Tag: kobo

SFFMP 210: Selling More at Kobo, Relying Less on Amazon, and What’s Coming for Authors in 2019

Author Interview, Podcast

We talked to return guest Mark Leslie Lefebvre this week. You may remember him as the director of author relations at Kobo, but he’s moved over to the distributor Draft2Digital. We talked about some of the new features coming online there. Mark has recently published a couple of non-fiction books, Killing It on Kobo and The 7 P’s of Publishing Success, so we asked him some Kobo-specific questions as well as his thoughts on succeeding at the non-Amazon retailers and where the self-publishing industry is going in 2019.

If you want to check out the other episodes Mark was on, try Kobo’s New Subscription Service and the State of the Industry (125) and International Sales Trends/Tips and Selling More Ebooks at Kobo with Mark Lefebvre (78).

Here are some of the specifics that we went over this week:

  • Author consulting and what some of the common problems are for newer authors.
  • How the industry is doing as of December 2018 and whether the ebook market is truly saturated.
  • Whether authors need to be smarter these days to succeed.
  • Why the digital ebook world can present some challenges for branding and keeping fans once people find one of your books or series and enjoy it.
  • How social media, if you’re comfortable learning one or more of the platforms, can help you connect more fully to readers and become an author they remember.
  • Some of the basic things you can do to sell more books at Kobo.
  • Using the Books2Read site to create links that will redirect readers to their preferred retailer.
  • Remembering that Kobo is bigger in other countries than in the US and paying attention to global pricing.
  • Kobo’s distribution deal with Walmart in the US.
  • Whether you can “make it” wide (in the non-Amazon stores) without getting Bookbub sponsorships or spending a lot on advertising.
  • Tips for making readers aware of subsequent books in a series.
  • Tips for succeeding in the non-Amazon bookstores.
  • Thoughts on Google Play and whether any authors are doing well there.
  • Some new features coming up at Draft2Digital including print formatting and D2D Universes (something of a replacement for the now defunct Kindle Worlds).

Make sure to visit Mark on his website (you can contact him there if you have any Draft2Digital-specific questions) and check out Killing It on Kobo for tips on selling more books there. You can also subscribe to Mark’s publishing-related podcast, Stark Reflections. And finally, if you’re a horror/ghost fan, Mark published some new stuff this year! Macabre Montreal: Ghostly Tales, Ghastly Events, and Gruesome True Stories (with Shayna Krishnasamy) and Nocturnal Screams.

 

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SFFMP 179: Marketing Wide vs Marketing in Kindle Unlimited + Turning Strangers into Super Fans

Author Interview, Podcast

We had a great chat with David Gaughran this week. He’s a historical fiction author who dabbles in science fiction now and then, and when he’s not writing fiction, he’s keeping an eye on the publishing scene and analyzing what’s working for authors who are going wide and selling well on Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, etc. and also what’s working for those who are sticking with Amazon exclusivity and Kindle Unlimited.

We chatted about all that and also about the tactics he outlines in his new book, Strangers To Superfans and some of the mistakes authors are making.

Here are a few specifics of what we discussed:

  • Using “Audience Insights” on Facebook to figure out who your Ideal Reader is.
  • Why David recommends Stephen King’s On Writing.
  • Realizing that you can choose to sell your books all over the world or to be exclusive with Amazon but that whether you’re in Kindle Unlimited or not, you’re affected by it.
  • Why David prefers a lower spend over time rather than blowing a bunch of money on Facebook advertising in a couple of days.
  • He’s open to doing boosted posts to get more followers but says you shouldn’t advertise for likes.
  • Making sure to mention your Facebook page at the end of your books, so you can get your readers to like and follow (and you’re later able to get more complete demographic information on your fans).
  • Understanding that “most digital advertising platforms actively reward good targeting through delivering cheaper clicks or free exposure for well targeted ads.”
  • Realizing that if you’re not in KU, you’re competing with people who are earning more (70% on 99 cent books during Countdown Deals) and can afford to spend more on advertising.
  • How Kindle Unlimited has a separate recommendation engine for subscribers.
  • Taking advantage of places where fewer people are being advertised to, such as countries and platforms where Amazon KU isn’t a thing.
  • Advertising something written for mass appeal versus something written for a smaller niche audience.
  • What David calls the Discoverability Myth and why we shouldn’t get caught up in it.
  • Being careful not to confuse the Amazon algorithms or mess up your also-boughts when you launch a book, especially if you’re switching genres.
  • The different types of advertising that work for Kindle Unlimited books versus books on all the platforms, a steady drip versus a big blast.
  • Some mistakes David sees “wide” authors making (those who are marketing books on Apple, B&N, Kobo, etc.).
  • Best practices for mailing list building and emailing subscribers.

Visit David’s blog to stay up to date on Amazon, scammers, and nefarious entities taking advantage of authors, as well as other important topics that he feels compelled to write about. If you sign up for his mailing list, you can get his book, Amazon Decoded: A Marketing Guide to the Kindle Store.

Also, pick up a copy of Strangers To Superfans: A Marketing Guide to the Reader Journey.

 

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SFFMP 167: Encouraging News from the Author Earnings Report and What’s Working at Kobo

Author Interview, Podcast

The new Kobo Writing Life director, Christine Monroe, joined us to talk about the strength of indie publishing, new features relevant to authors at Kobo (including the upcoming ability to upload audiobooks via the KWL dashboard), and some positive news from the recently released Author Earnings Report.

Here are some of the specifics we covered:

  • How Christine came to be the new head honcho at Kobo Writing Life.
  • How time of year doesn’t matter that much when it comes to ebook sales (per the Author Earnings Report), so the “summer slump” is largely a myth. Christine said the week after Christmas and the month of July are big selling times for Kobo.
  • That, despite rumors to the contrary, indie publishing is doing better than it ever has. The AER posted the Top 50 earning authors for US sales and noted that many are newer names, so possibly authors that had early success and didn’t adapt have seen fall off, but others are carrying the torch.
  • 75% of science fiction and fantasy book sales come via ebooks and audiobooks.
  • Kobo getting into the growing category of audiobooks and opportunities for indie authors who have the rights to distribute their audiobooks.
  • When does it make sense to invest in creating audio versions of your books?
  • Some best practices of successful authors on Kobo.
  • Taking advantage of the fact that there’s no cap on the 70% royalty and putting together giant full-series boxed sets.
  • Going direct with Kobo versus going through a distributor.
  • The kinds of advertising that are proving effective for selling books on Kobo.
  • Tips for authors who write stand-alone novels or only have one or two books out.
  • Pricing suggestions for novels on Kobo.
  • Languages that do well with them when it comes to foreign language translations.
  • Whether rapid releases and/or consistently putting out titles are effective strategies for building an audience on Kobo.

If you’re not already uploading direct to Kobo, you can do so through the Kobo Writing Life dashboard. Make sure to subscribe to the KWL blog and podcast to get tips from successful authors. They recently had one of the Bookbub representatives on their podcast, so you’ll definitely want to check out that episode.

 

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SFFMP 161: Handling Foreign Rights Yourself, When to Incorporate, and New Audiobook Options

Group Discussion, Podcast

On today’s show, Jo, Jeff, and Lindsay answered some listener questions and shared their notes from the workshop that Jo and Lindsay attended in October, Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Katherine Rusch’s Business Masterclass. It was a week long workshop that covered dealing with Hollywood offers, handling foreign rights offers without an agent, increasing writing productivity, estate planning and tax stuff for authors (including when it makes sense to incorporate and which type of corporation in the US), and updates from Kobo on their plans to add audiobooks to their catalogue, among many other topics.

Here are some of the specifics of what the gang covered today:

  • Jo and Lindsay jumping into Patreon (right as Patreon changed their pricing structure and left folks in an uproar, of course!)
  • New podcasts that Lindsay is checking out: Kevin J Anderson’s Creative Futurism and Mark Coker’s Smart Author podcast out of Smashwords.
  • Whether NetGalley is useful for indie authors or primarily aimed at small presses.
  • If it’s okay to sell print and audiobooks in other stores if your ebooks are in KDP Select/Kindle Unlimited at Amazon.
  • Whether a pen name needs a separate social medial platform, website, and Goodreads account.
  • Whether an author with a new series ready to go should consider self-publishing or traditional publishing right now.
  • Saving money on taxes as a writer by incorporating.
  • The importance of getting an accountant that specializes in finances for creative people, such as authors, artists, musicians.
  • Keeping in mind that all the books you write are pieces of intellectual property and as such have some value.
  • Tips for hiring a virtual assistant (or nine).
  • Pricing for libraries if you’re trying to get your ebooks picked up by them.
  • Kobo to add audiobooks to its store.
  • Going non-exclusive with ACX or producing an audiobook through Findaway Voices in order to take advantage of some of the other up-and-coming markets besides iTunes/Amazon/Audible. Also being able to choose your price in these other marketplaces.
  • Why you may want to set up your books at IngramSpark as well as CreateSpace.
  • Why you don’t need an agent to negotiate on foreign rights deals.
  • Waiting for publishers in other countries to approach you versus methods of gaining their attention.
  • What to expect from foreign rights sales in terms of money and reception of your books in other countries.

That’s it for this week. Keep writing!

 

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SFFMP 125: Kobo’s New Subscription Service and the State of the Industry with Mark Lefebvre

Author Interview, Podcast

Today, Mark Lefebvre, horror writer and the Director of Self-Publishing and Author Relations at Kobo, joined us for his second time on the show. Previously, we chatted about international sales trends and tips for selling more books at Kobo.

Today, we asked Mark about some of the new developments at Kobo, such as a subscription service for readers (one which indie authors can enroll in) called Kobo Plus. You’re not automatically enrolled. If you’re interested, you need to select to participate in the “rights” section for each book, and Kobo asks that you be willing to leave your book in for a six month period (they’re asking the same thing from traditional publishers), to help them plan for promotions.

We also asked Mark about some of the state-of-industry stuff. For instance, is the ebook market now “saturated,” or is it still growing in the U.S. and in other countries? What percentage of ebooks being sold come from traditional publishing, small press, and indie authors? What can newer authors do to gain traction now that there’s more competition in the marketplace? Is a permafree Book 1 still a good marketing strategy for Kobo? And how might one get more books to sell in the growing international markets?

Among other things, Mark mentioned using the universal link creation service at Books2Read to turn one link into links for all your books so that your international readers and readers in other stores can easily find the one that works for them.

If you want to upload direct to Kobo, or read the Writing Life blog or subscribe to the podcast, you can do so from the main site: Kobo Writing Life.

You can also learn more about Mark and his work on his site.

 

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SFFMP 91: Set-It-and-Forget-It Marketing and Selling Well in Non-Amazon Bookstores

Group Discussion, Podcast

Today, Jeff, Jo, and Lindsay talked about their strategies for selling books in the non-Amazon bookstores, such as Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Smashwords, and Apple. They also discussed some of the tactics they’ve used over the years that they would consider “set it and forget it marketing.” These are things they did once and that have continued to result in book sales month in and month out.

They also addressed some listener questions about Amazon ebook giveaways and setting up author newsletters. (Here’s a link to the WordPress plug-in that Jeff uses: Newsletter.)

Lindsay went into some details about the successful launch of her recent science fiction series, including the promos she scheduled and how and why she went about creating a new mailing list just for the sci-fi.

Here are the promo sites she used (these will accept new releases, but sometimes require that an author have previously published books with good reviews): Fussy Librarian, Ereader News Today, Books Butterfly, Free Kindle Books and Tips, and Bknights. Lindsay forgot to mention it, but ENT and Books Butterfly were the most worth it in terms of delivering sales, at least for her title in this case.

Links to Jo’s DeviantArt people:

The digital sculptor of Squee the Funk was Liz Landis.

The Sculptor that won the acclaim on DA was Viistar, and here’s the post of Jo’s project: http://viistar.deviantart.com/art/Ivy-Turn-620932412

 

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SFFMP 78: International Sales Trends/Tips and Selling More Ebooks at Kobo with Mark Lefebvre

Author Interview, Podcast

Today we chatted with Mark Leslie Lefebvre, a horror author who also happens to be the Director of Self-Publishing & Author Relations at Kobo.com. We talked about how to increase visibility and sell more books at Kobo, and also about trends for science fiction and fantasy, both in the main Canadian store and in the numerous international stores that Kobo works with.

Here’s some of what we covered:

  • Keeping things in perspective: Kobo is a much smaller store than Amazon (but they often go toe-to-toe when it comes to non-U.S. markets)
  • Reasons to go direct to Kobo through Kobo Writing Life (versus using Smashwords/Draft 2 Digital distribution)
  • The new “promotions” tab that’s available to authors (currently in beta) via the dashboard in Kobo Writing Life
  • Tips for getting on the radar of those who handle merchandising for Kobo
  • Best pricing tactics for science fiction and fantasy
  • Which countries are growing and friendly to speculative fiction?
  • Pricing considerations for international markets
  • How science fiction and fantasy are trending upward and more authors are appearing in the Top 10 of overall best selling indie authors at Kobo (it’s not all just romance anymore!)
  • A tip for visibility: make sure to fill out your series meta data, keywords, and put something in the imprint field (even if it’s your author name), in addition to having a good cover and blurb.
  • Increasing a book’s “temperature” at Kobo through sales (even looks and clicks can help)
  • Mark suggests SF/F authors hit up their local ComicCon and pay for a booth there (hint: he sells tons of books when he goes)

If you want to check out Mark’s fiction, his short story, “Snowman Shivers,” is free on all platforms: Kobo, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Apple.

You can find Mark on Twitter @markleslie and you can also follow @KoboWritingLife

 

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SFFMP 40: Going Wide and Selling More on Platforms Besides Amazon

Group Discussion, Podcast

On this hot summer day, we chatted amongst ourselves about going wide and improving sales on the sites other than Amazon, specifically Kobo, Apple, and Barnes & Noble. We even brought up the subscription sites (Scribd and Oyster) and Google Play. We also answered a couple of listener questions.

Here’s a closer look at what we covered:

  • Does it matter what time of year you launch a new series? I.e. are summer sales slow, and should you wait until fall?
  • When is it acceptable to call yourself an Amazon bestseller?
  • What are the pros and cons of publishing on all of the stores versus going exclusive with Amazon?
  • How the heck do you sell books on those other sites anyway? We talked about using the free book or the 99-cent intro boxed set, trying to talk with the distributors to get promotions, linking to all of your books on all of the sites, and including sneak previews to entice the people who read the freebies to pick up the rest of the series.
  • Should you adjust prices at all on the other sites?
  • Is it better to go through a distributor such as Smashwords or Draft2Digital or upload directly everywhere that you can?
  • The link to the “first in series free” thread Lindsay mentioned (though it looks like it isn’t being monitored by Kobo any more). Someone suggested you can fill out this form on Kobo to be considered.

 

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SFFMP 25: Marketing, Pre-Orders, and Distribution with Smashwords Founder Mark Coker

Author Interview, Podcast

Tonight, we had Smashwords founder Mark Coker on the show, and he gave us a lot of great information on working the pre-order system on Apple, Barnes & Noble, etc., marketing on Smashwords and sites it distributes to, and selling more books overall. Here are some of the highlights of the interview:

  • How Mark’s book, The Boobtube, led him to create Smashwords back in 2008
  • How to take advantage of pre-orders on Smashwords, Apple, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo, etc. (Unlike with Amazon, you get a big boost on release day, because the orders accumulate and all count toward your Day 1 sales.)
  • Possibly getting extra merchandizing love with retailers such as Apple, based on strong pre-order interest and early sales
  • New features coming to the Smashwords pre-order system, such as assetless pre-orders (so you don’t need to have the finished manuscript in order to make your book available for order)
  • Don’t worry — no penalties at Smashwords for missed deadlines on pre-orders, but you can upload up to 12 months ahead, so you can give yourself plenty of time
  • Getting books into libraries through Smashwords (OverDrive/Library Direct) and Mark’s thoughts on new sites such as EbooksAreForever.com.
  • Why still use a distributor? Makes it easy to get books out without having to be on each platform (on Barnes & Noble, you actually end up making more on books priced under $2.99)
  • Scribd, Oyster, and other smaller retailers that you can only get into via a distributor
  • The Smashwords affiliate program (getting other people to plug your book for you — and giving them an incentive to do so)
  • Common mistakes Mark sees authors making
  • Are permafree series starters still working?
  • What’s coming next to Smashwords

Whether you use Smashwords or not, you might gain something from checking out Mark’s helpful books: Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success (Amazon | Smashwords) and Smashwords Book Marketing Guide – How to Market any Book for Free (Amazon | Smashwords)

 

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