Is there money in ebooks? [infographic]

Now Novel is a fantastic site committed to help authors go through the process of writing and publishing a book. Their team has just created a very interesting infographic every aspiring writer should take a look at.

Asking a question “Is there money in ebooks”, the chart shows a fantastic growth of ebook market – from 1% in 2008 to 30% in 2012 with a prediction of 50% in three years from now (figures for US market).

The most interesting part, however, is showing the revenue split between author, publisher, and agent. If you want your book to be published the traditional way (and of course if you will be lucky enough to get a publisher), you will receive roughly 12% of the pie. Getting into digital publishing shifts proportions – you, the author, are the one to get most of the revenue.

So, on one side there is a traditional publisher, who gets 80%. On the others side we see self-publishing platforms like Smashwords or Scribd, where author gets (at least) 80%.

But money comes not only from the revenue split. Ebook market is growing not only in the US. By publishing your book on Amazon or Kobo or Smashwords you are making it available for any English-speaking reader in the entire world!

And remember, you don’t (and in fact you should not) do everything by yourself. Self-publishing is not about writing publishing, and marketing a book the DIY way. Not any more. Digital publishing gives the author the steering wheel – a power to decide which experts to hire to make sure the new novel will have most chances to succeed.

Now Novel

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How Much Does it Cost to Self-Publish a Book?

The way I see it self-publishing a book is much like planning and launching a business. It is very easy to spend way more than you set out to. A good self-publishing plan can help you keep your spending in check and keep your priorities where they should be. Here is a breakdown of some of the costs you can expect when self-publishing:

Beta Readers: Free – $200. You will need some willing participants besides your friends and family who will give you their honest opinion before you start the process of turning manuscript into book.

Cover Design: $200 – $1000. Unless you have graphic design experience, I wouldn’t attempt this as a DIY. I pass up so many self-pub’d books due to poor cover design.

*Proof Reader and Editor: $500 – $3000. This is a critical step! There is nothing worse than a poorly edited book. Save lots of $$ here if you happen to have a close relationship with someone who is an editor or an editor that is willing to barter with you.

ISBN: Free – $250. ISBNs are free in Canada, but must be purchased in the US. The cost is $125 for 1 ISBN or $250 for 10. You will most likely need an ISBN for your ebook and a separate one for your paper copy (Kindle books do not use ISBNs). If you are planning on releasing multiple versions or titles 10 is the way to go. Most self-publishing companies also offer a free ISBN, but they will be listed as your publisher. With your own ISBN you can choose your own publishing company name.

Book Layout and Formatting: $150 – $350. Depending on the shape of your manuscript, the intricacies of your design ideas and how many changes you need to make after submitting to the designer.

Author Photo: $200 – $700. If you know someone who is a photographer, great, save some money here! While a professional author photo is not required to publish a book it sure makes the back cover  look great and you will need one for putting together your media kit for marketing the book down the road.

Book Listing: $25 – $300. Depending on your self-pub service they may charge a fee for your book to be made available for book sellers and online retailers.

Ebook Conversion: Free – $200. With some dedication and technical knowledge you can do this one yourself in Microsoft word. Otherwise choose a service provider that can format your ebook for you.

Book Printing: You don’t actually have to order your own books beyond your review copy but I highly recommend having some to send to reviewers and media. It’s also a good idea to include book parties in your marketing plan, and you should definitely have books on hand to sell for those. These costs vary greatly but as a basic idea you can view how Createspace determines cost per copy. You can also view aCreatespace royalty calculator.

Proof Copy: $20 – $50.  Once all your files are submitted you will want a copy to go over to double and triple check for errors. You may want extra copies to enlist other to put their eyes on it to see things you may have missed.

Book Marketing and PR: $50-$20000. There are a vast amount of things you can spend money on when marketing your book. A few examples: review copies $5-$10, author website and hosting $60 – $600,  book Trailer Free – $800, materials like bookmarks, postcards etc. $50+, advertisements $20+, online marketing plan $200+. A great way to keep these costs down and give your book a great head start is to start building up social media followers at least a year in advance and work on it daily, with a goal of a minimum a few thousand followers.

These are some costs that should be considered but every book is different and so will each self-publishing experience.  I would recommend getting quotes from all your providers before starting out on your project.

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You might also like:

• Directory Of Self-Publishing Companies

 

 

The most-annoying writing mistakes [Infographic]

The most-annoying writing mistakes. I guess this infographic is mostly for me, as a writer guilty of about half of these!

This infographic was originally posted on Career Enlightment.

 

Self-publishing vs. Traditional publishing [Infographic]

Self-publishing vs. Traditional publishing infographic Ever thought you as an author are leaving so much money on the table?

This infographic was originally posted on America’s Press.

 

15 facts every self-publisher should know

TICs y Formación

Hola:

Una infografía con 15 datos sobre autopublicación que has de conocer.

Un saludo

 

 

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Self-Publishing By The Numbers

Well done infographic about self-publishing vs. traditional publishing.

Research your market, outline your book, section it into bite-size chunks, then work on it until it’s finished. It doesn’t have to be long, especially if it’s cheap. Check out Seth Godin’s books for an example of short and sweet. Just make sure your book delivers value on every page.

Once your feet are wet from your first eBook, you can finally get around to writing the novel you’ve been dreaming about!

Infographic by: Website Creation.com

Though I’m a creative type, I’m also pretty obsessed with numbers and charts, so I found this to be a really interesting breakdown of self publishing vs. traditional.

If you just scan the article, it will probably seem like e-books and self-publishing are no brainers. You receive a larger portion of the profits, there’s no printing costs, and the risk is significantly lower. But there are a few key points here that may be overlooked:

1. In the self-publishing vs. traditional book deal section, it shows that you’d have to sell almost 3000 books before earning $10k (the average book advance). Most people think, “3000 books? No problem!” but this infographic clearly shows that the average sale of Lulu.com books is around 150. Though we hear plenty of self-publishing success stories, the reality is, on average, self-published books sell less than traditionally published books. If your goal is to reach as many readers as possible, especially as a first-time novelist, you’re better off with a traditional publisher.
2. I was happy to see that this demonstrated the higher cost for print books. When you’re with a traditional publisher, they have the ability to print and warehouse bulk orders of books. The more books you order, the less each costs, so the overall profit is significantly higher. But as most self-published authors will tell you, it’s all about the e-books.
3. The e-book case study demonstrates some very appealing numbers. Who wouldn’t want to earn $24k a month? But what the case study neglects to highlight is that J.A. Konrath had a strong online following as a traditionally published author prior to transitioning to self-pubbing. I don’t forsee a newbie author, unless they’re some sort of celebrity, generating these types of numbers.

Feel free to share your thoughts or ask any questions you may have. It’s a lot of data, but I think overall, very informative.

 

This infographic was originally posted on The Digital Writer.