The Self-Publishing Show (Pt.3)

Episode Summary: Part 3 of the self-publishing series — where to sell a book beyond Amazon, tools that make formatting painless, and done-for-you distribution services worth knowing about.

What You’ll Learn

• eBook marketplaces beyond Amazon, and what makes each one different
• The most common eBook formats and why formatting trips up so many self-publishers
• Pressbooks and Vellum as time-saving formatting tools, with real pricing
• Done-for-you distribution services and the tradeoff they involve

Recap — Episode 72 (Part 1): writing and editing tools — Scrivener, Ulysses, Bear, Grammarly, Hemingway App, plus 750words.com as an accountability tool.

Recap — Episode 73 (Part 2): self-publishing on Amazon.com via Kindle Direct Publishing for the eBook, CreateSpace for on-demand print copies, and ACX for converting a book into an audiobook — plus a look at money-making opportunities for podcasters and content creators to narrate audiobooks.

Other eBook Marketplaces (Amazon Competitors)

• Apple iBooks Store — built for iPhone and iPad; no browser-accessible storefront.
• Kobo Writing Life — a popular self-publishing platform with a 5-step process that distributes globally; payout kicks in once royalties exceed $50. Kobo’s e-reader device competes directly with Kindle and tends to be more popular internationally.
• Barnes & Noble — the Nook lives on, though Amazon continues to squeeze B&N’s market share.
• Blurb — a genuine favorite and a self-publishing pioneer, making it possible to publish without upfront costs. Readable on Kindle, iOS, and Android.
• Google Play Books — the Android book platform; criticized for a clunky upload process, but Google’s search power makes it worthwhile.
• Bonus: Scribd — books, audiobooks, and more in one subscription.

Formatting Made Easy

Common eBook formats — PDF, ePub, AZW, MOBI — are where a lot of self-publishers get overwhelmed. Scrivener, Ulysses, and Adobe InDesign can all handle every format, but getting the design to hold up cleanly across Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and iPad takes real work.

Two time-saving formatting tools: Pressbooks and Vellum. Note: the book still has to be written elsewhere, and it still has to be manually uploaded to each selling platform — but these tools handle only the formatting, with no ongoing royalty cut.

Pressbooks — a serious contender worth considering, and a genuine timesaver. Costs range from $19.99–$99 per book; accounts still need to be created and uploaded to Kindle, iBooks, Google, etc., but Pressbooks handles the heavy formatting work and packages it cleanly for multi-platform distribution.

Vellum — not quite as feature-rich as Pressbooks, but built to “easily create beautiful eBooks.” $19.99 per book à la carte, or $199 for unlimited books. Upload a manuscript, and Vellum outputs every format needed for the major eBook sellers.

Distribution Made Easy

Amazon is step one for most self-publishers, but several popular done-for-you platforms have partnerships with every major eBook seller worldwide — upload once, and they handle distribution everywhere else. Convenient and a genuine time-saver, but the per-book payout is lower than doing it manually.

1. Smashwords
2. Draft2Digital
3. PRONOUN

Show Notes & Links

• Apple iBooks Store
• Kobo Writing Life
• Barnes & Noble (Nook)
• Blurb
• Google Play Books
• Scribd
• Adobe InDesign
• Pressbooks
• Vellum
• Smashwords
• Draft2Digital
• PRONOUN

Related Episodes

• Episode 72: The Self-Publishing Show (Pt. 1)
• Episode 73: The Self-Publishing Show (Pt. 2)