Kobo vs. Kindle for Publishing

Deliver it digitally...put your book in many people's hands...
maybe even Jude Law.

by Kellyann Zuzulo

You've written a book. Congratulations! Used to be that you would now embark on a letter-writing campaign to secure literary representation. You can now plumb those same depths of impersonal rejection letters via email. Or you can self-publish. Digital publishing has exploded. The resulting shrapnel includes legions of services that will charge you to format and upload your manuscript to online bookstores. You could also do it yourself. Save yourself some money. It's not hard. Here are four things you need to do to self-publish your book.

1. Use some of that money you'll save and get your manuscript professionally edited.
2. Commission a professionally designed cover. You can get one for less than $100.
3. Get a free account at Amazon Digital Platform and upload your book for Kindle.
4. Get a free account at Kobo Writing Life and upload your book to Kobo.

Amazon really is the Amazon in the digital publishing jungle. Despite a bit of well-deserved animosity from some authors and publishers, you really want to have your book available for Kindles.You will be given an opportunity through Kindle Select to offer your book for limited sales, as long as you accept Kindle as the exclusive retailer for a certain period--that can really help to boost your sales. CAVEAT: You need to have your own social network in place to stimulate sales. But, honestly, that's the case for any writer, whether with  Simon & Schuster or Yourself Publishing, LLC.

For the time that you're not selling thousands of copies through Kindle Select, you can also make your book available to Kobo. This is not a case of either or. You should definitely do both. And add more outlets once you're comfortable with your manuscript. For example...Apple. But we're focusing on  Kindle and Kobo right now. Kobo will allow you to do pre-orders, which Amazon does not. With Kobo, you can also buy your books from your local independent bookstores. Village Books in Bellingham, WA, created a short video on exactly this topic. They hate Amazon because it freezes out indies like them from facilitating digital book sales. Not Kobo. Something to think about when planning book signings and blog book tours. Locals will be more open to your book if they can help to sell it.

You wrote a book. Now, you're a published author. Congratulations!

Best Wishes,

Kellyann Zuzulo

Author of The Genie Ignites.

101 Nights coming in March  from Boroughs Publishing Group