Tag Archives: Important

Amazon Review Privilege by Guest Blogger, May Dawney

Introducing May Dawney you recently put this post up in a group on Facebook. It is a good read and it certainly makes you think.  Please remember nobody is picking on anyone. It is an observation made which affects those writers and businesses – like me, who live outside the USA.
Thank you, May Dawney, for this great article.

Amazon Pulls Another Stunt.

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Amazon has decided that anyone who wants to leave a review on a book or other article has to have spent a minimum of $50 in that store, in a 12 month period. I’m not happy about it, but I get it. That’s not what I want to discuss. We all have our opinion on the topic and all are valid and appreciated. I have, however, noticed something I would like to address: please check your privilege before you post on these topics.
#1 Maybe $50 is not a lot for you. Great! Some reviewers had to scrape by to get that money for weeks, or months, or years, and they are devastated they’ll have to do it yearly now. Having $50 to spend on non-essentials like books is a privilege. Please, keep that in mind.
#2 Not all reviewers are in the US. If they want to review on .com and their home store like before, they now have to spend $ 100 a year. See #1.
#3 Non-US reviewers can’t buy e-books in the .com store. They have to buy something physical over $50 and have that shipped over (usually at ridiculous costs) to meet the $ 50 requirement. For them, $50 is not $50. It’s a hassle and it’s frustrating. Also: see #1--if you’re already scraping by and $50 becomes $70 because of shipping, it’s tough. People outside of the US also pay an import tax of 10 – 21 percent, depending on the country, on any purchase over a certain value, so a $ 50 order can quickly turn into a $ 100 one.
#4 Not every author gets a ton of reviews, period, let alone in the US store. If you do, that’s a privilege. Saying “Oh, I can stand to lose a few” is not true for everyone. Please, keep that in mind.
#5 Not every author is most popular in the US. Some have predominantly UK (or EU, or NZ, or Asian) readers. Promo sites look almost exclusively at the US store to see if a book qualifies, and this new rule thus skewers the odds of a good promo like Bookbub in the favor of authors with a US reader/reviewer base. If you are one, and you won’t be affected by the changes in this way, then please check your privilege again.
#6 .com reviews are pushed out across all Amazon stores as “Reviewed on amazon.com” reviews until that store gathers five reviews of its own. It does not work the other way around. Say I have twenty reviews on UK, they won’t show up on .co if I have less than five there. See #5 about why this is a problem and the disadvantages enforced by the new system.
If you’re an author with a predominantly Us-based review base, please realize that you have been given an advantage by this new rule. If you are an author with predominantly US-based readers, please realize you have been given and advantage by this new rule. Please also realize that if you fall in either of these categories, you had a head-start to begin with, because Amazon hasn’t rolled out Kindle Unlimited or AMS ads in all areas. You were already ahead of the pack and now you’ve been given an even greater head-start. No one is saying that people who fall into either category haven’t worked hard to get there, nor that reviews are the pinnacle of authorship. Lots of things sell a book. What is important is that to some people, reviews are very important and Amazon has instituted a rule that makes it harder for some to get .com reviews than others in a system where .com reviews are more important. This matters, and it matters to some more than others.

Please, check your privilege!

Uploading your Self-Published Paperback to Lulu

LULU has been publishing books since 2002 with over 2 million titles published. Lulu has developed into an outstanding company with many advantages over both Createspace and Kindle which in recent years caused to many hassles for me personally to want to use them any longer.

One of my favourite parts of Lulu is the LIVE CHAT which helps you through the process of uploading your manuscript if or when you get stuck.  It is a bit of a learning curve and I have gathered the images of the process for everyone to use for any paperback publishing with Lulu.  I will eventually do eBooks as well.

First of all you need to create an account using your email address and finding a unique password. After you sign in you’ll  need to click on CREATE to find the image below.

In Image 1 (above) you will find two tabs PRINT BOOK and EBOOK. For this presentation you need to click on PRINT BOOK and it will open to image 2 shown below.

In image 2 you get to choose how you would like to publish your print book.  If you look at the selection you will find they also do hardback covers. Most authors use the Standard Paperback and the US Trade size (6 x 9)

In image 3 it gives you the details of what your paperback will be. It also gives you the manufacturing costs.  In the box it says 100 pages will cost $3.25 USD.  Obviously the more pages the more the cost. This cost is also what the author will be able to buy their own paperback copies at.  You can download the Template, look at Volume discounts and Spine measurements. To proceed to the next stage you click on MAKE THIS BOOK

Image 4 tells you what Binding you have chosen, what Size your book is and what the Interior will be like.

Image 5 is the start of making your book. As you can see you need to put in your BOOK TITLE and AUTHOR NAME and then tell them what you wish to do with your project. The choose depends of what or who the book is for.  Some people may do memoirs or family history books which they like to keep private. Most fiction authors tend to pick the RECOMMENDED so the book is distributed worldwide.  

In Image 6 you get to choose what kind of ISBN you want or even if you want one. Some authors buy their own ISBN and those on a budget generally pick the ISBN from Lulu.com, which can only be used on Lulu.com.

Most distribution/publishing websites you upload your paperback manuscript to will offer their own FREE ISBN to you. You may have your paperback on several sites and they will all have their own ISBN…that is unless you bought your own which cost quite a lot.  Also note if you chose not to use and ISBN then you will be restricted with what you do with your book.  

In Image 7 we have decided to get the FREE ISBN which gives you the barcode for the back of your book and you can also put this number inside your book. You need to download and save your BARCODE to a safe place on your computer.

Now we are getting to the interior of your book.  In Image 8 (above) you need find your manuscript. Click on CHOOSE FILE, hunt down your story (we find PDF is best) and then click UPLOAD and wait for the file to load.  Fight at the bottom you will find the Filename once it is loaded. Make sure there is only one file there and delete any extra or old ones in the instance you have to upload again.

Image 9 shows you your manuscript uploading.

Image 10 Shows the file finally uploaded. It is at this stage you can download the new file to review it at your leisure and check for issues.

Next comes the BOOK COVER. Your graphic artist will have sent you a full wrap PDF book cover or the individual front and back images for you to upload.

In the Image 11 is shows the old cover system. This is where you can upload a front cover and back cover jpegs. Lulu will make the Spine for you. You will need to pick a book style, remove the writing on the cover because it should already be on your images. This is unless you are going to use their template and build your own book cover. As you can see above your barcode is already set. You will only need to add it if you are NOT using their template. You will also need to choose a colour for your spine to match the images you uploaded and put in the book title and author name etc. Remember all images need to be 300 dpi.

I WILL DO A PRESENTATION FOR THE OLD BOOK COVER STYLE IN ANOTHER POST.

Image 12 is the one piece PDF book cover. Like with your manuscript you CHOOSE FILE and UPLOAD. This cover must have the exact measurements of the book it is covering. 

All cover images need to  be 300 dpi images

Image 13 is showing your book cover being uploaded to Lulu. As you can see it works the same way as it did for your manuscript.

 

Image 14 shows your Print Cover is ready to be downloaded and be reviewed prior to proceeding to the next stage.

Now it is time to describe your project. In Image 15 (above) you need to fill in the category, if it has explicit content and also the keywords for future readers to find you book to buy.

In Image 16 – it is a continuation of the page. Every book needs a synopsis or a book blurb. This is a description of what your book is about. Make sure it entices your readers in. Like with the first line in a book, the first line of your book blurb is important to your SALES.

Underneath the description you pick your language, copyright notice, license, the edition of your book and who your publisher is.  The copyright notice will generally use your name. Many Indie Authors also use their name, and small publishing house name (depending on how much work the said company does for them) or make their own company to use as Publisher.

Now it is time to work out the cost of your book. In Image 17 it shows you three columns. In the first one is SET YOUR PRICE. They show you a minimum price (£8.00) and a price they choose of £15.50. In the next column it shows what your revenue would be if you abide by their pricing. From Lulu you would earn £7.73 and from extended distribution you would get £3.00.

£15.50 is a bit high for a book. This particular client chose £10.00 which meant their revenue ended up lower.  The good thing to remember is you can change your prices at any time.  

Also in column one is the DISCOUNT Tab. It is here you can run a SALE with whatever Discount you wish.  Many authors do this type of thing with a new release or during special holidays they celebrate.

In image 18 it is generally for first time customers. You will need to sort out your payment and tax records. For authors not in the USA you will need to fill in a W-8-BEN .  Once the tax info is filled in, email it to the company.  Lulu pay via PayPal which means you end up getting paid once your sales hit a certain target.

Time to REVIEW your PROJECT in Images 19 & 20

This is your final opportunity to check out and review your book cover and book interior online. Download the PRINT READY FILES. It reminds you what your BOOK PROPERTIES are. Also check the DESCRIPTION – usually on the right, for spelling errors and grammar.

Image 20 with the final details. Note you can change the PRICING and LICENSE here as well as who can see the book. Once you hit the next SAVE & CONTINUE it will PUBLISH to LULU and YOUR AUTHOR PAGE.

YOU HAVE PUBLISHED YOUR BOOK TO LULU

What else do you have to do?  You need to decided if you want to extend the distribution to Amazon, Ingram and Barnes & Noble. To do this you have to purchase a PROOF COPY from LULU.

GLOBAL REACH FOR YOUR BOOK

You want to go for GLOBAL REACH? You’ve ordered your PROOF COPY? Then you can move forward. You click on the Global Reach tab in the below image and it will take you to another page.

Your submission will be pending until you have received and proofed your paperback. Once you have approved the book you will be able to GO GLOBAL.  Please remember if you have to make any changes to your book you will have to upload a new copy and order another PROOF COPY.  This is why it is imperative to make sure the PDF copy you download in REVIEW YOUR PROJECT is correct.  

As an Author I have had to order three PROOF COPIES due to something I missed. Triple check if you must.

 

 

FINAL APPROVAL OR CREATE A REVISION. TO GIVE FINAL APPROVAL GO TO YOUR PROJECTS PAGE AND YOU CAN APPROVE IT THERE. oVER THE FOLLOWING WEEKS YOUR BOOK WILL BE DISTRIBUTED WORLDWIDE TO ALL ONLINE STORES.

ALSO REMEMBER YOU CAN BUY IN YOUR OWN COPIES TO ON SELL AT BOOK EVENTS, SIGNINGS ETC.

 

THAT IS ALL FOR NOW. I DO HOPE THIS HELPS. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS

PLEASE ASK.

THANK YOU!

Indie Publishing News Needs Your HELP

Plaisted Publishing House produces a FREE Marketing Magazine for Indie Authors and those who support them – aka Editors, Graphic Designers, Illustrators, Marketers etc.  This magazine celebrated it’s second year in Feb 2018.  We have 526 members in the GROUP

We have 370 signed up to receive and share this magazine which widened the social media marketing for all participants. The problem is…Group Members are not participating enough to put out a monthly magazine. Yes I have my regulars though it would be lovely to see more group members join in.  If this doesn’t happen the magazine will dwingle until is it no more. I can’t push much harder than I already am. I have other work to do as well.  As an author we all belong to groups where we can share links to this magazine, we can encourage other authors to join the group and sign up for the magazine. PLEASE HELP ME TO HELP YOU

What I am looking for each month:

  • Interviews  (4)
  • Flash Fiction (4)
  • Poetry Singles (3)
  • Poetry Books (4)
  • New Releases (16 – 20)
  • Books on SALE (4 – 8)
  • Children’s Books (4)
  • Education Items (3)
  • Reviewers of Indie Books (8 – 12)
  • YA Reviews (3 – 4)
  • Reader Reviewers (2 – 4)
  • Charity Books (3)
  • Events (3 – 4)
  • Audio Books
  • Book Trailers

Yes it is a big job for me and yes I pull the magazine together all by my self. There is no teamwork for this.

You can sign up for the magazine HERE

You need to read it, share it, email it out, blog it….GET IT OUT THERE AND SHOW YOUR WORK.  WORK WITH ME TO PROMOTE YOU. I CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH. I REFUSE TO CHASE AFTER PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE. IF THIS MAGAZINE GOES DOWN THE TUBES THEN SO BE IT.