Sort of. As a general rule, most libraries can't support self-published e-books, because they don't have any way to distribute them if they're not available via one of e-book library vendors (which in practical terms means Overdrive). Even with books on Amazon this isn't always possible. As nice as it would be to host them ourselves, very few libraries have the infrastructure necessary to do that.
Physical copies also tend to be iffy, mostly because of quality. A lot of libraries avoid soft-cover books as much as possible because they tend to fall apart very quickly, and I've noticed that most of the print-on-demand services don't have even as much quality as a regular or trade paperback. As such even at a low price selectors tend to be wary of buying them. We'll sometimes make an exception, especially if it's a local author, assuming they content is of good quality. (You probably wouldn't be surprised at how much crap gets sent to us.)
]]>Ouch. I lived up Haste St., about two blocks from Cody's, 25 years ago. It was a terrible neighborhood. But between the Big Earthquake and the Big Fire, things started to pick up, with Cody's, and Amoeba Records, and the every-10-years-or-so re-paving of People's Park.
We used to have Cartesian Books and maybe five other places besides. (the other change of hobbit?) And now Moe's lives on customer pledges.
Maybe this is progress, but the old places had their benefits, too. Never trust a bookstore that lacks a resident cat.
(Thanks to Our Host for a good place for book people. No doubt he supports the requisite feline overlord or two.)
]]>I have been a Computer Person since 1978, and the horrid Overdrive eBook option for public libraries here completely baffles me.
]]>Thank you! And it's nice to know the books get some Amazon recommendations.
It was a huge frustration to me that I'd only ever had one book published in the UK. Ebooks have certainly changed the rules, no matter who is publishing the book.
]]>Right, someone else mentioned they'd finally changed that policy.
Marketing strategies are hotly debated, but I'm not doing Kindle Select because I want the books available at multiple retailers.
]]>And let's not forget those 10,000 book sales are highly theoretical. ;-)
]]>How about a link to my website where all vendor links can be found? Scroll down a bit to find all the novels listed. http://mythicisland.com/
]]>Awesome. Thank you.
]]>http://blog.smashwords.com/2012/12/smashwords-supports-epub-uploads-with.html
]]>Yes, that's true. Book View Cafe is close behind, and they have books by many writers. Then again, buying a book at Amazon drives up its rank and helps expose it to more potential readers. But there's an array of vendors so readers can pick the one that works for them. Thanks for asking!
]]>Even our host does quite a bit of the lifting on publicising his work.
It's almost a question of getting good at that first, preferably via an avenue that you own and can utilise for different propositions as needed (hello boingboing). If you can reach and keep those eyeballs coming back to you, you have a major ace in the hole.
Maybe THAT is a subject they should be teaching kids at school for a secure future - and No.1 on the priority task list for many different avenues of endeavour?
]]>This post could be improved with actual links to the amazon page selling Linda Nagata's books.
Are you really so jaded that you can't navigate to Amazon and type 'Linda Nagata' in the search window?
]]>I think self-publishing may be not advisable for a new author (if you self-publish your first novel, that means nobody wanted to publish it). Also, most new authors still have things to learn and can benefit from editorial advise.
But established authors can and should self-publish. I very much prefer paying 4 bucks directly to you instead of paying 15 to the publisher, of which less than 2 go to you.
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