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Let's Get Digital: How To Self-Publish, And Why You Should
Publish like a pro and start finding readers today with the most comprehensive and up-to-date self-publishing guide on the market. Packed with practical, actionable advice, the new fourth edition of Let's Get Digital delivers the very latest best practices on publishing your work and building audience.
* Boost your writing career with marketing strategies that are proven to sell more books.
* Discover expert tips on platform building, blogging and social media.
* Learn which approaches are best for selling fiction vs. non-fiction.
* Implement powerful ways to make your ebooks more discoverable.
* Increase your visibility by optimizing keywords and categories.
* Weigh the pros and cons of Kindle Unlimited, and find out exactly how to tweak your promotional plans depending on whether you stay exclusive to Amazon or opt for wider distribution.
And that's just for starters...
* Boost your writing career with marketing strategies that are proven to sell more books.
* Discover expert tips on platform building, blogging and social media.
* Learn which approaches are best for selling fiction vs. non-fiction.
* Implement powerful ways to make your ebooks more discoverable.
* Increase your visibility by optimizing keywords and categories.
* Weigh the pros and cons of Kindle Unlimited, and find out exactly how to tweak your promotional plans depending on whether you stay exclusive to Amazon or opt for wider distribution.
And that's just for starters...
261 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 18, 2011
1037 people are currently reading
1896 people want to read
About the author
David Gaughran
11 books287 followersDavid Gaughran was born in Ireland but now lives in a quaint little fishing village in Portugal, although this hasn't increased the amount of time he spends outside the house. He writes historical fiction and science fiction under another name, has helped thousands of authors publish their work through his workshops, blog, and writers' books - Let's Get Digital, Strangers to Superfans, BookBub Ads Expert, and Amazon Decoded - and has also created giant marketing campaigns for some of the biggest self-publishers on the planet. Visit DavidGaughran.com to get yourself a free book.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 476 reviews
February 25, 2015
Where I got the book: purchased on Kindle as part of a boxed set special offer.
Let me say straightaway that I’m viewing this book as what it is: a self-publisher helping others and making some money at the same time. Most books about self-publishing are like that; they’re often based on advice given on blogs and so on. I haven’t yet come across one that has that slick and professional feel that makes me go “Yes! An authority!”, although Joanna Penn (whom I’m currently reading) comes close. (Frankly, given the amount of books on self-publishing written by self-publishers out there, you'd have to be crazy to spend a fortune on producing a slick book because your competition's likely to do just as well, can be quicker with updates, and can sell for less.)
Still, I don’t mind recommending this book to a specific audience, namely writers who are attracted by the idea of self-publishing but don’t really have a clue what it’s about or where to start. This is a decent read as an introduction, and I probably should have read it four years ago—right now, I’m looking for something a little meatier.
What does it cover? You get a fairly long section on the benefits of self-publishing, with a bit of history and some practical advice on how things work at the time of writing (one caveat with self-publishing how-tos is that something new has happened almost as soon as the latest edition is published, but what are you going to do?) By the time a newbie’s read through that, he or she will have a pretty good idea of how the self-publishing world looks and why people choose to do it. If you’ve made the plunge into self-publishing and are feeling a bit lost and daunted, this book will also help by showing what you need to concentrate on and what shiny things you can disregard because they won’t help you much. This first bit’s in two parts which seem to overlap slightly, as if they were written at different times.
For me there was nothing new in any of this, but then I’m not the book’s intended audience. And then came the success stories…thirty of them. Hoooooly cow. I enjoyed the first few, then started to get a bit bored—again, not really my book because I’m already committed. If you need to have your socks blown off before you hand over your money, though, this litany of thousands of books sold will get the juices flowing.
The last part of the book consists of appendices, and frankly I was a little puzzled why this material wasn’t worked into the body of the book because it was the same kind of overview approach.
The book’s full of links, which means you have to read it on a platform with some decent kind of browser. My Kindle Paperwhite wasn’t the right environment, and I always get annoyed when I tap the screen to turn the page and find I’ve hit a link instead.
So this is very much a Your Mileage May Vary book. Your reaction to it’s going to depend on where you are on the self-publishing timeline, and even on how you’re reading the book. Totally new? Spend the money. Newish? Still worth it. In both cases it’s a shortcut compared to trawling through the internet looking for blog posts when you’re overwhelmed and don’t have a clue where to start. Gaughran writes in an engaging, clear manner, encourages professionalism, and steers you away from some of the worst pitfalls. That’s all good.
Let me say straightaway that I’m viewing this book as what it is: a self-publisher helping others and making some money at the same time. Most books about self-publishing are like that; they’re often based on advice given on blogs and so on. I haven’t yet come across one that has that slick and professional feel that makes me go “Yes! An authority!”, although Joanna Penn (whom I’m currently reading) comes close. (Frankly, given the amount of books on self-publishing written by self-publishers out there, you'd have to be crazy to spend a fortune on producing a slick book because your competition's likely to do just as well, can be quicker with updates, and can sell for less.)
Still, I don’t mind recommending this book to a specific audience, namely writers who are attracted by the idea of self-publishing but don’t really have a clue what it’s about or where to start. This is a decent read as an introduction, and I probably should have read it four years ago—right now, I’m looking for something a little meatier.
What does it cover? You get a fairly long section on the benefits of self-publishing, with a bit of history and some practical advice on how things work at the time of writing (one caveat with self-publishing how-tos is that something new has happened almost as soon as the latest edition is published, but what are you going to do?) By the time a newbie’s read through that, he or she will have a pretty good idea of how the self-publishing world looks and why people choose to do it. If you’ve made the plunge into self-publishing and are feeling a bit lost and daunted, this book will also help by showing what you need to concentrate on and what shiny things you can disregard because they won’t help you much. This first bit’s in two parts which seem to overlap slightly, as if they were written at different times.
For me there was nothing new in any of this, but then I’m not the book’s intended audience. And then came the success stories…thirty of them. Hoooooly cow. I enjoyed the first few, then started to get a bit bored—again, not really my book because I’m already committed. If you need to have your socks blown off before you hand over your money, though, this litany of thousands of books sold will get the juices flowing.
The last part of the book consists of appendices, and frankly I was a little puzzled why this material wasn’t worked into the body of the book because it was the same kind of overview approach.
The book’s full of links, which means you have to read it on a platform with some decent kind of browser. My Kindle Paperwhite wasn’t the right environment, and I always get annoyed when I tap the screen to turn the page and find I’ve hit a link instead.
So this is very much a Your Mileage May Vary book. Your reaction to it’s going to depend on where you are on the self-publishing timeline, and even on how you’re reading the book. Totally new? Spend the money. Newish? Still worth it. In both cases it’s a shortcut compared to trawling through the internet looking for blog posts when you’re overwhelmed and don’t have a clue where to start. Gaughran writes in an engaging, clear manner, encourages professionalism, and steers you away from some of the worst pitfalls. That’s all good.
June 9, 2018
If you have any desire to self-publish (or are already involved), this is a book that needs to be on your bookshelf.
I had previously read “Let’s Get Digital” (Second Edition) and for months have been promising myself I would reread it, so I was surprised and happy to see that Mr. Gaughran has updated this informative work and released the Third Edition. I have always believed it makes sense to find people who knows what they are talking about and then learn from them rather than bang my head off the wall in an attempt to recreate the wheel.
The book starts with what all authors should be concerned with, getting your book in the best shape it can be before publishing it. This includes everything from hiring an editor to pricing, optimizing metadata, and figuring out how you want to distribute your ebook. Other sections dive into the truths and myths of self-publishing, offering many tips on how any writer can improve the odds of achieving greater success.
What the author does not do is promise a quick route to the Promised Land. Mr. Gaughran presents in a straightforward (and sometimes humorous) way the facts about self-publishing and the different routes one could take, allowing readers to make up their own minds on what makes the most sense for their particular situations. Traditional publishing is also discussed, presenting the case for and against and offering examples of authors who have gone one way or the other (traditional or self-pub), or worked out a hybrid method by merging both avenues.
The book finishes with a number of authors who have achieved different levels of self-publishing success, followed by an extensive resource section (complete with links). This section also includes Mr. Gaughran’s free bonus “Amazon Decoded: A Marketing Guide to the Kindle Store.” Knowledge is power, and having a map to navigate through the publishing jungle will certainly be helpful. Having a book chockful of tips and information – well, as I stated above, why recreate the wheel? Highly recommended. Five stars.
I had previously read “Let’s Get Digital” (Second Edition) and for months have been promising myself I would reread it, so I was surprised and happy to see that Mr. Gaughran has updated this informative work and released the Third Edition. I have always believed it makes sense to find people who knows what they are talking about and then learn from them rather than bang my head off the wall in an attempt to recreate the wheel.
The book starts with what all authors should be concerned with, getting your book in the best shape it can be before publishing it. This includes everything from hiring an editor to pricing, optimizing metadata, and figuring out how you want to distribute your ebook. Other sections dive into the truths and myths of self-publishing, offering many tips on how any writer can improve the odds of achieving greater success.
What the author does not do is promise a quick route to the Promised Land. Mr. Gaughran presents in a straightforward (and sometimes humorous) way the facts about self-publishing and the different routes one could take, allowing readers to make up their own minds on what makes the most sense for their particular situations. Traditional publishing is also discussed, presenting the case for and against and offering examples of authors who have gone one way or the other (traditional or self-pub), or worked out a hybrid method by merging both avenues.
The book finishes with a number of authors who have achieved different levels of self-publishing success, followed by an extensive resource section (complete with links). This section also includes Mr. Gaughran’s free bonus “Amazon Decoded: A Marketing Guide to the Kindle Store.” Knowledge is power, and having a map to navigate through the publishing jungle will certainly be helpful. Having a book chockful of tips and information – well, as I stated above, why recreate the wheel? Highly recommended. Five stars.
April 16, 2025
This is easy the best book on writing I have read from the author! It is short and precise, and doesn’t waste a lot of time on fluff. A lot of stuff in this book is 101 beginner stuff. But that being said the “beginner stuff,” is often the core stuff and is the parts that should be recovered the most.
So if you’re new order, this is a great to get you started on the right foot. And if you have a little bit more experience, I don’t think you’ll find anything new in this book, but it will still be worth going over just for a check on your core basic skills.
So if you’re new order, this is a great to get you started on the right foot. And if you have a little bit more experience, I don’t think you’ll find anything new in this book, but it will still be worth going over just for a check on your core basic skills.
January 7, 2025
If you are considering indie publishing, read this. It’s a simple no frills roadmap and it’s everything you need (aside from writing a really good book—this won’t help you with that). I read it in 2023 and based my whole business plan on it.
December 29, 2014
This review is organized according to the number of grains of salt with which I think a reader should take David Gaughran’s advice.
Salt-free
Sprinkle
The whole shaker
When Gaughran has done his research and adequately documented it, he’s informative and persuasive. When he bases his advice on his personal experience and that of a few other writers, he uses only anecdotal evidence—not the strongest kind on which to base advice, but grounded in at least this weakest level of proof. Occasionally he draws conclusions without indicating even that level of support, which makes it hard to tell if he’s out on a limb or on solid ground. Once in a great while, I caught errors that I was pretty sure were factually wrong.
Salt-free
This book is worth reading for the content on the bookstore business alone, if one is not acquainted with it. I used to work in it, and he describes it well. A new book by an unknown, traditionally published author may have a short life on the shelves, ending up in remainders and then out of print. His analyses of the returns system, and of advances and traditional publishing contracts, while filtered through his pro-self-publishing bias, are nonetheless factually accurate.
He gives excellent advice on getting ready for self-publishing. Anyone who thinks they can edit their own work and only have their friends and family critique it should read this. He says editing is an education. Going through an editor’s changes teaches an author about writing. First time not-yet-published authors should read the section on editing and read it again. If everyone took this advice the unready would stop putting their work out there.
Gaughran identifies scams in a short chapter, but leaves it up to Writer Beware to give more detail on what they are how they work. In doing so he identifies a good resource—and the fact that many of those scams are owned by major publishing houses.
He gives good advice on reviews.
Sprinkle
He says that readers won’t buy books with Digital Rights Management as often as they’ll buy those without but gives no evidence to support this opinion. I did a very informal survey to get some input, and can’t conclude from it whether or not DRM affects sales. Some readers avoid e-books that have it, some don’t even know how to tell it’s there, and others just strip DRM if they don’t want it, claiming it can be done in less than minute. This third group supports Gaughran’s hypothesis that DRM is teaching readers to be “pirates,” though what these readers normally do with the e-pub files they create this way is move them to their Nooks or Kobos and read them. I suppose they could also e-mail the files to friends to save them the trouble of stripping and converting, and not think of themselves as pirates, and it would still be a lost sale, an invisible cost of not publishing to all platforms.
I suspect Gaughran underestimates the importance and longevity of paper books and physical bookstores. He scarcely mentions libraries.
I think an author looking for marketing tips should read this. A huge and pervasive social media presence apparently isn’t necessary. Gaughran sorts out “things that make you feel icky” from things that don’t—and according to him, the ones that don’t feel icky are the ones that work. Tweeting promos all the time: icky and ineffective. Oddly, he identifies hanging out on Goodreads in the “feel icky” category.” I found the blatant buy-my-next-book push at the end of his book to be icky, but apparently it didn’t feel that way to Gaughran.
He may underestimate the influence of the perception that self-published work is all crap. I’d agree that it’s a waste of time to go into a rant about the crap, though, and more important to focus on how to avoid adding to it.
Overall, this book is a little Amazon-centric. He assumes, while providing no support for that assumption, that the other e-book retailers don’t have good customer service. He does a good analysis of how Amazon’s marketing algorithm work and finds their aggressive personalized marketing a good thing. Maybe it is. I bought a replacement laptop cord from them once and they have been hounding me with offers of what’s new in electronics ever since. I buy all my e-books from Barnes and Noble and they never bother me. I call that good customer service, but to each their own.
Gaughran offers limited ideas of where to find cover designers, and seems to have no idea about professional writers’ groups. Sending people to K-boards is his favorite option. I left it after finding it less than useful, but other may find a home there. That’s my anecdote vs. his anecdote. Neither is especially valuable.
I had no idea what to think about his information on the file size of the picture that goes in the e-book and of the one that goes on the retailer’s web site. I have my file conversion and formatting done by Draft2Digital. I’ve noticed that other authors’ e-pub files are often larger than my files for my longer books. Perhaps my cover art is not taking up as much space. Gaughran says to make sure your files aren’t huge because Amazon charges for file delivery. This puzzles me. If you set a price at a certain level, how can they do that? Do they reduce your royalty? Refuse to let you set that low a price? Since I convert to mobi and have the cover already installed through D2D, so I have no experience with a file size issue. Maybe someone else will know if it is irrelevant on Gaughran’s part to mention this or actually useful.
He’s Kindle-centric when it comes to checking formatting. You need to look at a mobi in a Kindle previewer and look at an e-pub in Adobe Digital Editions.
Gaughran gives useful information on when to upload directly to an e-book retailer and when to use a distributor. He is unclear in describing the distributors’ cut, though. For the one I use it’s not 10% of each book sale, but 10% of my 60 to 70%, a smaller amount.
The book is full of links to his blog. For me, this was annoying. If the material is important it should be in the book. I’m not normally online while reading an e-book and I had to remember to and go back and check things. I’m sure I missed quite a few blog links. If your e-reader is on your computer and you are always online, or if your e-reader has Wi-Fi, this won’t be an issue, but it was for me.
He suggests using Library Thing. Last time I looked the discussions were moribund and the groups small. He doesn’t seem aware of Booklikes, which seems much livelier.
I’m not sure what to think about his tax advice to international writers, but he is one, so maybe he knows.
He does a fairly good analysis of KDP Select from his point of view. It’s not based on research, though, or if it is, he doesn’t cite it. The less appealing changes in the program are described well. He doesn’t address how authors’ exclusivity to Kindle affects readers, though, an issue few authors seem to think about. (Here is a link on KDP Select sales as seen by another author—more anecdotal evidence: http://noorosha.com/why-exclusivity-i...)
Gaughran’s major marketing tool is the mailing list. He encourages having clickable links in the end-matter of a book to get readers to sign up for them, buy other books and get to your blog etc. I once had a beta reader tell me to take such things out of a short story because most people, he said, are not online and it’s just clutter. I’m not sure who’s right. The new release mailing list seems sound, though, even if only a percentage of readers actually click on such a link.
The information on ads and how to run them and which sites are reputable is complex, and as Gaughran says, may be dated, as some sites go up or down in readership and prices. He has no data on overall success rates of ads, though, only his personal experience.
He advises authors to learn to do their own formatting, but my experience with D2D is that their formatting for mobi, e-pub and paperback is done so well and with such good customer service, I have no wish to do it myself, especially if I’d have to set up all the separate accounts for Create Space and each of the e-retailers who comprise about a third of my sales combined. Smashwords authors I know also seem happy with both the service and distribution. He doesn’t know that D2D does Create Space formatting even though he uses D2D for some of his e-books. He makes paperback formatting sound hard and says you have to do it yourself or hire another person.
The whole shaker
Gaughran states that you can upload to Kindle through D2D and Smashwords.
Smashwords web site says this at the time of my writing this review:
Although we have a distribution agreement with Amazon via their Kindle Direct Platform, they're unable to receive our entire catalog until they create a bulk upload facility. In the meantime, we're only distributing a few hundred titles to Amazon out of our catalog of over 250,000. We understand that many Smashwords authors would prefer the convenience of consolidating their distribution to Amazon via Smashwords, rather than uploading direct to Amazon. If your book has earned over $2,000 at Smashwords and you would prefer to consolidate your distribution via Smashwords to Amazon as opposed to uploading direct with them, please click the "support" link at the bottom of this page and let us know you're in the $2,000 club and would like to be considered for our distribution to Amazon.
Amazon Kindle no longer is willing to work with D2D and delisted all their authors in Feb. 2014, making them re-upload directly. (It was easy, but my earlier reviews vanished with the delisting.)
The success stories from other indie authors were tedious, repetitive padding—data-free anecdotes that added nothing the value of the book.
Conclusion:
If you have never self-published or are undecided about it vs. pursuing traditional publishing, this is worth reading. If you have successfully self-published, have won awards and/or contests that confirm you have published good quality books, and have more favorable than unfavorable reviews but still have slow sales, you might benefit from the chapters on marketing and skip the rest, or just read his blog. I plan to try out some of his marketing tips and see if they work. I need to see if they do before I think about buying his next book.
I read an e-pub, not Kindle, version of the revised second edition 2014, but Goodreads doesn't indicate the existence of such a thing. I received it as a gift from my distributor.
Salt-free
Sprinkle
The whole shaker
When Gaughran has done his research and adequately documented it, he’s informative and persuasive. When he bases his advice on his personal experience and that of a few other writers, he uses only anecdotal evidence—not the strongest kind on which to base advice, but grounded in at least this weakest level of proof. Occasionally he draws conclusions without indicating even that level of support, which makes it hard to tell if he’s out on a limb or on solid ground. Once in a great while, I caught errors that I was pretty sure were factually wrong.
Salt-free
This book is worth reading for the content on the bookstore business alone, if one is not acquainted with it. I used to work in it, and he describes it well. A new book by an unknown, traditionally published author may have a short life on the shelves, ending up in remainders and then out of print. His analyses of the returns system, and of advances and traditional publishing contracts, while filtered through his pro-self-publishing bias, are nonetheless factually accurate.
He gives excellent advice on getting ready for self-publishing. Anyone who thinks they can edit their own work and only have their friends and family critique it should read this. He says editing is an education. Going through an editor’s changes teaches an author about writing. First time not-yet-published authors should read the section on editing and read it again. If everyone took this advice the unready would stop putting their work out there.
Gaughran identifies scams in a short chapter, but leaves it up to Writer Beware to give more detail on what they are how they work. In doing so he identifies a good resource—and the fact that many of those scams are owned by major publishing houses.
He gives good advice on reviews.
Sprinkle
He says that readers won’t buy books with Digital Rights Management as often as they’ll buy those without but gives no evidence to support this opinion. I did a very informal survey to get some input, and can’t conclude from it whether or not DRM affects sales. Some readers avoid e-books that have it, some don’t even know how to tell it’s there, and others just strip DRM if they don’t want it, claiming it can be done in less than minute. This third group supports Gaughran’s hypothesis that DRM is teaching readers to be “pirates,” though what these readers normally do with the e-pub files they create this way is move them to their Nooks or Kobos and read them. I suppose they could also e-mail the files to friends to save them the trouble of stripping and converting, and not think of themselves as pirates, and it would still be a lost sale, an invisible cost of not publishing to all platforms.
I suspect Gaughran underestimates the importance and longevity of paper books and physical bookstores. He scarcely mentions libraries.
I think an author looking for marketing tips should read this. A huge and pervasive social media presence apparently isn’t necessary. Gaughran sorts out “things that make you feel icky” from things that don’t—and according to him, the ones that don’t feel icky are the ones that work. Tweeting promos all the time: icky and ineffective. Oddly, he identifies hanging out on Goodreads in the “feel icky” category.” I found the blatant buy-my-next-book push at the end of his book to be icky, but apparently it didn’t feel that way to Gaughran.
He may underestimate the influence of the perception that self-published work is all crap. I’d agree that it’s a waste of time to go into a rant about the crap, though, and more important to focus on how to avoid adding to it.
Overall, this book is a little Amazon-centric. He assumes, while providing no support for that assumption, that the other e-book retailers don’t have good customer service. He does a good analysis of how Amazon’s marketing algorithm work and finds their aggressive personalized marketing a good thing. Maybe it is. I bought a replacement laptop cord from them once and they have been hounding me with offers of what’s new in electronics ever since. I buy all my e-books from Barnes and Noble and they never bother me. I call that good customer service, but to each their own.
Gaughran offers limited ideas of where to find cover designers, and seems to have no idea about professional writers’ groups. Sending people to K-boards is his favorite option. I left it after finding it less than useful, but other may find a home there. That’s my anecdote vs. his anecdote. Neither is especially valuable.
I had no idea what to think about his information on the file size of the picture that goes in the e-book and of the one that goes on the retailer’s web site. I have my file conversion and formatting done by Draft2Digital. I’ve noticed that other authors’ e-pub files are often larger than my files for my longer books. Perhaps my cover art is not taking up as much space. Gaughran says to make sure your files aren’t huge because Amazon charges for file delivery. This puzzles me. If you set a price at a certain level, how can they do that? Do they reduce your royalty? Refuse to let you set that low a price? Since I convert to mobi and have the cover already installed through D2D, so I have no experience with a file size issue. Maybe someone else will know if it is irrelevant on Gaughran’s part to mention this or actually useful.
He’s Kindle-centric when it comes to checking formatting. You need to look at a mobi in a Kindle previewer and look at an e-pub in Adobe Digital Editions.
Gaughran gives useful information on when to upload directly to an e-book retailer and when to use a distributor. He is unclear in describing the distributors’ cut, though. For the one I use it’s not 10% of each book sale, but 10% of my 60 to 70%, a smaller amount.
The book is full of links to his blog. For me, this was annoying. If the material is important it should be in the book. I’m not normally online while reading an e-book and I had to remember to and go back and check things. I’m sure I missed quite a few blog links. If your e-reader is on your computer and you are always online, or if your e-reader has Wi-Fi, this won’t be an issue, but it was for me.
He suggests using Library Thing. Last time I looked the discussions were moribund and the groups small. He doesn’t seem aware of Booklikes, which seems much livelier.
I’m not sure what to think about his tax advice to international writers, but he is one, so maybe he knows.
He does a fairly good analysis of KDP Select from his point of view. It’s not based on research, though, or if it is, he doesn’t cite it. The less appealing changes in the program are described well. He doesn’t address how authors’ exclusivity to Kindle affects readers, though, an issue few authors seem to think about. (Here is a link on KDP Select sales as seen by another author—more anecdotal evidence: http://noorosha.com/why-exclusivity-i...)
Gaughran’s major marketing tool is the mailing list. He encourages having clickable links in the end-matter of a book to get readers to sign up for them, buy other books and get to your blog etc. I once had a beta reader tell me to take such things out of a short story because most people, he said, are not online and it’s just clutter. I’m not sure who’s right. The new release mailing list seems sound, though, even if only a percentage of readers actually click on such a link.
The information on ads and how to run them and which sites are reputable is complex, and as Gaughran says, may be dated, as some sites go up or down in readership and prices. He has no data on overall success rates of ads, though, only his personal experience.
He advises authors to learn to do their own formatting, but my experience with D2D is that their formatting for mobi, e-pub and paperback is done so well and with such good customer service, I have no wish to do it myself, especially if I’d have to set up all the separate accounts for Create Space and each of the e-retailers who comprise about a third of my sales combined. Smashwords authors I know also seem happy with both the service and distribution. He doesn’t know that D2D does Create Space formatting even though he uses D2D for some of his e-books. He makes paperback formatting sound hard and says you have to do it yourself or hire another person.
The whole shaker
Gaughran states that you can upload to Kindle through D2D and Smashwords.
Smashwords web site says this at the time of my writing this review:
Although we have a distribution agreement with Amazon via their Kindle Direct Platform, they're unable to receive our entire catalog until they create a bulk upload facility. In the meantime, we're only distributing a few hundred titles to Amazon out of our catalog of over 250,000. We understand that many Smashwords authors would prefer the convenience of consolidating their distribution to Amazon via Smashwords, rather than uploading direct to Amazon. If your book has earned over $2,000 at Smashwords and you would prefer to consolidate your distribution via Smashwords to Amazon as opposed to uploading direct with them, please click the "support" link at the bottom of this page and let us know you're in the $2,000 club and would like to be considered for our distribution to Amazon.
Amazon Kindle no longer is willing to work with D2D and delisted all their authors in Feb. 2014, making them re-upload directly. (It was easy, but my earlier reviews vanished with the delisting.)
The success stories from other indie authors were tedious, repetitive padding—data-free anecdotes that added nothing the value of the book.
Conclusion:
If you have never self-published or are undecided about it vs. pursuing traditional publishing, this is worth reading. If you have successfully self-published, have won awards and/or contests that confirm you have published good quality books, and have more favorable than unfavorable reviews but still have slow sales, you might benefit from the chapters on marketing and skip the rest, or just read his blog. I plan to try out some of his marketing tips and see if they work. I need to see if they do before I think about buying his next book.
I read an e-pub, not Kindle, version of the revised second edition 2014, but Goodreads doesn't indicate the existence of such a thing. I received it as a gift from my distributor.
October 12, 2020
Packed with practical and actionable advice...
Self-publishing can be a great way to get your book out to your target audience while retaining full control of its production and full profit from your book sales. The stigma of self-publishing has diminished greatly with new technology and an abundance of services so authors can produce books of equal quality to those of traditional publishers. With the vast majority of books today being self-published, authors have no reason not to try self-publishing.
Let's Get Digital: How To Self-Publish, And Why You Should by David Gaughran is a well-written book that’s packed with practical and actionable advice. This book explores the digital self-publishing process and should be read if you are in the process of writing a book and would like to see it published online and through your own efforts. Writing the book, of course, is just the beginning. Highly recommended.
Self-publishing can be a great way to get your book out to your target audience while retaining full control of its production and full profit from your book sales. The stigma of self-publishing has diminished greatly with new technology and an abundance of services so authors can produce books of equal quality to those of traditional publishers. With the vast majority of books today being self-published, authors have no reason not to try self-publishing.
Let's Get Digital: How To Self-Publish, And Why You Should by David Gaughran is a well-written book that’s packed with practical and actionable advice. This book explores the digital self-publishing process and should be read if you are in the process of writing a book and would like to see it published online and through your own efforts. Writing the book, of course, is just the beginning. Highly recommended.
January 27, 2019
I'll start by saying I've read a lot of these books. A LOT.
The Internet (and Amazon especially) is full of people who have successfully self-published who then write a book on how to self-publish, and self-publish it. Sometimes books on how to self-publish are the ONLY things people have actually self-published, which strikes me as funny.
This book is a reference, and a resource, and an utterly indispensable guide if you want to self-publish digital writing in 2019. Is there anything here that's exclusive, or top secret, or an inside scoop you won't find anywhere else? Not particularly. After all, there are 1,000 books in this subsubgenre. Every bit of information in this book probably exists elsewhere, if you want to wade through those 1,000 other titles.
What this book does is it puts all of those indispensable bits in one place, thoroughly organizes them, and then executes better than any of the other books I've read. Concise summaries and foreshadows abound: you always know exactly where you are in this book, and what the subject of this particular chapter is, and usually the book is good about telling you mid-chapter when you want to stop and check out a website, or else it'll make a small offhand remark about some dimension of publishing, then direct you to the larger chapter later on where it gives that subject deeper treatment.
I am trying to read this book in a linear fashion once, but probably never will again. It's a desk reference that's meant to be leafed through: when you sit down to layout your ebook, you open it to the layout chapter. When you are doing promo stuff, open to the promo chapter. Like any well-designed tool, this looks rather simplistic on our end as readers: it takes an awful lot of difficulty on the other end of the communication process to yield results that are this easy to read.
Note that this is primarily a publishing manual, NOT a writing manual: if you want writing manuals, you'll need to pair this with whatever your usual poison is for writing instruction: Stephen King's "On Writing," or Chuck Wendig's "The Kick-Ass Writer" are my favourites, though your mileage may vary. In fact this book is probably BEST for people who *hate* being told how to write, and are passionately disgusted by other writers who presume to tell them how to make their art.
If you write and are considering self-publishing, *especially* if you hate patronizing how-to-write sermons, this is the book for you. Finish your manuscript your way, in isolation, then when it's done and cooled off, come to this book and use it to get your writ-from-the-heart masterpiece out there. There's no selling out involved in good marketing that way: do whatever you would do in a perfect world when it comes to writing, but when you've written your weird niche thing, this is the book that will help you position that weird niche thing to sell without compromising its artistic integrity.
Do you really need this book? Maybe not if you already have a library of digital self-publishing advice. What it does is provides a one-stop shop: if you can only have one book on digital self-publishing, let it be this one. At least for the time being, until the landscape changes again, it's the best guide of its kind.
The Internet (and Amazon especially) is full of people who have successfully self-published who then write a book on how to self-publish, and self-publish it. Sometimes books on how to self-publish are the ONLY things people have actually self-published, which strikes me as funny.
This book is a reference, and a resource, and an utterly indispensable guide if you want to self-publish digital writing in 2019. Is there anything here that's exclusive, or top secret, or an inside scoop you won't find anywhere else? Not particularly. After all, there are 1,000 books in this subsubgenre. Every bit of information in this book probably exists elsewhere, if you want to wade through those 1,000 other titles.
What this book does is it puts all of those indispensable bits in one place, thoroughly organizes them, and then executes better than any of the other books I've read. Concise summaries and foreshadows abound: you always know exactly where you are in this book, and what the subject of this particular chapter is, and usually the book is good about telling you mid-chapter when you want to stop and check out a website, or else it'll make a small offhand remark about some dimension of publishing, then direct you to the larger chapter later on where it gives that subject deeper treatment.
I am trying to read this book in a linear fashion once, but probably never will again. It's a desk reference that's meant to be leafed through: when you sit down to layout your ebook, you open it to the layout chapter. When you are doing promo stuff, open to the promo chapter. Like any well-designed tool, this looks rather simplistic on our end as readers: it takes an awful lot of difficulty on the other end of the communication process to yield results that are this easy to read.
Note that this is primarily a publishing manual, NOT a writing manual: if you want writing manuals, you'll need to pair this with whatever your usual poison is for writing instruction: Stephen King's "On Writing," or Chuck Wendig's "The Kick-Ass Writer" are my favourites, though your mileage may vary. In fact this book is probably BEST for people who *hate* being told how to write, and are passionately disgusted by other writers who presume to tell them how to make their art.
If you write and are considering self-publishing, *especially* if you hate patronizing how-to-write sermons, this is the book for you. Finish your manuscript your way, in isolation, then when it's done and cooled off, come to this book and use it to get your writ-from-the-heart masterpiece out there. There's no selling out involved in good marketing that way: do whatever you would do in a perfect world when it comes to writing, but when you've written your weird niche thing, this is the book that will help you position that weird niche thing to sell without compromising its artistic integrity.
Do you really need this book? Maybe not if you already have a library of digital self-publishing advice. What it does is provides a one-stop shop: if you can only have one book on digital self-publishing, let it be this one. At least for the time being, until the landscape changes again, it's the best guide of its kind.
February 24, 2015
Yes, Let's Get Digital by David Gaughran, is a good book to read for anyone interested in self publishing, I think. It is just the book I needed to read at the moment, as I am in the midst of preparing my second self published book for publication. To my relief, in clear, readable prose, David Gaughran in his book gave me good reasons for what not to do and what not to be concerned about as regards self publishing. I was particularly interested in what he had to say about what is to me the daunting prospect of building an author platform on the Internet.
I could relate very well to what he had to say about publishing a print version of your book as well as an E-book version. Like him, I will never forget how happy I felt when I held the paperback version of my book in my hand. Looking at the E-book version of my book on my Kindle is a pleasure, but it is not as good as looking at the paperback version of my book as part of my book collection.
I enjoyed reading the success stories of self published writers which brought the book to an end. Lately, I have been thinking that self publishing has made a lot of people happy, which is a good thing. Waiting to hear from literary agents and publishers for up to six months only to receive the expected rejection letter does not do anyone any good at all. Self publishing has put an end to that, as David Gaughran reveals in his book, which ends with some useful addresses on the internet for those interested in self publishing. Let's Get Digital is a good book to read for anyone interested in book publishing, particularly in the difference between the traditional way of publishing books and the new way of self publishing. I found the book to be interesting, comforting and a pleasure to read.
I could relate very well to what he had to say about publishing a print version of your book as well as an E-book version. Like him, I will never forget how happy I felt when I held the paperback version of my book in my hand. Looking at the E-book version of my book on my Kindle is a pleasure, but it is not as good as looking at the paperback version of my book as part of my book collection.
I enjoyed reading the success stories of self published writers which brought the book to an end. Lately, I have been thinking that self publishing has made a lot of people happy, which is a good thing. Waiting to hear from literary agents and publishers for up to six months only to receive the expected rejection letter does not do anyone any good at all. Self publishing has put an end to that, as David Gaughran reveals in his book, which ends with some useful addresses on the internet for those interested in self publishing. Let's Get Digital is a good book to read for anyone interested in book publishing, particularly in the difference between the traditional way of publishing books and the new way of self publishing. I found the book to be interesting, comforting and a pleasure to read.
December 14, 2021
An Excellent Book
I wish I would have actually listened to my authors friends and rea this book before I published my first two books. Excellent information and he wrote it in a fun way. My only problem was how Gaughran used pronouns. He kept switching from he/she to be what I guess inclusive. Using they would have been better because that is a gender neutral pronoun (and yes I'm non-binary). Other that this was a good book.
I wish I would have actually listened to my authors friends and rea this book before I published my first two books. Excellent information and he wrote it in a fun way. My only problem was how Gaughran used pronouns. He kept switching from he/she to be what I guess inclusive. Using they would have been better because that is a gender neutral pronoun (and yes I'm non-binary). Other that this was a good book.
July 27, 2020
This manual guides writers through the process of publishing a book in digital form. But it’s so much more than that.
David Gaughran has been writing about writing and publishing for some years. He bases his advice on personal experience combined with much research. He knows what he’s talking about.
This book aims to help those, like me, with an aversion to promotion and marketing. This is not an uncommon quality among writers; we tend to be ‘delicate’, sensitive souls for whom the commercial world is about as attractive as last year’s rotting food waste pile.
What David does here is to debunk all the useless, often expensive, stuff that the unscrupulous try to sell to authors. He explains what actually works. He gives examples of how to achieve exposure. But he makes it clear that the process involves commitment and some hard work, as well as an acceptance that some of your cherished ideas about writing may well have to be ditched.
As a ‘creative’ rather than a ‘commercial’ writer, I’ve always faced great barriers to sales, whilst remaining eager to increase my share of readers. But I steer clear of overdoing the free stuff: so many free books are seen as of poor quality, and some as worthless, so such promotion must be done judiciously.
David’s book details what you, the writer, need to do to increase your share of the market, to attract, and keep, the sort of readers you want.
There is more on offer here than the book, which is in itself an excellent guide. There is an offer of another title, completely free, and the opportunity to take part in an online marketing course, again free. I’ve enrolled and begun this course. All details are given in the book, along with links.
If you’re a newbie in the writing world, or an established writer who attracts few book sales, I fully recommend this book. It might be the book that turns your writing into the career you’ve been seeking.
David Gaughran has been writing about writing and publishing for some years. He bases his advice on personal experience combined with much research. He knows what he’s talking about.
This book aims to help those, like me, with an aversion to promotion and marketing. This is not an uncommon quality among writers; we tend to be ‘delicate’, sensitive souls for whom the commercial world is about as attractive as last year’s rotting food waste pile.
What David does here is to debunk all the useless, often expensive, stuff that the unscrupulous try to sell to authors. He explains what actually works. He gives examples of how to achieve exposure. But he makes it clear that the process involves commitment and some hard work, as well as an acceptance that some of your cherished ideas about writing may well have to be ditched.
As a ‘creative’ rather than a ‘commercial’ writer, I’ve always faced great barriers to sales, whilst remaining eager to increase my share of readers. But I steer clear of overdoing the free stuff: so many free books are seen as of poor quality, and some as worthless, so such promotion must be done judiciously.
David’s book details what you, the writer, need to do to increase your share of the market, to attract, and keep, the sort of readers you want.
There is more on offer here than the book, which is in itself an excellent guide. There is an offer of another title, completely free, and the opportunity to take part in an online marketing course, again free. I’ve enrolled and begun this course. All details are given in the book, along with links.
If you’re a newbie in the writing world, or an established writer who attracts few book sales, I fully recommend this book. It might be the book that turns your writing into the career you’ve been seeking.
July 20, 2021
I recently read the 2nd edition of this book which had been on my Kindle for some time. That was OK but given that a lot of it was devoted to the history of digital and self publishing, plus a section where various self publishers who had done well shared their stories to encourage the reader, there wasn't a lot of actual practical advice. I then discovered that the author had totally rewritten this and that a 4th edition was now available. Better stil, it was free!
I have now read carefully through it and there is a lot to take on board in order to improve my marketing skills. I have made quite a few notes on my Kindle of things to follow up and go back and take action on. So I will be revisting this book again and again. I have also obtained the author's other free offering, 'Following' and signed up for his free course. I like the fact that all these resources are made available without there being any agenda of 'upselling' and the like which I have seen so often when viewing other offerings by various individuals and companies of help to self publishers. So even though I spotted one or two typos or missing words, I can't deny this a well deserved 5 stars.
I have now read carefully through it and there is a lot to take on board in order to improve my marketing skills. I have made quite a few notes on my Kindle of things to follow up and go back and take action on. So I will be revisting this book again and again. I have also obtained the author's other free offering, 'Following' and signed up for his free course. I like the fact that all these resources are made available without there being any agenda of 'upselling' and the like which I have seen so often when viewing other offerings by various individuals and companies of help to self publishers. So even though I spotted one or two typos or missing words, I can't deny this a well deserved 5 stars.
December 12, 2014
A book I bought as part of a package for indie authors. I’m glad I did. So far, and this is the second in the pack of three, it has been a thoroughly worthwhile investment in terms of time and money. In fact, I would happily have paid significantly more for these books.
This volume is very much about the nuts and bolts of indie publishing. There is a good deal of history and background, which it is tempting to skip. Don’t: you’ll miss out on some very useful information. There are sections on the craft of putting a book out there as an indie author, and sections on why you should do this.
It’s a real eye-opener; giving background to the now fast-decaying idea that self-publishing is naff, or for those who can’t get a ‘real’ publisher, or is a route to poor quality. Self-publishing has been accused of all these things and, in the recent past, there has been some justification for this. However, bear in mind that Thackeray, Dickens and Johnson all self-published. And, these days, many well-known mainstream authors are turning to self-publishing simply because it gives them complete control over their books and invariably leads to much higher returns than those made with traditional publishers. I exclude small independent publishers from this description: many of them do a very good job indeed.
Ever since the bean-counters overtook the running of the now corporate structures that play, badly, at publishing, the author has been viewed as a necessary evil by most of them. Instead of seeing the creators of their books as an asset, these ‘bottom line’ merchants consider most authors a distraction from the making of money.
Self-publishing is a route to real success for a growing number of writers. But if you’re wondering whether it’s for you, read this book first. It will smooth out a lot of the kinks you might otherwise encounter and it will guide you through the process in easy steps.
There is a wealth of information within these pages (screens) and the appendix alone is worth the price of the book; the resources section is invaluable. Easy to read, easy to absorb. I fully recommend it to any writer considering self-publishing, and even for those who have already started along the path.
This volume is very much about the nuts and bolts of indie publishing. There is a good deal of history and background, which it is tempting to skip. Don’t: you’ll miss out on some very useful information. There are sections on the craft of putting a book out there as an indie author, and sections on why you should do this.
It’s a real eye-opener; giving background to the now fast-decaying idea that self-publishing is naff, or for those who can’t get a ‘real’ publisher, or is a route to poor quality. Self-publishing has been accused of all these things and, in the recent past, there has been some justification for this. However, bear in mind that Thackeray, Dickens and Johnson all self-published. And, these days, many well-known mainstream authors are turning to self-publishing simply because it gives them complete control over their books and invariably leads to much higher returns than those made with traditional publishers. I exclude small independent publishers from this description: many of them do a very good job indeed.
Ever since the bean-counters overtook the running of the now corporate structures that play, badly, at publishing, the author has been viewed as a necessary evil by most of them. Instead of seeing the creators of their books as an asset, these ‘bottom line’ merchants consider most authors a distraction from the making of money.
Self-publishing is a route to real success for a growing number of writers. But if you’re wondering whether it’s for you, read this book first. It will smooth out a lot of the kinks you might otherwise encounter and it will guide you through the process in easy steps.
There is a wealth of information within these pages (screens) and the appendix alone is worth the price of the book; the resources section is invaluable. Easy to read, easy to absorb. I fully recommend it to any writer considering self-publishing, and even for those who have already started along the path.
September 22, 2024
If you want to start with self-publishing, this one is a must. I regret that I haven’t read it earlier, it would made my life much easier. :)
It goes step-by-step on how to create, format, market, and distribute your book(s). It will teach you how to take control of your writing career and not rely on traditional publishing, how to earn income from your writing and potentially achieve financial independence, how to maintain creative control over your work, and how to connect with other authors, readers, and industry professionals.
This was a great read, and I love Gaughran’s writing. Awesome!
It goes step-by-step on how to create, format, market, and distribute your book(s). It will teach you how to take control of your writing career and not rely on traditional publishing, how to earn income from your writing and potentially achieve financial independence, how to maintain creative control over your work, and how to connect with other authors, readers, and industry professionals.
This was a great read, and I love Gaughran’s writing. Awesome!
August 25, 2020
Mandatory reading for authors who choose to self-publish! David Gaughran sets everything out very clearly in easy-to-follow-steps.
November 18, 2020
Great Information
I might be the author of six books, but I learned a ton! Grateful for David's advice and experience, plus easy to understand lingo
I might be the author of six books, but I learned a ton! Grateful for David's advice and experience, plus easy to understand lingo
March 5, 2018
Let's Get Digital is a concise, current and captivating collection of considerations on why and especially how you might go about self-publishing your books. It also doesn't suffer from the terrible alliteration I used in the previous sentence. Sorry about that.
Author David Gaughran has updated his book with this third edition and considering the changes that have occurred since the first edition in 2010, it's a thoughtful and interesting look back at the early days of self-publishing (through ebooks rather than a vanity press) and an excellent primer on what the current market is like. Gaughran covers the pros (many) and cons (a few) of self-publishing and doesn't just focus exclusively on Amazon, acknowledging that other online stores exist. He highlights where you may want to spend money (editing, a good book cover) and advises against the necessity of many things that don't apply to those working outside the traditional model of publishing.
He backs up his advice with anecdotes, both personal and at the conclusion of the book where 30 self-published authors share their successes, along with statistics on the growth of indie publishing. Likewise, he offers detailed advice on pricing, researching your market/genre and provides a good set of resources for further investigation and follow-up.
If you write and have toyed with the idea of self-publishing, it's hard not to be enthused about the prospect after reading Let's Get Digital. This is an excellent, clearly-written primer and highly recommended to aspiring authors looking to break into the burgeoning world of indie fiction (and non-fiction).
Author David Gaughran has updated his book with this third edition and considering the changes that have occurred since the first edition in 2010, it's a thoughtful and interesting look back at the early days of self-publishing (through ebooks rather than a vanity press) and an excellent primer on what the current market is like. Gaughran covers the pros (many) and cons (a few) of self-publishing and doesn't just focus exclusively on Amazon, acknowledging that other online stores exist. He highlights where you may want to spend money (editing, a good book cover) and advises against the necessity of many things that don't apply to those working outside the traditional model of publishing.
He backs up his advice with anecdotes, both personal and at the conclusion of the book where 30 self-published authors share their successes, along with statistics on the growth of indie publishing. Likewise, he offers detailed advice on pricing, researching your market/genre and provides a good set of resources for further investigation and follow-up.
If you write and have toyed with the idea of self-publishing, it's hard not to be enthused about the prospect after reading Let's Get Digital. This is an excellent, clearly-written primer and highly recommended to aspiring authors looking to break into the burgeoning world of indie fiction (and non-fiction).
July 18, 2020
Fourth edition review:
When David Gaughran released a new edition of Let's Get Digital I decided to do a re-read. I think this edition is probably even better than the previous one. Most of my initial review still fits this new edition. I think this is a great book to pick up for those new to indie publishing and I like the overview of the whole process. The focus on a great cover and blurb is still there and I think this is to important.
Some parts from the previous edition have disappeared, like some of the history of publishing. While I liked reading this in the previous edition, I do think the book is a bit more to the point without it. The success stories of other indie authors also have been removed. That was one of my least favorite parts of the previous edition and as most of those stories were pretty old I think it's good the author removed that.
A new addition to this version is the link to the author's website where he links to things like cover designers, editors, ad sites etc. This way he can keep that information up to date there without havign to adjust the book. I think this is a great solution, although it was was mentioned quite often and sometimes got me a bit out of the book as I wanted the info that was on the site. But I think this is a good way to handle it especially in such a rapidly changing market.
All in all I think this is a great new version of the book and I would definitely recommend it to those new to self publishing or who want to know more about the whole process. It gives a lot of information and tips about self publishing. The writing style is pleasant and encouraging while also being realistic.
Third edition review:
Let's get Digital is a great read for anyone who is thinking of self publishing or wants to know more about it. David Gaughran explains in an easy to understand manner the whole process of how to self publishing and makes it all seem very doable. I think for those new to self publishing this can be a big help to know where to start and what to get ready before publishing their book. There is also some information about the marketing side of things, some history of the publishing industry and a bunch of stories from other indie authors.
While there wasn't as much information in this book that I didn't already know, I still thought it was a great read and added to my knowledge. Thanks to my tour business and assistant work I am already quite familiar with the whole self publishing community. There were still new tidbits I learned, mostly about parts like editing and uploading your book on Amazon, as I don't have anything to do with that part of the process. Although I don't have plan to publish a book, I still liked reading about the whole process surrounding that. The writing style is pleasant and I liked how the author worded everything. How he explains things makes it all seem very doable and he takes you through the whole self publishing process.
It's mostly a book that gives you a great overview of the whole self publishing process and what to consider and keep in mind. If you want to know more about a specific part of the process, this might not be the best book for that, but I think it works great as a way to get a basic idea of everything involved in self publishing. And even with the topics that only get shortly addressed I feel that the author does manage to touch upon some of the most important parts. You get a good feel of everything that's involved with self publishing and what to think about.
I also liked how the author explained why self publishing is a viable option and explained why some common myths about self publishing aren't true. I also liked the part that deals with the history of publishing as I wasn't as familiar with that yet. I am also glad how strongly he emphasized the importance of a good blurb and cover as in my experience this is so important and I am glad the author mentioned this too as I think it's essential for those new to self publishing to be aware of this fact. There also a part about going KU or wide and I think he nicely explained the pros and cons without strongly having a preference either way.
My least favorite part of this book were the stories from other indie authors at the end, but that's mostly because I've been part of this community for a while now and have heard a lot of success or not-so-successful stories from indie authors. I also thought most of the stories were a bit older, mostly from people who started publishing when ebooks were just gaining popularity. There weren't many stories of more newer authors that started later when ebooks were already much more popular and I would've liked a bit more variation in that. But I think this part definitively serves a purpose especially for those who don't know many or any indie authors yet as this provides social proof that authors can and do make a living self publishing.
To summarize: this is a great read for those new to self publishing or if you want to know more about the whole process. The author explains the whole self publishing process in an easy to follow way and walks you through the steps involved. It touches upon a lot of topics and while it might not go as in depth everywhere, it gives you some main points about everything. I like how this book was writing in a nice style and guides you through the whole process and touches upon important topics. The author emphasizes the importance of a good cover and blurb, which I totally agree with and I was happy to see that got addressed in this book. The last part featured stories form indie author, which was my least favorite part as I already have heard and seen a lot of stories from authors and it didn't add much value to me, but I can see how for those who don't know any indie authors (yet) this can be great to see making money from self publishing is possible. All in all I would definitively recommend this book to those who are new to self publishing and want to know more about the whole process.
When David Gaughran released a new edition of Let's Get Digital I decided to do a re-read. I think this edition is probably even better than the previous one. Most of my initial review still fits this new edition. I think this is a great book to pick up for those new to indie publishing and I like the overview of the whole process. The focus on a great cover and blurb is still there and I think this is to important.
Some parts from the previous edition have disappeared, like some of the history of publishing. While I liked reading this in the previous edition, I do think the book is a bit more to the point without it. The success stories of other indie authors also have been removed. That was one of my least favorite parts of the previous edition and as most of those stories were pretty old I think it's good the author removed that.
A new addition to this version is the link to the author's website where he links to things like cover designers, editors, ad sites etc. This way he can keep that information up to date there without havign to adjust the book. I think this is a great solution, although it was was mentioned quite often and sometimes got me a bit out of the book as I wanted the info that was on the site. But I think this is a good way to handle it especially in such a rapidly changing market.
All in all I think this is a great new version of the book and I would definitely recommend it to those new to self publishing or who want to know more about the whole process. It gives a lot of information and tips about self publishing. The writing style is pleasant and encouraging while also being realistic.
Third edition review:
Let's get Digital is a great read for anyone who is thinking of self publishing or wants to know more about it. David Gaughran explains in an easy to understand manner the whole process of how to self publishing and makes it all seem very doable. I think for those new to self publishing this can be a big help to know where to start and what to get ready before publishing their book. There is also some information about the marketing side of things, some history of the publishing industry and a bunch of stories from other indie authors.
While there wasn't as much information in this book that I didn't already know, I still thought it was a great read and added to my knowledge. Thanks to my tour business and assistant work I am already quite familiar with the whole self publishing community. There were still new tidbits I learned, mostly about parts like editing and uploading your book on Amazon, as I don't have anything to do with that part of the process. Although I don't have plan to publish a book, I still liked reading about the whole process surrounding that. The writing style is pleasant and I liked how the author worded everything. How he explains things makes it all seem very doable and he takes you through the whole self publishing process.
It's mostly a book that gives you a great overview of the whole self publishing process and what to consider and keep in mind. If you want to know more about a specific part of the process, this might not be the best book for that, but I think it works great as a way to get a basic idea of everything involved in self publishing. And even with the topics that only get shortly addressed I feel that the author does manage to touch upon some of the most important parts. You get a good feel of everything that's involved with self publishing and what to think about.
I also liked how the author explained why self publishing is a viable option and explained why some common myths about self publishing aren't true. I also liked the part that deals with the history of publishing as I wasn't as familiar with that yet. I am also glad how strongly he emphasized the importance of a good blurb and cover as in my experience this is so important and I am glad the author mentioned this too as I think it's essential for those new to self publishing to be aware of this fact. There also a part about going KU or wide and I think he nicely explained the pros and cons without strongly having a preference either way.
My least favorite part of this book were the stories from other indie authors at the end, but that's mostly because I've been part of this community for a while now and have heard a lot of success or not-so-successful stories from indie authors. I also thought most of the stories were a bit older, mostly from people who started publishing when ebooks were just gaining popularity. There weren't many stories of more newer authors that started later when ebooks were already much more popular and I would've liked a bit more variation in that. But I think this part definitively serves a purpose especially for those who don't know many or any indie authors yet as this provides social proof that authors can and do make a living self publishing.
To summarize: this is a great read for those new to self publishing or if you want to know more about the whole process. The author explains the whole self publishing process in an easy to follow way and walks you through the steps involved. It touches upon a lot of topics and while it might not go as in depth everywhere, it gives you some main points about everything. I like how this book was writing in a nice style and guides you through the whole process and touches upon important topics. The author emphasizes the importance of a good cover and blurb, which I totally agree with and I was happy to see that got addressed in this book. The last part featured stories form indie author, which was my least favorite part as I already have heard and seen a lot of stories from authors and it didn't add much value to me, but I can see how for those who don't know any indie authors (yet) this can be great to see making money from self publishing is possible. All in all I would definitively recommend this book to those who are new to self publishing and want to know more about the whole process.
April 11, 2021
Nice collection of good analysis and ideas.
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May 3, 2015This review is for the 2nd Edition. This book rocks. It's pretty much your step-by-step guide for success in indie publishing. I can't wait to put it all to the test later this year.
I got this book as part of the Indie Power Pack, but it's worth buying at full price. Of the three books in the pack, this book is much more straightforward and rambles a LOT less than Write. Publish. Repeat. and is specifically geared toward fiction writers, unlike How To Market A Book.
I will say that it gets off to a slow start if, like me, you're already sold on the idea of indie publishing. The first chapter or so is devoted to explaining why you should indie publish and myths of self-publishing, but I found it interesting anyway. You may just want to skip those sections and jump into the meat and potatoes of the book.
I found the following sections most helpful:
Pricing to Sell
Sales Channels
Marketing
Developing a Sticky Readership
Kickstart Your Sales
Appendix A: Publishing Checklist
Appendix C: Let's Get Physical (Print)
Appendix D: Shorter Stories
Appendix E: Reviews
Essentially... the whole thing! Pick this up if you intend to publish anytime soon!
I got this book as part of the Indie Power Pack, but it's worth buying at full price. Of the three books in the pack, this book is much more straightforward and rambles a LOT less than Write. Publish. Repeat. and is specifically geared toward fiction writers, unlike How To Market A Book.
I will say that it gets off to a slow start if, like me, you're already sold on the idea of indie publishing. The first chapter or so is devoted to explaining why you should indie publish and myths of self-publishing, but I found it interesting anyway. You may just want to skip those sections and jump into the meat and potatoes of the book.
I found the following sections most helpful:
Pricing to Sell
Sales Channels
Marketing
Developing a Sticky Readership
Kickstart Your Sales
Appendix A: Publishing Checklist
Appendix C: Let's Get Physical (Print)
Appendix D: Shorter Stories
Appendix E: Reviews
Essentially... the whole thing! Pick this up if you intend to publish anytime soon!
January 21, 2013
This one is a winner. David Gaughran is a regular guy that began a website a year or so ago when he started publishing his writing digitally. I have never read a better put-together explanation of what an author goes through in this quest. Gaughran tells his story from the time he uploads his first ebook to the point where he felt successful, and beyond. It's really nice to read about success without ego-bloat and to see that any one who wishes to walk the walk can, and will find a way to get their book out in front of readers.
In the first part of the book, he explains the publishing industry and how it got to where it is. If you're an author or writer and don;t care about this stuff, that's up to you, but how do you work in a business you don't understand? Read the beginning. It's worth your time.
Then you get the nitty gritty - the bones about how to get your book out there, how to promote it without driving people nuts, how to maximize every opportunity. Then you get success stories that are real from real digital authors. If you don't end up motivated and ready to try again, I'd be surprised.
I highly recommend this book and its companion website.
In the first part of the book, he explains the publishing industry and how it got to where it is. If you're an author or writer and don;t care about this stuff, that's up to you, but how do you work in a business you don't understand? Read the beginning. It's worth your time.
Then you get the nitty gritty - the bones about how to get your book out there, how to promote it without driving people nuts, how to maximize every opportunity. Then you get success stories that are real from real digital authors. If you don't end up motivated and ready to try again, I'd be surprised.
I highly recommend this book and its companion website.
February 25, 2018
This is a great book for newbie self-publishers. I published my first book in 2013 and I still learned some things from the updated 2018 version. More than anything, for me, this book was a pep talk. You can make a living as an indie author. But it’s not easy. There are success stories from indie authors in the last section but they self-published in 2010-2011 when there wasn’t as much competition. I’d like to read some success stories from writers now. It’s not enough to just publish a good book anymore. Even advertising and social media don’t seem to do much. I wish I’d read this book back when I first published. I made every mistake and had no idea what I was getting into. It’s a huge uphill climb. I think it was Bette Davis who said, “Self-publishing isn’t for sissies.”
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October 8, 2023I read the 4th edition, which is currently available free on Amazon as part of the author's also-free course on self publishing, which I'm reading/watching. I'm interested as a traditionally published author who plans to self-publish at least some of what I've written, and lots of self-published authors who are already doing well recommend David Gaughran.
Thoughts on this book? Well, as someone who's been following the self-published community for a while now, much of the information was familiar to me (and Gaughran says much of this stuff in his course because he's making sure you both read and hear the information). The book is short and easy to read and since both it and the course are free (you get a second free book with the course), I'd say that if you have any interest whatsoever in self publishing, you can't lose seeing what he has to say on the topic. It'll either be a revelation or it'll be a reminder of what you know you should be doing.
Thoughts on this book? Well, as someone who's been following the self-published community for a while now, much of the information was familiar to me (and Gaughran says much of this stuff in his course because he's making sure you both read and hear the information). The book is short and easy to read and since both it and the course are free (you get a second free book with the course), I'd say that if you have any interest whatsoever in self publishing, you can't lose seeing what he has to say on the topic. It'll either be a revelation or it'll be a reminder of what you know you should be doing.
October 2, 2020
Much of Let’s Get Digital is written for authors who’ve finished their first book and want to self-publish. It’s also a good refresher for those who’ve produced several titles and want to market their books more effectively. The author provides plenty of helpful instructions and tips, and often refers to resources on his website, along with a course and other books.
Written in an informal, sometimes humorous style, this book is a welcome change from other ultra-serious guides. Don’t mistake the informality and humor for a fluffy read, though, because Gaughran certainly knows his stuff. Having published four titles myself, I agree with his points about formatting and pricing, and learned some important things about marketing. A recommended read for any self-published author.
Written in an informal, sometimes humorous style, this book is a welcome change from other ultra-serious guides. Don’t mistake the informality and humor for a fluffy read, though, because Gaughran certainly knows his stuff. Having published four titles myself, I agree with his points about formatting and pricing, and learned some important things about marketing. A recommended read for any self-published author.
August 1, 2022
A well-constructed guide.
A general reminder:”You’re stepping into a whole world where you have very little experience. And even those coming from a marketing background, as I did, will quickly find that books are… weird. They can be the strangest products to sell. In one sense, they’re like fast-moving consumer goods, but with the pickiest customers ever (said with love!).”
What really sells books? “Really though, almost every single marketing campaign has the same underlying skeleton, and it really is this simple: drop your price, advertise the discount, jump up the charts, jack up your price again, and make some money on the way back down. That’s it.”
A general reminder:”You’re stepping into a whole world where you have very little experience. And even those coming from a marketing background, as I did, will quickly find that books are… weird. They can be the strangest products to sell. In one sense, they’re like fast-moving consumer goods, but with the pickiest customers ever (said with love!).”
What really sells books? “Really though, almost every single marketing campaign has the same underlying skeleton, and it really is this simple: drop your price, advertise the discount, jump up the charts, jack up your price again, and make some money on the way back down. That’s it.”
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February 27, 2018This is still my number one recommend-to-newbies book when it comes to self-publishing.
I read the original edition around when I first started and found it very helpful. I reread the newest edition to see what had changed and I think his newsletter freebie and blog posts have already covered the new stuff. So if you are doing OK with self publishing and already following David, there's no real need to re-read the latest edition. However, if you are new definitely pick it up and give it a read as it will be *incredibly* helpful.
I read the original edition around when I first started and found it very helpful. I reread the newest edition to see what had changed and I think his newsletter freebie and blog posts have already covered the new stuff. So if you are doing OK with self publishing and already following David, there's no real need to re-read the latest edition. However, if you are new definitely pick it up and give it a read as it will be *incredibly* helpful.
November 4, 2025
A must-read resource for every new author. The website is packed with free materials and detailed explanations an absolute treasure trove of information. Definitely check it out. Even though I’ve already gone through some of the publishing stages myself, rereading everything helped me realize things I hadn’t thought of before.
Read it, and explore the site too.
Thank you for sharing all this knowledge and effort for free.
Read it, and explore the site too.
Thank you for sharing all this knowledge and effort for free.
October 21, 2020
Brilliantly easy to understand
This has really helped me recognise the next steps that I need to take to drive my self published book out there some more. It’s got humour too which is nice.
Here’s to success. Thanks.
This has really helped me recognise the next steps that I need to take to drive my self published book out there some more. It’s got humour too which is nice.
Here’s to success. Thanks.
November 24, 2020
A great tool for all indies!
Gaughran covers everything you need to know to get your book marketing started in this brilliant book, and he does it in a fun and humorous way so that the task ahead feels both doable and enjoyable. A must read.
Gaughran covers everything you need to know to get your book marketing started in this brilliant book, and he does it in a fun and humorous way so that the task ahead feels both doable and enjoyable. A must read.
September 15, 2021
A very helpful book for independent authors who have to do their own matketing. Lots of helpful advice, suggestions and links from someone who has done it all himself. There's a lot to do, but his book makes it less daunting and more accessible.
June 12, 2025
Amazing
This is free, yet I feel like I just read a block of gold. This was straightforward, simple, yet packed full of valuable information. I highly recommend for indie publishers no matter where you land on the scale of experience.
This is free, yet I feel like I just read a block of gold. This was straightforward, simple, yet packed full of valuable information. I highly recommend for indie publishers no matter where you land on the scale of experience.
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