The Battle for ePublishing – AuthorHouse

The story is told of Diogenes of Sinope.  He was a different sort of chap.  A contrarian if ever there was one. 

It is said that he carried a lantern with him, even in daylight, in search of an honest eBook publisher.  Eventually the guy he stole the lantern from came to reclaim it.  But that is another story altogether, and it has very little to do with today’s report on eBook publishing.

In my scatter-gun technique for finding an eBook publisher I continue to search for a good solution to creating an eBook for a blog.   I have not yet found one, if you are wondering, but I ran across Authorhouse.com today. 

Image: http://www.authorhouse.com

From what I can tell, they do offer eBook services and a free download of their own eBook on publishing.  To get it you have to answer many questions and present patents of nobility, which is a bit of a pain, especially because their free book appears to be more  a very long advertisement than a useful reference book.

To be fair, they look to be competent, but it seems that their prime motivation is to sell you traditional format books produced via self-publishing.  The prices they display go from $399 to $599.

Frankly, folks, I’m not yet sold on any of these big houses.  I feel there is an easy—and if “easy” is stretching it a bit, at least an inexpesnsive—way to format and post an eBook on our blogs.

A recap so far:  I’ve found two free processes that will format your book and allow you complete control over the end product… but you will recall the “catch” is that they will not work on a WordPress hosted blog.  Perhaps I should add that unless you want to give your eBook away, you’d have to either have created your Blog on a paid host, or have moved your blog from the WP hosted site to a paid host, as WordPress will not allow you to sell on a blog hosted with them.

We can but push on, and push on we shall…

The eBook Saga Continues – Looking at Aptara

Image: I made this one.

I found Aptara today.  They are slick, and they have a very nice video.

They claim the ability to publish eBooks, but I’m guessing they are not for the likes of you and me.  For one thing, they do not display pricing anywhere I could find on their site. 

Image: Aptara.com

That said, I would like to share their informative little video.

Unfortunately I could not embed it, so please follow the link…

Aptara Video      

Then come back and tell me what you think.

Wake Up and Smell the HTML

We’re going through a chrysalis stage here at UhW.

We’ve looked at eBooks and self-publishing, and the changes in the world of book publishing.

It’s true, I fear, that the days of guts and glory in writing are behind us.  Those wonderful days when you could be discovered in a newspaper article or a short story in a cheap magazine are gone.  I fear that we must now take care of the details ourselves, we must be our own editor, our own public relations office, and in some cases we must be our own publisher.

Well, that sucks.  It’s what’s so.  It’s also, “so, what?”

If we must have a web presence to be noticed, so be it.  If we must get on the many social media sites to self-promote, well, it’s a pain, but then again, so, what?

Fine.  Granted we must be our own cheering squad.   I don’t like it, but once again, so, what? 

Image: pcwin.com

So what?  Let me tell you what’s so.  The good—and bad—side of this change in the way things are is that we have full control.  Good because it comes out exactly the way we envision it.  Bad because if it fails, the only person we can blame is the one we see in the mirror.

This means that we must read each page, over and over, find every single error, find every bit of nonsense, every musket on the hearth that we forgot to take down and fire, clean up every hint and foreshadow.

It means we have to work, and work hard.  No longer can we just do the writing.  No longer can we expect a high-paid (but not by us) editor to check our logic, check our facts, even check our damn punctuation.  Nope.  It’s down to us.

Today’s challenge is to just get the word.  Get comfortable with it if you can, but in any event, get the word.

The news is good and bad in a single pass… and I guess that’s OK.

Actually, it doesn’t matter if it is OK or not.  It is still what’s so.

Oh, and it’s also, still, so what?

Your thoughts?

Create an eBook: Ongoing Look at Services

 

Image: I made this one.

 

Before I start whining about how much work it has been so far to pull in the kinds of information we all need if we are to create and distribute (or, dare I say, sell?) eBooks, I have to admit that my daily schedule has expanded considerably. 

No.  Wait a minute.  Shouldn’t a system that purports to be easy actually BE easy?  Is there any real reason that the techniques, the tricks of the trade, should be so hard to discern?  No, I say!  And no again! 

But wait, you say, aren’t you supposed to be the expert?  Isn’t that why I come to UphillWriting?  Heh.  I don’t think so.  My guess is you come to see what flavor of fool I’ll make of myself next. 

Be that as it may, allow me to remind you, dear reader, that I am new to this particular study, and that you may know more about this than I do… and if that is the case, please jump in and comment.  Let us all know what you know. 

 Hopefully we will continue to learn together.  Here’s what I’ve pulled together so far today:  

Image: CreateSpace.com

 

Amazon‘s CreateSpace is expensive, depending on how much of their services you want to use.  Their prices range from $299 to $4999, and that brings me back to my dislike for the cost of publishing.  I still think they should pay me, not the other way around.   Understand that eBooks are somewhere in that range, but most of these numbers include POD (Print On Demand)  publishing.  I am convinced that once you get your “FREE” consultation you will have stars in your eyes and will be ready to hock the kids to get the money. 

In the days to come I intend to find out more about CreateSpace, and its closest competitor, Lightning Source.In the meantime, work on the CONTENT of your eBook.  Content is, after all, what it is all about.

Finding the Tools You Need to Create an eBook – Part I

Image: I made this one.

When I started on this journey I assumed the learning curve might be steep.

The many services available to make your eBook come true all make it sound like write it, gather it, and push a button.

I am not finding it that easy at all.  eBooks, and eBook services come in many flavors and colors, and being of the old school, “if it looks too good to be true, it probably is”, I find myself being a bit more careful around this technology.

For starters, there are several on-line organizations that promise to help you get your eBook put together, published, and sold.  That sounds great, but of course there are costs involved.

Some months back at a weekly blogging workshop I co-host in Sunnyvale, California, we had the “Chief Inovator” of FastPencil come and speak to us.  Mike Ashley knows his business.  He created Fast Pencil because, if I remember correctly, his mother wanted to write and publish a book.

FastPencil caters to both eBooks and Print.  One of the features they claim to have is the ability to import a blog.  So I’ve tried.  Several times. 

Image: marilynch.com

The first time I tried was the day after Mike came to speak to us.  The application failed totally to pull in anything from my (this) blog.  I tried again, several times, and the failures happened constantly.  Thinking it might be my  new muscle-computer which was running Windows-7, I tried the same process on three other systems I have as backups.  The failure occurred consistently.

I contacted Mike directly to let him know that his application was failing, and true to his word, he got back to me in a day.  We exchanged another email or two, and he decided that his technical guy, Jeremy McNevin would get back to me with an answer to the problem.  That was over a month and a half ago.  Still no word.

I tried FastPencil again today, to see if it had been fixed, and it had, after a fashion.  You are now able to pull in a few pages from your blog, but the posts are truncated rather than full, and of almost no value at all.

It is disappointing that the first attempt I made at creating an eBook from my blog failed so miserably, and that FastPencil does not seem to care enough to even answer questions.

I like Mike.  I wish him well, but I cannot recommend FastPencil at this time for making an eBook out of a blog.  Their software does not work, and they are unresponsive to questions and pleas for help. 

To be fair, I have not looked into FastPencil’s print book operations, as I’m not ready for such a project at this time.  For all I know, that part of the business works just fine.

I will continue to look for reliable and responsive solutions to the actual work of converting your blog to an eBook.

I won’t give up.  Don’t you give up, either.

Daily Challenge: How to Face Reality in the New World of Publishing

I hope that it is true that an active, engaged mind sometimes lets one idea go in favor of another.

I hope that what I have to say isn’t just a sell-out.

Here’s the deal.  Those who know me know that I have been a strong opponent to the idea of self-publishing and not too fond of the idea of e-publishing either.  My concerns have perhaps been old-fashioned.  The “way” books were published as I grew up was a wonderful thing.  An agent or publisher would discover the short stories you got published in magazines after some serious work, and you would be offered a contract.  Your editor would roll up his sleeves and work with you to polish the book, and the publisher would send you all over the country to do readings and signings.

That dream crashed to the ground some years back, but I’ve been reluctant to let go of the idea. 

Image: onlineeducationhelp.co.uk

That said, after having speaker after speaker come to the Fremont Area Writers Club to relate his or her experiences and challenges on the road to publication, I fear it is time for me to finally “get the message.”  At least get a part of the message.

Only a part?  Yep.  I’m still not sold on the idea of paying someone to print high-priced books for me that I have to go out and peddle by hand.  So far as I’m concerned, there’s no cheese down that tunnel

What I am beginning to learn—and trust me, I’ve been kicking and screaming the whole way—is that a quicker, and more reasonable method to find your way to physical print is to have success in the eBook world.

This is not to say that getting your book published as an eBook is a walk in the park.  It takes some work.  You have to edit the thing.  You have to format it.  You have to find the publisher, and you have to click on SEND.  OK, maybe that isn’t all THAT difficult.

A novel that has had even moderate success as an eBook can show up as having the legs to make it in print.

Today’s challenge is to take a look at your own point of view about the ladder to publishing success.  If you are in the camp that I huddled in for years, consider a change.  If you are already sold on the idea of using ePublishing to get a leg up in the industry, I challenge you to find three or four ePublishers you would feel comfortable with.

If you still think paying someone to print your book is a good idea… well, sigh, I’m not sure I can help.

Your thoughts?

How to Create an eBook From Your Blog – Getting Your Ducks in a Row

Image: I made this one.

Still in the preparation phase of creating an eBook from your Blog, let’s consider the following:

•  Are all of your posts up to the quality you want for your book?
• Are the posts already in the order you want them displayed?
• What will you use for cover art?  (Yes, even eBooks should have good cover art.)
• Do the graphics you want to use belong to you?  If not, do you have a plan to  acquire the rights?

Getting permission when needed is essential, and is especially important if you intend to charge for your eBook.  For example, I want to quote a portion of a source on Fair Use from Nolo, here is a part of what constitutes “Fair Use”: 

Image: school.discoveryeducation.com

Criticism and comment — for example, quoting or excerpting a work in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment.

News reporting — for example, summarizing an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report.

Research and scholarship — for example, quoting a short passage in a scholarly, scientific, or technical work for illustration or clarification of the author‘s observations.

Nonprofit educational uses — for example, photocopying of limited portions of written works by teachers for classroom use.

Parody — that is, a work that ridicules another, usually well-known, work by imitating it in a comic way.

Are you getting the idea that this can be a little tricky?

Now, if all the work is your own, and you are self-illustrating—photographing, drawing, or painting—thes permission problems are a non-starter for you.

Once all of these ducks are in a row, we’ll have to round up a few more, but we’re getting closer to starting the work.

Now, all together, one deeeeep breath…