eBook Marketing: Is Buying a Great Book Review Your Cup of Tea?

With the huge controversy brewing in the Book Publishing Industry over book reviews and how they’re obtained and used, I thought I would jump in on this.

We have exposed a problem in the trust of one of the decision points buyers have. Is the ebook as good as the review says it is? How much do readers/buyers rely on reviews? Could this start the end of a time-old tradition? Are there professional reviewers still out there that have strong ethics and do the job honestly?

Reviews are Part of the Game

Indie authors are easy to point the finger at. They already have an uphill battle against the traditional publishing and their large marketing machines. So if they buy a good review, is it gaming the system? What happens if they get a bad review? Do they bury it?

On the other side, traditional publishers call it a marketing plan. It’s the same thing, they just do it differently. It is just an investment in marketing. They sent out review copies to all the high powered media groups and get their feedback and then cherry pick the best reviews. The buying public has never called it a conflict of interest. Think back. Have you ever seen a bad review on a dust cover? I don’t think so. You’ll see the bad ones only online, where they are from customers or the reviews aren’t paid for.

Decision Making
So how important are book reviews to the buying decision? Will an author’s success depend on good reviews?

My first move was to review a study conducted by Mark Coker from Smashwords through Mobileread and posted on his blog. The study question was: “Select the single most common criterion you, the reader, follow to discover your next read.” The result was different than I expected but it should help guide indie authors in focusing their marketing effort.

The first item that caught my eye was: Reviews are considered first in the decision process only 7% of the time. I guess you can get used to reading words like: spell-binding, a real thriller, engaging, etc. after a while.

My pick for top method was second in his survey: 18% picked the ebook because it was one of their favorite authors.

That gets me to the survey’s top pick: 29% indicated that online recommendations from fellow readers, forums, blogs and message boards were first. That tells me that online communities are what readers are using the most to guide their decisions. The 7% may put this problem in perspective.

Do bookstores still fit into the process?

Remember the good old days when there were one or two bookstores in every mall. You could browse a store, make eye contact with the book cover, read the dust cover and the prominent reviews and that would close the deal right there.

Bookstores are slowly moving out of the equation. That touch and feel is not part of the process anymore. They are becoming more of a showroom.

Not the Internet. It has a massive number of books online and it’s really only starting. The reader has started to change their selection process and indie author must take notes. Ebooks will stay on the virtual Internet shelves of online retailers for a very long time without a space issue and so will all their reviews.

Time Management

As most indie authors know by now, time management is the key to their productivity. If you’re writing a novel, doing your marketing thing and trying to handle 1,000 followers on your twitter account, you have to manage your minutes.

Buyers and readers have the same problems. That is why the successful indie author must target their readers online. Your audience/reader’s attention span is getting shorter. As Coker’s study suggests, you must rely on online communications to get to your customers.

Remember you are dealing with a community of unorganized people talking about what books they like and don’t like. The question is: How much will they rely on reviews to make their buying decision and should you invest in them?

Are Buying Reviews your Cup of Tea?

An indie author has a big decision to make about buying reviews to sell their ebook. Some marketing experts say that word of mouth is the best way to promote your book. Whether it is word of mouth or tweet to tweet or by cultivating Facebook friends, the process will be online.

I am always doing a little study here and there trying to figure out what is going on in this crazy industry. Here is a quick one I will share. This is a very limited one involving reviews and success.

I choose a prominent indie author for the study who has had major success in the ebook market place. I took one of the author’s latest books and looked at the reviews versus success.

Source: Amazon buy page: contained the usual book description, a book trailer, editorial reviews, online reviews from major outlets, individual reviews and a brief question and answer session with the author.

Priced: $9.99 (not a cheap one).

Reviews: This book had over 350 reviews from verified customers and top ranking reviewers with lots of comments. (Would anyone ever read 350 reviews to make a buying decision? People have a hard time going to the second page of a Google search.)

Results: A 3 star overall rating (not one of the author’s better books)

Kicker: the ebook is 35^th in sales in the Kindle Store.

Conclusion: The quantity of reviews gave the buyers a good indication of the quality of the ebook and they didn’t care. They purchased it anyway. In this case, the reviews really didn’t matter. The downside to the author is that the mediocre reviews will stay online forever.

So how important are book reviews and should you pay for them?

The goal is to get readers to go to your buy page, charm and convince them this book is for them and then buy the book. Right. If paying for book reviews is not your cup of tea, you must come up with another plan of attack.

You need to understand how the buying process works and study your audience. Where are they? How can I get to them?

The author sighted above has developed a following through social media and has written to a popular genre. The author is not relying on reviews to sell books.

The Internet has lots of noise in the social media area but that is still becoming a popular method of marketing and communications.

Independent Book Reviews

I hate to see the individual review services take the heat on this. Many are honest, reputable, long standing people. Some of them do the reviews because they love to read. Just a few cross the line.

The Internet has changed the way we look at book reviews because of the quantity of them available to readers. No more does the reader rely on quick-snapshots on the dust cover or a glowing review in a major magazine or newspaper. Now we have real live readers giving their opinions. I think one of the reasons only 7% use the reviews to make the buying decision is that there so many book reviews, which in some cases are not reliable, they look for information.

The tea party is not over.

Some of the big hitters are trying to add credibility to the process. For example, Amazon has had their own accredited review system called Vine for several years now.

It is an invitation-only review program that allows manufacturers and publishers to receive reviews for books that have been offered on Amazon.com. Companies that use this service pay for access. Some receive a free book in exchange for the review.

The criteria for picking the reviewers is based on trust, whatever that means. The reviewers are not paid and the review will be published regardless whether the review is good or bad.

Another player in the review game is LibraryThing. They call their program Early Reviewers. They are more focused on publishers who furnish free advanced copies to readers in exchange for reviews.

They do have a program for self-published authors called Member Giveaways. The authors list their book in the program to give free to prospective reviewers. The reviewers are picked randomly. The catch here is they are not required to review the book.

Our host here, SPR provides a book review service. For a very small fee, the author gets his book reviewed by an expert and the review gets posted by SPR and with on-line retailers.

From reviewing SPR’s reviews they have posted, they do a good and fair job in reviewing the books.

There are other good review services that also show professionalism in their approach to the review process. Those are the reviews we need to get in front of the readers.

Maybe we can have some sort of industry accreditation system for reviewers put into place; a review that will give the readers a better idea of the quality of the book. You know, one that raises the flag when the book doesn’t match the reader’s expectations.

A big question I have is: If only 7% of readers use reviews to make the buy decision, do you need to buy 5 star reviews to sell your ebook?

That’s your decision. Before proceeding, check out some of the most popular online communities. There is a lot more to marketing than the book reviews.

Some sources

Some of the forums I follow are: Mobilereads, Kindleboards, Goodreads, Nookboards and LibraryThing.

A great blog discussion on the book review topic is: Should Authors Pay for Book Reviews? by Joel Friedlander on August 29, 2012

Another great blog that can help indie authors in the right direction is:

How To Get Amazon’s Top Customer Reviewers To Review Your Book by Joanna Penn on September 16, 2012. 

So do you have any ideas on how to improve the practice of paid book reviews?

How does buying your way in, benefit you in the long run?

Let’s build a list of forums through your comments that will help indie authors get exposure to there readers.

Follow Me on Twitter: @jimhbs

Or EMAIL at: jim@jamesmoushon.com
View my website: James Moushon – Mystery Writer

Or visit my blog: The eBook Author Corner
Take a look at my NEW blog: HBS Author’s Spotlight

Check out the Jonathon Stone Mystery Novel: Call Off The Dogs

 

 

 

eBook Marketing: Include Live Contact Information in Your eBook

One of the most important things you can do in this ebook world is to provide your reader with your current contact information. I monitor over 50 authors and ebook experts blogs on a regular basis and finding their contact links is quite a challenge.

Surprisingly, I find the same problem in the current ebooks that are being published. If they do include link information, rarely is it a live link.

I feel the authors are missing a large marketing opportunity. Here are some ideas you may want to consider.

Different Products

One of the things I have been harping on for the last several years is that a traditional paper book is a different product then the ebook version, especially the pre-content information.

In fact, this information should be different between your retailers. Yes, you should have a different version of your ebook for each vendor. Whether it is Amazon or Barnes and Noble or Smashwords, they should have a different version of the ebook. Not the story or the major content but the front end of the ebook.

In other words, the ebook should not be just a copy of the paper version.

Contact Page

An easy way to keep in touch with your reader is to include a Contact Page in the front of the ebook. You know, one the reader can use to access your major contact points. The continuing communications with your followers should be a major part of your marketing effort.

Here is an example of the one I have in my novel, “Call Off The Dogs.”

Your Ebook can be updated

Your ebook lives on the fast moving Internet. Internet addresses and links included in ebooks will change and new communication points will definitely come along. In fact with the long life of an ebook, it is a reality. Wait a minute. Your ebook can be updated anytime you want. Just make the change and re-publish.

In contrast, once the paper book hits the shelves, any link to the Internet is cast in concrete. That’s not the case with your ebook.

Ask for a review, twice

You might ask me the following question after looking at the example above. I see a link to help my reader enter a review of my ebook. What is that all about?

You should give your reader easy access to your buy page to let them review your book. Just include it on your contact page.

Once the buy is done, most readers don’t go back to the buy page. Add this link to the contact information in the front of your book. Give them an easy way to write about your ebook.

To top it all off, ask them again for a review at the end of your ebook.

In a lot of cases, authors are still not providing live links to the outside world to help the readers keep in touch.

Don’t miss this marketing opportunity. Keep your contact information up-to-date in all your ebooks. It is just an upload away.

What do you think about adding a Contact Page to the front of your ebook? Will publishers buy into this concept? Have I missed anything you would like to add to the Contact Page?

Follow Me on Twitter: @jimhbs

Or EMAIL at: jim@jamesmoushon.com

Or visit my blog: The eBook Author Corner

Check out my Jonathon Stone Mystery Novel: Call Off The Dogs

NOTE: The examples in this blog are displayed as an image (to keep borders to resemble a book page) and do not have live link to accommodate the blogging software.

Indie Authors: Your Copyright Page Needs Work

One of the first things an indie author should realize is that the printed version of their book does not have the same content as the ebook version and the differences start right in the front of the book.

 

It starts with the Copyright Page.

The first area that jumps out is the copyright page should be different. In fact, the copyright page should be different between the various ebook versions, i.e. Amazon vs. Barnes and Noble vs. Smashwords, etc.

After reviewing a couple dozen recent ebooks from indie authors, the first item that should be added to the copyright page is the paper source of the ebook. Not having that information now doesn’t seem to be a major problem. But ask me that question in three years when I still have that same ebook on my e-reader and the hardcover book has a new edition. This could be a major problem with non-fiction ebooks. Not so much with fiction.

Amazon has seen the need to add the source information in their on-line product description to help. They have added a line: Page Number Source ISBN. But the ebooks that I reviewed didn’t have a clue to the original source document.

Here is where the train leaves the tracks. With the missing source information, there was no indication where the book’s content originated from or how we got to the digital format.

Certain information is required.

Somebody must have missed the memo about what information is required and what format the information should be presented in because we had a wide variety of formats and information, to say the least. Almost none of them matched.

The copyright page should have the basics. They should have the copyright notice, the Publisher and publishing information, a disclaimer, the edition data, the Library of Congress information and the ISBN.

Although it is not required, some gave credit to the basic book formatting and design people. Things like cover photograph, cover image/art, interior design and edited by information.

The ebooks did have some direct information about the ebook. One had ‘First Kindle Edition’. Another said ‘Epub edition © with a date and eISBN 978- number’.

I don’t know if ‘eISBN’ is official but its meaning is obvious. One ebook even had ‘Mobipocket reader format’ mentioned.

Only one of the ebooks had any information at all about the source. (“Simon & Schuster hardcover edition June 2010”) Maybe it should have included the ISBN of the paper version.

Adding more information to the ebook copyright page goes along with the same concept we use for an accurate bibliography, footnotes and appendix.

Here is My Wish List.

We are missing the boat with the copyright page. It’s like seeing Original Source: Undisclosed on the copyright page. That just doesn’t work. The ebook is a different product than the paper version. We need to provide more information.

 1.      We need the ISBN number and the hardcover edition on the copyright page like Amazon is providing on their ebook Product Production page. Of course, they are including this to help sync the page numbers with the hard copy but it should have been required in an ebook by publishers before Amazon added the feature.

2.      We need different copyright pages for each version of an ebook. We need a unique copyright page for the Kindle, Nook and Kobo, etc. Smashwords has its own copyright page format which is the same with each version (epub, mobi, txt, etc.) they sell. I don’t know whether that is good enough in the long run.

3.      I would like to see a reference on the copyright page about the ebook conversion process used. Is this an ebook only version? Is the source document from the original book’s source file or was it a scanned /OCR version to a digital file. This will give the reader some idea of the accuracy of the conversion.

4.      If you have web addresses and contact information on this page, the links should be live links. Make it easy for readers to form a relationship with you by taking advantage of the opportunity to get the information to them. Never pass up a chance to keep in touch with your reader base. Remember unlike the traditional book that is cast in stone, the eBook can be edited easily and republished if the upfront information changes.

Here are two examples that I found.

Kindle Version

Original Source: How to Create Copyright Pages Right – by Jim Satire

Hardcover Edition March 2011 (ISBN: 978-9-9999-9999-8)
Kindle Edition – 1.5.1 – Build 11/7/2011
Original Process: Direct from Digital Source File
Created by: Amazon DTP
Conversion Services by: HBSystems Publications
Rendered by: James Moushon

Nook Version

Original Source: How to Create Copyright Pages Right – by Jim Satire
Hardcover Edition March 2011 (ISBN: 978-9-9999-9999-9)
Nook Edition – 1.6.1 – Build 11/23/2011
Original Process: Direct from Digital Source File
Created by: BN Pubit
Conversion Services by: HBSystems Publications
Rendered by: James Moushon

Traditional publishers and self-publishers are responsible for this additional information. Sometimes publishers get caught up in trying to get the ebook out the door at the lowest cost rather than doing their own due-diligence. The Indie author does not have that luxury. You must stay out in front of this information and marketing opportunity.

Your ebook can’t be just a copy of the hardcover. It all starts with the copyright page and the definition of the sources of the ebook. Right now it appears that this is missing information in most ebooks.

 

A Great Source of Information on this is from Joel Friedlander

Joel is an expert in this area. He blogged ‘Self-Publishing Basics: The Copyright Page’.

Use it as a starting point.

Are you including this information in your ebook? Does the Indie publisher have the responsibility to provide this information to the reader?

View my website: James Moushon – Mystery Writer

Or EMAIL at: jim@jamesmoushon.com

Follow Me on Twitter

Check out my Jonathon Stone Mystery Novel: Call Off The Dogs

 

My next blog will discuss your ebook and the Contact Information Page that should be added.

eBook Industry: Does Amazon Have a Winning Hand or a Dead Man’s Hand?

Does Amazon have a winning hand or do they need to draw more cards to stay ahead in the game? Amazon is the dominate player in the ebook industry, hands down. In fact, they are so strong that they can sell some products at a loss and still win the hand.

They can do this because ebooks have a very high profit margin. Check this hand out. I can buy an ebook from Amazon and it’s never touched by human hands. No shipping. No warehousing unless you want to count their file servers. The first physical action is when I pay with my credit card and that can be automated if I chose. So the overhead is very low.

Amazon has attacked the ebook industry with a very aggressive marketing strategy. They have chased away bookstore chains and changed publisher’s ways of doing business. In a few words, they have played their hand perfectly by bluffing the other players into thinking that they can’t be beat.

But as most gamblers know the hand is not over until the last card is dealt. Can someone out draw Amazon by coming up with a better strategy or change the game itself?

The Strengths of Amazon’s Hand

So what is the strength of their hand?

Organization: They have setup an organization and internal software system to effectively manage an online business. A customer can buy an ebook online with immediate download and access the ebook, all at a reasonable price.

They approached the industry with deep pockets by leveraging their ebook products with their large pbook distributing system and a wealth of other products all sold online.

Marketing: They have successfully marketed the Kindle eReader and Kindle Fire as a lower than cost device. Readers have rushed to get the affordable devices not realizing they were committing to a controlled, lasting relationship.

Devices: The eReaders are tied to the Amazon format which allows Amazon to control the user and create a captive audience for their ebooks.

Software: Amazon created a software system to sell ebooks electronically and gather information for marketing at the same time.

Sales Tax: I feel the number one advantage Amazon used to defeat bookstores was the lack of sales tax on their products. This translated into a discount in price for all customer purchases. Customers were going to bookstores and reviewing the book. Then they would access the Internet and purchase the pbook or ebook online avoiding the sales tax.

They are starting to lose this winning hand as States across the country are attacking the free lunch tax advantage Amazon has over physical bookstores.

Self-Publishing: They developed an easy to use self-publishing system for would-be authors with a good royalty package. Now established authors are catching on to the added revenue they can earn and are moving their ebooks to the Amazon game.

Amazon Select: They have developed a program called Amazon Select. This program connects publishers who publish exclusively on Kindle to enter the ebook Lending Library. They will then share in Amazon funding, based on the borrowing of their title. Again EXCLUSIVELY is the key word.

Amazon Exclusives: Their Exclusives program is aimed at securing a captive author’s team. Successful authors can opt-in to sell their titles only at the Amazon publishing venture and avoid Apple and other competitors selling them. It is rumored that Amazon’s new retail store venture will handle only Amazon Exclusive titles.

The Weaknesses of Amazon’s Hand

We can see Amazon’s cards. They have a strong hand but the deal isn’t over. Other players will start to play at the ebook table. Here is the ‘tell’ as they say in the gambling world.

Control: Amazon doesn’t control or own the content. They are the distributor of the products but they don’t create it. The publishers and the authors control the ebooks and they can do anything they want to with it. The Amazon Exclusives program is another move to gain control of the marketplace. There is a good chance that the next big superstar author could start in the ebook self-publishing ranks and they are betting on it.

Single Device: One of the weaknesses is Amazon is betting on their own eReader to capture the market. The Kindle and the Fire are not the best or the fastest eReaders on the market. They have tried to buy the market on price and have done so up to this time. But what stands in their way is they will need to move from their proprietary ebook format to more accessible ebook strategy.

Internet Only: Amazon has no physical presence. They have recognized this and have started to setup a bookstore model in Seattle with only the books they publish and their Kindle devices available; again a closed product offering.

Publishers: Their continuing struggle with publishers is another major problem. For example, the problems have put a major hurdle in front of Amazon’s Lending program.

Prime: Amazon has initiated the Prime program with free shipping, movie streaming and ebook lending but there is no apparent ebook advantage or discount to the program unless you count the ebook exposure through lending.

Search Engine: They have developed a product search engine for ebooks that is becoming unwieldy. Amazon will need to limit their ebook selections at some point. My first novel was about President John F. Kennedy’s Assassination. A search for ebooks about JFK found 238 entries and 74 for the assassination. Would anyone look past entry number 50 on the lists? I doubt it.

Reviews: Self-entered reviews have little or no monitoring. Buyers don’t really know if they are true reviews or a friend of the family. Amazon will need a gatekeeper on ebook entries at some point in time to keep up the quality of their product offering.

Can Another Player Draw a Competitive Hand or Change the way the game is played?

If I could pick my hand from the rest of the deck, what cards would I select? Remember this is not like real poker. I wouldn’t have to leave it up to chance.

Multiple eReaders: First, I would sell multiple eReaders and tablets with multiple formats like Best Buy’s selection. I would pick the best devices for the price including Kindle, Nook (while still available) and the iPad because of the popularity.

Physical Stores: Next I would create stores in high density locations with a showroom of products using a physical, hands on approach. The Apple store model appears to be a winning model for this type of marketing.

On-line Marketplace: I would back this up with an on-line marketplace being fed information from surveys and professional reviews. Software is the key to the winning hand here. Software development is not an exclusive talent.

Franchise: I would franchise locations establishing a brand of quality and knowledge. The franchise would sell ebooks, accessories, author’s presentation, some pbooks and apps on site with a Club membership. The members would receive discounts and rewards for purchases.

Meeting and Classrooms: Each store would have in-store classrooms for special events, meetings, readings and guest presentations. The ebooks selection would be organized by genres. Possible one group would discuss Romance novels while another group would meet and discuss Science Fiction. The store would have demos of products on a continuing bases.

Personal Support: In-store product support would be one of the keys to the venture. The goal would be to provide unique hands on service. The staff would be knowledgeable, first in technology, and then the book sales environment.

Workshops: Author’s workshops would be provided for a fee to assist new authors in entering the ebook arena. The workshops would emphasis ebook concepts, formatting, cover design, where and how to sell and where to get professional help. Consulting workshops with experts in the ebook development process would be regularly scheduled.

Vertical Marketing: The new venture would use a vertical marketing approach to the type of ebooks sold. Each location would get access to local authors and seek out local ebooks for its customers. A key here is creating a human interaction using customer recommendations and selection advice. It would be like developing reading centers for groups of readers to share information. This would be backed up by blogging and social networking.

BN lost their chance. They drew to an inside straight so to speak. How BN has announced Sterling Publishing is for sale and are hunting for a buyer for their Nook product line. Their member’s program has failed in the ebook marketplace.

Know When to Hold Them and When to Draw New Cards

In the ebook industry, anyone can repeat what Amazon has done. There are no trade secrets here just aggressive marketing strategies and now deep pockets.

Like Wild Bill Hickok thought that fateful day in 1876 in Saloon No. 10; just when you think you have the winning hand, someone can come along and outdraw you. He had the Dead Man’s hand and he didn’t realize it until it was too late.

Amazon has the winning hand right now but the level of entry in this game has a relative low ante.  Can someone come up with a better solution or can they change the game by improving the products and services? Are there other things you would add this game to create a winning hand?

View my website: HBSystems Publications
Specializing in the ebook experience

Or EMAIL at: jrm@hbspub.com
Or go to my blog: The eBook Author’s Corner

LinkedIn Profile: James Moushon
Author: Call Off The Dogs, a rendered eBook

Real eBooks: Are We Still in the Stone Age?

So when will we start to see REAL ebooks appear on the market? You know the ebooks that take advantage of their digital environment. Ebooks that have been rendered to improve the reader’s ebook experience. As the number of ebook devices explodes into the book reader’s world, the readers are going to expect more. This statement is especially true with the younger generation whose world seems to center around instant access.

I just completed a study of twenty newly released ebooks just to see how far the art of ebook publishing has advanced in the last year. I choose ebooks from well-known authors, from self-publishing authors, some novels, some technical books. I wanted a variety for my study. I would like to share my observations and suggestions for their improvement.

My contention is that REAL ebooks should be a different product than their paper counterparts. They should be formatted differently; sections arranged differently and in some cases they should have different covers. In short, to be a REAL ebook, they should not be just a copy of the traditional book version.

The following is a list of certain areas that I feel need improvement; areas that you must consider when you create your ebook.

REAL ebooks Links

Rendering your ebook with links is a major step in the right direction in creating a REAL book. What items MUST have links?

1.      The Table of Contents must have links to the chapter headings. Most are doing this now.

2.      Author’s References – the ebook must include links to the author’s website, email address, blogs, online profiles and social networking connections (Facebook/Twitter). You need this to get your reader/audience involved.

3.      Author’s Other Books – there should be links to the buy pages for other books created by the author. Why miss this marketing opportunity.

      For example, in my study two of the ebooks were written by top 10 authors and published by traditional publishers. Both had a list of their other titles, provided credits for the book creation and the usual publisher information. Neither used links to assist the reader in buying other titles or helping their co-developers secure new business. One did have a link to the publisher’s web site. There was no links to the author’s website, blog, email address or social network information.

4.      In book Links – the REAL ebook should have links in the content to footnotes (held in appendix), to word and term definitions and to references. For example, one project I recently worked on was a pictorial about Omaha Beach with over 50 original pictures inserted in the content. With the picture, its title and the picture credits, the content became very difficult to read. The solution was to have a link from the picture title to the picture’s credits in the back of the ebook. If the reader wanted to check out the source they could follow the link and then hit the back key on the ebook device. If the reader didn’t, they could ignore the link and continue without interrupting the reading experience.

Another example in my survey was a technical book about the publishing industry. It was a well written book with lots of good information and references. But there were no links. None! It contained lots of hard coded website addresses and email contact information. All I had to do was re-enter the URL into my web browser and I could find the source.

Actually this is a missed opportunity. One of the problems that traditional books have that REAL ebooks can solve is the maintenance of links in the books. As we know we live in an ever changing world. Web and email addresses change on a daily basis, it seems. So there I am with a link to some interesting information and the link is no good. A broken link, if you will

If the REAL ebook is managed properly, you can avoid or limit this problem. You can create an online directory of links for your ebook. Then you setup a link monitoring process and a link maintenance routine and maintain a valid list of links in the directory. I call this the Goodlinks concept. Just include a link to the online directory in your ebook and you won’t lose your audience.

In fact you can draw the reader to your site and market other products and services. Of course, the beauty of the REAL ebook is you can republish it at any time with the updated links and information.

I believe the REAL ebook can help solve the read-back problems that all readers are faced with at one time or another. I watched a reader the other day try to deal with a novel that was riddled with acronyms and abbreviations. It was getting to be such a problem that half way through the ebook, she actually started writing them down on a separate piece of paper to reference later. Here is an example. “He called USAMRIID for advice.” I give up.

Other Considerations to Ponder

Covers

Sometimes the traditional book cover doesn’t work for the ebook. In this case, size does matter. That great book cover that you had designed is going to go small. On-line distributors try to catch the eye of would-be readers with thumbnail covers. The problem is that sometimes colors get in the way, the type size and face doesn’t look good small and the art gets distorted. A professional designer can solve this problem. You need one that can make the cover work in both environments. Check with our host for this site, Joel Friedlander.

One of the other cover issues is with the effort to get the prospective reader to view a sample of the ebook; some distributors will put a label over the right hand corner of the thumbnail which obscures that portion of the cover. A good designed cover will keep important information viewable like the author’s name or even the title of the book. I saw that in my study.

Copyright

REAL ebooks should include, with their copyright notice, the page number source document for the ebook, especially if the book has various editions. This is relatively a new process but it helps readers coordinate content between the paper version and ebook. This is increasingly important in the educational environment. Students using both hardbound and the ebook versions need a reference point sometimes.

Samples

One of the current ebook marketing strategies is to allow the prospective reader to read a sample of the ebook before buying. All distributors seem to go at this sample process differently but at the end of the day they want to provide the prospective buyer with something that can help with the buying decision. Most of them use a percentage basis.

The REAL ebook concept can help with this process but there has to be a rearranging of the book’s sections if the process is automated like most of them are.

Let me start with an example. I reviewed the buy page on Amazon for each book in my study. I choose one ebook in my study and downloaded the sample, comparing it to the full length version. Here’s what I found.

The ebook sample was in the same section sequence as the paper version. I know there is a traditional way to setup a book. This sample was no exception. It started with the cover followed by the title page, the table of contents, the dedication, the copyright page and a list of the writer’s other works.

So you ask what’s wrong with this. If this sample was going to help sell my ebook, it probably failed. The sample was 80 device pages long but the viewer had to page through 24 pages before they could start reading the book to make a decision.

I believe if you are going to use the sample as a sales tool, there are some slight changes you can make. I would include the cover and the title page with an abbreviated TOC up front along with the author’s other books with buy links. Also I would include upfront the author’s website and contact information. Move the copyright page, dedications and credits to the end of the ebook.

If you get to setup your own sample, keep this in mind. REAL ebooks and their samples should give the prospect what they need to make a decision and only that. A sample doesn’t need a complete table of content. This ebook had 80 chapters which took up four complete device pages and the kicker was; the links to the last 76 chapters were no good. Make the sample simple. Get the reader to your content as quickly as possible.

Bring on the REAL ebook

In most cases, ebooks are still just copies of the paper version but there is a huge opportunity to improve the ebook reading experience. Creative book design and digital links can help us move the ebook experience forward in acceptance.

Currently we have a problem. Let’s face it. Until traditional publishers start to treat ebooks as separate products with different properties and requirements, we have not taken advantage of the digital product. Their approach is simple but self-serving. Get it out the door. Get the copy into an ebook format, charge a higher price than needed and watch the money fall to their bottom line.

The advantage should go to the self-publisher because they control the process. They have the ability to correct the problems easily and make something really special.

Seek a professional to help you through the process if you’re really serious about marketing your ebook.

What do you think about the REAL ebook concept? Is adding links to an already completed product just too much work or would it move your book to the leading edge of ebook world and improve the readers enjoyment?

View my website: HBSystems Publications
Specializing in the ebook experience

Or EMAIL at: jrm@hbspub.com

LinkedIn Profile: James Moushon
Author: Call Off The Dogs, a rendered eBook

This blog was first published at the The Book Designer by Joel Friedlander.

Joel Friedlander is a self-published author and book designer who blogs about book design, self-publishing and the indie publishing life at TheBookDesigner.com. He's also the proprietor of Marin Bookworks, where he helps publishers and authors who decide to publish get to market on time and on budget with books that are both properly constructed and beautiful to read.

It was posted again on the Passive Voice blog hosted by the Passive Guy.

Together the two blogs have generated over 100 comments.

Self-Publishers and eBook Authors Need a CHAMPION to Assist Them in Gaining Access to the Library Lending Process

Amazon’s entry into public libraries and their own lending process through the Prime program has just quadrupled the activity in ebook lending. With this rapid growth of the ebook lending process comes some inherent problems as everyone rushes to get a piece of the action.

At the top of the ladder are the traditional publishers, Amazon and Overdrive. They are the people that have the most control. Their motive is profit. At the bottom rung are the libraries and the authors.

I have discussed this issue with several authors recently and the sentiment is the same. “How do I make a living if they’re going to give my ebook away?”

One author relayed this to me. “I spent 16 months of my life, writing and researching a 600 page technical book/ebook and the sales have been mediocre at best. The hardcover sells for $35.00 USD with the ebook at $19.95 USD.”

“Now my publisher is going to let over 11,000 libraries have access to the ebook version and I haven’t heard anything about me sharing in the income. There is no one to turn to. You know? No competition.”

There are Some Problems with the Current Lending Model?

The current model

The current model is a profit-orientated process designed to funnel readers to the retailer’s buy pages by creating an availability problem. Avid readers want something to read and the convenience of an online device that can access a library’s collection, means they can be reading an ebook in moments. Sounds good!

Retailers and publishers know that ‘lending leads to sales’. The one copy, one user rule insures them the sale of the ebooks to the libraries. Then the publishers jack up the price above even the current online price and start to bring in the money from the libraries. Oh, I forgot to mention, the profit margin on an ebook is in the 90 percent range.

Several publishers have opted out of the lending because they have not bought into the ‘lending leads to sales’ theory. One thing for sure is they control the selection of what is available.

They already have a delay built into the model so the new releases are not available until they have passed an established sales period. This is similar to the movie industry. They do the same thing with new releases by monitoring sales until it passes an acceptable level and then they release the movie to video and online viewing.

And the kicker is that accessing ebooks is not an easy process, as advertised. Just try maneuvering through the catalog and all the separate Internet pages to borrow an ebook.

Amazon

Amazon has a very sound strategy here. They already have the ebook content on their servers. First they throw the readers a bone by allowing some ebooks to be purchased by libraries for lending. Then they flood the device market with Kindles at below market pricing. Some reports say below the cost of production. Of course, the Kindles are using Amazon’s own proprietary format.

Next they add the Amazon Prime lending program which allows a member to borrow one ebook per month for about $6.50 a month. The Prime program does have several other features like free shipping and the ability to stream movies and videos at a price. This could be a trial balloon for something more dramatic like a Cloud-based service renting ebooks and circumventing Overdrive and libraries all together. All links lead to their buy pages and at the same time they are capturing the patron’s information and reading habits.

You know there is too much power here when Amazon includes a publisher’s ebooks without their permission. Of course, the publishers can withdraw their ebooks from the Amazon sales site but I don’t think that is going to happen often.

Amazon biggest benefit is the increased pressure on Barnes and Noble. This competition definitely will affect the Nook ebook availability and their exposure to the Library audience.

Libraries

With Libraries, the squeeze is on. Saddled with limited budgets and a growing demand for ebooks spurred on by the entry of Kindle users into the mix, the availability of new titles is few and far between. And the Nook users are now battling for access to ebooks that before were totally in their domain. The multiple formats, one access per ebook model insures that.

Add to this a movement by publishers to affix an artificial limit to the ebook life cycle. HarperCollins has already put in place a checkout limit of 26 before a library has to rebuy access to a title.

Libraries, who fought for ebook lending, how realize that the opportunity comes at a price. Not only is the demand crushing the system, but the motive behind the change was to sell more ebooks and devices to frustrated readers.

And the price the readers had to pay was the loss of privacy of their information. Now the retailers are capturing all the reading habits of the library patrons with no recourse. To read more about the privacy issue go to Librarian by Day by Bobbi Newman and Librarian in Black by Sarah Houghton.

Another problem is the decision making process. In the library setting, a reader browses the online card catalog looking at very limited information. Next the reader goes to the shelves, finds the book and scans it. Then they borrow it or not.

Unfortunately, with ebooks the catalog descriptions are card-based. Some do provide a sample of the works but that is a very limited number of titles at this time.

And the kicker is libraries, at this point, have no alternative. Avid readers and the authors deserve better.

How do eBook authors and Self-publishers make a Living using this Lending model?

The quick answer is THEY DON’T particularly if they’re just starting out in the business. Traditional authors, who are established in the marketplace and their ebooks are a byproduct of the hardcover publishing process, will do JUST OK with this, if it does indeed lead to more sales.

The newbie author who has to do their own marketing, fight for reviews and work hard at social networking to get word-of-mouth recommendations, are fighting an uphill battle. They need exposure and the lending process seems like the perfect opportunity.

You know when ebook self-publishing stars like Amanda Hocking, David Baldacci and John Locke have a hard time getting by the gatekeepers into the library ebook catalog, something is wrong with the system.

Send in the Champion

So from the self-publishing, ebook author’s and the libraries’ point of view, what is the best alternative to the current model? We need a champion. We need a leader to design and implement a system outside of the current model. One who would compete with the traditional publishers and Amazon. A Gutenberg-type system, filed with current ebook authors and titles. You know a system where libraries can access titles for free or at a reasonable fee.

So what would the ideal system look like?

I have nicknamed this system:

CSPILL or The Champion for Self-Publishers and Independents Library Lending program.

Here is a summary of the attributes of this hypothetical system.

1.      A catalog of ebooks would be established and available to all libraries for lending.

2.      All ebook authors would be eligible to submit their ebooks for inclusion into the CSPILL catalog. (Probably some restriction on sexual connect and such should be determined)

3.      Authors and publishers would be responsible for providing the ebook formatted files.

4.      The system would be Cloud-based and each ebook would always be available.

5.      The collection would have fee-structure like:

A.    Some authors would provide FREE access to their ebooks. (usually early titles)

B.     Other authors would provide their ebooks for a one-time fee for their ebooks with no limit to the life.

C.     Established authors would provide for a yearly fee their ebooks with a library opt-out option.

6.      Privacy Control: No collection of information like borrowing habits will be attempted.

7.      A Dust Cover Description will be provided for readers to search and select a title to borrow. This would also be furnished by the author/publisher.

8.      Access to buy page links will be included in the Dust Cover Summary.

9.      Provide an opportunity for readers to submit reviews and opinions for each title.

So What Does this Buy the Self-publisher and the eBook Author?

1.      Reader’s exposure to the author’s ebooks otherwise denied by publisher controls.

2.      Reader’s reviews and opinions that are so difficult to get by the independent author.

3.      Borrowing gives the reader a free trail of an author’s works rather than a small sample.

4.      A Dust Cover Description concept which would provide the reader with information to help make the decision on which title to borrow.

5.      Assist the ebook author with marketing and branding their style of writing.

A Champion needs to step up to the plate. I think it is a huge opportunity for an organization to provide the self-publisher and independent author a voice in the exploding ebook industry.

Ron Frisch, author of the Promised Valley Rebellion, summed up the thought on this. “Would it take much for a small group of people to set up a website performing the service you describe, to which every independent writer would soon flock? Could SPR or the Association of Independent Authors do it?”

What would happen if a consortium of ebook authors and self-publishers united, offered libraries FREE copies of their ebook for a limited number of copies so they could gain access and exposure to the vast library system?

With all the factors involved, the avid reader is going to be looking for ebooks they can read right now.

References and Good Reading on the Topic

Library eBooks: Is the eBook Ecosystem affected by theAmazon Library Lending Process?

eBook Authors: Is the New KindleLibrary Lending Program a New Opportunity for Self-publishers?

New Questions,Concerns About Kindle’s Lending Library—What About Authors? By Laura Hazard Owen

Amazon will lend Kindlebooks for free, but authors will get paid from Book Making by Michael N. Marcus

Kindle lending library for self-publishers by Henry Baum

Internet Librarian 2011: Keynote – Lee Raine From Librarian In Black by Sarah Houghton

Public Library eBooks on the AmazonKindle – We Got Screwed 

from Librarian by Day by Bobbi Newman

Libraries Got Screwed by Amazon andOverdrive

from Librarian in Black by Sarah Houghton

View my website: HBSystems Publications
Specializing in the ebook experience

Or EMAIL at: jrm@hbspub.com
Or go to my blog: The eBook Author's Corner

LinkedIn Profile: James Moushon
Author: Call Off The Dogs, a rendered eBook

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