Earlier this year, before moving and improving our Digital Content Center Blog, we discussed the number one reason why writers today choose self-publishing over and over again—CONTROL. Via self-publishing, writers control book titles, book covers, book content (story and words), publishing, copyrights, and promotion.
But we also have to sell our e-books. To do this, we turn to Direct Sale Vendors. Direct Sale Vendors sell our e-books for a percentage of the sale.
Who are the top Direct Sale Vendors?
- Kindle Direct Publishing Platform (Amazon) — KDP
- Barnes & Noble ePubit Platform (Nook) — ePubit
- Apple iTunes Connect Platform (iPad) – iBookstore
Introduced in 2009, Barnes & Noble released its own brand of e-reader utilizing an Android operating system to compete with the Kindle—the Nook. Since its inception, new and improved versions including the Nook Color, the Nook Simple Touch, and the most recent Nook Tablet have hit the shelves with color touch screens and Wi-Fi access.
So how do we get started?
Selling an e-book using the Nook platform is simple; it requires an account with the Barnes & Noble ePubit Service and a properly formatted e-book.
First, we must sign into or create our Barnes & Noble account at www.pubit.com.
Next, we need to convert our manuscripts to the Nook format. Barnes & Noble offers a formatting guide, assisting writers with the conversion via script off the Internet. This do-it-yourself conversion process accepts Word documents and other digital formats, and most importantly, stays within the ePubit platform requirements.
Writers can also learn about ePubit conversions over on this helpful website.
Come back next week when we summarize the steps in completing a writer’s journey with Barnes & Noble’s ePubit Platform. But for now…
Remember—selling e-books through a personal website and through Direct Sale Vendors provides us with the best of both worlds when it comes to distribution and maximizing our revenue.
For more information on selling with direct sale vendors, please check out our free resource: Getting Started with Direct Sale Vendors.