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Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Dec 29, 2018 20:03:52 GMT
This is the thread where we'll talk about being wide and share our best tips and tricks, lessons learned, and experiences. You can also ask questions. There aren't a lot of us here, but you never know one of us might know the answer. Perhaps your questions will convince a knowledgeable lurker to come out of lurkdom.  I am wide through Draft2Digital, and I love it, although I don't make a ton of sales. I do make more on Amazon, however, I sometimes sell books through D2D that don't sell at all on Amazon. And every extra penny counts. I don't use all of D2D's features mainly because I don't care enough about the stuff I've published so far to mess with it. Once I've got TUOK ready I likely will. So advice number one is don't be lazy and neglect any of the options that the aggregators provide for you. You can get to Amazon through D2D again, but I still go direct. A lot of the stores won't accept smut, only apple, B&E, Kobo, 24 symbols, and tolino accept it. Scribd doesn't accept religious material. At least I think it was Scribd. They are kinda picky and I've had a lot of things rejected by them. But if you don't write erotica or religious you can get everything else accepted much more easily. I've heard that going direct as much as possible will net you more money plus better advertising and visibility. However, aggregators are really a time-saver and are nice if you're new to off-amazon. Plus, a lot of them only pay with Paypal, or Paypal and check. I only use the stores/aggregators that pay via direct deposit. But if you have PayPal or can get one, going direct might be a better option for you. You can find a list of a ton of marketplaces and aggregators in the sticky thread, so go there if you're looking for more info about that. Some tips I've heard other authors recommend are: Save formatted templates for each store/aggregator with the correct backmatter for each store, so that once publishing time comes, you can paste your book into the template, submit; then do it for the next marketplace, and the next, until you're done. What I did with Audra Black is place all the buy links on my author site, and then link to that in the backmatter so I only needed one file for both Amazon and D2D. If I was using Smashwords I would need a different file though because they don't accept my D2D files. The one link saves time. Some of the stores will allow you to include links to other stores, but some of them like apple do not. Plus, it's easier for shoppers of B&N to be linked to your other books on B&N than your other books on Amazon. Keep a spreadsheet for each book and where and when you have submitted them. This will come in handy when you decide to try KU again but forgot that your book was published to that little store in Germany. This will help you stay out of trouble with Amazon. Make sure to visit each store where your book has been submitted, and browse around to look at your competition, store layout, etc. I admit to being lazy and not doing this most of the time. That's all I've got - your turn!
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Post by robertlcollins on Dec 29, 2018 21:22:25 GMT
I go wide through Smashwords, and direct to Amazon and Google Play. I started using SW before D2D existed, and I have everything there now, so I don't have much interest in changing. I like the reporting I get at SW. I like their coupon program, though it hasn't done much for me. Since Amazon and SW use .doc files, I can create just one and upload to each. I start with SW because the "meatgrinder" is useful in finding bugs in the formatting of my files. My files have been pretty clean for some time now, but it's good to know I have a way of learning if a problem has cropped up that I missed.
The Google Play store works better with a .epub file so that's what I upload there. It is a rather quirky store to deal with. The reporting tools aren't great. Google also automatically discounts anything sold there, so you have to adjust your retail price so that it will match the actual price elsewhere. On the other hand the Google Play store is in countries where Amazon and the various SW distributors aren't selling ebooks. It's worth dealing with the quirks to make certain you're worldwide.
Otherwise, when it comes to back-matter, I just have a simple bio with a link back to my blog. I've recently updated my blog so it's easier to navigate, and I've put blurbs with all the books I have available. That way nothing is likely to get bounced and I save myself some work.
That's pretty much it for me.
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Post by Jeff Tanyard on Dec 30, 2018 6:00:54 GMT
D2D gives you the option of adding a Books2Read page in the back matter, and I recommend taking advantage of it. It adds links to your other books, but they're store-specific (if I recall correctly). It's automated and really handy.
I'm direct on Amazon and Kobo. I recommend being direct on Kobo in order to take advantage of their in-house promotions. Kobo is basically a dead zone for me as far as sales go... except when I've got a book in one of their in-house promotions. Then I make a handful of sales. It's still not much, but it's better than nothing, and most of the promotions are of the percentage-take variety rather than the upfront-fee variety, so there's no cost or risk for those.
D2D will make an epub for you from the .doc or whatever you upload, and they will also let you use that epub anywhere. No restrictions. You can open a D2D account just for this purpose if you want. Yeah, the D2D folks really are that awesome.  |
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Post by davidvandyke on Dec 31, 2018 20:15:50 GMT
If you truly want to make a go of wide, and don't expect to return to KU repeatedly (some people actually do this, every six months to a year), I'd say try to go direct whenever you can.
If you don't go direct, you often give up a lot for the convenience.
That 10% you pay to D2D or Smashwords mounts up over time. Also, with the majors (KDP, Kobo, Apple, Nook, GP) they sometimes make promos available, for free or for a price. I've occasionally gotten Bookbub-level publicity when one of the vendors decided to smile upon me.
KDP is easy to go direct, and gives you instant, important control of your Amazon presence, especially when wedded to Author Central.
Kobo is easy, and they have a standing promo section where you can apply for promos any time.
B&N/Nook is easy and they now also have an in-house promo section.
For Apple you have to have a Mac (or possible an emulator?) and they sometimes select you for promos
For Google Play, you have to email them and apply for an account, but they usually grant it, and while their interface and reporting is opaque, it appears they also, somehow, promote some books or series, as I've seen big, unexplained spikes from time to time.
For the rest, it makes sense go through D2D or Smashwords, until and unless something is making you a lot of money. I pick up two or three figures a month through the cats and dogs of the little vendors, but at that level it's worth letting the aggregators do the work.
For me, it's been having a permafree for every series and relentlessly applying for BookBubs that has helped establish me wide. I also promote the permafrees on the twenty or so second-tier sites like ENT and FreeBooksy, using each every ninety days to six months, in counterpoint to the BBs. In other words, I don't stack my permafrees with BBs--I do the second-tier promotion in between the BBs, because I want them to be constantly in steady promo rotation, not spiking.
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Post by writeway on Jan 1, 2019 6:40:05 GMT
One thing people often don't mention is that what sells good in KU might not sell well wide so if you are writing books geared toward KU readers you might have a hard time. It's difficult being wide anyway and it takes patience and a lot of dedication so if you are going to go wide you need to stick with it. Jumping in and out of KU only hurts you with other retailers. It's been said (and I believe this is true) that other retailers take note of authors who jump in and off their sites. This is what I've heard. Also, you can't go wide for a month, get discouraged and then run back to KU and wonder why you can't sell wide. Wide is NOT like Amazon. You aren't gonna get the impulse buyers or the binge readers wide. Wide readers pay for every book they buy and they stick to a certain retailer. Research has shown that wide readers are not the binge readers you might see in KU who snatch up ten books and read five in a day. Wide readers might buy a few books a month if that and some don't buy that much. Understanding the differences in the retailers and readers is important or else you will fail. This is my advice for going wide: Patience: If you can't give wide at least a year before bailing then don't waste your time. It could take that or longer before you see any returns wide. Remember, the readers are different and not the binge ones like in KU. These people don't read as much but when they find an author they like they are way more loyal than the readers in KU who seem to just download stuff because it's free. Wide readers pay for every book they get so they want quality and they pay attention to the author, not just the type of book it is. KU readers tend to pick books based off of tropes not necessarily because they like an author. Kind of like Harlequin readers who buy because they like the publisher's brand and the type of books they provide. Nothing wrong with tropey stuff but just remember that doesn't work wide. If you notice on other retailers, there is more of a variety. You won't find a lot of books that fit the same tropes. Readers on other retailers are picky because they are paying for the books so they look at quality, writing style, etc. They are more objective. KU runs on borrows which removes the barrier so readers are not as picky. Wide readers might not give an author a shot as easily as a KU reader would a KU book. It's important to know this. Wide is Never Going to Be Like KU:If you are doing great in KU and expect to go wide and do the same (at least right off) then stay in KU. If you can't take the time to build sales wide then you'll be wasting your time and doing yourself a disservice. Also, if KU is paying your mortgage and your bills then it would be silly to leave. What you can do is write books for the other retailers and test how you do that way. Don't just snatch all your books out KU and expect to get the same returns with wide that you do in KU. It ain't gonna happen and if it does, it won't be quick. Have a Plan:Too many authors think going wide is a game. It's not. You need a solid plan. It's a different world than being exclusive to Amazon. You need a plan to give yourself the best shot possible. Be Dedicated:You can't jump in and out of the other stores then wonder why you aren't selling there. If you wanna sell then take time to build an audience. This hurts you with wide readers. Yep. Why? Because they can't trust you. If you have a series on Barnes and Noble and someone picks up the permafree and loves it then they go back the next week to buy the rest of the books and POOF! Gone. How do you think that reader feels? I am sure this is how readers (KU and wide) feel when authors jump in and out. It's not a good business decision and you hurt your author reputation. Readers need to trust you so if you do this then next time you decide to go wide, of course those readers won't give you a shot because they don't know if your books will just up and disappear again. Wide is HARD:Let me repeat, wide is HARD.  It is not easy to sell wide. You will be completely on your own. The other retailers don't have shiny tools that promote you like Amazon. Some have terrible searching options and a lack of categories but these places aren't meant to be like Amazon so you shouldn't expect them to be. With wide you're not going to get any help from some algorithm or bot that's pumping your work because you made the Top 100. On the other sites, there is no Top 100. You will have to get every sale on your own, which takes blood, sweat and tears but selling books isn't supposed to be easy. Somewhere down the line we forgot that. Promotion:You need to do all you can to promote the other retailers. I see too many people who are wide only promoting Amazon then whining about not getting sales on other sites. You gotta push those other sites even harder. Also, use ads that target other retailers. Try for Bookbubs. Just try even if you think you won't get them. When you are wide you can't afford to say no to any promotion, believe me. Do all you can to gain readers at other stores. Target them in your ads and promotional posts. Go direct so you can try for in-house promotions with the stores. These options are only available if you are direct. Remember, it's you and you alone wide so don't take anything for granted. Always push those other retailers as much as you can. Permafrees:It's funny to me how many people look down on permafrees saying they devalue their work yet these same people are in KU giving their work away for free to 90% of readers. Get this idea about "devaluing" out your head if you want to sell. When you are wide you should at least try permafrees and see how they work. This is still one of the best marketing strategies when you go wide. But, you can't be too hoity toity to do discounts and freebies because you're gonna need that Bookbub audience more than anything when you are wide and whether you do a Featured Deal or click ads, the BB audience loves free books and discounts. So if you wanna sell anything, realize you gotta offer some deals once in a while. I have permafrees for 3 series and I do 99 cent sales on back list books from time to time. The good thing about being wide is those readers will pay more money for your book than Amazon readers will. But, in terms of promotion, you'll need to be willing to discount or do permafrees. Conclusion, wide is hard and you'll fight for every sale you get. It can be a headache at times when sales go up and down and nothing comes easy but I LOVE it. I love being wide. I love challenges and I love having options and not being dependent on Amazon and its BS. |
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It is not easy to sell wide. You will be completely on your own. The other retailers don't have shiny tools that promote you like Amazon. Some have terrible searching options and a lack of categories but these places aren't meant to be like Amazon so you shouldn't expect them to be. With wide you're not going to get any help from some algorithm or bot that's pumping your work because you made the Top 100. On the other sites, there is no Top 100. You will have to get every sale on your own, which takes blood, sweat and tears but selling books isn't supposed to be easy. Somewhere down the line we forgot that.
