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Apr 20
Love2

A new guide to setting up a high-performance virtual office

By Blog

Today i30 Media Corp., the publisher of In 30 Minutes guides, announces the release of a new book by award-winning author Melanie Pinola: The Successful Virtual Office In 30 Minutes: Best practices, tools, and setup tips for your home office, coworking space, or mobile office.

Virtual Office setup guideThis quick guide is intended to help virtual workers of all stripes (telecommuters, freelancers, independent professionals, entrepreneurs, etc.) set up and maintain a high-performance virtual office. Just as Pinola’s first book, LinkedIn In 30 Minutes, helped people supercharge their LinkedIn profiles and network more effectively, her new book about virtual offices makes it easy for everyone from newbies to experienced telecommuters to leverage new technologies and ways of working to achieve more.

Pinola is a true expert when it comes to this mode of work. Not only has she been working virtually since the 1990s, she’s written about it for Lifehacker and serves as the Mobile Office Expert for About.com. Jessica Lipnack, the author of Virtual Teams and The Age of the Network, calls The Successful Virtual Office In 30 Minutes a “thoroughly useful compendium of tips and tools” for working virtually.

“Once one virtual team member is remote, all members are,” Lipnack notes. “Very little work gets done today without virtual teaming, which means there’s a huge market for this helpful book.”

Why virtual offices are taking the world by storm

Virtual offices represent a huge shift in the way people get work done. If your job takes place in front of a computer screen, chances are you can work from practically anywhere, whether you’re on a beach in Bali, working out of a home office, or setting up shop in a downtown coworking space. According to one estimate published in the Journal of Labor Research, 65 percent of all jobs are amendable to at least part-time telework. In the United States alone, more than 30 million people are already working remotely on a part-time or full-time basis.

The Successful Virtual Office In 30 Minutes addresses everything from the mindset of working remotely to the practical tools and services virtual workers can leverage. Topics include:

Finding the best place to work and creating an efficient workspace (Chapter 1)

  • Recommendations for setting up the ideal virtual office, based on the latest research.
  • How to use alternative offices such as coffee shops and libraries to get more done.
  • Four elements of a productive office.
  • Ergonomics, or how to stay healthy at your desk.
  • Essential supplies for your mobile office.

Learning strategies to help you work more effectively on your own and as a virtual team member (Chapters 2 & 3)

  • How to ward off roommates, spouses, children, pets, phone calls, and other daily distractions.
  • Crucial time-management tips to start and end your day.
  • How to establish a rapport with virtual team members.
  • Best practices for effective communication.
  • Dealing with coworkers who don’t appreciate virtual work.
  • How to cope with isolation.

Using technology to help you stay productive and connected (Chapter 4)

  • The best apps for real-time communication and collaboration.
  • Software to keep distractions at bay.
  • The most important products for securing your digital life.

Chapter 4 is titled “Top Tech Tools to help you work smarter, not harder,” and includes more than 30 software programs, apps, and special services that Pinola recommends. They include everything from 1Password, a tool that stores passwords in an encrypted database, to Zapier, an application that automates repetitive tasks. You can see the full list here or check out some of the tools that are described in more detail on the blog, including MindMeister (sponsored post).

One of the most interesting sections of The Successful Virtual Office In 30 Minutes covers the social aspects of working remotely. It can be lonely and isolating. There are lots of online tools that can help with this. Pinola cites Slack, Webex, and LinkedIn Groups. Some remote workers and entrepreneurs turn to coworking spaces (the guide mentions Regus, WeWork, Desksnear.me, and a cool Wi-fi location app called Cubefree). But the author goes deep in her coverage of the social dynamic, with recommendations relating to family members, resentful colleagues, and managers of virtual teams.

The Successful Virtual Office In 30 Minutes is available today in a variety of formats. Buy the Kindle and paperback edition on Amazon, the iBooks edition for the iPad and iPhone, the Google Play edition for Android devices, and the Nook book. There is also a PDF edition.

For more information, be sure to visit the official website for the virtual office guide, or email info@in30minutes.com.

Mar 21
Love6

How to file a DMCA takedown request to remove pirated ebooks from Google

By Blog

This week, I spent several hours dealing with sites that illegally post pirated copies of In 30 Minutes ebooks, allowing people to download them for free (or for an illicit fee, none of which goes back to the authors). Ebook piracy not only takes money away from the authors who created the content, pirate sites can sometimes outrank legitimate sources of ebooks on Google and other search engines. It’s almost impossible to remove the content from the torrent sites that host the pirated content, but there are ways to take the fight further up the food chain using a standard DMCA takedown request (DMCA stands for digital millennium copyright act):

  1. Filing a DMCA takedown request with the sites that link to the torrents
  2. Filing a DMCA takedown request with the hosting companies of the sites that link to the torrents
  3. Asking Google to remove references in Google Search by filing DMCA notices

I’m not going to go deeply into what the DMCA is or how it works, but for the sake of this post it gives limited legal rights to authors and publishers who have discovered unauthorized copies of their ebooks (ePub, mobi, or PDF) floating around the Internet. It can also be used to fight bogus “bloggers” who take pirated content and use the text and images for blog posts beyond what Fair Use would allow. Unfortunately, the DMCA can be abused, and I have actually seen cases of authors being hit by bogus DMCA claims by pirates for their own works, as if the pirates had created the ebook!

Why send a DMCA takedown request to Google?

This short tutorial concerns how authors can use a standard DMCA takedown request to fight ebook pirates. I’ve found it’s very difficult to ask the sites themselves to comply — even though many of them contain “DMCA” links which supposedly enable copyright holders to file a DMCA takedown request, half the time the pages lead to 404 errors or dead email addresses. The other half have working email addresses or Web forms, but many of them don’t result in takedowns either. Filing DMCA notices with the registrar or hosting company is also problematic — registrars want nothing to do with copyright disputes, and the hosting company is often hard to identify or claim they can’t do anything (this is particularly true for overseas domains).

That leaves Google. The idea here is if you can remove a reference to a pirate site from Google search, it not only reduces the likelihood of the pirated content being downloaded, it hits the offending site where it hurts by reducing traffic and advertising impressions.

The easy way to identify offending content is to search Google for the title of the book and scroll through the results. You can also set up a Google Alert to automatically mail newly indexed content that features the name of your book. Here’s what happened when I searched for the PDF edition of my quick Excel guide:

Google DMCA takedown request pirated ebooks

The first two results lead to sites that link to pirated copies. They feature unauthorized use of copyrighted content, including descriptions and cover images. They push down links to authorized sites where readers can purchase the guide, including the official Excel Basics In 30 Minutes website. The pirate links also expose readers to potential computer hazards, including malware and other scams.

How to file a DMCA takedown request with Google

How can authors or publishers ask Google to remove these results from Web search? Use the special Google form at http://support.google.com/legal/contact/lr_dmca?&product=websearch. The form asks you to identify yourself, to describe the content in question, to include links to legitimate versions of the book or ebook, and then list the offending links. You have to swear to the following:

  1. I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials described above as allegedly infringing is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
  2. The information in this notification is accurate and I swear, under penalty of perjury, that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Note that your name and complaint may also be submitted to the Chilling Effects project, meaning that it will be publicly available. This could be a concern for authors who use pen names.

Because I usually have to file the same type of complaint against different parties, I use a a DMCA takedown request template and copy and paste the contents into the form, depending on the title being infringed and the content that has been used without permission:

I am the author and publisher of [TITLE OF BOOK]. This is an ebook and paperback (ISBN: [ISBN NUMBER GOES HERE]) that is about [NUMBER] pages long. My company [NAME OF PUBLISHER] holds all rights to this work, including text, logos, and cover images.

The book description and cover image have been appropriated without my permission on the website [WEBSITE DOMAIN] and subsequently appear in Google search results. The site further contains links to download unauthorized copies of the work.

I also have prepared links of legitimate versions of the content to paste into the form (e.g., official website, Amazon, Google Play, Google Books, etc.).

Filing a DMCA takedown request takes about 2 minutes using the template. Google usually responds quickly, although in some instances I have had to follow up with additional information (this is often the case for bloggers who are republishing scraped ebook content). For people with Google Webmaster Tool accounts, you can review the status of all DMCA takedown requests here.

Do you have problems with ebook pirates? How have you dealt with the pirates? Share your story in the comments below.

Dec 03
Love2

Does a free ebook download help extend a book’s longevity?

By Industry

Higher Order PerlProgrammer and author Mark Jason Dominus has written a blog post about an unusual publishing arrangement he has with publisher Morgan Kaufmann. Ten years ago, Morgan Kaufmann published his book Higher Order Perl. The HOP book is still available as a new paperback on Amazon for $67, and as a Kindle download for $47. But Dominus also arranged to have the book available as a free ebook download from his website.

Many authors and publishers would question this arrangement, but it’s worked well for the author, who wanted to get his book out to as wide an audience as possible, as well as the publisher, who the author says has done quite well.

Dominus also talks about why the book has been in print for so long. Remember, this isn’t fiction — this is a technical book in a very fast-moving field. He points out that many computer books disappear after just six months, but his has been around for a decade. He says:

“Part of this is that it’s an unusually good book. But I think the longevity is partly because it is available as a free download. Imagine that person A asks a question on an Internet forum, and person B says that HOP has a section that could help with the question. If B wants to follow up, they now must find a copy of HOP. If the book is out of print, this can be difficult. It may not be in the library; it almost certainly isn’t in the bookstore. Used copies may be available, but you have to order them and have them shipped, and if you don’t like it once it arrives, you are stuck with it.”

The free ebook download certainly helps keep it relevant and alive. In my opinion, there are other factors at work. They include:

  1. A relatively high number of professional reviews and reviews from experts in the field
  2. A moderate number of great reader reviews, including many “Verified Purchases” on Amazon
  3. Availability of new copies of the book, which signals the content is probably still relevant/not obsolete and may also indicate it’s a classic/foundation title considering how long it’s been in print.
  4. A solid online presence, including the product website that Dominus created as well as a Wikipedia page.

Regarding the convenience issue that he brought up: These days, it’s possible to buy a new book online and return it or resell it later (as 63 other owners are doing right now on the Amazon U.S. site). It’s a pain to list it and handle the packing, but so is driving to a bookstore to bring back a return.

But I would also like to talk about the effectiveness of having a free book download. Free titles are indeed very convenient for those who are unable/unwilling to purchase the print edition, but in my experience they are less likely to be read. I currently have a free download on Amazon — Personal Finance for Beginners In 30 Minutes, Volume 1. It’s been downloaded thousands of times, but through various mechanisms (including reviews, follow-on sales of the 2nd volume, clicks to the website from the ebook edition, etc.) I have determined it’s seldom read. I think many free ebooks and PDFs end up on people’s devices and are never opened because of a lack of time and all of the other free content that’s available out there.

As an author or publisher, what’s your take on having a free ebook download? As a reader, do you read all of the free ebooks available on Amazon and elsewhere? Comments are welcome.

Jul 20
Love3

Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited subscription plan screws self-published authors

By Blog, Industry

Amazon just announced its Kindle Unlimited subscription plan for ebooks, and boy, does it look great for readers and traditionally published authors. Readers get access to hundreds of thousands of titles for a low monthly price of $10. If you’re a big-name publisher, traditionally published author, or an author published through an Amazon imprint, the terms are great for you, too, according to Publisher’s Marketplace. As long as a reader reads just 10% of your book, you get 100% of what you would get as if the book were a standalone download . Competing subscription plans, such as the one offered by Scribd, don’t come close.

Sounds great, doesn’t it?

Wait a minute. What’s the payout for authors and publishers who are using Amazon’s exclusive self-publishing platform, KDP Select?

Well, you are out of luck, because Amazon’s terms aren’t nearly as generous. I quote from the email Amazon out to KDP members last week:

KDP authors and publishers who enroll their books with U.S. rights in KDP Select are automatically enrolled in Kindle Unlimited. Inclusion in Kindle Unlimited can help drive discovery of your book, and when your book is accessed and read past 10% you will earn a share of the KDP Select global fund. For the month of July we have added $800,000 to the KDP Select global fund bringing the total to $2 million.

In other words, self-published authors in KDP Select are getting paid … who knows? It’s certainly not the 100% enjoyed by traditional publishers and authors on Amazon imprints. It can’t even come close to the 70% that all KDP authors (including those who are not in KDP Select) normally get for a single digital purchase of their book, because the “global fund” simply isn’t big enough to cover subscription reads and the free reads that are part of other KDP Select promotions.

So we have a situation in which one group of authors is getting the gold standard — 100% of what they would get as if they sold the book individually. And then there are the self-published authors in KDP Select, who are providing the bulk of the current Kindle Unlimited catalogue. They are getting some lesser fraction and cannibalizing full-priced digital downloads to boot. On Kboards, some of them have begun to mildly object to this unfair treatment, which surprises me. Self-published authors are getting screwed and they should be vociferously protesting the second-class treatment and terrible terms offered by Amazon.

KDP Select has other issues, too. As described in “Is KDP Select worth it?”, I dropped out of KDP Select after running some experiments and finding paltry sales and reimbursements, and a negligible rankings boost. I also object to the monopolistic exclusivity requirements — authors in KDP Select cannot publish their book on any other platform thereby limiting the ability of their books to reach audiences on those other platforms. The new subscription plan and its lopsided reimbursement plan gives me another reason to steer clear of the plan — and warn other self-published authors to consider doing the same.

Image: The email I received from Amazon about the Kindle Unlimited subscription program:

Kindle Unlimited terms for authors

Jun 02
Love1

Why I like the KBoards publishing community

By Blog

Angela Bole, the executive director of the Independent Book Publishers Association, recently asked readers of the IBPA Independent magazine about how communities have helped connect them with other authors and independent publishers. It’s a great question, and prompted me to write this post about the KBoards online community.

Soon after I began self-publishing in the summer of 2012, I discovered the KBoards forum (then called “Kindle Boards”). I liked the forum, in particular the subsection called “Writers’ Cafe”, because it seemed very inclusive toward newcomers such as myself, yet included some obviously extremely experienced self-publishers, including those who had/have been published “traditionally”, as well as people offering specific services such as editing or cover design. Smashwords founder Mark Coker even drops in from time to time.

Kboards was and still is very easy for anyone to ask a question about “how to do X” or “this is my experience with Y” and get some great feedback. I’ve been the beneficiary of advice about how to handle certain issues (such as a thread I started about publishing a 2nd edition on Amazon KDP) and regularly turn to a helpful guide that another KBer wrote about setting prices in Google Play, after she reverse-engineered Google’s automatic “discount”! Conversely, I’ve helped others with questions about ISBNs, WordPress themes, POD image quality, iBooks Author, and many other issues. That sense of wanting to “help each other out” is what makes KBoards such a valuable community.

One other aspect of KBoards that I enjoy is that it doesn’t exclude people by genre or personal background. I publish the In 30 Minutes series of how-to guides and can share advice and opinions with writers from all over the world and from all kinds of genres. It’s very eye-opening in that respect — for instance, I had no idea about the troubles some foreign authors have encountered when it comes to using U.S.-based publishing services.

The other type of community that I would like to interact with is the community of readers. I have been able to do this to a limited extent through Twitter and online reviews, but it’s very fleeting. At some point I may start an online community on in30minutes.com (for instance, a place where readers can share tips or ask questions) but that’s a product for later this year.