More Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Information...

Following on from my last post, writer Jay Mandal has kindly been giving me some further information and links-which has helped a great deal as I've been having a little computer trouble this week.

Jay's earlier books were made available as digital downloads (as well as paperbacks) from his publisher at a time when e-books were still unfamiliar to many readers. One of his stories has been included in each of the Best Gay Romance anthologies (2009 and 2010 are both available on Kindle) 2011 is currently in paperback.

Jay is a whizz at remembering information and finding links, so a big thank you from me...

So down to facts.

Whether you're buying an e-book from a publisher or setting one up for sale on Kindle Direct, price matters, it can be the difference between making sales and not selling at all.
Unlike the paper version, e-books are subject to VAT at 20% - so Amazon will put the VAT onto the price you set, you don't need to do that yourself, but you do need to remember it will be added.

In another post  this year I mentioned that market survey company Mintel had asked about e-book pricing in December 2010 and found :-

"(For anyone thinking about pricing of their e-books) those who expected to pay less-for an e-book-preferred a price of £3 to £6, while existing e-reader owners expected to pay £6 to £10."

Royalties are the big advantage of KDP and selling to the US, UK or CAN brings a 70% royalty, while other countries will bring a 35% royalty.
As each book is going to be individual in size and price here (scroll down for the GBP list) and here are a couple of useful links to read.

We've all heard the saying about the only two things in life that are certain, are death and taxes, well with KDP paying attention to taxes is important.

As a UK taxpayer, you'll obviously declare your income to HMRC, but unless you take action you could find yourself paying into the American tax system too.

If you're on Facebook then you may find it useful to find writer Ali Cooper who has just completed the paperwork to avoid the IRS taking that 30% from her kindle earnings. Her simple guide for UK authors to sort out US tax appeared on the 19th March 2011 at 16:22.

It is a three stage process and does require getting appropriate paperwork, proving identity and some expense, but if you're going to be saving 30% of your earnings it is probably worth it!

But do remember it may not be right for everyone, it will depend upon your own tax situation- so investigate thoroughly first.

There is an online form for contacting the IRS- Help With Tax Questions for International Taxpayers

I believe this system can also be used if you are resident in the UK and have solid books released and sold in the US. I'm not certain if it also applies to sales in US magazines, so if someone knows the answer to this please let me know so it can be passed on.

There's a lot more that could be talked about, but too much overloads the brain, so I'll stop there...