By Kathleen Kaiser
One of the biggest mistakes I’ve found when working with self-published authors is that they don’t have the original high-resolution PDF for their book’s interior or the cover artwork files.
Why, you may ask, do I need those?
Because, first, you paid to have them designed, so they are your property. Some sleazy hybrid publishers charge you to design the book but claim ownership of the designs. NEVER agree to this clause. One client of mine was told he’d have to pay three times what he paid to have them created to get a copy of the PDF.
What if you don’t want to keep working with them? What if they aren’t paying you all your royalties? Or they go out of business? Who collects the money from sales? And where are your master files?
You can’t republish under your account without the original PDF for the interior and the cover. Finding a designer to change the copyright page in a PDF is easy. Besides, it’s your book, and you should have those files. Trying to get them back years later is a nightmare. Trust me, I’ve gone through it. Even a freelance designer might not keep files forever. Always secure the final PDF for the interior and cover.
Second, changes seem to be coming to the ebook world at Amazon. We are following this closely and will keep you updated. But for now, if Amazon KDP publishes your book, request the PDF so you can hold it. They aren’t a publisher, just a distributor, and KDP should be able to email you the files quickly. I suggest keeping them in a folder on your hard drive and flash drive you mark as DO NOT TRASH.
When Amazon finally killed off its terrible Mobi format for Kindle and moved to ePUB, many authors and designers were happy. However, from the rumors circulating since Amazon cut 1,400 jobs, mainly in the Kindle division, the new CEO doesn’t like the ROI (Return on Investment) on the Kindle. It may go away. What next, ebooks?
This means you might lose your sales channel if you only sell on Amazon and only with Mobi files.
So make a New Year’s resolution—get the master, high-resolution PDF for all your books. The safe and prepare yourself for change.
WPN will keep you informed about all the coming changes at Amazon in future newsletters.
