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Penguin Random House Merger

Announced today, two major traditional publishers will be merging: Penguin and Random House. The merger will create a new world superpower in the publishing industry.

 

Read some articles:

So what does this mean to you, as an indie author?

In the beginning, not much. The merge has been on the tables since October 2012. And for the first months of the new imprint, the new company will be focusing on the internal shakeups that come from any huge business change.

But after that?

Keep Reading!

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Kindle Press Release: Kindle Worlds

Kindle Worlds Is Growing—Amazon Publishing Announces New Licenses from Valiant Entertainment and Bes

Kindle Worlds Is Growing—Amazon Publishing Announces New Licenses from Valiant Entertainment and Best-Selling Authors Hugh Howey, Barry Eisler, Blake Crouch and Neal Stephenson

Any writer can soon publish fan fiction inspired by Valiant comic book heroes Bloodshot, X-O Manowar, Archer & Armstrong, Harbinger and Shadowman

Writers can also create new stories based on Howey’s Silo Saga, Eisler’s John Rain novels, Crouch’s Wayward Pines Series, and the Foreworld Saga by Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear, Mark Teppo and more

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)– (NAS: AMZN) —Today, Amazon Publishing announced that it has secured licenses for its new publishing platform, Kindle Worlds, with leading comic book publisher Valiant Entertainment and best-selling authors Hugh Howey, Barry Eisler, Blake Crouch and Neal Stephenson. Through these licenses, any writer will be able to create and sell fan fiction inspired by the popular Worlds of Valiant superhero comic book series Bloodshot, X-O Manowar, Archer & Armstrong, Harbinger, and Shadowman, with more to be added at a later date, as well as Howey’s Silo Saga, Eisler’s John Rain novels, Crouch’s Wayward PinesSeries, and the Foreworld Saga. Kindle Worlds is the first commercial publishing platform that will enable any writer to create fan fiction based on a range of original stories and characters and earn royalties for doing so.

“Since announcing Kindle Worlds just weeks ago, we’ve been energized by the interest and enthusiasm for this new program—from writers and readers alike,” said Philip Patrick, Director, Business Development and Publisher of Kindle Worlds. “With content from 2012’s Diamond Gem award-winning Comic Book Publisher of the Year and the work of several best-selling authors, we’re excited to expand Kindle Worlds and give writers even more options to be creative and earn royalties.”

“Kindle Worlds presents an amazing opportunity to bring Valiant’s wide-ranging universe of characters to a new medium, and empower fans and aspiring creators,” said Gavin Cuneo, Valiant’s CFO and Head of Strategic Development. “Comics are well known for their passionate and interactive fan communities, and, through the Kindle Worlds platform, we’re excited to give aspiring authors and fans the opportunity to work within the Valiant Universe, make their stories accessible to a large audience, and earn revenue for their work.”

Keep Reading!

Update: KDP Reporting For India

Amazon.com announced today via their KDP Forum that they are now offering separate statistics reporting for eBook sold in India.

We are pleased to announce that you now have the opportunity for millions of readers in India to discover your eBook. It’s easy to make your KDP published books available for the India Kindle Store on www.amazon.com and increase your sales potential by setting the list price of your book in Indian rupees (INR) for the Indian market.

Plus, you can track your book sales to customers in India with the new KDP sales reporting detailed by country. Also, you’ll get your royalty payments in rupees if your bank account is in India.

Visit your KDP Account Page anytime to make updates to your account or learn more in our Help pages at https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help.

Best Regards,
The Kindle Direct Publishing Team

 

This now brings the total number of countries available for individual publishing to 10:

  • USA
  • UK
  • Germany
  • France
  • Spain
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • India
  • Canada
  • Brazil

Publishing Articles You Should Read

Guy Kawasaki’s Best Tips for Publishing Your Own Book

Popular author, investor and entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki Kawasaki delivered a keynote speech based on his 2012 self-published book APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur — How to Publish a Book. He gave an audience at the annual BookExpo America conference some advice: Publish your book yourself.

Full article at: terra.com

14 Tips for Good Kindle Cover Design

Covers, for many authors, turn out to be an afterthought. And the lack of planning, design and reader-based execution can really impact a book’s sales: in a bad way. James Smith of HumbleNations.com offers 14 must-know tips for making a cover great.

Full article at: humblenations.com

Self-publishing is nothing new. The web just makes it easier

While self-publishing may not be new, what it’s doing to the author’s ability to get her work into the hands of readers has completely changed the publishing game. And has changed the author-reader relationship forever.

Full article at: irishtimes.com

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Pastarelli – A Children’s Book’s Journey

Have you ever written one of those stories that just sticks with you? Back in 2007, I got a wild hair and decided to take an Italian class at my local community college. I am already fluent in Spanish as well as my native English and thought, what the heck! I’ll learn Italian too.

(Ok, ok, so there was a guy involved… The dating didn’t work out but I had fun learning Italian!)

For a little class at the local college, it was a lot of fun. There was a great mix of for-enrichment students, going to Italy on a vacation students, and 18 year old college kids. All was fun and games until one day, our professor, Mario, announced that he’d be missing a class. We could either make it up (no fun) or do a writing project.

I’ll bet you can guess that I was one of the few who thought the writing project would be fun!

It could be about ANYTHING. It had to be two pages, written in your best Italian. Which, at the time, consisted of very limited vocabulary and verbs in the present tense only. Hey! It was eight weeks into an Italian 101 class, what do you expect!

Beyond the writing assignment, each student also had to give an oral presentation. Eek! Well, actually, with my background in Spanish, the grammar wasn’t scary and I knew my way around a dictionary and a 501 Italian Verb book like riding the Madrid Metro. But to actually SPEAK Italian. Well, I speak Italian to this day like an American with a Mexican-Spanish accent butchering the language. Sorry!

From that assignment was born:

Pastarelli

Pastarelli, the poor pasta maker.

Pastarelli, the poor pasta maker.

What better use of beginning language than to write a children’s story, geared towards beginning readers. For the presentation, I sat on the desk with a HUGE picture book I’d illustrated myself and “published” by turning brown paper grocery sacks inside out. It was just like the books we used to read as a class in Kindergarten. For a “snack” I gave out little baggies of farfalle (bowtie) pasta which features in the story.

Keep Reading!

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Early-Bird Pricing for Home Study Course

My name is Kimberly Eldredge and I teach entrepreneurs, novelists, poets, and authors in all genres the ins and outs of self-publishing your eBook for Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook.

And the best news?

Your manuscript doesn’t even have to be finished to take advantage of this time-saving, don’t-stress-out, zero-techno-junk workshop.

Then the “Publish Your eBook Blueprint Home Study Course” is for you!

Save yourself HOURS of frustration learning the tips, tricks, & shortcuts to format your manuscript and get it published.

You can publish your novel, cookbook, short story collection, how-to manual, poetry collection, or any other manuscript with my easy step-by-step system that GUARANTEES publication.

Don’t let your ideas go to waste!

Here’s just a SAMPLING of what you’ll discover when you dig into this system:


1. Why you need to publish on more than one eReader platform
eReader
Why would you want to limit your income? Learn why you want to partner with the biggest names in the eReader world, expand your reach and increase your monthly paychecks.

Plus, you’ll also learn where to spend your time and energy and what to save until later.



2. What are all the parts of an eBook and how to make them work for you

You know you need content but what else do you need to put in your eBook? Here’s a hint: not all types of
books need a Table of Contents. Figure out if your eBook needs one, how to create it and where to put it.

There are big differences between the must-have parts of an eBook and the printed books lining your
bookshelves. Learn what they are and how to make them work for you.



3. Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about copyrights, taxes, and ISBNs

What is an ISBN? (International Standard Book Number) Do you need one? How do you get one? The rules
for eBook publishing are different than print books. You’ll save yourself hours of research and headaches
because I lay out all the answers for you.

And I answer questions you may not have even known to ask about copyrights, trademarks, and more. I even
have a special expert guest who will give you the low-down on preparing for your taxes.



4. Formatting your eBook & designing your cover

Book CoversCovers (and titles) are what draw in your potential readers but the formatting is what keeps them reading. The
right format can make the difference between and easy-to-read eBook and getting returns and bad reviews.

Formatting is important and THE most difficult aspect to try to learn yourself. Don’t do it alone!



5. Pricing your eBook so you get lots of sales

Every book, every genre, and every niche has a pricing “sweet spot.” I’ll teach you how to find the best
starting price point for YOUR manuscript and how to test your prices to make sure you’re maximizing your
commissions.
Now is the best time to start your eBook publishing journey. I’ve made every mistake under the sun and am here to help you avoid the pitfalls and save yourself a TON of time.

There is no “bad” time to publish on Amazon.com. The only way that eBook publishing isn’t a good way to get your message heard is if you just flat-out DON’T publish.

So now you may be wondering, “Kim, how EXACTLY are you going to teach me to…”

  • Publish on more than one eReader platform
  • Identify the parts of an eBook and make them work for me
  • Learn about copyrights, taxes, and ISBNs
  • Format my eBook and design my cover
  • Price my eBook to sell

Here’s my answer:

I’ve designed this training to go much deeper than any other product on the market. Not only will you get in depth answers to all your questions but you’ll also get the tried-and-true knowledge from somebody who’s been there and is publishing eBooks.

There is no get-rich-quick jargon in these classes. I’m not going to tell you to buy copy or hire someone to do the work for you. I will, however, give you all the tricks, tips, and resources I have to make your publishing experience as pain-free as possible!

And the specifics of how I’m going to do this:

You’ll receive five recordings (plus a bonus Q&A with questions taken from my live classes), plus a binder full of course notes, slides, and resources. Plus, you’ll also receive samples, tips and examples that will make your life easier.
Great Bonuses:
BONUS #1: Getting Started Business Guide 

BONUS #2: My complete list of proven resources to help you publish. This includes cover designers, artwork
sources, editors and more!

And the best news?

No homework! You can do everything at your own pace.

Again, don’t feel that your manuscript has to be FINISHED in order to take advantage of this great information. You can apply this knowledge at any time. And don’t feel that you have to have a 200 page book either! I’ve seen authors be successful publishing everything from 30 recipe cookbooks to novels to a white paper designed to attract more clients into a coaching business or mentoring plan.

And for anyone who has a service-based business (coaches, mentors, professionals, etc) I also go over how to use your eBook to attract new qualified clients and get paid to do it!
So now you’re probably wondering: what is this going to cost me?

Here it is in plain English. I’m straight-forward and to the point. And I always like to consider the worst-case scenario before making any decision.


I don’t have to sit here and tell you that the home study course alone is easily worth $197 (which is the investment, by the way).

Order before June 15, 2013 and get a 20% discount. Use the code

worm

upon checkout!

I’m not going to compare it to the cost of having Starbucks every day or that it’s less than one expensive weekend away at a fancy hotel.


Attract Passive IncomeAnd I’m not going to talk about the stress of having your manuscript locked in a drawer where nobody can read it. Or how your well-written whitepaper isn’t attracting any clients on your website when it could attract the eyes of hundreds of paying clients on Amazon.com who are looking for an answer to their pain. And I’m absolutely not going to mention that you can receive passive, residual income from book royalties.


I think you’re already doing the math in your head and seeing that the cost of not moving forward with your expertise, passion and creativity far outweighs the financial investment.


So what do you have to lose? Isn’t the book in you worth it?

Get Started Now

What People Are Saying About Kim:
Spotlight
Empowering!
This seminar takes all the mystery out of eBook publishing. Kim is interesting & engaging while presenting me with the tools to successfully complete the publishing process.

I feel like I benefited from her trial & error and all the expertise she’s gained.

I’m excited to go publish my book right now!

Jessica SchultzHelloJessica.com
Spotlight
Painless & easy to understand!
Kim made the thought of ePublishing painless and easy to understand to everyone wanted to publish in the eBook world. She included everything that an author needs to know to get started or finish the process.

I went home, applied her teachings to my manuscript and I was able to hit the “Publish” button on Amazon five hours later!

Kim saved me time, frustration and my family’s sanity!

Kris MazyCookingWithMazy.com

Update: Amazon to acquire Goodreads

Amazon.com announced today via their KDP Forum that they have purchased independent book review website Goodreads.

We’re happy to announce that Amazon has reached an agreement to acquire Goodreads, a leading site for readers and book recommendations that helps people find and share books they love.

Amazon and Goodreads share a passion for reinventing reading, a love of books, and an appreciation for the authors who write them. We both work every day to help authors like you reach a wider audience and make a better living at your craft, and together with Goodreads we intend to build many new ways to delight authors and readers alike.

We’re excited to help create an even more powerful offering for all of our authors, and we hope you are too. You can read more in the press release here and the blog post from Goodreads here.

Best,
The Kindle Direct Publishing Team

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