Questions About Ebook Publishing
Q. What is an ebook?
Our definition of an ebook is a book in a format that can be downloaded on a computer.
Q. What format of ebooks do you publish?
We publish our ebooks in PDF (Portable Document Format). We also, for a fee, will convert ebooks to MOBI format, which is what the Amazon Kindle uses, and conversion to ePub, which is what everyone else uses. We then list ebooks in the 3 major ebook stores: Amazon’s Kindle store, Apple’s iBook store, and Barnes & Noble’s Nook store. And we add the files to BookLocker.com so customers there can get your book in PDF, ePub or Kindle format.
Q. What is the advantage of publishing an ebook version of a book?
The biggest advantage to publishing ebooks is one you never usually hear – that ebooks can be delivered instantly. When people are looking for specific information, getting it instantly is often a strong selling point.
Ebooks also offer a low-cost way to put a book into the market.
Q. Are ebooks published through BookLocker protected with digital rights management (DRM) technology?
No. Here is why.
DRM technology is based on a flawed assumption – that everyone who gets a copy of your book will steal it when given the opportunity. That is just not true. Honest people will pay for it when asked. Dishonest people will not. Dishonest people will not suddenly become “more honest” if the book is encrypted. Instead, they will figure out ways to break the encryption. And it should be noted that to date all forms of DRM technology for ebooks have been broken in one way or another.
All encrypting your book really does is put up technical hurdles for honest people who want your book. And if you are trying to build a customer base for your work, putting up barriers to buying that work doesn’t make much sense.
There is an excellent presentation by Cory Doctorow about why investing in DRM technology is ultimately a waste of time. It can be found here.
Q. Does it cost anything to publish an ebook through BookLocker?
No. We charge author nothing to list ebooks on BookLocker.com provided they are submitted in PDF or a validated ePub file. If you have a validated ePub file and want to list it on Apple’s iBookstore and Barnes & Noble’s NOOKBook Store, we can do that for a $25 distribution fee.
Q. What is the lowest list price you allow for ebooks published through BookLocker?
The lowest price we will allow for an ebook is $5.95.
Q. How can I convert my manuscript to the format you use for ebook publishing (PDF)?
We recommend trying to do it for free first at: http://createpdf.adobe.com/ . You have to sign up for an account, but the first five conversions are free.
If want us to convert the file into PDF for you, there is a $35 fee. If you want us to convert the manuscript to ePub format the price starts at $99, and includes distribution to BookLocker.com, Apple’s iBookstore, and Barnes & Noble’s NOOKBook Store.
Q. How do I submit a manuscript for consideration?
The submission process is two steps.
First, you fill out a form. We’ll use this to create a log of your submission.
Second, after you submit this information, we give you an email address and an ID number. You use that email address to send in a file of your manuscript and you’ll put the ID number in the subject of the email.
We don’t require any special formatting to submit a book for consideration. We only ask that it be a text, pdf, rich text or MSWord document.
All we ask is that you don’t start the process until your manuscript is complete and ready for review.