US earnings now paid into UK bank accounts and spell check on Kindle

Feb 11, 2013 by admin

US Earnings for UK authors

I’m in the process of setting up a new book for a client and logged onto Kindle today to see that they now allow US $ earnings to be paid by  electronic funds transfer direct into a UK bank.  Despite reading the Kindle newsletter when it comes out I seem to have missed this announcement.

It’s great to see that Kindle have finally caught up and are giving UK authors the same ease of receiving their royalties as their partner firm Createspace.

Of course it now means that I went through the whole rigmarole of obtaining a US bank account via Payoneer in vain.

Spell check now part of the verification process

I also notice that on loading a new book to Kindle they now do a spell check.  It’s a nice added touch although I am unsure that I trust the speed it carried the check out at.  It did pull up an error as it didn’t recognise one of the character names.  It’s a nice touch although it will never be a replacement for proof reading your books before you load them.  I’ve had to abandon reading several books on Kindle due to formatting and spelling errors in the past.  The odd one I could excuse but some books look like they’ve never been checked.

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UK authors get your US$ Kindle Earnings more quickly with Payoneer

Dec 27, 2012 by admin

I don’t know about you but I find the whole US royalty situation quite confusing for UK authors.  For example Smashwords pays out quarterly via Paypal, Createspace pays out monthly to a UK bank account but Kindle pays out a month in arrears to a UK bank account for your UK earnings but unless you have a US bank account you have to wait till you’ve amassed $100 in US royalties then receive a cheque in US$ via the post.

Now I am lucky enough to have finally hit the magic $100 royalty figure but am I really lucky? I’ve had to wait a long time to accrue that much in US earnings, and now I have received my cheque I have two problems.

1. They withheld tax – so a cheque that should have been around $146 came for just over $100 (they don’t tell you it’s $100 after tax you have to accrue by the way). The problem being I have a US tax ID so nothing should have been withheld.
2. The cheque is in US$ so I have to now pay to have it converted.  Luckily my business account is with HSBC and they accept US$ but the fee for converting is £6.00 and I have to go to the branch as I have to make sure I countersign the cheque exactly in the right place.

Most of my books sell in the UK market at the moment, but that doesn’t stop me wanting to make sure I have a payment solution set up for when they do start to sell in the USA.  I did a lot of research and found a prepaid Mastercard that comes with a payment solution which allows me to have a US bank sort code and account number that is accepted by Kindle.  This means that as long as I earn a minimum of $10 my US earnings now automatically go on to my prepaid Mastercard.

So how do you get one of these? Visit the Payoneer website (affiliate link).

I signed up on the 5th December and was approved the same day.  By the 11th December I had received my first payment from Kindle onto the card less a 1% fee (a partial refund of the withheld tax) and the week before Christmas I actually received the card itself all the way from the States, despite the Christmas post.

I used it online today on an online transaction in US$ and it went through as easily as any other credit card.  I can also go to any UK cash machine and withdraw funds as well subject to a fee which I think is around $3.

Remember this is a prepaid card rather than a credit card though so you can’t use it if you don’t have sufficient funds.

The whole process was extremely simple to sign up for.  I have an online account where I can view transactions that have occurred and see my current balance at any time, and of course I don’t have to wait for my earnings to accrue and then have the hassle of trying to bank a US$ cheque.  The next post brought a cheque for $12 being the balance of the withheld tax, which means I will be lucky to have a £1 left after the £6 fee and the conversion rate!  Not to mention the hour and a half of working time I’ll lose making a special trip to the bank so this prepaid card idea is much more convenient for me.

I’d be interested to hear from anyone else who has found the Payoneer service useful.

If you haven’t yet found out how to get your own US Tax ID to avoid withholding tax check out my earlier blog post on the subject.

Update February 2013

Kindle now allow UK authors to receive their US earnings into their UK Bank Account.  However, check the settings on your Kindle account as it deleted my US bank account and set me back to Cheque.

 

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The Kindle Fire is here but should I buy it?

Sep 12, 2012 by admin

Here at HLS Publishing Solutions I’m facing a huge dilemma!  The plan was to ugrade the trusty iPad 1 to a shiny new iPad 3 before Christmas, but the guys at Amazon have just thrown a spanner in the works in the shape of the all new Kindle Fire which is available for pre-order now and is released on October 25th.

So why the dilemma? I already own a traditional Kindle alongside my iPad but this new device promises so much more:

• 1280×800 HD display with polarising filter and anti-glare technology for rich colour and deep contrast from any viewing angle
• Custom Dolby audio and dual-driver stereo speakers for immersive, virtual surround sound
• World’s first tablet with dual antenna, dual-band Wi-Fi for ultra-fast downloads and HD streaming
• High performance 1.2 Ghz dual-core processor with Imagination PowerVR 3D graphics core for fast and fluid performance
• Thin, light, and portable design that’s easy to hold in one hand
• Access to over 22 million movies, TV shows, songs, books, and magazines, plus tens of thousands of popular apps and games such as Cut the Rope HD, Angry Birds Space HD, Skyscanner, Jamie’s 20-minute meals and Auto Trader
• One-month free trial of LOVEFiLM Instant video streaming for unlimited access to thousands of movies and TV series.
• Ultra-fast web browsing and e-mail over built-in Wi-Fi, with integrated support for Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, and more, as well as Exchange calendar, contacts, and email
• Free Skype-to-Skype video calls with front facing HD camera
• Free unlimited cloud storage for all your Amazon content
• Includes special offers personalised for you and sponsored screensavers

It’s small, it’s going to be light and portable, its going to integrate with Facebook and Gmail, it can do Skype, I can even watch my Lovefilm movies on it.

So what’s the downside? I strongly suspect that it will be even easier for me to buy content from Amazon, bad enough their iPad app only requires a couple of clicks before new products are winging their way to my letter box this new gadget is going to give me flashy screen reminders of new items that may entice me, leaving weak willed me with even more temptation.

Now my daughter will be gutted if I don’t upgrade the iPad as I had promised the old one to her, but would she be better with the new Kindle Fire instead? The 16gb HD version won’t cost much more than the value I’d get for the iPad if I sold it, although of course I want the full 32gb HD version because I am greedy like that!

Part of me says that the Kindle Fire is an essential investment since I publish so many books to Kindle and that therefore I can justify upgrading the iPad still as well.

What would you do?

 

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Are you missing out on book signings because you have a Kindle?

Sep 10, 2012 by admin

There’s something special about buying a book and having the author dedicate it for you, I’ve been honoured myself by having had a few requests for me to sign copies of my books.  However, as a dedicated Kindle reader this does present a problem, do I get them to sign in indelible pen on my Kindle cover or do I just do without?  There’s also the problem that some of the authors I would like to sign my books live in a different country.

Now there is a solution thanks to the guys over at Kindlegraph.  As an author you can sign up and accept requests for dedications from your Kindle readers, and as a Kindle owner you can search for your favourite author and ask them to sign your book.

You will then receive a document direct to your Kindle from the author, something you can keep forever.

Some of our authors are already on there but do let us know if we need to chase the others up, I’ve a couple of favourite authors who I talk to on Twitter who I would love to sign up for this service.  If you’d like one of my books signed then click on the image below.

What book would you like to get signed by the author and why?

 

 

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Kindle and why you should publish on it

Apr 11, 2012 by admin

I wrote a post on my personal website last year called 10 Reasons to get a Kindle and I still think that the Kindle is a fantastic invention.  I also think that there is no reason why you shouldn’t write for Kindle and wrote a 30 Day Challenge all about publishing your own work on Kindle..

The introduction of the new Kindle Fire means that the market for Kindle books is going to expand rapidly.  Not only will your work be available in the Amazon store but the format will also be available to smart phone readers and  on the PC and Mac.

You may have a print book or PDF book already.  Publishing this on Kindle broadens your audience.  Whilst many still like a good old fashioned book in their hand, there are a growing number of people who love the convenience and ease of reading a book on a Kindle.  It’s light, it’s portable and you can have your entire library in your bag.  It’s a godsend for an avid reader going on holiday, and a blessing for your luggage allowance as well.

Once you’ve done the hard part and published your book on Kindle it’s a case of sitting back and reaping the benefits.  Okay you will have to promote your book, but, once the initial work is done Amazon pay your commission direct to your bank account for you every month.  What could be simpler.

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