IMPORTANT THINGS YOU NEED TO DO:
By Lindsay McKenna
www.lindsaymckenna.com
To get a copy of this handout on Google Docs
Join NINC (Novelist Inc.) Indie helpful
Once a year convention in Florida—well worth going because you’ll meet other Indie authors like yourself, make connections, network, talk to heads of kobo.com, iBook/Apple, Amazon and BN.com. Educational. A lot of how-to workshops for different levels of Indies (neophyte, 1st sell, many books sold)
http://www.ninc.com/
BOOKTRKR is the only one who actually counts your sales on all your books, includes reviews on that book, and how much you’ve made monetarily, how many books have been sold, how many free books sold, how many paid books, KENP/lent books (if you do this—I don’t) and it gives the day’s sale as well as the “all time” sales. It also shows your rankings, and you can, from an accounting position, know exactly how many books sold on a give day, month or year. No Indie businesswoman or man can live without this. Go sign up.
https://www.booktrakr.com
PODs—print on demand—paperback
I think it’s bad business NOT to include with your eBook release, but a POD release as well. Createspace (Amazon) has the best on the Internet at this point. You won’t make 35% or 70%, more like what a trad pub author gets off her paperback book (depending upon the price of the book, you will get around 10% of the price as your royalty). It’s not great money compared to an eBook, but it DOES get you out to readers who love holding a book in their hand. For me, it’s just another egg in your publishing basket, a money earner for you.
http://createspace.com
AUDIO: I have my Indie/Delos series with Tantor Media Audio. My Kensington/Zebra series, Wind River Valley, is with Recorded Books (and can be purchased off amazon.com). Always call up any one of these audio places and see if they might be interested in turning your eBook/POD into audio, also. It never hurts to ask. Google ‘audio books’ to find out just how many audio companies are out there. One could be your audio publisher.
MANGA: This is something I’m exploring presently. Again, it’s another egg in my business basket that if a Manga company contracts me, can put more money into my bank account.