How many eBook publishing platforms does it take?

[Mark Young]

Crimespace members have generated a lot of eBook discussion recently. There is one aspect of this subject that I did not see covered or I missed it.How many publishing platforms is enough to reach the broadest market? 

Here are some of the platforms mentioned: Amazon (DTP), Barnes & Noble's PubIt, Border' new "Get Published," INgrooves, Kobo, Ingram Digital, and Apple. I have not worked with a publisher to date, and all the hype about the digital publishing world can be misleading. How many eBook publishing platforms must a manuscript flow through to be available to most readers?

[Stacy]

Hi Mark,

I have no idea because I never epublished but popped in to say this is a very interesting question! I wanna see what the authors experienced with epublishing have to say.

I'd say the obvious thing to me would be just to get your work on as many legitimate and reputable ebook sites you can. I have friends who are epublished and some self-published e-authors as well. They say the key is to have your ebook out there in as many places as possible. I know that a lot of ebook authors have said that ipad/Apple is something they focus on most. I guess this is doing well with sales for a lot of people, having their titles with Apple.

I'm clueless, LOL! I know about epublishing but I can't tell you specific places but seem to me you have the main ones covered. Hope someone else comes through to help. Also try Google if you haven't already, might be able to come up with a good new spot too.

Best Wishes!

http://www.stacy-deanne.net

[Mark Young]

Thanks, Stacy. It is confusing. I've Googled this issue to death, and seem to get as many answers as there are sites. For example, Amazon seems to garner about 70 percent of the current trade, so this platform seems logical. The other platforms all seem to offer different scopes of marketing and applications. Thanks for your interest.

[I. J. Parker]

It will take time to unravel. At the moment Kindle is the leader (as you say). I have a sneaking suspicion that it will remain that way. Eventually, you'll have to guess who numbers 2 and 3 are going to be. Ipad and Nook sound like reasonable guesses. Chances are that the demographic may be a bit different for Ipad.
(I just opted for a 1-year exclusive with Kindle)

[Mark Young]

This is interesting, IJ. I would agree with you about Kindle right now. What does an exclusive deal with Kindle garner you, rather than using other platforms at the same time?

[I. J. Parker]

I get promotion from Amazon. And the breakdown with Smashwords had to do with uploading problems.

[Benjamin Sobieck]

Smashwords. One and done. Its more of a distributor, though, not a platform. It automatically distributes to the major eBook platforms.

Of course, you have to know how to get your eBook formatted for Smashwords first. That seems to be the biggest obstacle.

[L.J. Sellers]

Smashword does NOT distribute e-books to Amazon, so if the only place you upload is Smashwords, you're missing most of the market. And it only pays quarterly. The only place you can do a one-stop distribution is INgrooves, because it's not a bookseller and is not in competition with the retailers. I did a roundup of these platforms on my blog recently.
http://ljsellers.com/wordpress/e-book-self-publising-roundup

L.J.

[Mark Young]

I read your blog, L. J. Great summary. It was one of the articles that go me thinking about this whole issue. Thanks.

[L.J. Sellers]

Thanks. I'll probably have to update the post regularly to keep the information current.

[J W Nelson]

Your comments seem pertinent even 12+ months later. Thank you!

[Benjamin Sobieck]

Smashwords does distribute to Amazon, but it doesn't right now. It's pending a Meatgrinder update. You have the option to opt in or out of Amazon distribution.

But since I didn't want to wait, I went through Amazon DTP. So I've got my bases covered with Amazon, B&N, Borders, Sony, Apple, Sony and Diesel. I don't think it matters so much how you get there as much as just getting there.

LJ, is INgrooves a paid service? I can't tell from its website.

[L.J. Sellers]

It charges a setup fee of $50 for each book and keeps 5% of sales. But as a distributor of hundreds of titles, it also negotiates for higher royalties than individuals can get. You also upload your own mobi and epub files, so you can distribute a nice product (versus the not-so-nice files produced by Smashwords). It also pays monthly.