In the past I’ve made the mistake of going solo with
KDP Select (through Kindle Direct Publishing) for my e-books. KDP Select is an optional program that allows you to reach more readers and gives you the opportunity to earn more money in addition to sales of your book. The downside is it’s an exclusive program, meaning your book(s) cannot be sold digitally with any other publisher, including you and your blog, as long as you are enrolled in the program.
If you live in the U.S., you may not know other regions of the world use companies other than Amazon Kindle to purchase and download books. The
Kobo (a rewording of the word book) e-reader and app are popular in Canada and Europe. Slowly, but surely the European market is opening up to self-publishing, and Kobo, with its partnerships with local retailers in each country, is intent on making the platform as user-friendly as possible.
According to
Book Bub, Kobo is the market leader for ebook sales in Canada. The majority of our Canadian subscribers use Kobo, so we would recommend including Kobo in your Canada Featured Deal.
Two ways to get your book on Kobo: use Smashwords or publish your e-book directly with Kobo where you can track your sales. It’s free to use, and they’ll even convert your Word, OpenOffice, or Mobi file into an ePub for you for free.
Publishing Translations: Have you thought of publishing your books in French, German, Japanese, or Mandarin? But how would do you know if another culture would like your books? For me, I can go to the beach and sell my physical books. Lots of tourists from around the world visit year round, and the Japanese love the concept of wormholes. I sell a lot of books to Japanese tourists. So I’m looking hard into translating a condensed version of my Breakthrough series into Japanese. I’m thinking I can shave off about thirty percent of the word count and have new art professionally done specific for the young Japanese market.
To translate into a different language, you’ll have to look at your stories from different angles due to cultural differences. If you have humor, it may not translate well. And what about the setting? I’ll need to decide if I keep them “as is” or make Tokyo the main setting.
Question: Have you considered translating your books into another language?
Short Blurb: A four hundred year old evil is unleashed when the daughters of those killed during the Salem Witch Trials find a new generation of people to murder at a popular modern-day bed and breakfast.
Stephen Tremp writes Speculative Fiction and embraces science and the supernatural to help explain the universe, our place in it, and write one of a kind thrillers. You can read a full synopsis and download Salem’s Daughters by
Clicking Here.
Stephen Tremp posts weekly blogs at his website
Breakthrough Blogs.
Next Stop: Wednesday October 21st Jo Wake at
Food Life and a Scent of Chocolate. Hope to see you there!
48 comments:
Congratulations, Stephen!
I think you're right...it's so important to diversify and to think of ways to make our existing content work harder for us. Best wishes to you with the new book!
That's awesome how you expanded into international markets. Thanks for the tips.
Stephen, congrats. I never realized the various ways of expanding to other markets. Now I understand why a book translated into English from another country is sometimes a bit different than the original. Wishing you much success.
So true. I live in Belgium and I think I'm the only one with a Kindle here. Ebooks are still not as popular as in the US, but if they do show up it's usually on Kobo.
Congratulations, Stephen. I've never thought about having my books published in another language. It is definitely something to think about. Thank you for sharing your great tips.
Congratulations to Stephen.
Wow! How timely was this? It prompted me to email KDP. Thank you so much!! I have a book I was getting ready to promote on my blog and figured it's better to be safe than be sued. Whew!
Years back I attended the London Book Fair and Kobo had a huge presence.
Right now, one of my books is being translated into Turkish, which is rather cool.
Great information, thanks!
One of these days I'll get smarter about all this, I keep promising myself! :)
You've given me loads to think about. I know I really wouldn't want it, but sometimes I wish there was two of me - one to do the work and the other to take in all the marketing information. My brain feels like it's going to explode. Thanks for sharing your insight. Very helpful...
Interesting about Kobo and ebooks in Europe/Canada, and a great thing to point out.
That would be so incredible to see your own book in another language. That's when you know you've made it.
My Canadian buddies all use Kobo, so that's no surprise to me. I think many of them use a Sony ereader or iPad too.
I have someone translating to Dutch at the moment, but it is because she wanted the practice doing it as much as anything else. You have really given food for thought though, about doing it more intentionally. And very good to know about Kobo.
I had heard that Kobo is bigger than Amazon in Canada. Great picture of Stephen. I wish him luck with his translation project.
I haven't thought about translating my books. I'm wouldn't even know where to begin. However I HAVE thought about having them made into audio books...
I've not thought seriously about translating my book into another language. I do think it would be cool, though.
Best of luck to you with your translating experience!
Thanks Diane for hosting me. Wow! Just waking up here on the Left Coast to the awesome comments. Thanks all for stopping by!
Good information. It's smart to think global these days.
Thank you everyone for stopping by today. Stephen has some good points about considering other countries and translations.
It's a good thing that my publisher automatically published my books on Amazon and KOBO so I don't have to worry about it. :) I would love to have my books translated, but I think that's also up to my publisher.
So much to learn. Great Information!
The cultural issue i certainly one to consider when trying to place a book in another part of the world. I was surprised to see one of my YAs selling in Japan. It had a lot of different ethnic characters--none Japanese.
Congrats to Stephen and his book.
Hi Stephen - you do so well .. by wandering along the beach selling your books .. but I think the idea of having it/them translated makes absolute sense - good luck. Kobo is quite big here .. cheers Hilary
I don't like the idea of exclusivity in market unless it's a guarantee for bigger sales.
Yay, Stephen!
Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Tossing It Out
Interesting concept. My book is too progressive to be translated into, say, Korean. Hebrew, perhaps. I like the idea. It's a bit meshugenah (crazy, but in a fun way).
Thank you, Diane and Stephen.
I'm just in the opening of my fourth poetry book so any tips on publishing are going to ne uesful.
Good luck to Stephen with his new book.
As for a different language for books I can just about master my native English.
Yvonne.
Great information and food for thought. Salem's Daughter sounds thrilling read.
Congratulations, Stephen!
Great advice - knowing the market is so important!
Not come across Kobo Diane, but I have a Kindle. Didn't know Kobo was more popular. Good luck with your book Stephen. I will be hosting you on Wednesday.
Good to know, thanks Stephen! Appreciate you sharing with us. Diane, thanks for hosting!
I've been on KOBO for a while. Haven't done the translations yet. Thanks for the download. I'll take a gander.
Thanks. I will be bookmarking this for later, should I ever actually finish my book and have it ready for publication :)
I did Kindle Select for my first book. I don't think it helped sales at all. I'm not doing it for my other two books.
Glad to hear you've had success with international markets.
I'd actually only been using KDP Select...I didn't even think of going hunting for more markets like this.
Aaaaaand Bookmarked!
I gave KDP Select a go, you get some extra downloads on your free days but nothing else happens. I think the tide is turning against Amazon with many people looking at other opportunities. Will you be translating your books yourself? That's impressive, I don't know any language well enough to do that and can't afford a translator. It's definitely a nuanced task as you have to key into a different culture while making sure everything comes across well. And I wish I had the chutzpah to go down to the beach and sell books! Congrats to Stephen!
hey diane - sorry it's been a while! i went back and read some previous posts
randi lee's - lve her advice to find something in our books that would touch the readers - great article!
iwsg - dang! you are sooo busy!
and stephen's - never considered foreign markets - great idea! and would definitely need to consider their way of thinking, much more research than just language!
thanks for supporting my simulation tour!!
I am so glad to see other bloggers discussing this. I too believe that using KDP alone is limiting. There are other platforms including online sites where people can download books directly to their computers and phones. I have considered when publishing my books (in the future) of including translations for Asians since they have integrated well into Jamaican life. There's also Spanish, French etc. Excellent post.
Thanks again everyone for stopping by! I started a new job this month and training has been a bear so time has been at a premium. But things are getting better and I'll be out and about tonight and the rest of this week to stop by and say hello.
As always, thanks for your support!
Hi Stephen and L Diane.
Yes, KDP might be okay for the first few months after hitting Publish, but after that you need to branch out. There are plenty of other options out there, but of course, Amazon is the giant in the marketplace.
I wish you all the best for your new book!
Denise :-)
I hadn't realized that about KOBO. I've seen it as a link from authors who have been guests but didn't know that about Canada.
I can see why the Japanese would love your Breakthrough. That's a smart way to look at your story--how is it going to translate into another language or culture?
Wishing you the best with this!
Sia McKye Over Coffee
Stephen, this is fantastic information rarely seen anywhere else. I'll be making this required reading for some of my clients especially my husband, the author of What Foreigners Need to Know About America from A to Z (http://amzn.to/ForeignersAmericaUS). It's just the kind of thing he has been looking for though it is already published traditionally in China (in Chinese) and Ukraine (in, yes!! Ukrainian!). You may be hearing from him. Gad, you're good!
Congratulations again, Stephen! Excellent post on reaching markets beyond the US!
Fascinating! I've never thought of translating my books! Hmmm. Enjoyable and informative post, thank you!
Thanks Diane for hosting me, as you have on all my Blog Tours. Much appreciated. And thanks everyone for stopping by and commenting. I'm not able to respond to each comment here so I'll do my best to stop by all your blogs and say hello. I started a new job this month after a few years off and wow what a shock. I'm still adjusting.
Thanks again Diane!
Some great points about translation!
Congrats on you new book,Stephen! All the best!
Thanks for featuring Stephen, L. Diane! Hope all is well...
Fantastic advice. I know the majority of my Canadian sales come from Kobo. I have fantasized about having my books in different languages. Maybe one day! Congrats on your new book.
Going boldly where no-one has gone before - sure fits the bill for Stephen. Well done son.
I'd love it if my books were translated into other languages. I didn't know this about Kobo.
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