This morning I talked about some new rules for marketing in new media as a kind of “what do I think about this” exercise for a proposal for Blogworld LA.
“A Thousand True Fans” is a heck of a lot more fun than “All The Eyeballs in the World.” If not for you, I wouldn’t have anybody to talk to.
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Hello,
First, the #tommw podcast is an interesting concept and being more informative than you may realize, is enjoyable. I have actually learned a few things or at least have had a bit of food for thought concerning the world of publishing (all forms) …
Second, I have listened to all of your work on podiobooks and I really enjoyed that experience being the first audiobooks I have ever listen too (and now I am addicted, lol), I forgot how nice it is to be read to … of course, then I told a few friends. And now, I have purchased as much of your writing as is available in e-book form, including the novella (I can’t wait to read it), because I am first and foremost a reader and I do re-read books, so I wanted a copy of the written works as well.
Anyway, I wish you continued good fortune … and thanks, it’s been forever since I have found a new writer (new to me anyway) that is as consistently worth my time as you are and has me looking forward to the next book, novella or new podiobook recording.
Respectfully,
LTW
Thanks, LTW. It’s actually a lot of fun …
I’m a reader, too, and I think that helps when I read aloud. I should do some more of that…. 😀
Oh, my, I had no idea you had to spend all that time putting up a book at B&N. And it took me less than 30 seconds to convert the Amazon file to epub. Drat. Well, I did have to boot into Windows to get the Amazon book, but that’s probably my fault for asking for it to be delivered in the wrong way.
Anyway, I’m curious what format you give to Amazon and B&N when you send the file. I ask, because from what I saw in a brief look, Amazon will take epub and I imagine B&N would, too. I often use calibre to convert formats to epub and when they don’t look like I want, I use Sigil to make them look better. I’m just wondering if there is a particular format that you can send to all three of these places that would give optimal results. And if there is some way to make it go more smoothly. It’s really a shame that only a proprietary format used by one company would be the one that is easy to use. I do understand that you make your money at Amazon, but if you are also going to publish at B&N and Smashwords for the minority, I’d like it to be worth your time and not be a frustration.
Smash words requires a word document (with special – minimal – formatting)
Amazon and B&N will both accept epub, but the .mobi file worked perfectly for Amazon – i wonder if I can get epub from the same html and have it look ok.
The truth is, I never really anticipated doing either B&N or Smashwords. First time learning curve here and I’m sure it’ll go better the next time. 😀
I use calibre to make epubs from html files. There are quite a few settings for conversions in calibre. I use it in both Linux and Windows and it seems the same in both. You could try it on your html: http://calibre-ebook.com/ The developer makes frequent improvements; so I use a script in linux to get it rather than the package manager: (hope this code thing works)
sudo python -c "import urllib2; exec urllib2.urlopen('http://status.calibre-ebook.com/linux_installer').read(); main()"Yeah, Amazon is using a modified mobi; so that should work perfectly.
The word doc requirement for Smashwords sounds painful. Maybe that has something to do with where they got the name “smash?”
I use Calibre all the time and it’s giving me problems because of the headings structure.
Live and learn. It took all day but I finally got it figured out yesterday.
Epub is nothing but a container format for one or more HTML files, and some metadata files. It’s literally just a ZIP file renamed to have a .epub extension.
Ah, welcome to the *real* fun of self-publishing :D.
I was interested in your comment about on-line sales recalcitrants. I see PayPal, and Amazon.com, for that matter, as the devil that I have to deal with. I have resisted giving PayPal access to my most secret checking account, but you can make transactions there via credit card instead, which in my mind is at least turn-offable in an emergency. Amazon , on the other hand, calls for convoluted passwords, frequently changed. The whole intarwebs calls for a fighter pilot’s mentality — head on a swivel, trust no one, suspect everything, be quick on the trigger, and do your due diligence. I keep telling me sainted mither this, but she will not buy over the internet, ever.
Her loss.