Help Information
In this section, you will find helpful instructions on how to fill out your storefront information, book listings, cover image size requirements, file size limits, and helpful answers to frequently asked questions.
Helpful Q&A
Helpful questions and answers.
Yes, create as many accounts as you wish for each Pen name you use. Do not use publisher names as this site is meant to promote independent authors for each storefront/author/vendor page.
You may choose to list your name and all of your books (including your other pen names, but be prepared to prove ownership of copyright if necessary/asked for, for each book under a different pen name) under your real name if you do not mind everyone knowing all of your pennames.
However, if you would like to keep them separate (you do not want them associated with each other) you will need to open another account to sell under a separate storefront for that pen name (again, be prepared to prove copyright for your pen name as we take copyright infringement very seriously and will not tolerate those who try to pass off others’ books as their own).
Yes, you can price your books however you like, including offering for free, however, you are still responsible for all fees incurred by the sale of the free book (including but not limited to transaction fees, taxes, returns, refunds, and other fees).
Please bear this in mind when pricing your books.
We allow:
Ebooks: PDF and Epub (as most readers will allow for these formats to be uploaded to and read by them.) However, we favor the PDF version as it is the most universal.
Audiobooks: MP3
Videobooks: MP4 (video podcasts, video readings, educational and academic seminars, etc. we do not sell movies, and permissions for use from all individuals in the videos and audio must be given and proven. This means a written form with contact information of all individuals shown with signatures allowing/authorizing the use of their image/voice/person/name/etc to be used in said audio/video for use of sale with the ability for us to confirm its use.)
No, your individual bookstores are not under our obligation to promote. We are under no obligation to advertise or promote, but “if” we do, it will be for the My Book Gems bookstore as a whole and not the individual bookstores.
Your individual bookstore is up to you to promote as an individual store owner.
However, we do offer 4 social media accounts to add your video ads to.
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/mybookgems
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mybookgems7
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/My-Book-Gems/61558033474339
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MyBookGems
Please keep the ad under 60 seconds for portrait view reels/shorts and above 60 seconds for long landscape Youtube video ads. (All 4 allow for portrait view short videos and Youtube does the landscape view long videos.)
I will add the website link, title of book, and author name in the description to the videos. Please be sure to send a short book description summary along with the video.
If you want to add your ads, for more exposure, to the My Book Gems social accounts, please contact me at: jodiametcalf@mybookgems.com
Yes, please send a logo (500 px by 500 px) that can be displayed in a circular space. Store banners should be 1350 px by 350 px (can go up to 1650 px by 350 px but will cut off sides on smaller screens. The 1350 width shows on a Chromebook just fine.)
**These must be sent to me to be added to your account and checked for approval.**
Helpful Information
Cover Image Requirements and File Size Limits:
Cover Images
Cover images should have a width of 1800 pixels, height will depend on cover orientation (landscape or portrait). If you have a cover size of 6×9 this will be 1800 x 2700, square 1800 x 1800, etc. Keep the size justified/locked so that when you are resizing the height will keep the portions correct. Change the size from in. to px and scale or input the width size to 1800.
Image Limits
You are allowed 5 images per listing: please include, front and back covers with 3 others of your choosing (these can be inside pages or mockups).
File Size Limits
Book size limits: 0
Samples size file limits:
Download size files:
Audio size files: (can be created on the audio player)
*These limits help keep memory size equal for everyone and allow for website memory availability for everyone’s listings. Please adhere to the limits to be fair for all authors on the site. Thank you
Social Media:
If you would like to be included on our social media accounts, please send a short video (60 seconds or less) of your book to be uploaded onto our Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Youtube accounts as well as a longer video for our Youtube account.
We will include a link to the bookstore and a link to your section/page of the bookstore along with your short description/summary in the description and video end links. The video title will be the book title plus the author’s name.
If you have a website, please add this to your store page. These videos are for ad purposes to help direct traffic to your bookstore page, not your website, so please do not add this to your video clips for the bookstore.
Thank you for your understanding.
A quick reminder:
Advertising:
The bookstore is responsible for ads for the bookstore only.
We are not obligated to run ads, but if we choose to promote, we will promote the bookstore as a whole only and not individual authors.
We are not responsible for your store traffic and you should add the bookstore to all of your social accounts and links for places to purchase your books along with doing your own personal ads to help drive traffic to your storefront/page of the bookstore. (This is why we offer the video clips for our socials as a free way to advertise/promote your books on other platforms).
Fee Responsibilities:
You are responsible for all fees, taxes, returns, and refunds (each storefront/author/vendor is responsible for adding their own store policies. The bookstore is only responsible for the platform itself).
Please remember to add these policies to your storefront page.
You can price your books however you like, including offering for free, however, you are still responsible for all fees incurred by the sale of the free book (including but not limited to: transaction fees, taxes, returns, refunds and other fees).
Please bare this in mind when pricing your books.
Helpful Tutorials
Helpful step-by-step instructions to help you get started with your storefront and listings.