Ally Aldridge Publishing, Tips, Writing

Different self publishing platforms

Once I decided to self publish one of the first minefields I had to navigate was which platform to use.

Terms used:

  • Print on Demand – The market only buys what they need as they need it.
  • Aggregator – Distributes electronic or physical products to market on your behalf.
  • Format – eBook, paperback, hardback, etc
  • Free ISBN – There is no initial fee for the ISBN, however, but the ‘printer’ becomes your publisher and can set restrictions.
  • Own ISBN – You provide your own ISBN. In the UK you buy these from Neilsen.
  • Wide: This is when the book is made available to many sellers, for example bookshops and libraries.

Here is a little summary on the most popular choices. Research their current terms thoroughly as they may have changed or I may have misunderstood what I found out. ?

Here are some of the more popular choices in more detail:

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing

At first, I didn’t go with KDP as I thought it meant I would be exclusive to Amazon and I wanted to go wide. , Turns out I thinking of their other service Amazon KDP Select. The name is very similar.

KDP allows you to self publish an ebook and/or a paperback (hardback is coming soon).

You can publish KDP wide. Amazon is a giant in the book selling market place, so it makes sense you’d want your book on their site. However, many bookstores won’t stock Amazon books because they are their biggest competitor. If you want to be in bookshops and libraries it’s best to not to go wide with KDP and choose an aggregator like Ingram. You can publish with KDP & not select the wide option.

The links below are affiliate links. You can learn more about these on my affiliate disclosure page.

Amazon KDP Select

Select is when you agree your book is exclusive to Amazon. This does grant you certain benefits. Your book is on kindle unlimited, you get extra promotions, and can offer your book for free.

If you choose this route, you cannot publish your book anywhere else.

Ingram Sparks

This is who I went with. Ingram Sparks are a print on demand service and aggregator. You can do print, ebook, and hardbacks. In fact Ingram has a huge choice of print options.

You publish your book through Ingram and they distribute it to stores like Amazon, high street bookshops, B&N, Kobo, etc. This is often called publishing wide because your book can be sold nearly anywhere. A benefit of Ingram is it can be stocked in libraries like a traditionally published book.

Libraries and bookstores must order your book to stock it. Customers will either request it or you’ll need to approach them to get it stocked. It’s unlikely it will get stocked without any demand. However many online shops will list your book so customers can order it (POD).

Draft2Digital

They started out as an eBook aggregator for self publishers, but now also do physical print books.

You can use their ISBN for free and they take a cut from your royalties. You cannot use this ISBN on other sites as it belongs to D2D making them the publisher. Or, you can provide your own ISBN and keep all your royalties.

D2D will publish your book wide. A benefit of D2D is you can select or unselect which sellers you want your book to be available to.

Smashwords

They are an eBook Aggregator and store. You can upload your book to Smashwords for them to distribute, but they also enable readers to buy directly from their site too and reward you with 80% royalty. That’s an impressive royalty!

Smashwords allow exclusive deals for eBooks and hold events to promote their authors books like reading challenges.

You can use your own ISBN or they can provide one for free.

Lulu

They are an eBook & print Aggregator. They have lots of options for paperback, hardback, comics, magazines, etc.

Lulu will distribute your book wide, sell your book from their own shop, and have an app that allows you to sell from your own website. That last option makes me wish I went with Lulu!

You can use your own ISBN or they can provide one for free.

Barnes & Noble

You can publish directly with B&N. I’ve not tried it but I’ve heard authors talk very positively about the quality of their hardback books.

B&N can make your book available in their store and on Kobo. Unlike Amazon Select, they won’t restrict you from publishing your book elsewhere.

Aggregators like Ingram, D2D, and Lulu, can make books available to B&N. I think authors go direct with B&N for their hardback option.

You can use your own ISBN or they can provide one for free.

Apple Books

This is the ebook store for Apple users. Ingram, Smashwords, Lulu and D2D can publish here for you too.

If you have a Mac, you can upload your book directly using their personal book publishing site. They now have a webpage to enable PC users to upload too.

I tried to publish to Apple via Ingram. Unfortunately Apple said my eBook file was too big and rejected my novel.

To fix this, I have attempted to publish directly with them. But, I’m having issues with their webpages. There tech & developer team have been very responsible, it might be just some bugs with the new PC publishing portal – I don’t have a Mac.

A benefit of being on Apple Books is that they are a very popular choice for eBooks by iPhone/iPad readers.

You can use your own ISBN or they can provide one for free.

Google Play

This is the Android store and allows users to buy and download eBooks. Ingram, Smashwords, Lulu and D2D can publish here for you too.

A benefit of Google Play is that most people without an iPhone have an Android phone, making it another popular choice for eBook downloads.

The benefit of being on Google Play is that Google is one of the largest search engines and by having your book listed in their store (even as just a preview), can boost your discoverability.

I have recently added Ocean Heart and the only issue I’ve had is confirming my bank account. They pay a small amount into your bank to check it’s you. You confirm the amount received, except Google is saying they paid a different amount to the amount I got.

Private Printer

You could find a private printer to produce your book for you. You’d likely need to buy a bulk of books to distribute yourself.

Vanity Press

This isn’t self publishing. It often gets confused because the author has paid to publish like an indie author. The difference is the publisher bills the author for the services needed, and the services are provided by the publisher. The author cannot use services by another provider.

The positives is all the services are in one place and your publisher guides you on what service you need and when. Sometimes services are quicker or at a reduced rate as its all in-house.

The cons are that a lot of scammers have used this model to over charge authors or to take money and never deliver on their promises. As you are locked into paying for the services they dictate and the choices the want for your book, you do lose some of your creative freedom.

It’s important to check how long they have been operating and who they have worked with before. See if they are black listed on Writers Beware.

What I did…

I published my ebook & paperback through Ingram. The quality has been good and I like having everything in one place.

Amazon had long delivery dates for my book, telling preorder customers it’d take 6 weeks to deliver. It didn’t but it was off putting. I don’t know if this was to exceed expectations or what. Other authors told me to get my book on KDP, which I finally have done. I was hesitant as I didn’t want to be restricted to only Amazon or use another ISBN, but you can use the ISBN already in use for your paperback.

My books did get listed for a number of ebook sellers but not GPlay or Apple. I’ve had to go to through them direct. I’d say Google has been the easiest to use, except the verification of my bank.

For my next book I think I’ll use Ingram Sparks to publish my paperback wide, KDP to reduce Amazon deliver delays, and someone else to publish my eBook wide. I’ll also take a closer look at LuLu as that app sounds awesome!

[kofi]

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About Ocean Heart

Ally Aldridge My Books, Ocean Heart, Publishing, The Soul Heart Series, Tips, Writing

The Process of Publishing a Novel – 3 of 3

This is the last post in this series.. If you missed the previous posts they are:

Step 1 – Write your novel

Step 2 – Edit your novel

Or check out the collection for all parts.

Step 3 – Publish your novel

Here is a handy info graphic of what I’m going to cover in this post.

You can save this to your Pinterest board.

Blurb

If you are self publishing you will need a blurb for your book. You can write this yourself or hire a professional.

Here’s a post about the making of the blurb for Ocean Heart.

Cover Design

Your book cover will be one of the first official marketing materials for your book. They say “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover!” Except, people do.

You can design it yourself but if you are going to do print copies, it can be tricky to get the spine right if you don’t know what you’re doing. I opted for a professional.

Look at other covers in your genre. These covers are what your ideal reader is expecting. If your cover appeals to the wrong audience it’s going to make it hard to sell.

Here’s a post about how I chose my cover designer.

Marketing

Once you have the cover, start marketing your book. Don’t wait until it’s published to start marketing.

Fun things to do, are a cover reveal to drum up interest. Here’s a post going into more detail on how I did my cover reveal including tips on creating digital bookstagram pics for promoting your book.

You can also have a preorder period so people don’t have to wait until the release date to buy and can order it right away! These purchases won’t be counted until release day, boosting your release day sales.

I learnt a lot about marketing my book from author Pagan Malcolm and did the Storyseller Academy course that covers a lot of ways to promote your book and how to change your mindset.

Another, fabulous person to check out is Michelle Raab who specialises in Marketing for Indie Creative and is the founder of World Indie Warriors.

Check the links at the end of the post for posts on my book launch. They’re useful to check out if you need some ideas.

Formatter

This is the person that makes the inside of your book pretty and accessible in different formats for different eBook readers. You can do it yourself, or use tools available online.

Here’s a post about my experience with my formatter.

If you want to do it yourself, you might find it useful to check out Brittany Wang’s YouTube video showing where to get a free template and how to edit it.

Alternatively, you can use the tools provided by your chosen distributor to turn your manuscript into a book. I believe Amazon, D2D, and Ingram Sparks offer these tools for free.

Proofread

Big mistake I made was skipping this step. I uploaded my files to Ingram and then one of my ARC readers (author Cassidy Reyne) let me know where I’d missed some typos. ?

My formatter was happy to amend my files for free but Ingram charged me for changing the files. ?

Don’t skip this step. The last pair of eyes on your book are necessary. No matter all the edits already, and how perfect you believe it is, get a proof reader to do a final quality check.

Self Edit

If your proof reader spots any issues, you will need to make the changes and inform your formatter exactly what you needs changing!

And you thought you’d finished editing. ?

Upload Files

If you are happy with everything, upload it to the distributor site you are using. Popular choices are:

  • Amazon
  • Ingram Spark
  • Draft 2 Digital
  • Lulu
  • Barnes & Noble

ARC Reader

Send your ARC readers a final copy. Between now and publishing you could make changes but we’d hope that by this point it is done.

The ARC readers need enough time to read it before you publish. This enables you to gather reviews for marketing and gives readers an idea of what others thought.

ARC readers will leave an honest review. Your book cover & blurb should attract the right readers. If your ARC readers are surprised by your book (and not in a good way) you might want to change the cover or blurb to ensure you attract the correct readers.

Check out my post on Betas vs ARC readers.

Publish

That’s it! Except now your book is out there, you still need to market it. Don’t be shy – every chance you get, give it a shout out. And, on that note…

Redfae Bookshop is my Affiliate Bookshop.org Shop Link.

[kofi]

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Ally Aldridge My Books, Ocean Heart, Publishing, The Soul Heart Series, Tips, Writing

Why & how I chose my cover designer!

Redfae Bookshop is my Affiliate Bookshop.org Shop Link. This post contains some of those links.

I’ve wanted to write this post for a while but what’s held me back is that I have so much to say it’s difficult to know where to start.

My Cover Designer for Ocean Heart was Original Book Cover Designs.

A guess a good place to start is on how I found my Cover Designer.

How I found my cover designer?

She ran a competition on Instagram to giveaway one of her design packages to a lucky winner. The winner of the competition was author J.D. Groom who had tagged me.

I don’t think I entered because at the time I was still planning to get a Literary Agent. Here’s the cover J.D. Groom received as her prize (it included eBook & paperback).

I loved the cover! As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted this designer to do my book cover…, if I self published. I then discovered other covers I loved were by the same designer.

Read Behind the Book & Book Review for JD Groom’s Sorceress of Truth (cover by Original Book Cover Designs). 

Read Behind the Book & Book Review for Kara A Weaver's Crown of Conspiracy (cover by Original Book Cover Designs). 

Read Behind the Book & Book Review for Cassidy Reyne’s Agent Undone (cover by Originam Book Cover Designs).

Where to find cover designers?

I’ve seen people speak about sites like Fivrr but I’ve not used them. Here’s where I’ve found Cover Designers.

Instagram: There are lots of cover designers on Instagram. It’s an image based platform so an ideal place to show off their designs.

Facebook: A lot of designers also have a Facebook group. It enables them to share offers with their fans and build connections.

World Indie Warriors: Joining WIW is free. It’s a great resource. You can connect with other authors and get recommendations and check out the WIW brochure to discover cover designers.

Visit World Indie Warriors to discover more about them.

How to choose your designer?

You must love it: You need to love the cover they create. It is essentially the first tool in your marketing arsenal. It needs to be something you’ll be proud to flaunt. Look at their portfolio and decide if you like their other designs.

Genre suitable: Each designer will have their own style, and it will likely be more suitable for a certain genre. I write Fantasy and Original Book Cover Designs definitely has a flair for it. Readers of your genre will expect a certain style so you don’t want them to pass your book assuming it’s not for them based on the cover.

Budget: We all have to operate within our means. People will judge a book by its cover but there are affordable options. Many designers do pre-made covers and if you can find one that suits your book, you can save on the cost of a bespoke design.

Extras: If you want to do eBook & Print, does the designer do a discount. Will they do other formats like hardback or audio. Do they offer some social media images or 3D Renders. Do they offer other services as a bundle discount (like formatting or blurb writing, etc).

Recommendations: If you can find authors the designer has worked with it can be very insightful. You could reach out to ask about their experience. You can also see if they have continued to use the designer and if they recommend then to others.

Benefits of a cover designer

Professional: I love creating my own covers. I often make them in Canva and use them on Wattpad. But, when it came to publishing my book, I wanted the cover to be perfect. I wanted my readers to find it hard to tell it is self published. It had to look professional.

Dimensions: I went a little cross eyed when I tried to figure out the spine for paperback. The width changes depending on paper type and page count. Ingram does have a tool to help you work it out and you can use the template in InDesign.

Technical Skills: I don’t know how to use Adobe or any other fancy design software I’d love to learn it but I just don’t have time. Outsourcing the cover design to a professional was a massive time saver.

Marketing: As mentioned earlier, your cover is the first thing anyone sees of your book. It needs to be eye catching, genre appropriate, and you need to be proud of showing it off. If it looks nice, other people might show it off too!

Working with your cover designer

Quote: Firstly, you’ll need to reach out to your chosen designer for a quote. I liked that Original Book Cover Design’s has some packages on their website so I knew they were within my budget and had already started putting money aside for it.

Timeframe: A good cover designer will likely have other projects on the go. You need to tell them when you’d like the job done by so they can confirm if they can do meet your deadline.

The deadline will need to be before your anticipated release date. This is because you should market your book before you release it. This period is often referred to as your book launch. Mine was about 2-3 months.

You also need the files before release to upload to the site you are using to create your book. I used Ingram Sparks. You’ll want to order a proof to check it is printing right, so allow time for quality control.

Also, if you are doing a print version, your cover designer will need to know what size to do the spine. Your manuscript will need to be edited and formatted.

Ideas: You’ll need to tell the designer about your book and your ideas for the cover. My cover designer had me complete an in depth questionnaire. She then worked with me to create a cover I love for my book Ocean Heart.

It was a dream come true.

Final design: The first draft looked incredible. I gave myself a little cooling down period – it was crazy exciting seeing my book – to look at it critically. I then requested some minor changes which my designer made. I was in love. It was a dream come true.

I hope this has helped you decide on whether you want to use a cover designer for your book, where to look for a designer, and how to pick one.

[kofi]

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Check out my Live Stream Team

About Ocean Heart

Ally Aldridge Author Tube, Book Genre, Book Tube, Books, Contemporary, Fantasy, Library, My Books, Ocean Heart, Romance, The Soul Heart Series, Young Adult, YouTube

My debut novel releases tomorrow!

November has been a busy month leading up to my launch. It started with a Book Blitz with almost 100 participants. And, ended with a virtual book tour. Today, I’m on the radio and hosting a live launch party tomorrow evening.

Ocean Heart In the News!

I feel so fortunate that I reached out to two newspapers to see if they’d be interested in doing a press release on Ocean Heart. Both agreed, and have shared their articles so I’ve appeared in four publications (that I know of).

Nub News

Enjoy Felixstowe More

Ipswich Star

East Anglian Daily Times

On The Radio

Today, at 2pm (GMT) I will be on my local radio station. We were going to do the interview live in the studio but due to Covid Lockdown, we had to change our plans.

Instead, I met Pete down the seafront for a socially distanced recording. It was a fitting setting for an interview about Ocean Heart, as its where the book is set. During the live show, he’ll play clips from the recording along with some song recommendations.

You can listen online by tuning in at Felixstowe Radio.

Going Live

Tomorrow evening is my Live Launch Party to celebrate the release of Ocean Heart. I would love for you to join me, on 1 December at 8pm (GMT).

Click the Going Live button to get my blog post with all the links to the Live Author Chats and the link to watch the live Launch Party.

Going Live

About Ocean Heart

Ocean Heart Blurb with Reviews

How to get a signed copy!

I’ve agreed to sign all preorders for my local bookshop, Stillwater Books. They also have five extra signed copies, so if you are local to Felixstowe and want to order a signed copy, contact Will (the Shopkeeper), and place an order.

Stillwater Books

Buy Paperback/eBook

I published wide which means you can purchase a copy of Ocean Heart from all the best retailers.

Amazon Bookshop eBook

Borrow from the library

Ocean Heart stocked by Suffolk County Libraries

How exciting! I got confirmation that Felixstowe library have ordered a copy of Ocean Heart for Suffolk County Libraries. This is great news if you are a borrower.

If Ocean Heart isn’t at your local library, you can order a copy. All you need is the author name, title, and ISBN.

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What happened in Nov

Coming Soon: Ocean Heart Launch Party!

Ocean Heart