Ebook Bootcamp NABP

Ebook Boot Camp
Amanda Bryan Gomm
amanda@digitalbindery.com
www.digitalbindery.com
@agomm @digitalbindery

1. What is an ebook?
2. What is an ereader?
3. How are ebooks used?
4. How safe are ebooks?
5. What books make the best ebooks?
6. Accessibility in ebooks
7. The ebook conversion process
8. Distribution
9. Sales and Marketing of ebooks

What is an ebook?
General Definition:
• A long form digital publication

Specific Publishing Definition:
• Self-contained package that includes all the
data for a book

What is an ebook: Formats
Two main ebook formats make up
the bulk of the ebook market:
• Epub: open standard developed
by the IDPF
• Mobi: Bought by Amazon in
2005, and is the basis for the
.azw and Kf8 Kindle
formats

What is an ebook: Epub Format
Epub 2.0.1
• Open, non-proprietary ebook format
• Read by the largest number of devices
• Fairly basic
Epub 3.0
• New version, as of October 2011
• Lots of bells & whistles
Fixed layout
• Intended for graphically complex layouts

What is an ebook: Mobi Format
• mobi/azw is Amazon’s format for the older
Kindle devices
• Newer devices like the Kindle Fire support
KF8, which has more bells and whistles
• KF8 can be used to create fixed layout files for
the Kindle Fire

Why not use PDFs?
Reflowability

What is an ereader: Reading Systems
Software that interprets the ebook format for
the device you’re reading the ebook on

Some reliable reading software:
• EPUB
– Adobe Digital Editions (Adobe)
– Nook for PC/Mac
(Barnes & Noble)
– Reader for PC/Mac (Sony)
– Readium (Google Chrome Plugin)
– Azardi (Infogrid Pacific)
• MOBI (Kindle format)
– Kindle for PC/Mac/Kindle Previewer (Amazon)
– Calibre (calibre-ebook.com)

What is an ereader: Devices
• Four main kinds of devices:
1. Eink screens
2. Tablets
3. Smartphones
4. Computers

Eink devices
• At this point, greyscale only
• Slow page refresh rate
• Very low power consumption
• Most are not backlit
• Many run on ADE

Tablet computers
• Finer control of layout (eg
fixed layout) is supported
• Vibrant full color
• Full video and audio is
possible
• More varied reading systems
available, especially if apps
are supported

Smartphones
• Very varied reading systems
• Audio and video content
available
• Serious screen size limitations
make fixed layout books less
possible
• A recent Mintel survey shows
22% of respondents read on
their cell phones

Computers
• Wide variety of reading systems
• Full audio/video capability
• Recent survey showed the PC to be the
second most common ebook reading device

Ebooks are used by
•All ages
•All income levels
•All genres

Copyright issues
• Anything you write is copyrighted as soon as
you write it—don’t bother mailing it to
yourself
• Copyright lasts for the life of the author plus
70 years
• Registering your copyright can entitle you to
statutory damages, and also serves to enter
your copyright into the public record

Ebooks and piracy
• Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology
makes it harder for people to copy ebooks
• Most major retailers will by default use DRM
on your books
• Privately licensing DRM on your own is
extraordinarily expensive—Adobe doesn’t list
prices, but reports say ~$16,000.

Does DRM work?

“The problem for authors is not
piracy; it’s obscurity”
–Tim O’Reilly

Watermarking
• Embeds a code in the ebook identifying the
buyer of the book
• Also called “social DRM” because it only uses
social pressure to enforce copyright

Are there books that don’t really
work as ebooks?
• Large format books
– Atlases and Star charts
– Giant coffee table books
• Typographically complex
books
• Workbooks

What can authors do to make things
more accessible for those with print
disabilities?
• Provide alternate text for all images
• Do not rely on color to communicate
information
• Avoid blocks of text that are difficult to read
(italics, underlining, bold, all-caps)

Readability
Fourscore and seven years Fourscore and seven years Fourscore and seven years
ago our fathers brought ago our fathers brought ago our fathers brought
forth on this continent a forth on this continent a forth on this continent a
new nation, conceived in new nation, conceived in new nation, conceived in
liberty and dedicated to the liberty and dedicated to the liberty and dedicated to the
proposition that all men are proposition that all men are proposition that all men are
created equal. created equal. created equal.

Fourscore and seven years FOURSCORE AND SEVEN Fourscore and seven years
ago our fathers brought YEARS AGO OUR FATHERS ago our fathers brought
forth on this continent a BROUGHT FORTH ON THIS forth on this continent a
new nation, conceived in CONTINENT A NEW new nation, conceived in
liberty and dedicated to the NATION, CONCEIVED IN liberty and dedicated to the
proposition that all men LIBERTY AND DEDICATED TO proposition that all men are
are created equal. THE PROPOSITION THAT ALL created equal.
MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL.

The Traditional Path

Book
Author Editor Printer
Designer

• Write the Manuscript • Developmental Edit • Cover Design • Offset printing
• Substantive Edit • Interior Design • Print-on-demand
• Copyedit • Digital Short Run
• Typecoding


Ebook
Conversion

Book
Author Editor
Designer

• Write the Manuscript • Developmental Edit • Cover Design Printer
• Substantive Edit • Interior Design
• Copyedit
• Typecoding


Ebook
Conversion
• Consistent look and feel
Book across both formats
Designer • Publishing traditions and
standards are adhered to

Printer

The New Path
not to be confused with the new math

Ebook
Author Editor
Design

• Write the Manuscript • Developmental Edit • Cover Design
• Substantive Edit • Interior Design
• Copyedit
• Typecoding

Ebook Conversion Process

Clean up the original files Rough conversion Design the content for digital Proofing
• Remove print only material • Automated techniques consumption • Interior proof done by the
• Replace sloppy design elements • “Meatgrinder” portion of the • Fix issues arising from automated converter should include a check on
• Redesign non-reflowable or process process many devices including at least one
consumable material • Similar to one-click conversions eInk device, one tablet, and one
• Address accessibility issues
computer
• Add semantic markup • Redesign elements that lost
formatting or are unsupported • Ebook is checked for errors
• Add metadata
introduced during the
• Add alternate text for images • Add links and scripts conversion, inline errors, print
artifacts, interactivity, form, and
function Final Delivery

Repeat for each format

Limited Layout Control
Background image
Text Shadows

Image resizes
to the screen

Drop Shadows

Rounded Corners Background color

Limited font choices

Random Generic Serif font
Monospace Font

Converting images for ebooks
• Many readers use eInk screens, so
images that look good in grayscale
are very important.
• Ensure that references to
important colors are clarified for
grayscale devices (“red bar” on a
chart, for example)
• Images containing text are not
advised
• Covers may have to be modified,
as they should be recognizable as
thumbnails

Proofing an ebook
• Proofing is the final stage of production—at this
point, all the editing and design work is done.
• Proofing is to ensure that there were no
problems in conversion.
• In addition to textual and formatting errors, we
look for problems in various reading systems and
display types
• Make sure to proof on the devices you want to
target!

On What Shall I Read It?
Dear Liza Dear Liza

1. The individual devices (beg, borrow, steal)
2. Kindle Previewer
3. Adobe Digital Editions
4. iTunes Connect
5. Kindle for Desktop/Smartphone App
6. Nook for Desktop/Smartphone App
7. Reader Desktop/Smartphone App
8. Kobo Desktop/Smartphone App
9. Firefox Reader
10.Readium

What to look for
• Links
– Test all of them
• Copyright page
• Table of Contents
• Footnotes/Endnotes
• Index Entries
• External Links

What to look for
• Things that get lost
– Inline items
• Small Caps
• Italics
– Print References
• Colors
• Page Numbers
• See Above/Below/Left/Right
• Consumable Content

What to look for
• Metadata
– Title/Subtitle/Short title/Edition/collection
– Author/Editor/Contributor/Illustrator/ Publisher
– Series title and number
– Subject/Coverage
– Description
– Publication Date
– eISBN
– Rights

What to look for
• Sneaky technical troubles
– &s, <s, >s, and #s
– Encoding issues (seeing  s)
– Code leaks <div or /> or anything that doesn’t
make any sense
– Pages that don’t turn the first time

What to look for
• Crazy conditions
– Check at all font sizes
– Check in portrait and landscape
– Check in night mode
– Check without Publisher Overrides

• Remember that there may be trade offs (if I make
it look awesome in night mode it stops working
on the Nook. Let’s not worry about night mode
then.)

What to look for
• Cover design
– Does it look good at 12%?
– Does it look good in gray?
– Does the thumbnail show up on the iPad, Nook,
and Kindle bookcases?

What to look for
• Formatting changes
– Ensure that the layout of the text is easy to
read, and talk to your converter about any
changes from the print version that you don’t
understand.

Distribution

Pricing Models
Most
Favored
Agency Wholesale
Nation
Status

Distribution
Traditional Distribution: Wholesale Model

Publisher
Submits the electronic file and all the metadata to the
Markets the book
distributor

Distributor
Stores the file, delivers metadata and files to the Pays the publisher a royalty of 50-60% (on average) of
retailer recommended retail price (RRP) per download

Retailer
Sells the book at whatever price they want Pays the distributor 60-75% of the RRP per download

There are a few online retailers (most notably the Sony Reader
store) that require this traditional model.

Distribution
Distributing directly to retailers
35%
Royalties
Kindle Direct
Publishing
70%
Amazon
Royalties
KDP Select

65%
Royalties
B&N B&N Pubit!*
40%
Royalties

iTunes 70%
DIY Apple
Connect Royalties

45%
Royalties
Google Google Play
52%
Royalties
Kobo Writing
Kobo
Life

Other Smashwords

ISBNs
• International Standard Book Number
• 13-digit number unique for each book sold
• In the US, they are sold by R.R. Bowker
• $125 for one, heavy discounts for bulk
purchases (10 for $250, 1000 for $1000)
• Bowker says, one for each format sold
• Some retailers will sell without an ISBN and
use their own number to track sales

BISAC Codes
• Book Industry Standards and Communications Code
• Created and maintained by Book Industry Study Group
(BISG)
• Some retailers will not accept a title without at least
one BISAC code—some accept several
• Codes can be generic (cooking) or very specific
(Cooking / Methods / Baking)
• The codes look like this:
CKB004000 COOKING / Methods / Baking
FIC022060 FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Historical
• They can be found online (google bisac codes)

Sales and Marketing
• Ebook retailers and distributors are not
marketers—if you’re self publishing, marketing
your book will be your responsibility
• An online presence will help you market your
books successfully. Don’t leave this for the last
minute, as it takes time to build!
• According to the recent Taleist survey, email
campaigns and newsletters are the biggest
contributor of sales
• Established publishers like authors with an online
following, too!

How do I set a price for my ebook?
• Royalty issues
$0.00 $0.99 $2.99 $9.99 $14.99 $199.99 $200.00
Amazon X* 35% 70% 70% 35% 35% 35%
Apple 70% 70% 70% 70% X X
B&N Pubit X 40% 65% 65% 40% 40% X
Google 52% 52% 52% 52% 52% 52%

*Available as a temporary promotional tool for KDP select members.

How do I set a price for my ebook?
• Marketing issues
– Comparable titles
• Author/Publisher
type/reputation
• Genre
• Size
• Target audience
– Use price adjustments to attract audience
• JA Konrath The List Experiment

Can I sell an ebook from my own
website?
• Yes!
• Pros: you will receive
100% of the sale price
• Cons: discoverability—
without a bookstore you’ll
be unable to grab those
casual browsers

Getting books onto the device
• Purchase through the associated bookstore

• Side load the content
– iPad/iPhone
• Plug the iPad into the computer
• Open iTunes
• Drag the book into the Books
library
• If you do not have a Books library
download a newer version of
iTunes.
• Sync the iPad
• The book will appear in the iBooks
library

– Kindle for iPad
• Plug the iPad into the
computer
• Open iTunes
• Select your device
• Choose Apps from the
top nav bar
• Scroll down and select
the Kindle App
• Drag books into Kindle
Documents
• Sync the device
• These books will appear in the Kindle for iPad app

– Kindle/Nook/Smartphone
• Plug the device into the computer
• The device will appear as an external
drive
• Open the device to view the files
• Drag the book into the correct folder
– Kindle/Kindle Touch/Kindle Fire: Documents
– Nook: My Documents
– Nook color: My Files > Books
– Smartphones are variable. Look for eBooks or Digital Editions.
• No syncing is necessary
• Eject the device

– Sony Reader
• Remove the SD card from the
reader
• Plug the SD card into your
computer
– Note: if your computer does not have an SD card reader, USB
SD card readers are an inexpensive solution
• Open the SD card folder to view the files
• Drag the book into the folder
• Eject the SD card
• Reinsert it into the reader

Questions?

Amanda Bryan Gomm
amanda@digitalbindery.com
www.digitalbindery.com
503-855-4397
@agomm @digitalbindery

Ebook Bootcamp NABP

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