Thanks for sharing this, Kay. I have found that Draft2Digital does good formatting with a VERY simple software, and Kindle is also relatively easy. Both are free.
Does they make the books look good? Chances are the "looks" could be better. Then again, if I spent hundreds of dollars (per book) on covers and professional formatting, they would look better still. However, since the cover and formatting won't address the insufferable marketing problem, I prefer to spend my limited resources elsewhere.
I hear where you are coming from. I am still using D2Digital to distribute, but my biggest problem with them is the lack of ways to get reviews. They don't put links within the book—rate my book. When I asked them about it, they said it was because they distribute so widely. They do have a long list of where they distribute, but the truth is, for me, only three are consistently selling my books, Kobo, B&N, and Apple. Books get sold because other readers see book reviews. Book reviews are essential and that is part of marketing. By taking control of the inside of our book, we can list links ourselves to leave reviews, Kobo, Apple, etc., something DD2Digital doesn't do. I might have a more favorable opinion if they gave us the power to pick where to leave reviews within the book structure. Also, I wouldn't say I like seeing their blue DRAFT2Digital letters slapped everywhere within the book. I don't think it looks professional. Those are my main gripes.
Between the two, Kindle Create is the clear winner for free regarding the looks factor and manipulating your text. If, all I'm going to do is create e-books, maybe stick with Kindle Create. Still, when it comes down to printing a book, and I'm asking a reader to spend $18.99 for a 70K word book, I feel responsible for having it look as good as possible. If I were to hire someone to format a book for print, it would be a minimum of $250.00, and there is no guarantee they would do as good a job as I would with formatting software. The decision of where best to spend our money is a juggling act. It was not until this year that I took these books to print, but now I have the software to do this professionally if I learn how to use it correctly.
Thanks for sharing this, Kay. I have found that Draft2Digital does good formatting with a VERY simple software, and Kindle is also relatively easy. Both are free.
Does they make the books look good? Chances are the "looks" could be better. Then again, if I spent hundreds of dollars (per book) on covers and professional formatting, they would look better still. However, since the cover and formatting won't address the insufferable marketing problem, I prefer to spend my limited resources elsewhere.
I hear where you are coming from. I am still using D2Digital to distribute, but my biggest problem with them is the lack of ways to get reviews. They don't put links within the book—rate my book. When I asked them about it, they said it was because they distribute so widely. They do have a long list of where they distribute, but the truth is, for me, only three are consistently selling my books, Kobo, B&N, and Apple. Books get sold because other readers see book reviews. Book reviews are essential and that is part of marketing. By taking control of the inside of our book, we can list links ourselves to leave reviews, Kobo, Apple, etc., something DD2Digital doesn't do. I might have a more favorable opinion if they gave us the power to pick where to leave reviews within the book structure. Also, I wouldn't say I like seeing their blue DRAFT2Digital letters slapped everywhere within the book. I don't think it looks professional. Those are my main gripes.
Between the two, Kindle Create is the clear winner for free regarding the looks factor and manipulating your text. If, all I'm going to do is create e-books, maybe stick with Kindle Create. Still, when it comes down to printing a book, and I'm asking a reader to spend $18.99 for a 70K word book, I feel responsible for having it look as good as possible. If I were to hire someone to format a book for print, it would be a minimum of $250.00, and there is no guarantee they would do as good a job as I would with formatting software. The decision of where best to spend our money is a juggling act. It was not until this year that I took these books to print, but now I have the software to do this professionally if I learn how to use it correctly.