FAQs (SPD Ebook Program)
The Basics (ABCs)
A. WHAT YOU NEED TO PROVIDE SPD TO GET GOING
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- Two copies of signed Ebook Contract
- PDF of the book or books in question
- Distinct ISBN for each ebook
- SPD will then send you a sheet to fill out for full bibliographic info
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B. WHAT IT WILL COST
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- $1 per page for conversion
- $25 one-time new title fee
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C. WHAT YOU WILL EARN
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- For sales through most ebook vendors you can assume you'll get back between 36% to 55% of list for an ebook sale (Amazon and B&N take deeper cuts, Apple and others take less). Assuming a page count of 100-150 and setting a price of $9.99 (see FAQ #22), you will need to sell about 35 to 40 ebooks to make back your conversion and new title fee costs.
- Of course, the beauty of ebooks is that, after you make back those initial costs, additional sales are pure income (not counting royalties you might pay). There are no reprints, no printing costs, no shipping costs, no storage costs, and no returns (!). So the file can sit with SPD/Bookmobile for the next ten+ years waiting to cover its initial costs. Sales after that will be entirely an income stream.
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FAQs
1) What is an Ebook?
An electronic book (also e-book, eBook, digital book) is a text and image-based publication in digital form produced on, published by, and readable on computers or other digital devices.
2) What does it mean it mean that SPD/BookMobile will "convert" and "distribute" my book as an ebook?
There are two steps to making an ebook available. First, a digital file must be "converted" into a format appropriate for each of the devices, paying attention to how it will appear through the given device; then, it must be "distributed" through licensed channels where payment structures and other contract details have been worked out. There are currently a limited number of such licensed vendors able to distribute ebooks in all the major formats. It also means that SPD will maintain, distribute, and update as needed the "metadata" (digital information about your book, including things like page counts, author information, etc.) related to that book.
3) What do people read ebooks on?
An Amazon Kindle, an iPad, a Barnes & Noble NOOK, a Sony Reader, an iPhone, a Blackberry, Macs, or PCs.
4) I don't have a reading device. How will I see the ePub file BookMobile creates for me?
Bookmobile will walk you through this process, but basically you will download Adobe Digital Editions to your Mac or PC, at http://www.adobe.com/products/digitaleditions/
5) Can I do the conversions myself, then use SPD/Bookmobile for ebook distribution?
No. Bookmobile has found that working with files from other converters frequently causes delays and in some cases extra charges for fixes. Meanwhile, BookMobile has figured out and solved the many issues related to quality control of the files. For example, while most ereaders use the ePub format, the same ePub file may render differently on different devices and this often requires tweaking of the files for each provider for your book to look the way it should. In the ebook conversion, Apple may want this tweak, Overdrive may want this tweak, etc. If you convert without tweaking, your book may be a mess on certain readers. BookMobile has a process in place to create a quality ebook that will render consistently on all devices, and they constantly update their procedures to keep up with evolving changes.
6) How does BookMobile make ebooks?
The shortest and simplest answer is: BookMobile creates an ePub file from your source file (your source file is generally a PDF). This becomes the master file and includes all the elements from your source file (fonts, images, text, etc.). Then they open and edit this ePub file in an XHTML editor to ensure they achieve a quality ebook.
7) How much does it cost to convert?
As an SPD publisher, you will receive discounted conversion of your files to ebook formats of $1 per page, which includes conversion to both ePub and Kindle formats. Note that "conversion" is not an opportunity to re-do editorial issues in the book, so be sure to turn in a final, clean pdf in terms of content. Requested editorial changes during the conversion process will be billable to the publisher at an hourly rate.
8) What kind of ebooks should I convert to?
Barnes & Noble, Apple and Sony require ePub-format files, so that's a no-brainer. In addition, ePub has become the standard for eBooks generally. You should also convert to Mobi, which is the format used by Amazon/Kindle.
9) Amazon already says they will convert my book for free, and sell it for the Kindle. Why would I use SPD/BookMobile?
Amazon has its own format: Mobi. You can supply them with an ePub file or a PDF, and Amazon will do a further conversion on it to their format. However, any time you do a conversion, it must be checked, and corrections must be furnished to the converter to fix. Conversion is not an automatic process and requires careful oversight for accuracy. Amazon will do the conversions for free, but their checking and correction process can be slow and problematic. This is why the majority of BookMobile's publisher clients ask them to handle the ePub to Mobi conversion, so that the file furnished to Amazon has been through quality assurance already and is ready for sale immediately. In addition, BookMobile's conversion costs to Mobi are inexpensive, at only $.16 a page. Finally, due to the nature of ebook distribution it is not currently possible to take advantage of the SPD/BookMobile offer to distribute your ePub files unless you also use SPD/BookMobile to reach Amazon/Kindle.
10) [Revised 5/15/2012] I already have some ebooks on Kindle directly through Amazon, or have already started selling ebooks through another vendor. Can I still use SPD/BookMobile?
No. Formerly, SPD/BookMobile attempted to take books that were already on Kindle and do only the ePub conversion and distribution, not the Mobi distribution. However, due to issues at Amazon with how metadata is handled, we are currently requiring that any publisher using the SPD/Bookmobile relationship withdraw their books from Amazon and allow SPD/Bookmobile to be the sole supplier of those titles into Amazon. With the exception of Google (see #24) and sales directly from the publisher's own Web site, you must leave your other relationships for all your ebooks for as long as you are in a contract with SPD/Bookmobile for your ebooks.
11) Where will you distribute ebooks?
To Amazon Kindle, Apple, Sony, Barnes & Noble, Ingram Digital, Kobo, Overdrive (libraries), and eventually through SPD's website. We will also distribute your books to Google provided you have signed a separate contract with them. If you have the technical ability to do so, you may make your converted ePub files available through your own website (in which case, all proceeds stay with you).
12) Google ebooks already says they will convert my book for free, and make it available to all kinds of devices and platforms. Why would I use SPD/BookMobile?
Currently Google ebooks is offering free conversion for ebooks, and the converted books are available to a variety of devices and formats, including Android, Nook, Sony eReader, iPad, and iPhone. However, even though Google ebooks can be download to and read on Nook, Sony eReader, iPad, etc., they are only available for purchase through Google, not in the virtual stores connected to each of those devices. Right now many, many ebook sales are still taking place in the store each device points to most naturally, and they are all stores BookMobile supplies. Also, as with Amazon, Google's checking and correction process during conversion is slow and problematic.
13) Can't I just go to Bookmobile directly? What is SPD's role in this?
You can choose to work with Bookmobile directly, but you will not find better pricing through a direct relationship. This is because SPD is going to be doing critical aspects of the ebook process for Bookmobile. SPD's primary role will be to make sure that the related ebook metadata (the single most important marketing tool for an ebook) is proofed and cleaned, that it is ready to go to as many channels as possible, that it is in the correct formats, and that any changes to that metadata are updated and likewise distributed to all channels in a timely fashion and according to industry standards.
14) Can images be included in my ebook?
Yes, but the quality of the images will not match that of a printed book on black-and-white reading devices. Images do look fantastic on the iPad and NOOKcolor.
15) Is note-linking and cross-reference linking available?
Yes. If this is extensive, BookMobile may assess an extra charge.
16) Are there some books that are not suitable for eBook reader devices? [REVISED 12-8-11]
Poetry and other formats that favor fixed-width formats are currently challenging to convert. Publishers need to be aware of these challenges before entering into the ebook process.
The underlying structure of ebooks were originally developed and will probably continue to be developed without respect for something many publishers and writers have gotten used to over the centuries--namely, an author's precise control over the visual appearance of the work. This is because the entire approach is different, consistent with recent e-commerce corporate approaches which give the consumer, not the vendor, as much control as possible.
This change may not be significant to many in the world of commercial publishers of fiction and nonfiction who are already primarily focused on the customer. However, SPD knows it can mean a great deal to some poetry publishers, fine arts publishers, and others.
The challenges to converting fixed-width formats have been evolving rapidly over the last years. For instance, SPD/Bookmobile thought the new epub3 release would help programmers control visual appearance of text with greater accuracy. Epub3 does seem to be helping with some problems, but not much for others. Future releases may solve some of the common problems soon, or they may not. Check back at our FAQs often.
Currently, ebooks allow the readers to select what font the text will be in. Ebooks allow readers to choose size of text. In the near future, everything you can imagine readers being allowed to choose (color of font, whether images are displayed, background color, margins, etc.) will probably continue to be in their domain, not the domain of writers. Exactly how the user chooses this, and the results of those choices, may differ from device to device.
Many publishers have been successfully converting poetry books and other visually-specific texts into ebooks. However, the poems that work best for this are usually justified left with NO strange spacing issues, with standard linebreaks and stanza breaks. Even then, authors and publishers must be ready to see the final result appear in a variety of ways according to the settings the reader gets to choose (font, font size, etc.). If you have ever tried to set a poem in html, the limitations are similar--there's no real precision to replicating certain appearences. For instance, while you can indent in ebooks, you can't precisely control the size of that indentation from device to device or user to user. Even stanza breaks can be tricky if they are not just one basic blank "line."
17) Do I need a different ISBN for my eBook?
Yes.
18) Do I need a different ISBN for each type of eBook file (ePub, Kindle Mobi, etc.)?
Currently, no.
19) What is the difference between an ePub, Mobi, and a web-ready PDF?
The first two are reflowable documents, the latter is a basically a PDF with links. Many people use PDFs to sell digital books from their websites. The PDF can be downloaded to a Mac or PC, opened in Adobe Reader, and printed out. The photo quality depends on how large a file can be posted to your site. Control of who can and cannot download the file is handled on your end.
20) What does DRM mean?
DRM stands for "digital rights management"-if DRM is provided, restrictions are placed to limit copying, printing and sharing.
21) Will my eBooks be protected with DRM (digital rights management)?
Yes. Each vendor (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.) ensures that. However, if you sell from your own website, you will need to do your own DRM.
22) How do I set the price of my eBook?
Ebooks are priced between $1.00 and the lowest-price printed edition. Common strategies include: 1) pricing the ebook at the same price as the lowest-price print edition, 2) pricing the ebook at about 80% of the lowest-price print edition. Note that, due to requirements set up by Apple, ebook prices MUST end in .99 ($9.99, $10.99, etc.). Also, all "new release" paperbacks, because of rules Apple has, can't be more than $9.99 until they are 7 months old (at which point you can change the price to whatever you want, as long as it ends in .99).
23) How will this all work? Who do I contact about this?
Participating presses will mostly work directly with SPD. After your files have been submitted through SPD for conversion, BookMobile will be in touch to help you through that process. You will work with SPD for all other aspects of your ebook distribution, as you do with your print books. All of your payments will come from SPD.
24) [REVISED 5-15-12] Once I am signed up for my eBooks with SPD/Bookmobile, how do I get onto Google ebooks with SPD/Bookmobile as the supplier?
Due to actions on the part of Google, it is no longer possible for SPD/Bookmobile to be the liasion between our publishers and Google Ebooks. For those who wish to have a relationship with Google, SPD/Bookmobile will provide the converted epub files, and the publisher can set up a direct relationship. Note that selling from the publishers own Web site and selling to Google are the only two direct sales that publishers are currently allowed while they have their ebooks under contract with SPD/Bookmobile.
Primary SPD Contact for eBook Program:
Brent Cunningham
Operations Director
SPD/ Small Press Distribution, Inc.
1341 Seventh Street
Berkeley, CA 94710-1409
Tel: 510.524.1668, 800.869.7553
fax: 510.524.0852
e-mail: brent@spdbooks.org