now available is the audiobook version of “ciao bella”, written and narrated by yours truly.
traveling alone in Italy, i was lost and ill-prepared when i met the most beautiful woman i've ever seen.
written and narrated by paul andrew skidmore
why i’m selling on Gumroad
i put “kindling” up on audible not too long ago. since then, i uploaded “ciao bella”, but the review process took many months (affected by the pandemic), only to be refused for a silly technical issue. i fixed it, resubmitted, waited weeks, and am still being refused for the same silly issue.
so i’m trying a new platform, Gumroad. Gumroad takes a MUCH smaller percentage of the purchase, and there’s no weeks-long approval process. that means i can sell it directly to you right away.
so here it is!
Gumroad also has a “name your price” option. i’ve set a minimum and a suggested price, but you’re welcome to put in your own. if this experience goes well, i may move all of my products to it.
…and the ebook, too!
i’ve also added the “ciao bella” ebook to Gumroad. same price for you, but i keep a larger portion of the sale. and i have had some friends say the price is too low, so the “name your price” option keeps them happy (and me too!).
the benefit of being on amazon is the recommendation algorithm, but my readership is currently so small, i’m not sure that’s a benefit yet. if i have to get everyone to my book on my own, i might as well direct people to a place where i can publish right away and keep larger percentage of the sale.
the paperback is on amazon, and the ebooks remain on Apple Books and amazon kindle if you’d prefer to buy them there.
are there downsides?
potential downside is that you’re downloading files and not adding something to a catalog in a native app like amazon kindle or Apple Books.
how will a mobile listener listen to the mp3s? will they hate it? will a typical reader know what to do with an epub file? if you experience any of these issues after your purchase, please let me know. not only would i like to help you fix your issue, it would help me discover ways to smooth out the process for others.
another issue is the files are not protected in any way, but i don’t see my readers (you!) sharing the files. everyone has been super supportive. instead of sharing the files, you can share the link to my books page and people can buy what they like: