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

But, wait—there’s more!

Who’s heard about Kobo?

Back in 2010, Kobo Inc. announced the release of its latest creation—the Kobo e-Book Reader.  Much like the other readers, Kobo has produced multiple versions of the device, including: the original Kobo, Kobo Wi-Fi, Kobo Touch, and the most recent Kobo Vox that runs on an Andriod-based system.

Okay, but there are a ton of e-readers out there today… what makes Kobo beneficial to writers?

In just a matter of a few years, the Kobo reader has emerged as the most popular e-reader in Canada and already has a large percentage of the market in France as well.

Sounds good, but is there more?

Yes!  Last month, yes – last month (July, 2012), Kobo announced that authors now have public access to sell their e-books via the Kobo Writing Life platform.

Selling an e-book using the new Kobo Writing Life platform is simple and only requires a properly formatted e-book and a Kobo account.

So how do we get started?

First, we need to set up our free Kobo account.  In order to complete the account setup, users must accept the site’s Terms and Conditions.

Once we have an account, we then need to ensure our manuscripts are converted into the ePub format (just like with the Nook and iBookstore).  Kobo also offers a simple process to convert most documents (Word, Mobi, and text) to the correct file for the author; however, if authors would like the conversion ahead of time, Kobo also offers this as a paid service as well.

Remember, everyone can also learn all about ePub conversions over on this helpful website.

Come back next week when we summarize the steps in completing a writer’s journey with the Kobo Writing Life 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 Vendor Guide.