tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post1138130901748302551..comments2024-03-26T23:41:10.319+00:00Comments on Authors Electric: Birth of a Publisher - Guest Post by Mary HoffmanKatherine Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-75090215535473097402016-05-03T15:43:11.453+01:002016-05-03T15:43:11.453+01:00Same with me, Catherine - I do have a series in Se...Same with me, Catherine - I do have a series in Select, but the rest are currently wide. I think the main advantage of being in Select is that you also get paid for 'borrows' by Kindle Unlimited readers who might not otherwise buy the books.<br /><br />Glad to be of help, Mary, and best wishes with the new venture! For my own books, I use Draft2Digital as a distributor to the other outlets - they take a small commission on sales - and I believe others here use Smashwords. Those are the two main ones, but as a proper press with more books you might prefer to sign up direct with the stores... it's probably worth experimenting a bit to see what works for you and your authors.<br />Katherine Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-20363382217101202032016-05-02T23:08:20.585+01:002016-05-02T23:08:20.585+01:00Thanks for confirming, Katherine! I have a couple ...Thanks for confirming, Katherine! I have a couple of titles temporarily in Select but I wouldn't want everything to be exclusive. Catherine Czerkawskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14554969254207924049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-59710502688939791342016-05-02T17:47:12.444+01:002016-05-02T17:47:12.444+01:00That is very helpful, Katherine! And gives me the ...That is very helpful, Katherine! And gives me the hope that when the dust has settled, we might be able to put our books on other platforms.Mary Hoffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06241989732624913706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-70558242408200147432016-05-02T12:47:44.040+01:002016-05-02T12:47:44.040+01:00Mary, you do NOT need to be in Select to get the 7...Mary, you do NOT need to be in Select to get the 70% royalty in the UK and the US... you just need to price your book between $2.99 and $9.99 (the KDP pricing page will helpfully tell you if you are pricing wrongly for the 70% option).<br /><br />But Catherine is right, and your royalty at other countries like India will drop to 35% if you're not in Select. With my middle grade/YA titles, however, I find sales tend to be much smaller in those countries and so the drop in income from not being in Select is more than made up for by sales at other outlets... currently, my ebook income works out at about 80% Kindle, 20% other outlets (mostly Apple and Nook, with occasional sales at Kobo).Katherine Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-71080366450381025362016-05-01T18:11:55.928+01:002016-05-01T18:11:55.928+01:00Excellent - wonderful that you got them all out on...Excellent - wonderful that you got them all out on time and that they are doing so well. And thank you for this fascinating insight into how you did it!Stroppy Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16560035800075465845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-18873379874503447502016-05-01T15:45:59.142+01:002016-05-01T15:45:59.142+01:00Mary - I do admire your courage and determination....Mary - I do admire your courage and determination. You represent, for me, a fight-back against everything the current publishing scene throws at us (Dennis - have you given up?)<br /><br />I have eleven children's and Y/A books on KDP Select, and two currently - today and tomorrow - on free promotion, which can also be dispiriting. I believe, that, to get the 70% royalty, the price of the book must be higher. Two of my books I've held back on, though - one because there has, via a close friend, been film interest, and the other - Maritsa, which Dennis knows already, because I felt it needed a more respectable/respected outlet. At present I have an adult novel with my agent, one which has an interesting history, but I'm not holding my breath.<br /><br />Kath's Steel Thistles are now on my Kindle, and I must, must, MUST read Shakespeare's Ghost - the next on my wanted list.Enid Richemonthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17218197995089241666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-28684843855529284562016-05-01T15:36:51.241+01:002016-05-01T15:36:51.241+01:00Mary, I don't think you do have to go for excl...Mary, I don't think you do have to go for exclusivity to get the higher royalty. I think it's price that matters. A 99p price point will only give you the lower royalty. Also a too high price point, over £9.99, as far as I remember, also means a lower royalty. Amazon know what sells and at what price, so they are trying to force publishers to stay within those prices. There are some countries where you get a lower royalty unless you're on Select, but not the UK or the USA and those are the biggest markets. You may be depriving yourself of a royalty stream by exclusivity - although I know some writers and publishers find that it pays to be exclusive to Amazon for at least some books. But I believe Chris Longmuir and Wendy Jones and others on here publish eBook version elsewhere, either via D2D - which is what I use - or Smashwords. But maybe your 'status' as a publisher makes a difference. I don't know. Catherine Czerkawskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14554969254207924049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-33525945936384057292016-05-01T13:16:32.047+01:002016-05-01T13:16:32.047+01:00Lydia, I think the term for us is probably "h...Lydia, I think the term for us is probably "hybrid" because, although we are publishing some of my books, we are also publishing books by other people. The number of books by me will go down after this year and next, as I had some ready to go. But then Stephen is planning some, so I suppose we'll stay hybrid.<br /><br />Catherine, I don't know he answer to your question! When filling in the KDP details, it appeared we had to opt for exclusivity in order to get the higher royalty. Perhaps someone can enlighten us?<br /><br />And thanks to all for the positive response. So glad you are enjoying Shakespeare's Ghost, Dennis.Mary Hoffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06241989732624913706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-71479878044473213722016-05-01T07:08:03.109+01:002016-05-01T07:08:03.109+01:00Wonderful post, Mary. And I so much enjoyed the Gr...Wonderful post, Mary. And I so much enjoyed the Greystones launch at Blackwells on Tuesday. I can also confirm that 'Shakespeare's Ghost' is a riveting story based on an absolutely fascinating premiss. As one who is losing hope about starting a publishing concern because of the difficulty of getting four people to agree on anything, I found this inspiring reading. Good luck to Greystones Press. <br />Dennis Hamleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781139870037634374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-50328459647099773572016-04-30T20:23:24.276+01:002016-04-30T20:23:24.276+01:00Very informative and interesting post - and many t...Very informative and interesting post - and many thanks for the information about Clay's. I have one question though - I get the 70% royalty on all my self published titles that are not in Select in the UK and the US. (I know it drops to 35% in some countries) But for these two big markets, it's related to price rather than exclusivity. I only have two on Select at the moment. They have to be exclusive to take advantage of Kindle Unlimited which is down to pages read, but I'm not sure it's worth it. Not that the other sales channels are particularly good for me, although I know they are for some writers - Amazon is by far the best at the moment. Of course it might have something to do with company status but the smallish publisher that publishes a couple of my novels also has my titles available everywhere - iTunes etc - and not just on Amazon, although Amazon is still the Big Cheese in terms of actual sales! Can you clarify? Catherine Czerkawskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14554969254207924049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-69637248818462587902016-04-30T16:28:38.258+01:002016-04-30T16:28:38.258+01:00What an exciting and challenging undertaking! Well...What an exciting and challenging undertaking! Well done both of you for taking this on. About 'self-publishing' though, and definitions, if you form a publishing company and publish your own books as well as others', (which quite a few are doing these days), is that self-publishing or not? Either way it's still 'indie' so you are bang on target for our blog! Thanks for an informative and interesting post.Lydia Bennethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09328239009863878547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-4629297084922650502016-04-30T14:05:46.174+01:002016-04-30T14:05:46.174+01:00I can only echo what the others have said - as som...I can only echo what the others have said - as someone who finds publishing her own books a considerable challenge, I am full of admiration!Mari Biellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14221256993468150226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-33617233408866197592016-04-30T10:45:32.901+01:002016-04-30T10:45:32.901+01:00I'm impressed. I don't think I could have ...I'm impressed. I don't think I could have kept up with the pace of that. As it is, it's difficult to balance writing, publishing and promoting tasks as a self-publisher, although I have to say that despite the difficult balancing act I much prefer it to the traditional route - been there, done that, and worn the tee-shirt! But to set up a publishing company would be one too many balls for me to juggle. I'm full of admiration for you and wish you every success in the future. You deserve it.Chris Longmuirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02488093821886798927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-35046011448175528672016-04-30T10:23:18.855+01:002016-04-30T10:23:18.855+01:00Oh, and I've bookmarked Clay's - thank you...Oh, and I've bookmarked Clay's - thank you for that tip!Susan Pricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738737493756183909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-16347288383039915082016-04-30T10:19:21.054+01:002016-04-30T10:19:21.054+01:00I can only cheer you on, Mary, while admiring your...I can only cheer you on, Mary, while admiring your courage! I find self-publishing my own books hard enough. I can't imagine taking on all this.Susan Pricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738737493756183909noreply@blogger.com