The Basics of Self Publishing

Presentation delivered by Andrew Comeau to the Ocala I.T. Professionals, March 25, 2015.

Transcript

1. The Basics of Self-Publishing Ocala I.T. Professionals March 25, 2015 Andrew Comeau
2. What Have I Published? • Microsoft Access for Beginners October 2011 Began as web series and was then converted into a book. • Your First Guide to Database Design October 2013 First dedicated book project. • MySQL for Beginners (working title) Current project – first contract project.
3. Why Self-Publish? • Publishing has never been easier. • No initial investment beyond time and effort. • Complete control over your product. • Retain ownership of the rights to your work.
4. The Catch • You get to do all the work including design, writing, editing, negotiations with outlets and bookstores, promotion, sales, accounting, etc... • If the book sells, it will only sell as long as you continue to promote it. There is no publish and forget it. • The book might not sell. Even professionally published books often don't sell. • Ebooks often sell for $5.99 or less.
5. What Tools Do I Need? • Something marketable to say. (Quality alone isn't always marketable.) • Good language skills or an editing team. • Software to create documents in EPUB, MOBI & PDF formats.
6. Software • Sigil (http://sigil.en.softonic.com/) – Free & Open Source XHTML text editor for creating EPUB documents • Calibre (Calibre-Ebook.com/) - Ebook library manager. Converts between formats and edits metadata. • Kindle Previewer (KDP.Amazon.com) – Previews finished Kindle file. Also converts from EPUB to MOBI for upload to Amazon.com.
7. Formatting Your Book • Your cover is the first impression anyone will get of the book. • Use high-quality images – 300 DPI or higher, sharp, hi-res and resized if necessary. • Whitespace. • Emulate the professionals. • The reader is your customer. It's all about their needs. • Keep EPUBs simple. Leave the complex formatting for PDFs.
8. Copyrighting Your Work • A creative work is protected from the moment you create it. (Berne Convention) • Publishing your work in a way that attaches a date to its creation can help to protect your claim to a work but is not guaranteed in the U.S.. • Using the copyright symbol (©) with your name and date serves as a notice of your claim to ownership. • Registration with the U.S. Copyright Office (Copyright.gov) is required in order to bring an ingfringement case in the U.S. if necessary. • Registration can be done through the Electronic Copyright Office and a single registration costs $35.
9. Obtaining an ISBN • The ISBN uniquely identifies a book and can help potential readers find it more quickly. • Each print or digital version of a book requires a separate ISBN. • Bowker Identifier Services is the U.S. Agency for ISBNs (ISBN.org). • Purchasing your own ISBN rather than through a publishing service is easy and names you as the publisher. • Some outlets such as Apple and Kobo require ISBNs.
10. Where Do I Publish? • Amazon.com • Amazon CreateSpace.com – Print publishing on demand for books, music and film • Barnes & Noble (NookPress) • Scribd.com – No preferred format, many formats accepted • IngramSpark.com – Large global retail network including Amazon & Barnes and Noble • Smashwords.com – Indie ebook distributor with retail network • Your own site
11. How Do I Promote the Book? • Offer a preview, typically the first chapter • Provide a way for readers to contact you. Ask for reviews. • Make it part of your story and your profile. • Online – Forums, LinkedIn, Social Media, Google Adwords • Keep writing – blogs, articles, etc. Reference your work. • Create a website for the book.
12. When Will I See Profits? • Typically two months at the earliest from online outlets • Royalties range from 35% to 80%. • Amazon.com - 35% / 70% • B&N - 65% • Scribd.com – 80% - $0.25 • IngramSpark – 40% to 70% depending on format and Kindle opt-in.
13. Final Thoughts • Know your audience and your goal. • It's your name on the cover. Take care what you put on the inside. • Every idea sounds like genius before you talk about it with others. • Every penny you spend comes out of your profit. Know what you're buying. • Nobody can value or market your book like you can. • Google is your best friend. Design and promote your book so people will find it there as often as possible. • Your cover is the first impression anyone will get of the book. • Publishing is easier. Sales is as challenging as ever.
14. Resources & Links • "Contagious: Why Things Catch On" – Jonah Berger (Simon & Schuster, 2013) • Berne Union for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works Member List http://www.wipo.int/members/en/#21 • Electronic Copyright Office http://eco.copyright.gov • Bowker Identifier Services http://www.ISBN.org • CNET – "25 Things You Need to Know About Self-Publishing" http://www.cnet.com/news/self-publishing-a-book-25-things-you-need-to-know/ • CNET - "How to Self-Publish an Ebook" http://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-self-publish-an-ebook/ • Andrew Comeau's Amazon Page http://www.amazon.com/Andrew-Comeau/e/B00FNZRDGQ • Sigil EPUB Software http://sigil.en.softonic.com/ • "My Amazon BestSeller Made Me Nothing" – A reality check from Salon.com http://www.salon.com/2013/03/15/hey_amazon_wheres_my_money/
15. Resources & Links • Calibre – Ebook library manager and converter http://calibre-ebook.com/ • Kindle Previewer software download http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000765261 • Kindle Direct Publishing http://kdp.amazon.com • Amazon CreateSpace – Print on Demand (POD) Publishing https://www.createspace.com/ • Barnes & Noble – Nook Press https://www.nookpress.com/ • Scribd – Document and Ebook Publishing https://www.scribd.com/ • IngramSpark – Book distributor and retail network https://www.ingramspark.com/ • Smashwords – Ebook distribution and retail network http://www.smashwords.com/