pretty busy, but I have somehow manage to find a moment here and their to make more progress on ‘All That Matters‘ and my second book.
The self publishing thing has been quite a learning experience. Most of it is fun, but some of it can quite literally make you pull your hair out. I have spent a good part of my evenings this week contacting bloggers who do book reviews and asking them to review my book. I have met quite a few great ones out their. Between now and the next few months blog posts should start popping up all around the net about my book. The other bit of amazing news is that those who have already read my book only have good things to say about it. I even got a five-star review on Goodreads.com saying:
Raw and beautiful. This book moves you in ways unimaginable.
When I read that I was left speechless. Someone out their really liked my book! It made me feel like all the time, money, and effort I have put into this project has been worth all of it.
The part about self publishing that makes me want to rip my hair out is related to getting my book in the iBookstore. As a self published author can not go to Apple directly and submit my book to their book store. I have to go through a third party. In my case Lulu.com. Lulu takes my book and submits it to Apple’s iBookstore. If your lucky, your book is accepted and you can move on with life. If you’re like me and your book is rejected, you are not told why. Most likely it is the cause of an ePub formatting issue. I have spent the last two weeks trying to figure out what is wrong with my file ePub file. Barnes and Noble was happy with it, but Apple is not. Apple also gives me no advice on how I could fix my ePub file. Just a note saying that I can try submitting again. That’s it. I am almost at the point of giving up on this. I will continue trying to make it work till I go on vacation later this month, but if I can’t get it accepted by then I think I am just going to walk away from the Apple iBookstore. The Kindle software is available for all Apple devices. I have read quite a few books on my iPhone using the Kindle software and I think it is a better reading experience anyway.
Another goal I have before I go on vacation is to make the physical copy of my book available for purchase from Amazon.com. I am pretty sure I can have this completed before I leave.
My second book has been taking shape rather well. I have an outline and a cast of characters. This week I managed to get a couple of hundred of words written which completed the fourth chapter. I would love to have written more and normally I can, but with these ‘plans of corrections’ due at work I have just not had the time or the focus. Which is sad because I really like posting on my Twitter and Google+ account how many words I write a day.
I am so excited to tell the world today that my first book ‘All That Matters‘, is now available for the Amazon Kindle (US, UK, DE) e-book reader. The book is free of all DRM and only costs $0.99!
‘All That Matters’ has been the result of ten months of hard, but incredibly fun and creative work. Staring late last September I wrote multiple drafts of the story to get the right flow and timing down. Hired a proofreader to go through the book and make sure all the ‘I’ where dotted and ‘t’ were crossed. Gave out several copies of the book to willing readers to make sure it was an enjoyable story. Formatted the book for various e-book readers. Designed a book cover. And created a website for the book at www.AllThatMattersTheBook.com. There anyone can learn more about the book and download the first three chapters for free!
I have a little bit more work to do before the book will be available for the Barnes & Noble Nook, or from Apple’s iBooks store and others ebook retailers, but I will make an announcement the moment they are available.
‘All That Matters’ also has a listing on GoodReads.com which is a great website for people who like to read books, track the books they read with their friends, and follow authors. Think of it like Google+, only for books. So please be sure to check it out along with my GoodReads.com author page and Amazon Author page.
This is pretty great! I recently asked my readers to help me pick out a cover for my book ‘All That Matters’. Today I was able to load the winning cover and the entire book up on my kindle and it looks beautiful!
It’s a surreal feeling to be holding my own book like this. All the hard work and time I have put into this project has produced something I am so proud of. I can’t wait for everyone else to be able to get their hands on it.
I plan to launch ‘All That Matters’ publicly in the next few days. At first the book will be available as a download for the Amazon Kindle. Then in the following days I plan to make it available for the Barnes & Noble Nook, and most other ebook readers. There will also be the option to buy a physical copy of the book if you want. I am doing this one step at a time because the whole process is still all new to me.
I want to thank everyone for all your amazing support and encouragement throughout this process. It has ment the world to me.
Not long ago Apple introduced a book authoring program called ‘iBooks Authoring’. Its an application that makes publishing books to the Apple iBooks store a whole lot easier. One of the reasons my book ALL THAT MATTERS was not published to the iBooks store was because of how difficult it was to do so. To solve this problem Apple has made an application that will make the whole process of publishing to their store easier.
