Kindle (KDP) for Paperbacks? My Advice!

Amazon just sent an announcement that when you publish your e-book on Kindle (KDP), you can now “automatically” make it into a paperback which means your book will be available digitally and in print.  

They point out advantages: You don’t have to pay any costs upfront or carry any inventory to do it and your royalty payments will be consolidated which saves you some bookwork, too. They automatically post the paperback to all their Amazon sites for you. You can also use the Web site in most of the languages (not yet all!) that Amazon has outlets in. 

All true enough and they are working on more improvements. But until then, they don’t have some of the benefits of Createspace which Amazon owns. 

Amazon admits you can’t yet order paperback proofs (they are working on it!) Many Amazon experts are saying it is better to wait a while to use this feature and suspect that Amazon will soon be folding Createspace with all its benefits into the KDP platform anyway. 

MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER

 Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers including the award-winning second editions of The Frugal Book Promoter and The Frugal Editor. Her latest is in the series is How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically. Learn more on her Amazon profile page, http://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile. Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers is one of her booklets--perfect for inexpensive gift giving--and The Great First Impression Book Proposal, another booklet, helps writers who want to be traditionally published. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it will help them convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. In addition to this blog, she helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs at all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at The Frugal, Smart,and Tuned-In Editor (http://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com)

Making Sure Your Readers KNOW How To Access Your Kindle E-Book

Amazon has a new widget that presumably appears on every book’s Kindle page. I’ve been talking about Kindle as a one-stop publishing place for e-book a long time now, but Amazon just got around to putting the necessary information up front and smack where readers will get the message before they click to buy an e-book. It reads:

"Free Kindle Reading App"

That means anybody with a computer or a reader can read Kindle books—even if they don’t have a Kindle device with the FREE Kindle app for smartphones, tablets and computers.

To get the free app, enter your email address or mobile phone number in the window where it asks for your e-mail and click!

If this widget doesn’t appear on your Amazon buy page, why not e-mail to gently prod Amazon to get with it and add it to your page. (-:

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .

Two New Amazon-ish Aids for Your Publishing Career

In an effort to keep you updated on what happening in Amazon territory, here are a couple of notes from the last issue of my SharinwithWriters newsletter. To subscribe send me an e-mail with SUBSCRIBE + FREE Wordtrippers Booklet in your subject line to HoJoNews@aol.com.

  

 Easier Kindle Publishing for Children’s Authors
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The people at Amazon say,

“Starting today, you can use Kindle Kids' Book Creator to create illustrated children's books for Kindle, taking advantage of features like text pop-ups. Here's how to get started:

1. Download the tool, and you can convert individual illustrations into interactive books for both Kindle devices and free reading apps.
2. Once your book is ready, export the file and upload it to KDP.
3. Set the book category, age range, and grade range to help customers find the right books for their kids.

Want to learn how to prepare, publish, and promote illustrated and chapter books for children? Check out the new KDP Kids for more information.

  Amazon List Network Now Free with Bonus for Your Book
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Spread the word for AmazonList.net ,  the brainchild of Gene Cartwright. 

•  ALN Elite Author Group now includes a (1) free 3 dimensional image for a more exciting visual presentation of one of your books. (Others may be purchased at a nominal charge.) 

If you are already an ALN member, send Gene a (1) large 2D image of one of your books, and he'll create a 3D image for you. (send to 3d@amazonlist.net)

 Join Gene and ALN on Twitter, too

twitter.com/AmazonList.

He tries to follow back asap, and not more than 24 hours.

-----
 Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .

Converting Your Book for an E-Book on Kindle

Sometimes when I think a tip I run in my SharingwithWriters newsletter than I think is rarely seen by my general audience of writers, I like to include it as a quickie blogpost, too.  This is one of those, something I learned from personal experience that might help you when (if?) you plan to publish an e-book (even a promotional e-book) on Amazon anytime soon.  Here it is:

 

Tip: As I was uploading my newly formatted and expanded second edition of The Frugal Editor to Amazon’s Kindle converter, I realized the converter does a much better job with a Word file than it did with a .pdf file I tried earlier.

For  detailed directions (nitty-gritty basics) for formatting your  book for Kindle, go the Appendices of the new edition of The Frugal Editor and then follow instructions step-by-step. I find tech processes like this easier if I print out the instructions, but many do everything directly from their computer screens these days.

By the way, if you would like to subscribe to my SharingwithWriters newsletter, go to http://howtodoitfrugally.com. The subscription form is on every page of that site, upper right corner. And notice the fun little book on wordtrippers you'll get free when you do.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .

Letting Amazon Help You with Easy Book Launch

Do you know what Amazon Kindle Countdown program is? How about their Matchbook program? (I have discussed the latter a bit in my SharingwithWriters newsletter and this blog, so the chances you know about this one are somewhat better!)

And what about their 5 day promotion program in which you can discount your book or give it away to kick start your book’s campaign? (It’s been around a while, but there is still a lot of misunderstanding about this “giving a book away” business).

All three benefits are offered by Amazon Kindle through their Kindle Select Program. And I love them all from a pure marketing standpoint.

I’ve seen so many new authors decide on a marketing plan without getting full information first. Obviously getting the full lowdown on book marketing is not a ten-minute project (which is why I wrote The Frugal Book Promoter), but I thought it would help if I gave you—all of you, not just the newbies—a fast rundown on a very good marketing approach to your new book. It may be an especially good, easy, inexpensive launch idea for a second edition or way to remarket a book that’s been around for a while. This plan isn't in any way complete in terms of all the possible exigencies but you might at least consider it.

So here’s a marketing approach-in-a-nutshell you might consider.

1.   Start your marketing campaign for a new book by releasing your e-book first with Amazon’s Kindle.

2.   Use the benefits listed above that are available only the Kindle Select Program (meaning that you must give Amazon your e-book as an exclusive for 90 days—though you may have the print book anywhere else you want to during that time).

3.   Publicize your e-book like crazy using all of Select's benefits. Get it out there. Get the buzz going. Ask for reviews from those who get your book free or at a big discount.

4.   Then, if you want to have your book available across many other e-book programs, withdraw from Amazon’s program at the end of 90 days and get it installed on Smashwords, Nook, etc. But do know that in my newsletter I quote from an article in the IBPA Independent magazine that says most books that use Kindle's program exclusively are more profitable than the ones that are available on many of the other e-book platforms as well. It wasn't clear if they were taking into consideration the costs and time involved with reformatting that may be required for the different programs, but it's something to consider.

5.   Depending on what you decide based on the profit vs. distribution conundrum I mentioned above, you can leave your book in the Kindle Select Program and eventually repeat your campaign (with slight variations) as the terms of your agreement allow (maybe once a year.)

 

PS: I’m using something like the above marketing plan for the second edition of my The Frugal Editor: Do-it-yourself editing secrets for authors: From your query letter to final manuscript to the marketing of your new bestseller. It’s Updated! Expanded! Newly formatted! (Which it desperately needed!) It has a new cover by Chaz DeSimone and a new subtitle. And is available for the moment only on Kindle. Eventually, I’ll reformat the second edition for print, too, but only after I’ve utilized the power of Amazon. (3D book cover by Gene Cartwright of iFOGO .)

 

PPS: If you don't want to miss articles like this one, subscribe to my SharingwithWriters newsletter at http://howtodoitfrugally.com and get an e-copy of my fun and fast booklet, Great Little Last-Minute Edits, also available in paperback. The subscribe window is in the upper left corner of almost every Web site page.

 

 
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .

Kindle's New Matchbook a Pay-It-Forward Feature

 

This Matchbook program from Amazon and Kindle has not yet been rolled out, so it isn't too late to be among the first to use it.  Keep reading for reasons why I see it as an excellent marketing tool.  One that gives your reader extra benefits while improving your sales position at the same time.

I Think I’m in Love with Kindle Select’s New Program . . . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 . . . because it’s a real service for people who love a real book but may also want to read your book as an e-book when they travel or on their screen as they work. Here’s what Amazon says about it in their newsletter:

Introducing Kindle MatchBook: A New Program to Help you Sell More Books

Kindle MatchBook is an innovative new program which enables you to offer a Kindle book at a discount when readers purchase your print book. It is a great opportunity for you to sell more books. Here's how to get started:

1. Select "Publish on Kindle" in your CreateSpace member dashboard and follow the easy steps to create your digital book with Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) or simply sign in to your KDP account.
2. Select your title on the KDP Bookshelf and check the enroll box for Kindle MatchBook on the "Rights & Pricing" page.
3. Set the discount for your Kindle book by choosing a promotional list price of $2.99 or less and "Save" your Kindle MatchBook preference.

By enrolling your book, you will be among the first to be able to take advantage of this new program. The Kindle MatchBook discount you select will not appear on Amazon.com until the program is fully launched in the coming weeks. KDP will notify you by e-mail as soon as your Kindle MatchBook discount is live. Your readers will soon have an easy and affordable way to read your book in both print and digital formats.

Visit KDP today to enroll your books in Kindle MatchBook.

     Learn more

 

So, why do I love it?

1.   It rewards people who want to buy your paperback book.

2.   It encourages people to buy your paperback book.

3.   It gives you choices for your e-book (Kindle) offer—from free to $2.99. Example, Magdalena Ball and I love to have people buy our chapbooks in our celebration series (http://howtodoitfrugally.com/poetry_books.htm) in paperback because the artists who have contributed to our covers and some internal photos make them into keepable little treasures that can be used as greeting cards. At the same time, we know that poetry isn’t the bestselling genre on the block so our Matchbook program for those booklets makes them all free a paperback has been purchased.

4.   When you choose to set a 99 cent or $2.99 price on the e-book edition of your book, it can mean more profit (royalties) for the author, not fewer.

And certainly not least, the Matchbook widget or link offering this program that Amazon will place on participating authors’ buy pages means additional exposure and additional interest for your book

-----
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .

Getting Top-of-the-Chart Ratings from Kindle

Many authors sigh and long to have their books qualify as a bestsellers. Pros know there are lots of ways to give a book a nudge along the path to that star status--ethically--but they don't know how. When I heard that Eileen Granfors had done something very similar, I asked her to share her secret with my SharingwithWriters blog readers.  What did she do? She elevated the Kindle edition of her Piñata-Maker's Daughter to a #1 position (top-of-the-chart) rating on Amazon using tags. And yes, "top-of-the-chart" can sound very sweet to readers--just as sweet as "bestseller."

 

PROPELLING YOUR BOOK TO #1 ON AMAZON'S KINDLE

 

Hello, fellow authors. Today, let me share a success story based on TAGS.

 

My new release, The Piñata -Maker’s Daughter, debuted at #1 in Hispanic Trilogy.

 

How did that happen?

 

TAGS.

 

First, let’s differentiate between categories and tags. Categories are required and set by Kindle's system--categories like science fiction/fantasy; literary fiction, women’s fiction, etc. These categories are filled with well-known authors’ books, pushing a new author out of sight until sales reach the top one hundred.

 

TAGS are different. Tags allow you to focus on your niche. And if your niche is specific enough, it will show up on Kindle.

 

Since The Piñata -Maker’s Daughter is part of a trilogy and because trilogies are popular, I made sure trilogy was a tag word. I also added Hispanic because the protagonist’s main struggle (and the title) reflect the Hispanic world. If you search for Hispanic trilogy, you will find my book at the top of the chart, #1 Hispanic trilogy.

 

Most people are not going to search for Hispanic trilogy, but it’s wonderful to have that ranking to use in guest blogs, interviews, and other parts of publicity. The Pinata-Maker’s Daughter is #1 in Amazon’s Kindle ranking of Hispanic Trilogies. Further, the title may appear in searches that use only the words "Hispanic" or "trilogy."

 

Next, I put in tag words that would appeal to any audience, Hispanic or not. Since my target audience is women, I used mothers, daughters, and relationships. I added tags for the college-bound, like roommate, protest, and sorority.

 

I am happy to say that by my fourth novel, I have found a logical way to tag that will appeal to the widest audience as well as to a narrow niche. Tag with specifics.

 

With the help of The Frugal Book Promoter, The Pinata-Maker’s Daughter is getting noticed and read. And that’s what I want for my books.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

Eileen Granfors lives in Santa Clarita, California. Though born in New Orleans, Eileen grew up in her mother's hometown, Imperial Beach, California, the most southwesterly city in the U.S. Her mother’s love of Mexico and beaches influenced Eileen's strong ties with her Hispanic neighbors. When Eileen was a child, she and her brother could walk to Mexico down the beach, after crossing the Tijuana River mouth. Today, an iron fence extends out into the breakers at the border. Eileen is a proud UCLA alumna. She began writing after retiring from teaching high school literature and composition for thirty-four years. She enrolled in UCLA’s Extension Writers’ Program on the first day of her retirement.

 

MORE ABOUT THE MARISOL TRILOGY

 

Book 1, The Pinata-Maker’s Daughter

Scholarly Carmen Principia finds that she’s ready for everything at the university except Life 101.

 

Book trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQbpX5c8hbQ

 

 

 Book 2, Some Rivers End on the Day of the Dead

Marisol flees Tijuana, Mexico, with her mother after her journalist father is killed, probably by the drug lords. Living in a migrant camp under an oak tree in a posh suburb is not what Marisol had in mind for life in America.

 

Book trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPTBpbAULhE

 

 

Book 3: So You, Solimar

Solimar’s sister has the perky attitude and good looks. Solimar has the athletic genes. A tragedy after Homecoming brings the sisters into a more conflicted relationship. (due out Spring 2014)-----

Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor . If your followers at Twitter would benefit from this blog post, please use the little Green widget to let them know about this blog:

Getting "Top of the Chart" Ratings from Kindle

 

Many authors sigh and long to have their books qualify as a bestsellers. Pros know there are lots of ways to give a book a nudge along the path to that star status--ethically--but they don't know how. When I heard that Eileen Granfors had done something very similar, I asked her to share her secret with my SharingwithWriters blog readers.  What did she do? She elevated the Kindle edition of her Piñata-Maker's Daughter to a #1 position (top-of-the-chart) rating on Amazon using tags. And yes, "top-of-the-chart" can sound very sweet to readers--just as sweet as "bestseller."

 

PROPELLING YOUR BOOK TO #1 ON AMAZON'S KINDLE

 

Hello, fellow authors. Today, let me share a success story based on TAGS.

 

My new release, The Piñata -Maker’s Daughter, debuted at #1 in Hispanic Trilogy.

 

How did that happen?

 

TAGS.

 

First, let’s differentiate between categories and tags. Categories are required and set by Kindle's system--categories like science fiction/fantasy; literary fiction, women’s fiction, etc. These categories are filled with well-known authors’ books, pushing a new author out of sight until sales reach the top one hundred.

 

TAGS are different. Tags allow you to focus on your niche. And if your niche is specific enough, it will show up on Kindle.

 

Since The Piñata -Maker’s Daughter is part of a trilogy and because trilogies are popular, I made sure trilogy was a tag word. I also added Hispanic because the protagonist’s main struggle (and the title) reflect the Hispanic world. If you search for Hispanic trilogy, you will find my book at the top of the chart, #1 Hispanic trilogy.

 

Most people are not going to search for Hispanic trilogy, but it’s wonderful to have that ranking to use in guest blogs, interviews, and other parts of publicity. The Pinata-Maker’s Daughter is #1 in Amazon’s Kindle ranking of Hispanic Trilogies. Further, the title may appear in searches that use only the words "Hispanic" or "trilogy."

 

Next, I put in tag words that would appeal to any audience, Hispanic or not. Since my target audience is women, I used mothers, daughters, and relationships. I added tags for the college-bound, like roommate, protest, and sorority.

 

I am happy to say that by my fourth novel, I have found a logical way to tag that will appeal to the widest audience as well as to a narrow niche. Tag with specifics.

 

With the help of The Frugal Book Promoter, The Pinata-Maker’s Daughter is getting noticed and read. And that’s what I want for my books.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

Eileen Granfors lives in Santa Clarita, California. Though born in New Orleans, Eileen grew up in her mother's hometown, Imperial Beach, California, the most southwesterly city in the U.S. Her mother’s love of Mexico and beaches influenced Eileen's strong ties with her Hispanic neighbors. When Eileen was a child, she and her brother could walk to Mexico down the beach, after crossing the Tijuana River mouth. Today, an iron fence extends out into the breakers at the border. Eileen is a proud UCLA alumna. She began writing after retiring from teaching high school literature and composition for thirty-four years. She enrolled in UCLA’s Extension Writers’ Program on the first day of her retirement.

 

MORE ABOUT THE MARISOL TRILOGY

 

Book 1, The Pinata-Maker’s Daughter

Scholarly Carmen Principia finds that she’s ready for everything at the university except Life 101.

 

Book trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQbpX5c8hbQ

 

 

 Book 2, Some Rivers End on the Day of the Dead

Marisol flees Tijuana, Mexico, with her mother after her journalist father is killed, probably by the drug lords. Living in a migrant camp under an oak tree in a posh suburb is not what Marisol had in mind for life in America.

 

Book trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPTBpbAULhE

 

 

Book 3: So You, Solimar

Solimar’s sister has the perky attitude and good looks. Solimar has the athletic genes. A tragedy after Homecoming brings the sisters into a more conflicted relationship. (due out Spring 2014)

-----
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .