Self-Publishing For Dummies

Jason R. Rich

• Publisher: For Dummies
• Year: 2011
• ISBN:
  9781118052969
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Sprachen & Linguistik
• Subtopic: Verlagswesen

Thinking about self-publishing your book? This no-nonsense guide walks you through the entire process of going it alone

If you have a great idea for a book or informative content to share with an audience or have written a book and want to bypass traditional publishing, you're in the right place. Aspiring and experienced writers alike will benefit from this user-friendly and detailed guide with coverage on the self-publishing process from preparing your manuscript and creating the perfect title to selling the final product.

Self-Publishing For Dummies lays out the pros and cons of self-publishing, helps you avoid the most common mistakes made by authors and self-publishers, and makes you aware of legal issues associated with book publishing. You'll learn the basics of researching to include the right details, what the parts of a book are (from the copyright page to the index and bibliography), and when to edit your own work and when to hire a professional editor.

When it comes to the business aspects of self-publishing your book and building your own publishing company, you're in charge of each exciting step from naming your business, to writing the business plan, managing the finances and expenses, and who to call on for expert advice. It's up to you to decide on a title for your book, as well as the layout and design. Once your book is complete, you'll have it printed -- through traditional, non-traditional, or on-demand means.

You'll discover how to

• Apply for and obtain an ISBN
• Copyright your work to protect it
• Negotiate with and manage vendors, including printers, designers, and copyeditors
• Secure a warehouse to store your book
• Work with distributors to get your book to your audience
• Set prices and monitor inventory
• Write a press release and other marketing materials to promote your book
• Collaborate with the media and publicists to build awareness for your book
• Build an online presence with a website, newsletters, blog, or podcast
• Create and sell additional products related to your book

Additionally, you can read about ten common self-publishing mistakes -- and how to avoid them -- and the best resources for self-publishers. Get your copy of Self-Publishing For Dummies today.

Part I

Do It Yourself: Getting Started with Self-Publishing

In this part . . .

You’ve heard the phrase self-publishing, but what does it really mean? This part offers an introduction to self-publishing and helps you get your publishing project off the ground. I tell you about the pros and cons of self-publishing and explain how to equip yourself to start the writing process. I also give you the lowdown on assembling a winning manuscript and editing it carefully.

Chapter 1

Welcome to Self-Publishing!

In This Chapter

Determining whether self-publishing is right for you

Creating and editing your manuscript

Diving into administration and design tasks

Choosing the right printing option

Distributing and promoting your new book

Checking out a brief self-publishing timeline

Do you have expertise that other people can benefit from? Do you want to share an amazing story? Do you have basic writing skills and a good command of the English language? Do you have the discipline to write a full-length manuscript? If you answered yes to at least two of these questions, you may have the “write stuff” to become a published author. But there’s one problem: Many major book publishing companies aren’t willing to work with first-time authors with little or no writing experience. In the past, this fact could’ve kept you from achieving your dream of becoming a published author but not anymore!

Thanks to new digital printing technologies anyone with good writing skills and a great idea for content can have a book professionally published and made available to the general public. The process is called self-publishing. Self-publishing offers many awesome benefits and allows ordinary people, business leaders, celebrities, entrepreneurs, educators, students, retired people, stay-at-home moms, and just about anyone else to become a published author for a relatively low financial investment. What’s required, however, is a tremendous amount of time, creativity, and discipline to write, edit, design, publish, promote, distribute, and sell your book (that is, if you want it to be successful, and who doesn’t want to be successful?).

This chapter provides an overview of what becoming a self-published author involves. The rest of this book takes you step-by-step through the entire self-publishing process. By the time you’re done reading Self-Publishing For Dummies, you can put your knowledge and ideas into writing and have them published in book form.

Figuring Out Whether Self-Publishing Is the Best Option for You

When you get hired as an author by a major publishing house, your job is to write the book’s manuscript and perhaps gather some or all the artwork that’s included within that book. For this work, you’re typically paid an advance and a royalty on book sales. Various experts working for the publisher handle all the other steps (and there are many of them) in the publishing process.

Self-publishing is different. As the author, you’re still responsible for writing your book’s manuscript, but you’re also responsible for every other aspect of the book publishing process. (Don’t worry; as you delve into the self-publishing process, you’re able to hire a wide range of freelancers and companies to handle some of the major steps in the publishing process, but you ultimately are the decision maker and person in charge of the project.)

In Chapter 2, you find out specifically why you should consider self-publishing, and you discover the benefits of the process. Chapter 2 also reveals how just about any type of content, fiction or nonfiction, can be self-published and transformed into a paperback or hardcover book. You also find out the specific skills you need to become a self-published author.

Don’t get too excited just yet! Self-publishing does offer an amazing opportunity for just about anyone to have their book professionally published. However, compared to having your book published by a major publishing company, self-publishing has some drawbacks as well (covered in Chapter 2).

Gathering the Right Publishing Tools

Before you sit down to write your potential bestseller, gather the proper writing and publishing tools. Chapter 3 focuses on what you need to write a book with success. Some prewriting tasks you need to accomplish include

Creating a comfortable writing environment

Identifying and minimizing distractions when you’re writing

Putting together the perfect writer’s toolbox

As an author, you need certain tools to make the writing process easier and to be able to maximize your productivity. A desktop or laptop computer that’s equipped with a powerful word processor (such as Microsoft Word) and that has access to the Internet and a printer can be your most important tools, unless you plan to write the first draft of your book freehand, using a pad and pen. (If you do this, expect to wind up with a very tired hand!)

Putting Together a Winning Manuscript

The beauty of self-pu...

Table of contents

• Title
• Contents
• Introduction
• Part I : Do It Yourself: Getting Started with Self-Publishing
• Chapter 1: Welcome to Self-Publishing!
• Chapter 2: Understanding the Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing
• Chapter 3: Equipping Yourself with the Write Stuff
• Chapter 4: Creating a Winning Manuscript
• Chapter 5: Fine-Tuning Your Work with Careful Editing
• Part II : Pulling Together the Details: Administration and Design
• Chapter 6: Setting Up Your Self-Publishing Business
• Chapter 7: Tackling Book-Specific Tasks
• Chapter 8: Coming Up with Creative Page Design and Layout
• Chapter 9: Judging a Book by Its Cover
• Part III : Start the Presses! Examining Printing Choices
• Chapter 10: Trying Out Traditional Offset Printing
• Chapter 11: Print-On-Demand for Demanding Self-Publishers
• Chapter 12: Checking Out Some Non-Traditional Printing Options
• Chapter 13: Working Successfully with Any Printer
• Part IV : Making Your Book a Bestseller: Distribution Methods
• Chapter 14: Selling Your Book through Popular Online Booksellers
• Chapter 15: Distributing Your Book through Traditional Channels
• Chapter 16: Getting a Grip on Warehousing, Order Fulfillment, and Shipping
• Chapter 17: Selling Your Book to the Big Boys for Better Distribution
• Part V : Creating a Buzz: Publicity and Marketing
• Chapter 18: Crafting Publicity Materials for Your Book
• Chapter 19: Publicizing Your Book for Free with the Media’s Help
• Chapter 20: Marketing Your Book with Paid Advertising and Promotional Tools
• Chapter 21: Maximizing Your Marketing Power in Cyberspace
• Chapter 22: Expanding Your Income with Spin-Off Products and Services
• Part VI : The Part of Tens
• Chapter 23: Ten Self-Publishing Mistakes to Avoid
• Chapter 24: Ten Useful Resources for Self-Publishers