Tag: choices

Self-Publishing: Understanding Copyright and Distribution

Copyright

First-time self-publishers often worry about copyright or that someone will steal their idea. This is typically the first sign of a novice self-publisher.

However, new and established authors might worry about someone stealing their books now that AI is here.

First, you should know that you own the copyright to your book at the moment of creation.

This is why it’s irrelevant for vanity presses to tell you that you keep 100% of your rights as a perk to working with them. You already have it.

But, if you want to take it a step further, you can obtain an official copyright through the US copyright office (copyright.gov) and receive a Library of Congress number, which allows librarians to catalog your book at LOC.gov.

Note: If you plan to request US Library of Congress (LOC) cataloging, be sure to assign the ISBN well in advance of publication to allow for LOC processing time.

Photo by lil artsy

Keep in mind that the ISBN has nothing to do with the copyright or the ownership of the work. It is also not connected to the Library of Congress cataloging. The ISBN is simply a number identifying the book and who published it.

It is important for self-publishers because we want to be listed as the publisher of record. That is why we self-published: to be in total creative control of the process and our own publishers.

Seeing the name of who published the book might not be a big deal to readers or authors who intend to stick to selling their books online, but for authors who wish to get the attention of booksellers or to sell their books in bulk to larger corporations, it is a bigger deal. Booksellers find it too inconvenient if the book is not returnable through Ingram (the book distributor, not IngramSpark the self-publishing arm). Although KDP’s extended distribution actually goes through Ingram, one of the main reasons why retailers don’t want to stock titles published by Amazon is that they are not returnable.

And Amazon is their biggest competitor.

Frankly, bookstores can care less about Amazon or that you are an Amazon bestseller.

Free ISBNs could also restrict your distribution options.

Distribution

Copyright is not to be confused with distribution rights.

Like traditional publishing, self-publishers want their books available through multiple channels. They want to control the distribution of their book.

In its simplest form, distribution rights is the right to make your book available to the customer.

When you are signed with a publisher, you must go through them to get copies of your book.

When you are your own publisher, you can order as many author copies of the book as you want and decide where your book shows up.

For print books, for example, it means going from your printer to a retailer or directly to your reader.

In the case of ebooks, this can entail sticking to Amazon exclusively or using an aggregator like Draft2Digital to make your work available at a variety of stores, including Barnes and Noble, Apple iBooks, and Books-A-Million.

For distribution to bookstores,* small publishers and self-publishers do not typically have the manpower to use a full-service distributor like traditional publishers who can warehouse and distribute large book print runs. Thus, we usually opt for a wholesale distributor such as Ingram because it is best suited to print-on-demand (POD) printing.

*Having your book on Ingram Spark does not necessarily mean bookstores will order copies of your self-published book from Ingram.

The best practice is to self-publish through Amazon’s KDP for Amazon and then publish separately through Ingram and other platforms.

In other words, you don’t have to be concerned about someone stealing your book concept. Every book has already been written. Your perspective is the key ingredient. The way you write it is what makes it unique. Nobody else can write like you. Additionally, your book was already protected by copyright when it was written. For more security or peace of mind, you can also purchase a copyright through copyright.gov.

Check out more Indie Author Basics articles here.

Preorder Your Copy of Black History Facts You Didn’t Learn in School Here!

http://www.blkhistorybook.com | 2.24.24

Dear Self-Published Author, You Have Options!

While Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing is excellent, there are other options for print-on-demand publishing that self-published authors can explore.

Draft2Digital

Draft2Digital is a gem. D2D is an aggregator that distributes your books to major retailers online, from Barnes and Noble to Apple iBooks to Baker & Taylor. They have merged with Smashwords and now also offer a paperback option. The upload procedure is simple and efficient. Your only issue is if your book still needs to be formatted. You should finish, edit, and format your text before uploading it.

I have only used their ebook service so I cannot comment on the quality of the paperback, but it is an option for self-publishers who don’t want to use Amazon. Also, the speed of making your book available everywhere online is top-tier.

Ingram Spark

Ingram is another option, although the upload process is slightly more complicated. However, it is set up that way because Ingram is a distributor designed to get your book into bookstores.

During the process, you’d want to think about things like your wholesale price (usually 40%), and you will need an ISBN. While Ingram does offer a free one, I highly recommend Indie authors own their ISBN.

Buying them in bulk (assuming you will self-publish more than one book) from Bowker can save a ton of money. I haven’t had to buy one in three years. I am using Ingram for the hardcover version of my book (which requires a different ISBN than the paperback), and I was able to use one of the numbers I still have left.

Note: Do not give away your ISBNs unless you are a publisher. Your number is like your book’s social security number and is attached to your name or the company you registered under. Thus, you will be the publisher of the record.

Photo by Pixabay

An exciting thing about Ingram Spark is its choice of paper. As experienced self-publishers know, you can choose your paper, usually white or creme, during uploading on Amazon. However, with Ingram, you have another choice. You can select Groundwood, an eggshell paper typically used in traditionally published mass-markets.

Note: I recommend using Amazon separately.

Upload your files for ebook using Kindle Direct Publishing like you normally would to put your book on Amazon. Then, use the other programs for the other retailers. If you do this, do not check the expanded distribution box on Amazon.

Example: If using D2D or Ingram and your ebook is already published on Amazon, you do not need to check the Amazon box during set-up.

Bookbaby

For independent authors who want to self-publish but don’t have the time to look for editors and cover artists, Bookbaby is a possibility. By offering you publication packages for cover design, ebook conversion, ISBN, and even marketing, Bookbaby serves as a self-publisher assistant or vanity publisher.

Any publishing that demands payment is regarded as vanity publishing despite being verified and far more professional. Pay attention to the features supplied with each tier when using Bookbaby because it is also rather pricey and not all packages include editing. Remember that even if they include books with each bundle, ordering your own books through Amazon’s KDP or Ingram will save you a lot more money.

I’ve seen from other authors that their print quality is pretty good. So, though I have not used them, and have my concerns about their prices, they are an option.

Lulu

Lulu is a possibility. However, it’s not my first pick. Early on, I utilized them for The Stella Trilogy and my volumes of poetry. Your book can be distributed via Lulu to several online retailers. The pricing of the books is substantial, and I don’t like their customer support method. The paperbacks’ quality is great and solid, though. Additionally, their upload procedure is quite simple. Again, they are an option, albeit I wouldn’t make them my first pick.

48 Hour Books

Now 48 Hour Books is what I like to call a hidden gem. They are an organization that prints bookstore-quality books. They work as a book printer and offer book templates, editing resources, self-publishing, and more. Imagine if Amazon’s KDP went down; 48hr books would be a great resource for printing your books. They also sell ISBNs and Barcodes, though I only recommend buying ISBNs from Bowker.

I have not used them, but I want to in the future to investigate their quality. From what I see, the paperbacks are top-notch.

Remember that you are not limited to the mainstream or most popular option when you embark on your self-publishing path. You may always assess what best aligns with your vision and objectives. You are not constrained to a single viewpoint either. Whether you hire a publisher or outsource, you are free to publish your book however you see fit.

Check out more Indie Author Basics articles here.

Preorder Your Copy of Black History Facts You Didn’t Learn in School Here!

http://www.blkhistorybook.com | 2.24.24

No Whining Wednesday – The Strength in Others

Welcome back to No Whining Wednesday, your (and mine!) weekly reminder not to whine, complain, or criticize for this twenty-four hour period. If you’re new to this blog or this segment, please refer to the first post HERE which explains in detail. (You can also see the other weeks we’ve done so far. Just click on the pingbacks)

The No Whining Wednesday Badge

Today’s reminder is all about looking for the strength in others, instead of the weaknesses:

“It is much more valuable to look for the strength in others. You can gain nothing by criticizing their imperfections.”
– Daisaku Ikeda

We have a habit of seeing only the bad in people. Every day we place judgment on others in subtle ways. Maybe we saw a blog post we didn’t agree with so we murmured under our breaths. Maybe someone bypassed us on the street and we wondered why they wore those shoes. Maybe we rolled our eyes because someone did something we thought was the wrong thing to do. Maybe an author is not winning in our eyes. Maybe he or she is losing because they aren’t doing it the way we’ve been taught it should be done. Maybe, maybe, maybe. These “maybies” add up. Sometimes they come out of our mouths. Other times they stay in our heads. Either way, consciously or subconsciously, we tend to see the negative in people first and then, only if we’ve chosen to accept the person anyway, do we see the good.

What if we could see the good first? What if instead of counting my weaknesses, you can count my strengths? What if instead of seeing what I am doing wrong, you can see what I am doing right? Today, try not to criticize people’s imperfections. Instead, look for their strengths.

“Don’t criticize what you don’t understand, son. You never walked in that man’s shoes.”
– Elvis Presley

I challenge you to list a strength you see in someone in your life in the comments section! Could be a fellow blogger, author, sister, brother, mom, friend. Anyone in your life. (You cannot talk about yourself).

Choices

writing-933262_1920

There are many paths before us,

a starlight fantasy for our dreams

a dose of reality for our truths

and a playground for our games

all candy coated to look alike

and we shackle ourselves

to the decisions, we make

paths unfold like red carpet occasions

so that we may sharpen discernment

and choice spreads its arms wide

like a mother

beckoning for her children

inviting us to lay our head

in her bosom

and there we feed on the free will

to choose our own verdicts

what will history write in our favor

and what will we leave behind?

Choices.

We live on them

like the breath, we breathe

inhale and exhaling ourselves to the next step

what will become of this poem?

will I dare to save a life?

is it possible

that one can live on these words

desperately

nourished simply by the right

to choose

to read them

The Walls You Build

Walls

There are two kinds of walls that hinder us in our lives. The first wall is there naturally and I wouldn’t even call it a wall. It is more like a warning; that blockage there to indicate a possible or impending danger. It exists to stop you from being involved in situations that do you harm or that cause you to make a life altering mistake. It’s that internal alarm that rings, warning you that something is not right, something does not vibe, or that something is about to go wrong.

Some people call it anxiety, fear or paranoia and while these exists, this feeling is none of these. You’re not paranoid. Your body is just telling you that something is wrong. Sometimes it happens when you’re around certain people. Sometimes you’ll say, “It’s something about him or her”. That’s because when the vibe isn’t right, the entire body reacts.

I remember having that feeling when I was eighteen years old. I was out on a date and I got this extreme nervous, anxiety feeling. I wanted to turn around but felt it was too late as we were already entering the restaurant. That night ended with me in the hospital and five staples in my head.

We were jumped by a group of men and women. There were just too many of them. We were thankful to make it out alive.

Even so, not all walls are natural internal clocks. Some walls are built by us.

Sometimes the wall exists because you built it. A person cannot move their hand to do what the mind does not already believe it is capable of doing. Not having the strength to persist is one thing but having the strength and choosing not to be strong is another thing entirely. Growth isn’t always what you can see but we often walk by sight and not faith. As such, we hinder ourselves because we didn’t really believe it was possible.

I know that people say to “Believe in yourself”, but that’s the problem.  I don’t believe achieving anything of value is about believing in yourself but in something greater than you. But you do have to reach inside of yourself and find that excitement for the possibilities. Not even that you’ve made it, because none of us have, but the mere possibility. As my sister says, have a now faith not just a future faith. Rejoice on the journey, not just the arrival. And while the goal is so much bigger than you, the choice to begin starts with you.

There’s a quote by Andrew Murphy that says, “You’re confined only by the walls you build yourself”.

“People only work within the confines of how they perceive themselves, and when your self-esteem is low, that perception is usually far from the truth. You won’t be successful until you believe that you are truly worthy of it.” – Stephanie Lennox

Sometimes it’s worth considering that we’re not limited by resources, or understanding, or support but by our own walls. It’s mind over matter. It’s like people who sit down for a card game and proclaim, “I’m not really good”. I guess you’re not. You took yourself out of the equation before you even started. These are the walls we build.

Ultimately, the only time anything possesses power over us is when we weaken ourselves.