An Introduction to Ebook Publishing
June 21, 2013
Mark Coker
Founder, Smashwords
Twitter: @markcoker

My Backstory

Publishers Said “No”
• Despite great efforts of our
agent, every major NY
publisher said NO (TWICE!)

I evaluated our options
1.The rational option
 Accept failure, assume fetal position
and cry
1. The irrational option
 Believe in ourselves
 Mortgage the house and try to fix the
problem

My Answer: Smashwords
• * FREE * eBook Publishing Platform
 Free ebook printing press
 Distribution to major ebook retailers and
libraries
 Free learning materials help writers
become professional publishers

0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Ebooks published at Smashwords
140
6,000
28,800
92,000
191,000
230,000
June 2013

How Smashwords Works
• UPLOAD
• Word .doc or .epub
• Instant, free ebook conversion
• Instantly for sale
• DISTRIBUTE
• Distribution to retailers and
libraries
• GET PAID
• Author earns 60-80% list

4 TRENDS THAT WILL TRANSFORM THE
FUTURE OF AUTHORSHIP

TREND ONE:
Reading Moving to Screens

Screens are the new paper

Ebooks as a percentage of US
wholesale trade market
Source: Association of American Publishers, publishers.org. 2012 Smashwords estimate
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012

The market share slide underestimates
true impact of ebooks
The previous slide is based on dollar sales. Since
ebooks are priced significantly lower than print
books, the unit volume percentage (or,
percentage of words read in the ebook format) is
much higher.
Within the next year, it’s likely that more book
words will be read on screens than on paper.
Follow the eyeballs. If your entire list isn’t
already in ebook format, do it now!
Follow the eyeballs.

Ebooks to overtake print
Print books
Ebooks
UnitsDollars
Print books
Ebooks

Why ebooks are hot
• Screens offer better reading experience than
paper
•
Changeable font size A B C D
• Ebooks offer better consumption experience
• Lower cost than print
• Convenient sampling and purchasing
• Huge selection

TREND TWO
Democratization of Publishing

In the Past, Publishers Controlled
Everything
• They controlled the …
• printing press
• distribution
• knowledge to professionally publish

Today, Authors Have Free Access
to the Tools
• Authors have …
• FREE ebook printing press
• Democratized ebook distribution
• Unfettered access to the knowledge of
professional publishing best practices

Publishers losing their monopoly
• Writers no longer need publishers to
publish, distribute and sell
• Writers asking two questions:
1. “What can a publisher do for me that I can’t
do for myself?”
2. “Will a publisher actually harm my ability to
reach readers?”

TREND THREE
Self-published authors hitting all
the bestseller lists

Indies are hitting the bestseller
lists
• Self-published ebooks scaling all the
bestseller lists
• Retailers giving indies seat at merchandising
table

Prediction
Within 3 years, most NY Times
bestselling ebooks will be from self-
published authors
- June 21, 2013 by Mark Coker

Advantages of Indie Authorship
• Indie ebook author advantages
• faster time to market
• creative control
• lower expenses
• better distribution to global market
• immortal ebooks never go out of print
• lower prices to consumers
• earn more per book

QUADRUPLE +

Indie Ebook Authors Earn Higher
Percentage of List Price
• Indies earn more at lower prices
• At $2.99, indies earn ~$2.00. Traditional author
would have to price over $10 to earn $2.00
• Lower price = reach more readers = more sales at
higher profits per sale
• Traditionally published ebook authors at
disadvantage with high prices, low royalties
60-80% 12-17%
Indie Traditional

TREND FOUR
The Previous Stigma of Self-
Publishing is Disappearing

Self publishing was once seen as the option of
last resort for writers.
Now it’s increasingly viewed as the option of first
choice.
Successful indies are setting the example, and
inspiring the next generation of authors.
As the previous stigma of self-publishing
disappears, there’s rising stigma attached to
traditional publishers.

Stigmas to reverse
Aspire
Traditional
Aspire
Indie
Today?
Aspire
Indie
Aspire
Traditional
5 yrs ago Future?

Let’s learn how to publish and distribute
an ebook!

Checklist for Publishing an Ebook
 Finish a super-awesome book
 Format the book prior to conversion
 Prepare cover image
 Prepare the metadata
 Ebook conversion to multiple formats
 Pricing
 ISBNs
 Copyright
 Distribution to retailers, libraries
 Piracy
 Marketing

Finish Your Super-Awesome Book
• Ebook publishing tools make
publishing fast, free and easy …
• … but they don’t make it easy to write
a great book
• You (the author) are the publisher
• Edit, revise, edit, revise
• Involve beta readers (then revise again)
• Hire professional editor if necessary

Ebook Formatting

Formatting is the layout and design
process to prepare your book for
publication

Formatting for Smashwords
250,000+
downloads!

Formatting Secrets
• Forget (some of) what you know
• Don’t try to make e- look like p-
• Ebooks consumed differently than print
• Design for reflowability, small screens
• Less = more with ebooks

Reflowability: Ebook devices
(and customers) shape shift text
• Example of Smashwords novel, All Good
Things Die in L.A. by Anhoni Patel
• User-selected options: Font: Verdana;
Background pattern: Stone carving; text
color: Dark Violet; Font size: larger than
normal

Cover Image

Create Your Ebook Cover
• Covers are important
• First impression
• Covers are both marketing and content
• Make it:
 engaging, matched to target audience
 professional
 good as thumbnail
 good as B&W, greyscale

DIY Cover, or Hire Professional?
• Unless you’re an expert graphic
designer or cover designer, it’s best to
hire
• Email list@smashwords.com for low cost
cover designers and formatters
• It’s inexpensive: $50-$150 (Mark’s list) or
under $300 elsewhere (still cheap!)

Most of us design terrible covers
As an experiment, I tried to create a cover. It
was an embarrassment!

So I Hired a Pro for $45.00
Send email to:
list@smashwords.com
for “Mark’s List”

Metadata

Metadata is information about
your book
• Metadata enables
• Discovery
• Sales reporting
• Author payments
• Some metadata you or your publisher
will create
• Some is auto-generated

Metadata = Data About Your
Book
• Auto-generated post-
publication:
• Publication date
• Reviews
• Sales rank
• People who bought X bought Y
• People who viewed X viewed Y
• Sales data
• You Determine:
• Book title
• Contributors
• Book description
• Tags
• Category
• Price
• Cover image
• ISBN
• Language
• Formats

Ebook Conversion

Conversion = Turning your formatted
manuscript into an ebook file readable on
multiple ebook reading devices

E-reading Devices

Ebook Conversion Options
Conversion Options
1. Automated
(Smashwords, Amazon)
2. DIY conversion tools
(Calibre, Sigil, Adobe InDesign)
3. Hire ebook formatter/
designer/coder
(Complex books)

Pricing

Pricing
• Determine objective
• Platform building, sales, or both?
• If you publish multiple books, cover
multiple price points to capture the
most readers
• FREE, $.99, $2.99, $3.99, $4.99+
• Non-fiction supports higher prices than
fiction

ISBN

What’s an ISBN?
• What it is:
• Unique digital identifier
• A 13-digit number
• Helps supply chain communicate about
book
• Required for Smashwords distribution to
Apple, Sony, Kobo
• What it is NOT:
• Does not connote ownership or copyright
• Does not imply “professional” or “real”
• Not a common discovery method

Where to Obtain an ISBN
• Go to Bowker.com
• Expensive unless you purchase blocks of
10+
• Lists you as “publisher” in Books in Print
• Go to Smashwords
• FREE ISBNs

Copyright

Copyright Simplified
• By publishing something you created,
you have copyright
• Copyright entitles you to an exclusive
bundle of rights
• The notation of © is optional
• For best legal protection, go to
Copyright.gov and register copyright
online
• Learn more at the Copyright Clearance
Center at www.copyright.com

Distribution to retailers

Ebook retailers want indie
ebooks

Diversify your portfolio of retailers, avoid
exclusivity, think globally

Two options for getting your book
on a retailer’s virtual shelves
1. Use a Distributor (such as Smashwords)
• Upload one file, distribute to many retailers
• Time-savings, consolidated payments and tax
reporting
1. Direct to Retailers
• Format for each specific retailer
• Upload to, and manage each retailer separately
• Sony, Diesel, Libraries require distributor

Piracy

Everything you need to know
about piracy
• Don’t worry about piracy
• Obscurity is your biggest risk
• Black hat pirates who steal your book
wouldn’t have purchased it anyway
• Most piracy is accidental – it’s
enthusiastic fans marketing your book
for you

Irrational fear of piracy leads
leads to obscurity
• The only reliable method of piracy
prevention is to NEVER PUBLISH
• Anti-piracy measures such as DRM only
limit availability, accessibility and
enjoyment
• Combat piracy by making your book
easier to purchase than steal
• Low, fair price
• Broad distribution

Marketing

Traditional marketing isn’t as
important as you think it is
• Marketing is a catalyst, not fuel
• Your book is your best marketing
• Reader word of mouth determines your success
• Viral catalysts amplify word of mouth
• Build permanence
• Focus on discoverability and platform
building

The Plan Forward

The Publishing Industry is in Flux. These
changes will…
Benefit Indie Authors
Disadvantage Traditionally Published
Authors

YOU are the future of publishing

YOU have a right to publish

YOU are your own gatekeeper
YOU decide when your manuscript
graduates to published book

Honor your readers
Give them great books
(and do it faster with lower prices)

The task before you is not easy, yet…

The Opportunity to Reach Readers
Has Never Been Greater

Free Ebook Publishing Resources
• NEW! Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success (best
practices of successful authors)
• Smashwords Book Marketing Guide (how to market any
book)
• Smashwords Style Guide (how to format an ebook)

Don’t miss Part II of this
presentation: The Secrets to Ebook
Publishing Success
Learn the best practices of the
bestselling indie ebook authors.
View it now on Slideshare:
http://www.slideshare.net/Smashwords/the-secrets-to-e

Thank you for considering the
future!
Q&A
Connect with Mark Coker and Smashwords:
Web: www.smashwords.com
Blog: blog.smashwords.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/markcoker
Facebook: facebook.com/markcoker
HuffPo: huffingtonpost.com/mark-coker
Twitter: @markcoker