Today’s technology has made it possible to publish a book without scouting for publishers willing to get your material out to bookstore shelves. Referred to as self-publishing, this method involves a process similar to printing a physical book, but without the costs associated with paper and printing. If you have a book that is ready to be printed, all you need to do is sign up with e-book publishers and you get yourself a good starting point.
But with the seemingly endless list of online publishers that turn up on search page results, the next dilemma to deal with would be: what websites to sell your e-book in. One of the best ways to sell your ebook is by starting an affiliate program. An affiliate program will help you get other marketers to help you sell your ebook. The other 20 best strategies to promote and sell your book are listed below.
1) Booktango
Booktango is a free e-book publisher that provides writers with the tools necessary for publishing and distributing formatted e-books to all the major e-bookstores. Registered writers can use the platform to upload their manuscript, edit it for the required format, and subsequently circulate it to diverse e-bookstores, including Kindle, iBooks, Kobo, and Nook. Once a book is published, Booktango makes the title available to major e-book web retailers. Writers who publish with Booktango will receive 100 percent of every dollar sold through the e-publisher’s bookstore and obtain 100% of net royalties upon sale of a book through the company’s online retail partners.
2) NOOK Press
NOOK Press is an online self-publishing website that serves independent authors and publishers. It allows writers to write new projects, edit and format their manuscript in one place. Powered by Barnes & Noble, NOOK Press is a no-cost self-publishing option that requires no delivery fees or production costs and is free to use from start to finish. It provides expanded distribution, visibility, and security. Writers are entitled to royalties of 40% to 65%, depending on how much the author wants to charge for an e-book.
3) Smashwords
Smashwords, the largest indie e-book distributor, publishes, distributes and sells multi-format ebooks. It allows writers to publish their work on iBooks,Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Oyster and Aldiko. Smashwords offers a range of features such as free ISBNs, e-book conversion, unlimited updates to uploaded material, and exclusive marketing and selling tools. After signing up for free, writers can download a style guide that provides instructions on how to format their manuscript. Once formatting is completed, the e-book can already be published. Writers can earn 60% list at major retailers and up to 80% list at the Smashwords store.
4) EBookIt!
EBookIt! provides countless authors and publishers with the ability to convert, publish, promote and distribute e-books to principal retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Sony, and Ingram. Members who sign up will need to convert the file into the appropriate one, upload their material and the cover image, enter basic details about the e-book, and then pay $149 per title as a one-time formatting, conversion and distribution setup fee. The royalty per sale is 50% to 80%.
5) ClickBank
ClickBank is a business model that allows authors to sell their digital creations online. Through ClickBank’s ecommerce system, writers can take advantage of the round-the-clock automated payment processing. With a 24/7 feature, the hands-free money machine will start to bring in significant amount of money from ClickBank’s active affiliate marketrs, even for a single title, and leave the author free to work on his next writing project. Sign up costs $49.95 while royalty rates per sale is 50% to 90%.
iUniverse is a self-publishing firm that helps writers accomplish their yearning to become published authors. iUniverse offers a range of professional services that can be expected from any traditional publishing organization. These include editorial, design, production, and marketing. iUniverse also offers different book formats to accommodate author preferences.
7) Lulu
Lulu is a self-publishing, printing and distribution service with a broad network that allows writers to reach more readers. The company’s network includes iBookstore and Nook. Lulu provides a few ways to create an ebook and their respective prices: The Assistant – $99; The Insider – $139; the Amplifier – $219; Do-it-Yourself – free; and the Go Pro! option. Writers keep a full creative and copyright control, establish their own price, and retain up to 90% of their profits every time an e-book is sold. Creators have the choice to obtain expert assistance with cover design, editing, formatting as well as marketing and publishing. At Lulu, royalty per sale is 90%.
8) Blurb
Blurb is a self-publishing website that allows writers to create, self-publish, promote, share, and sell their own e-books. The platform provides free software for PC or Mac and makes an online e-book creator available for users. The site has online editing tools that help publishers create a graphically rich e-book for the iPad and charges $9.99 for every e-book made. Blurb authors can also take advantage of the free online marketing tools. Writers retain 80% of their selling cost with e-books.
9) Tradebit
Tradebit is a platform that enables users to publish and sell digital products like e-books, music and pictures. It includes 10 gigabytes storage and allows writers to upload and present. Whether writers have a single MS Word file or countless products to sell, Tradebit can provide the requisites that writers and publishers need in order to get their e-book out to the public. The platform also offers state-of-the-art marketing tools for authors to improve the reach of their work. Royalty per sale of an ebook is $70 to $85.
10) AuthorHouse UK Publishing Services
AuthorHouse is a UK-based publishing company that provides writers with a broad array of tools and services that assist writers to decide for themselves as well as to retain rights, maintain editorial control, and pick out the precise services fit for a client’s goals. E-book publishing rates start at £299. Through the company’s exclusive self-publishing process, writers are given better control over their work, from editing and proofreading to cover design.
Infinity Publishing is a self-publishing company with global distribution through Amazon, Sony, Books-a-Million, and Barnes & Noble. It also offers e-book publishing in various formats. For a one-time setup fee of $349, an unformatted manuscript will be transformed into an e-book using the latest e-publishing standards. The e-book conversion includes formatting, interior page creation, and custom color cover. Existing formatted books can be converted to e-book form for a one-time setup cost of $199 per title. Writers will earn a royalty of 70% on all net e-book sales.
12) PayLoadz
Payloadz is a system that provides a secure digital goods ecommerce service for individuals who want to sell online. It also helps writers and publishers to sell their books online. PayLoadz has a store with features that help you to market your e-books. PayLoadz has a sign up fee of $14.95 per month. Writers have a royalty per sale of 95%.
13) Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing
Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing is a free and simple way for authors to publish their e-books worldwide and keep control over their work. This online publisher allows writers to distribute their work independently with Kindle Direct Publishing on the Amazon Kindle Store. Writers have control over their work and can make use of the multiple language option. Publishing takes less than 5 minutes and e-books can be made available on Kindle devices and on free Kindle applications. Royalty per sale is up to 70%.
14) InstantPublisher
InstantPublisher is a full-service self-publishing company that helps authors get their work published. A subsidiary of Fundcraft Publishing, InstantPublisher also publishes e-books that can be read on various types of e-readers such as Kindle, iPad and iPhone. Most e-books can be converted and assigned an ISBN for $159.99. InstantPublisher offers two royalty variations, the Yearly Listing Plan ($50 flat fee per year) to list on both Amazon and iTunes and the Per Book Plan (10% of your royalties), which lets the author decide on what option will be best for the e-book.
15) Wasteland Press
Wasteland Press is a self-publishing organization that offers writers a range of publishing plans that include the following: online distribution via Amazon.com and/or BarnesandNoble.com, up to 25 MB in color pictures throughout the e-book, free e-book formatting and a 70% royalty on any money received by Wasteland Press for the sale of the e-book. The following publishing plans are offered: Kindle Plan – $200; Nook Plan – $150; and eSupreme Plan (publishing plan for e-books to be made available on both Nook and Kindle) – $345. Wasteland Press provides a price range for the e-book to help the author determine the price. After payment of an e-book plan, it will take 24 to 72 hours to convert a print book to e-book format. Once converted, it will take another 24 to 48 hours to make the e-book available via Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Kobo Writing Life is a self-publishing platform that allows writers to publish their own digital content in more than 160 countries. Authors can use Kobo Writing Life to fulfill a number of tasks such as publishing their work, setting their own price and tracking sales. A registered writer can use Kobo Writing Life to reformat their files for free. Publishing requires 5 steps: describing the e-book, adding the e-book content, selecting content rights, setting the price, and publishing. Once the e-book is published, it will become available to Kobo customers around the world or in locations the writer selected. Categories are available to make the book easier to find. Royalty per sale ranges from 70% to 80%.
17) Myebook
Myebook allows users to create, publish and share digital content online. This free service lets users publish their e-books in a single button as well as include links and embed videos, audio, documents, and images to make e-books that are completely interactive. Once the e-book is done, it can be published publicly or privately and can be set to whether readers or viewers can add comments or share the material. After it is published, the e-book is added to the site library, where it can be shared across social networks or embedded at other sites.
18) CreateSpace
CreateSpace is a self-publishing website that provides authors with free tools to assist them in publishing their e-book and distribute it to online stores like Amazon and Kindle. A member of the Amazon group of companies, CreateSpace offers free and easy tools such as Interior Reviewer, Cover Creator, Preview and Image Gallery to help writers complete all aspects related to e-book publishing. There are no membership or title setup fees. Royalty model is flexible to put authors in control. Plus, a non-exclusive agreement keeps prospects and distribution options open.
19) Payhip
Payhip is an e-commerce platform that enables writers to sell e-books directly to their Facebook fans and Twitter followers or their website using a link for the e-book page. The site provides a free and simple method of selling your e-book without taking from your profits. After signing up for a free account, you will be asked to provide your PayPal information. Payhip charges 5% for every transaction and will charge it after payment is made to the writer. The e-publisher does not require setup fees, does not charge monthly fees and hosting fees. Royalty per sale is 100%.
20) BookBaby
BookBaby is a self-publishing platform that digitally distributes written materials from independent authors and publishers and makes e-books available to all major digital retailers. BookBaby has three publishing packages writers and publishers can choose from. The Free package, which costs nothing, requires a writer to submit the final ePub file that will be distributed to retail partners such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The Standard package, priced at $99, includes ePub file conversion, proof, global distribution, and others. The Premium package, which costs $249, includes ePub file conversion, proof, worldwide distribution and others. Writers keep 85% of net sales.
With the help of a self-publishing company, e-book authors can complete the process of creating, converting and publishing content into digital form. Plus, authors usually retain complete control of the planning, editing, publishing and marketing process. Furthermore, authors typically retain all rights to self-published books. Through self-publishing, writers have become empowered in numerous ways while also leaving the door open to the more conventional means of publishing their material should they decide to pursue them.
About Tariehk Geter – Tariehk Geter is the Director of Marketing at OSI Affiliate Software and he loves to share strategies that help businesses sell more. Follow him on Twitter and Google+
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