Guest Post Wednesday - There's Never Been a Better Time to be a Writer

We are very pleased to have for Our Little Books Guest Post Wednesday, a post from author John Barlow. John published both traditionally and as an indie author, so he has seen both sides of the publishing picture. In this post, John reflects on both platforms and then comes to the conclusion that, despite the curent publishing turmoil, there has never been a better time to write! Enjoy.

There’s never been a better time to be a writer! Does that sound *suspiciously* positive, as if I’m about to sell you something? Well, in a sense I am. Writing a book is horribly difficult, time-consuming, and potentially soul-destroying. Then there’s the energy-sapping hunt for an agent, for a publisher, for sales... However, the current independent publishing revolution has turned the book business on its head, and new opportunities are opening up for writers. Suddenly, some of the pain has gone.

Independent digital publishing is not a literary Nirvana, but there’s some cause for optimism. My previous books have been published by big ‘traditional’ publishers, but for my latest book I’ve gone ‘indie’. It’s early days, but I’m pretty happy with the move. Here are some things I’ve learned from the experience so far.

I’m mid-list writer. I’ve always had to do other things to make a living, such as food journalism and ghost-writing. As time goes on, it’s getting more and more difficult to stay afloat in trad publishing. Even if your aim is simply to ‘get the book published’, you might find the process far harder than it used to be. And it was always a ball-breaker.

Self-publishing allows you to get your book out as an ebook and a POD paperback quickly and efficiently. Also, the stigma of ‘vanity’ pubbing has now vanished (or is rapidly doing so), with best-selling authors increasingly making the change. Have you read Lawrence Block’s latest? He’s doing it himself. Ditto a whole bunch of writers with solid careers in trad publishing.

The future of publishing is uncertain. Publishers are still reacting to the ebook revolution. They’re dragging their heels on ebook royalties (still very low) and there’ll probably be fewer opportunities for new/unpublished writers from hereon in. So if you’re busy writing your first book, why not start sniffing around to see what you think of indie publishing as a serious alternative to the trad route?

There are countless websites and blogs out there helping to show you the way. Writers like David Gaughran and Joe Konrath are good sources. Also, if you register with Kindle Boards, the place where indie writers go to compare notes and swap tips, you’ll pick up a sense of what serious indie publishing is all about. There’s a lot more to it than just finishing that damn book.

One particularly difficult area for many indie writers is doing publicity for their book. There are thousands of other indie writers now competing for visibility in an increasingly crowded market. Then again, if you really believe in your book, perhaps it’s not such a bad thing to have to stand up and shout about it. And remember, the traditional route has ts own issues here. There’s nothing worse than having a book out with a trad publisher and watching as, after a month or so, the publicity push fizzles out and your book dies. Doing it yourself means you can persevere; many successful indie ebook take between six months and year to gather momentum and start selling in large numbers. And who knows? You might find that you’ve got a talent for self-promotion! I’m only been an indie for a few weeks, but I’ve really enjoyed doing interviews, guest posts on book blogs, and generally trying to get people to notice my new novel.

Here’s the downside. Before you get to that stage you’ll have to take on some extra responsibilities... One huge advantage of big publishing houses is there is a bank of experts there to help get your book published. As an indie you either have to become your own editor, proof editor, cover artist, book designer and publicist, or pay people with those specific skills to help you. Increasingly, successful indie writers are paying good money for such services. A total of around $1000 for a book is not uncommon.

Shelling out a grand to get into print? The great thing for someone writing their first book is that, whatever you decide to do once it’s finished, these opportunities will all be there. In fact, there are new ones opening up all the time. Fiction streaming, Wattpad, enhanced books, Amazon Prime, a million forms of interactivity... The book world is changing at an incredible speed, and you can decide where you fit into it.

Convinced? If not, don’t worry. Trad publishing is not going to vanish, and who knows what opportunities might open up for new writers in trad publishing. Whatever, you’ll always have a fall-back position, because the ebook/indie sector is not going to go away any time soon.

John Barlow has published fiction and non-fiction with HarperCollins and FSG in the US and Canada, and has been translated into six languages. Contact John here:

http://www.johnbarlow.net/
http://twitter.com/John_Barlow_LS9

John’s crime mystery, HOPE ROAD, is set in his native West Yorkshire. Buy it here (or see other vendors on his website).

7 Ways an e-Book Can Help Your Business

Most people do not realize the huge benefit an e-book can provide for their business. They may be put off by the actual writing of the book, or not knowing how to get it “published”, or a myriad of other reasons that people come up with to put off writing a book. I want to let you know that writing an e-book does not have to be a Sisyphean task. After seeing the points below on how an e-book can promote your business, I think you will realize that the benefits far outweigh any of the perceived difficulties or pre-conceived notions you may have of writing an e-book.

Before we start with the benefits, I want to make it clear that the type of e-book I am talking about that will provide these benefits is one that is not ‘salesy’, but rather one that is content rich. It needs to be done correctly, be high quality and well produced. It is a reflection of your business so you want people to learn from it and then want more! If you have an e-book such as this, these are just some of the benefits you will receive:

1. Establishing yourself as an expert. As for any type of book, an e-book will increase your credibility and add value to your services. People will read your book and realize that you really do know what you are talking about! It will educate your target market providing that connection that will have people coming back.

2. Increasing your business product. Once you have your e-book, it can be re-purposed into courses, CD’s, videos etc. with less effort than starting fresh. You can bundle an e-book with a package of products that you already have which will add additional value to any of your services.

2. Aiding in promotion of your business. You can give away your e-book as a promotional item in and of itself or as a preview of a bigger book or product.

3. Building loyalty. When people sign up for your e-book, you can grow your mailing list, increase your fan base, get more ‘likes’ on Facebook and more followers on Twitter. (Just as an FYI, if you ever want to have a print book and want to publish with a traditional publisher as a new author, before they even look at your manuscript they will look very closely at your fan base to see if you have a potential ‘buying’ audience.)

4. Less actual product lying around. You don’t have to worry about actual product as people will be able to receive your e-book immediately online. Yet, at the same time, your e-book can easily be converted to a print book as additional product for your business whenever you are ready.

5. Increasing Opportunities. You can leverage your e-book to get more speaking gigs, radio interviews or TV shows, all of which increases your visibility.

6. Increasing Revenue. While many businesses will give away their e-book, you can also sell it as a product on your site. Once you have put in the work, then any future sales are just passive income for you.

7. Becoming a published author. If you write your e-book and have an ISBN, it will be “published” and you can call yourself a published author!

What other ways can you think of how an e-book can help your business?

If you have any questions, Our Little Books would be glad to guide you through the process. If you have an e-book and want to now have it in a little book form to add product to your business, as always please contact us to help!

How to Get Your e-Books on Other People's e-Readers!

Now that you have your e-reader, you’ve accessorized it, you are loving reading e-books on it, it occurs to you: “Hey, I can write an e-book for others to read on their e-reader!” You write your e-book, and now you are faced with getting it out into e-book world so that people with e-readers can read it. Unfortunately, as we discussed in an earlier post in this series, it is not as simple as just putting out a Word document and making an e-book. There is certainly nothing wrong with putting your e-book up on your website and selling it as a PDF. But if you want it available to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, Kobo or the Apple store, you will have to do a bit more.

We would recommend a company like Smashwords. Just to let you know, Our Little Books has an account at Smashwords where we sell our little books in e-book format. On Smashwords, you can certainly put up your e-book as a word or PDF document and sell it or give it away like that, but that won’t get your e-book into the e-book stores. The real power of Smashwords is their e-book distribution reach to the non-Amazon retailers and mobile platforms because obviously, as an author, your objective is to maximize the availability of your book by getting listed in as many retailers as possible. Smashwords is constantly building out their distribution network, all with the goal of helping you reach more readers. While there are other companies that do the same thing as Smashwords, Smashwords is the first and we really like their personal attention. [We don’t get any remuneration for this recommendation. It’s just because they are good!]

Basically, what a company like Smashwords does if you want your e-books in virtual stores, is to offer you a conversion of your file and distribution into the stores. Again, your book has to be formatted correctly, so that can take a bit of trial and error. But, since you want your readers to have a good experience, you need to take the time to do so. Your cover needs to look sharp. The formatting needs to be smooth. Your e-book is, after all, a reflection on you. You will need an ISBN number if you want to get into the e-stores. You can get one yourself, have Smashwords give you one of theirs, or, if you are working with a publisher like Our Little Books, we provide one for you.

Then you set a price and determine whether or not a reader can see a portion of your book. We highly recommend this part. Our Little Books is set to 20%. What we have found is people download 20%, love what they see and then buy the book. You can even give away your e-book for free. For some who may have several e-books, that is an excellent marketing tool as a reader will download the free one, like what they read and then buy your others.

Bottom line? Get yourself and your e-books out there. There are services, like Smashwords to help, or as always, Our Little Books would be glad to help you with any of your publishing needs!

How To Accessorize Your New e-Reader

You have finally decided on your e-reader and you have one that fits your needs. Now, the next step is getting the accessories to fit your style!

If you are like me, you tend to drop things…especially the more important electronics which is not only annoying but can get expensive! So, the first accessories that you want to look at for your reader are cases and skins. They can also be called slipcovers, jackets, or sleeves. No matter what you call them, what is fun about them is that not only can you get protection, but you can show off your personality!

Because e-readers/tablets tend to be different sizes, you will have to look for your particular e-reader to check out what sort of covers they offer. You can get something simple like a slipcover where you just slip in your reader or something or elaborate with pockets. However, just because they are practical does not mean that they can’t be fashionable. Covers come from synthetic materials to soft leather; from plain to zebra stripes; from ‘60’s psychedelic to business-like. What ever fits your personality is probably out there.

You can get jackets that fold over for protection. You can get water resistant or water proof jackets. Some even look like real books so that you can pretend you are reading a book! Some come with built in lights (for e-readers that need lights). My favorite is the hard shell (due to my above-mentioned tendency to drop things). This enables you to protect your e-reader from drops or hits, but even they come in various colors and designs so that I can show my whimsy by customizing and protecting at the same time. (Now, if they can just add some magical stickiness so that I don’t drop it…)

There are skins which are very thin, yet hard so they protect your screen from fingerprints, scratches and dirt. You can get them for the entire e-reader or just for the screen itself. Going bigger there are bags along the lines of laptop bags. Beautiful messenger style or over the shoulder bags.

You want to get some earphones so when you are around other people, you can hear audio books without bothering anyone. Another necessity is a power adapter. Even though most reader batteries have staying power (my husband went backpacking for 3 weeks and even though he read everyday, he still had battery life when he got out of the wilds), you will need to charge your e-reader. You might consider an additional car charger as well.

The reading experience with, for example, the Kindle is like reading a real book, so if you are outside, there is no problem seeing the print. However, since it is not back lit, if you want to read at night, you will need a light that snaps on top to see. E-readers like the iPad are back lit so they do not need a light, however, then it is sometimes difficult when reading outside in bright sunlight. Recently, they have now come out with solar lighted cases. Who knows what may be out there in just the next year!

The other accessory that I absolutely needed was an attachable keyboard. From the basic Kindle with a tiny keyboard on up to touch screens with larger touch keyboards, I knew that I needed actual keys. This is one accessory that I am very grateful to have gotten as it makes imputing information so much easier- whether taking notes on the books I’m reading, or moving around the e-reader. Other similar accessories might be a stylus pen which you would use if you would rather not use your fingers directly on a touch screen. Finally, if you do a lot of reading in bed, there are floor or bed stands that ‘float’ the readers for hands-free use.

Basically, no matter what you get to accessorize your e-reader, it is an inexpensive way to protect your investment, enhance your reading pleasure and show some individuality!

7 Features to Consider Before Buying Your e-Reader

There are a huge amount of different features available when you are considering which e-reader device to buy. Here are some things to consider prior to making your decision. Obviously, the more features, the higher the cost and if you want to just read books, then it might be best to stay with the basic Kindle or Kobo and look no further. There is no right or wrong, or any recommendations, just options to consider before you choose your device.

Photo by Michael Porter via Flickr

Connectivity. The content (books or whatever else you are reading) of your e-reader is downloaded via the internet, so you have to consider how you connect to the internet. Most e-readers offer the option to either connect via WiFi or 3G. If you have WiFi then you have to consider where and when you can connect. You don’t want to be stuck without a connection when you want to read your morning newspaper. If you have 3G, that won’t be an issue but you probably will have to pay a monthly fee to have access to your 3G. Some e-readers offer free 3G (Kindle and Nook for example).

What do you want to read? Amazon (maker of the Kindle) has the largest library, PDFs and available documents, but again, because of the proprietary formatting, you will only be able to read their content on your Kindle. Most of the other e-readers can access most of what Amazon offers, as long as the content is also available in .epub. Depending on what you read, check the availability and that may determine which e-reader you get.

Other stuff. Do you want to listen to music on your e-reader? See movies. Take pictures. Store pictures or any other multi-media stuff. Do you want to access the web, write documents. If so, then a basic Kindle will not do it for you and tablets may be a better option.

How fast? With a basic e-reader, speed goes to how fast you want your page to turn over. Probably that won’t make a huge difference to your reading pleasure. However, if you want some of that other stuff mentioned above, then speed will make a difference, especially if you want to watch movies.

Size. This can be an issue for more mature people whose eyes are changing. How big do you want your screen. Or, in the alternative, do you have the ability to adjust the type and make it bigger even if you have a smaller screen. But if you have a bigger screen, then the device itself will be bigger and you may lose the ease of carrying around a smaller device. Also, what is the size of your storage. How many books do you want to store. If you have pictures or music or movies, then your storage size needs to be bigger. Size does matter…

How often do I have to charge the battery? If you don’t mind hooking up to an outlet on a frequent basis, then having a tablet like the iPad which does everything else as well as being an e-reader will not be a problem. However, if you want a battery life that can literally last for a month if you are not using WiFi and just reading books, then you will be happy with a basic Kindle.

And of course, cost. Obviously, if you want to or can only spend $80.00, then none of the above really matters. You will be very happy with a basic Kindle or something like a Kobo device. However, if price is not a huge issue and you want more features, then you can spend up to $800 on a top of the line, all bells and whistles included device.  

Bottom line? As pointed out in yesterday’s post, you really have to know what you want to do with your device before you go out looking. Once you know what you want to do with your device, then all of the above choices should fall into place and the decision should be easy!