Boycotting Baldacci

Sadly, I'm now boycotting ALL David Baldacci after reading his comment quoted in the NY Times Article "Steal This Book"

"The lower e-book price “is not sustainable,” said Mr. Baldacci, whose novels regularly rise to the top of hardcover best seller lists. If readers insist on cut-rate electronic books, he said, “unfortunately there won’t be anyone selling it anymore because you just can’t make any money.”"

In the hands of the right person, a well marketed eBook is valuable. In the hands of someone that is more concerned with their art than "making money" - a reasonable priced eBook is a spark that will ignite a career.

Paulo Coelho (author of The Alchemist) was disappointed that his book only sold 900 copies in its first printing...so he made is available for free. What happened as a result? Actual sales of The Alchemist jumped to one million over a 3 year period (with no additional promotion or publicity from his publishers). Coelho is still an advocate of sharing his work for free and because of this, author Jeff Jarvis named Coelho 'the Googliest author' in his book 'What Would Google Do.'

I've discovered new authors that I hadn't previously tried because their book were free or cheap on Kindle - Charlie Huston a prime example. I downloaded the free "Caught Stealing" liked it so much I actually bought more of his books - HOWEVER - his latest is 11.99 - so...not buying till the price is lowered.

So, yeah, there are authors and publishers out there that keep their readers in mind and with diligence and authenticity, are able to make a living selling their stories.

And THOSE are the authors & publishers that I will continue to support, spread the word about, and read.

**and ironically, Mr. Baldacci has several philanthropic interests
that concern and promote literacy - yet instead of seeing the positives of eBooks, he's worried "no one will make money."

13 Ways to Cheat on Amazon

This was originally posted on the Kindle Amazon Discussion boards by T.Beck

Amazon is not the only place you can find eBooks for your Kindle, check out these other 13....

Some have expressed a lack of content for the Kindle, here is what I have tried, and works (make sure you check the footnotes at the bottom):

1) www.amazon.com 95,000 or so titles, instant download, easy.

2) www.gutenberg.org 20,000 or so titles - mostly classics or things that no longer have copywrite. Multiple languages. Three are links to other sites that boast a total of 100k titles. ***, ****

3) www.freekindlebooks.org This is a site that has mostly gutenberg books in a kindle ready format.

4) www.worldlibrary.net 400,000 titles - classics, modern, government, multiple languages, all the ones I tried were free. Requires $8.95 yearly subscription fee, consider it the cost of a library card.*, ***, ****

5) www.fictionwise.com offers both unencrypted and encrypted .mobi files. Full range of reading and many free books as well. *, **, ****

6) www.mobipocket.com lots of titles, most you can find on amazon.com in the Kindle section for less.

7) www.webscriptions.net This is Baen books and mostly SiFi. None are encrypted, many are free, and can be transferred directly to your Kindle. Choose Kindle compatible for the download. ****

8) www.wowio.com uses .pdf format. **, You will need to register and can download up to three books a day, free. Only available to people in the US, due to copyright and licensing restrictions.

9) www.fictionpress.com 900,000 Mostly original works, as in unknown, normally unpublished authors. Some good, some not, take your chances, you may discover the next JK Rowling. Displays in text. Cut, paste and email to yourself, or save in .txt file and upload.

10) www.manybooks.net 20,000 titles or so. Has a Kindle format. ***, ****

11) www.mnybks.net - an extension of Manybooks above, but if you access it through the basic WebBrowser in Kindle, you can download directly to your Kindle, the way you would an Amazon book. Choose the Mobipocket format.

12) www.feedbooks.com Share books, self published books and a make it yourself newspaper. With a little manipulation of the tools below, you can get your own newspaper, you could probably even directly email it to your Kindle in the morning if you allow that site to send you stuff. You will need to register, but there is no cost. There is now a "Kindle Download Guide" from www.feedbooks.com includes links to many classics, including many in foreign languages.

13) www.ccel.org Christian centered works. Available in pdf, word, and text, all readily transferable to your Kindle.

14.) http://www.munseys.com about 25,000 books, classic and contemporary. Download in a variety of formats.

* They save as .pdf files that you can email to your Kindle. It sees the .pdf as a file of words, not pictures of words, so it can be resized and adjusted just as any other ebook. Download the book to your PC, and email that file to your Kendle, or username@free.kendle.com and load through the USB cable if you want to save the 10 cent conversion charge. (but they have not started charging yet anyway)

** For the encrypted ones in .mobi, a tool can be used to allow the kindle to see it. This tool does not make a copy of the book, merely adds a flag so that the Kendle can display it (it would be hard to call this a violation of copywrite or use conditions since both formats are amazon's). The tool and directions on how to use it are at: http://igorsk.blogspot.com/2007/12/mobipocket-books-on-kindle.html

*** Site runs on donations

**** Can be downloaded directly to your Kindle when it is plugged in as an external storage device, simply specify the Kindle folder when selecting where to put your book.

Neil Gaiman Wants to Be Heard

Neil Gaiman (Coraline - The Graveyard Book) offers his 2cents on the debate over text to speech for the Kindle.


I think we are starting to see the end of Publishers(Publishers Row, NYC) and agents as more and more authors become aware that publishers and agents make it more and more evident that they only care about the money... (ebook pricing and text to speech are prime examples) not about the author or the reader.

I think Old School Publishing may soon take on the title of Gaiman's lastest book "The Graveyard."

I've reposted his article below; but here is the link.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Quick argument summary

Posted by Neil at 3:18 PM
Just found myself having a long argument/discussion with my agent over the Amazon Kindle text-to-speech capability. I'm going to summarise it here.

Her point of view: The Kindle reading you the book-you-just-bought infringes the copyright (or at least, the rights) to the audiobook. We've sold audiobook rights and print book rights as separate things. We must stop this.

My point of view: When you buy a book, you're also buying the right to read it aloud, have it read to you by anyone, read it to your children on long car trips, record yourself reading it and send that to your girlfriend etc. This is the same kind of thing, only without the ability to do the voices properly, and no-one's going to confuse it with an audiobook. And that any authors' societies or publishers who are thinking of spending money on fighting a fundamentally pointless legal case would be much better off taking that money and advertising and promoting what audio books are and what's good about them with it.

There.

Which I am putting up here to save everyone time asking me what I think.

eBook Creation; Piece of Cake

Checked out Abbott's e Publishing website (the publisher that had written to the Amazon Kindle discussion boards that he is keeping eBook prices low and urging Kindle Owners to buy from Abbott).

I noticed two things about Abbott after visiting their website.

1) They are selling eBooks that are listed in the public domain which you can get for free on Project Gutenberg and ManyBooks.net.

2) They are 'looking' for new authors to sign with them.

As I writer that has 'been there/done that' I urge new authors to consider the following:

I wondered how difficult it would be to publish an eBook on Amazon. In an experiment, I took an old manuscript and using 3 easy instructional steps on Amazon, I uploaded it (for free). I used a photo I'd taken for the book cover. I picked the price point (99cents).
I make 35% on every book I sell & there is a report link for me to check and see my sales daily/monthly. Earnings are disbursed every 2 months. My rights belong to me. My rights belong to me (worth repeating!).

VS ABBOTT:

Abbott takes the publishing rights (ownership) of your work for 5 years and has the right to turn your ebook into a paper book (keeping profit) or ANY OTHER FORM they choose. If you hit the jackpot and your book is made into a movie w/in ten years...they get royalties.

Abbott gives you 50% royalty. Sounds good doesn't it? Yet THEY decide how to price your book. Say your book is selling really well at 4.99 so they up it to 10.99 against your wishes - you're SOL. Not to mention, your books are only being sold on their website - which is a bit cheesy and chunky. For what Abbott provides, you can easily sell your book on your own website or blog! Most people turn to Amazon for their eBook reads. With Abbott, there is little to no mainstream exposure. They suggest they will list your eBook on Amazon, but if that happens, Amazon gets a 65% royalty, then you split the remaining 35% with Abbott 50/50. That means: A book sold at 10.00 nets 3.50 for Abbott - which is then split 50/50 - so your profit is 1.75. And you've given up your rights.

If you publish on your own, without using an "ePublishing" company, you'd keep that initial 3.50 from Amazon and your rights.

Abbott pays within 3 months (Amazon pays w/in 2).

Abbott, to me, is much like that infomercial promising you all sorts of things in the middle of the night when you are tired and not thinking straight.

Please-if you've taken the time to actually write a book, make sure you consider all avenues.

Chances are, if you can get out of bed in the morning and dress yourself, you can self publish and promote an eBook.


Here is what Abbott promises taken directly from their website:

" Q: What if I’m a Previously Unpublished Author?

A: Abbott e Publishing actively seeks out those who have never before been published authors. We are happy to “launch” the careers of those who have remarkable writing talents who have yet to be “discovered” by large, impersonal and often tough-to-crack major publishing houses.

Compensation and the Writer’s Contract:
We like to keep things simple: Authors receive 50 percent of all Internet sales of their original work, paid every quarter (every 3 months) beginning with the three-month anniversary of signing a contract with Abbott e Publishing, when the royalties amount to $10 or more. Contracts are simple, easy-to-grasp and are signed when the author’s first book is accepted for publication.

Authors receive reports every quarter, whether royalties are paid or not. Advances are never paid to authors.

Important: Authors will NOT receive reimbursement for single submissions to Abbott ePublishing-created, multiple-author anthologies. (Author royalties would be miniscule anyway.)

Prices:
Book prices are set by the publisher, and vary based upon several factors, including length of the work (though this alone is definitely not determinative) the subject matter, the expertise of the author, and demand. Prices will usually be set between $4.99 and $9.99. We strive to keep most books under $10 to fit with our philosophy of providing easy-to-afford eBooks.

Publishing Rights:
Abbott ePublishing requires exclusive electronic publishing rights to works it accepts for publication as eBooks. It may publish them in any format under its name for five years, at which time the client may renew their relationship with us. Any film adaptations of works published by Abbott ePublishing as eBooks within ten years of publication with us are subject to royalties paid to Abbott ePublishing.

Promotion:
Abbott ePublishing will promote works it publishes both online and off, including in the mass media. Authors are encouraged to promote sales of their books and direct people to purchase them on the Abbott ePublishing’s Website, and may create outside Webpages to promote their works, linking back to the Abbott ePublishing Website."

*********************

In closing, please take everything into careful consideration...I'm not saying that ePublishing is easy, but with the right ingredients,and the correct recipe book, you can have your ebook cake and eat it too.

Mein Kampf illustrates eBook Pricing

Article from CNET News written by David Carnoy

This snippet is not about the eBook they are talking about, more about the selling practices of eBooks on Amazon vs Sony Reader.


"One other note regarding "Mein Kampf:" Based on a 65-35 split off the list price (Amazon's deal with self-publishers), Amazon is making about 89 cents on each copy, so it's possible that it's making more on "Mein Kampf" than it does on many best-selling titles that it sells for $9.99.
The terms Amazon has negotiated from publisher to publisher are confidential, but sources tell me that at $9.99, Amazon is basically breaking even on a lot of those titles. Sony, by comparison, tends to sell best sellers at $11.99, a price point at which you'd assume that it can eke out a profit.
What does this all add up to? Well, clearly the e-book business is in its Wild West stage, and it's only going to get more convoluted when Sony dumps 500,000 free e-books into its database, and Amazon continues adding more public-domain titles.
All these cheap e-books flooding the market are going to be a problem for traditional publishers (it's unclear who uploaded the Kindle Edition of "Mein Kampf," but it was certainly not a traditional publisher). They'll either embrace the brave new world, and make it work for them with lower, more realistic pricing--or adopt the bunker mentality of the music studios and risk downfall."

Special Thanks to Alice for sending me this info.

Ebooks selling for more than Hardbacks...

From Julie at the Amazon Unreasonably Priced Discussion Board...

A friend pointed this book out to me so I researched the price on Amazon Book, Amazon Kindle & Border's Online.

Where Memories Lie by Deborah Crombie. From HarperCollins eBook
Digital List Price: $24.99 (DLP is $.04 more than the Print List Price)set by HarperCollins E book
Print List Price: $24.95
Kindle Price: $14.99 & includes wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
You Save: $9.96 (40%)

The DTB listed on Amazon:
Where Memories Lie: A Novel (Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James Novels) by Deborah Crombie (Hardcover - Jun 24, 2008)
Buy new: $24.95 (marked down by Amazon to) $18.96 75 Used & new from $5.99......( ) mine

On Borders: Where Memories Lie
Deborah Crombie
Mass Market Paperback
Pre-order
July 01, 2009 $7.99

So...the publisher wants us to believe that it cost $7.00 more to produce a digital book than it does a paperbook? And someone else is selling the hardbacks for $5.00 (plus shipping) but the e-book version is $14.99?

Unreasonable E-book Price!!!

An Author Speaks

After writing to romance author Bertrice Small about the Kindle listing for one of her books, this was Ms. Small's thoughtful response...once again pointing out that publishers really only think of themselves.

"I'm not a techie. Just a working writer who can get her e-mail, and quails at the words "cut and paste". I wasn't even aware that THE BORDER LORD'S BRIDE was
available for downloading on the Kindle. In fact I only recently learned what a Kindle is. I imagine the publisher will eventually inform me of this development. Or not. Authors really are the last to know. I wish I had the influence to get my publishers to keep book prices at a reasonable rate. But the truth is I have absolutely no say where the price of books in any format is concerned. If I did the price wouldn't be so high. And they'd use recycled paper!

Nowadays working authors like me who actually make a living with their writing don't earn it from royalties. The truth is we live on our advances - and just to keep the record straight - I haven't had a raise in a number of years. I realize the papers and gossip columns are always touting the big advances paid to authors, but those are the very few, Grisham, Steele, King, etc. And advances are not handed out in a lump sum. They are paid out in increments over the life of the book contract. You don't get rich that way and authors of popular commercial fiction like me make the kind of living most middle class people make. And I have to do 2 or 3 books a year to stay middle class. The market is tight, and was even before the economic downturn. I'm glad to be still working.

I have passed on your concerns to my agent, and to my editor at NAL Books. And I do appreciate you contacting me. God bless! Bertrice Small"