Wide just got easier

[David VanDyke]

http://draft2digital.activehosted.com/lt.php?s=b184e1c4a294c0a7a0ac1cc71a830ade&i=129A618A6A712

That should be a link to the announcement "Draft2Digital now distributing to Google Play."

[Bill Hiatt]

It's about time!

That said, it doesn't sound as if D2D has a decent strategy for dealing with Google Play price matching. Hmmm....

[Jeff Tanyard]

Yeah, I saw that in my email and I just had to laugh.  I've been waiting forever for that deal to happen.  I'd finally accepted it was never to be, so I uploaded my stuff to Google Play via PublishDrive.  And then D2D breaks the news.

 

But it's all good.  I still love D2D, and PublishDrive is growing on me.  Réka was very helpful about fixing the blurb formatting on the product pages.

[Mammasan]

Why don't people just go direct with Google Play? Are they not accepting people now?

https://play.google.com/books/publish/?re=1&fbclid=IwAR2Kwx2A6M4DY-7hVke-eU_mxc62iuilaYvBJkYrs5LBZwxK6n9MjUA4IWk

[dgcasey]

Why don't people just go direct with Google Play? Are they not accepting people now?

https://play.google.com/books/publish/?re=1&fbclid=IwAR2Kwx2A6M4DY-7hVke-eU_mxc62iuilaYvBJkYrs5LBZwxK6n9MjUA4IWk

Because when they say a limited number of authors, they mean it. That page will disappear in the near future and signups with Google will cease.

[LilyBLily]

I've got a bunch of books on Google Play. They don't sell. Not a single sale since I uploaded them there despite various ads that could lead people to the site. But now that I have a permafree title I'm thinking, sure, I'll upload that one to Google Play via D2D--only it turns out I have to wait until D2D sends me a personal invitation. Oh, well.

[Mammasan]

Why don't people just go direct with Google Play? Are they not accepting people now?

https://play.google.com/books/publish/?re=1&fbclid=IwAR2Kwx2A6M4DY-7hVke-eU_mxc62iuilaYvBJkYrs5LBZwxK6n9MjUA4IWk

Because when they say a limited number of authors, they mean it. That page will disappear in the near future and signups with Google will cease.

I used that form to put my books up on Google Play back in 2017. It still works. They don't seem to be in too much of a rush to take it down.

[Bill Hiatt]

Why don't people just go direct with Google Play? Are they not accepting people now?

https://play.google.com/books/publish/?re=1&fbclid=IwAR2Kwx2A6M4DY-7hVke-eU_mxc62iuilaYvBJkYrs5LBZwxK6n9MjUA4IWk

Because when they say a limited number of authors, they mean it. That page will disappear in the near future and signups with Google will cease.

I used that form to put my books up on Google Play back in 2017. It still works. They don't seem to be in too much of a rush to take it down.

The reason for not going direct to Google Play was to avoid the weird discounting that can wreak havoc with price-matching.

PublishDrive will fiddle with your list until it ends up being what you want despite GP discounting. Streetlib has some ancient agreement with GP that keeps the discounting from happening (sort of like what Pronoun had). Yes, I know an author can make adjustments himself or herself to avoid the problem, but with lots of titles, that gets to be a pain. (I've also known people who had to make three or four attempts on one book before they got to the right price. There are tables over at the other place that show what price to put to get a specific retail price, but apparently, GP doesn't always follow exactly the same formula.)

Also, while going direct gets a higher royalty rate, some of us like the convenience of consolidating reporting into as few places as possible. If one isn't making a huge number of sales on GP, it's easier to use an aggregator.

[Gerri Attrick]

Easier indeed.

I’ve just had the email from D2D telling me I’m in for the Google Play beta. A couple of clicks later and my books are being published on that channel.

Methinks this could be an interesting ride/experiment.

Is anyone else distributing to GP this way?

[kdiem]

I'm pleased that D2D now does Google Play, even if I haven't gotten my invite yet.

Please correct me if I get this part wrong. The letter I got from D2D said we'd have to set a special "Wholesale price" for Google. I.E. Google discounting will apply.

I'd be happier if we didn't have to do the Google price-guess game, either because D2D handles it for us (like PublishDrive) or because D2D has a no-change agreement (like Streetlib). It's one thing for an author to fiddle with the price when you're direct and the change apparently shows up right away... but if you're going through D2D, you've got to wait for the price to show, then check it. And hope Amazon hasn't price matched while you were waiting.

[Maggie Ann]

It's my understanding they don't discount 99c books and most of my books are priced at 99c or free. Hopefully, D2D's suggested wholesale price will work with my higher priced books. Just have to wait and see.

[Bruce Fottler]

I've got a bunch of books on Google Play. They don't sell. Not a single sale since I uploaded them there despite various ads that could lead people to the site.

I went direct with Google Play and am having the same experience. Maybe we missed the secret marketing-boost code?   

[kdiem]

It's my understanding they don't discount 99c books and most of my books are priced at 99c or free. Hopefully, D2D's suggested wholesale price will work with my higher priced books. Just have to wait and see.

Let us know if the suggested prices work! It'd sure be a lot easier if D2D translates 4.99 or whatever to Google money.

[Bruce Fottler]

The reason for not going direct to Google Play was to avoid the weird discounting that can wreak havoc with price-matching.

There's a great GP pricing guide here: https://blairbabylon.com/2018/09/tks-google-play-uber-post/.

[Ros]

The reason for not going direct to Google Play was to avoid the weird discounting that can wreak havoc with price-matching.

There's a great GP pricing guide here: https://blairbabylon.com/2018/09/tks-google-play-uber-post/.

It's a good approximation, but I notice those quoted prices and discounts aren't accurate for my GBP price points. In other words, Google's discounting isn't consistent. I don't do a lot over on GP, and the weird discounting has a lot to answer for in that regard. It's fine if you want to give away freebies and/or reach a much more international audience.

[notthatamanda]

The reason for not going direct to Google Play was to avoid the weird discounting that can wreak havoc with price-matching.

There's a great GP pricing guide here: https://blairbabylon.com/2018/09/tks-google-play-uber-post/.

It's a good approximation, but I notice those quoted prices and discounts aren't accurate for my GBP price points. In other words, Google's discounting isn't consistent. I don't do a lot over on GP, and the weird discounting has a lot to answer for in that regard. It's fine if you want to give away freebies and/or reach a much more international audience.

They add tax (Vax?) into the pricing, after the discount, so it gets a little funky.  You can only see pricing in your country.  I had to chat via the help to have them check my prices (in UK, CAN, AU & GB) for my bookbub, but there was no wait and they were nice about it.  In the US I just change the price and check it immediately.  Their updates happen pretty fast, though last time it seemed a little slower.

I get next to no sales there either.  Their algos show the readers stuff based on what they think will best appeal to them (that's what the email I got when I asked said).  There seems to be a bias towards books with a lot of reviews, best I can tell.

[munboy]

Why don't people just go direct with Google Play? Are they not accepting people now?

https://play.google.com/books/publish/?re=1&fbclid=IwAR2Kwx2A6M4DY-7hVke-eU_mxc62iuilaYvBJkYrs5LBZwxK6n9MjUA4IWk

Because when they say a limited number of authors, they mean it. That page will disappear in the near future and signups with Google will cease.

They mean it's open to a limited number of authors at a time. When I decided to go wide with one of my series, it was closed to new signups. A week later, it was open and within 24 hours, I was on. If it's closed, just try again later.

[Post-Crisis D]

Nothing makes wide easier than plenty of carbs!

[OfficialEthanJ]

Nothing makes wide easier than plenty of carbs!

Or muscle relaxant!





Ahem. I'm told.

[munboy]

Nothing makes wide easier than plenty of carbs!

My waistline agrees.