How do I Make My Screenplay Shorter?

You’ve written a great screenplay in the hope of getting commissioned by a production company or shortlisted for a screenwriting competition only to find it is too long. How can you shorten the screenplay without ruining the story?

The Best Screenplay Format

One page of film script (not TV script) equals one minute of screen time; it stands to reason the ideal screenplay should be between 80 to 120 minutes long (the average length of a feature film). Screenplay competitions guidelines are pretty strict on how long a screenplay should be; if it is too long (or too short for that matter), it will stand no chance of winning the competition or of being taken on.

Length of Screenplay Guide

The first draft of a screenplay is often an organic process and the writer has little idea of how long it will be before typing ‘FADE OUT’. If it runs over the 120 page mark, the screenplay most likely contains superfluous prose or redundant scenes. Regardless of how precious you may feel about these elements, cutting will often improve the screenplay. Never feel tempted to tamper about with the screenplay format, for instance if you are using Movie Magic, ScriptSmart or Final Draft. The fonts and line-spacings are there to ensure one page does equal one minute of screen time and no more.

What to Cut from a Script

Remember, screenwriting is a show only medium. Do not include back-story, what the characters are thinking or reams of descriptions. If it ain’t on the screen, it should not be on the screenplay. Also, film makers loathe to see writer’s suggestions on what camera angles or music to use in a particular scene. Now with that out of the way, what else can you cut?

The perfect screenplay should contain lots of white spaces smattered with dialogue and short action descriptions. If a paragraph of scene description is in excess of 5 lines, cut to around 2 – 3 lines long. This may entail cutting adjectives and adverbs (description words) or reiterations.

Tips for Script Cutting

Look out for dialogue that meanders. Who needs smalltalk about the weather? Begin a scene late and show by subtext (body language) what the characters are thinking rather than use dialogue to inform the audience on what is going on.

Look out for scenes that serve no purpose or do not move the story forward. Consider also of combining two minor characters into one, or even of cutting them out altogether. The most efficient way of saving page count is to cut dialogue, as dialogue takes up more lines per word than action descriptions.

Fitting the Script Format

I recently cut one of my screenplays from 100 words to an hour-long 60 page drama, which was a pretty brutal process. But after several drafts, I was able to hone my page count by the following means:

• Replace short scenes that follow consecutively by placing them into a montage or series of shots. This will save on sluglines, (scene headers).
• Substitute long words for short ones. This can save on lines if these long words cause sentences to run into a new line. A thesaurus will prove invaluable for this purpose.
• Cutting dialogue can save more space than scene descriptions, as dialogue uses more lines per word. Look for ways of showing what the characters are thinking rather than putting it in dialogue. When it comes to dialogue, less is really more.
• Shorten sluglines if they are more than one line long. An example might be INT. SAM PETERSON’S LIVING ROOM – EVENING. Substituting ‘living room’ for ‘lounge’ could shorten a two-lined slugline into a single line – useful if this slugline is used repeatedly throughout the script.

The Art of Cutting a Screenplay

A screenplay that runs over 120 pages is likely to contain flabby elements that need cutting. Page count in a script can also be crucial when entering a screenwriting competition or looking for a film agent. Look for superfluous characters, wordy descriptions and too many scenes. Use shorter words, cut dialogue, characters and scenes that serve no purpose in the story. Substitute lots of short scenes for a montage or series of shots for a punchy feel. Cutting is a brutal process, but could result in a streamlined screenplay that will keep the story moving forward and the reader engaged.

Helpful Tips for Screenwriters

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The midpoint of the screenplay
Guide to editing a screenplay
The transformational arc of a movie script
Tips on writing a screenplay short
Platform for screenwriters

How do I Claim a Tax Refund on Royalties Earned?

You’ve earned a good income from home via royalties from books sold overseas, only to discover a third of your earnings have been withheld in tax. How does the writer claim back this withholding on royalties?

Get More Money by Claiming Tax Back

This article focuses upon the writer living outside the US earning royalties from overseas agents such as Smashwords, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Sony and Apple, etc. The writer may notice that a third of the royalties earned in the US will be withheld. For example if royalties earned are $90, $30 of this will be held back and you will receive $60. This is because, in accordance with the US Tax rules, royalties paid to a writer living overseas (or any entity, for that matter) are subject to withholding of earnings in the US.

Get Money Back on Royalties from the IRS

Getting Tax Back on Earnings

If you are a non-resident alien in a country that has a tax treaty with the US, you are eligible to reducing your tax withholding. In order to claim the earnings withheld, the writer must complete a form W7 (downloadable from the Internal Revenue Service Website) in order to get an individual taxpayer identification number, or ITIN. Only then can you file a W8-BEN to each withholding agent.

Guide to Fill in the W-7 Form

To fill in the W7 form, you will need your personal details, your UK (or country of residence’s) foreign tax id number and supporting documentation. Examples of supporting documents are a valid passport, civil birth certificate, military ID card, VISA issued by the Department of State or driving license. You will need to have a certified copy of the deed made which may accrue a small fee and take a few weeks to issue to you. This is because the deed must be officially certified by the issuing body. Photocopies will not be acceptable.

Reason for filing a W-7 will be 1(d): book royalties. The treaty number (if you are from the UK) is 12.

Letter from Withholding Agents

You will also need a letter from at least one withholding agent. A withholding agent is the party from which you earn monies (in this case, royalties). the letter must exhibit the official letter head, declare you are earning royalties, and be signed and dated by you. KDP and Createspace provide this documentation in PDF which you can print. Also supply a copy tax return if you have one - a form 1042-S.

Once received, send the supporting document along with the W-7, and an ITIN number will be allocated to you in around 6 weeks’ time. Don’t worry if your application gets rejected; you can still claim royalties back; you just need to file for a tax refund after the end of the year. Note, indicate if you have had a temporary taxpayer identification number (TIN) or Employer identification number (EIN).

Author’s Guide to Getting Royalty Payments Released from Withholding

Once you have been given an ITIN number, you will need to fill in a W8BEN with the ITIN number included, sign and date (in blue ink). A hard copy of the W8 form must be issued to every agent that withholds your earnings overseas. Examples of the withholding agent might be Amazon.com, Smashwords, Apple, Createspace and Sony etc. This process must be repeated every three years.

Amazon will provide the writer and the IRS with a Form 1042-S per year, detailing US taxes that have been withheld and remitted to the IRS. Note, monies withheld can only be claimed back in the current year it was withheld.

W8BEN with Affidavit of Unchanged Status

If this is not the first year of claiming tax withheld in the US, then you will need to complete a W8BEN stating that your status has not changed since the previous tax year (be sure that it has not). This form W8BEN is the version revised in February 2006, (not February 2014). Look for a declaration field that you can state that your tax status remains unchanged since the previous tax year. This field can be found at the bottom, under: Affidavit of Unchanged Status. Amazon is quite specific on this matter. Sending the correct form will prevent delays in your tax forms being processed.

Oh, and also put your publisher code and/or member ID within the margin of the top of the W8BEN form.

Extra Funds for Authors Via Claim of Tax Treaty Benefits

Authors earning money from royalties overseas may notice a third of these earnings will be withheld according to the US tax rules. So long as you are resident in a country that has a US Tax Treaty, you can claim tax back on these earnings. First, you will need to apply to the IRS for an ITIN number via a W7 form. Once the ITIN number has been allocated to you, you need to issue a W8-BEN to every agent that withholds these earnings. The process must be repeated every three years. Be sure to issue the correct W8Ben form.

Helpful Articles for Writers

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Breakthrough Opportunity for Writers from Amazon and Penguin

A free competition for novel writers, Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Award is an ideal opportunity for writers to take their chances upon a manuscript languishing in a drawer or a self-published novel as yet unnoticed on Kindle. The prize is a publishing contract with Penguin.

Opportunities for Fiction Writers

Amazon’s annual novel writing competition is an unmissable opportunity for writers wishing to get their manuscript read and seen by agents/publishers who could make a difference to their writing career, not least by Amazon itself and Penguin publishers.

Submissions are held in January/February every year limited to 5000 entrants of each category, so it is a good idea to submit your novel as soon as the competition opens. The two categories are: the adult fiction category (for readers between the ages of 12 and 17) and the general fiction category (for readers over the age of 17. Once the number of entries has exceeded 5000 in each of these categories, Amazon will stop accepting more entries.

How to Register for the Breakthrough Novel Award

To enter this writing competition, you must first register with Createspace/ABNA, Amazon’s platform for self-published writers who wish to sell paperback copies of their books. Once you have registered, you must have prepared:

The first 5000 words of your manuscript (or not less than 3000 words) excluding the copyright details of your book or the table of contents. This will be referred to as ‘the excerpt.’ You must not put your name or pseudonym anywhere on the excerpt.

You must also have prepared the pitch of your manuscript, which will be the synopsis of your story, outlining the plot and the backbone of your novel. The pitch is critical, as it will be used to judge whether your entry deserves to go through the next round. The pitch must inform on what the book is about and hook the reader. How to write a great synopsis can be found in a separate article. The pitch must be no more than 300 words long.

Preparing for a Big Annual Novel Competition

You will need to fill in your personal details upon a separate form to the novel itself. You should also have prepared the full manuscript of your work should your novel get through the next round. Collectively, these items will be known as the ‘entry.’

The novel must be between 50,000 and 150,000 words long and the work must be a full-length work of fiction, not a short story, poem or novella. The work must also be your own original creation, be in English, without images or be involved in a publishing contract elsewhere (previously or imminently). Your work may however, be self-published so long as you retain all publishing rights.
The excerpt and the full manuscript can be uploaded as Word (either as .doc or .docx), rtf or txt format.

Free Writing Competition for Novel Writers

There is a writers’ forum dedicated to the ABNA for tips and ideas. You can also watch a short presentation to help improve your book’s chances of getting through the next round. This is broken down into writing a great pitch, writing the first ten pages of your novel, writing the author bio and hooking the reader. Of course, the excerpt should be as perfect as possible, that the pitch is tight and that the novel is original and compelling. The finer points of crafting a novel can be found on my sister site, novel writing site.

Competitions Deadlines

You can sign up for updates to the ABNA competition where you will be kept informed on the competition’s progress. There will be several ‘rounds.’ The first round, (based upon the pitch) will narrow the entries down to 1000 per subcategory (or in total, 2000). The next round will narrow the numbers down, (based upon the quality of the first 5000 words) to 250 entries (or 500 in total.) For this reason, the first pages of your novel are crucial. By the quarterfinals, only 100 entries will remain, where the judges will read the full manuscript. Works who make the semi-final round will be read by Penguin Publishers, where the number of entries will be thinned to 6 semi-finalists.

Finally, Amazon customers will vote upon the best entry in each category, resulting in two grand prize winners of a Penguin Publishing Contract.

Great Opportunity for Writers

The Breakthrough Novel Award sponsored by Amazon and Penguin is a free fiction writing competition that could yield a turn in the writer’s career. An excellent pitch, the first 5000 words of the novel and the full manuscript are the requirements. Uploading the novel as soon as the competition opens would be wise, as only the first 5000 entries per category (or 10,000 in all) will be accepted in the competition.

Helpful Articles for Writers

Writing the perfect pitch for your novel
The perfect beginning to your novel

Self Publishing my Novel Seems Complicated

You can publish your novel on many self-publishing platforms on the internet. Does the author need to open several accounts on different ebook websites, reformatting and uploading the novel each time? Well, it needn’t be that difficult to get your book included on all the main self-publishing websites.

How to Ebook Publish

There are a number of websites available to the indie writer, the main being, Amazon’s Kindle Store, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and Apple. But you don’t have to surf the net and upload your novel onto every self publishing platform out there. By uploading your novel onto three main self-publishing platforms, you are pretty well-covered. These are KDP Amazon, Createspace and Smashwords’ premium catalogue. Let’s look at each in turn.

How do I Publish My Novel on the Kindle Store?

The biggest opportunity for self published authors to get seen and make sales can be found in Amazon’s Kindle Platform (KDP Amazon), and is therefore the first port of call for my novel. Once the novel has been correctly formatted, upload your novel onto the KDP platform. Follow the onscreen instructions regarding pricing, assigning a category and writing the blurb. Amazon will allocate a free isbn number for your kindle book. It will take around 2to3 days for your book to show up on the Amazon’s Kindle Store.

Publishing your Novel on Smashwords

My next port of call is Smashwords. If your book is correctly formatted, simply upload as before, but remember to alter the copyright page to show ‘Smashwords edition’ rather than ‘Kindle edition’. Smashwords will also assign you a free isbn (to be used only on Smashwords, not Kindle). If all is satisfactory, your book will be put onto the Smashwords’ premium catalogue. This means Smashwords will ship your ebook to all the main ebook publishers, which are (including Smashwords itself), Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Sony, Kobo, Apple and Diesel. This means you will not have to create multiple accounts for each channel. Your sales report will be generated by Smashwords periodically, showing a breakdown of sales into each channel.

Amazon’s KDP Select Restrictions

It must be noted here, that Amazon has introduced Kindle Select programme which offers the indie writer extra promotional tools and also earn a share in a pot of money from Amazon’s loaning program, which works like public lending right in libraries, For a small annual fee, the Kindle reader may borrow as many books as he/she likes (but only one at a time) and you earn lending rights on each loan, an extra source of income. You can also offer your book free on special promotion days, a sure way of getting lots of people to read your books, get recommendations and possibly reviews. The only snag is that if you opt into the Kindle Select your book must not be available digitally anywhere else, which means you must withdraw from Smashwords (and all the channels they ship to). Opt in with care. Once you opt in, you cannot opt out again.

Selling your Book on Createspace

Create space is Amazon’s opposing limb to the Kindle platform for it deals with the production of paperback books (not ebooks). Again, the hardcopy of your book is assigned a free isbn from Createspace which must be used only on Createspace. Formatting your book for Createspace is totally different to formatting for Kindle and is a little in-depth, so I have written a separate article on publishing your book on Createspace. Createspace is a print on demand (POD) setup, which means your book is printed only if it is sold – no overheads, no bulk printing. You only pay for your own books if you order a proof.

I Want to Sell My Paperback Book to Other Booksellers

Joining Createspace automatically gets your paperback book on Amazon’s store as well as entitle you to your own ebookstore (standard distribution). If you want to get beyond Amazon, and to other book retailers, libraries and academic institutions, you must enroll for Expanded Distribution channel (EDC) which means your book will be available to the aforementioned channels. The old system of enrolling for Pro Plan has now changed for a simpler system.
To join EDC, you pay a fee of $25 per book, but to make royalties, you must price your book a little higher than with the standard distibution. The question the writer needs to ask is, will book retailers buy my book for a slightly less competitive price?

The Best Sales Outlet for the Indie Writer

In summary, the three main channels available to the self-published author are: KDP Amazon, Smashwords and Createspace. By putting your book on all three platforms, you are pretty well covered and not have to part with a penny. Not bad for a self-published writer who wants to get read by the world. But self-publishing is ever evolving and who knows, as I have written this, there could be other epublishing platforms for self-published writers being developed or about to blossom. Self-publishing is an ever-evolving process.

Articles on Writing Novels

How to deal with bad book reviews
Effective use of adjectives in novels
How to make fictional characters believable

I’ve published my Novel on Kindle and my Book isn’t Selling

You’ve crafted your novel, studied guidebooks on writing a blockbuster, crime fiction, romantic suspense or whatever. You have edited every sentence, tightened the plot and created what you thought to be a sure seller for Kindle, yet have failed to sell a handful. What’s gone wrong?

Reasons a Kindle Book Might not Sell

Poor sales on Kindle store can be disheartening for any writer. The conclusion may be drawn the book isn’t good enough, the plot is flat, the characters are clichéd or the writing style is poor (such writing issues are covered on my sister site). Although these elements are essential to a book’s chance of success, it does happen that a great novel can remain unnoticed on the epublishing platforms for all manner of reasons which might be as follows.

The Cover Design of the Book is Bland

The book cover may fail to convey the quality, style, genre or feel of the novel. The cover image might be bland, dull or blend too much into what’s out there. Some potential readers make snap judgments on how good a book is likely to be by its cover image. It is the first visual element of your book on the webpage and if it fails to grab the attention of the reader or smacks of amateurishness, the reader is likely to move on.

Making your Book Sell

Remember, a book cover is thumbnail-sized – lots of small text and detail will be undecipherable on the screen. Stick to the essentials: the book title and author name. Use bold fonts, striking imagery and be original. Take the time over the over image of your book or get someone professional to do it for you. More about designing the book cover yourself can be found on a separate article on this blog.

Blurb and Synopsis for the Book is Boring or Tame

If your book cover passes the test, the reader will scroll down and appraise the synopsis. I like to begin with a tagline on what the book is about. A tagline is a hook consisting of no more than 25 words. A hook is often used on movie posters to draw potential movie-goers. An example of a tagline is (for Alien) ‘In space, no one can hear you scream.’ In my novel the Shuttered Room, I used the tagline: ‘Little do they know their captive holds a deadly secret.’

Follow the tagline with a story synopsis, an outline of the novel. The synopsis is really the blurb or the text found at the back of any novel. Break the synopsis down into short paragraphs. Tighten it, make it as compelling as possible. Pose a mystery, a question, a hook. Don’t make the synopsis too short or too long. I have seen synopses one line long; I have also seen those that ramble on in huge paragraphed blocks. Getting it right requires time; I have dedicated a separate article to writing a great story synopsis.

The First Three Chapters of Your Novel Does not Grab the Reader

Remember Amazon’s Kindle store and Smashwords enables the reader to read the first part of your book online, so the first several pages (and especially the first page) are crucial. Make sure the opener is as thrilling/creepy/original/mysterious/curious as possible. Of course, no typos are allowed. I have written a separate article on writing a great story opener.

Is Your Book Tagged on the Amazon Book Store?

Take a look at books in your genre on Amazon and you will notice that they have been tagged by customers to make them easily found. These tags, which are short phrases or words, can be found halfway down the page screen. If your book has not been tagged add some of your own that you think will help other customers find your book. My novel, the Shuttered Room, a story about abduction, contains the tags, Kindle thriller, kidnapping, female main character, psychological suspense etc.

Your Novel Hasn’t got a Category

When you upload your book onto the Kindle Store or Smashwords, don’t forget to give it a category. This is not the same as the tags just mentioned, but the store’s own categorizing system. You can give your book up to 2 categories. Try looking for a subcategory that contains fewer books. In this way, your book will have less competition and is more likely to find its way into the top 100 bestsellers of that category.

Your Novel is Hard to Find

Use every resource available to promote your books and make it easier to find. Write an author bio to promote yourself and put it onto Amazon Central. This is an Amazon webpage for authors to write about themselves and provide links to their books. You can also join the ‘search inside’ feature.

There are lots of websites for promoting your books out there, including Shelfari, Goodreads and Librarything. Sign into each and make sure your book is included. You can edit your book’s details on Shelfari, the biggest bookclub in the world. Read my article on the best websites for authors for more details. Remember, you can upload your book onto Smashwords, which will ship your book to other outlets, namely as Barnes and Noble, Apple, Sony and Kobo.

Tell others about your book without spamming. Use Twitter, Facebook and seek support from fellow indie writers on Kindle forums and Kindleboards. A wealth of information can be found there. Ask honest opinions from fellow writers on how you can make your book more enticing to customers or point out issues, but expect a favour in return.

Have You Got An Author Blog?

Start your own writer blog or website to tell others about yourself and your books. Create links back to your blog for those who wish to find out more about your books. Use keywords to make your site easily found. Using keywords effectively can be found on a separate article in this blog.

Using Amazon Associates to Sell Your Book

By joining Amazon as an affiliate, you can create your own ebookstore and put your books on there. Create affiliate links to your books on Amazon from your blog and earn not only royalties, but also affiliate fees if someone buys your book. Use keywords to name your bookstore to make it easier to find on the internet and create links back to it. More about how to use keywords effectively can be found on a separate article on this blog.

Is the Price of Your Novel Too High?

Keep an eye on the pricing of your ebook. It should be considerably cheaper than a typical paperback. I price my kindle novels at around £1 each, but you can go down to 70p (around $1.40). Amazon enables you to offer your book for free on special promotion days (available only on Amazon Select programme.) Free days often results in hundreds of downloads from readers, increasing the chances of reviews and/or recommendations. Opt for Amazon Select with care, as once you opt in, you cannot sell your book digitally anywhere else, including Smashwords. Pricing your book is explored more in-depth on a separate article.

Beating the Competition on Amazon’s Kindle Store

I have found from experience that book sales are seasonal. Sales around Christmas often peak, and lulls occur intermittently throughout the year. This is to be expected. But when one considers there are around 1 million kindle books out there, small wonder there is ferocious competition. Perseverance is the only way forward. Keep writing. More writing means more books (without compromising on quality) and more books mean more chances of discovery, a fan-base and sales.

Helpful Articles for Indie Writers

How to price your book
Publishing your book on Createspace
How do design your own book cover
How to write a great story synopsis

What Book Price will Get the Most Sales for my Novel?

The self-published author has complete control over pricing the digital novel or paperback equivalent, but what is the magic figure to getting optimum sales for your novel?

Increasing Sales of Your Novel

It is generally understood that a kindle novel should be considerably cheaper than its paperback counterpart for there are no printing or shipping costs, but marketing your book on the Amazon kindle Store means getting competitive with the price.

We will cover the matter of paperbacks in a moment, but firstly, publishing your ebook on Amazon gives you the choice of 2 royalty options, which are 35% and 70%. If you price your book at between $2.99 and $9.99, you can go for the 70% option (transmission costs will apply – determined by the size of your book file); if you price your book outside this frame, you only have the 35% royalty option available. (Note: sales of books in certain countries will earn a 35% royalty, even if you have opted for the 70% royalty.) On Amazon’s Kindle store, you cannot price your book for less than 99c unless you have priced it for less elsewhere and Amazon price-determines your book to match it. On Smashwords, for instance, you can price your book for what you like. If you enroll into Amazon’s Select programme, you can price it for free on special promotion days (more about KDP Select in a moment.)

How Not to Price Your Digital Book

From personal experience, I have found the pricing of a novel to be a fine art, but basically, the price should reflect:

• The length of your book, for instance if it is over 100,000 words long, you could price it a little higher than average; if it is a novella, it would make sense to price it for less. Put the word count in the synopsis so that the customer can see how long the book is.
• If the writer is of note, has won awards or has had success in the publishing world, garnering good reviews and consistent sales, the price of the book could be set a little higher.
• If the book contains special features, for instance images or diagrams.
• Or if the book is more than 2 or 3 megabytes in size.

Always conduct research before pricing your novel. Take a look at the average price of a book in your genre, book length and a-like author. There is an equal danger of being too cheap as too pricey. There are a lot of indie novels out there for 99c and there is a culture by association that a cheap book will equal a cheap read. Reflect the quality of the book in the pricing. I sell all my enovels for around £1 each (or $1.50). But I have seen kindle books for around £10 or more, which are unlikely to generate sales.

Generating Book Sales on Kindle

The indie writer can sell the book for less than 99c on Amazon if it is priced less elsewhere (Amazon will try to match it if you have priced it for less on Smashwords). However, I have discovered a way of earning 70% royalty for your book by making Amazon price match your book if it is available cheaper elsewhere. Read my article on earning higher royalties for your books at a low purchase price.

If you have enrolled into Amazon’s KDP Select, you can price it for free on special promotion days, which could generate sales in the long run (you can  put your book for free on Smashwords, will will enforce Amazon to do the same). Free books could equal lots of readers, exposure, recommendations and reviews. But the question remains, should you price your book for free?

When to Put Your Book out for Free on KDP Select

KDP Select Programme enables the writer to earn extra income by enrolling the book into a Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. Kindle customers who are ‘Prime Members’ (who have paid a small annual fee to borrow books for free) can borrow your books (one at a time) and you can earn lending rights. This works rather like the library’s public lending right (PLR). Each loan earns you a share of Amazon’s annual pot of money. You can also sells books for free for up to 5 days per 90 days. A kindle customer (regardless of being a prime member or not) can upload your novel for free, and this often generates hundreds of uploads over the promotion period. But how can offering your book for free help the indie writer make money?

Making Money from Free Ebooks

Putting your digital books out for free could generate sales in the long run in the following ways:

• If you have written a book series or sequels to a novel, you could entice the reader by offering the first book for free. This could generate sales of the sequels.
• If one of you books isn’t selling well regardless of marketing strategies, there is little harm in opting this book into the KDP Select programme, but do so after careful consideration, for once you opt in, you cannot sell you novels digitally elsewhere and you cannot opt out again.
• If you sell your book for around 99c anyway, you could earn more money by ‘loans’ than by the royalties. But you can continue to earn royalties at the same time, as your book will still be for sale in the normal way.
• Of course, free often means lots of downloads, and lots of downloads could lead to reviews, recommendations and exposure.

What is the Best Price for My Paperback on Createspace?

Createspace is really Amazon’s other publishing limb that deals with the production of the paperback as opposed to ebooks. Createspace is a print on demand setup which makes overheads a little more costly than a mass-produced paperback. However, there is no danger of surplus books to sell or outlay, as the book is printed only when it is sold. For these reasons, pricing the paperback is completely different to pricing the ebook.

Createspace offers several sales channels on which to sell your book. Your book will automatically show up on Amazon and on your own ebookstore once you join Createspace. Your book’s price is determined by:

• Book dimensions
• Page count
• And if it is colour or black and white.

Black and white is much cheaper to produce than colour, which is good news for the novel writer. I try to price my paperbacks as cheaply as possible but aim to get at least $1 royalty per sale. Royalty yields are larger if you make a sale on your own Amazon estore as opposed to Amazon.com.

What is Expanded Distribution Channel and How can it Help the Writer?

For a one-off fee of $25 per book you can go for Createspace’s expanded distribution channel (EDC). Until recently you only had access to this channel through Pro Plan, but that has now changed.

You can now opt into EDC to sell your books outside Amazon, such as academic institutions, libraries and book retailers. The downside is that the overheads are slightly  increased, meaning you have to charge a little more for your book. Within such a cut-throat industry as book selling, would retailers allow for this extra charge per book?


The Best Price for Selling Your Books

Indie writers have lots of control over pricing their books, but factors remain. Consider the following summarizing points:

• A kindle book should be cheaper than its paperback counterpart.
• The price should reflect the quality of the novel, the author’s reputation, the book’s length and any special features.
• The price should be competitive but not to give the impression it is a cheap read, particularly if it is a book of quality.
• Strategically offering your book for free on promotion days could generate long term sales with more reviews and enticement to buy sequels/series.
• As for the paperback counterpart, overheads are larger, as there are production costs to consider. Deciding factors are the book’s dimension, page count and whether it is colour or not. I try to get at least $1 royalty per book.
• Opting into EDC for a small fee enables you to sell your books outside Amazon. But this means increasing the price of your book slightly. Opt in only if you are confident your book will sell to outside book outlets.

And lastly, experiment. Change the book price now and again to see how this affects sales. It is a long term game and seasonal fluctuations occur, regardless of the price setting. Keep in touch with how like-books are priced across digital platforms and on Createspace to remain in touch with how your book’s pricing fits into the marketplace.

Helpful Articles on Writing and Selling your Books

Tips on writing crime fiction
Character development questionnaire
How do I use keywords to sell my novel?
Earn higher royalties price matching

Where Do I Market My Novel Once Self Published?

You’ve completed your novel, published it on Kindle, Smashwords and Createspace. Now what do you do? If the indie book sales don’t come rolling in, it is time to do some book marketing. Of course, there is FaceBook and Twitter on which to plug your book, but which websites specialize in book marketing?

Websites to Promote your Book

Linkedin is a website dedicated to professionals who wish to exchange opportunities and ideas and therefore is ideal for authors wishing to get noticed. Linkedin can be used as a network platform for self published authors to connect with others in the industry such as literary agents and publishers.

Goodreads is a huge online bookclub where avid readers can impart what titles they have enjoyed and give recommendations. The Goodreads Author Programme helps authors reach their target audience with your own webpage. You can advertise your book, post a bio, post excerpts from your book and even a quiz about your book. It is recommended that your book is already on Amazon or Barnes & Noble before applying for the author programme.

Shelfali is a part of Amazon. Go to the Shelfali homepage and sign in with your existing Amazon account. Search for your book and you can make changes and additions, such as a rundown of the characters of your book, a logline, the location of your book, excerpts from your book and other interesting things about your book. Shortly, you will find the logline and character list part of your book appear on the Amazon.com page where your book is located.

Sell Your Book Through the Best Book Sites

Author’s Den is a site that brings writers and readers together. Via this site, authors may link to their articles, blogs and other author links. An author page provides a platform for an author bio, details of publications, books and a place for other readers to review.

Librarything, essentially is the largest bookclub in the world. You can capture your book from Amazon or libraries worldwide and add it to your own library for cataloging and adding tags. Create an author profile to help you connect with readers and raise your profile. A Zeitgeist page shows fun statistics about the site in general such as the top reviewers and the most prolific reviewers.

Networks for Authors

The Book Marketing Network as its name suggests is a networking site for authors, epublishers and publishers. Once creating an account you can upload an author bio, picture, details of your books via a My Page and create links to your blog. A forum enables authors to network and exchange tips with other writers. Ask a question through booksellers, book designer or publicist.

Book Blogs Ning is a site for book lovers and writers but is really to let writers with blogs know about you and your blog. Plug your book through a My Page and blog about your book. Start a discussion about your book (but never plug your book in an unrelated discussion). You can post book giveaways and deals through this site.

Breakthrough Bookstore is a site dedicated to the reader looking for that special book by an unknown or undiscovered author. The site is powered by Amazon, by clicking through to find Amazon’s highest-rated indie books. There is an editor’s choice and a shop by category in the site.

Other Sites for Promoting your Book

Further platforms for authors (these I haven’t checked out) might be worth investigation are, Bookwhirl, Indieauthorsunite, Book Daily, Bookhitch and Writetobreathe. Some of these sites are still under development.

Guide to Promoting your Book on the Web

The cardinal rule when plugging your book is never to spam. This will make your appear unprofessional. I myself never plug my books on Amazon or hijack someone else’s discussion with an unsolicited sales pitch. Promoting your book effectively means putting placing it in contextual sites. This means making it discoverable by someone searching for a book like yours. By this means, it will get read, reviewed and even recommended.

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