Kobo, in my view, is constructively redressing issues that many self-published authors have with Kindle, more details about these later.
Don’t misunderstand my opening sentences. Of course you should offer your book(s) on Amazon — it currently holds an estimated 45% of the eBook market share — but after uploading ten eBooks with both companies, there are good reasons that every self-published eBook author should ALSO use Kobo’s Writing Life platform. In my view, its best years are still to come as it continues to improve its global penetration and as the eBook era evolves and matures.
Simply put, there is no reason to not offer your books with Writing Life too; it should be another arrow in your marketing arsenal. Here’s why I see strong potential.
Since its launch in 2009, Kobo’s registered user base has grown globally to more than 10 million people in 190 countries, placing it among the top five e-book stores in the world, with three million books, newspapers, and magazines available. The company also manufactures and sells the Kobo eReader line that my wife and several friends love: Kobo Touch, Kobo Glo, and Kobo Arc. The Kobo is the second most used eReader in the world after the Kindle.
Kobo advantages:
Kobo adds to your penetration: If your book is just on Amazon, only people with Kindle readers can buy it and read it. Several friends use Kobo, so books that are exclusive on Amazon are unavailable to them. Why limit yourself? While Kobo’s market share in the U.S. is in the single digits (still not inconsiderable) it holds a leading share of the digital reading market in Canada, somewhere between 33-50%, and in several other countries as well, according to company CEO Mike Serbinis.He says Writing Life now has 100,000 eBooks and authors from 60 countries. The link following takes you to a great April 2013 interview with Serbinis in Digital Book World. In it, he details Kobo’s progress to date and the company’s vision going forward:
http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2013/kobo-ceo-mike-serbinis-doubling-down-on-e-readers-and-international-expansion/
FREE: Uploading and becoming a Kobo Writing Life author is free, of course. I’m not sure this will last. Frankly, I think it might not be a bad idea if the Kobo’s and Amazon’s charged a fee for uploading. It may dissuade some of the awful stuff that has appeared. Some authors think everything they write deserves to be uploaded regardless of content or writing proficiency. I definitely do not want to see gatekeepers again like the old days, but I’ve seen some “authors” brag about uploading 50 books in less than a year.
Your royalties are better: i.e. 45% or 70%, and the range for the 70% is between $1.99-$12.99, better than Amazon’s $2.99-$9.99. I think that the price of eBooks is about to rise and that the days of “free” eBooks will come to an end very soon since it’s no good for anyone except people who place no value on books. A 200,000-word novel that takes a year to write warrants $12.99 and 99 cents is an insult. Isn’t a good book worth the price of a package of cigarettes or a bottle of wine? With Kobo, at the $12.99 price, you receive $9.09. With Amazon, the most you could charge to stay at 70% would be $9.99, so you get $6.99 less download charges. Big difference.
No download charges: I net more from Kobo than Amazon because it doesn’t levy the download charge that is part of Kindle’s strategy. This, too, makes a big difference in my royalties. For example, on my $9.99 Think Well & Prosper book, which has color photos, Amazon pays me about $5.50 per book, Kobo pays me $6.99. You do the math. It’s nice to claim that it pays a 70% royalty, but I never get anywhere near that with Amazon.
Ease of use: it takes just minutes to convert a Microsoft Word file, complete with photos, etc. to epub format. Kobo will do this for you for free.
Another option: I, however, convert my own Word files using the free Calibre software that lets me see the entire book before I upload to Kobo. Once I’m happy, I just upload that file and presto, I can see my book. The whole conversion process from Word to Kobo book is literally about a dozen keystrokes. I’ll detail these later because software and keystrokes are only easy after you’ve done them a few times.
Good financial reporting on sales: Writing Life reports are clear and up to date, day-by-day, not so with some others!
Communication with Writing Life staff is fast and coherent, i.e. no standard boiler plate responses if you have questions or concerns. It seems that real people are on the other end.
Easy to change: You can change/correct content anytime and re-upload; you can access and alter metadata, geographical rights, and pricing.
Wide availability: Books are available, of course, on the Kobo website, but also through Angus & Robertson; Whitcoulls of New Zealand; FNAC in France; Chapters Indigo in Canada, and WH Smith in the UK.
New pre-order option: Kobo now offers pre-ordering for eBooks, a good marketing strategy to build anticipation before the official release date. Mark Lefebvre, Kobo’s director of self-publishing and author relations says: “We wanted to make sure that self-publish and indie authors have the ability to take advantage of pre-order activities…. So we give them a choice. It is important to allow them the freedom to decide what marketing pre-release strategy they want to employ.”
Social networking: Kobo encourages readers to recommend and discuss recent reads with other Kobo users. Kobo users can purchase books recommended by friends simply by tapping on the shared book cover from an activity feed. This means that virtually every time someone purchases and reads your book on Kobo, it has the potential to get noticed by hundreds or even thousands of people.
Find the eBook on Kobo $4.99: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/How-self-publish-eBooks-Kobo/book-nJ1F0Sjl6kikGC9wUh7q_Q/page1.html?s=VXhfRXk1WkWWzls_vDh7RQ&r=5
Get the book in PDF form at Scribd: $4.99, follow link:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/135761775/How-to-self-publish-ebooks-with-Kobo-Writing-Life
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