Q&A: How can I sell my e-book on Amazon?

QUESTION: I can't find a traditional publisher for my book. But I believe people would buy it because it has valuable information for readers, and I can price it affordably. Is there any way an unknown author like me to put his eBook up for sale on Amazon.com?

ANSWER: Yes, any unknown author can put his eBook up for sale on Amazon.com who meets three basic requirements:

1. You own the rights to the book (your question implies that you do, and have not sold the rights to another entity).

2. You must supply an ISBN (International Standard Book Number). You can purchase an ISBN for $125 by printing and mailing this application form. Or, you can get a discount by purchasing a block of 10 or more ISBNs through Bowker, the U.S. ISBN agency.

3. You must open an account with Amazon's eBook subsidiary, MobiPocket, and use their software to convert your file into their proprietary format.

It goes without saying that if you're publishing a book, you're operating a business -- and you need to report income from that business to the IRS and pay the required taxes.

I'll provide more background on getting started with MobiPocket below. But first, let me ask this: Why are you limiting yourself to an eBook? Your question implies that you want to get your book to market quickly and/or limit your cost and risk. However, you can simultaneously publish a paperback edition of your book for modest setup costs and time investment.

The vast majority of book buyers still prefer physical books, so if you produce only an eBook edition, you're limiting your sales unnecessarily. For setup costs of around $200, you can also offer a paperback edition of your book on Amazon using print-on-demand technology, and Amazon will handle the shipping and customer service. I'd estimate that your paperback sales would outnumber your eBook sales by at least 20 to 1.

To get your paperback on the market, I would suggest that you open an account with Lightning Source Inc., which will print your book and supply copies to Amazon and other online retailers as the orders come in. And, if demand for your book proves strong, your book will also be available for stocking at brick and mortar chains like Borders and Barnes & Noble through Lightning Source. If sales of your book really take off, you can lower your printing costs by switching from print-on-demand technology to offset printing.

I would also suggest that you read my book Plug Your Book!: Online Book Marketing for Authors to get more details on self-publishing and Internet promotion strategies.

Now, some additional detail on MobiPocket:

In 2006 Amazon stopped selling Microsoft Reader and Adobe-format books to focus on selling e-books through its wholly owned subsidiary, MobiPocket. The free MobiPocket Reader software allows users of PDA handheld computers to view e-books in the Mobipocket format.

MobiPocket books will also be sold through other online retailers. The promise, especially for self-published authors, is the potential to reach millions more readers at low cost.

To join MobiPocket, register at its publisher portal, eBookBase, and follow the instructions:
www.Mobipocket.com/eBookBase/en/homepage/apply.asp?Type=Publisher

After Amazon receives your signed publisher agreement, the Mobipocket team will notify you via e-mail of your account activation. Then you can log into eBookBase to start uploading and selling your e-books.

To convert your books to the Mobipocket format, you can download a free copy of the necessary software, Mobipocket Creator, Publisher Edition. You’ll be able to upload directly from the Mobipocket Creator software or using the eBookBase Web interface.

For more information, join the mailing list of Amazon’s Digital Text Team by sending an e-mail to DigitalBooks@Amazon.com.

Lastly, one caveat: Amazon is still in the process of switching over to MobiPocket. So it may be a while before your eBook is actually available for purchase on Amazon.

In addition to MobiPocket, Amazon offers another eBook option to its customers: "Amazon Upgrade" provides buyers with immediate online access and searching of physical books they’ve already purchased. There is no downloadable file, but users can print a certain number of pages. To upgrade their books, readers pay about 10 percent to 20 percent of the book’s original price, and Amazon splits the revenue with publishers.

Amazon Upgrade is designed to appeal to buyers who want to receive a physical copy of the book, but are also willing to pay a bit extra for immediate online access and searching. Buyers view the book online through the Amazon Reader, the same interface used for Search Inside the Book. Amazon users can view which previous purchases are available for Upgrade by browsing here.

Amazon hopes Upgrade will appeal to publishers concerned that online access to books might cannibalize sales of physical books, cutting publisher revenue. With Upgrade, any purchases result in added revenue for publishers, since readers have already purchased the hard copy.

To be eligible to purchase upgrades, readers must buy the book directly from Amazon. Upgrades aren’t available for books bought used or new from third-party Amazon vendors.