Having written my book and got it printed, the next step was to make it available on the Net. After exploring various options and I decided on the kindle version as kindle is now a free software on all PCs and mobiles. I am already a member of Amazon and I logged onto Kindle Direct Publishing with the same id. After completing requirements for tax purposes, I went to my bookshelf and added my title. All details were simple and took no time at all.
Since I had already obtained an ISBN for an e-book I entered these details. (Amazon however have still given their own ASIN number). The issues were on uploading the book and deciding on pricing and royalty.
The book cover was already designed, the uploading took a bit of fixing because of the pixel requirements. I converted the .docx file into a pdf file which I then saved as a JPEG file selecting the best quality and the highest pixel count available. The cover was uploaded and accepted.
For the book content, I again saved my .docx file as a pdf file since I wanted to keep my fonts intact - an upload of the docx file changes several English fonts. And I also had several hindi words interspersed throughout the book, which became garbage when uploaded as a .docx file.
As far as royalty was concerned, I did have the option of Amazon's Select offer where they give upto 70% royalty in several countries, including India, which is where I come from. This has the added benefit of giving you payments if your book is borrowed, with some free days too. However this gives Amazon the freedom to decide on pricing / reduce the price. So the decision was - do not opt for select.
A major difficulty as far as Amazon is concerned if that royalty payments (except for purchases in America and India) is through cheques sent by post after the threshold is achieved in each individual currency. I am therefore reconciled to not receiving even a single rupee for sales in any country other that US and India.
Anyway, my book "Our Heritage Revisited : A glimpse into ancient Indian texts" is now available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YF1DOGM . The sample pages are free to download and will show you what I have done. The book, in a mere 66 pages will give you a quick overview of all our Shruti and Smriti texts - the topic is sure to interest all persons having linkages with India. The second half of the book gives the gist of the concepts of the Upanishads and covers ten of the major Upanishads.
Do read it - you will be able to sound quite knowledgeable in your circle of relatives and friends and colleagues!!!!
Since I had already obtained an ISBN for an e-book I entered these details. (Amazon however have still given their own ASIN number). The issues were on uploading the book and deciding on pricing and royalty.
The book cover was already designed, the uploading took a bit of fixing because of the pixel requirements. I converted the .docx file into a pdf file which I then saved as a JPEG file selecting the best quality and the highest pixel count available. The cover was uploaded and accepted.
For the book content, I again saved my .docx file as a pdf file since I wanted to keep my fonts intact - an upload of the docx file changes several English fonts. And I also had several hindi words interspersed throughout the book, which became garbage when uploaded as a .docx file.
As far as royalty was concerned, I did have the option of Amazon's Select offer where they give upto 70% royalty in several countries, including India, which is where I come from. This has the added benefit of giving you payments if your book is borrowed, with some free days too. However this gives Amazon the freedom to decide on pricing / reduce the price. So the decision was - do not opt for select.
A major difficulty as far as Amazon is concerned if that royalty payments (except for purchases in America and India) is through cheques sent by post after the threshold is achieved in each individual currency. I am therefore reconciled to not receiving even a single rupee for sales in any country other that US and India.
Anyway, my book "Our Heritage Revisited : A glimpse into ancient Indian texts" is now available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YF1DOGM . The sample pages are free to download and will show you what I have done. The book, in a mere 66 pages will give you a quick overview of all our Shruti and Smriti texts - the topic is sure to interest all persons having linkages with India. The second half of the book gives the gist of the concepts of the Upanishads and covers ten of the major Upanishads.
Do read it - you will be able to sound quite knowledgeable in your circle of relatives and friends and colleagues!!!!
1 comment:
Hi I read in a Goodreads discussion board that you printed your book yourself and then distributed via amazon India. Can you tell me approx pricing for the same
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