We love the story of Salem, Oregon, writer Colleen Houck, who ignored her rejection letters, self-published her Tiger series on Amazon, landed on the Kindle Store?s bestseller list, and wound up signing with an agent. Too good to be true? Not with the self-publishing options available today. Both Amazon?s Kindle Store and Apple?s iBookstore accept direct submissions from authors.
Colleen Houck?s Tiger?s Curse was a self-published hit, but when she got a real publisher, it was temporarily removed from the Kindle Store.
The process starts with the proper format. iBookstore books must be in ePub format, and Kindle books in MOBI format. Scrivener supports both, but MOBI requires a free plug-in from Amazon called KindleGen (amzn.to/KindleGen). It?s a command-line application, so you can unpack it into your Applications folder. Then, choose File > Compile in Scrivener, select Kindle eBook (.mobi), and the wizard will walk you through the rest.
Storyist exports to ePub, and so does Pages ($19.99 on the Mac App Store, or $79 with iWork ?09 at apple.com), but StoryMill missed the e-book export train. Mobipocket (mobipocket.com) offers a free MOBI creator, but it?s for Windows only. Cross-platform Calibre (donationware, calibre-ebook.com) can convert from one e-book format to another.
Check your final product in an appropriate reader to ensure proper formatting, cover page, and table of contents. Several open-source ePub readers are available for the Mac, including Calibre, and Amazon offers a free Mac Kindle reader for your MOBI files (amazon.com, also in the Mac App Store). Apple additionally requires that e-books pass EpubCheck, a free download from Google (code.google.com/p/epubcheck/).
Submitting to the iBookstore takes a little preparation. Authors need a valid iTunes Store account, a tax ID, and an ISBN (International Standard Book Number) for each book?that?s obtained for $125 fromisbn.org. Once you have collected the necessary information, create your account at iTunes Connect (bit.ly/iTunesConnect).
iTunes Connect is your first step to getting your e-book in the iBookstore.
Apple may choose to refer your manuscript to one of six iBookstore aggregators, who help authors meet iBookstore technical requirements and provide management and marketing services. Some aggregators do double duty: BookBaby ($99 and up, bookbaby.com) can get you into the iBookstore, Kindle Store, and onto the Barnes & Noble Nook and Sony Reader too.
BookBaby?s services start at $99, but this PDF how-to guide is a free download if you leave your email address.
Amazon?s digital text platform (dtp.amazon.com) is less cumbersome. Create an account, upload the properly formatted e-book, enter the book details like title, author, and royalty options, and you?re done. Note that an ISBN is optional at Amazon, which can save you some money.
Amazon?s Digital Text Platform makes it easy to sell your e-books in the Kindle Store.
Both Apple and Amazon offer the familiar 70/30 percent split (you get 70 percent), which is a lot better than the standard royalty offered by publishers. Now go ahead and write that blockbuster novel!
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