Wednesday, January 11, 2017

How Indie Authors Reach International Markets



The emergence of ebooks as a viable medium for authors has enabled independent authors to reach wide audiences through digital delivery on the internet. As an indie author, I've benefited from the global distribution of my titles. A portion of my income every month comes from readers outside the United States, predominantly in countries that have English speakers and readers such as Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and India.

What Platforms do I use to sell ebooks worldwide?

Most indie authors, especially in the United States, are familiar with Kindle Direct Publishing through Amazon. This platform places ebooks in the Kindle store in numerous countries. Some of the Kindle stores serve markets that don't have a strong English language audience, like France and Brazil. I do, however, have consistent Kindle sales in the UK and Australia. Canada, although it has a Kindle store, does not produce many sales for me. My sales to Canadians tend to come through Kobo and Google Play.

Kobo has long been known as a source of ebooks in the Canadian market. It also has a substantial international reach. I've sold ebooks to various countries through Kobo. This is a platform that indie authors should definitely be on. The company is friendly to self publishers, who can directly publish through Kobo Writing Life. Authors can also have their titles sold through Kobo by third parties like Smashwords. Some authors enjoy substantial success at this retailer that reaches many audiences not well serviced by Amazon.

Google Play offers me my most robust international selling platform. As well as enjoying many sales in the United States, I regularly reach other countries, including Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, and sometimes India. Sales come in from countries like Switzerland, Norway, and New Zealand too. Because I've always struggled for visibility on Amazon, Google Play has emerged as my most profitable outlet most months. I publish directly at Google Play, and I'm not aware of any third parties offering access to this store.

Apple has the iBooks store within its iTunes system, and people in over 50 countries can buy my ebooks there. Over the years, I've had sales come in from all kinds of countries at iBooks like France, Germany, and Australia. I use Smashwords to sell my titles at iBooks. Apple does have a self publishing system, but I'm not familiar with it.

Speaking of Smashwords, its retail store also represents a means of selling ebooks globally. The reporting system at Smashwords does not show me the countries of origin on my sales, but I do know that the store has an international customer base, and I've sold hundreds of ebooks through their website.

Finally, my own website Brave Luck Books serves as a global retailer for any digital goods produced by me. My ebooks are delivered automatically after payment through the service SendOwl, and my credit card processor accepts many currencies.

You can go pick out a free ebook right now to see how it works without entering any credit card information.

Friday, January 6, 2017

Binge reading starts now - 99 cent ebooks available at all retailers this weekend



It's cold and dark where I live, and curling up with a good book under blankets is a good survival plan. Today I'm sharing a big list of bargain ebooks in the science fiction and fantasy genre, so you can load up your tablet and have money left to pay the heat bill.

For the weekend of January 7th and 8th, you can find ebooks for only $0.99 through the website of Patty Jansen. She's done the hard work of gathering titles and organizing them by retailer.

Google Play

Kindle

Kobo

Nook

iBooks

Smashwords

The January promotion features one of the titles that I produced. It's a multi-author box set that sells for only $0.99 every day. 

Outcast Journeys: Fantasy and Sci Fi Box Set by Eight Great Authors by Nathan Anton, Tiffany Cherney, Tara Maya, Scarlett Van Dijk, Tracy Falbe, Ashley Capes, Alex James & James T Kelly.



Kindle

http://amzn.to/2aByRMY

Google Play

https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Tracy_Falbe_Outcast_Journeys?id=wFavDAAAQBAJ

Apple iBooks

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/outcast-journeys-fantasy-sci/id1132254573?mt=11

Barnes & Noble Nook

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/outcast-journeys-tracy-falbe/1124079091?ean=2940153116204

Kobo Books

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/outcast-journeys-fantasy-and-sci-fi-box-set-by-eight-great-authors

Smashwords

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/648407

If you love to read fantasy and sci fi or you're looking for something new to excite your imagination, read Outcast Journeys.

A note from Tracy Falbe: Be the first to know about my new releases and special sales at Brave Luck Books. Join the Readers' List. Ebooks and audiobooks available worldwide. Print in select countries.

Monday, December 26, 2016

Discover Ebook Reading with Your New Android Tablet




For those who received a new Android tablet as a gift, you're now in possession of a perfectly good ebook reader. Like me, you'll use your tablet to do other things like research the web, waste life energy on social media, and watch movies, but I also enjoy reading ebooks on my tablet.

Every Android device comes with access to the Google Play store. This store sells apps, music, television shows, movies, and ebooks to a global audience. You can also easily add apps for other online media retailers and services like Kindle, Kobo, and Netflix to your tablet.

Today I'm going to focus on reading ebooks from Google Play and independent sources on your tablet with an emphasis on finding free ebooks.

  • You'll open the Google Play store by tapping its icon on your tablet. It might already be on your home screen. If not, you'll find it in the Apps area.
  • Unsurprisingly, the ebooks section of the store won't be particularly obvious when you enter the online store. Touch the little horizontal bars near the top of the page to open the store menu. Then you'll see Books as a choice.
  • Once you're in the Books section, you'll be able to search and sort for whatever you desire to read. Lots of free ebooks are available on the Google Play platform, but the retailer does not make them particularly obvious or easy to find.
  • To dig into the free offerings, you'll want to do a store search with "free" as a keyword. For example, free historical fiction or free Arthurian books. This will produce substantial results for you to consider.
  • You will also be able to sort ebooks by Deals. Discounts on all sorts of titles are typically available at this retailer. Browsing by deals, you'll start to find titles for $0.99 or even smaller amounts like $0.79 and $0.19.



As you become familiar with your tablet, you could also download ebooks from independent sources outside the retail giants. 

  • You might find free ebooks given away by expert authors hoping to provide how-to, self-help, or fitness advice. An abundant supply of free fiction can be accessed by doing searches for favorite authors or simply "indie authors" who frequently give away ebooks. There really is no limit to the amount of free nonfiction or fiction ebooks online.
  • When you download ebooks from independent sources, you'll likely choose a file in PDF or Epub format.
  • Your tablet will open any PDF files that you store on the device. When you tap on a PDF file, you'll be presented with options for opening it. Unless you have other appropriate types of PDF viewers installed, you'll choose between Drive PDF viewer or an Office application. Either work fine.
  • To read Epub files on your tablet, you'll need to install an Epub reader application. There are many to choose from. The easiest way to load one on your tablet, is to go to the Play store and search Apps for "free epub reader." You could also do an internet search and download Epub viewers from other sources that you might find. There will be paid versions of these applications as well if you want more features.
  • Once you have an Epub reader on your tablet, you can select Epub files whenever you want to download an ebook. These files are typically smaller in size than PDF files, and they reflow content for digital viewing.

This is the process that you would use if you chose to download a free ebook directly from my website. 

Followers

 
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