Sunday, June 14, 2015

Podcast: e-Book Piracy and Nook Decline

radio-stream

In this edition of the Good e-Reader Radio Show you will understand e-book piracy, the moral choices we make when engaging in it and how sometimes its done for profit. Additionally, why did Barnes and Noble go from making $910 million a year on Nook to an estimated $150 million in 2015? Get a sense on the key moments in history where they went wrong and started to drive users away.

If you Use This Book Opening, You Will Never be Published

waking-up

There are certain beginnings of books that are the kiss of death in the publishing industry and I am not talking about ‘its a dark and stormy night.’   If you are an aspiring author or even one who has written a few books, there is one beginning that you should never use, if you have any hopes about landing a publishing deal.

Many agents and publishers have admitted that beginning your book with the main protagonist waking up in bed will be rejected 99.5% of the time.

The vast majority of writers who have their character waking up in bed are doing it because its a safe place and something that the author experiences on a daily basis. It is also a big struggle with making this opening narrative captivating enough for readers. New writers are especially guilty of starting their novels in this fashion.

The best advice that can be offered on novel openings is to tap into the excitement and energy you felt when you first started to write the book. If you can get this across to the reader and immediately get them interested, you have a higher chance with an agent or publisher reading more than the opening paragraph.

via Nelson Agency

How to Submit Your Website to Apple News Publisher

Apple News App

Apple is getting into the news business and is hoping to disrupt established players such as Flipboard, Buzzfeed and Linkedin Pulse. Apple News is coming out this fall and will be loaded on all iOS 9 devices by default. How exactly do established news websites get their content onto Apple News?

Apple News will pay developers 70% of all revenue that their publications generate on the platform. Whenever a reader clicks on a banner advert, as part of the iAd framework, a news website can generate additional revenue.

In order to submit content to Apple News, you have to simply submit an RSS feed to your blog or news website.  There should be features in the next few months that allow for more complex submissions such as newspapers and magazines.

Here is how you can submit your website to Apple News.

  1. First you'll need to visit Apple's News Publisher portal using Internet Explorer, Google Chrome or Safari. 
  2. 2. Sign in using the Apple ID you want associated with your publication on News
  3. 3. Next Apple will ask you to agree to its End User License Agreement for News
  4. 4. Now Apple will ask for your personal information including the name of your publication, address, phone number, etc
  5. 5. You can then set your channel name, website address, and select your primary audience, languages and specify territories if you wish.
  6. Apple News optionally lets you select multiple channels for your publication as well:
  7. After submitting, click the name of your channel in the toolbar in News Publisher
  8. Select 'Create New Channel’
  9. Establish an RSS Feed and Upload your Logo
  10. Apple will Review your website for inclusion

Love In The Time Of Autocorrect

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Many indie authors often make the mistake of not having a dedicated editor to insure their book is not riddled with spelling mistakes or issues stemming from autocorrect in Microsoft Word. A good editor will normally cost $1,500 to $3,000, which is outside of most peoples budget. Doing your own editing, what could go wrong?

What is the worst autocorrect you have seen in a published book?

10 Free Kindle Books and Kindle Deals – June 14th

It’s already the middle of June, so what better time for another roundup of 10 free Kindle ebooks. Amazon is also running a number of sales on Kindle books and Fire tablets—all are listed below. The 10 free Kindle ebooks are free as of June 14th, 2015. Please note that most of these titles are […]

Indie Authors Should Think Twice About Kickstarter

writersblock

Kickstarter is a crowd funding platform that allows anyone to list a project and lobby people to buy into it. There are currently over 650 e-book projects listed on the platform asking for money to complete their writing and offering benefits for people who donate more. Will every book that gets funded be completed? Likely not, but a word of caution, if you don’t complete your project the The Federal Trade Commission can investigate you for “deceptive tactics” and impose a fine.”

Erik Chevalier recently solicited donations for a board game project based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft. “The Doom That Came To Atlantic City!” He was asking for $35,000 and raised over $122,874 from 1,246 backers, most of whom pledged $75 or more in the hopes of getting the highly prized figurines.  He wrote a few updates that he was making progress on the game. But after 14 months, Chevalier announced that he was cancelling the project and refunding his backers' money.

Sadly, he did not refund anyone’s money and it came out that Chevalier spent most of the money on unrelated personal expenses such as rent, moving himself to Oregon, personal equipment, and licenses for a different project.” The game did eventually happen, thanks to Cryptozoic Entertainment and Renegade Game Studios, and won DieHard GameFAN's award for Board Game of the Year, 2014. Original backers received a copy at least.

The FTC intervened on behalf of the users that did not get refunds and got no rewards.   The order imposes a $111,793.71 judgment that will be suspended due to Chevalier's inability to pay. The full amount will become due immediately if he is found to have misrepresented his financial condition. He is also banned from raising more money via Kickstarter in the future.

Authors should be wary that when they want to raise money via Kickstarter to write a book, they should follow through and give rewards to their backers. Otherwise, the FTC could be turning their eyes towards you, likely ruining your career as a writer once everyone realizes you took the money and did not follow through.

Indie Authors Should Think Twice About Kickstarter is a post from: Good e-Reader