Self Publishing Nuts and Bolts

SELF-PUBLISHING NUTS AND BOLTS

2015: 450,000+ new self-published books

You’re Not Alone

The Way It Was

The Way It Is

You become your own small press.

You own and control everything.

You contract with specific service providers.

You reap the highest return per book.

You make all of the decisions.

Option 1: DIY

EBOOKS: 30% of all book sales, weighted by category

4 major readers: Kindle, Nook, iTunes, Kobo

Step 1: Choose Your Format

EBOOKS:1. Kindle Direct (exclusive to Kindle readers)

2. Direct distribution to all four e-readers

3. Distributor/aggregator: i.e. Smashwords, Ingram Spark, Book Baby


POD (PRINT ON DEMAND) IngramSpark, CreateSpace, Lulu, Blurb

Handles printing, retail catalog, and fulfillment

Low or no upfront cost

Author sets price


OFFSET PRINTING◦Custom print and assembly

◦You arrange separate retail catalog and fulfillment

◦Upfront cost of printing inventory


INTERIOR TEXT

Blurbs and endorsements

Title page and copyright page

Step 2: Collect Book Material

Copyright Page

Copyright: http://www.copyright.gov/

ISBN: http://www.isbn.org/

LCCN: www.LOC.gov

Copyright Page Info

INTERIOR TEXT Blurbs and endorsements Title page and copyright page Dedication, Epigraph Table of Contents Foreword/Introduction/Preface/Prologue Acknowledgments About the Author Promotional Page

Step 2: Collect Book Material

Step 3: Book Cover

Deluxe Cover

Budget Cover

Step 2: Book Cover Hire a Professional (ask me for referrals) Crowdsource it: http://99designs.com/ DIY Lite:

◦http://www.coverdesignstudio.com/◦http://damonza.com/◦https://www.canva.com/ ◦CreateSpace Cover Generator (free)

DIY Serious◦Adobe InDesign

Step 3: Print Formatting

Print Pages Are pages numbered, with odd on the right

(and no numbers on blank pages, front matter, or chapter headings)?

Are there blank pages on verso (left) before chapter or section starts?

Are margins justified? Are words hyphenated to smooth line

widths? Are margins wide enough for a finger (with

extra space for the gutter)?

Print Pages Are there headers on text pages, but not

chapter breaks or blank pages? Are there widows or orphans breaking

across pages? Did all of your formatting (smart quotes,

italics, footnotes) transfer?

Hire a Professional

DIY Lite◦ http://www.bookdesigntemplates.com/ ◦ https://www.createspace.com/Products/Book/

InteriorPDF.jsp

DIY Serious◦ Adobe InDesign◦ LaTeX

How to Make a Print Interior

Step 4: Ebook Formatting

What An Ebook Is

Reader’s Choice

Hire a Professional◦ https://www.smashwords.com/list◦ http://edsguild.org/

DIY Lite: follow the guidelines◦ https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/52◦ https://kdp.amazon.com/help

DIY Serious:◦ https://code.google.com/p/sigil/◦ http://calibre-ebook.com/

How to Make an Ebook

Step 5: The Back Cover

100-200 words

Nonfiction: What’s In It for Me?

Fiction: Introduce the primary character and the inciting incident. What sets the story in motion, and what’s at stake?

Writing Back Cover Copy

In addition to the description: Blurbs/endorsements

Author Bio

ISBN/Barcode box

Publisher Logo/name

Writing Back Cover Copy

Create accounts, add tax information

Set price

Upload files

Celebrate!

Step 5: Publish

Subsidy, Copublishing, Partner, Hybrid, or New Model Publishing

or

Contracting with a third party to act as your publisher, at your expense.

Option 2: Do It For Me

Are they selective?

Is This Company Right for You?

Are they selective? Are they publishing books that you would

read, or want to be associated with?



read, or want to be associated with? Are their costs for authors competitive?



read, or want to be associated with? Are their costs for authors competitive? Are their book prices competitive?



read, or want to be associated with? Are their costs for authors competitive? Are their book prices competitive? Do you trust their staff and leadership?



read, or want to be associated with? Are their costs for authors competitive? Are their book prices competitive? Do you trust their staff and leadership? Are they trying to upsell or pressure you?



read, or want to be associated with? Are their costs for authors competitive? Are their book prices competitive? Do you trust their staff and leadership? Are they trying to upsell or pressure you? Is there a clear way to terminate the

agreement if things don’t work?


Writer Beware: http://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-

authors/writer-beware/

Preditors & Editors:http://pred-ed.com/

Do Your Homework

…the real fun begins!

MARKETING

When the Book Comes Out…

“Go APE: Author a great book, Publish it quickly, and Entrepreneur your way to

success. Self-publishing isn’t easy, but it’s fun and sometimes even lucrative. Plus, your

book could change the world.”

― Guy Kawasaki, APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur. How to Publish a Book

http://bethjusino.com(Click Resources for links to many of the services mentioned)

[email protected]

Self Publishing Nuts and Bolts

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