Blogging, Writing, and Publishing

Recently I shared with you that I have provided my book as an audio product. This seems like a great opportunity for authors to provide more opportunities for their readers.  Having multiple book formats gives you, the author, more flexibility and sources of potential income. Audiobooks seem to be a very good way to meet a growing market demand as well as provide a revenue source for authors. Before I began my audible journey, I was very reluctant. I wasn't really sure anyone wanted to listen to boring security books. I figured that they wanted hardcover and paperback products. So, for many years I published most of my books in print only. Here's where I talk about what I learned at a recent conference again. Yep, it was there they convinced me to put my books out on Amazon Kindle. I decided to put them to the test. It was tough formatting my books for Kindle, but I stuck with it and for the last few months I have put my books into Kindle, rewrote book descriptions...

www.cafepress.com/redbikepublishing Amazon Kindle provides another way for customers to read your book. Sometimes the more options the better. I've personally been surprised to find that sales increased when I added the Kindle book alternative to customers. The great news is publishing with Kindle Direct Publishing doesn't cost anything other than the time to create the book in the proper format. Additionally, Amazon's Kindle has a new feature that will allow customers to pre-order and pay for books before the release date. You can now upload your book with a projected sales date of up to 90 days in advance.  Customers can pre-order their copies before the book is even published. However, use this only if you have a complete manuscript ready to go. You just need to provide a working manuscript and a final manuscript within a month of the publishing date. As publisher, you can upload your manuscript to Amazon.com as a Kindle readable book. To do so, first...

The goal is to have all versions of your book listed on all amazon book pages. This may automatically occur when publishing book versions simultaneously through Amazon's Createspace and Kindle Editions. However, what about publishing a print book with Lightning Source? Unless the description details the author / publisher of the book are exactly the same on both accounts (Lightning Source and Kindle setup pages), the books won't necessarily link. In fact, I published Get Rich in a Niche with Kindle first to test the market. When I was satisfied the Kindle book was selling well, I decided to publish with Create Space. Unfortunately the books did not link and I spent too much time not really concerned about it. Then I realized I was loosing a good marketing opportunity.  When books are not linked and each version stands alone, the author / publishers looses sales; period. Each version holds it's own reviews, buyers loose Kindle purchasing options ( for example,...