Tag Archives: Self Pub

How To Publish Books Using Online Sites

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Let me ask you a simple question: How you ever thought about publishing your own book using online sites? Whether you have or have not, just take minute to read this short article to educate yourself on the process of online publishing.

A recent research study shows that many different factors determine how a book will be received and what impact it will have on society. What the study shows is that how the book is written, slanted or selected can have a direct impact on the number of sales it achieves. This means that how you write, edit, format and market the book will have a serious effect on how readers will perceive it.

Various publishing methods exist and there is much discussion about which is the best. All agree that writers must carefully choose competent publishers who will help the author achieve their publishing goals. Otherwise the entire process is a waste of time and money. Online websites can now help you publish your book successfully without the pitfalls of traditional publishing.

Lulu.com – Benefits And Advantages

Lulu.com is a website that allows authors to publish books themselves. One of the main advantages is that it allows you to publish as many titles as you’d like in a short period of time. You can also develop digital media and publish eBooks. The benefits to using Lulu are many.

In addition to publishing your works, you can also scan old books and photo albums in order to preserve them.

Once you publish your book on Lulu, you can choose among publishing options to either have it publicly available or only available to those you choose to access it. You also have the option of releasing the book in digital format, print format, or both. If you choose both, your readers can also pick which format they prefer to receive your content in.

Marketing And Selling Your Book

Publishing is about more than just writing, editing, and formatting. There is also marketing to consider, and this step can be quite demanding. If you don’t know how to handle your own book marketing, you could take a major loss on your titles. First time authors who fail at marketing their books often feel discouraged and many give up writing and publishing.

Lulu makes it easier for you to market and sell your book. After your book is published, you can choose groups to market it to. These niche groups have already been established on Lulu, so they give you a built-in audience. This is a great way to collaborate with other authors so that everyone benefits.

More Benefits To Publishing Online

Online sites really help when it comes to self-publishing your books. You can come up with absolutely any kind of book you want and it can be published. The only limit you have is your imagination. You can turn your old recipes or photo albums into published titles available to anyone.

As far as design and layout, they offer their own pre-made templates so that you don’t have to start from scratch. This is another task that most authors find difficult to handle themselves. There are also platforms where you can automatically sell your book once it’s published, such as Amazon.com.

When people are browsing books and they come across yours, they may find it hard to decide whether or not to buy. After all, you’re not an established author. To make the decision easier for them, you can offer the first few pages of your book for them to browse just like in any bookstore. They get a chance to read a little and if your writing pulls them in, they’ll buy.

For authors interested in self-publishing, publishing through online websites is easy and profitable. It’s more than worthwhile!

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Author: Marcus Blalock
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Jump-Start Your Self-Publishing Adventure in 10 Steps

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These ten steps will help you painlessly jump-start your new adventure. Although most of these steps are very easy to accomplish, I believe that they will help you quickly lay the foundation for a successful first book.

1. Realize that this is a business
Self-publishing is a business. It can be your side-business, main business, or even be your hobby. But you still must run it like a business. That means you will need to learn the basics of management, marketing, sales, public relations, accounting, negotiation, etc.

2. Start your due-diligence
You must research what will be involved in self-publishing. Buy several of the most popular books about self-publishing, such as those by Dan Pointer. Visit the popular self-publishing blogs, such as TheBookDesigner.com. Visit the biggest websites that can sell your book, such as SmashWords, and Scribd.

3. Keep your current job
This will ensure that you will have a regular paycheck. It is also very important to keep building your resume. A good resume will help build your credentials and be your proof of your accomplishments. This will give you more credibility with your readers.

4. Discover your niche
In today’s terms, this means “micro-niche”. As a self-publisher you will most likely find the biggest success by narrowly defining your market niche. It is much easier to become an expert in a very specific market where it is much less crowded with big well-established writers and publishers.

5. Start with an ebook
This is the smartest way to get started. It is fast and inexpensive. It is the perfect way to dip your toes into the water and see how comfortable it is. Starting with an ebook allows you to feel out your market. It also allows you to make any changes or corrections well before sending your book to a print-on-demand printer and distributor.

6. Set-up your blog
Once you figure out what your niche is, start your free WordPress blog right away. This will get your creative juices flowing. It will also establish an internet home for you where you will show the world your expertise in your niche.

7. Get your spouse/partner on board
It is important to keep your family involved with a decision like this. Keeping your family informed and involved will help keep all of you happy.

8. Join professional groups
This will help keep you informed of what is going on inside your market niche. These same people might also become the market for your book. Professional affiliations also give you more credibility with your readers.

9. Advocate for your target market/audience
Nowadays, especially because of the internet, you can immediately start to show the world that you are an expert. Start writing for industry publications and websites.

10. Start your next book
Now that you have accomplished the previous steps, keep the momentum that you have built-up going. Keep improving your business model. Never stop learning about marketing and promotion. Keep enhancing your blog. Keep improving your first book. Start your next book.

Joseph C. Kunz, Jr. is an author, publisher, educator, business manager, and entrepreneur. Life-long love affair with books and reading. Very excited about being part of the new media movement. Known for casual, easy-to-read writing style and ability to explain complex topics in an understandable way. “If you are serious about your work you should self-publish. Retain creative control. Retain the profits. Enjoy the satisfaction and status that comes with being published.” Visit Kunz’s website about all aspects of self-publishing at http://www.KunzOnPublishing.com/, for an insider’s guide to becoming a financially successful and happy self-publisher, and sign-up for his free newsletter.

Author: Joseph C Kunz, Jr
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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The 10 Reasons That Convinced Me To Become A Self-Publisher

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Here I share my favorite reasons for becoming a self-publisher. Some reasons are much more important to me than they might be to you. But I am certain that on this list you will find a reason that is important or intriguing to you. I hope that you find one that gets your internal capitalist into gear, and gets you onto a new path too.

1. Retain Ownership: As a self-publisher you retain complete control and ownership of the book – forever. I’m sure that for all of you reading this article, this is a very important reason – as it was for me.

2. Instant Credibility: The book will instantly give you credibility – and help boost your career or business. We all want this. The more professional your book is, the more credibility you will have with your audience. With self-publishing you can easily and quickly make improvements to your book – especially with an ebook.

3. Control Fate of My Book: As a self-publisher you control the fate of your book – not some publisher that has no interest in your book or subject other than how much money they can make from you. Self-publishers are writing and publishing books because we love our subject, and want to share our knowledge with others.

4. Speed to Market: Traditional publishers take way too long to bring your book to the market. A big publisher would think that you are a silly fool to believe that you could get your book into a world-wide audience within a few weeks. But of course, we now all know that we can – and do.

5. Plenty of Help Available: As a self-publisher you can choose to be involved with as much, or as little, of the creative process. Self-publishing is where you, the author, bypass all the intermediaries that are involved in traditional publishing. These intermediaries do the editing, designing, illustrating, marketing, promotion, etc., of your book. As a self-publisher these functions will typically be your job. Although, you can easily hire people to do these functions for you and still be considered a self-publisher. As a self-publisher you get to choose which functions you want to do, and which ones you need to hire someone to help you with.

6. Keep All Profits: As a self-publisher you keep all of the profits. A traditional publisher will keep almost all of the profits. Then, after several months, when your book sales start to slow down, they will dump you for someone else that is more profitable for them. Even if your book makes you just a few hundred dollars a year, these profits will come to you year after year after year. The more effort you put into making your book look professional, and into your marketing and sales, the more profit you will make. You have complete control as to how much success your book will have.

7. Low Entry Cost: It is much less costly to produce a book now than it has ever been before. You can get an ebook online with a big-name website for free within minutes. You can also get your book accepted by a big-name print-on-demand company that will distribute your book to the entire market for about $112. Additional expenses like ISBN fees, and CIP fees, will add about $100. Hiring a professional cover designer can be anywhere from $250 to $750.

8. My Knowledge of The Market: With some effort and study, you can do a much better job promoting your book than a traditional publisher can. This is especially true when your book is directly related to your career or business. You know your market, your audience, your customers, and your readers, much better than anyone else does. This intimate knowledge of their needs is what will help make your book and career a success.

9. Niche for Success: Your book’s subject might fit into a very small niche – one that is too small for a traditional publisher to even bother with. Filling a small, tight niche is where the money is for many self-publishers.

10. Creative Outlet: Self-publishing is a great way to satisfy your need to be creative – writing, designing, and illustrating – as well as being creative with marketing, advertising, and promotion. Self-publishing will force you to be creative in many areas.

Joseph C. Kunz, Jr. is an author, publisher, educator, business manager, and entrepreneur. Life-long love affair with books and reading. Very excited about being part of the new media movement. Known for casual, easy-to-read writing style and ability to explain complex topics in an understandable way. “If you are serious about your work you should self-publish. Retain creative control. Retain the profits. Enjoy the satisfaction and status that comes with being published.” Visit Kunz’s website about all aspects of self-publishing at http://www.KunzOnPublishing.com/, for an insider’s guide to becoming a financially successful and happy self-publisher, and sign-up for his free newsletter.

Author: Joseph C Kunz, Jr
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Alternative energy

Self-Publishing – Not for Sissies!

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“I’m going to write myself to freedom.”

Overworked and stressed, with two babies and a child wobbling badly in school, teaching music by day and doing microscopy for leukaemia cases in the nights between 8h p.m. and 12h a.m., that decision came from the murky depths. It was made on a week’s break, staring at the sea in the romantic light of a full moon. And it was the beginning of a journey that would boldly take me staggering on a road many have walked and more have failed on.

Did I reach my goal? Not by a long mile yet. But the landscape is beginning to look greener, and there are unexpected orchids along the way.

Writing has always been a part of my nature. A word of caution to would-be authors: If it comes easily, you’re on the right road. At least one part of this journey needs to be easy. If you begin with a roll of the eye and a great big sigh, perhaps try your hand at something more lucrative, such as nuclear engineering.

Here are the steps, point-wise, that I have followed. I’ll also outline the results of each step.

    • Submitting to hundreds of agents and publishing houses in a climate of world financial crisis – not clever. Only now, since 2011, do I have a literary agent… unofficially.

 

    • Self-publishing as ebook. Alright, that was seduction. The website was well-worded. It got me a couple of hundred views and some nice readers’ comments; hardly any downloads but as I could see the other authors’ stats too, I saw that I didn’t fare too badly in comparison.

 

    • Self-publishing as paper-book on Lulu.com. Good quality (though the binding could be improved); the books look good. Too pricey to offer to shops or sell directly, after shipping; even in “bulk”. But handy for sending single copies overseas.

 

    • Blogging. Careful: Blogging is addictive. The most important reason is the friends one makes online. One can easily spend days and weeks blogging, ultimately losing the way and forgetting that blogging is really a tool, not a hobby.

 

    • Online networking. Once again: Careful, addictive. I use Facebook mainly for games now, though I’m thankful that I’ve found so many of my old friends again. Neither of these have anything to do with internet marketing though.

 

    • After the necessary distractions of blogging and online networking, back to reality: Reviews. I got both readers’ comments and professional reviews over time. Reviews are important; you paste them as advertisements wherever you need them.

 

    • Professional editing and finishing: I met my editor on the blogs. This is why online networking and blogging is necessary despite the time factor: You meet important people who help you along your path. I also had the book covers professionally designed. You need that kind of finishing. A cover sells a book.

 

    • Paper publishing. A friend helped me get started (she is a graphic designer, where would publishing be without them?) and I printed a run of the first book in the series. This small local print run brought the cost per copy into the sellable range.

 

    • Launches: We launch each new book; the launch itself brings some much-needed capital as well as a bit of publicity. Book signings and promotions are on a similar level.

 

    • Sales through shops: We were fortunate that our leg-work paid off and a number of our books were accepted in a number of shops. Frustratingly though the cost-per-copy of small digital runs is still too high for the large chain bookstores to look up. Besides, you’ll have to be something special to get them to look at Science Fiction. The genre is… while not dead, badly abused and tattered.

 

    • Direct sales at markets, events etc: A lot of work for very little reward. However it does raise awareness. We had a few sales every time we staged such a sales event.

 

    • Newspaper and magazine publicity: This is a slow process. We have had podcasts, press releases and reviews in newspapers, and a popular magazine reviewed the first of the series; yet, sales figures didn’t seem to reflect. However, the news is filtering through to people and over time, there is indeed a sales impact.

 

    • Revisiting internet marketing: So far, all we explored was free marketing. Now we put up a website to showcase each of our books (by which time we had acquired a couple of more authors, and had added some music books to our stash). A learning curve how to program a website such that it works, across browsers. I doubt that many self-publishers actually design their own; but I’m headstrong and knew exactly which way I wanted it. Possibly this is a mistake; time will tell.

 

    • Adding “freestuff” to our website: This brings eyes, and clicks. Inquisitive clicks who enjoy browsing. These clicks have in all probability browsed for “free books” or something similar. Previews on books are a must, but how much to tell, that is a pickle. The wording is still a learning curve. It’s not a given that if you purportedly know how to write and capture a reader from scalp to toe, you’ll also know how to write a good ad!

 

  • Giving up and the angels intervening: Now this is the part you might hate to hear. So far, all has been hard and consistent work (though you have probably spotted all the holes by now). But it felt as though it were going nowhere; so I sighed pitifully and gave up. For a moment. I needed ten “Violin Tunes” as I use them in my teaching (and the music shop needed stock) so I trudged down to the local copy shop with my professional covers… ordered the insides and CD’s… was referred to a sister branch of the shop for the insides, and met a lady who introduced me to a distribution agent for music books.

After all this Scifi agony, my unassuming “Violin Tunes” was the book that started moving first! We’re still in small runs (South Africa = financial struggles and a battle to get a product finished in time due to all sorts of shortages at all times); but the ball is rolling, and as I promised my friend who set it rolling, I have taken a new breath and am pushing onwards.

I still have a list of things to do to promote the Scifi series, the other music books and by now, the new authors.

Perhaps the most important piece of advice:

  • Follow every lead, promptly. You never know where it will take you. If the angels want to intervene, let them.

I hope these tips will help you along your publishing road. I intend to come back with more when I have progressed further.

(Lyz Russo is a self-published author and violin teacher in South Africa. At the time of writing she is getting ready to launch the third in her series of Science Fiction books, and some other authors’ books.)

P’kaboo Publishers

Author: Lyz Russo
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Authors – 7 Tips Why Self-Publishing Is Great

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The publishing industry is shifting… and it’s shifting in your favor. If you’re tired of rejections from publishers, it’s time you looked into self-publishing your book. These tips will help you see some very nice benefits that aren’t available through a traditional publisher.

1. More Products Created From Your Book – Because you retain the rights to your book, you can turn your book into an eBook, an e-course, give away a chapter to entice people to give you their email address, or take your book and expand it into a workbook.

2. Need to Increase Your Income Quickly? – The average royalty on a book through a traditional publisher is about $1.00. The average royalty on a self-published book can be between $6 – $12, depending upon the quantity printed. Turnaround time for a traditional publisher is 8-18 months, while you can have your self-published book in 4-6 weeks.

3. You Have An Instant eBook! – Because you retain the rights to your book, you can also put it on your website as an eBook. It’s already formatted for publishing. Just turn it into a PDF file, upload, and bingo – you’ve got your ebook ready to sell, even before you have the paperback in your hands.

4. Your Book Is Your Business Card – Your book is the beginning of your journey, not the end. You can place throughout your book instructions to go to your website for further products and services.

5. International Sales Available Immediately – All successful authors have a website to help sell their book and other products. This gives you instant access to people worldwide who will buy your book and interact with you instantly through email.

6. You Do All The Marketing Anyway! Traditional publishers do little marketing for their authors, unless they are well-known authors. It’s up to you to do all your marketing anyway. So why not reap all the financial benefits too!

7. You Retain Critical Information On Your Customers – The traditional publisher might be able to get your book into bookstores, but they cannot provide you with the contact information of the buyers. But, if you self-publish, you retain this critical information. You can continue to market new products to them over and over. Ka-Ching!

And if you need to learn how to get your book ready for self-publishing and how to market it to your customers, you can learn more at http://www.FreelanceWriterKathy.com
Kathy Williamson is an author/speaker who helps authors and ministries reach their dreams by providing writing and consulting services to help her clients influence lives through the power of words.

Author: Kathy W.
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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