Amazon News and Tips | Self-Publishing Review

The Dark Side of Reviews

In the past, I’ve blogged my thoughts about the review process, and I’m at it again. It’s the wonderful experience when publishing a book. Every author, whether self-published or traditional, has a star-filled future from one to five.

After being in the public eye since 2008, I’ve come to one conclusion. The entire review process is so – what’s the word I want to use here – LAME! Why lame? Because frankly, folks, it’s a broken process limping along that has little value, if any, these days.

Why do I say that? Recently, I’ve discovered a very disturbing trend […]

Vicki Hopkins2011-10-08T14:00:16+02:00March 2nd, 2011|Categories: Features, Member Blog|Tags: Amazon News and Tips, Book Reviews, Goodreads Articles|

e-Textbooks: How do they stack up against traditional textbooks?

I will start by stating that I believe e-textbooks are a great opportunity to improve the quality of education. But the players have to start thinking outside the box and stop resisting the new concept. E-textbooks should be a wake-up call to professors and students, publishers, authors and content providers.

I have been championing ebooks and ebook authors for a while how and listening to the educational community’s reasons for not adopting the new technology. Oh I know about the current pilot programs and the studies being conducted. Some schools are even being forced into using them because of their […]

James Moushon2017-05-26T05:27:19+02:00February 28th, 2011|Categories: Features, Member Blog|Tags: Amazon News and Tips|

Amazon Has Some REAL Good News and They Have Some Great News for e-Textbook and eBook Users

What do you want to read first?

Ok. We will start with the REAL good news.

Amazon has announced changes to their Kindle software. First they are going to display page numbers. This is a feature that academic Kindle and ebook users have been asking for since e-textbooks and ebooks started to appear. It has raised a large page numbering controversy and a lot of misconceptions.

The Nook does this and the iPad does that. Both for the most part use device page numbers and not physical book page numbers but who’s keeping track. (PDF versions are an exception.)[…]

James Moushon2019-02-18T12:23:14+02:00February 9th, 2011|Categories: Features|Tags: Amazon News and Tips|

Bill See Discusses New Coming of Age Memoir “33 Days”

Longtime Los Angeles indie rock musician Bill See just released his new coming of age “docu-drama” memoir “33 Days.” This is a recent quick Q & A with him from his Miracle Mile home.

Q. How did you come to self-publish? Did you try to get published traditionally?

A. D.I.Y. is in my blood from putting out my own records, touring, self-generating hype, and making people take notice. We (Divine Weeks) got signed to a bigger label that way so for the book, self publishing is the logical approach.

Q. What self-publishing service did you use? Happy with the service?[…]

Bill See2011-02-09T15:27:17+02:00February 9th, 2011|Categories: Interviews|Tags: Amazon News and Tips, Book Distribution Tips|

Kindle Books Outsell Paperbacks

Via Galleycat:

Here’s more from CEO Jeff Bezos, from the release: “We had our first $10 billion quarter, and after selling millions of third-generation Kindles with the new Pearl e-ink display during the quarter, Kindle books have now overtaken paperback books as the most popular format on Amazon.com. Last July we announced that Kindle books had passed hardcovers and predicted that Kindle would surpass paperbacks in the second quarter of this year, so this milestone has come even sooner than we expected – and it’s on top of continued growth in paperback sales.”

Read the full press release.[…]

Todd Keisling2011-01-27T20:18:55+02:00January 27th, 2011|Categories: News|Tags: Amazon News and Tips|

eBook Author: Rendering your eBooks

Rendered eBooks
The eBook Author has the opportunity to add to the reading experience. The eBook conversion process must be much more than converting a paper book to a digital format. It must take advantage of the power of the electronic reader.

The eBook author is defined as an author who is writing directly to the eBook platform. You can read more about this concept in my blog: eBook Author: New Breed of Author.

As an author, you must think about the reader and what he can do with the added features the eBook allows him to use. You […]

James Moushon2011-10-08T16:34:59+02:00January 7th, 2011|Categories: Resources|Tags: Amazon News and Tips, Writing Tips|

For Foreign Authors Wishing to Publish on Amazon: Read This

This post is for foreign authors wishing to publish on Amazon; the complete lowdown on how to get a US TIN (Tax Identification Number) and file a W8-BEN.

Below is what it says on DTP Amazon:

I am a foreign resident in a country with a U.S. tax treaty and have provided a Form W8-BEN, but the W8-BEN does not provide a valid U.S. TIN. Will taxes be withheld at the applicable treaty rate?

NO. Taxes will be withheld at the 30% standard rate because a valid U.S. TIN on your form W8-BEN is a prerequisite to obtaining a reduced

[…]

Simon Royle2011-10-08T17:17:39+02:00September 3rd, 2010|Categories: Resources|Tags: Amazon News and Tips|

Wylie Agency Walking on the Wild Side

This morning, NPR reported that the Wylie Agency, a top literary agency, has teamed with Amazon on a joint venture to electronically publish what’s known as ‘back-list titles,’ best-sellers written long before the age of e-books. The publishing industry wasn’t happy, particularly Random House. In a quintessential display of the kind of pig-headed mentality that has alienated authors (like myself) from traditional publishing, RH essentially blacklisted the Wiley Agency, refusing to enter into any future (English language) agreements with any of its clients. This act on their behalf has left some bloggers, that is Café Lopez, extremely […]