Self-Publishing Research

July 17, 2014

I'm very exited at the prospect of self-publishing and I can't wait to get started. However, as with any great idea it needs to be researched. I had this idea about two years ago but I was told I shouldn't pursue it as I wouldn't be respected in the publishing industry anymore. This made absolutely no sense to me but I held off. It's not like I'm a brand new author. I have one full-length book in print, Suspicious Minds, and two novellas in anthologies: Haunted Hearts in Enchanted Holidays and Get Out or Die! in One Touch Beyond, along with a number of short stories that have appeared in different e-zines, and an adoption story that was published in True Love magazine. I also have numerous books in different stages of completion from only a few sentences to three-quarters completed.

Research

To get started, I downloaded a few books on self-publishing. I now have a total of 15 books on the subject. So far, I've read 3 books which I will discuss them here.

The first book I read is titled, Building Your Book for Kindle which is exactly what the title states: It instructs you on how to format and upload your book to the Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) site. You can get the same information with more detailed instructions directly on the KDP Web site, but get this book if you prefer to read on your Kindle Fire or Smart Phone instead of on the Internet. It's a good, easy to follow FREE ebook. Just a note that it was published in 2012 and there may have been some changes since then.

Ditch the Publisher: 40 Indie Authors on Their Unique Self Publishing Journey Edited by Haley Sherman

Very informative book and I took a lot of notes. One of my favorite sections was #Twenty-One: A Few Ideas to get You Started by Joseph Lallo - He gives very good examples of how to get started self-publishing: Write the Book, Get it Edited, Find a Cover Artist, and upload your book to one of the major eBook publishing sites, such as Amazon's KDP and Smashwords (a multi-distributor of eBooks). Smashwords he states is the "biggest bang for your buck" as they deliver your eBook to Barnes and Noble, Sony, Apple, and a handful of others.
#Fourteen: The Writing Bug by JD Nixon has a section about the pros and cons (more pros than cons) about Smashwords that was very good.
The best part is it doesn't cost you anything to upload your books to these sites and have them published. According to how much you charge per book, you can get from 35% to 75% of the price of your book. The section on royalties that I liked best was #Twenty: Five Places to Self-Publish Your Ebook by L.J. Sellers. She also gives a description of each self-publishing site. L.J. Sellers has written 2 articles and they are all very well written and informative. In #Twenty-Three: Investing in Your Own Ebook by L.J. Sellers, she tells you what each publish pays in royalties and exactly how much it will cost you to publish a book if you hire out for the following:

Editing/Proofreading
Cover Art
Formatting for the different eBook publishers

#Twenty-Five: Becoming a Bestseller by Terri Reid talks about how to become a best-selling author. I so enjoyed this section that I went to Amazon and bought the first book in her series, Loose Ends (A Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery), and I checked out her Web site and fan blog. She is a special interest to me since the series I'm working on is a paranormal mystery.

There are many more great stories that I haven't hit on here and all are excellent stories of how each author started out, how they're making money, step-by-step instructions, and some were about what not to do. There are also amazing sections on marketing your books. This is a 200 plus page book. If you're an author thinking about self-publishing, and you haven't read this book, it is a must read and it is FREE on Amazon.

Yesterday, I finished reading SELF PUBLISHING: How To Make Money Online By Self Publishing Ebooks On Amazon TODAY! by Abraham Falls. This is another must read for authors thinking about self-publishing. It's a shorter book that I read during breaks and during my lunch time at work for two days. This is an excellent, informative book with great resources. I found it for FREE about 3 days ago but it is now $0.99 on Amazon.

Mr. Falls starts out by informing you why Amazon is the best place to start publishing your book. From there he hits on the marketing aspect of choosing a niche and using the right keywords. Chapter 3 is about the content. Do you want to write it yourself or outsource it? I was thinking, outsourcing? Why would I want to do that?But then he made a very good point. Outsourcing would be a good way to have someone research a topic for you. He also gives sources for cheap outsourcing and explains what he does. Should you edit your own book or do should you hire an editor?

Chapter 4 covers the subject of cover art. Do you want to do it yourself or outsource it? He gives resources for both. Chapter 5 is all about Creating a Title That Sells, Chapter 6 has instruction on publishing on KDP, Chapter 7 is a more detailed chapter on marketing, Chapter 8 is about promoting within the book, Chapter 9 is about Mr. Falls' secret to success, and Chapter 10 gives you tips for long-term success. If that isn't enough, there are more resources--FREE BONUSES--to help you get started.

So, what do you think about authors who self-publish or what do you think about self-publishing if you are an author? I believe it is a great idea. I would definitely need an editor, but the rest I think I can do myself. However I would love someone to provide research information for me.