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BB eBooks Newsletter – June 07, 2013
Dear Friend,
It is a wonderful time to reach out to you early in June. Don't forget to get your books ready for the summer reading season. In this edition, we provide you with industry news and new opportunities that can maximize your income. Kindle Worlds, the “hybrid” model, and the Alliance of Independent Authors are all good resources that can develop your career path as an author based on your interest. Please read more to find out.
Congrats to Red Phoenix - #1
First of all, we would like to congratulate the success of one of our clients, Red Phoenix, who reached #1 on the Movers & Shakers list at Amazon with her erotica novella Brie Learns Restraint. We are certainly delighted and honored to be a part of her journey.
Amazon Worlds to Revive Fan Fiction
This week, the digital book giant announced Kindle Worlds, the latest program that coincidentally revives the old tale of E. L. James’ rise to fame. Regardless of the cool name, Kindle Worlds itself has a deep root in fan fiction. Long before her works received worldwide attention, James had a crush on the Twilight series so passionately that she had written a fan fiction novel and came up with her version. Initially, the book was not named the “Fifty Shades” series. When she discovered her voice and went on to create her own storyline, the rest was history and it even attracted the original Twilight’s author, Stephanie Meyer, who wishes her well.
Fan fiction can be your killer opportunity to break into new territory. Unlike your original writing projects, the program allows you to take inspiration from famous well-known TV series and write about it. Joseph Brassey feels challenged to be “pushed outside my normal comfort zone as a storyteller” to write in The Vampire Diaries. However, Amazon’s latest attempt is also seen as a double-edged sword to disrupt several tie-in publishers and writers. The Digital Reader also raises questions about the selection criteria how the licensor, Alloy Entertainment, will choose the book.
The Sudden Elimination of Erotica from Nook UK, Amazon Kindle Store in China, and Hybrid Authors Earn a New High
When several erotica titles were removed from Nook UK Store, KBoards users set up a forum to voice their complaints. The authors who were affected by the censorship hypothesized many possible reasons why their work was removed. Still, they were not given any notice or chance to defend their case. The comparison between Nook UK and US store will show you the difference in the number of books available for purchase. However, looking at the Kindle Store, it is a different story.
Although the opening of a Kindle Store in China is nothing new, an insider predicts that June 7th (today!) would be the auspicious day. In fact, Amazon's latest eReader, Kindle Paperwhite, supports Chinese characters. Techcrunch observes that Chinese law must have something to do with the delay in opening the store. From what I saw this morning, the official opening can be best described by the screenshots below.
Download English classic titles for free.
Scroll down to the bottom of this Chinese Kindle Store page to browse the free catalogue.
Unfortunately, I still cannot buy or sample the free eBooks even though I am signed up with Amazon China and I can read Chinese (with a little help from Google translate). Perhaps people in mainland China are faring better than we are in Thailand.
Traditional vs. Self-Publishing… or both?
A recent survey done by Writers Digest reveals that hybrid authors earn the highest income of $38,000 per title. When asked why they choose this career path instead of a traditionally published or self-published one, the participants seems to point out all the advantages self-publishers have over traditional authors. Plus, they can seek financial support from the publisher if the latter party is interested to invest. For self-publishing, Joe Konrath constantly advocates the potential to collaborate with fellow others of your genre and stand on your own two feet.
Thailand’s New Digital Bookstore
For Thai readers, you can consider EBooks.in.th store as your new digital bookstore. You can buy eBooks and magazines and read them online. The eBook store is currently owned by Porar Web Application. The company said that they would want to bring something more to eBooks and the price must be cheaper than print books. Ebooks.in.th also tries to implement the fairer calculation of royalties for Thai authors since the bookstores normally deduct 50% out of sales. PDF will be the digital format (unfortunately).
The Alliance of Independent Authors, Book Expo America, Solutions for KDP
When it comes to debunking misconceptions about indie authors, who can do a better job than The Alliance of Independent Authors? Roz Morris calls for help on social media to invite her allies to demystify derogatory names like “rank beginners” or “burnt-out has-beens” and “prove what indie authors are really made of.”
Book Expo America (BEA) brings the sexy back to attract readers. Actors, sports athlete, and male cover models ensure that they demand attention. Book signing has its own section where people lined up to get an autograph from celebrities and more than 500 authors in the Autographing Area. These types of promotions, needless to say, skyrocket book’s accessibility and author’s discoverability to the extent that readers can relate to real people in the event rather than how fantastic the decoration is.
KDP’s customer service team needs to heed David Gaughran’s words of advice when he blogs the experience of dealing with the difficulties on KDP. Complaints are collected from the comments on his blog and Kboards. All of the 15 issues are listed and provided with possible solution for the team to better their service. Financial issues like cashing in a check or inadequate royalties earning are brought to the roundtable (a particular problem for authors outside the United States). These issues need solutions before authors lose patience.
Yours sincerely,
The BB eBooks Team
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