Are You a Wholesale Buyer and Retailer?

Here's a new little something to think about. 

Retailers buy at wholesale and sell at a profit. 

As an author, are you a wholesale buyer and retailer? If you are a self-published author purchasing author copies of your book that you then sign and sell at book signings and events you are. Do you have a sales tax number, resale certificate, wholesale tax-exempt certificate, or whatever the form may be called in your state? Every state calls them something different, if that state has a sales/use/vendor tax to be collected. If you do have one, have you provided it anew to Amazon so they don't charge you taxes on your author copies? If not, then you've been costing yourself money.

Let's look at KDP/Amazon. It can be an easy platform for publishing and getting copies for resale, but it is also a complicated structure when it comes to finding out where you fit in as a self-publishing author/vendor. If you look closely at your orders of author copies, since the change over from CreateSpace to KDP, you may find you have been charged taxes on those copies. You shouldn't be if you are going to be reselling them AND if you have the appropriate tax exemption certificate from your state. You probably filled out a form, maybe submitted a bond, when you first set up in your state to resell your books. Did you provide that information to CreateSpace earlier. The information may not have transitioned over when it changed to KDP.  

This question came up in the KDP discussion forums not long ago. You can read about it here if you're a KDP author. If you have not gotten a tax-exempt certificate for your state, do so. Once you have one, you need to check out the Amazon Tax Exemption Program (ATEP). There is wizard to walk you through the process. It is linked in the line of text, 

"To access the wizard click here." on their page.

We don't want to be taxing people twice. If you're paying the sales/use tax on your author copies at the time of purchase from the Amazon Marketplace, then should you be charging those taxes again when you resell them? That would be a good question for your State Department of Revenue to answer for you since every state has different rules. You should have already added their "contact us" email to your contacts list for easy access. I've had to ask questions from time to time and it's easier to find it in my contact list than it is to find it buried among multiple webpage links. It is worth your time to investigate this further.

You can read up on the discussion online. Here's one article I found that got me thinking. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/everything-need-getting-wholesale-license-12921.html

The Bad Taste of Book Stuffing

Book Stuffing - have you heard of it before? If you're a KDP author, you might want to find out why it's bad and why you shouldn't do it. It could get you into serious trouble. It could get you banned as an author in the Kindle Store. Others tried it. They and their books are banned now.

It's not new. Book stuffing has been going on for a while. I think I may have downloaded a book or two from Kindle authors who have engaged in this, whether deliberately or innocently I don't know. I will be deleting their content immediately, if not sooner.

Book stuffing is where page count in Kindle books is increased by tagging on at the end of the book file some samples of upcoming books or past books, and, in some cases entire books. The more pages of an author's work that gets read, you see, the more that Kindle author gets paid, under the KDP Select, and the higher they rise in the rankings. We're not just talking a few dollars. It's more like thousands, tens of thousands, and hundreds of thousands of that now-$25 million pot of money from which KDP All Stars are paid. You've gotten the emails that are sent out to apprise KDP authors how the fund is growing.

Book stuffing is, at least, a violation of Amazon's (Kindle's) Terms of Service. Last year, a lawsuit was initiated against a self-publisher in the UK for engaging in this practice.

Book stuffing makes it difficult, if not nearly impossible, for honest authors, publishing one book at a time, who are enrolled in the KDP Select, to compete legitimately, unless they're writing 'War and Peace' length novels. Then, they might stand a chance. In July 2018, Amazon updated its terms. You may want to familiarize yourself with them again. 

It looks like Amazon has won some ground in this battle, and I encourage you to read up on this issue. Before stumbling across the Twitter posts linked at the top of this post, I had never heard of it. But, as with any good thing someone found a way to manipulate it to satiate their nefarious purposes. If you come across any authors doing this, it might be well to flag their e-book so Amazon can at least take a look at it and ensure that they're on the level playing field and not sending in 'ringers' to undermine the game.

Should You Be Writing Kindle E-Books?

"Should You Be Writing Kindle E-books?" is the title of Lee Jackson's talk, host of our upcoming meeting 7 pm, Tuesday, August 22. We will meet on the third floor of the First United Methodist Church, Maryville. Anyone with an interest in writing is welcome to join us.

Lee has published two e-books and a number of print books. Lee began publishing in the 1980s. Lee spent her working life as a family and consumer sciences high school teacher. She continues to enjoy and write about subjects related to home and family life. Her early sojourn into the world of independent publishing has been an added plus to her life. Cookbooks and children's books are the areas of focus.

Following are a few of Lee's publications and awards:

My apple cookbook, "Apples, Apples Everywhere - Favorite Recipes From America's Orchards" received an award from Mid America Publishers Association.

"Careers in Focus - Family and Consumer Sciences" textbook published by Goodheart-Willcox received the Missouri Writers Guild Major Award.

Books I have published for other authors, Amy Houts and Robert Bohlken, Ph.D., have received awards from Midwest Independent Publishers Association and "Mom's Choice Award" from The Just For Mom Foundation.

Her book, "The Littlest Christmas Kitten", has received great reviews from parents and children, as well as reviewers and the School Library. It received 1st Place Award in Children's Picture Books from Midwest Independent Publishers Association.

Hope to see you there!

#amwriting #Kindle #ebook #author #literature #nonfiction #fiction #MissouriWritersGuild 

Don't Forget the Marketing

There are many ways that indie authors can market their books today, reaching out to hundreds of millions of potential readers with a small investment of cash, as little as $10 in some cases, and some requiring $100 minimum or more. It depends on how prominent you want your ad to be and how long you want it to run. Per-click ads on sites like those noted below are the best marketing friend an indie author can have.

If you've been wondering what options are available to you, in addition to those trusted standards like magazines and newspapers, you may want to consider online ad campaigns on sites like Goodreads, and on social media sites like Facebook. There are also high-impact options like Google Ad Words that can get your books in front of hundreds of millions of people. And don't forget to talk to your local newspaper about an online ad for their website. They may cost a bit more, but they are key to reaching local as well as more distant readers.

Check into advertising on sites and in groups that are focused on your target audience. Most sites offering advertising options will permit you to select your daily budget amount, the price to be deducted from your prepaid advertising budget amount, and the duration you want your ad to run. And, most sites providing paid advertising options also provide data that can help you target your future ads more effectively. And, you may want to approach other indie authors and consider swapping linked ads on their space for placing an ad for their book(s) on yours.

And, most importantly, don't forget to put ads for your books on your own website and link those book covers back to where those books can be purchased, i.e., your Createspace e-store, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, etc.


Here are a few articles that will provide some insights into online advertising. Remember, producing the book is only one part of a successful outcome in the whole writing + publishing equation.


Publishers Weekly Articles
Google Ads 101: A Guide for Indie Authors
Facebook Ads: A Guide for Indie Authors
Goodreads Ads for Indie Authors

Bookworks.com
Targeted Book Advertising Strategies for Indie Authors

Regardless of what means you choose for advertising your books, it's important to do your homework, and don't feel locked in to just one site. Spread the word about your book by doing ad campaigns on a variety of sites. You'll be surprised what increased sales you may see from a very small initial investment.


Happy advertising - Susan.

KDP to Offer Paperback Publishing for Authors

(The opinions stated herein are my own, personally, and don't necessarily reflect those of every author within our writing group. Just thought some of our authors might be interested in knowing this little piece of information. Happy reading.)

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), the e-book arm of Amazon's publishing services, has begun offering KDP authors the opportunity to print paperback copies of their e-books from within the KDP website. The program is in beta testing right now. However, under this beta system, authors will not yet able to purchase author wholesale copies, print proof copies, nor can they opt-in for expanded distribution to libraries, universities, and direct-to-retailer sales. The one significant change, beyond not having to copy files back into Createspace in order to publish in print, is that the Japanese market, unavailable to Createspace  authors in the distribution settings, will be accessible through KDP print.

KDP indicates on their information page about this new opportunity that it will eventually be adding the features presently available in Createspace  to the KDP menu of choices. The intention behind this change seems to be to streamline the overall print and e-book publishing process for authors.

Presently, Createspace  authors publish their print copies at Createspace , order their author copies, and have access to expanded distribution channels. Libraries, universities, and retailers have the option of purchasing directly from Createspace . Once the Createspace book is approved and published, authors can opt-in to have their book file transferred to KDP in order to publish it in e-book form. They then then have to go to the KDP site and finalize the transfer by reviewing the electronic proof, setting their publishing choices, and approving it for final release. It's one extra step in the publishing process, but so far it seems to work relatively flawlessly.

The new opportunity to publish print copies and e-books in one location would eliminate that one extra step in the total publishing process, potentially saving authors times, and reducing redundant selections in the distribution end of things.

According to the KDP site, authors can transfer their present Createspace  titles over to KDP now without negatively affecting their Createspace titles already available to the buying market. Authors then would have the option of making those KDP print copies available in the Japanese market. A huge benefit, to be sure.

Authors should explore this new option carefully before transferring. There is information available at the KDP site and it should be read and considered. KDP authors who still want to purchase wholesale copies of their titles for resale locally or consignment to local stores, or who want to ensure their print copies are accessible directly to libraries, universities, and retailers will still need to go the Createspace  route, too. However, for KDP e-book authors who haven't, in the past, been able to offer the option of print copies without going through Createspace , this is a terrific opportunity to tap into the die-hard print readers without having to transfer anything.

Definitely a new opportunity skipping down the publishing path and worthy of consideration. Streamlining functions is, for the most part, a good idea. Less time on the technical end means more time writing.

Maryville Authors Sign Copies at Hy-Vee Store

Maryville area authors were graciously hosted at the Maryville Hy-Vee store on Saturday, April 25, 2015. Everyone had a great time. Here are just a few pictures from the store's Facebook page.

Author Nancy Lantz signing a book. 

Author Carol Coffelt

Author/Publisher Lee Jackson

Author Bob Bohlken and wife, Mary.