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Get the Most Out of a Self-Publishing Company: Make a Better Deal, Make a Better Book
It's been said that "self-publishing is the future of publishing."
Each year, self-publishing companies publish many more books than the year before. Large traditional publishers have formed self-publishing operations, and tiny publishers copied them. Apple allows self-published authors to sell books for iPads. Bookselling giants Amazon and Barnes & Noble publish eBooks for authors.
Self-publishing companies enable anyone who can type to quickly become a "published author" and compete for the attention of the reading public. There is no longer a need to go through the years-long process of finding an agent and publisher.
Sadly, some self-publishing companies publish badly written books, and sometimes do a bad job of publishing and promoting them. Their writer-customers spend a lot of money, and many customers are disappointed in book quality and limited sales and book reviews.
You can minimize disappointment if you are properly prepared -- and this book will prepare you to pick the right publisher, make the best deal and get the best book.
It warns you not to buy services and trinkets that you don't need and to pay the right prices for what you do need. There's no good reason to pay a company as much as $249 to register your book for copyright when you can easily do it yourself for $35. Don't pay $99 for a Library of Congress Control Number that you can quickly get for FREE. Don't pay $2 each for promotional postcards that you can get for a dime.
Let the publisher do the work you don't want to get involved in, and concentrate on the creative process -- perhaps with independent editors and designers. Make a good-reading, good-looking book which you can be proud of and maybe make money from.
The fully illustrated book is detailed, yet easy-to-read. It will guide you from picking a subject and title, through writing, editing, cover design, interior formatting, pricing, establishing a publishing business, and promoting your books. There's an extensive publishing glossary, and even a section with words that are tricky to spell.
The book includes recent developments including iPad, MS Word 2010, Nook, Pubit! and AuthorHive. It's loaded with info and tips based on personal experience and extensive research, and is useful for all authors. It's funny, too.
Each year, self-publishing companies publish many more books than the year before. Large traditional publishers have formed self-publishing operations, and tiny publishers copied them. Apple allows self-published authors to sell books for iPads. Bookselling giants Amazon and Barnes & Noble publish eBooks for authors.
Self-publishing companies enable anyone who can type to quickly become a "published author" and compete for the attention of the reading public. There is no longer a need to go through the years-long process of finding an agent and publisher.
Sadly, some self-publishing companies publish badly written books, and sometimes do a bad job of publishing and promoting them. Their writer-customers spend a lot of money, and many customers are disappointed in book quality and limited sales and book reviews.
You can minimize disappointment if you are properly prepared -- and this book will prepare you to pick the right publisher, make the best deal and get the best book.
It warns you not to buy services and trinkets that you don't need and to pay the right prices for what you do need. There's no good reason to pay a company as much as $249 to register your book for copyright when you can easily do it yourself for $35. Don't pay $99 for a Library of Congress Control Number that you can quickly get for FREE. Don't pay $2 each for promotional postcards that you can get for a dime.
Let the publisher do the work you don't want to get involved in, and concentrate on the creative process -- perhaps with independent editors and designers. Make a good-reading, good-looking book which you can be proud of and maybe make money from.
The fully illustrated book is detailed, yet easy-to-read. It will guide you from picking a subject and title, through writing, editing, cover design, interior formatting, pricing, establishing a publishing business, and promoting your books. There's an extensive publishing glossary, and even a section with words that are tricky to spell.
The book includes recent developments including iPad, MS Word 2010, Nook, Pubit! and AuthorHive. It's loaded with info and tips based on personal experience and extensive research, and is useful for all authors. It's funny, too.
366 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2010
About the author
Michael N. Marcus
47 books3 followersMichael N. Marcus is the author of more than 40 books—including many bestsellers. He has been an editor at Rolling Stone magazine and has written for many science, music, business, electronics, automotive and general interest magazines, as well as newspapers.
He's also an award-winning advertising copywriter who has worked on such brands as Pioneer, Acoustic Research, Columbia Records, Maxell, Volvo, Castrol, and Perdue chicken. Active on Facebook, Michael founded and administers over a dozen popular groups, and a few unpopular ones.
Michael has long been a successful and popular explainer. Before the Internet, he was an online adviser on CompuServe, and later on MSN. He is a contributor to many online groups and publications. He has provided the words for more than 50 websites and blogs.
At the urging of a misguided guidance counselor, he went to Lehigh University to become an electrical engineer, and was disappointed to learn that engineering was mostly math—and slide rules were not as much fun as soldering irons. He quickly switched to journalism.
Michael has written professionally for over 40 years. He was one of the first writers to humanize electronic hardware, describing equipment with emotion, not math. At Rolling Stone, his popular reviews of hi-fi equipment departed from the traditional laboratory tedium, and used humor and slices-of-life to describe the components. His novel approach came from necessity—because he didn't have a testing laboratory.
Michael lives in Connecticut with his wife Marilyn, the ghost of Hunter the Golden Retriever, indoor and outdoor telephone booths, a "Lily Tomlin" switchboard, lots of books, CDs and DVDs, and many black boxes with flashing lights. Marilyn is very tolerant.
1948
Michael N. Marcus.
He's also an award-winning advertising copywriter who has worked on such brands as Pioneer, Acoustic Research, Columbia Records, Maxell, Volvo, Castrol, and Perdue chicken. Active on Facebook, Michael founded and administers over a dozen popular groups, and a few unpopular ones.
Michael has long been a successful and popular explainer. Before the Internet, he was an online adviser on CompuServe, and later on MSN. He is a contributor to many online groups and publications. He has provided the words for more than 50 websites and blogs.
At the urging of a misguided guidance counselor, he went to Lehigh University to become an electrical engineer, and was disappointed to learn that engineering was mostly math—and slide rules were not as much fun as soldering irons. He quickly switched to journalism.
Michael has written professionally for over 40 years. He was one of the first writers to humanize electronic hardware, describing equipment with emotion, not math. At Rolling Stone, his popular reviews of hi-fi equipment departed from the traditional laboratory tedium, and used humor and slices-of-life to describe the components. His novel approach came from necessity—because he didn't have a testing laboratory.
Michael lives in Connecticut with his wife Marilyn, the ghost of Hunter the Golden Retriever, indoor and outdoor telephone booths, a "Lily Tomlin" switchboard, lots of books, CDs and DVDs, and many black boxes with flashing lights. Marilyn is very tolerant.
1948
Michael N. Marcus.
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