Last week, our ebook production and sales experts released a comprehensive guide on ebook errors to avoid, covering:

• Production issues
• Styling errors
• Sales mistakes
• Marketing pitfalls

"Ebook Errors: Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them" is available for immediate download when you sign up for Vook's weekly newsletter.

In the meantime, here's a sneak peek at common sales mistakes:

• Error: Not doing your distribution research. Without vendor contracts, e-retailers take a standard percent of royalties that can be confusing; rates and additional fees are based on the type of content and price you want to set. Be sure to read the fine print. You can read more about general distribution terms here or on Vook.com
  
  Third party vendor accounts with the e-retailers can reduce the royalty cut by a significant percent. Furthermore, a distribution service bypasses the hassle of signing up with each retailer separately. Good distribution services also give authors a means to track sales across all retailers.


• Error: Ignoring the power of previews. If your book doesn’t have reviews on sites like Amazon, or if you’re a first-time author, it’s essential to let shoppers preview your book before purchasing. While an ebook preview is one of the last details in the publishing process, it should not be an afterthought. Allowing shoppers to preview your eBook increases the chance of making the sale. Consider what you would do while shopping at a brick-and-mortar store. If you see an intriguing book by a first-time author with whom you’re not familiar, you likely read the first few paragraphs to get a feel for the writing. Give customers the same experience online with free previews, always leaving them wanting more. Check out the guide for examples for various genres include.


• Error: Not taking advantage of an e-retailer landing page. Make the most of the free landing pages that Amazon, iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, and other e-retailers provide. In addition to the book description (covered in the guide), include press and the best reader reviews as well as an author bio.


• Error: Not running price promotions. If you have the rights to price your own ebooks, don’t shun price promotions. Reducing the price, even lowering it to free temporarily, is a great way to increase sales in the long run. When ebooks are temporarily set to free, downloads will increase, moving your book further up the charts. Specifically, when Amazon downloads increase, the ebooks are more likely to be circulated in Amazon’s recommendation engine. You’re also more likely to get customer reviews on your ebooks’ landing pages. When the price promotion isn’t tied to a particular occasion (e.g. the book’s launch or a holiday sale), the duration should be one week or under.

Get the guide today and learn how Vook can build you an error-free ebook in days.