Features | Self-Publishing Review

The 99 Cent Debate

A good post at the Huffington Post about the 99 cent price point.

Let’s look at the dollars and cents of the 99-cent price point for independent authors. If an author is self-published through Amazon KDP, he or she earns 34 cents per 99-cent book sold. Not only do authors put time and energy into their writing, there are other associated costs to publishing a quality book, including cover artists ($125-3000), editors ($800-5000), marketing, etc. If you add up the average cover cost of $350, average editing job of $1400, then divide by 34 cents, the author would have

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Henry Baum2011-12-20T22:14:53+02:00December 20th, 2011|Categories: Features|

Louis CK is my favorite writer – in any medium. Yeah, he’s a comic, but he’s got what I look for in a writer: total honesty. He’s willing to explore the darker parts of himself and lay it all bare. In my experience, there aren’t enough writers who do that. Check out his moving ode to George Carlin about his process. Really, there’s not much difference between stand-up comedy and fiction. It’s just writing performed.

So it was very interesting to see Louis CK go the self-publishing route with his latest special. It’s pretty much exactly the same as […]

Henry Baum2011-12-20T12:36:25+02:00December 20th, 2011|Categories: Features|

Amazon is (Not) the Devil

You may be aware by now of the brewing battle between Amazon and both publishers and bookstores. A new Tumblr – Against Amazon – lays it all out. On the one hand, it doesn’t fill one with great sympathy to see one profit-driven corporate giant being driven out of business by another, but in the digital age it’s indie bookstores that suffer the most. A recent Slate piece with a title that’s designed to get under people’s skin – Don’t Support Your Local Bookseller – defends Amazon:

Compared with online retailers, bookstores present a frustrating consumer experience. A physical store—whether

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Henry Baum2011-12-27T13:46:58+02:00December 19th, 2011|Categories: Features, Lead Story|

Self-Publishers and eBook Authors Need a CHAMPION to Assist Them in Gaining Access to the Library Lending Process

Amazon’s entry into public libraries and their own lending process through the Prime program has just quadrupled the activity in ebook lending. With this rapid growth of the ebook lending process comes some inherent problems as everyone rushes to get a piece of the action.

At the top of the ladder are the traditional publishers, Amazon and Overdrive. They are the people that have the most control. Their motive is profit. At the bottom rung are the libraries and the authors.

I have discussed this issue with several authors recently and the sentiment is the same. “How do I make […]

James Moushon2020-02-21T03:31:36+02:00November 30th, 2011|Categories: Features|Tags: Author Branding, Book Marketing Advice and Tips, Book Promotion Articles|

Author vs. Publisher: It’s a Revolution

A couple of weeks ago, I was cornered by a publisher after an appearance. The point of her rant was how much she could do for me as a publisher. She made her point while poking me in the chest saying, “You should be writing. You shouldn’t be publishing. You should be writing.”

Well, that was what I started out wanting to do. I’ve always wanted to be a writer. From the beginning, I dreamed of making it to the point in my career where I could stay home all day in my writer’s studio and do nothing but think […]

Lauren Carr2020-02-21T03:55:49+02:00November 28th, 2011|Categories: Features|Tags: Author Branding|

Ebook Opportunities Redux

On October 12, 2010, I posted Ebook Opportunities to discuss my take on the major established and upcoming ebook sales venues. This is an update. It will repeat last year’s data on a venue-by-venue basis, then update each in boldface.

I’ve wanted for some time to report my experiences with pretty much every serious player in the ebook sales arena, but I’ve held off to see if B&N’s PubIt program ever went live. It has, I’ve uploaded 42 titles, and I’m ready to go.

KINDLE: This is the daddy of the ebook opportunities. I don’t think I need to say […]

Eric Hammel2011-11-23T13:39:02+02:00November 23rd, 2011|Categories: Features|

Wooing The Muse

Writing should be easy now, right? I have Creative Writing BA from Eastern Washington University, I got a research/writing heavy MA from the Vancouver School of Theology in Vancouver, BC. And now I live in Portland, Or home Powells, The Attic: A Haven for Writers and more writers than you can shake a stick at.

And besides my book – The Boston 395 – is out now as ebook. Started for the dot.bust and completed in response to the economic downturn.

Writing SHOULD be easy.

But two years of writers block tells me otherwise. Two years of economic downturn, no-to-little […]

Jason Derr2011-11-22T14:16:15+02:00November 22nd, 2011|Categories: Features, Member Blog|

Do Self-Publishers Need to Lighten Up? [Updated]

First off, I didn’t wade into the Penguin self-publishing controversy because I took some days off work to work on my novel and I was keeping to that. I agree that it’s a rip-off as illustrated by David Gaughran:

Book Country offer a range of options to self-publish your work, all vastly over-priced.

The premium package costs a whopping $549. To be clear: there is no editing or cover design included in this package (the two biggest expenses for self-publishers). There is also no marketing or promotion included in this package, aside from a “Publishing Kit” with “tips” and

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Henry Baum2011-11-23T11:39:17+02:00November 22nd, 2011|Categories: Features|