Ebook publishing, distribution & marketing

Ebooks are a growing part of the book market, and offer authors another way of publishing their work and making it available to a wide international audience. The problem is that so many ebooks are now being published that it is difficult to get noticed in the rush.

There are many routes to ebook publication, from DIY to outsourcing ebook conversion, and as a self-publisher you have a choice in how you publish. Yet to get the best ebook conversion and the widest ebook distribution, even the most dedicated self-publisher will not be able to rival the abilities of a self-publishing company like Matador.

Many ebook distributors will only take on a publisher if they have numerous ebooks to sell; many ebook retailers have strict rules on the ebook formats that they accept. Matador has ensured that our ebooks are compatible with the widest range of formats demanded by the retailers; and we’ve worked hard to establish a distribution network for our ebooks that is unparalleled.

So as a self-publisher, you could have your manuscript automatically converted by various ebook retailers, you could open accounts with all those retailers; or you could just settle to sell your ebook through one retailer only. Or, you could have your ebook published and distributed by Matador to get the best quality presentation and the widest distribution possible, including through retailers that are usually inaccessible to individual self-publishers.

 

Why publish your Ebook
with Matador?

You can publish your own ebook, but there are several reasons why it is better to use an established service to do it for you:

  • Ebook creation: there are several eretailers (including Amazon) who offer a free ebook conversion and hosting service. However, these offer ‘automatic’ ebook conversion, which usually results in something that is poorly formatted and error-strewn, and which has been created to the standards required by that website only.

  • Distribution 1: most free ebook websites only make your ebook available through their own website. You could open accounts with various such websites, and have them convert your file ‘automatically’ each time, to be made available for sale… through them only.

  • Distribution 2: consider where people go to buy their ebooks… do they visit those websites that offer ‘free’ publication, or do they go to their usual retailer… Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Apple, WH Smith, Blackwells…? Many ‘proper’ ebook retailers only take their ebooks through wholesalers and specialist ebook suppliers, and they by and large will only take on a publisher with a lot of ebooks to sell.

  • Libraries: most libraries source their ebooks through wholesalers or specialist ebook suppliers, to which an individual is unable to get access. And libraries worldwide are big ebook customers.

  • Time and expertise: creating a good quality ebook file and distributing it to some retailers can be done by an individual, but you need some knowledge of how an ebook is made into ePub and Kindle formats; and you then need a lot of time to place it with retailers. Even then availability will be limited to a few ebook retailers.

Matador offers a top quality ebook creation process, using specialist conversion houses to create industry-standard ebook files.

We also offer the most comprehensive ebook distribution network that you can find, ensuring that your ebook can be found for sale on all major book retailers’ websites.

A choice in ebook publishing

At Matador we offer authors a choice of ebook and book publishing. You can choose to start with ebook only publishing; add a print on demand book if you feel there is a demand; or then publish and distribute a book through traditional retail channels if it takes off. Or you can publish your ebook alongside your book straight away to maximize the exposure during marketing activity. It’s your choice.

Every step of the way we offer realistic advice and expertise, while you make the decisions on publishing your ebook. We can produce and distribute your ebook for you… but more; we offer a dedicated ebook marketing service with unique access to industry-wide ebook review channels. Quality of production, distribution and marketing, as with our book publishing services.

Ebook
Production and Distribution
Services

Creating an ebook is not a simple process, and although there are ‘automatic’ ebook converters available, they only output a version of what you input. The old computing adage ‘Garbage In, Garbage Out very much applies with ebooks! If you have some knowledge of computing then you can have a stab at converting to an ebook file; if not, it’s best left to a specialist.

There are several processes to undertake prior to creating your ebook, though. Matador offers a range of services, which authors can pick and choose from, depending on their requirements. We are happy to carry out most services singly, so if you have a cover already and need formatting and conversion, that is fine; or maybe you need a cover and formatting, but wish to distribute your ebook yourself. We also offer a full ebook production and distribution service, which includes all of the necessary services.

Note that the cost of some services is naturally dependent on a book’s complexity and length, so we can only give indicative costs for some; please contact us for a bespoke quote.

Pre-press and Set-up (£50)

This service sets up your ebook with an ISBN so that it can be distributed to those many retailers that require one. It includes:

  • ISBN allocation
  • Bibliographic data registration with Nielsen
  • Dissemination of ebook data to retailers worldwide using industry-standard ONIX data dissemination
Copy editing (from £80)

In the rush to get an ebook published, many authors overlook the fact that they must make sure their manuscript is 100% ready to publish! Ebooks containing typos, grammar problems and other errors will quickly give your writing a bad name.

Matador offers an on-screen copy-editing service for all ebook authors, which will be carried out by one of our experienced in-house editors. (The cost will depend upon your manuscript’s length.)

Professional Cover design (from £100)

The importance of a high-quality, eye-grabbing cover cannot be underestimated; it must achieve maximum impact at a glance. As with a book, cover design is important, as it is the only visual cue you are giving to a potential buyer.

Ebook cover design tends to be different to regular book cover design because of the limitations of the online sizing available with most e-retailers. Our team of in-house designers is experienced in making the most of the limited space available to give your ebook cover visual impact and attract attention. Using either your own image supplied or an image(s) bought from millions available at a discounted rate to our authors, our designers will produce a professional bespoke cover design for your ebook. .

Formatting and Conversion (from £110.00)

Matador ebooks are created in-house by experienced conversion staff. This ensures our ebooks are converted to the highest standard, and guarantees that the reader experience is the best it can be.

The two most common ebook formats are ePub and Amazon’s Kindle. Different formats are created in different ways. There are two main forms of ebook: reflowable (where text reflows with a different size screen), and fixed (where the text retains its format and does not reflow as the screen changes). The reflowable format is best for novels and books with few images. Fixed format is best for books with a lot of graphical content.

The cost of ebook conversion will depend upon the complexity of the book and its length. Creation of an ebook includes:

  • Formatting of final manuscript supplied ready for conversion
  • Conversion to the latest industry-standard ePub and Kindle ebook formats
  • In-house quality checks on a variety of ereaders and devices
  • E-proof file sent for author approval
Worldwide Distribution (£80)

Our authors benefit from our extensive distribution network in the UK and overseas. We make your ebook available through all the major ebook retailers, including Amazon, Apple, Nook, Kobo, Google, OverDrive and Scribd. We also offer distribution overseas through hundreds of e-retailers via our aggregators. In addition, we offer access to the huge ebook library market through our distribution links with wholesalers and specialist ebook suppliers.

Our ebook distribution service covers:

  • Distribution to ebook retailers and library suppliers worldwide
  • Secure Digital Rights Managed (DRM) files to minimise piracy
  • Inclusion of your ebook on our webshop, with links to key retailers for purchasing
  • 24/7 access to sales data via our website (NB. Not linked live to retailers)
  • Quarterly royalty statements and payment
Full Ebook Production and Distribution Service (from £380)

This includes pre-press and set-up, professional cover design, formatting and conversion to the latest industry-standard formats, and distribution via our worldwide network of retailers and libraries (as above).

In addition, this full service includes:

  • Working with key merchandising teams to try to arrange specific promotional opportunities with retailers
  • Social media posts on our Twitter and Facebook accounts to coincide with your ebook’s release
  • Ongoing post-publication support via phone and email, to arrange things like price-drops and discounts
  • An entry in our print and online Highlights magazine, sent to retailers each quarter.
Before
Finding Out More…
Every book is different, so we don’t have a “one-size-fits-all” price list. We prefer to look at every manuscript we’re asked to publish, so we can make sure we’re happy to publish it, and so that we can give an accurate written costing.

If you’re interested in getting a no-obligation written quotation from us, then please send us a copy of your manuscript. We’ll acknowledge receipt and get back to you within two working days.
Upload Manuscript


Before
Highlights Magazine
Our quarterly Highlights magazine features interviews with some of our author, extracts from forthcoming titles and details of books about to be released. The magazine is sent to retailers and book buyers, and is made available at events we attend. You can also view a copy online here.
View Online

Ebook Marketing

We offer an ebook marketing service designed to give your ebook the chance of being seen by journalists, bloggers and reviewers worldwide. The service includes an entry on NetGalley, the leading ebook media review service – where members worldwide can browse for ebooks by subject, publisher or keyword, and then request a review copy.

The aim of our ebook marketing service is to get reviews and feedback for your ebook, which we then encourage reviewers to leave on retailers’ sites, as the more reviews an ebook has, the earlier it appears in search results. Customers are also more likely to buy an ebook that has reviews. NetGalley members are often regular Goodreads/Amazon reviewers or have their own book blogs/bookstagram accounts, so they may also post reviews through those accounts. Feedback from NetGalley can also be used by you in your own marketing efforts.

Ebook marketing is undertaken around the time your ebook is released for sale, and is designed to work around the release of an ebook to retailers by our in-house production team, over a period of around six weeks.
If you are taking our Matador Media Marketing service for your printed book, you do not need to take our ebook marketing service.

  • Ebook Marketing
  • £350,00
  • An expertly prepared ebook listing on NetGalley.com, the leading ebook review site for librarians, publishers, reviewers and bloggers (the listing will be live for four weeks).
  • The creation of two promotional graphics for use on social media or in your own advertising efforts. These will be included on our own social media feeds (for a limited time) and be displayed on our stand at the London Book Fair.
  • An extensive online booklet looking at things you can do yourself to promote your ebook – alongside our marketing effort.
  • We follow up with reviewers who downloaded a copy of your ebook and encourage them to leave a review.
  • A full report at the end of the four week NetGalley period summarising all activity generated as a result of the listing, including number of download requests, feedback on the cover, reasons people gave for wanting to read the book, and a round-up of any reviews received so far.

Social Media Consultation

Social media is inescapable in the modern world and authors are finding they need an online presence to reach their readers and increase visibility. For many, however, social media like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram remain something of a mystery. For this reason, we offer a flexible menu of social media options that can be taken singly or grouped together for a wide range of complementary options.

Our three different social media consultation services will help you to get up and running on the three main social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram), by offering a one-to-one consultation with a member of the marketing team, based around your own needs and social media plans.

  • Facebook Tutorial
  • £200,00
  • Get your Facebook account up and running, or repurpose an existing account to promote your book, with the help of this service.
  • Up to one hour phone or video call tutorial with a member of the marketing team to help answer your questions and get you up to speed in using Facebook for promoting yourself as an author (we’ll ask you to fill in a short questionnaire before we chat to understand your aims and social media experience beforehand).
  • Access to our training video on how to set up a Facebook account.
  • A copy of our Getting Started on Social Media handbook to answer your questions and take you further.
  • General Social Media Consultation
  • £200,00
  • Assistance on the social media platform or platforms of your choice.
  • Up to one hour phone or video call tutorial with a member of the marketing team to help us answer your questions and get you up to speed in using your chosen social media platforms for promoting yourself as an author (we’ll ask you to fill in a short questionnaire before we chat to understand your aims and social media experience beforehand).
  • A copy of our Getting Started on Social Media handbook to answer your questions and take you further.
  • Twitter Account Setup
  • £250,00
  • If Twitter is a mystery to you, this service will help you get established quickly.
  • We set up a Twitter account for you – with bespoke graphics, banner and professionally written author biography.
  • We’ll get you started by ‘following’ relevant accounts and posting five tweets on your behalf over the first five days of the account being live. After which we hand the account over to you to run.
  • Access to our Getting Started on Social Media handbook to answer your questions and take you further.

Summary

The marketing of an ebook is largely something that happens online, as that is where ebooks are bought by readers.

Our ebook marketing services are designed to complement your own online marketing activities. Many online e-marketing activities can be undertaken by authors themselves at virtually no cost; our marketing service is designed to supply you with the information and resource links that you need to give your ebook marketing the edge, while we undertake other e-marketing activities for you that you would find it difficult to gain access to.

  • What Next?
  • So that we can confirm the cost of conversion, we need to see your manuscript. We can then send you a written quotation showing all of the costs involved, and your options for ebook only publication.

  • Call Megan or Stephanie to discuss your project (0116 279 2299).
  • Send a copy of your manuscript to us for a no-obligation quotation.
  • Or email it to us ([email protected]).
  • Upload Manuscript