Indie News: The Format Wars

So you want to self-publish for the New Year. After you write the manuscript and edit the story, after you pick the cover and start the promotions, before you publish you've got to format. And since there are so many different ebook formats, you're going to be doing that for a while. The format wars are on, indie authors...and ereaders are going to make DVD vs. Blu-Ray look like child's play.

How Do I Read Thee? Let Me Count the Ways...

Simply going through the list of available ebook formats is completely exhausting. Among your main formats, you've got two that stand out: ePub and Mobi. These are the formats used by the Nook and the Kindle, respectively. Some evidence suggests that ePub is the most widely-used format across all types of ereaders, but all the numbers show that Amazon sells more ebooks than anyone.

And as an indie author, you want to appeal to the widest possible audience. So you format your books for both file types. But if you really want to spread the love, you're going to have to change your novel for a lot of other formats as well. 

Indie News: Mac App Aims to Serve Indies

Self-publishing a book? There's an app for that...now. Mac owners can make use of Vellum. If the functionality is as good as the name, writers are sure to be delighted with it. There's just one question: what the heck does a self-publishing app do? 

iPublishing

 

Because if an app can do all that tedious promotion and editing, count me in. But that's not exactly what Vellum does. Two former Pixar designers came together to create the app, which is designed to make it easier for writers to format and distribute their work. 

Indie News: Self-Pubished Authors are BROKE!

Forbes is the authority on money, and according to their findings indie authors aren't getting rich with the self-publishing boom. In fact, some of them aren't making any money at all. If you're in the indie game for the bucks, you've got some re-evaluating to do.

Money Matters

After examining data from Digital Book World and Writer's Digest, Forbes found that self-published authors are pretty cash poor. Their median income is under $5,000 per year. Almost 20 percent of self-published authors get no money from their writing.

Authors who use the traditional publishing route aren't faring that much better. Their median income ranges from $5000 to $9999. The hybrid authors are the ones making the most money, as a matter of fact. Their median income range is $15,000 to $19,999...which, for the number-crunchers out there, is still very close to the national poverty line.

But not every author out there is eating salad. According to the report, almost 2 percent of self-published authors made over $100,000. Almost 9 percent of traditionally published authors reached this level, while over 13 percent of hybrid authors made a 6-figure income.

The study was compiled through October and November 2013. Almost 9000 authors participated in the study.

Indie News: You're Living in a Self-Publishing Boom

According to a new report from Bowker, self-published books in the marketplace increased by 59 percent from 2011 to 2012. That means we're all living in a bona fide self-publishing boom.

All By Themselves

Bowker used ISBN data from the United States to compile the report, which shows that more than 390,000 books were self-published in 2012 alone. Of these ISBNs, 40 percent of the titles were ebooks. 

The total report shows the self-publishing trend over the past 6 years. Amazon CreateSpace, Smashwords and Lulu were at the top of the list for having the most self-published ISBNs. CreateSpace led with the most print books, while Smashwords was tops for ebooks.

Indie News: Goodreads Gets Polite

Notice a change in the Goodreads forums lately? The moderation policy for the site has changed, and with it a lot of discussions. But how do these changes affect indie authors? 

Goodreads Manners

According to an announcement released by the site, the new changes will now prohibit discussion threads and "reviews that were created primarily to talk about author behavior."

Salon.com says it all stems from a conflict that arose last summer when indie author Lauren Pippa (Lauren Howard) challenged a Goodreads reviewer for a 2-star rating. She took her complaints to the Goodreads forums, sparking a heated debate that led several Goodreads members to flag Pippa's book with low ratings and "do not read" lists memberships. 

She aired her grievances on Twitter, which just fueled the flames of the fire. Apparently she then took to her blog to say she was bullied into canceling the release of her book.She later reconsidered. 

I advocate that all authors act with professionalism at all times, and I must gently remind all authors that everyone gets bad reviews. My favorite book, Gone With the Wind, unarguably a masterpiece and a classic, has lots of scathing 1-star reviews. It happens...but rarely do websites with 20 million members change their policies because of it. 

The point of this particular bit of news? That yes, a lone indie author can make a big splash with a book...and I hope your experience is a more positive one.

Indie News: "Real Authors" and You

What's the difference between an author and a book writer? One HuffPo blogger opines that if you're self-published, you certainly aren't the former. In a post titled "Are Self-published Authors Really Authors or Even Published?" he explores the relative merit of not the books themselves, but the scribblers who create them.

Getting Real

Dr. Jim Taylor (University of San Francisco adjunct faculty) says that self-publishing allows "anyone with a computer and a small amount of money to call themselves authors."

The sentiment isn't far from wrong, but Taylor is certainly wrong when he says "despite their warts" the publishing industry is "an initial arbiter of literary quality," and points to different quality standards in the traditional publishing industry, as compared to indies.

And I pretty much disagree. I've read atrocious books that were traditionally published, stuff that's riddled with grammatical and punctuation errors. In one book I still have, the characters call each other the wrong names for darn near three whole pages. It's outrageous. I've also come across my fair share of wholly predictable, badly-written and just plain unreadable books that were all published traditionally, and some by big names to boot. Taylor waxes poetic about the thoroughly-vetted nature of traditionally-published books, but I think many avid readers would also disagree with him on this point. 

Publishers aren't the literary tastemakers of this world. Nor are the agents. And though she does have influence, neither is Oprah Winfrey. The readers are. 

The great success of self-publishing is obvious: the world wouldn't know about people like Amanda Hocking and EL James otherwise. They've sold more books than many of those "real" authors who cram the virtual bookshelves and make it all the harder to find the really great reads.

If you publish on your blog, if you publish on KDP, if you publish through Simon and Schuster, you are an author. Don't let anyone tell you any different. Anyone who writes a book from beginning to end and then puts it out there for the world, in any sort of way whatsoever, is an author. And to hell with anyone who says they aren't.

Indie News: Slow Sales? You Aren't the Only One

If your book sales took a dive over the summer months, not to worry: this is often the case with indie authors. Now that the weather is edging ever-so-slowly toward fall, you should see a rise in your profits. 

Summer Reading

People read less in the summer, particularly children (this makes things difficult for YA and children's book authors). Everyone's getting outside and going on vacation, enjoying the interesting summer TV programming and working on their tan lines. It leaves little time for reading. 

Books have natural peak times and slow times, and it's common for sales to become a little lethargic during the summer months. But the holiday season will soon be upon us, and that's the best time to sell books. So use this slow period to work on your marketing strategy, and make up for it.

Indie News: New eBook Store Broadens Indie Market

Amazon, B&N and lots of traditional booksellers have opened the door for indie authors to publish and market their work...but in these bookstores, indies have to compete with traditionally-published authors. Libiro, a new ebook store, will allow indies to enjoy more even odds.

Knocking Down the Door

Libiro was created by self-published author Ben Galley and Teague Fullick, a designer.  The website "devotes its shelf-space entirely to self-published and small press titles," Galley told Forbes.

Galley wants to eliminate the stigma that surrounds self-published books "because it simply isn't true. Libiro, being a purely indie store, can showcase the indie market...We want to create our own bestsellers."

And for authors who want to publish on the site, there's another perk: 80 percent royalty. Regardless of your book's length or price, this is the standard.

The store is pretty new, and still rough around the edges. Users are saying they don't get enough analytical data regarding their book sales, and Galley admits they've still got work to do. For now, he says, they're focusing on providing readers with a large selection of books.

Indie News: Smashwords Unites Series Books

In case you missed the spam email that flooded many Smashwords author inboxes, you need to know the latest indie news: series have come to the site. Smashwords has unveiled a new function on the site that allows series books to be grouped together, and it's pretty easy to implement. 

To unite your series books as a unit, log into your Smashwords account. A link to the Series Manager tool should appear right on the homepage. Click it and begin following the steps to create a new series. You'll be guided through the process, and taken to a page where you'll find a list of all your books. Click the relevant titles and keep following the steps until you get to the end (it shouldn't take more than a few minutes). 

Once you're done managing your series books, a new link will appear under those titles. This will take you straight to the series page for that book series. Smashwords plans to use the tool to make book-buying easier for customers and selling easier for authors.

Indie News: Indie Authors Want to Rule the World

Self-publishing is spreading, like a word plague, across the globe. Amazon has launched the Kindle Store and their KDP program in Mexico. Tears for Fears said that everybody wants to rule the world...but Amazon may actually do it one day.

The two launches mean that indie authors in Mexico will now have the option of self-publishing their work through the online giant. Stateside authors enthusiastically embraced the KDP program upon its launch, unleashing a tidal wave of indie titles. The availability of the Kindle Store in Mexico means that US authors will now have the option of selling their books to Mexico, and vice versa. 

Self-publishing has spread so far so fast, many have questioned whether it signals an end to traditional publishing. If self-publishing and ebooks become the norm, Amazon really could rule the world one day.

Indie News: Wattpad Introduces Fan Funding

Not on Wattpad yet? If you need more motivation to get involved with this story-sharing social media site, here's an incentive: you can use it to make money for your self-publishing projects. 

Wattpad has recently introduced a "Fan Funding" option to the site, where writers can encourage readers in their network to help fund their upcoming projects. Wattpad says their program is different from the crowd funding platform Kickstarter because many Wattpad users have large fan bases to work with.

The platform isn't limited to ebooks or even print books. Through Fan Funding, Wattpad users can donate to movie scripts and other writing-related projects. This gives indies a whole new means of supporting their dreams and making them a reality. 

So if you've been waiting for an excuse to join the site, now's your chance. While you're there, look me up!

Indie News: Self-Publishing Spreads to Gaming

Reports are circulating that Microsoft may put indie software developers on equal footing with the big-name giants. If the rumors are correct, a whole world of indie gaming may open up to you on Microsoft's ultra-popular platform XBox Live. 

Indies, Not Equals

But, don't run right out and buy that year-long subscription to the online service just yet. Microsoft hasn't confirmed that it's involved in any game-changing talks, and the whispers are saying that the platform won't be open to all indies. Small single-man and two-man operations still won't find a foothold for publishing their games with Microsoft, but small indie development firms will find themselves on more equal footing with the big boys.

The news is important to indies of all types, including authors, because it represents a growing trend that even the little guys and the smallest operations could have the chance to put their products "out there." If even Microsoft is considering the self-publishing bandwagon, big corporations could become next year's dinosaurs.