It looks like 3M is also getting into eBooks for libraries.
Of course, it's still uncertain how easy it is for independent eBooks to be picked up by 3M and OverDrive.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Getting Into Libraries
I recently learned that digital lending is growing rapidly in the Vancouver Public Library system. That's not really too surprising, and it probably applies elsewhere as well.
A probably more interesting discovery is that VPL and many other libraries get their digital content from one distributor only, OverDrive.
So, if you want your work to be available in the VPL system and many others (it seems), that's where you have to go.
A probably more interesting discovery is that VPL and many other libraries get their digital content from one distributor only, OverDrive.
So, if you want your work to be available in the VPL system and many others (it seems), that's where you have to go.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
How to Self-Publish Online - Part 2
... so you've written your book, you've formatted it like they told you to, you sorted out the cover and you clicked the button to upload the thing to Smashwords. What happens next?
You see a screen that says you're some number in the queue to be processed. For both Prince Arkenbright and the Forsaken Maid and At the Lovely Touch there were a little over 2500 entries ahead of me.
So, you wait. Every so often you check back to see how many other books are ahead of yours. The number decreases seemingly very slowly, especially for your first book. It took somewhere around 30 hours after I hit submit before my story got dealt with.
Then, if you've done everything right, your book is available to buy on the smashwords website.
One thing to be aware of is that if you want to change the blurb for your book or if you want to update the manuscript (say, because you spotted a typo), you resubmit and are placed at the back of the queue.
Some time after that, they ship the books to the various other retailers: Apple, Kobo, Diesel, Sony and something called Scrollmotion (not quite sure what that is). And some time after they ship it, the books appear.
On top of that, eventually (most recent update is in September) Amazon will accept books from Smashwords as well. Of course, the other option is to publish directly with Amazon (which I haven't done yet, but if and when I do I'll be sure to mention it here).
Now, the process is a bit spotty to be honest. Kobo and Sony only seem to have one of my two titles there, while Diesel and iBooks have both.
Then the hard work of making people pay attention to what you just published begins.
You see a screen that says you're some number in the queue to be processed. For both Prince Arkenbright and the Forsaken Maid and At the Lovely Touch there were a little over 2500 entries ahead of me.
So, you wait. Every so often you check back to see how many other books are ahead of yours. The number decreases seemingly very slowly, especially for your first book. It took somewhere around 30 hours after I hit submit before my story got dealt with.
Then, if you've done everything right, your book is available to buy on the smashwords website.
One thing to be aware of is that if you want to change the blurb for your book or if you want to update the manuscript (say, because you spotted a typo), you resubmit and are placed at the back of the queue.
Some time after that, they ship the books to the various other retailers: Apple, Kobo, Diesel, Sony and something called Scrollmotion (not quite sure what that is). And some time after they ship it, the books appear.
On top of that, eventually (most recent update is in September) Amazon will accept books from Smashwords as well. Of course, the other option is to publish directly with Amazon (which I haven't done yet, but if and when I do I'll be sure to mention it here).
Now, the process is a bit spotty to be honest. Kobo and Sony only seem to have one of my two titles there, while Diesel and iBooks have both.
Then the hard work of making people pay attention to what you just published begins.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)