Business of Writing

Save Time with Draft2Digital

March 7, 2016March 7, 2016Business of Writing, Tools for Writers, Uncategorized

Are you looking for a simple way to publish your e-book? Are you frustrated with formatting and want a better way? Draft2Digital is changing the game for self-published writers.

As a self-published writer myself, I struggled to navigate the technical side of publishing. I chose to format my book myself, and I grew very familiar with the regular sight of “upload error” when I attempted to publish my e-book.

Aside from Amazon, I eventually decided to give up trying in the other, more complicated uploading systems. Then, I discovered Draft2Digital.Continue reading

How Writers Can Use Amazon’s “Look Inside” Feature to Get More Sales

February 29, 2016February 27, 2016Business of Writing

by C.S. Lakin, @CSLakin

We writers just want to write, right?

But the sad truth is we have to be savvy marketers. And since most authors see the most sales on Amazon, and particularly through the Kindle Store, it behooves us to learn all the tricks to optimizing our product pages to entice customers to buy.

One of the ways you can help your potential customer to make that big decision to click “Buy Now” is to use the “Look Inside” feature to your advantage.

Usually when a potential customer lands on your page, the first thing she might do is read your description.Continue reading

7 Author-Friendly Changes Bowker Could Make

February 26, 2016February 25, 2016Business of Writing

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

The subject of ISBNs tends to make authors anxious. Sometimes writers are defensive about why they choose not to use them or choose to use the free ISBNs offered by CreateSpace and other retailers/distributors.

This isn’t a post debating the merit of ISBNs, although I do choose to use them myself. Briefly, there are a few reasons for my choice. One, I’m just old school. Another, as a self-publisher, I like the idea of my sales being counted (just as my trad-published sales are counted). For another, I like having my name listed as the publisher on record…not Smashwords or CreateSpace (nothing wrong with either of those guys and I use them both–just not their ISBNs). Most recently, my publishing through IngramSpark has required me to use a personal ISBN, so it worked out well that I already have them.

That being said! Bowker (the US agency that assigns ISBNs) annoys the dickens out of me. Here are some ways I believe the service could improve at Bowker. Or, let’s call it 7 ways for Me to Love Bowker Better:Continue reading

Apple Makes it Easier to be an Affiliate

February 15, 2016February 14, 2016Business of Writing, Tools for Writers, Uncategorized

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Although I don’t make a fortune as an affiliate with Amazon and Apple, so far it’s proven to be reliable income. And it’s fairly passive income.

The only problem is that it’s something of a hassle. You run your links through the retailer’s affiliate URL link-maker, it assigns your affiliate code for credit, and then if someone clicks on your link, you make a commission from whatever they buy on the site during that shopping session. I do keep my affiliate links in a document so that I can just copy/paste them without having to run through the link-maker again, but it’s still a bit of a time suck. We also have to be careful to follow the retailers’ terms and conditions for use and be sure to put a disclosure on our site when we use these links.Continue reading