KindleDirectPublishing
Latest
Amazon simplifies self-published paperback printing
Amazon has a program in place allowing people to self-publish both printed and electronic books, but until now the workflow has been clunky as authors were forced to use a different tool for each format. The company is now streamlining the experience through a new beta initiative within its Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) program, which used to be only for e-book publishing.
Kindle e-bookstore and self-publishing platform now available in Mexico
Both readers and writers in Mexico have a reason to rejoice today, as Amazon has just launched the Kindle Store and Kindle Direct Publishing in their country. The e-bookstore will feature over 70,000 Spanish-language titles, as well as e-books in indigenous tongues like Nahuatl. To help fill up those new e-readers, Amazon will also be offering upwards of 1,500 free books among the store's 2 million titles. The availability of KDP is especially significant, as it offers both unknown authors and big name writers like Paulo Coelho (who's using it to release his books El Alquimista and Once Minutos) an alternative path to publishing. Additionally, Gandhi, one of the largest bookstore chains in Mexico, will now sell the basic Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite in its brick and mortar shops for MXN$1,399 (USD$105) and MXN$2,399 (USD$180) respectively. For more info, check out the source links below or the press releases after the break.
Amazon launches India Kindle Store, swap rupees for good reads
Indian consumers haven't been cut off from Amazon's world of e-book goodies, but their experience is about to get a lot more native with the launch of a local Kindle Store. The prices of over a million books are now available in rupees, and if you're in need of hardware, the latest bare-bones Kindle can now be found in-store at Croma for Rs. 6,999. That E Ink Pearl screen comes at a premium, however, as there are more than a few budget-friendly tablets available in the country which support the Kindle app. The best news is probably reserved for fledgling writers, who now have access to Kindle Direct Publishing to showcase their work and hopefully net some purchases.
Hold the presses! Amazon UK selling more e-books than printed ones
It's becoming a habit of Amazon's to report on the rise of the e-book at the expense of physical texts, and their latest announcement is no different. Sales figures show that in the UK, 114 Kindle purchases have been made for every 100 printed copies so far in 2012. A similar statistic was achieved in the US last year, but whether these are true indications of e-book supremacy is up for discussion. Free downloads were excluded from the tally, but those released via Kindle Direct Publishing without a paper twin were counted. The Guardian also notes that these are unaudited figures, so there may be a digit awry here or there. And with a few physical stores still around, there's no need to panic-buy that Kindle just yet.
iBook Lessons: The absolute beginner
iBook Lessons is a continuing series about ebook writing and publishing. I get asked this a lot: what is the absolute minimum it takes to get started in ebook publishing. The answer is this: a manuscript in Microsoft Word .doc or .docx format, an Amazon account, and a smile. Everything else is gravy. With just those items, you can get started publishing on Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) system and start earning money from what you write. Just agree to KDP's terms and conditions, provide Amazon with a bank account routing number for your earnings, and if you are an American citizen, a Social Security number. You can find all the information you need to provide on this webpage. You can use a personal account to set up your direct deposit, although you'll probably want to set up a separate business account instead. Check around for whatever free checking deals are currently in your area. These days, in the US, expect to leave a few hundred dollars deposited in the account in order to skip fees. Once you've signed up, you head over to your KDP dashboard to upload and describe your ebook. You won't need an ISBN, you won't need to pre-format your book for mobi or EPUB, you just select the doc file from your desktop, upload it, and let Amazon do all the rest. It's insanely easy. What's more, your Kindle book can be read on nearly any platform out there from iOS to Android, from Mac to Windows. In exchange for selling your book, Amazon takes a fixed 30% of the sales price (which may range from $2.99 to $9.99) off the top plus "delivery fees," which amount to $0.15/megabyte. In other words, Amazon is not the place for you if you intend to sell image-heavy picture books. There are two exceptions to this model. First, if your book costs under $2.99, you must sell it using a flat 35% royalty option (they keep 65% of list price). Second, if you want to bypass the delivery fee model, you may opt into the 35% program for higher-priced ebooks. What if you absolutely need to sell through iBooks? Then, you'll either have to start doing a bit more work in terms of securing an ISBN, filling out paperwork and contracts, and converting to EPUB, or you can look into a third party-Apple approved aggregator. Apple requires: ISBN numbers for the books you want to distribute Delivery in EPUB format, where the book passes EpubCheck 1.0.5 a US Tax ID an iTunes account backed up by a credit card An easy way to work through this is to sell through an agregator like Smashwords. In exchange for a further cut of your profits, they distribute your ebooks to a wide range of stores, including the iBookstore. Instead of earning 70%, you earn 60% and Smashwords handles all the distribution details, including ISBNs. They promise: Free ISBNs Free ebook conversion to nine formats Free unlimited anytime-updates to book and metadata Regardless of where you publish, spend as much time as you can writing a compelling book. And, don't forget the proofreading! [For Federico Viticci, who asked]
Surprise! People like free stuff, Amazon's lending library a success
You can always count on people's desire to avoid paying for stuff. That's why it shouldn't come as any surprise that Amazon's Lending Library is such a success. The free perk available to Prime customers who also happen to be Kindle owners launched in November with just 5,000 books available. Since then the library has expanded to over 75,000 titles with over 295,000 people borrowing an independently published KDP e-tome in December alone. To celebrate Amazon is adding another $200,000 to the pool available to Direct Publishing authors, pushing the grand total to $700,000. To read the entire self-congratulatory PR continue on after the break.
Amazon launches Kindle in Italy and Spain, brings Kindle Store to the Mediterranean
After having already conquered France, Germany and the UK, Amazon has now brought the Kindle and its associated online store to the shores of Italy and Spain. With today's launch, Iberian users will be able to choose from a selection of more than 22,000 Spanish-language titles, which they can now devour on their very own Kindle devices, available for the first time on Amazon.es. Italian readers will have a slightly smaller selection to choose from, with about 16,000 native-language books available online, though they too now have a Kindle to call their own, giving them access to Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing service, as well Both country-specific versions of the e-reader are available for €99 at the source link below, but curious lettori can dig up more information in the dueling press releases, after the break.
Self-published Kindle author breaks one million in sales, legs might have something to do with it
Our big, bad digital era's been caught red-handed overturning media industry business models before, so it comes as no surprise that publishing houses have a new headache on-hand. Straight outta sunny Seattle comes word that Amazon has welcomed its first self-published author to the "Kindle Million Club." John Locke (so this is where he wound up after going to that quasi-'heaven') is the lucky dude who gets to claim the prize, and that's not all -- Mr. independent-author-from-Kentucky now shares bold-face status with the likes of Stieg Larsson and Nora Roberts. By churning out action / adventure novels on the $0.99 cheap and making heavy use of some leggy lady models, Locke easily blew past the one million mark, and even has a book to tell you how he did it. Take that evil publishing overlords. Hit the break for Amazon's official PR spiel.
Amazon launches German Kindle Store with 650,000 titles and lots of long words
After having already penetrated the UK's e-book market last year, Amazon has now launched the German Kindle Store, bringing more than 650,000 titles to Europe's most populous country. With today's launch, the German Kindle Store instantly becomes Germany's biggest e-bookstore, with some 25,000 German-language titles, thousands of free classics, and a similarly bountiful collection of independent newspapers and magazines. Customers will also be able to purchase the latest Kindle and Kindle 3G models directly from Amazon.de, along with a whole new suite of free, German-language Kindle apps for iPhone, iPad, PC and Android platforms. Germany's writers and publishers, meanwhile, can use the Kindle Direct Publishing service to make their works instantly available on the new store, where, if they're lucky, they may get to pocket some handsome royalties, as well. Full press release after the break.
