The Five Parts Of Amazon

Amazon, Amazon, Amazon! This eRetailer sets the example for the power of online selling. Currently, the largest online retailer in the United States, Amazon did over 9 Billion in sales in the first Quarter of 2011. Not bad for a website that started out initially selling books.

We may wonder how these huge profits might benefit all of us – the little guy. They certainly do. Because of their large profit margin, Amazon has been the leader in developing one of the most user-friendly programs for authors to promote and sell their books. The benefits do come back to us by way of better software development, better book sales programs and customer support. The Amazon programs for authors are the easiest to work with and navigate in the industry and have set the standard for the other eRetailers such as Barnes & Noble and Google eBooks. Apple is limping behind. Below are the Five Parts of Amazon that you as a writer should be familiar with:

Amazon Advantage

Amazon Advantage is considered a “self-service consignment program” where you can sell and promote your books online. You apply for membership ($29.95), indicate the title(s) you have for sale and Amazon orders books directly from you and sends them to the customer. You pay for shipping to Amazon. Amazon keeps 55% of the List Price set by you but they have the right to change the price. More at: http://amzn.to/ax8Bk

Sell on Amazon

Sell on Amazon is for Individual and Professional Sellers. This program is for those who want to sell their book on Amazon and handle the stocking and shipping themselves. You list your items, handle payment from customers and ship the item. Amazon takes a small fee and you keep the rest. More at: http://amzn.to/kmI8pU

Create Space

Create Space is Amazon’s Print-on-Demand program for print books. You only order the number of print books you need. Set up is fairly easy and your book is listed on Amazon and you receive 40% royalties of the list price. Firebird can help you prepare your manuscript in print format if needed at a very good price. More at: https://www.createspace.com/Products/Book/

KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing)

This is the Kindle eBook Publishing part of Amazon where you can self-publish your books for the sale in the Kindle Store. Royalties are 70% of the list price. Your readers can purchase your book for reading on Kindle devices and use the Kindle apps for iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, PC, Mac, Blackberry, and Android-based devices. More at: https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/signin

Author Central

Author Central is an author information site where if you have a book listed on Amazon in print or eBook, you can set up an Author Central account. With this program you can promote yourself, track your sales and ranking, connect with other authors and readers, feed your blog, list your website and generate sales. Many of the top authors on Amazon use Author Central to increase their exposure and therefore sell books and eBooks. Kind of like a social media hub for authors and readers. We highly recommend you set up an Author Central account if you have not done so already. More at: https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/landing

Note: Use your existing Amazon account as your login to keep them connected.

Copyright - a Must?

So you’ve completed your book and you now have questions as to whether or not to copyright your work.

Unlike patents or trademarks which protect inventions or discoveries, copyrights protect the original work of an author.

First off, what does copyright actually mean?

Copyright is a way to protect your work which is provided by the United States of America. An author who creates an original work can include literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. The work can be either published or unpublished. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works. It also gives the owner of the copyright the rights of the following:

• The author/creator can reproduce and copy the work

• The author/creator can prepare a derivative of the work

• The author/creator can distribute copies of their work to the public either through sales of that product or by transferring the ownership, or also by renting and leasing the product or item.

• The author/creator can display or perform their work in a public forum, which includes literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural
works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work

• The author/creator can perform their work in a public forum which can be by a digital audio transmission

A frequent question is what do I have to do to ensure my work is copyrighted? From the moment you create our work in a tangible form that is perceptible with the aid of a machine or device, your work is copyright protected.

Then if that is the case, why go through the process of getting your work copyrighted? There is one major reason–being able to sue an individual for copyright infringement. Registered works may be eligible for statutory damages and attorney’s fees in successful litigation. If you register your work within five years of publication, it is considered prima facie (appears to be self-evident from the facts) evidence in a court of law. Another benefit to having your work copyrighted through the copyright office is that registration establishes a public record of the copyright.

Lastly, there is a huge fallacy swimming among authors that involves sending your work to yourself via the United States Post Office. Mailing a copy of your work to yourself doesn’t ensure it being copyrighted. Doing this does not substitute the registration of your work.

The bottom line: You don’t have to copyright your work with the U.S. Copyright Office, but it helps you if you ever have a legal matter arise. Many authors have spent years working on their books. A simple act of copyrighting your work with the United States Government is a small price to pay to ensure you have every possible right to protect your work against copyright infringement.

Carol Webb

Firebird Media Management