What is SEO? And can SEO help your ebook sales?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a group of marketing and technical techniques used to bring Internet taffic to your web page or blog.  Websites are ranked based on what the search engine considers most relevant to users.  So the first page of search results are the most relevant to the search word or phrase that you typed in Google.  Basically, the whole idea of SEO is to get on those first two pages of search results.  Most people never go past those first two pages.  The way to get your site noticed?  There are so many.  I'm only going to give a very brief overview of the concept in this blog article and expand in more detail in later posts. 
SEO can improve your site's exposure by the strategic use of keywords or key phrases.  These are the words people search for in their Google searches.  They could also use Yahoo or Bing, but for the sake of brevity I'm just saying Google. 
Keywords can be sprinkled throughout your web content, but don't overdo this.  Keyword "stuffing" will get your site flagged and plus it just reads badly; not to mention it looks unprofessional.  You want to shoot for 5 percent (5%) keyword saturation throughout your copy, nothing more.  Keywords can also be placed in metadata such as HTML tags.  More on this in a future blog posting.
Are you noticing through tracking that your visitors are leaving your website quickly?  They aren't hanging around to read?  That's called a "bounce" visit.  You don't want that.  If this happens to you, then you really need to examine the quality of your web content.  People want to learn something from articles they read; not shallow, thin "fluff" pieces that waste their time.
I'll give more details later about how to control your "bounce" factor in your copy.  SEO covers such a wide range of information.  Treating it all in one blog post would be impossible.
The bounce factor leads to another major factor that draws search engine bots to crawl your site as well as visitors--Quality Content.  Without this your website or blog is merely a fluff site where visitors leave feeling deceived and cheated.  Time is valuable to everyone and time is money for many, so don't waste your readers' time.
Links are important in driving traffic to your site.  Make friends with other bloggers who blog within your field of interest.  This is a way to get backlinks which help improve your rankings.

Why should you use Goodreads?

I learned about Goodreads by looking for book recommendations on Twitter about a month ago.  Little did I know, I’d be hooked a month later.  I check my Goodreads account for updates now more often than I do Facebook, and that’s a lot. 

Basically, Goodreads.com is the essential go-to website for bookaholics, bibliophiles, book worms, book lovers, book addicts, whatever you’d like to call us. 
For those of you unfamiliar with Goodreads, here are some features that I love about this site:
It keeps a tally of the books you’ve read and reviewed as well as those of the friends you make on Goodreads.  It’s great for getting recommendations by people you’ve chosen to “friend” on Goodreads.  For instance, I could friend or follow a person who loves The Shining by Stephen King which I absolutely think is one of the best books of all time, and then I can look at that person’s profile and see what else they’ve read and liked.  Also, people recommend books to their friends and that’s helpful. 
One of the greatest features about this site is the groups section.  They have groups that are genre-focused like Paranormal mystery books, Horror books, Mystery aficionados, etc.  I love that I can peruse these forums for likeminded questions I have about the genre or books.  Some of these groups serve as online book clubs, so if you like assigned reading and sharing your thoughts with a group, this is an excellent place for you to check out.
If you’re an author, Goodreads is a wonderful opportunity for you to meet readers who enjoy the genre in which you write.  For instance, my author profile Lisa M. Logan on Goodreads can be found simply by typing in my name in the search field or my novel’s title “House ofMirrors.”  You’ll see a bio and they can even feature your Facebook and blog links on this profile page.  They also keep a tally of your reviews on Goodreads.  It’s not, however, a place where you should spam book lovers about your book.  But if you’re an author like me who also adores books and reading, you’ve found the right place at Goodreads.com.  Another note for authors who want to use Goodreads to help promote their book:  There are numerous groups of writers on goodreads.com which are specifically geared toward promoting and help one another.  I encourage both readers and writers to check out this site!

Free e-book publishing platforms to sell your ebook

I'm planning on launching my debut novel "House of Mirrors" within the next two weeks, so I'm looking at all of the available platforms.  So far, I'm sold on trying Amazon's Kindle Select first.  You have to make your book exclusive to Kindle while enrolled in the program, but considering that's where most people do their book shopping, it makes good marketing sense.
I researched the various platforms available to indie authors, and I posted it below for others who are not interested in making their e-books exclusive to Kindle. 
If you're looking for free e-book publishing platforms on which to sell your latest e-book, then take a look at this short list.  These are free to sign up with unlike others who charge a fee.  I made a note of the ones who offer a 100 percent royalty.
Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing 35% - 70% royalty
Smashwords 60% - 85% royalty
KOBO Writing Life 70% - 80% royalty
PubIt! 40% - 65% royalty
EbookMall 50% royalty
Scribd 80% royalty
Blurb 80% royalty
MyeBook 90% royalty
PaySpree 90% - 100% royalty
Click2Sell 90% - 95% royalty
* Payhip 100% royalty
* BookTango 100% royalty

Free e-Books? Does it work?

This week I'm offering my short story collection "Death By Clogging" for free. I'm doing this as a promotion for the e-book and also as an experiment. Does it really help your ebook sales to offer your e-book for free? I'll find out and let you know in future posts. In the meantime, if you'd like to download my book Death By Clogging for free via Smashwords.com it's at the link https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/91641 I could definitely use some reviewers!

Before and After: Cover makeover

Here's what my homemade book cover looked like before the book cover makeover:
BEFORE

AFTER

The book cover artist who created my NEW book cover is Jeanine Henning. Look her up on Twitter at @JenVinci  I'm hoping to hire her again for another book I have in the works. 

Converting your e-book using Mobipocket eBook Creator

If you want to publish an e-book to Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing and you just don't want to hassle with formatting and converting the file on your own--try the free Mobipocket eBook Creator.  It's free software you can use to convert your Word file into a Mobipocket's MOBI file format.  A MOBI file is the equivalent of Amazon's proprietary e-book format AZW.  When you use Mobipocket, your Word file will be converted into an HTML file and then into a MOBI file that you can then upload to Amazon's KDP platform. 
With Mobipocket Creator, you can create e-books from Adobe PDF and TXT files as well as Word.  Also, the software includes a built-in converter that you can use to import PDF files, HTML, and images into your publication.  Another great feature is the Table of Contents Wizard which automatically creates links to the chapters of your ebook using smart heading extraction. 
Lastly, Mobipocket Creator helps protect your e-book from illegal copying by use of its Digital Rights Management (DRM) encryption.  The three security options included in Mobipocket Creator are 1. no encryption, 2. encrypted, and 3. password-protected. 
Overall, Mobipocket is easy to use and navigate.  It's a free tool that makes formatting and converting easier for e-book authors to publish on Amazon's KDP.  You can check out Mobipocket's e-book creator guide here.

What is Kindle Select and how can it help sell my e-book?

Amazon Kindle Select is a relatively new program launched to help independent authors and to help Amazon's sales.  It also is a way for Amazon to dominate the e-book industry by requiring independent authors to digitally publish their books exclusively on Amazon Kindle Select.  Authors cannot have the book published on any other platform while enrolled in Amazon.com's Kindle Select program.  The other hitch is that your book will be available for free during the promotional period of time, and lastly, your book will be available for checked out in the Amazon Kindle Owners' Lending Library.  The Kindle Owners' Lending Library can only be accessed by Amazon Prime members. 
The best benefit for independent authors in this program is the 5-day free promotion period every 90 days.  During your free promotion days, Amazon will promote your book on their site and offer it for free for the days you select.  You can either use all 5 days consecutively or you can schedule them sporadically throughout the 90-day period.  Cheryl Kaye Tardif who wrote  How I Made Over $42,000 in 1 Month Selling My Kindle eBooks broke up her five days into two promotion times:  a three day promotion and then a two day promotion later on.  It worked for her.  Her book tells how she laid out a marketing and promotion plan for her book using Kindle Select.  The book explains how her sales increased over a short time as a result of the program.  It was impressive.
So if you're interested in enrolling your book to Kindle Select, you'll first have to remove it from other platforms like Smashwords, Apple QuickReads, and Barnes & Noble, etc.  But it could be the best move you make in getting your e-book ranked higher in the lists and increasing your sales.

Ebook publishing sensation Hugh Howey and Kindle Select

Remember all of those rejection letters from print publishers to which you sent manuscripts? Many unpublished writers can now thumb their noses at the big NYC publishers and do it themselves through digital self-publishing.  In fact, many are making on average $10,000 a year and then there are some raking in only $500.  But the world of digital self-publishing has many new superstars in its ranks--namely Hugh Howey, 37-year-old author of a popular dystopian series "Wool."  A recent article on CNN's website reported that Howey earns on average $150,000 per month.  October 2012 he sold 20,000 copies of "Wool" in one day!  Guess what he used to get his digital publishing career started?  That's right the Kindle Select program.  I'll post more details about the Kindle Select program and how it works.

Formatting e-books for Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing

You might be wondering which format to choose when uploading your manuscript to Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing.  The best choice is Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx).
KDP also accepts these formats:
HTML (ZIP, HTM, or HTML)
Mobipocket (MOBI)
ePub (EPUB)
Plain Text (TXT)
Rich Text Format (RTF)
Adobe PDF (PDF)
There are a few problems you may run into when using MS Word to upload your e-Book to Amazon.  Complex formatting like tables and graphics could cause conversion errors.  Make sure to use the previewer on KDP if you think your e-book contains complex formatting.  Don't expect the font sizes, margins, and page numbers that you set in Word to convert exactly in KDP.  These settings will not apply because readers can adjust font sizes.
If your document contains graphics, you'll want to use the "Insert" function to add images; not the copy/paste function.
When uploading your MS Word file, make sure you load it all as one file.  But do not include the cover.  KDP will automatically embed the cover image.
If, like many, you try to upload your e-Book in Portable Document Format (PDF), you'll probably run into conversion problems such as

• irregularly bolded text
• irregular page breaks
• irregular font sizes
• inconsistent text flow
• and missing or oversized images.

So your best bet is to format and upload your e-Book document in Microsoft Word.

Could this be the worst book cover art ever?

UPDATE:  I found a book cover designer!  I'm working with her on planning the new book cover, so when she's finished, I'll post the new book cover design.  I'm so excited about getting a new book cover!

Recently, I've been in search of an affordable but great book cover artist.  Does anyone reading this blog know of a great graphic designer who's affordable?  Please let me know if you do.
Here's what my homemade cover art looks like right now.  I used a photo I took of a rose garden in Raleigh, NC.

Could Death by Clogging possibly be the most hideous e-book cover art ever?  LOL  I think so.

What is Byliner.com?

Byliner is a showcase of long-form journalism.  It's articles and stories longer than 3,000 words but shorter than a novel.  I guess you could say they are mini-books that can be read in two or three hour spans of time.  Inquisitive readers with short attention spans should love Byliner.com.  It's mostly nonfiction journalism like the article that placed Byliner in the spotlight--"Three Cups of Deceit" by Jon Krakauer (author of Into Thin Air).  It's about Nobel Prize nominee Greg Mortenson fabricating his best selling book Three Cups of Tea and misusing donations.  More about Mortenson's story can be found in this Washington Post article.
Anyway, the article by Krakauer and 60 minutes coverage of it helped launch Byliner into the spotlight in 2011.  The site offers quality writing by today's most famous journalists as well as up-and-coming journalists and authors.  For around $9.99 a month, a reader can subscribe to the site and have access to these articles.
The writers of these long-form articles and stories also reap the benefits.  It's been said that Byliner splits the profits with authors 50/50.  The advantage Byliner authors have is the editorial assistance that the site offers to the writers.  In a nutshell, Byliner.com is heaven for journalist; not so much for the mass audience.  If you're an aspiring writer for the New Yorker or Vanity Fair, then you'll definitely want to check out Byliner.com.

Who gets published on Kindle Singles?

Curious as to whether or not my little book stood a chance of being accepted by Kindle Singles, I did a little digging around on the Amazon Kindle Singles site.  Since it's launch in January of 2011, Kindle Singles has published 3 new titles each week.  Their editor received around 50 unsolicited submissions each week, so Dave Blum's job leaves knee deep in manuscripts every day.  Most of the lucky ones who are chosen to live on this list of Kindle Singles are exclusive to Amazon, meaning this is mostly original material.  Others accepted come from traditional publishers and also e-singles publishers The Atavist and Byliner.  More about those sites later.
Most authors covet the Kindle Singles list over the Barnes & Noble Nook Snaps and Apple QuickReads because they receive more marketing and promotion help from Amazon.  Also, you've got to admit most people use Amazon not only for book shopping but for looking up info on a book in mind.  It's like a library helper site as well as a book seller.
So in a nutshell the answer to the question "Who gets published on Kindle Singles?" is the lucky ones.  Also, I've got to admit the talented ones.  So I guess even if you do have a flashy book cover, it's still not going to fly with Kindle Singles because they are looking for quality; not just bling.

Don't use tabs for Smashwords.com ebook

I uploaded my book Death by Clogging recently on Smashwords.com and I received a message from Smashwords.com that I needed to get rid of the tab formatting in my document.  By the way, I should have read their Smashwords free style guide before doing anything.
I've learned that Smashwords.com doesn't allow tabs to be used in ebooks.  Don't panic if your novel is full of tabs created by hitting the "tab" key in Microsoft Word.  This is how you fix it in a few easy steps.
In MS Word:
Hit the "Ctrl" and "h" keys.  This will bring up the Find & Replace box.  You can also do this by going to the "Edit" dropdown menu and clicking "Replace"
Now in the find box type "^t" without the quotatation marks.
In the replace box type nothing.  Just leave it blank.
Click "Ok"
Voila!  Your .doc is rid of tab formatting and is ready to be uploaded.

Death by Clogging can be found on Smashwords.com at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/91641
Death by Clogging can be found on Kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MJG0KI

Conversion complete!

Okay, finally I figured it out.  I didn't have to use Mobipocket Creator to do it either.  I pasted my short story collection into a brand new Microsoft Word document.  I made sure the font was 12 Times & Romans, and I placed page breaks after each section that I wanted separated.  If you're doing this for a novel, you would Insert Page Break after each chapter of your book.  That wasy it makes it easy for readers to differentiate between chapters as they read your novel on Kindle. 
If you have any questions, go ahead and send it to me in the comments section.

I might try Mobipocket Creator anyway just to see if it works better.
Remember when you upload your Microsoft Word document to Kindle Direct Publishing, make sure you do NOT save it as .DOCX.  Use .DOC instead.  The .DOC is for Word 97 and .DOCX is Word 2007. 

Remember .DOCX and .PDF files do not transfer well to Kindle at all.  I've already tried both. 
Right now, .DOC is best.

Format problems when converting novel to Kindle ebook

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) allows for various formatted documents; however, some formats convert better than others.  According to KDP's page on Amazon, the best formats to use are DOC (.doc) and PRC (.prc). 
MOBI or PRC is created using the free Mobipocket Creator.  Here's the link to this software:
http://www.mobipocket.com/en/downloadsoft/productdetailscreator.asp
I'll give it a try with my short story collectin "Death By Clogging" which I uploaded the other day to Amazon.com.  It's actually easy to upload your book to KDP, but the resulting look is what needs tweaking.
I used Portable Document Format (.PDF) and the result was irregular page breaks and inconsistent text flow.  Perhaps Mobicreator will resolve this.  I'll let you know soon!
-Lisa Logan

Getting Started with Kindle Direct Publishing

Here's the first step:  Create an Amazon.com account for Kindle Direct Publishing.
https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/signin

Next, make sure that your novel is in a format that will conver to Amazon Kindle.  Here is a list of acceptable formats:
https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A2GF0UFHIYG9VQ

Next, format your book for Kindle.  Here are the instructions from Kindle Direct Publishing:
https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A2RYO17TIRUIVI

I'll go into more detail about how to format your book for Kindle once I figure it out myself.  I'm in the process of doing just that.  I'll post an update as soon as I figure it out, then we can go onto the next stage of actually publishing your book on Kindle.