Julie Broad warns authors about scam companies using Amazon's name to offer publishing services. One client was locked into Kindle Select without consent, given a print layout made in Word instead of InDesign, and couldn't sell on other platforms because the ISBN was enrolled in KDP Expanded Distribution without permission.
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There are companies out there that play off the Amazon name, but they're not actually affiliated with Amazon. And if you hire them for publishing services, you may be creating more of a mess than you realize. One of our clients hired a company called Amazon Publishing Services, nothing to do with the real Amazon. And while her book was not a disaster, a lot of the things were a real challenge to fix and some can never be repaired. So if you want to avoid hiring the wrong company, this video is for you. Hey there. I'm Julie the Book Broad, founder of Book Launchers, a full service self publishing company helping you write, publish and promote a nonfiction book to grow your brand and your business. And when you look at what we charge, at first glance, sometimes authors think, woo, that was a little more than I expected. And they go to a company that charges half the price. But sadly, many times when a company's charging half the price, it's because they are skipping a lot of important steps or they're doing things that are very difficult to fix and they put you in a pickle. And that's what happened when one of our authors hired us in tears over her experience with a company that called themselves Amazon Publishing Services. It is not affiliated with Amazon at all. It's not based in the US And I think that's probably why they're using the Amazon name and are not shut down yet. But I'm sure they've tried and I'm sure at some point Amazon will take them down, but another company will replace it, I am certain of that. But here's what happened. She had a hard ebook design, which means it didn't flow on an E reader and we had to recreate a whole new file. And even worse, it required an entirely new ebook listing to replace it. That was the most expensive thing for her to fix. So these layout issues, if you're not familiar, they created a fixed layout ebook rather than a reflowable one. What is the difference? Well, a fixed layout ebook is the font size is set and it can't be adjusted by the reader. It's not compatible with all reader devices, and larger file size can impact your pricing options. A reflowable ebook on the other side is a flexible font size and page layout that adapts to screen sizes and the orientation of the device and reader preferences. It is compatible with the widest range of devices, including smartphone and tablets. It's a smaller file size which makes it easier to download and less likely to impact your pricing options. So having a reflowable ebook is really important. Make sure you ask and get that in writing if you're not certain. Another issue was she was automatically enrolled in Kindle select without her knowledge, and this meant she couldn't go wide with her distribution until she could exit that program. Now, if you're not familiar for some books, especially fiction, the Kindle select program is a great option. However, this should never happen without clear explanation of the program and the pros and cons for your specific book and genre and your goals, because it's a 90 day commitment during which time you cannot offer your book anywhere else, not even on your own website. And this also impacts potential royalties due to Kindle Unlimited. So you want to make sure it's okay if you get enrolled, but you want it to be your choice. Next up, her print layout was in word instead of InDesign, which admittedly some publishers do, but it doesn't allow for a lot of great design elements or easy development of ebook files. So they created the layout using Microsoft rather than Adobe InDesign and they exported it to PDF and Microsoft Word can be good for initial formatting of the content, but it's not good for final typesetting and design because it comes with significant limitations on design options including things like handling images full bleed which is taking it to the edge of the paper and overall customization versus Adobe. InDesign is specially created for designing professional and technically accurate layouts and designs and it unlocks nearly endless options for things like chapter headers, section breaks and image handling. The final product, when it's done in Adobe design looks cleaner, more polished and and is much more customized to the author. And finally, they enrolled her print book in expanded distribution through KDP also without her knowledge or consent, which if you are in the know, you wouldn't ever use Amazon's KDP platform for expanded distribution because bookstores are not going to order from there and it can't be changed without putting in a formal request for the release of the ISBN. And this is a process that takes up to 30 days, so I'll break this down a little bit more for you with a paperback. Selecting KDP's expanded distribution reduces the royalty rate to 40% instead of 60% and it does not guarantee that it will be accepted by external distributors. It really only accesses a small fraction of Ingram's actual catalog and you can't do hardcover books with this. Now the big issue here is that it locks that book's ISBN from being available through any other third party aggregator like IngramSpark versus setting it up through IngramSpark which is what we do. The royalty rate with wholesale discount is set at 40%, and it's closer to Amazon's 60% rate. It has ties to Ingram's extensive network of retailers and booksellers, and it's available for both paperback and hardcover. And finally, if library distribution is important to you, exclusivity to Amazon for your ebook and paperback will stand in the way of that goal. IngramSpark for print and draft two, digital for ebook will give you the best options for reaching libraries. Now none of these issues are as bad as some of the scam companies out there that really, really rip authors off. But nothing in this was done in the author's best interest. It was done cheaply and easily. When you're hiring a company to help you with your self publishing and ask the right questions so you know what you're getting, you can also check any company you're about to hire on the Ally Watchdog list, which I will put the link below to make sure you're getting reputable companies that will do it right. It doesn't mean issues won't arise. We have had issues arise with Amazon listings or Ingram Hardcovers and those issues are a nightmare. But those weren't because we did something wrong or we didn't disclose something to the client. So so glitches happen. But what happened with this project were conscious choices the publisher that helped her made in order to save money save time, and it wasn't disclosed to her what the trade offs were. So make sure you're set up in the right way from the beginning. The extra time and money will be worth it in the long run. And of course we would love to help. If you're working on a nonfiction book and you want a team to surround you with care and take you through the process, go to bookmunchers.com bookacall to chat with us. And in the meantime, this is the video on things you should know about getting books printed. It's a good one to be informed so you can ask the right questions. And this one is on the mistakes to avoid when you publish your book. See you on the next video.
