Just figured out why my great sales for my Scrabble book on the Nook have dipped into the toilet - someone's published a similar book, at a cheaper price.
Actually that should have been obvious to me from the start when I was no longer getting purchases... after all when the book had one bad review people still bought it, so why should 3 bad reviews stop it.
Nope, someone saw I was having success with it - someone who reads this blog here, I have no doubt! - and pipped me at the post, stealing my sales away.
Extremely annoying, but then, I only have myself to blame for giving away the secret.
At any event, I'm not too pleased right now.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Saturday, February 18, 2012
3 1-star reviews are the kiss of death
I was doing so well at the Nook with my Scrabble book - I haven't had any sales for a week. Reason - 2 more people gave me bad reviews, and they wrote text.
It's a good book, but if two people don't like it and say so... that is apparently all she wrote.
A bit heart-breaking.
It's a good book, but if two people don't like it and say so... that is apparently all she wrote.
A bit heart-breaking.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Your Book Description is Important
I visited the page for The Forgotten Stars, by David Bowman
http://www.amazon.com/The-Forgotten-Stars-ebook/dp/B0075RE11A/ref=sr_1_17?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1329246921&sr=1-17
Here's the description of it:
Well, gee. Actor's biographies. How nice.
Here's my question. Surely an obvious question. WHAT actors?
Is it too much to ask that the list of actors be included in the description??
The book does have the capability called "See inside the book" so if you take that extra step you can see the Table of contents.
Just FYI, the actors included are:
Nigel Bruce
Helen Chandler
Dwight Frye
Martin Kosleck
Otto Kruger
Frank McHugh
Warner Oland
Edward Van Sloan
Conrad Veidt
Frederick Warlock
Now there are actually a couple of actors there I'm interested in, and the book only costs $2.99, so I may eventually get it..
But it sure would be nice to have the list of those names in the Description to begin with!
http://www.amazon.com/The-Forgotten-Stars-ebook/dp/B0075RE11A/ref=sr_1_17?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1329246921&sr=1-17
Here's the description of it:
Profusely illustrated biographies of great forgotten actors and actresses of Hollywood's golden age. This is a book to be read for the fun of it and returned to from time to time to enjoy the illustrations. Written by a film historian who has published in magazines such as FILMFAX, CULT MOVIES, and SCARLET STREET.
Well, gee. Actor's biographies. How nice.
Here's my question. Surely an obvious question. WHAT actors?
Is it too much to ask that the list of actors be included in the description??
The book does have the capability called "See inside the book" so if you take that extra step you can see the Table of contents.
Just FYI, the actors included are:
Nigel Bruce
Helen Chandler
Dwight Frye
Martin Kosleck
Otto Kruger
Frank McHugh
Warner Oland
Edward Van Sloan
Conrad Veidt
Frederick Warlock
Now there are actually a couple of actors there I'm interested in, and the book only costs $2.99, so I may eventually get it..
But it sure would be nice to have the list of those names in the Description to begin with!
Friday, February 10, 2012
What To Price Your Book?
It's difficult to know how to price an ebook. If you're an independent publisher, that is.
The print publishers charge the same for an ebook as they do for a paperback or hardback. Which in my view is ridiculous. Most of the cost of producing a print book is not the printing - it's the storage at a warehouse. And the cost incurred when a publisher orders a box from storage to be sent to them via a truck haulage company.
Yes, the publisher has to make a profit and the author has to make a profit in royalties.
But an ebook - sure there might be a fee incurred to take the files of a print book and convert it to a digital file... but there's no printing, no shipping...
An ebook should cost no more than 2/3rds what a print book costs.
But what if the book is available only as an ebook? And put out by an independent publisher?
Well..if you charge even $5.99, no one will buy it. Well..I say that, I suppose it depends on the subject matter. If it's something rated X they probably would...
But, most people only want to spend $1.99 or $2.99 on a book.
A book that you've spent months writing, and which you think is pretty good. Pretty damn disappointing.
Well, that's where your website comes in, with a sample chapter and a blog and so on. Something to let readers not only know that your book exists but also that it's good. Because most people think an independently published book is by its nature not very good - poor writing, poor proof reading and poor editing.
That's why you've got to pay a professional to have your book proof=read and edited, and if your editor suggests changes, make them.
The print publishers charge the same for an ebook as they do for a paperback or hardback. Which in my view is ridiculous. Most of the cost of producing a print book is not the printing - it's the storage at a warehouse. And the cost incurred when a publisher orders a box from storage to be sent to them via a truck haulage company.
Yes, the publisher has to make a profit and the author has to make a profit in royalties.
But an ebook - sure there might be a fee incurred to take the files of a print book and convert it to a digital file... but there's no printing, no shipping...
An ebook should cost no more than 2/3rds what a print book costs.
But what if the book is available only as an ebook? And put out by an independent publisher?
Well..if you charge even $5.99, no one will buy it. Well..I say that, I suppose it depends on the subject matter. If it's something rated X they probably would...
But, most people only want to spend $1.99 or $2.99 on a book.
A book that you've spent months writing, and which you think is pretty good. Pretty damn disappointing.
Well, that's where your website comes in, with a sample chapter and a blog and so on. Something to let readers not only know that your book exists but also that it's good. Because most people think an independently published book is by its nature not very good - poor writing, poor proof reading and poor editing.
That's why you've got to pay a professional to have your book proof=read and edited, and if your editor suggests changes, make them.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Website for your books
I've posted about this before, but it can never be posted too often.
If you've written a book, you need a website to publicize it.
As the publisher of the webzine The Thunder Child (http://thethunderchild.com), first-time, self-published authors send me their books all the time for review.
They also include postcards with the book cover, or a bookmark with the book cover.
It may make sense to do the postcard thing. Then send them around to various sci fi conventions (or whatever genre the book is about) in the hopes that the cover image will catch someone's eye and cause them to buy the book... but bookmarks? Those I think serve no purpose.
But whether you do the postcards and/or bookmarks or not, one thing you absolutely must do is have a website for you book - with a sample chapter, and links to order it from Amazon, the Nook, or straight from you if its a print book.
Have a blog, too, in which you talk about the book or the subject surrounding the book - to attract readers for your blog who will then see and buy the book.
If you've written a book, you need a website to publicize it.
As the publisher of the webzine The Thunder Child (http://thethunderchild.com), first-time, self-published authors send me their books all the time for review.
They also include postcards with the book cover, or a bookmark with the book cover.
It may make sense to do the postcard thing. Then send them around to various sci fi conventions (or whatever genre the book is about) in the hopes that the cover image will catch someone's eye and cause them to buy the book... but bookmarks? Those I think serve no purpose.
But whether you do the postcards and/or bookmarks or not, one thing you absolutely must do is have a website for you book - with a sample chapter, and links to order it from Amazon, the Nook, or straight from you if its a print book.
Have a blog, too, in which you talk about the book or the subject surrounding the book - to attract readers for your blog who will then see and buy the book.
Monday, February 6, 2012
You Must Have Your Book Professionally Edited
A few days ago I told a story on myself - how I'd uploaded my Scrabble book to the Nook...then discovered that the Nook does not use "Page Break" to do its page breaks, but rather "Section: New Page". While I was going over the book changing that, I discovered several errors - inept errors.
I can not believe that I uploaded a book which had that many inept errors...but I did it.
It was because I was too impatient.
I am a professional editor and proofreader as well as a writer...so I just told myself that I would write - and proofread and edit - at the same time.
That's not possible and I should have known it.
What I should have done was set the book aside for a couple of days, then returned to it with fresh eyes and my "proofing and editing" hat on.
One guy who writes his own books sends the completed manuscript to three proofers. And, according to him, each of these proofers finds different mistakes.
Proofreaders and editors can be found on Elance, and doubtless on other sites as well. Or there might even be a writer's group in your own area, from whom you can find someone who is a proofreader.
Do not do what I did! Have your book proofed and edited before uploading it - or you will most definitely regret it.
I can not believe that I uploaded a book which had that many inept errors...but I did it.
It was because I was too impatient.
I am a professional editor and proofreader as well as a writer...so I just told myself that I would write - and proofread and edit - at the same time.
That's not possible and I should have known it.
What I should have done was set the book aside for a couple of days, then returned to it with fresh eyes and my "proofing and editing" hat on.
One guy who writes his own books sends the completed manuscript to three proofers. And, according to him, each of these proofers finds different mistakes.
Proofreaders and editors can be found on Elance, and doubtless on other sites as well. Or there might even be a writer's group in your own area, from whom you can find someone who is a proofreader.
Do not do what I did! Have your book proofed and edited before uploading it - or you will most definitely regret it.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Do Not Typeset Until the Book is Done!
In addition to writing my own books, I'm also a freelance proofer and editor.
About a month ago, a client sent me half a book. It was only half-finished, but he was excited and impatient and wanted the proofreading/editing process started immediately. He also wanted an index, which I also do.
Either English is not his first language, or he hired someone to write the book for whom English is a second language. In any event, I proofed what I had, and fixed a myriad of problems. I told him I wouldn't do the index until the book was done.
In hindsight, that was a mistake. Word has a function that allows the writer to set both Table of Contents and index as you go along. You just highlight the appropriate word with a little electronic symbol. When you're done, you choose "Create Index and word creates the index. When you typeset it, the page numbers automatically change - no need for you to go in and redo them. Then you paste the final version into Quarx Xpress (well...that's what I used to use when I did this, now its Indesign and Idon't know hoow to use that...)
I should have explained that process to him, but didn't. I didn't expect him to have the book typeset until it had been finished, and proofed, and edited. Until it was done.
Long story short. My client finished the book and had it typeset. On day 1 he sent me the Word doc and wanted me to proof and edit that.
I told him it would take a couple of days. I did my work on it on the first day - and intended to use the second day to go through it again, make sure I liked the changes I'd made and to see if I could catch any other mistakes.
On day 2 - before I had sent him what I had done- he sent me a PDF of the typeset version.
The two versions didn't match, and I'd already done all my work on the Word version.
If I'm to ignore the Word doc and work completely from the Typeset doc, he's going to have to pay me more, because I'll just be duplicating my work. Annoying and time wasting. Not good. Time is too precious to waste in this manner.
About a month ago, a client sent me half a book. It was only half-finished, but he was excited and impatient and wanted the proofreading/editing process started immediately. He also wanted an index, which I also do.
Either English is not his first language, or he hired someone to write the book for whom English is a second language. In any event, I proofed what I had, and fixed a myriad of problems. I told him I wouldn't do the index until the book was done.
In hindsight, that was a mistake. Word has a function that allows the writer to set both Table of Contents and index as you go along. You just highlight the appropriate word with a little electronic symbol. When you're done, you choose "Create Index and word creates the index. When you typeset it, the page numbers automatically change - no need for you to go in and redo them. Then you paste the final version into Quarx Xpress (well...that's what I used to use when I did this, now its Indesign and Idon't know hoow to use that...)
I should have explained that process to him, but didn't. I didn't expect him to have the book typeset until it had been finished, and proofed, and edited. Until it was done.
Long story short. My client finished the book and had it typeset. On day 1 he sent me the Word doc and wanted me to proof and edit that.
I told him it would take a couple of days. I did my work on it on the first day - and intended to use the second day to go through it again, make sure I liked the changes I'd made and to see if I could catch any other mistakes.
On day 2 - before I had sent him what I had done- he sent me a PDF of the typeset version.
The two versions didn't match, and I'd already done all my work on the Word version.
If I'm to ignore the Word doc and work completely from the Typeset doc, he's going to have to pay me more, because I'll just be duplicating my work. Annoying and time wasting. Not good. Time is too precious to waste in this manner.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Put all relevant info in the 1st paragraph of book description!
I had always known my Scrabble book would be in two volumes, And in the descriptive text of the first book, which came out first, I stated this... in the third paragraph.
Unfortunately B&N's Nook book pages cut off the info about the book at about the 2nd paragraph, one has to "Click to read more" to see the rest of the text, which includes the fact that this book is Vol 1 of 2.
So my Vol 2, which I published about a week after Vol 1, has sold only 1 copy, whereas I had expected it to be bought as a set.
Annoying.
Then again, it might be that people bought volume 1, liked it enough to keep it, but not enough to buy Vol 2. I'll never know. If the text had been properly written, I could make a more informed decision!
Unfortunately B&N's Nook book pages cut off the info about the book at about the 2nd paragraph, one has to "Click to read more" to see the rest of the text, which includes the fact that this book is Vol 1 of 2.
So my Vol 2, which I published about a week after Vol 1, has sold only 1 copy, whereas I had expected it to be bought as a set.
Annoying.
Then again, it might be that people bought volume 1, liked it enough to keep it, but not enough to buy Vol 2. I'll never know. If the text had been properly written, I could make a more informed decision!
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