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Online Publishers
There’s probably several hundred online publishers around the world. These are companies that either publish primarily on the Internet or publish a
significant number of their titles online. Traditional print publishers like Simon & Shuster have started publishing ebooks, but the digital books are a small chunk of their business. One thing all epublishers
do is sell their books directly through their web sites in addition to using other online distributors.
Broken Jaw Press
http://www.brokenjaw.com
Double Dragon Publishing
www.double-dragon-ebooks.com
Echelon Press
www.echelonpress.com
Dead End Street Publishing
http://www.deadendstreet.com
DiskUs Publishing
http://www.diskuspublishing.com
Lulu
http://www.lulu.com
Cafe Press
http://www.cafepress.com
Online Bookstores
These are virtual bookstores. They’re very much like normal bookstores where you can browse for books and buy them, except in these, you view the
books on your computer screen. You can’t pick up the book and thumb through it like you can in a bookstore, but most of these sites offer free chapters so that you can get a feel for whether or not you like the
author’s writing.
The biggest problem with virutal bookstores is having to click through page after page of books and waiting for each page to load. If your book
isn’t on the first 5 to 10 pages, it’s not likely to be seen. Most of these sites feature new books on their main page for a few days, and books that sell well are likely to make a bestseller list or be featured in
some other way that draws further attention.
Purchases are generally made by credit card or an online transaction service like PayPal. Once you’ve paid for the book, it will be emailed to you
along with a code for opening the file containing the book. The biggest drawback here is the wide variety of proprietary buyers clubs and the drawn out purchasing process in which the site tries to get too much
infiormation about you.
Most online bookstores allow you to order books in a variety of formats such as PDF, MS Reader, HieBook, dedicated reader formats, and PDA formats.
Fictionwise.com
http://www.fictionwise.com
eReader.com
http://www.ereader.com/welcome
Amazon.com
www.amazon.com
CyberRead (you can post your own books here)
www.cyberread.com
eBooks.com
http://www.ebooks.com
Lulu and Cafe Press also serve as book stores.
Reading Devices for eBooks
There are a number of devices, besides desktop computers, for reading ebooks. These range from PDAs that run a growing number of PDA formats to
devices dedicated specifically to ebooks. These dedicated readers are compact, ergonomically designed for reading, and come with a variety features such as bookmarking, backlit screens designed for extended viewing,
and the ability to make notes.
Device evaluations at Canadian eAuthors
http://ceauthors.com/ereaders.htm
Information on a variety of reading devices at ebookonthe.net
http://www.ebooksonthe.net/resources2.html
eBook Forums and Directories and Other eBook Sites
There are hundreds of sites devoted to discussing ebooks, setting standards for ebooks, and listing ebooks and ebook authors. These are few of those
links. Google searches such as “ebook forums”, “ebook communities”, and “ebook directories” will lead you to other sites.
Open eBook Forum
http://www.openebook.org
OpenBERG Project
http://openberg.sourceforge.net
eBook-Community
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ebook-community/?yguid=80095326
eBook Directory
http://www23.brinkster.com/lkarczmarz/EbookDir1.html
Internet Book List
http://www.iblist.com/list.php?type=book&by=genre&genre=330
eBooks ‘n Bytes
http://www.ebooksnbytes.com
ewritersplace.com
http://ewritersplace.com
Free eBooks
A growing number of ebook sites offer free downloads of ebooks as a means of introducing readers to their authors and to build interest in ebooks.
You might want to consider making all or part of your book available as a free eboo to generate interest in your paperback version.
Some of this free material is high quality. You might also check out the web sites of your favorite authors. Many authors give free downloads of
their older works and their short fiction.
Free eBooks in PDA Format (includes fiction, poetry, and nonfiction)
www.memoware.com
Project Gutenberg (making public domain books available in etext)
http://www.gutenberg.org
Baen Free Library (for Science Fiction fans)
http://www.baen.com/library
Create, Distribute and Market Your Own eBook
Some Reasons for ePublishing
Something to sell for profit
Class project
Family history that can make available online for all family members to download
Money raiser for charitable groups
To give out free as a marketing tool (i.e., with links to things you sell, or your web site)
An additional resource for teachers to hand out to students
To become published in order to find a publisher (reviews, sales record, etc.)
Corporate history that can be given out to clients
The Process
Critiques On Your Writing
If you’re planning to sell your book, then you should have it edited professionally. You can find a listing of editing services (along with
recommendations and warnings) at:
http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/peesla.htm
If you can’t afford editing services, then have friends read your work “critically.” Join a writer’s group or join one of the many online
writer’s communities, like the Zoetrope Writer’s Community (it’s FREE):
http://www.zoetrope.com
How to Create Your Book
Your manuscript will be the foundation for your book. When it’s finished, you’ll add a cover, title page, intro page, the body of the text, and
acknowledgments. Then, you’ll use this file to create the actual ebook.
Word Processors, Graphics and Other Things You’ll Need
You can use Microsoft Word for your word processing. If you don’t have it, you can buy it cheap at eBay.
You can also use an open source word processor that works exactly the same as Word. It comes with a suite of programs called Open Office and it’s
FREE:
http://www.openoffice.org
If you don’t have an artist friend who can design a cover for you, don’t worry. You can use just about any graphics program to create covers. I
generally use photos I’ve taken myself. I bring them into Paint Shop Pro and add text, then save it as a JPEG.
Examples of covers I’ve created:
http://www.biffmitchell.com/Short_Stories/short_stories.html
If you plan on selling your book, you should obtain an ISBN for it. ISBNs are free in Canada, but you have to apply for them at:
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/isbn/index-e.html
You post your ISBN at the beginning of your book. Some ebook distribution sites won’t allow you to post your book unless it has an ISBN. Some
reviewers won’t review it unless it has an ISBN.
How to Publish An eBook
Once your manuscript is edited and the cover art and ISBN are in place, you’re ready to publish
There are a variety of tools for turning your book various formats. PDF is the simplest way to generate an ebook. MS Reader and Hiebook are simple
as well, but you’ll need to generate the file and examine it closely to find formatting errors that will have to be corrected. It could take five or six tries before you generate a properly formatted ebook.
Generating an ebook for PDAs is difficult if you want to include things like cover art, photos or graphics, and hyperlinked tables of contents.
These will generally require software that runs from moderately priced to expensive. The PDA ebook converter listed below is free, but it has limited functionality. Before importing your book file into the PDA
converter, you have to delete any graphics and import the entire file into Notepad (to eliminate any special formatting) and then import it into the PDA creator.
PDF Creators
Open Source (free)
http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator
Adobe Acrobat Professional
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobatpro/main.html
(or search for a copy on eBay)
Hiebook, MS Reader, PDA Converters
Adobe for Palms
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readerforpalm.html
MS Reader (free converter)
http://www.microsoft.com/reader/downloads/pc.asp
HieBook (free reader and free converter)
http://www.ebookad.com/software.php3
pdaConverter (free)
http://www.freewarepalm.com/utilities/pdaconverter.shtml
Online Bookstores Where You Can Sell Your Books or Give Them
Away
The links below lead to online bookstores where you can post your books for free or for a minimal fee (as at Amazon’s Advantage program). If your
book is a short story, novella, or short collection of poems and is available in PDA format, you can offer it as a free download at Memoware .com.
Memoware.com
http://www.memoware.com
CyberRead
CyberRead allows you to post books free of charge on their site. They take a commission on each sale, but you have to do all your own marketing.
This is just a place for people to access your book and buy it.
www.cyberread.com
Fictionwise.com
Fictionwise.com takes a bigger cut than CyberRead, but this is fast becoming the most popular site on the Web for ebook shoppers. Fictionwise also
has a variety of other online distribution sites (such as EPIC) where your books will also be listed. Getting your books on Fictionwise is difficult. They generally require that you have been published by a
traditional publisher and will require proof of publication. Fictionwise publishes just about everything, including individual short stories that can be purchased for less than a buck.
http://www.fictionwise.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com is the biggest online book distributor. Like Fictionwise, they’ve started selling individual short stories. You can get your books on
Amazon through their Advantage Program for a $30 a year fee, and they take a 55% commission.
http://tinyurl.com/gyl9z
Also, you can sell books directly through your own web site. You can set up a PayPal account to handle the transaction.
https://www.paypal.com
Enter the Online Self-Publishing Sites – The Future of
Publishing
Sites like Café Press and Lulu.com offer the entire publishing package free of charge or for a fraction of the cost of a most traditional
self-publishers like Trafford or Xlibris. You can even set up your own online store: http://www.lulu.com/biffmitchell
Lulu.com offers a basic free publication route for ebooks and paperbacks (there’s a small set-up fee for hardcover books) and a variety of other
services including editing, cover art creation and an enhanced marketing package called Global Distribution that sets you up with a US ISBN, barcode, a listing in Books in Print, and entry in to the Ingram database.
This will require a lot of work on your part, but it will help get your book into traditional bookstores as well as the online distributors listed below. You can find out more about this service here:
http://www.lulu.com/help/index.php?fID=213
Today, we’re going to look at the basic free service.
First, we’ll get your manuscript ready for publication. You’ll need the lulu template:
http://www.biffmitchell.com/eBook_Week/ePublishing___eMarketing/Lulut6X9template.doc
Guided Exercise - Formatting the book ... use the template.
Next, you sign up for a free Lulu account: http://www.lulu.com. Don’t forget to write down your password, you’ll be coming back here later to fine-tune your book.
The Five Most Effective Online Marketing Tools for a
Writer
1. Your Web Site
2. Your Blog
3. Media Releases
4. Emails to friends, family and business associates
5. Forums
Other Ways to Market Your Books Online
Guided Discussion - Open eMarketing Tools for Writers.
A great way to set up an author web site where you can market your book, provide biographical information, give out free samples, create an
newsletter, post media releases and a zillion other things, is to create a site at Authorsden. Annual membership fees are about $25 US, but a site at Authorsden will put you high in search engine ratings and provide
a wide variety of services for a low price. It’s also a great way to create an effective marketing site for those with little or no web site experience.
Authorsden.com
http://www.authorsden.com/
Biff Mitchell at Authorsden
http://www.authorsden.com/visit/author.asp?AuthorID=8425
Cafe Press (shirt)
www.cafepress.com
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