Self-publishing can get expensive (especially if you do it right). Costs add up: editing, copy-editing, marketing, packaging, designing, etc. But with the rise of crowd-funding, it's possible to raise enough money to cover all your costs. … [Read more...] about Getting Funding for Self-Publishing
Self-Publishing
You Should Self-Publish
Self-publishing is the new business card, or so I'm told. I think this works especially well for non-fiction books, which authors can use to show their authority and get speaking gigs and other jobs. It can also be a great cocktail party conversation starter. What do you do? "I'm a novelist," sounds pretty impressive. … [Read more...] about You Should Self-Publish
Finding Your Readers
I recently received an email about the next steps after self-publishing a book. Unfortunately I average about 200 emails a day so I can't remember who sent it, but it contained some interesting tidbits. Self-publishing is great, but it's also important to make sure you reach your readers. … [Read more...] about Finding Your Readers
EPUB3 Read Aloud Code
Per request, I'm posting snippets of code to use to enable read aloud functionality on an iPad. You usually do this for children's books in EPUB3. Above is a sample of the SMIL file you will need to include. Remember to make a SMIL file for each "page." And don't forget to add it to your OPF! Below is a sample of the extra code to include in the HTML file. You will also need … [Read more...] about EPUB3 Read Aloud Code
11 Tips for Writing
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, by Ildar Sagdejev Author Colson Whitehead wrote an article in the New York Times outlining 11 rules on the art of writing. Among them include showing AND telling, write what you know, and of course, don't worry much about rules. Read the full list here. … [Read more...] about 11 Tips for Writing
Self-publishing: Marketing and Publicity
Image from Business Insider Marketing can seem like a huge task. However, it's also a very necessary part of self-publishing. … [Read more...] about Self-publishing: Marketing and Publicity
Marketing Tips for Self-published Authors
As a publisher, I send our authors a checklist of things they can do to help promote their book. I think it's important to get our authors as involved as possible, partly because the more people helping out, the more people will be reached, and the more books we can potentially sell. Many of our authors have also published books or are in the process of publishing a body of … [Read more...] about Marketing Tips for Self-published Authors
Do Editors Really Edit?
My second panel at SLICE Conference consisted of another group of editors. … [Read more...] about Do Editors Really Edit?
What Editors Think About Self-Publishing
Recently I attended the SLICE Conference, where I got to hear all about the ups and downs of self-publishing--from editors' perspectives. … [Read more...] about What Editors Think About Self-Publishing
EBook Conversion for Self-Publishers
There's a wide range of ebook conversion services out there, from tools to let you do it yourself to companies that will produce the whole ebook for you. Below is a list. (NOTE: I have not used all of these services). Remember: it's important to test your files on all devices you use. Books will look different depending on format and device. Validating is also important. If a … [Read more...] about EBook Conversion for Self-Publishers
Self-publishing ebooks: Why maximizing distribution matters
New technologies and startups have made it easier than ever to self-publish ebooks. But they don't make it any easier to make a living writing. The most important thing you can do as a self-published author, however, is to make sure your ebook is available through as many retail channels as possible. (FYI, ebook sales accounted for 20% of book sales in 2011, up from 10% in … [Read more...] about Self-publishing ebooks: Why maximizing distribution matters
EBook Design
Just like regular books, the design, both interior and exterior, of an ebook is important. To see an example of what I mean, see Carolyn Jewel's post, Why eBook Formatting Matters – A Case Study. She includes examples of how her ebook looks on different devices, as well as what a well-formatted ebook looks like compared to some that was converted automatically. Auto-generated … [Read more...] about EBook Design
Using Pressbooks to Make EBooks
Pressbooks is a new, and more importantly, FREE, service that claims to make ebook production simple and easy. Their secret? It's built on Wordpress. … [Read more...] about Using Pressbooks to Make EBooks
Self Publishing: Cover Design
Book covers are the most important marketing aspect of a book. People will make impulse purchases if they like the book cover; the cover is what gets a book attention. Covers that are white backgrounds with large text tend to look amateurish. You also want covers that persuade people to buy the book, with good flap copy. Use the template from Para Publishing to write effective … [Read more...] about Self Publishing: Cover Design
Self-publishing ebooks: An Overview
Fact: Self-publishing is growing. In 2011, according to BISG, over 200,000 books were self-published. Ebooks are also growing. By 2016, ebooks will account for 50% of book sales, and the book market will be worth $21 billion. … [Read more...] about Self-publishing ebooks: An Overview