So I'm researching options. Smashwords is one. Book View Cafe might be another, if they accept me. Once they're in eBook form, I think I can put them directly on Amazon? I'm figuring out the technical aspects, ugh.
I'm also thinking about what might make good books, and for how much. I'm thinking I'll charge $4.99 for the eBook of Torn Shapes -- it was around $10 originally, and while you can buy used copies for less now, there aren't so many available. Does that sound reasonable? For 130 pages, about 20 poems and 20 very short stories.
It's going to be a pain to put together that one -- the only file I have is in .ftm format -- I'm not even sure what that is, and I'm pretty sure I don't have the program that runs it. So I may have to take a copy of the physical book, and then try to recreate it from the original individual story and poem files. It won't have Tracy Lee's photos either, which is a shame, but on the other hand, if I included them, I'd have to get her permission and then figure out how to pay her royalties, which is more complicated than I can cope with right now, I think.
I'm also planning to do some other little books. Booklets? The two sequel stories to Bodies in Motion, paired for 99 cents. Five children's stories, also for 99 cents. My SF/F stories -- I have at least 4 I'm happy with, and there may be more -- I need to go through and look. So price will be determined based on how many stories are in there, but I'm guessing it'll be somewhere between $2 - $5.
Then there's the erotica -- there's a lot of that if I include it all; maybe I should break it up into themed collections of some kind? Is it worth putting the queer stories in a separate collection of their own? Would there be anyone who'd only want those stories? Or only straight stories? I'm not sure.
And would anyone be interested in the nonfiction? There's half a dozen essays and things, covering a range of topics, from sex to race to nationalism.
And then there are the porn novellas I wrote for Puritan, about 9000 words each; I think they'd make cute little ebooks for 99 cents each, but I'd have to find them again. I'm not sure I have digital copies anymore; I hope I have print ones.
Oof -- it feels like a lot of work. And I'm not sure people are interested. It would really help if folks could respond and let me know what they'd like to see as eBooks. If no one responds, then maybe I'll just shelve this project for a few more years.
Mary Anne — I’ve put up all my backlist, as well as a lot of new stuff, online. (http://www.knottedroadpress.com/catalogue-all-fiction/ for everything.) My suggestions:
Do it yourself. It’s really much easier than it seems.
Post stuff to: Smashwords, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.
As for pricing, I use these guidelines:
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=6818
Then for print versions (remember, most people still read via print, NOT electronic) I use CreateSpace. If you’re going to be doing a lot of print, you’ll want to invest in the software (I use InDesign.) If you’re only going to do a few, you can just use their Word templates (or do a search, people have created and posted templates for other word processors.)
Best of luck, and feel free to ping me if you have more questions.
Leah
PS. Going to a Clarion West party tonight! I saw Nicola at last week’s party.
Thanks, Leah! I’m not doing any print right now, but maybe later… I did use CreateSpace for the one print book my press published, though it was a long time ago. 🙂
CreateSpace has changed significantly, and is so much easier to use, as well as faster and more reliable. I’ve been using them for about a year, and it’s just gotten better and better in that short time frame.
Best of luck with everything!