em>This post, by Daniel Kalder, originally appeared on the Publishing Perspectives website.

Sometimes you encounter an idea that seems so obvious it’s amazing that nobody has thought of it before. That’s how Yoav Lorch feels about Total Boox, his intriguing new reading platform that is about to be unveiled this March. The idea is simple: instead of paying up front for a book you may never even look at, you download it for free and then only pay according to how much of the book you read.

“The idea came to me gradually. I was thinking about the potential of ebooks, and how to make books more interactive, the different types of books you could produce, but then the idea that you could pay as you read — well, that was far more interesting than everything else. So I did away with interactive books and all that. This seemed genuinely different.”

Lorch initially trained as an economist, but after a few years working in that field switched to become a successful children’s book author in Israel. Along the way he also wrote for TV, the theater and produced translations. In the 1990s, he became interested in new technology and founded two successful startups, PressPoint and Zlango. He is a man interested in ideas, and how to make them work:

“When it comes to ebooks, people talk about the technology a lot but they don’t spend much time looking at business models. And so the old business model of pay first read later — which makes sense when applied to physical books — has been smart and sneaky enough to creep into the world of ebooks. But it doesn’t belong there. It’s a business model which may seem to be part of the essence of books — but it isn’t.”

Advantages of “Pay as You Read”
 
Read the rest of the post on Publishing Perspectives.

This post, by S.R. Johannes, originally appeared on Indie ReCon on 2/19/13.

In the digital age, a new kind of author is emerging. The entrepreneurial author (EA).

Entrepreneurial authors run their own publishing business – all aspects. The only difference between an entrepreneurial author and an actual independent press is that EAs only publish own works and contract out the work needed. Independent presses publish more than one author while handling all business aspects.

To be an entrepreneurial author – you will have to wear many hats: (these are not in any order of importance)

· Writer – Write the best book you can. But in this industry, the writer side has to understand that self-publishing is not a shortcut to writing; it’s a shortcut to publishing.

· Editor – Edit and re-edit your own work. Traditional authors have a stricter vetting process where many people look over the work from content to copyediting. EAs need to be even better at editing. That way, the EA can use an editorial budget wisely – for content editing and copyediting.

· Cover designer – Figure out your cover design as well as overall book design. Even if you can’t do it yourself, try to learn about covers, find out what looks good and what doesn’t – placement, fonts, colors, jacket copy – and know your book enough to figure out what concept you want. Whether you pay someone or not – you need to know how to define quality work.

· Formatter – Unless you want to pay someone to format, you will be expected to format across several different channels that may have different requirements, depending on what ebook format you need (epub, mobi, pdf, paperback etc). This requires an understanding of Word, Html, and more.

· Project manager – When you have experts doing things for you (covers, swag, web sites etc.), you have to manage a budget and a timeline to be sure it all comes together.

· Distribution –
 

Read the rest of the post on Indie ReCon.

Well, that was an exciting ball game yesterday, wasn’t it? Today to help you cool back down, I’ve reached into the mailbag for some questions that have come in recently.

Since most self-publishers run into the same kinds of questions as they get further into the publishing process, I like to post these questions once in a while for the benefit of everyone.

Q: I’m ready to key my hand written story into a program that I can use to format, send excerpts from, massage, you know what I mean. Do you have a recommendation for me?

A: Most writers use Microsoft Word, but I’ve really been enjoying Scrivener lately, it’s a real writer’s tool. Scrivener gives you remarkable capabilities to organize your research and your writing in the same document, to easily rearrange parts of the document, many ways to view your content, and the ability export to ebook formats. It’s really state of the art.

Q: How do I determine the sell price of my book?

A: The best way to begin to get an idea about your pricing is to look at other, similar books that have been popular, like with Amazon’s “Top 100″ lists in your specific category, niche or genre.

Q: I thought if something was written and/or published that in itself would copyright it automatically. Is that not the case?

A: Copyright is created at the same time you create the work. The Copyright office registers copyrights, and that would be particularly important for someone publishing under a pseudonym, to establish who the actual copyright owner is. Q: I’ve been approached by a large on-line store who wants to carry our book. Hurrah!! They are NOT a bookstore, however, and I was unsure of what sort of discount to propose. A: If the retailer is outside the normal book distribution channels it’s common to give a bigger discount in exchange for payment on delivery with no returns. The most typical discount for this type of sale is 50% in my experience.

Q: Do e-Books need to have the bar code? I know they need a different ISBN but I am just doubtful about the bar code and could not find the answer anywhere. A: No, ebooks don’t need a barcode. Where would you print it?

Q: Is it possible to put the ISBN number on a book that has already been printed without the number? If yes, how do I go about it?

A: Yes, the way to do it is with self-adhesive labels. I believe you can buy these from barcodegraphics.com

Q: What’s the downside of not buying my own ISBN and using the free ones, provided by PoD companies or ebook distributors?

A: There are 2 potential issues with using a “free” ISBN. First, it will show the owner of the ISBNs (the PoD company or ebook distributor) as the publisher of record. Second, if you ever want to move your book to another vendor, you will need to use a different ISBN and deal with the metadata issues that that implies.

Q: Would you help me to choose (I think mostly between Garamond and TimesNewRoman) for inside fonts for a semi-technical book (about nutrition) I am about to self publish? I just want to use what is most common, nothing fancy…

A: If you are choosing between Times and Garamond, use Garamond. Times Roman was designed for newspapers, not books.

Q: I am about to self publish my first book and was wondering if I should incorporate a publishing company name, or just put it under my current corporate business name. Should I make up a publishing company name, use my business name, use my name, or not have one at all?

A: You can choose to use your current corporate name or create a new company, either will work. Many people who already have a company structure use that but create an “imprint” name for their publishing activities. So for instance you could brand your books with an imprint like “LiveMore Books” and keep all the business activity within your corporation. Any of these ways will work.

Q: I’m a new self-publisher and I don’t know whether to use CreateSpace or Lightning Source or Lulu or what. Can you advise?

A: I think the best place for authors to publish their own books right now is CreateSpace, were you can contract for other services if you need them but you don’t have to. You’ll get low prices and decent quality books, with lots of support and resources to help you. Lightning Source is more of a business-to-business company whose customers are publishers rather than authors.

Q: Guy Kawasaki in his “APE: How to Publish a Book” (which I read this week) suggests that the order of the parts of an e-book can deviate from the Chicago Manual of Style. Your thoughts?

A: Guy is correct when it comes to ebooks. Print books often have a long frontmatter section including blurbs, previous books, half-title and blank pages as well as copyright and contents. Since only about 10% of your book will be made available as a “sample” on eretailers’ sites, you want to make sure browsers can get to your content right away. You can move some of the traditional parts of the print book to the end of the book or even put them on a web page you link to from inside the book.

Have you run into any questions that are holding you back? Don’t know who to ask? Go ahead and ask in the comments [on the original post]and let’s see if we can help.

This is a reprint from Joel Friedlander‘s The Book Designer.

This post, by Brian Merchant, originally appeared on Motherboard on 2/9/13.

Amazon has a patent to sell used ebooks. When I first scanned the headline, I thought it must be some Onion-esque gag, and I’m sure I wasn’t alone. Used e-books? As in, rumpled up, dog-eared pdfs? Faded black-and-white kindle cover art, Calibri notes typed in the margins that you can’t erase?

Barely-amusing image aside, used ebooks are for real. Or at least have a very real potential to become real. See, Amazon just cleared a patent for technology that would allow it to create an online marketplace for used ebooks–essentially, if you own an ebook, you would theoretically be able to put it up for sale on a secondary market.

The approved patent describes the process:

Digital objects including e-books, audio, video, computer applications, etc., purchased from an original vendor by a user are stored in a user’s personalized data store … When the user no longer desires to retain the right to access the now-used digital content, the user may move the used digital content to another user’s personalized data store when permissible and the used digital content is deleted from the originating user’s personalized data store.

Used ebook shoppers could buy your digital copy, directly from you, and Amazon would facilitate the transfer of files–and it would pocket a fee.

It’s a fascinating concept, really, but it could ultimately be devastating to the publishing industry and, potentially, to authors. First, the elephant-sized absurdity in the room: a “used ebook” is identical to a new one. It is a precise digital reproduction. The file does not age, it cannot be damaged, it cannot be altered–therefore, it is worth no less than any other copy, and the only premium purchasers of “new” ebooks would be paying for would be the right to read it first.

And that’s where we start running into problems. Nobody, besides die-hard fans of a given author on a big release date, would ever care enough to pay extra for digital dibs. Used ebooks would eliminate nearly all the incentive to buy “new” ebooks. And Amazon could be banking on that, even though at first blush it might appear to undercut its own business.

Bill Rosenblatt, a copyright expert and witness in numerous digital content patent cases, argues that the online retail giant may be angling to push publishers out for good with such a move. He explained his case to Wired:

Read the rest of the post on Motherboard.

Many of those who are reading this are facing the harsh reality that author royalties may never be enough to support yourself and your household, or at least the only slightly less harsh reality that while you’re waiting for lightning to strike, you’ve got bills to pay.

I am living proof that writing can be a great career skill and a surprising stepping stone; you can make a living with your writing, but not necessarily in the way you imagined, and not necessarily by doing nothing but writing. Still, writing in a professional context is no less legitimate than writing in an artistic context, and it can be very fulfilling while also providing you with some financial security, as I’ve learned firsthand.

I am one of those rare, incredibly fortunate individuals who has a dream job, and I have writing to thank for it. I get paid to consume all kinds of digital entertainment content (e.g., ebooks, audiobooks, apps, movies, TV shows, music) on various devices and write about it. I write reviews, tips and tricks, how-tos, and editorial commentary. I work from home, and have the flexibility of setting my own schedule. I am acutely aware of how lucky I am in this, and just as certain that I never could’ve arrived at this point in my career without having accumulated the skills and experiences gained through all the career paths I’ve traveled in the past. It’s been a long and circuitous route, but the one constant through everything has been writing.

I started out as an English major, but only because it was a favorite and easy subject for me, someone who’s always been a prolific writer and voracious, compulsive reader. There was just one problem: I never aspired to a career in education, academics or journalism. Of course I dreamt of becoming a published author someday, but it seemed more like a pipe dream than a practical career choice. When I decided I needed to change to something more paying-the-bills -friendly, I switched to an Animal Science/Veterinary major because I’ve always loved animals and science.

While doing a mandatory research project I realized I enjoyed analyzing data, working on my research paper, and using technology to facilitate better, faster and more accurate results more than I enjoyed providing healthcare to animals. From there it was a hop, skip and a jump to a career in software development, where my unique combo plate of communication and tech skills always kept me in demand. I may never have been the most brilliant software engineer or database admin in any of the companies I worked for over the years, but it was my writing and communication abilities that always tipped the scales in my favor. A particular strength I had was the ability to translate highly technical content and concepts into plain English. I did a great deal of technical writing and software documentation during that time, and wrote numerous project plans and proposals as well. This kept my writing skills sharp and it kept me happy, because I never had to give up completely on my first love: writing.

Little did I suspect those tech and writing skills would form an ideal platform for me to circle back around into my long-dormant dream of authorship, but that’s exactly what happened. Back in ’07, when Amazon launched its first Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest, ‘self-publishing’ was still a dirty word. Among most aspiring authors and publishing wonks, the bias against self-publishers was no less passionate nor baffling than the completely unjustified reverence heaped on mainstream publishing. I came into that milieu as an outsider with a tech/business perspective, and all I could see was that self-publishing simply made more sense for many would-be authors and existing authors, and that this was the direct result of two recent, disruptive technologies: ebooks and Print On Demand. It was really my innate drive to make sense of the nonsensical and disprove fallacies that drove me to champion indie authorship, and eventually, to found Publetariat.

In 2010, I had divorce and unemployment foisted upon me simultaneously. After I’d been floundering on my own a while, one of my online colleagues in indie authorship and ebooks reached out to me, and once again it was on account of my unique skillset. From my work advancing the cause of indie authorship, I’d learned all about the publishing business and self-publishing in particular. My work in software engineering had provided me with web development and site administration skills. My work in founding and maintaining Publetariat had schooled me in content development, SEO and social media. I’d also published books of my own, both mainstream and indie, both in print and e formats, so I could relate to the author’s perspective. On top of this my sincere passion for tech and digital media had never flagged. So my colleague, who was looking to expand his simple, Kindle-focused blog into a full-fledged site, offered me a unique opportunity to put all my skills and interests to good use in helping him take his business to the next level.

As his business grew and sprouted new sites, I transitioned into being administrator and Editor in Chief for his Kindle Fire site. This has been a great fit for me, since I still get to use bits and pieces of all my various skills and can finally put my lifelong love of entertainment content of all kinds (books, movies, TV shows, web, music, games) to work: the Kindle Fire is essentially a delivery system for all those things, so it’s part of my job to stay involved with them and write about them.

And this brings me to my latest career morph. I still run Publetariat, and I’m still Site Admin and Editor in Chief for Kindle Fire on Kindle Nation Daily. But a few days ago I launched a new site that drills down even further from what I’m doing on those other sites to focus on digital media and tech in a way that’s not limited to the Kindle Fire. The new site is Digital Media Mom, and its mission in life is to help non-geeks navigate the sometimes complex and confusing world of digital media. It’s about educating consumers so they can feel confident their digital device and media purchases are solving problems and saving money for them, and it’s also about having fun and talking some trash about entertainment media and content. It’s a lot of fun for me, and I hope it will be helpful and entertaining for consumers.

So while there’s no easy or guaranteed path to a dream job like mine, I hope my experiences demonstrate three things. First, that writing can be a valuable career skill in virtually ANY field. Second, that being a fulltime author is not the only dream job available to people who can write. Finally, that very often, the only way to get a dream job is to create it yourself. If you’re passionate about something many other people are passionate about, and you can communicate about it in a way that appeals to those other people, you can fill a niche. If you have skills or knowledge that can help others solve their problems or reach their goals, and again, you can communicate well, you can fill a niche. And many of the job skills you’re accumulating now, while working at jobs you may not particularly enjoy, may prove to be instrumental when the opportunity to write your own ticket comes along.

This is a reprint from April L. Hamilton’s Indie Author Blog. Visit April’s new site, Digital Media Mom, for tech information and tips in plain English, honest reviews, digital media bargains and freebies, commentary, and fun from the pockets where entertainment media and pop culture intersect.

Introduction
It is absolutely essential that you get your blog up and running as quickly as possible. As soon as you realize what specific topic, or niche, that you want to write about – start writing. This will help you build up a body of work that shows the world that you are an expert in your niche. If you already have expertise in a particular topic, and already have a body of work that you have already written, you need to break that work down into a format that is blog friendly.

I am still amazed at the number of my business associates and clients that are still avoiding blogging as a way to promote their business. None of the steps to setting-up a blog are difficult or costly. There is a learning curve to it. And it will take several months to fully learn all aspects of blogging and how to do it successfully. But the benefits that you and your business will gain can be enormous.

Here are ten of the essential basic steps that you must follow in order to set-up your blog and quickly get it running.

1. Open A WordPress Blog
Do not waste your time on any of the other blogging websites. This one is by far considered the best and most user friendly that is available. It is very simple to use, and has many free add-ons available. Most bloggers use this site, so there is plenty of help and advice available on the internet. WordPress.org is self-hosted. WordPress.com is hosted (this means that your url will have the WordPress name attached to your URL).

2. Write Your Profile And Add A Face Photograph
You must put a lot of thought into creating your profile. Use your LinkedIn profile to help you write this. Give some specific information about yourself, but do not exaggerate. Do not oversell yourself by being boastful or arrogant. Write several sentences giving the essential, but relevant, information that a reader might need to determine that you have the relevant experience to be writing about your blog’s topic. Include a nice photograph of your face.

3. Write Your Blog Posts
Your blog posts can be written about anything that you want to write about. Some post will be like a formal essay. Some will be a two sentence quick tip. But always remember, that each post must support your niche. Any information that you post on your blog must benefit your readers – your followers.

4. Keep Your Posts Short
If you are going to write a longer post, you should make it at least 400 words, but not more than 1,000 words. Each one should be about one specific topic. If your article is long than this, you should try to break it down into two posts. EzineArticles has written some great free ebooks about this that you should read. EzineArticles has written some great free ebooks about this that you should read before writing your first blog posting.

5. Add One Image To Each Post
Add a small image to each post to keep them visually appealing. This image will also be used when another blog, or blog listing service, displays your article. The image’s topic doesn’t necessarily need to be directly related to the post’s topic. But it should probably be visually attractive, or eye-catching.

6. Use Bullet Points
It is essential that you keep all of your posts easy to follow, and easy to read. No matter how serious a topic is, you must take the reader by the hand, and guide them through your article. Not only is this common courtesy, but essential if you expect your readers to continue to read your postings. By having a blog you are putting yourself out into the world, and telling people that you want to share information with them, and hopefully help them. Show them how much you care about them by truly helping them understand what you are writing about.

7. Add Header Tags And Bold Text To Each Important Heading
This will tell the search engines what is important in your article. When a search engines crawls your site, it will give a higher priority to the headings and bolded text of each section of your article. This is very easy to do when you use WordPress. It will simply be a matter of highlighting each paragraph’s header text, and then clicking on the header button and bold button.

8. Add Google AdSense Advertisements
This is very easy to do, and an easy way to make a few extra bucks from your blog. Don’t expect to make much money from this. It is simply a hands-off way to help off-set any expenses that are involved in maintaining your blog.

9. Promote Your Blog
You must always be open to finding new ways to promote your blog. This can be as simple as listing your blog with a “blog listing service”. Or using your “Amazon Author Page” as a way to connect with your readers. So far I have found twenty-five legitimate places to promote my blog. And this does not include the websites where I have added comments (only do this on websites and blogs that allow a link back to your blog).

10. Improve Your Blog
This is a never-ending process. You must constantly strive to make your blog look and sound like you know what you are talking about. This also includes making any corrections to your past postings. Your readers will be scrutinizing every word that you write. Be quick to admit that you made a mistake about something that you wrote about, tell them why you made that mistake, and fix it right away. The readers want to trust you, and learn from you. Make sure that you give them plenty of reasons to do this.

This article was written by Joseph C. Kunz, Jr. and originally posted on KunzOnPublishing.com