E-Books 101: Part 1 - Publishing on Amazon and Smashwords

So many people ask me about how to publish e-books. You'd think I was some kind of expert or something.

I published my novel, IDENTITY CRISIS, as an e-book through Amazon's digital text platform (DTP), as well as Smashwords, on June 2, 2009. Since then, I've sold close to 3,300 downloads of my novel.

This is nothing short of astonishing. I tell people about my e-book success and they ask me, "How'd you do it? How does all this e-book stuff work, anyway?"

They also want to know how I've promoted and marketed the book. Well, maybe it's about time I posted about this, because (much to my surprise) I do seem to have become something of an e-book maven.

In fact, I've been interviewed by Voice of America on the subject of e-books and digital publishing. (I appear at about the one-minute mark. The intent-looking blonde gal at the keyboard. :))



So, let's start with the basics: getting your work up on Amazon's and Smashword's publishing platforms.

First, Amazon is a company that needs no introduction. You've no doubt heard of the Kindle. The e-books you publish through Amazon's DTP go into the Kindle Store. And when you put them up yourself, you get to set your own price (a subject I'll cover later, because it's complicated).

To publish an e-book in the Kindle Store, just go to this Web site: https://dtp.amazon.com/mn/signin, set up an account, then follow the simple directions. Amazon has a nice "getting started guide," as well as forums where you can find information you need.

For my own part, I uploaded a document formatted for publication in print. I also had cover art prepared in JPG by a graphic artist. The result is my e-book is available in the Kindle Store.

Uploading is a simple process--believe me, if I can do it, anyone can.

Now let's talk about Smashwords, through which I make far fewer sales--but don't count them out.

To publish through Smashwords, just click here and click on "Publish."

From there (again), it's simply a matter of following instructions. Be sure to check out the formatting requirements and adhere to them. Smashwords provides samples of the correct format. (Don't ask questions, just follow them.)

Why follow the format? So you can qualify for Smashwords premium catalog, which provides e-books for BN.com. By so qualifying, I was able to have my novel sold as an e-book through BN.com: voila.

So, while e-book sales may primarily be through Amazon right now, it's probably a good idea to position yourself to sell books through BN.com, in case the Nook takes off.

Besides, Smashwords provides your e-book in a wider variety of formats (as you can see from my book's order page), so it can be downloaded to almost any e-reader from their site. Amazon provides e-books for Kindle only. (At least, this is my understanding.)

There's also Scribd.com, which allows you to sell e-books through the Scribd Store. IDENTITY CRISIS is available in the Scribd Store, but I've sold all of one copy through them, so far. However, you never know what plans Scribd might have for the future, so keep your eye on them.

Next week: Pricing e-books.