Whitechapel - Publishing on the Kindle Tue, 21 May 2013 06:42:50 -0700 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/ Lussumo Vanilla 1.1.4 & Feed Publisher Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=154247#Comment_154247 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=154247#Comment_154247 Wed, 13 May 2009 06:59:06 -0700 MikeLuoma
Weird. I don't know or care if the Kindle is a fad, but if I can upload a file, maybe tweak it once or twice, and then be selling on Amazon, why not do it? I've sold six of my comic "Holy Shit" in the last couple weeks. Not a ton, but six more than I would have sold otherwise. My novels do sell better, but it's early yet. I also think it's a grave mistake to assume "comic folks" & "book readers" aren't the same audience, or at least potential audience.

The only evil is Amazon takes 65% of your cover price. Seems excessive to me for hosting and providing a file.

I'm interested in what folks here at Whitechapel think. Does anyone own a Kindle? Is it a waste of time for comic creators to put their work up there? Thoughts?

The Digital Webbing discussion is here:
http://www.digitalwebbing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140057 ]]> Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=154288#Comment_154288 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=154288#Comment_154288 Wed, 13 May 2009 09:01:51 -0700 hank Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=154307#Comment_154307 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=154307#Comment_154307 Wed, 13 May 2009 10:11:42 -0700 tcatsninfan
I'm not for or against what you do or where you decide to publish your work...more power to you. I wouldn't consider it a waste of time if you say there wasn't a lot of tweaking necessary and that you sold copies you wouldn't have otherwise sold.

However, at this stage I have to assume that the Kindle--if not all ebook devices--is just a fad. The two main problems:

1) They're damn expensive--The new DX one is almost $500. That's two iPhones, two Wiis, a PS3 and a game, or a desktop PC with average specs.

2) Amazon's taking too much of the profits. As you point out, they're taking 65%. The new DX model is primarily targeted at the newspaper and textbook industries. I don't know what kind of shape the textbook industry is in, but I know that none of the newspapers can survive if Amazon is taking 65% of their profits. Plus, think about it: what student is going to buy a $500 Kindle and turn around and shell out more money for the textbooks themselves? Shit, I knew people in college who so cheap they would photocopy an entire textbook and then return the book to the bookstore.

I would say that it would only be a waste for comic creators if you had to spend a significant amount of time tweaking or revising the work before Amazon would approve it. ]]> Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=154313#Comment_154313 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=154313#Comment_154313 Wed, 13 May 2009 10:28:19 -0700 MikeLuoma
It took me about an hour to format, upload, and tweak the book. I used the same size images I'd formatted for the online version, no added time there. Amazon has approved all of my stuff easily, no bumps in the process there so far, least in my case.

What if it is a fad? Why not ride it and try to make some money from it? Another aspect of the Kindle working FOR you as a creator is scarcity. Right now is a great time to get your stuff on it, before everyone is providing content for it.

And? You don't need to own a Kindle to publish on one ;) ]]> Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=154323#Comment_154323 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=154323#Comment_154323 Wed, 13 May 2009 11:01:02 -0700 glukkake
It's probably simplifying the situation a bit much but, if it takes you one hour to put something up that you can profit from, then I say go for it! ]]> Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=154332#Comment_154332 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=154332#Comment_154332 Wed, 13 May 2009 11:37:25 -0700 James Puckett The only evil is Amazon takes 65% of your cover price. Seems excessive to me for hosting and providing a file.

If you think 65% is too high maybe you should talk to authors about their royalties on printed books. A 35% commission is incredible given that Amazon fronts the design, development, testing, support and marketing costs for the Kindle and the Kindle store. That’s a better deal than the record labels have been able to get from anybody, and Amazon isn’t making Kindle content providers negotiate for the deal.

There is a chicken-egg issue here. For example, I read an article that claimed seniors are snatching up Kindles because they can crank the text size up even larger than it is in large-print books. Nobody saw that coming, but I guarantee you people are going to be chasing that market like a motherfucker. What is it about the Kindle that allows you to offer something printed comics don’t? I’m guessing that many people who get sick of dealing with shitty comic shops that always screw up the orders on indie comics would buy a Kindle if they could start getting their comics without the hassle, and at a lower price to boot. ]]> Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=154333#Comment_154333 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=154333#Comment_154333 Wed, 13 May 2009 11:39:10 -0700 warrenellis
I remember when a friend's dad solemnly intoned to him that home computers were "just a fad." Listing all the things you could buy for the then-princely sum a desktop machine cost.

I also remember when ISPs tried to charge by the email -- hell, when almost all ISP connection deals were metered by the minute.

Things changes. Prices drop. People learn.

And, obviously, publishing on the Kindle doesn't prevent one from publishing any other way. Right now, Kindles are relatively rare, but possessed by people (mostly American, to be sure, but that'll change) with significant disposable income for information & entertainment. Formatting for Kindle is a no-brainer. ]]> Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=154342#Comment_154342 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=154342#Comment_154342 Wed, 13 May 2009 12:10:19 -0700 Helljin Formatting for Kindle is a no-brainer.

Then can have Crecy for my Kindle? Please? ]]> Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=154554#Comment_154554 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=154554#Comment_154554 Thu, 14 May 2009 02:21:24 -0700 Vaehling
As for the occasional argument that reading comics on the kindle is inconvenient - we've all heard that when webcomics came up, didn't we? If you don't want to read comics on a kindle, that's fine. But if you want to read a comic on a kindle but you can't because there's no version for it - now, THAT's inconvenient. ]]> Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=154715#Comment_154715 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=154715#Comment_154715 Thu, 14 May 2009 15:49:20 -0700 mmaxwell
-Matt ]]> Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=155275#Comment_155275 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=155275#Comment_155275 Sat, 16 May 2009 10:43:55 -0700 Cinexploits
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/05/cool-er-e-book-reader-turns-up-the-heat/

Lighter and costs less. Doesn't have the convenience of built-in wifi, but... has the possibility to be "The Kindle for the rest of us." ]]> Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=155324#Comment_155324 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=155324#Comment_155324 Sat, 16 May 2009 15:55:27 -0700 alexwilson Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=155360#Comment_155360 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=155360#Comment_155360 Sat, 16 May 2009 19:40:10 -0700 MikeLuoma "Boycott anything over $9.99" thread has almost 2500 posts. It will be interesting to see if they succeed in setting a sort of "average price" for Kindle books from the bottom up, so to speak. ]]> Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=155399#Comment_155399 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=155399#Comment_155399 Sat, 16 May 2009 23:45:32 -0700 orwells_eyes
The PDF support on the kindle DX is pretty solid. B/W comics look really sharp and the larger real estate of the screen doesn't fuck the story.

If formatting to the kindle format is an issue, pdf translation works even on the smaller model. If I could buy more comics, short stories and other writing from places other than amazon then dump it as a lump on the kindle and go, that would be swell ]]> Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=155732#Comment_155732 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=155732#Comment_155732 Mon, 18 May 2009 05:41:26 -0700 MikeLuoma Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=156205#Comment_156205 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=156205#Comment_156205 Tue, 19 May 2009 06:26:15 -0700 MikeLuoma
Just found a site where you can upload your documents (pdf or otherwise) and offer them for sale. The store takes 20%, you keep 80, better than Amazon's 65/35 split. Scribd is what they call it. I uploaded six of my books. Selling for $1, we'll see how it goes. It's a beta site right now: http://www.scribd.com/MikeLuoma ]]> Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=162214#Comment_162214 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=162214#Comment_162214 Sun, 07 Jun 2009 10:53:01 -0700 cjhurtt Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=162229#Comment_162229 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=162229#Comment_162229 Sun, 07 Jun 2009 12:17:34 -0700 James Puckett Funny that a lot of shoppersw would wonder what was wrong with a printed book that was only .99.

It will be interesting to see if this model ends up paying authors more than short fiction magazines and anthologies do. ]]> Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=162232#Comment_162232 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=162232#Comment_162232 Sun, 07 Jun 2009 12:39:35 -0700 looneynerd
As far as formatting, I wouldn't know about that. I just finished up helping to edit a book a professor was working on that will be published on Kindle later this year. His publisher took care of all of that. ]]> Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=162314#Comment_162314 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=162314#Comment_162314 Sun, 07 Jun 2009 17:52:03 -0700 gerimi Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=162332#Comment_162332 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=162332#Comment_162332 Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:53:24 -0700 cjhurtt It will be interesting to see if this model ends up paying authors more than short fiction magazines and anthologies do.

Christ, lately it would almost have to.

Not only for consumers, but for a creator to be able to preview their work on it before making it available to the public.


There is a preview function when you load you book up. How accurate it is I don't know. I don't have a Kindle either and am just operating on faith. ]]> Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=214332#Comment_214332 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=214332#Comment_214332 Fri, 15 Jan 2010 12:01:08 -0800 Winterman
I did the math.

If you're a noob-to-mid-level short story writer you stand to make between 3 and 5 cents per word for your stories sold. Presuming you can find a venue that isn't glutted by more-famous-than-you writers who are, essentially, slumming.

For a short story (up to 7500ish words) you're talking between 225 bucks (US) and 375 per.

I haven't put any novels up on the KINDLE platform but i do have several short stories there. If I sell two a day for 99 cents (US), I clear 35 cents each. At the end of the year I should make roughly the same amount for each as I would if I'd sold them to magazines or anthologies.

Why is the the one year timeline a factor? Because, when you sell a short, you're generally disallowed from selling it elsewhere for about a year so as not to compete with other venues.

It's the future. Embrace. ]]> Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=214973#Comment_214973 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=214973#Comment_214973 Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:26:31 -0800 adaengine Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=215226#Comment_215226 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=215226#Comment_215226 Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:21:11 -0800 Winterman Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=215227#Comment_215227 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=215227#Comment_215227 Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:26:35 -0800 Rootfireember Publishing on the Kindle http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=215297#Comment_215297 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=5852&Focus=215297#Comment_215297 Wed, 20 Jan 2010 08:52:34 -0800 Winterman
I didn't know any version of Kindle offered a color option (even the iPhone, PC emulators).

Interesting..... ]]>