Publishing Paperbacks with Draft2Digital

A couple of years ago, I put together a collection of my fantasy short stories. Part of the reason for this was to make these stories available in paper (some of them had appeared in paper anthologies, but others hadn't.) I tried formatting the paperback version myself through KDP, but I had trouble with the cover. (To be honest, I made the front cover for this collection myself with a purchased stock photo, but I don't have enough skill to make a complete paperback cover.) So I put that project on hold until recently, when Draft2Digital (D2D) opened up their print process for all authors.

If you have a manuscript and a cover, you can convert them into a paper book through a series of guided steps. You start by uploading the manuscript and entering basic details about the book (title, contributors, blurb, and others.) You also need to assign an ISBN at this stage. I used one of my own, but D2D provides free ones if you need them. 

The second step is editing the interior of your book. This includes selecting the paper color and size. D2D offers a variety of genre-themed templates and will allow you to edit page numbers, headers, and other elements. Unfortunately, the Table of Contents I had prepared didn't show up properly through the D2D editor. D2D can add a Table of Contents, but it appears as the first page of the book, which isn't traditional. I ultimately solved the problem by uploading a PDF file instead of a Word document. (I use a template I purchased from BookDesignTemplates for both eBooks and paperbacks; I wonder if that affects formatting D2D can do.)

One you're done with the interior, it's time to work on the cover. Since I didn't have a full cover, D2D paired my eBook cover with a black back cover and spine. I was able to change the color (though it took several tries to match the front). I also had to change the text entered on the spine, but I was also able to upload my publishing logo. The text on the back was the hardest part. D2D automatically uploaded my blurb, author photo, and bio, but the text size for the blurb was too small to be legible. It took some experimentation to make it bigger. I had to shorten my biography to make it fit.

Once I finally finished formatting everything, I decided to order a physical proof to confirm the book looked the way I wanted it to. Ordering a physical proof is $30, but I figured it was worth it since this was the first time I'd used D2D for this. Perhaps when I'm more comfortable with it, I'll stick with free online proofs. I just received the proof (pictured above) on Monday, so I approved the book. Now I have to see how long it takes to be available online. I think the paperbacks will be available on Amazon as well as D2D's other sites, but it may take a few weeks before distribution is complete. I can order author copies in the meantime.

Publishing paper books is a tricky process, but it's worth it to have another, physical format for my works. Hopefully I'll publish The Season Between and Restaurants and Revenge later this year. I'll have full covers designed for them, which will make the publishing process simpler. In the meantime, please let me know if you have any questions about the process, and I'll answer them the best I can.
 

Sale on Smashwords!

 Draft2Digital acquired Smashwords earlier this year, but they just recently made it possible for their authors to distribute their books to that site. If you're familiar with Smashwords, you may know that they also hold sales twice a year around the solstices. From tomorrow (December 15th) through January 1, 2023, my books will be available for free on Smashwords. (Please note that ebooks are available on Smashwords only in the EPUB format.) You can find a list of my titles on Smashwords through my author page. Enjoy!

Update on Stop Hate Project Donation

Back in mid-August, I pledged to donate at least $25 or my September royalties to the Stop Hate Project. Unfortunately, I was so busy getting Summon the Seasons ready for release next week that I didn't do much promotion of my pledge besides than a single announcement on Facebook and my newsletter. Although I ran a free book promotion toward the end of the month, I haven't seen any sales come through from that yet. So my sales for September are $0 on CreateSpace and ACX, less than a dollar on Amazon, and about $2 through Draft2Digitial. (It's pretty rare for me to earn more through D2D than on Amazon.) I've accordingly donated $25 as promised. (I'm not posting any screen shots to protect my account information.) Perhaps next time I decide to donate royalties to a cause, I should do better promotion.

Draft2Digital and Findaway Voices

With Alex's guest post on audiobooks on Monday, I thought it timely to get an announcement from Draft2Digital about Findaway Voices, an audiobook production company that D2D just partnered with. I don't know much about it, but it seems similar to ACX, which is what I used to produce the audiobooks for Lyon's Legacy and Twinned Universes. On both sites, you set up your book, choose a narrator, listen to and approve the audiobook, and set up distribution. Findaway says they don't require exclusivity and give you more control over pricing than ACX does. Unlike ACX, Findaway does charge a setup fee, but apparently this is waived if you go to them through D2D. ACX allows you to do a royalty split with the narrator instead of paying a set fee per finished hour. Findaway doesn't have this option, so you do have to pay up front and hope you earn it back. I currently don't have audiobooks for the Season Avatars series. However, if/when I get to that point, it's good to know there are options available for indie writers.

Books2Read and Universal Book Links

Draft2Digital now has a partner site called Books2Read, which is dedicated to helping readers find indie books they'll like. One of the features they offer are universal book links listing all the online distributors for a particular eBook. Instead of having to list separate links for Amazon, Kobo, B&N, Apple, and others, I now need only one link to sell them all. That will make keeping my website updated and hyperlinking in my eBooks much easier. Authors can even include affiliate links in these universal book links so they can make extra money from these sales. Too bad Illinois won't let me use them.

Books2Read also allows readers to select their favorite store; I think it's supposed to send you to it automatically. You can also get notifications when your favorite authors release new books. (Amazon does this too, though maybe I need to add more authors to this service.) All in all, this website promises to be useful for both authors and readers. If you publish through D2D, you're already set up with an account and universal book links you can edit (you may need to add Amazon links manually).

Does this sound like a site you'll use? Do you plan to use it as an author, a reader, or both? Please let me know in the comments.

Seasonal Stories on the Sagan Now Out

This year, I managed to write not just one, but two seasonal science fiction stories set on the spaceship Sagan (which is part of my Catalyst Chronicles universe). I bundled them together under the title "Seasonal Stories from the Sagan."  Here are the story descriptions:

"A Solstice in Space"--Cass wants to celebrate the winter solstice with her friends and family, but they don't share her pagan beliefs. Can they create a ceremony that respects everyone's beliefs, or will she have to observe the solstice by herself? And how can you celebrate a solstice when you're not even on a planet?

"Snowballs in Space"--Paul's plans to have a snowball fight with his friends may land him in hot water with the Sagan's officers when he "borrows" a lot of materials to make fake snow.

There are spoilers for Twinned Universes in the stories, but I tried to make them able to stand on their own.

This bundle is available for $0.99 on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Kobo, Scribd, and Inktera. I hope you check it out!

P.S. This was my first time publishing through Draft2Digitial, and it was a very quick and easy process. It doesn't have all the features of Smashwords, but I will definitely use them again.