Guest blogging at Superhero Nation!

Smashwords vs. Kindle

Ever a foolishly enterprising fellow, I've been trying Smashwords and Kindle to learn more about the self-publishing thing. I don't know that I'll ever publish an entire novel, but I find the formats extremely satisfying for my shorter pieces of fiction.

I'm not giving up on the traditional route...but I'm also not short-sighted enough to see what can be accomplished in this new era of electronic publishing. Of course, about 10,000 people wrote this same post five years ago (I'm only half-kidding).

Anyhow, I have four stories up on the Kindle Store and five up on Smashwords. Both formats have their quirks in terms of ease of use.

Smashwords

Summary: I like Smashwords quite a bit. I'm new to the ereader/ebook thing and the website makes it easy to upload your work.

Of course "easy" is relative. You really should read through the Smashwords Style Guide because it will help you publish with minimal fuss. Still, the style guide takes a time investment that may worry or intimidate some writers.

I had a few issues with Smashwords when I first tried uploading, but I did find out the answer. It was, however, buried in the style guide and required a Google search to find.

Smashwords also has a lot of distribution channels. However, several of my fellow authors are probably feeling the frustration stemming from the lack of free ISBNs. Smashwords ran out on June 25 (I know this because that's when I first tried the website!) and hasn't acquired additional ones. An email update said they'd be available this week, but I haven't heard for sure yet. This is keeping potential readers who have Kobi, Nook, iPads, and Sony ereaders from buying my stories from those distribution channels. It's a frustration -- not a dealbreaker -- and I expect this to be fixed soon.

I've been satisfied with the Smashwords conversions, which match up adequately with other books I've purchased from the Kindle Store. When I noticed issues with my books, I was able to fix them quickly. The site, however, can get sluggish at times. I'm fortunate in that I did most of my work with Smashwords during the overnight hours, so it wasn't as big of a problem for me.

You also get a higher royalty cut than Amazon for your stories IF you're going for the quasi-magical 99-cent price point. So that's something to consider.

Pros:

*mostly easy to use
*flexible formats (epub, mobi, PDF, etc.)
*variable pricing
*changes take effect quickly
*variety of distribution channels (Nook, Kobi, Sony, etc.)

Cons:

*requires some homework
*some formatting quirks that aren't readily apparent
*fear that books are "cookie cutter"
*sometimes sluggish
*Free ISBN shortage limits exposure

Amazon's Kindle Digital Publishing (KDP)

Summary: Amazon's format is as tried and true as it comes in the world of ebooks. The company's Kindle is the best-selling ereader and Kindle has apps for PC, iPhone/iPad, and Android that give you the potential for a very large reader base (if you can find it, of course).

Amazon's interface is fairly simple (my full experience here), but it gave me the feeling that I didn't necessarily have complete control over my book and formatting. Most of this is a mental game and not the reality, however.

Unlike Smashwords, Amazon's KDP doesn't have a style guide. You're mostly safe with uploading an HTML file to the Mobi Pocket Creator and going from there. It's an extra step that makes it feel like you have to do a little more to get your book to the Kindle Store. The Mobi Pocket Creator is, thankfully, easy to use.

My biggest problem with KDP is the perceived sense of sluggishness I get from the platform. When you upload to Smashwords, BOOM!, your book is there, shiny and new and available. With Amazon, it takes a day or two before your book shows up. It's not a huge deal for the initial publication, but if you want to change something or upload a new version, that change won't be reflected for at least 24 hours (and 2-3 days in international marketplaces). Therefore, I feel I have less "control" over the Amazon offerings.

Pros:

*huge exposure base
*Security of having Amazon's power behind it
*Kindle Store easy to buy from
*more perceived quality control

Cons:

*lower royalties for $0.99 price point
*feels like you have less control
*changes are sluggish
*Mobi conversion feels like "extra" step
*"legalese" in uploading may turn off some

Conclusion:

Both formats have their quirks and I'm sure other writers have had different experiences (and therefore different opinions) with Smashwords and Kindle Digital Publishing.

But I'd advise all writers to learn both of them. And if you're not comfortable epubbing yourself, find someone willing to help.

Getting it Covered

I'm having some fun today with book covers. I know...writers don't get to choose how their books look (unless you publish your book electronically, of course), but I had a few ideas I wanted to try and found some Creative Commons images to play with. Below, you'll find three slates of designs I worked on for my superhero book I, Crimsonstreak this afternoon.

I think (most) of these are a major step up from previous versions of I, Crimsonstreak covers. The biggest issue I found is "Crimsonstreak" is too long of a word. The letter "I" in the title also makes for some layout nightmares.

To combat this, I shortened the title to simply Crimsonstreak and broke the word up into two parts. I also developed a healthy obsession with "distressed fonts" during this process. The distressed fonts do a couple of different things: in some of the covers, they provide a sense of foreboding. In others, they give a sense of movement. Additional notes are under the cover slates.

The first style here is a very old "CS" logo I developed several years ago for the character. I have at least ten variations of that logo, but the one with the lightning design happens to be my favorite. The biggest problem with this one is that the original logo is low-resolution and doesn't look very good enlarged.

The second design sort of looks like a person running out of some kind of building. If you look closely, you'll notice the lockers on either side indicating that this is a school. This design gives the book a creepy vibe...almost as if Crimsonstreak is a horror novel. It isn't.

The third design I made simply because it's a guy running up the side of a building. I airbrushed him red and made a hasty reflection in the glass to match. Enlarged, that design doesn't stand up to scrutiny, but I do like the concept. This is the only design to use all lowercase letters.

I found a great, great superhero stock image via a Creative Commons search. I didn't want to use the face--the hero is a little too old for my protagonist. In addition, I positioned the picture so you can't really tell the character is wearing a cape. It's certainly there if you look for it...but you could also argue it's simply black accent coloring for the character.

The first design here is relatively clean with a distressed font. It feels like it's missing something.

The second is a repositioning of the same image with the chest shield altered to look like the character is wearing a "CS" logo. It also includes the phrase, "Running. Always Running," which is a recurring theme in the book.

The third pic is a variation of the other two. Actually, it's almost exactly like the first one except for the logo on the character's arm. That's the "seal" of the New World Common Wealth, the authoritarian regime controlling the world of the book's setting.

For one reason or another, I'm fond of the image on the left in this pairing. It's simply a person's silhouette (again, a Creative Commons picture is the source) altered slightly and placed over a red backdrop. This is easy to read and the "Running. Always Running" phrase fits nicely at the top.

The final design in this pairing features the New World Common Wealth logo and some flames. The phrase "Enemies of the Common Wealth must die" appears a few times in the text. This design seems more foreboding than most of the others, signaling the book may have some dark undertones. This has a similar problem to the "CS" logo...the image doesn't quite have the resolution to pull this off without becoming a bit blurry.

So anyway...those are a few ideas I came up with this weekend.

Don't know why...but I'm fond of this one.