Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Going to Google

I was a bit reluctant to publish my books on Google Play because I'd heard it was complicated and that they tend to discount unexpectedly, which can create havoc on Amazon if they price match when you don't want them to. However, I found a great checklist that guides you through the process. It's not that hard, but to me, it's strange how much Google uses ISBNs to identify books. You start the process by entering an ISBN, and you have to use the ISBN as part of the file name(s).

 Lyon's Legacy is live on Google Play, and Twinned Universes went live this morning. Unfortunately, I do have to price my books higher on Google to get around the random discounting. Lyon's Legacy is $0.99 on Google (I don't think they discount this price), and Twinned Universes is $3.49 but discounted to $2.65. EDIT: After raising the Google price to $3.99, they discounted TU to $3.03. That seems reasonably close to Amazon's price of $2.99, and I will say Google was very fast about updating the price.

As for my other books, Seasons' Beginnings will be coming out of Select next week, and I plan to distribute it via Draft 2 Digital and Google Play. The sequel, Scattered Seasons, will also get wide distribution. I might even put my poetry book on Google Play because, hey, why not?

Do you buy books on your phone? If you do, do you use an e-reader app or buy from Google Play?

6 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I admit I've never purchased a book or anything from Google Play. Random discounting doesn't sound very fair.

Author R. Mac Wheeler said...

I remember using expletives when I read the Google agreement, and the directions to publish. I'll stick with the top two portals. It isn't like brick n mortar, and you have to be everywhere to be convenient for the customer. All they need is mobi and epub. Are there any other 'real' formats out there to worry about? (on an ipad...you can you either the kindle or nook reader...so...)

Andrew Leon said...

No phone, but I probably wouldn't use it for that if I had one.

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan said...

Alex, I prefer buying books from Amazon. Occasionally I buy from Smashwords too, but they're less convenient.

Mac, I think Smashwords provides books in eight different formats, though I don't remember what they all are. If you have PDF, mobi, and epub, that seems to cover the basics.

Andrew, I do occasionally read on my phone using the Kindle app, but I don't buy books on Google Play. That said, the reason I decided to use Google Play is to reach as many people as I can. Amazon is definitely my biggest market, but I don't want to put all of my eggs in their basket either.

Crystal Collier said...

Google play scares me. I've heard things. (Oooh! Things.) Actually, I've heard stories of pirating and the like, but I admit, I've never attempted to check it out myself. I'll ask my publisher about it.

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan said...

I think pirating can happen no matter where you publish, Crystal. I don't even bother with DRM on my books; I think it aggravates customers more than it impedes pirates. Hopefully if I keep my prices reasonable, there will be less temptation to pirate my work.

Site Meter