Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Next Self-Publishing Workshop - Sat 16 November 2013


Next Self-Publishing Workshop - Sat 16 November 2013

Where: Liberty Church, 96 Lansford Cres, Avondale, Auckland, NZ
When: Saturday 16 November 2013, 10.00am - 4.00pm.
Cost: $60.00 for Six hour workshop
Who: with Joy and Bevan Findlay, self-publishing team of Findlay Books
What: 10 Topics that every new Self-Publisher needs to learn:
How: email your interest to findlaybooks@gmail.com

Lesson 1) Before the nitty-gritty of Self-Publishing
Lesson 2) Legal and Financial Issues Part One - Copyright
Lesson 3) Using professional Editors and Proofreaders
Lesson 4) Formatting your book for publishing
Lesson 5) Working with Images, including Cover Design
Lesson 6) How to Publish a Book Online – A Step-By-Step Guide.
Lesson 7) Legal and Financial Issues Part Two – Royalties
Lesson 8) Legal and Financial Issues Part Three – Tax
Lesson 9) Marketing and Promotions
Lesson 10) Vanity Publishing & Publishing-on-Demand

We will also look at why you are self-publishing and which pathway is best for you and your book, and we'll discuss distributing in New Zealand.

Bookings are essential as there are only limited spaces. Get in touch with us by emailing us at findlaybooks@gmail.com. As part of this workshop, you will receive our ebook 'Confessions of a Kiwi Self-Publisher' for FREE!

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Workshop



Confessions of a Kiwi Self-Publisher by Joy and Bevan Findlay

Description: Publishing a book in any genre is an exciting but daunting undertaking for first-time authors. Self-publishing even more so. With over 60 ebooks published online, the husband and wife team of Findlay Books have put together this book to help new authors navigate their way through self-publishing. Although this book is aimed at Kiwis writing and publishing to online platforms, it is a fantastic tool for anyone in the 'verse who need a head start on their publishing journey.

Quirky, practical and occasionally irreverent, the book focuses on what you actually need to know. You won't find any 'get-rich-quick' tips, waffly jargon, or snootiness here, just plain old number-8-wire ingenuity kind of writing for real Kiwis who want to share real stories with the world. Chapters are thorough, concise and extended with clickable links to further information on the topics covered.

We will take a look at 10 'lessons' that every new self-publisher needs to learn including:

Lesson 1) Before the Nitty-gritty of Self-publishing
Lesson 2) Legal and Financial Issues Part One – Copyright
Lesson 3) Using Professional Editors and Proofreaders
Lesson 4) Formatting your Book for Publishing
Lesson 5) Working with Images, including Cover Design
Lesson 6) How to Publish a Book Online – A Step-by- step Guide
Lesson 7) Legal and Financial Issues Part Two – Royalties
Lesson 8) Legal and Financial Issues Part Three – Tax
Lesson 9) Marketing and Promotions
Lesson 10) Vanity Publishing and Print-on-demand

Our final chapter focuses on 'Distributing in NZ' and highlights the changing characteristics of the NZ publishing industry and what that means for every new Kiwi author.

Included in this fantastic guide book are links for downloading book templates for your chapter or picture ebook, and templates for your print-on-demand chapter or picture book.

This book was written in conjunction with Joy and Bevan's Self-Publishing Workshop. For more information, please visit their website.


Found on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/17kgZz9

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Distributing in New Zealand

I have heard that many authors' printed books do not sell well as their ebook counterparts on Amazon. I think that this is due to the price difference. I believe that it is even harder for Kiwi self-publishers to sell their books in NZ. Unless you have a close contact in distribution here, or you have an independent bookshop keen to sell your books, you will be left trying to find a book retailer by yourself. I have heard of maybe two self-published children's books that have been picked up for distribution – one is a Maori-language resource that took the author years to place in schools and kindys; the other is a quirky children's book that won major awards. I do not doubt that it took much determination and tenacity for both of these authors to break into the distribution and retailing markets here, but they did it. They produced a quality product, marketed it, put legs to it and promoted it at every chance they had. It can be done!
There are also avenues for distributing your ebooks here in NZ. If you want to see your ebooks sold in Whitcoulls, Fishpond and Booksellers, then publishing your book on Smashwords is a must. Smashwords distributes to Kobo, which in turn distributes to the above online retailers.
If you would like to get your ebook into your local library, you will need to connect with library distributors like Nielson's Book Database and Wheelers ePlatform. You can apply to each of these distributors for free, but both require a level of professionalism in your ebook. There is no guarantee that your ebook will be picked up by libraries, but these distributors will include your ebooks in their catalogues.
I know that CreateSpace offer a wider distribution offer for a price of USD$25, but their library distributions Overdrive and Ebsco don't include NZ books in their catalogues for US libraries.
Another way to get your book noticed in NZ is to submit your book to the New Zealand Post Awards. The 2014 awards are accepting ebooks submissions and this would be fantastic exposure for your book if it is short-listed!
Thank you to Lorraine Orman for the above information. I attended her workshop recently and learned a great deal about the NZ side of distributing your books. She was a wealth of information. Thank you, Lorraine.

Friday, August 23, 2013

Interview with Kiwi Hybrid-publisher Christine Hurst


Christine Hurst is a local children's book author with some fantastic titles to her name. She has been traditionally published for a few years now and has quite a few kids books lined up for publishing. At the end of the month she has plans to launch her latest book 'Symphony Smythe and the Baked Bean Birthday Party', which is her first self-publishing project, first in the line of several. I'm gonna let her tell you all about it though.

Christine, thank you for joining us today. Can you tell us about your career so far as a published author in NZ?
I started writing quite late in life (in my early 30’s), as I never thought it was something I could do. After a few years of dabbling in different genres (FYI – I’m useless at poetry) I had my son and started reading children’s books again. I knew straight away that I had found the right genre for me.

What was the best resource you came across when you first started writing?
A writing community called KiwiWrite4Kidz. They were a group of new and published writers who banded together to support each other and offer workshops, newsletter, set up critique groups and general writerly camaraderie. Through them, I met up with the five ladies who now make up my ‘writers group’. We meet once a month to discuss writing, the industry and eat cake. We also go away once a year for a weekend retreat to escape the pressures of life and just write. We critique and edit each other’s work and we trust each other implicitly. They have become firm friends and I don’t know what I’d do without them.

What has been your favourite project to date and why?
The non-fiction book I wrote in 2007, called Wired for Sound. It was a commissioned piece for an educational publisher and I was given a short period of time (one month) to write it, and I was given very specific guidelines regarding the chapters. I had to conduct a lot of research about things like how speakers work, and how coloured lights affect the aesthetics of a stadium. It was great fun. I haven’t written another non-fiction book since, but I have plenty of ideas on the back burner and plan to venture down that road again soon.

What was the best piece of advice you were given when you first started out?
Write everything down. At a writing meeting early on, I met someone who advised about having a notebook to write things down in. As a particularly forgetful person, I have pen & paper with me always, by my bed, in the car, I dictate into my iPhone, and I’ve even been known to race out of the shower, soaking wet, looking for pen & paper. Why do all the good ideas come in the shower, I wonder?

You have your own publishing house. Why did you set this up?
Just this year (2013). Deciding on a publishing company name was an interesting process. I didn’t want my publishing company to be my name and I wanted to be sure that it was also available as a domain name. I had a list of hundreds of ideas and they were all taken. A couple of my favourite domain names were available for sale for a hefty price, so I ended up with a very limited choice. Once I had decided on Prickly Cat Publishing, I commissioned my award-winning book Designer, Cheryl Smith from Macarn Design, to come up with a logo. And I just love the outcome. 
 
Why have you decided to self-publish your next series of book?
The publishing world is changing rapidly. I know there are writers out there who have had huge successes, and have built lasting relationships with their publisher. I’m not one of those fortunate ones. I decided to take control of my own destiny and shape the future to be what I want it to be. Ultimately I would like to write and publish fulltime, and self-publishing is the key step in that process.

Can you tell us about the process you took to get your books self-published?
I researched for months on who was self-publishing and how they were doing it. There is so much information out there, often contradicting each other, so it can be very overwhelming. I read APE by Guy Kawasaki, which was fantastic and also POD for Profit by Aaron Shepard. All the research showed that books have more of a chance of selling when they have been professionally edited and designed. So I commissioned an editor, Sue Copsey, and my book designer and we met to discuss the series. Because this series is illustrated, I researched several places to best hire an illustrator and decided on Elance, a freelancer site. I had over 65 proposals to the job I posted and after much deliberation, narrowed it down to the wonderful illustrator I’m using. Her style was exactly what I was looking for and I have to say I am thrilled with the results. It was important that I find someone who was available and willing to continue working on this series with me, and she fit the bill perfectly. The books will be available as both eBook and print books.

What was the best piece of advice that started you in the right direction to self-publishing?
There probably wasn’t one piece of advice, but I saw others dong it and knew that I could do it too. In my research there are a lot of people who make it sound really easy. It isn’t. And a lot of writers will struggle with the non-writing side of self-publishing. And there is a lot of that – collaboration with other professionals, decisions to be made, marketing, distribution, technical challenges and costs to pay. You have to enjoy the process of self-publishing, and it’s not for everyone.

Can you please tell us about your new self-published series - Symphony Smythe?
Symphony Smythe was a name that came to me many years ago. I wrote a few stories, but they weren’t quite right, so I parked them. When I decided to self-publish I thought this was a great series to start with, to build a following. Symphony is the ordinary girl with the extraordinary life. She has quirky parents, and as an only child, they feature quite heavily in her life. Maybe because I have an only-child myself I have taken some of that family bond and translated it to paper! The Symphony Smythe stories are part of a series I’ve called Short & Sweet Reads which will be somewhere between 1500 – 4000 words, and illustrated with B&W artwork throughout. I envisage these books being placed with other ‘quick reads’ in libraries and bookshops.

Thank you again, Christine, we really appreciate your wisdom.

For more information about Christine and her books, please visit her sites:

Blog & site for writers: http://www.kidswriters.com/

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Fantastic Accidents - Publishing in NZ

 
 
It has been an honour to be a part of a closed NZ writers and illustrators group on Facebook. I believe I was accidentally accepted into this group but what a fantastic accident. Already in the few short months that I have been silently reading in on their conversations, I've learned so very much from these great writers and illustrators.
I have learned how the withdrawal of one minor and two major publishing houses from NZ shores has affected some of the writers and published authors in our home land. I have read the highs of awards won turn into sadness and backlash as the events turned sour. I have participated in giving US tax information to traditionally-published authors still learning how to become 'hybrid' authors. And I've read how one publishing partnership turned to custard as the director skipped the country owing thousands to would-be published authors, leaving a huge mess in her wake.
It has been wonderful learning so much from these amazing men and women, some prominent leaders in this industry in NZ, some award winners, some new themselves to the highs and lows of writing, but all published and all with a voice at different stages and levels in our publishing industry. Some of these writers and illustrators are in leaderships roles in influential places.
I've enjoyed learning what makes them celebrate, what upsets them, what makes them rally together to support each other, and I've enjoyed seeing the advice and encouragement shared. They are real people with real thoughts and ideas, real world-views, real value systems, and real enthusiasm! They love our country, they love our people, they love writing and illustrating for New Zealanders.
My biggest excitement is seeing this group who represent authors in NZ start to see the importance of accepting authors who publish ebooks. Not only into groups like the one I was accepted into, but allowances are being made for published ebooks to be accepted for consideration in some pretty major national awards next year. There is also talk to allow authors who write ebooks to apply for funding and grants that traditionally-published authors are entitled to apply for. This could really open the door for so many more people who would like to 'give up their day job.'
Because of the shake-up that is happening with the major publishers moving offshore, I think these traditionally-published authors are seeing the industry in NZ going 'hybrid.' I believe these authors who have few-to-many books on shelves already are beginning to see the value in self-publishing due to the smaller 'pool' of publishing contracts now available here in NZ. I think others are going to submit in Australia, where the above-mentioned publishing companies have moved.
I love it! It is a fantastic season to be a writer. I do feel for these traditionally-published authors though, who feel their solid ground turning to sand a bit, but it won't be long before they see the value in self-publishing themselves. I believe that with more and more of them starting to self-publish, we will begin to see a different scene, a new identity and a new landscape that is our NZ publishing industry.
My only concern, and I know I'm not the only one concerned about this, is that our cultural identity as a country will be watered down in the mix as we all try to find our footing on a worldwide platform. Even those submitting to publishing houses in Australia will probably find their uniquely NZ books being looked over for more whole-world-themed stories. Sad really, but it makes me all the more interested in self-publishing uniquely NZ stories!
I think that because I already have a good name for myself on Amazon, I can get away with introducing characters that are uniquely NZ, themes that are important to NZ families, ideas, values and characteristics that make NZ a fantastic place to call home. And I think I can do well selling these stories too! So stay tuned as I'll have a couple ready for publishing before Christmas – fingers crossed!
With these major changes shaking up publishing in NZ, we will find ways to adapt and rise above the circumstances. We will find that in the thick of all the changes we will have accidentally show-cased NZ to the world in a greater way than ever before. I do not doubt that with these changes we will begin to see more and more of our uniquely Kiwi stories read to families all over the world. Now that is what I call a fantastic accident!

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

August 31st Workshop is Now Full!



Wow! Our first ever Self-Publishing Workshop is now full. We have had so much interest in this that we have decided to run another in November. Will keep you all posted for the dates! Thanks again for everyone who is joining us for our first one, am looking forward to it!!! 

~ Joy and Bevan Findlay

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Self-Publishing Workshop, Auckland, NZ


Self-Publishing Workshop - NEARLY FULL


Where: Liberty Church, 96 Lansford Cres, Avondale, Auckland, NZ
When: Saturday 31 August 2013, 10.00am - 3.00pm.
Cost: $50.00 DISCOUNTED to $15 per person for first workshop!
Who: with Joy and Bevan Findlay, self-publishing team of Findlay Books
What: 10 Topics that every new Self-Publisher needs to learn:
How: email your interest to findlaybooks@gmail.com

Lesson 1) Before the nitty-gritty of Self-Publishing

Lesson 2) Legal and Financial Issues Part One - Copyright

Lesson 3) Using professional Editors and Proofreaders

Lesson 4) Formatting your book for publishing

Lesson 5) Working with Images, including Cover Design

Lesson 6) How to Publish a Book Online – A Step-By-Step Guide.

Lesson 7) Legal and Financial Issues Part Two – Royalties

Lesson 8) Legal and Financial Issues Part Three – Tax

Lesson 9) Marketing and Promotions

Lesson 10) Vanity Publishing & Publishing-on-Demand

Bookings are essential as there are only limited spaces. Get in touch with us by emailing us at findlaybooks@gmail.com. As part of this workshop, you will receive our ebook 'Confessions of a Kiwi Self-Publisher' for FREE!

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

What are you afraid of?


I was at my fortnightly writers' group last night and, as well as chocolate cake and the new Whittaker's L&P White Chocolate, we shared short stories written for the group. Talk about scary! It is one thing to write to complete strangers and bear reviews of any kind – it is another thing altogether to read your brand new – just wrote five minutes ago – story to real live people you are just getting to know.

Every time you meet someone new, you make some amazing judgements about them in the first few seconds of meeting them. And they you – whether they realise it or not. Likewise, people make some amazing judgements on you as a writer and it all happens on your first story... ok so I just made that up, but it sure feels like it could be true. Insecure much? Ahhh, yeah!

We are talking about reading, aloud, to people who are going to critique your work to your face... Good Lawd! Ok, so the whole exercise reminded me how I need to get tough and suck it up princess.

I love my writing. I love my creative thought processes. I enjoy my unique style. I want to share my new fantasy and sci-fi worlds to other geeks just like me. And I love that I need to use “Rhyme Zone” to get my poetry to rhyme. I love, LOVE sharing my writing to the world. Should it really matter if I care what other people think? Should I get upset if I think they write better than me, or if I rely too much on my internet connection to make the story work? Should I be worried if, on my first draft, I don't have the 'voice' quite right for the character? What if the world of the story isn't believable? What if I come across sounding like a dork, an amateur, or a complete dope. Ah, too much to worry about.

Gosh for a newbie writer you would think I'd jump at the chance to work on my skills in a very public way that is my fortnightly writer's group... Oh wait, I am.

Moral of the story – writers write so readers can read. What are you afraid of?


Monday, August 5, 2013

Vanity Publishing & Publishing on Demand

For those of us who love a hard cover, a coffee table item, or the ability to sit with your kids and read paper books, there are two main options that are available for printing your book – Vanity Publishing and Print-on-demand (POD).  Please be aware that the premise behind both of these are essentially the same, but one you pay thousands for a pre-contracted print run, and the other you pay as you print, usually from online retailers.

Vanity publishing

It used to be that Vanity Publishing was the only way you could self-publish before the invention of the ebook.  Vanity Publishing was usually the last resort when your books were rejected again and again by traditional publishers.  You would find a vanity press and pay for a run of, at minimum, 1000 books.  You would then try to find places to distribute the books yourself.  I have heard of many boxes of vanity-printed books shelved in garages due to lack of distribution.
The term 'vanity publishing' originated at a time when the only way for an author to get a book published was to sign a contract with a publishing company.  Reputable publishing companies generally paid authors a percentage of sales, so it was in the company's interest to sign only authors whose books would sell well.  It was extremely difficult for the typical unknown author to get a publishing contract under these circumstances, and many 'vanity publishers' sprang up to give these authors an alternative: essentially, they would publish any book in exchange for payment up front from the author.  The term 'vanity publishing' arose from the common perception that the authors who paid for such services were motivated by an exaggerated sense of their own talent.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-publishing
There are heaps of websites that will do your vanity and POD printing for you.  Google is your best friend, as I haven't used a vanity press before.  Remember to get your book a bar code, and an ISBN number for NZ – found here: http://natlib.govt.nz/publishers-and-authors/isbns-issns-and-ismns

Publishing on Demand

POD is what self-publishers do now if they want a printed copy of their self-published book.  There are a number of online printing firms that you set up an account with and upload your book, its cover and meta-data.  They then let you know what the minimum amount the book will cost per book and you add your amount (profit) on top.  They make their money off the print cost and the cut they take out of royalties you would earn.  Many of these POD platforms are linked to online retailers like Amazon so they can list your books for you and you can link them to your author page online.
Basically, if you want to self-publish a book just so you can get it in your hot little hands, POD is a great place to start as you can pay for one copy or many copies.  Be aware that postage costs to NZ are more expensive than cost of the actual printed book, so I suggest you get more than one book printed at a time.
Print-On-Demand (POD) publishing refers to the ability to print high-quality books as needed.  For self-published books, this is often a more economical option than conducting a print run of hundreds or thousands of books.  Many companies, such as Createspace (owned by Amazon.com), Lulu and iUniverse allow printing single books at per-book costs not much higher than those paid by publishing companies for large print runs.  Most POD companies also offer distribution through Amazon.com and other online and brick-and-mortar retailers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-publishing
When your book is published via a good POD platform, they will provide you with an ISBN, sometimes for free.  Createspace discuss your ISBN here: https://www.createspace.com/Products/Book/ISBNs.jsp
Much of the information you need to publish an ebook is required for printing a paper edition.  You will need to state your meta-data, your copyright, your table of contents – if you have one – and your book content.  A cover is required, and if you are printing a full-colour picture book or colour photographic coffee table book, you will need to consider using a 'bleed margin', meaning the colour is printed beyond the edge of the page and when cut, the image will extend to the edge of the page without a white boarder.
I sell ebooks on Amazon and I use Createspace for printing my children's ebooks.  I have set up an account with them, I have uploaded my Pixie Courage book and all of its information, and I have selected the book size, paper type, the colour selection and its page total.  Createspace tells me that for Pixie Courage, a 32-page full-colour print will cost me $3.65.  If I want to make any money off one book, I will have to list it on Amazon for over $6.99 because they will take royalties off the price before I get anything.
Createspace has fantastic resources for those interested in using their platform.  Other like platforms include Lulu.com, Lightning Source and iuniverse.com.
POD really is a cheaper way of doing things if you do not want a huge print run, but if you have a distributor and local retailer already set up, then vanity is cheaper for bulk printing runs.
If like me, you want to see your children reading print versions of your books, have a look around and get a feel for what is out there for printing.  I design all of my new kids ebooks for easy transition to printing on demands, so I'm remembering the bleed margins, and writing the story longer.  I am looking forward to sitting with my squidlettes and showing them my ebooks in print form!
Exciting times,
~ Joy Findlay

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Show Me the Money - Legal and Financial Issues Two.


Ah, royalties.  The part everyone is dying to learn about – how do I get loads of money selling my books online?
When you upload your book to your online retailer's publishing platform, they will ask you to set a price for the book.  If you are using Smashwords, they will ask you to set a list-price for each retailer, and Amazon's KDP will ask you to set your price for each territory that you want to sell your book in.
Once you set your price, the platform will calculate your royalties from that list price.  Amazon gives you a choice for what royalties you would like to receive for your book.  If you are selling your book for more than USD$2.99, please select 75% royalties.  The only reason you will be receiving less than 75% royalties is if your book is priced below USD$2.99 or the book is public domain.  “Books that consist entirely or primarily of public domain content are not eligible for the 70% royalty option.” ~ KDP.
I have a series of ebooks that teach children basic concepts.  My Rocket Boy Twinkle Star is completely public domain, so I can only get 35% per sale.
You will receive an update each month for your sales.  Smashwords shows each book sale on each of the retailers you have sold through Smashwords on their 'Sales and Payment Report'.  Amazon shows you books sales in the reports page – daily, weekly, and monthly.  The sales also include all the free promotional sales you have through their Kindle Select Program, and any price-match sales (i.e. where an ebook has had its price automatically changed because of appearing at a lower price on another retailer).
It takes a little to get used to reading reports, but once you get the idea it is easy to keep updated daily.
I recommend keeping a spreadsheet of all your sales, borrows, and free promotions.  This is so you can keep an up-to-date record of all the books you are selling, which books are selling better than others, and which books do better with free promotions.  You will find that Amazon labels the Kindle Select Program borrows as KOLL or Kindle Owners Lending Library, as this is what they have named the programme from the consumers side of things.
Ok, so payments.  Royalty payments happen every month.  Amazon calculates sales, borrows and refunds – yes you get a few – and creates a report which is uploaded to your Reports page on KDP by the 15th of each month.  It then takes them about 60 days to get your cheque or direct credit off to you.
When you set up your KDP account, you were asked to select your payment options.  If you have a Foreign Currency Account (FCA) – I recommend if you are making some decent money – you will need to give your bank account details and state that you want royalties from all territories to be direct credited into this account.  From NZ, I think it is best to get a Great British Pound FCA through your local bank (this may vary between banks). 
Foreign Currency Account (FCA) is a transactional account denominated in a currency other than the home currency and can be maintained by a bank in the home country (onshore) or a bank in another country (offshore).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_currency_account
If you do not have an international Foreign Currency Account in the UK or USA, you will be receiving your royalties by cheque.  It takes another few weeks for your cheque to arrive in NZ, and once you have deposited it into your account it will take another 30 working days – six weeks!!! – for it to clear.  Your NZ bank has to send that cheque back to the states to get it cleared and into your account.  NZ is the back-end-of-nowhere and it still takes up to four months from the end of the Royalty Month for you to receive your cash.  Royalties that were earned in December will not clear until end of April – long time.
Be sure to keep a record of every transaction, every deposit, every cheque, and keep receipts of all your rent, internet/phone, power bills, and any stationery, advertising, ebooks, printed books, illustrator fees, digital formatting fees, and computer parts, including ink.  You can use these in your business tax returns as expenses against the tax you will need to pay on the royalties you have earned overseas.  Please see our 'Legal and Financial Issues Part Three' post for more information on this.
Please note: when a royalties cheque is delivered, it is written out to the name you have set your KDP account up under.  If you do not set your account up with your real name, you will not be able to post cheques into your account.  Please do not set your KDP account up under a pen name, use your real name.  No one will be able to see the real name except KDP and you, so you can still do the publishing of books under a pen name.
Please also note: Amazon will only send royalty cheques to the person who has published the book.  They do not send cheques to more than one contributor, only to the person who has the book published on their account.  If your book has more than one contributor, you will need to make separate arrangements to these other contributors for royalties.  Personally, I do not pay co-contributors with royalty payments.  I pay for services in a lump sum.  Trying to sort out royalties for other people each month would just be a nightmare, especially when you consider you have to pay withholding tax before the cheque is sent.  You then have to divide the net amount between you and your contributors and then you have to pay tax again on top of that to the NZ IRD – holy crap!  It's just too messy, please don't consider publishing this way!
Pay your contributors apart from your royalties.  Keep it clean.
Once your cheque has cleared, or your money is direct credited to your account, you need to remember to keep aside about 12% for paying tax on your royalties to the IRD here in NZ.  Yes, you will be paying tax twice, but it has to be done.  Paying tax on royalties is another huge topic to cover, so please see our 'Legal and Financial Issues Part Three' post for more information.  Why is tax so huge a topic?  When you consider that without a US IRS Employee Individual Number (EIN) or an International Tax Individual Number (ITIN) you will be paying 30% withholding tax that Smashwords and Amazon kindly deduct from your royalty cheques each month.  But because NZ has a Double Tax Agreement with the states, you are entitled to only paying 5% each month.  So see our next post!
Thanks, and remember, set up a Foreign Currency Account if you can, set your KDP account up under your real name to get cheques made out to your real name, keep a record of book sales each month, pay your contributors before you earn on your books, and get yourself familiar with tax issues in our next post.
Phew!  Am tired now, need some sleep.  All this talk of money and tax... would rather be writing kids' stories any day!

~ Joy Findlay