Self-Publishing Archives | Page 9 of 10 | Jennifer Lancaster

August 1, 2016

Print on Demand – Check your Pricing

Dear readers, if you’re self-publishing with Print on Demand, it is in your interests to seek out opinions and calculations on both the major POD options: Amazon CreateSpace and IngramSpark. (Although if you’re doing a full photography book then Blurb offers more bindings/paper options). Why would you consider IngramSpark? Backed by Lightning Source International, with a large-scale worldwide distribution network, the streamlined interface provided by IngramSpark (for Indie publishers) offers many benefits. Its pros I’ve uncovered are: For Australians, shipping can be a LOT less if printing in black & white, particularly for bulk print orders. For print-on-demand orders, Ingram/LSI have a worldwide network of printers (in most countries) which are utilised to access shorter delivery and cheaper shipping. (With CreateSpace, all shipments come from America, and minimum book shipping to Australia is US$10.49. For a bulk order of 100…

December 13, 2017

Self-Publishing

Claiming our Tax Treaty on US Withholding Tax

Australian authors, save yourself some time and trouble — I have researched about claiming the tax treaty on the 30% US withholding tax on US sales of books or ebooks. If you don’t recognise the platform name, then it won’t apply to you. Save up to 25% on taxes for American sales – as our treaty is 5%. Stop Press! Most Australians do not need to apply for an EIN or ITIN to claim the treaty. You will need to fill out the W8-BEN form or W8-BENE form (for entities) and send in directly to your royalty payment issuer. If you are an agent, then another form applies and you will need the EIN (apply by phone–see bottom of page). The AMAZON Tax Interview will inform you of the correct form to use. Amazon Kindle or CreateSpace Tax Form Take…

March 31, 2025

Self-Publishing

How to Publish an eBook on Amazon Kindle

Everyone, you can now publish to Amazon Kindle (KDP) with just a Word document. That said, you will need to ready it and learn the pros and cons of various Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) offerings, such as Kindle Select (exclusive eBook distribution for 90-day periods). Print on Demand publishing? Read the complete “How to Publish a Book in Australia“. The Process of Formatting for EBook Automatic Conversion 1. Strip out all headers and footers / page numbering. Your book will have a header in the end, don’t worry. 2. I assume you want to have reflowable text. Make images static and reasonable size (e.g. 150 kB and 72 dpi, not 2 MB). Take out all text boxes. Don’t bother with photo captions. 3. Put the hidden characters on, Check for tabs and take them all out. Take out all Word…

August 1, 2016

Self-Publishing, Selling eBooks and Media

Book Life Listing

Astounding authors, today I discovered another great site for book promotion: Book Life. I found it through the American-based Independent Book Publishers Association. It’s easy to use — just load your Author Profile and upload your latest unpublished or published works, including formats, news, reviews and a buy page link. See my financial book example. You can wait and have your book reviewed by BookLife (see the blue button on the left-hand side once logged in). That is free, but the Publishers Weekly supplement listing costs US$ 149 (quite a number of listings – is anyone taking notice?). Starting out, you’re probably better off first trying Ingram Advance catalog listing (US$60) or BookSeller+Publisher in Australia. Get yourself a solid publishing name first — like Power of Words! (But not that one, I took it already). Book Marketing Tip for the day:…

March 17, 2017

Self-Publishing

Options for your Book and Publisher Commissions

Self-publishing authors often look at ways to improve their look and feel of their book. One way you can do this is through thicker paper. IngramSpark (open to self-publishers and small presses) has just introduced 105 gsm paper stock. This stock (in white) would be the pick if you have colour plates in your book or simply want a quality feel for your non-fiction book. Interior book layout / formatting can also improve the final result of your book. With a well-spaced book, including each new section on a right hand page, it can expand and improve the overall look of it. Extra leading (line spacing) can also help improve the legibility for readers. We recommend 1.25 line spacing (16 pt leading) with use of a serif font. You can request a colour sample from IngramSpark to be sent in…

February 13, 2015

Book Editing, Self-Publishing

Traditional vs. Self-Publishing Book Quality

A lot of people don’t know that I am still very open to the idea of getting traditionally published for some projects; it’s just that realistically it is a tough journey. As an author, if you want to concentrate mainly on writing and there seems to be a call for your book’s concept in the mass market right now, then keep on that trail. I suggest you speak to as many literary agents as you can, to suss out the chances for your story. Sometimes it’s a matter of knowing what each publisher is currently hunting for, and for that only a commissioning editor or a literary agent can help. A mass market published book has to meet a high standard in quality, especially so that bookstore buyers see it as an attractive package. That’s why publishers seek out the…