Read Camilla Stein’s latest, Space Scrapers. Camilla’s 41st century Earth is just what the doctor ordered for a quick holiday escape!
Space Scrapers
January 8, 2012
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Posted by debmcnichol
Notes on e-publishing with Amazon and Smashwords
January 7, 2012I’ve posted on Amazon’s publishing before, but recently, I uploaded a new shorts ebook, Space Scrapers by versatile and talented author Camilla Stein and had my first ebook-loading experience on behalf of Sawa-Lad Services’ publishing arm. (Camilla, BTW, is my first literary client and a friend, and will remain one of my very favorites throughout our careers and beyond, God willing.)
Now, apparently, there has been a problem with the formatting of SS (though acceptable to both companies to which I published), and at the time of this writing, I am due to review the results and possibly republish (which is feasible with both companies), but the question has come to me, “What about Smashwords?” So here are some informal notes that I hope answered the question:
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It is possible to publish on both Amazon and SW. SW is a good service for publishing, but don’t expect your customers to buy on SW– SW is primarily a distributor– customets will buy on Apple, B&N, Kobo, Sony and (I think) Deisel, insha Allah…. SW is supposed to be adding new places to distriibute in the future, insha Allah. SW requires certain standards for e-pub publishing, in order to be acceptable to its distributees. (Which is really, the only reason why republishing unnecessarily might be problematic– might mean unnecessary delays in getting re-accepted to vendors, which takes a few weeks after uploading to SW. Revising and republishing is not difficult– both companies allow it.)
The major downside to SW is that IT DOES NOT offer DRM, which is security and helps prevent cybertheft. The upside, it distributes for you, for 10% (not bad) to several sales outlets. Apple does not permit authors to upload their own work. There is a certification process to go through before a person or company is permitted to upload to Apple. So basically, for Apple products, one must use a service (SW is one), but theoretically, it would be possible to upload one’s own books to B&N, Kobo, etc. By using SW, however, any revenues would be collected by SW and then distributed at the time for distribution.
SW did not distribute to Amazon at the time I uploaded– I think there may be some current deal in the works– but SW does convert to mobi, which is the type of file that Amazon accepts for the Kindle. So, the Kindle computer application (and I assume Kindle device as well if it was synched with a ‘puter), could read a mobi ebook bought from SW.
For sales on SW, the commission will be more than the distributed book, of course. That makes sense, right? If someone buys a book for an iphone, then there would be commission for Apple and also SW.
Do you know if SW is beter than Amazon? And can I use both?
Yes, you can use both. But if you join new Amazon’s Prime lending program, you are giving up the ability to sell on SW or those other vendors (B&N, Apple, etc) for 90 days. Now, I think publishing on Amazon by itself would probably give better results than SW (because that’s were people go for independent stuff), but there’s no reason not to publish on Amazon and SW both. I am under the impression that it will be difficult to sell on B&N because of the difficulty in finding a book– its search engine is pretty terrible. But there’s no reason for your book not to be there. B&N boasts that it has more books available for its Nook than Amazon has for the Kindle. However, I think that Kindle is probably the standard. Allahu alim.
Also, the price for any vendor (SW, B&N, Apple, etc.) cannot be LESS than Amazon’s price, and I believe at least some of the other vendors have the same policy…. Apple requires the price of the book to end in 99, so $1.99, $2.99, etc. So that is something to take into consideration.
Hey, you didn’t say anything about Lulu–so you think going with Amazon is best option?
Lulu is what you might want to consider for hard book publishing, and for services related to creating the book and publishing. I do not have experience with their services, but I hear it’s about a good choice for people who need services like book formatting and such. It is a reputable company according to articles and people I have spoken to, and incidentally, just down the street from me in Raleigh, NC. It is probably a better choice than any number of vanity publishers that have popped up over the last 10 years. It’s a good idea, in any independent publishing endeavor, to beware. Check the Better Business Bureau– there are really too many with “F” ratings. Lulu has an A+. ·
If there was only one independent publishing option, I would go with Amazon. Alhamdulillah, there are more than one. Just beware, though, of jumping unnecessarily onto Amazon bandwagons, and keep your options open. Like I said above, joining Amazon’s Prime lending library might seem like a great idea, but not if you want to sell in other places– there’s no guarantee that you’d make any more money by joining the “lending pool” that Amazon is trying to develop, (though it does permit you to give away 5 free copies of your book, which is nice), and you cut off your opportunity for sales from other venues for 3 months.
Amazon is doing its level best to cut its authors off from other vendors, and imo, kind of unfairly– but rage against the machine, and insha Allah, it’ll help to keep Amazon honest.
Keep an eye on ALL vendors’ term and conditions, including Amazon– especially Amazon. And be warned that losing money from pricing SNAFU’s, despite whose fault it is, will be YOUR loss, and not Amazon’s or other vendors’.
Finally, do yourself a favor and DO NOT suggest that your friends browse those sites for your book, particularly B&N’s Pub-it or Smashwords. There are thousands of pornographic book covers (and I assume the insides of the books are more graphic than the outsides, judging from titles) to go through, and your friends will likely never make it through the muck to yours.
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Posted by debmcnichol
Dinar Standard
June 30, 2011I’ve recently started working with a (relatively) new online business magazine: Dinar Standard. This magazine studies relevant business from an Islamic perspective, and is targeted for Muslim business. This is an American publication, but in part because most of Islam’s adherents live outside the United States, this business magazine has a global reach and many talented and savvy international writers. At this time, the magazine is completely free to read, so when you have time, check it out! The current edition regards education around the world.
Leave a Comment » | business building, Corporation, Foreign business, small business, Uncategorized | Permalink
Posted by debmcnichol
Mediation
April 27, 2010Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution whereby a neutral third party assists the conflicting parties in coming to a resolution. The mediator’s role is not to determine the outcome of a conflict, but simply to facilitate helpful discussion and dialogue between the parties. The goal is to let the parties choose the outcome of their dispute through the discussions and improved understanding. This may be preferable to letting a judge or arbitrator determine the outcome of the dispute, although there must necessarily be some give and take between the parties for mediation to be successful.
In a court setting or in an arbitration proceeding, there almost always can be only one winner. In mediation, on the other hand, the parties have more control over their dispute, and they may choose who wins what and what concessions are made by whom. Finally, mediation affords the participants privacy that a trial cannot.
Unlike arbitration, mediation does not bar the participants from access to a trial. A mediation that does not resolve all the issues in a conflict may nevertheless be considered successful if some of the issues do not have to be litigated because they were determined in mediation.
Mediation may cost less than a trial, depending on the circumstances of a case. Because a mediator is a neutral party, the general rule concerning payment is that parties split the costs of mediation evenly. Parties may, however, agree to allocate the costs in a different manner.
Attorneys may be wary of mediation because of the emphasis on party participation. In a family dispute, for example, the mediator may suggest that the parties, rather than their lawyers, discuss the personal issues involved in the case. An attorney will be wary of advising the client to do so.
The mediator, obviously, would not suggest that a plaintiff dealing with an insurance company negotiate a settlement instead of his attorney. However, if business transactions conducted by family members or long-time friends were the subject of a dispute, the mediator might try to steer the conversation away from the attorneys and towards the parties.
That said, mediation may be an attractive alternative to court proceedings in a case, like here, the parties have been friends prior to becoming business partners. The North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission has helpful information regarding mediation and a search engine for finding a State-certified qualified mediator.[1]
[1] http://www.nccourts.org/Courts/CRS/Councils/DRC/Default.asp
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Posted by debmcnichol
Non-compete agreements
April 16, 2010This nice little article effectively brings up the problems associated with non-compete agreements.
http://www.gruntledemployees.com/gruntled_employees/2009/02/how-to-lose-a-noncompete-case.html
The fact is, non-competes are not always enforceable, and if they are, they are limited by necessity and scope. What this means is that when an employee has left the employer, the (ex)employer cannot enforce a non-compete against the (ex)employee unless
- there is a business necessity,
- the length of the non-compete period is not unnecessarily long,
- the area where the non-compete is effective is not unnecessarily large,
- What the ex-employee can’t do is not unnecessarily restrictive.
Why would a court not enforce a non-compete, or at least limit it? After all, it’s signed by the employee, right? The answer to that lies with the fact that a person’s got to make a living. Is it right to prevent her from making money doing what she does, when she is no longer being paid by the employer? Effectively, the consideration for the arrangement, ie, the weekly paycheck, stops after the employment period.
Should an ex-employee be on welfare because of a non-compete agreement? Probably not.
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Posted by debmcnichol
Intellectual Property resources
December 2, 2009Here are some links that might be of interest for anyone with IP concerns, and especially international needs:
For IP concerns in certain countries (Egypt, Brazil, China, India, Russia, Thailand), get a FREE hour of consultation with an ABA attorney: http://www.abanet.org/intlaw/intlproj/iprprogram_consultation.html
Info about patent, trademark, or copyright issues: www.StopFakes.gov Phone: 1-866-999-HALT.
Phone number for registering copyright materials1-202-707-5959
Phone for info about registering TMs and patents in the US and abroad: 1-800-786-9199
Selling your product outside the US: http://www.buyusa.gov/home/
Don’t forget www.USPTO.gov and www.copyright.gov for a lot of good, basic info about your IP.
Leave a Comment » | Copyright, Patent, small business, Trademark, Uncategorized | Tagged: business, copyright, international business, IP, Patent, Trademark | Permalink
Posted by debmcnichol
Someone might just get in trouble for this.
October 29, 2009This means bad news for Pepsi shareholders, unless corporate lawyers can finesse their way out of it.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091028/ap_on_bi_ge/us_pepsico_no_show_3
Lots of courts would allow a default judgment like this set aside, and it seems reasonalble that with such a HUGE amount of money, a court would be looking for excuses to set this aside. The plaintiff’s attorney, however, is of the opinion that this court might not.
The kicker is that Pepsi has a pretty good argument for “excusable neglect.”
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Posted by debmcnichol
Does IP Protection Apply to all Uses?
June 29, 2009Copyright, and all intellectual property (IP) laws are written in order to promote the arts, to encourage innovation and creativity. Protecting via legislation inventors, authors, business owners, and to a lesser extent, performers, is intended to enrich American society by giving incentive to IP owners to create and continue creating.
That said, IP protection is not absolute. For example, the most well-known justification for otherwise illegal use of property is fair use of copyright protected works.
What is “fair use”? As the name implies, fair use is using the copyright work in a legal manner, for a reason that usually does not result in profit for the user. One fair use is educational. Another fair use is parody. In theses cases, though commercial use by the potential infringer is relevant, it is not definitive.
The problem with fair use is that the user will often go too far, and the use is no longer “fair,” at least in the rights holder’s eyes. This is where litigators come in.
Contact Debora if you need help with IP or business legal concerns.
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Posted by debmcnichol
