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Self-Publishing Advice

D

donatello

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Are there any self-publishers on this forum?

What is the best service to use? Lulu.com? Amazon Kindle? CafePress?

Which ones work?
I also write and play music. Classical, Spanish and Baroque guitar mostly, which does not have a huge audience, nonetheless, I would like to produce an album. I have my own recording studio and have about half an album done...

... problem is, I don't know where to start once the last recording is done!

Any advice? Any sites to check?

Thanks in advance!
 
donatello said:
Are there any self-publishers on this forum?
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I hope not. What self-publishers come by, don't tend to stay too long. Usually, it's a bit of subterfuge (buy this book by a new author, conveniently forgetting to say they are the 'author'), the thread gets binned, they never come back.
 
Have a look at the sticky at the top of this. I found the last post has a link to predators and editors. We used one of the companies listed on their list and found them good. However, be prepared, even with help, it is really hard work getting a book out there!
 
You can also "publish" your book on a website and hope someone finds you. This has happened to more than a few now published authors (probably not so true with fiction, though).
 
Hi ewomack How would I go about publishing my book (non-fiction) on the web-site? Is it very expensive? Appreciate any advice--Thanks Doc
 
There seems to be a rocky road to self-publishing--what are the hazards?

Is there a publishing house that would make the process easier than others?

Have two novels to be read on line, but have not had a response--perhaps the self publishing alternative is best.

Appreciate any advice....Doc
 
You need to be with a publisher that can get you listed on the distributions lists so that you the book will be available on-line and through any book store. That seems to be key. Even still, it is a huge amount of work to go it alone.
 
Hi--Have my own web site--what do you think of printing books on demand? Are there any more reasonable than others? Doc
 
Girly girl,

What do you think of "Create a space" Who would print books and Amazon would deliver?? How reliable are they? Any experience with this group? Appreciate any advice. DOC

Initial cost $800.00?
 
I am a self published author. I am not here to promote my book, and have purposely not mentioned the title (aside from my profile) because I do not want people to think I'm here just to promote my book.

I would recommend createspace.com to anyone that seeks to self publish. The cost is minimal, and you set the price and royalties for your title. The only thing you have to buy is a proof copy (I think mine was $7) and you can purchase the Pro plan if you like for something like $30. But Beware!!!! They print exactly what you submit. They do not edit at all, unless you purchase the service. they do not market, unless you purchase the service. They Will make the book available on amazon.com and with the extended distro option (Free with the Pro Plan) it will also be listed through Ingrams, making it available to ALL retailers.

I think I did a good job in marketing my book, and it has become fairly popular, selling in multiple countries. I have recently been contacted by "Traditional" publishers who are interested in "Taking it to the next level" was how they put it.
 
Pawns of Honor--Fertile Years--Great stuff

WriterJohnB said:
Doc,
You say you have novels published on-line, but don't give a link. How is anyone supposed to get to them?

JOhnB
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Am Not published--Have been approached by Trafford.com--was wondering how reliable they are? Self publishing the answer? Two historical novels-part fiction-part history-erotic and suspenseful-- great stuff--Doc
 
keith-create a space?

Hi--was wondering how reliable create-- was? How to set price and royalties for title? Pro plan $30.00 with free extended distro-option (which means?)

thanks for any help Doc
 
Hi Keith--Were you on a distributor list with Create a space? Seriously thinking of going with them. How expensive was it--Were there any hidden costs? Thanks again ....Doc
 
The quickest and cheapest (Free) route to self-publishing is create an ebook at Smashwords or Kindle. It's also the best way I know to market to actual readers.

I recommend reading Are You Still Submitting Your Work to a Traditional Publisher? by Edward C. Patterson. It's a must read. The ebook is FREE at smashwords.com. Ed has a lot of good "how I did it" advice. If I had read Ed's book first, I would have gone the ebook route before publishing a paperback. Not that I'm complaining about my POD publisher, Outskirts Press. They delivered exactly as promised and I kept ALL rights, set my own price and trade discounts; but I've sold three times as many ebooks as paperbacks so far.

Also, right now at Amazon, the Kindle split between Amazon and Authors is 65% to Amazon/35% to Author; At the end of June this split is changing for ebooks priced between $2.99-$9.99 to 30% to Amazon/70% to Author. Thought everyone should know.

Highly recommend checking out any publisher at Preditors and Editors.
 
Createspace.com is nearly a totally free selfpublishing service. I highly recomend them.

the only costs are for proof copies of your book, neccassary to ensure that your book is just the way you want it. I had to order two proofs (wasnt happy with original cover). The price of the proof depends on the size of your book, but will be really low. You can also opt for the "Pro Package" which costs about $50 but gives you much higher royalties. The pro package will pay for itself with just a few sales (If you buy about 20 copies of your own book then you will have already saved that much) Createspace has also recently started an expanded distro option, making the books with pro package available through Ingram (Thus available through nearly all markets). there are no hidden costs and the community and support staff are wonderful to work with.
 
I have published twice with a company called iuniverse. There are good and bad things about self-publishing. The first thing, going in, I would advise you to be realistic about what you want. My goal is to get the story out there and make enough money to cover the costs of publishing, no more, no less.

Iuniverse is now under a company called author solutions, which owns a bunch of self-publishing companies. Next piece of advice is this: learn to say no. They will offer to sell you everything from editing packages to video promos etc.
 
Which ever way you choose to self-publish, I highly recommend using Smashwords. They are gaining readers every month, they are free, they get your eBooks listed on major retail websites like Barns and Nobles, and you get to set all the prices.
 
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