Getting Into Libraries - 2

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.

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.

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.

At the Lovely Touch - Now Available

Carlton Yee has done well for himself. He's running a growing protection racket in Vancouver's Chinese community. Even better, he's going to marry the boss's daughter. No one can touch him. Yeah, he doesn't really like her, but that's alright; he knows how to keep her sweet.

Normally you shouldn't mix business and pleasure, but when Carlton spots Maggie at the Lovely Touch massage parlour he makes an exception. He'll have some fun and make money too. That's how you get ahead in this world.

At the Lovely Touch - Available Here.

How to Self-Publish Online - Part 1

I've had a few people ask me how you go about publishing online. It's actually pretty simple.

The First Step, of course, is to write something you think is worthwhile. Then edit it thorougly, get some feedback and rewrite as necessary. That's the same as any other kind of writing really. In this situation it is perhaps a little more crucial, because there are no editors between you and the world other than the ones you yourself insert into the process.

That means it's very easy to put something out containing embarassing mistakes, and who wants to do that?

The Second Step, before you can be published, is to commission, make or otherwise acquire a cover for whatever it is you're publishing.

It's probably smartest to get something you can use without getting into trouble. You know, don't use other people's copyrighted work without permission and so on.

The Third Step is to go to Smashwords and upload your work. Smashwords has fairly comprehensive step-by-step guides of their requirements, plus some tips. Definitely read those before you upload anything.

Once you upload your work, it takes about twenty four hours before it becomes available, but then that's it, you're published. Smashwords takes about 30% of what you make, the rest goes to your paypal account.

Now, to get people to download and read your stuff that's a whole other thing of course.

That said, if you followed the instructions they gave you, not only are you published, but eventually your work will be available on Amazon and through the iBook store.

I'll go into a little more detail about the process at Smashwords in a later post.