By Amanda Greenslade, Director

A potential new customer of ours has decided to go elsewhere, because she claims they can do what she needs for a much smaller price. The problem is, the customer is not comparing apples with apples.



I'm quite happy to be open and upfront about this because I don't feel threatened by the types of ebook conversion services that customers like this sometimes choose over ours. Maybe this discussion can help other authors decide, based on their own needs, what to do for their own publishing journey.

After all, our service is not for everyone. It is for those people who value human support, customer service, quality, creativity and thinking power, Ebook Designer's Touch(TM) and working with a small, cutting edge Australian business.

So here was my response:

I hear that you've decided to work with .... [other ebook publishing service]. Good luck to you and please keep us updated if you feel like it. We welcome any information about other methods of producing ebooks. There are many many ways to do it, and many many different businesses around the world offering it.

.... is not a competitor of ours. I can tell by the cheap prices and the inhuman nature of their website that this is an automated system utilising offshore workers. You will have to do all of your own management and project coordination, and they will not utilise any human creativity or thinking power on your books; they will just blat them through the system and back to you within a few blinks. We don't work like that at all.

However, if their system works for you, that is the most important thing. To match with your budget, needs and goals.

I wish you success.

It's also important to think critically about the royalties and/or net receipt split being offered. It can be difficult to get comparable data between ebook publishing services. That is why we have a training system for letting our authors know how their royalties are calculated. And we are up front about all our fees.

Every book is different and every author is different. Those of us who choose to play in the fields that are well tramped by much bigger businesses, have a lot of work to do, finding our way. I for one would not want to go it alone. I would value a team of local human beings I can go to for help and advice during my project, and afterwards.

Happy publishing!

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