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Publishing E-Books for Dummies
Publish, market, and sell your own e-book.Although creating an e-book seems fairly straightforward, it is not. You need to select and create a variety of formats that will be read on a variety of e-reader devices--and market and sell your book in a variety of ways. Before you take the plunge, get this practical guide. With clear instruction and sensible advice, it will help you navigate the often confusing, time-consuming, and costly world of self-publishing an e-book. The book gives you solid marketing tips for selling your e-book, including using blogging and social media and how to build an online platform. It also discusses key technologies you'll encounter, including Smashwords, iBooks Author, Amazon, Microsoft Word, Open Office, Calibre, WordPress, E-junkie, and others.
312 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 13, 2012
43 people are currently reading
196 people want to read
About the author
Ali Luke
10 books77 followersAli Luke loves writing (and reading!) fast-paced novels with a touch of the supernatural. While writing, she likes to listen to Metallica and drink hot chocolate. When she's not writing, she reads pretty much anything she can get her hands on, cross-stitches occasionally, and plays board games / card games (Dominion and Eight-Minute Empire are current favourites).
She lives in Leeds in the UK with her husband and two young children; she was born in Cambridge and after a stint in Oxford aged 10 - 18, she returned there to university to study English Literature. After a few years in London, during which she gained an MA in Creative & Life Writing from Goldsmiths College, she married, spent some time living near family in Oxford, then headed north.
She lives in Leeds in the UK with her husband and two young children; she was born in Cambridge and after a stint in Oxford aged 10 - 18, she returned there to university to study English Literature. After a few years in London, during which she gained an MA in Creative & Life Writing from Goldsmiths College, she married, spent some time living near family in Oxford, then headed north.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
November 28, 2012
If you have considered writing a book or a story or article and then publishing it digitally, here's your book. I highly recommend getting it and reading it cover to cover. It could very well expand your horizons to consider the possibilities. You could easily get quite excited about those possibilities.
.Pdf's, Smashwords, Kindle Direct Publishing, print on demand--those and other ways of getting your words out there have opened a door that was quite hard to get through in times past. There is no substitute for quality writing, whether you hope to publish traditionally or by doing so on your own. But the opportunity is there, waiting, available, very available.
This book like all "for Dummies" books is well organized and accessible. Using the "Contents at a Glance" or the 8-page "Table of Contents," the Index or even Part VI, "The Part of Tens" (3 full chapters)--you can quickly and easily locate what you want to know.
This book takes you step-by-step from the germ of an idea for an e-book or article to the finished product, then to publishing it and marketing it, including details on how to formulate your text (for .pdf, Mobi, Kindle, etc.). To my mind, this is the book to read to get up to speed on what is going on with e-publishing and how you can go about it, with or without hiring from professionals (like editors, marketing experts, and so on).
Also throughout the text, there are frequent screen shots that illustrate, for example, how to work with Microsoft Word, Wordpress, forematting your text for Kindle, Smashwords, and other e-book formats, and even crafting sales pages. It's like a college course, really, but much more reader-friendly than a good number of college text books. It is crystal clear and thorough.
Read this book and you will have a solid grounding in the ins and outs of e-publishing. And Ms. Luke has a way of presenting her information and know-how in a way that makes it not only practical but also easily usable. In fact, much of the information in this book you can put to use right away.
Ali Luke is a published writer, novelist, writing coach, and creator of not only her blog [...] but also The Writer's Huddle community for aspiring writers. I have been reading her blog for over a year and am a member of The Writer's Huddle--which I have benefitted from and continue participating in. She is a graduate of Cambridge University (English Literature) and earned a Master's degree in Creative and Life writing at Goldsmith's College, University of London.
One more thing about the author: She knows her stuff. She has written and published more than a dozen ebooks, and she has published a novel both in paperback and digital form (Lycopolis, the first in a Sci-fi/fantasy trilogy). In short, she has "been there, done that"--numerous times. Hence she is well-qualified to advise us on the ways and means of e-publishing.
If you own a Kindle, or have the app on your PC or Mac, you can download a free preview containing the entire Table of Contents, Introduction, and the first two chapters.
Highly recommended for anyone wishing to become knowledgeable about what is going on with e-books and how to go about writing and publishing your own.
.Pdf's, Smashwords, Kindle Direct Publishing, print on demand--those and other ways of getting your words out there have opened a door that was quite hard to get through in times past. There is no substitute for quality writing, whether you hope to publish traditionally or by doing so on your own. But the opportunity is there, waiting, available, very available.
This book like all "for Dummies" books is well organized and accessible. Using the "Contents at a Glance" or the 8-page "Table of Contents," the Index or even Part VI, "The Part of Tens" (3 full chapters)--you can quickly and easily locate what you want to know.
This book takes you step-by-step from the germ of an idea for an e-book or article to the finished product, then to publishing it and marketing it, including details on how to formulate your text (for .pdf, Mobi, Kindle, etc.). To my mind, this is the book to read to get up to speed on what is going on with e-publishing and how you can go about it, with or without hiring from professionals (like editors, marketing experts, and so on).
Also throughout the text, there are frequent screen shots that illustrate, for example, how to work with Microsoft Word, Wordpress, forematting your text for Kindle, Smashwords, and other e-book formats, and even crafting sales pages. It's like a college course, really, but much more reader-friendly than a good number of college text books. It is crystal clear and thorough.
Read this book and you will have a solid grounding in the ins and outs of e-publishing. And Ms. Luke has a way of presenting her information and know-how in a way that makes it not only practical but also easily usable. In fact, much of the information in this book you can put to use right away.
Ali Luke is a published writer, novelist, writing coach, and creator of not only her blog [...] but also The Writer's Huddle community for aspiring writers. I have been reading her blog for over a year and am a member of The Writer's Huddle--which I have benefitted from and continue participating in. She is a graduate of Cambridge University (English Literature) and earned a Master's degree in Creative and Life writing at Goldsmith's College, University of London.
One more thing about the author: She knows her stuff. She has written and published more than a dozen ebooks, and she has published a novel both in paperback and digital form (Lycopolis, the first in a Sci-fi/fantasy trilogy). In short, she has "been there, done that"--numerous times. Hence she is well-qualified to advise us on the ways and means of e-publishing.
If you own a Kindle, or have the app on your PC or Mac, you can download a free preview containing the entire Table of Contents, Introduction, and the first two chapters.
Highly recommended for anyone wishing to become knowledgeable about what is going on with e-books and how to go about writing and publishing your own.
February 28, 2013
My mistake, I suppose, but I assumed this book would be about the aspects of publishing that are unique to eBooks. While these things are covered, more or less, a significant amount of space is devoted to matters any writer should be familiar with already--the actual writing of a book, the importance of editing, etc. At times, too, the book reads like a tutorial on Microsoft Word, which one can get--in more detail--elsewhere. Similarly, the marketing of an eBook isn't much different from the marketing of a paper book, and so those sections didn't seem terribly helpful, either.
December 6, 2019
Ali is friendly and complete, and you can start anywhere you need to. The beginning of the book is for people who haven't written their first word and need to get going. If you already have something you want to publish, start reading a bit farther in. After you've gotten things rolling (you're published!), you'll want to pop through the later material to fine tune what you're doing. This is a very complete book. The only downside is that it's seven years old.
I had been stressing about whether to self-publish some books that were ready, so I read through Myra Fae Turner's excellent _So you want to publish your own book & e-book_, and then pored over this book by Ms. Luke, and was ready to get rolling (which I'm currently doing). I took notes and have already referred back to them several times. No worries at all.
I had been stressing about whether to self-publish some books that were ready, so I read through Myra Fae Turner's excellent _So you want to publish your own book & e-book_, and then pored over this book by Ms. Luke, and was ready to get rolling (which I'm currently doing). I took notes and have already referred back to them several times. No worries at all.
February 2, 2019
Terrible and stupid advice given by the author Ali Luke. I bought a hardcopy of this guide book and threw it away after just reading 3 chapters. What a waste of money! Fortunately I got this book at a huge discount so not much monetary loss for me. This author thinks she can hoodwink her readers by giving a little good advice on one side and lots of ill advice on the other side assuming that readers can't tell what she's doing. Shame on this author for her ill intentions. I recommend people not to buy this book. It's a complete waste of money and time.
August 11, 2018
This is a very useful book on e-book publishing, that showed me the basics before I did a longer, more involved course. I needed a quick guide and found this one friendly, down-to-earth and practical.
October 24, 2018
Very informative and detailed. Goes through not only ebook publishing process but also the marketing and editing side, software that can assist with converting files and designing covers. Definitely recommend this for potential writers.
Read
March 12, 2017I am in the process of finishing my first book. What will be a comic book. So I am already thinking of the publishing. I read long time ago something about the e books etc and I knew it is possible but somehow it was still a mystery to me. This book did it all for me. It was like an eye opener. It is simple and enjoyable to read and pretty straight forward. If you want to publish than this is your bible that will tell you the ins and outs. But more than that it also will go in to the related topic of marketing your book. It is like having a website. Well who knows about it and who will come. Similar with your own book. It is important that the right people know about and that you can cater towards them. Now I can go back and finish my book and publish it. Because I learned to know what I needed to know.
April 1, 2015
I wish I had learned more that I didn't already know here (note: I've worked for over two decades in the entertainment business and have a significant background in the internet space), but this is a reasonable overview book for the complete beginner that's very clear and straightforward with a reasonable number of examples that are easy to follow.
There's a lot of subtlety left out in the rapidly shifting marketplace, particularly as it relates to the politics of what is happening as the publishing industry changes, though she at least alludes to it tangentially.
The sections on promoting/marketing ebooks on one's own were reasonable outlines, but I have a feeling that the actualities of these sections will be lost on most and particularly those without high levels of knowledge about the social media spaces. It's also deficient for helping tyro users who have incredibly small/non-existent social media followings. Users in this category will certainly need a separate "Social Media Marketing for Dummies Book" or something from someone like Gary Vaynerchuck to cover this gaping hole.
I was surprised that Luke's own twitter account didn't have a few Twitter lists of some of the authors she suggested following or other interesting/useful lists of editors, proofreaders, etc.
Even outside of the Twitterverse she could have provided (more/better) lists of resources for more easily finding consultants in the areas of editing, proofreading, and even marketing/PR to cover the portions that serious authors will more likely need help with.
Some of the coding and set up sections for things like WordPress and Calibre were nice to see, but most will need to delve in far further to get mileage out of them. Some of the Calibre code and instructions are also now out of date, but those who are adventurous will ultimately find the correct formatting.
I was also shocked to see that she didn't recommend/cover setting up affiliate codes for one's own web page/social media presences to capture additional referral revenue. Hopefully future editions will also add in emerging platforms like http://99designs.com/ which help authors find/commission portions of the work like book cover art.
For the hobbyist writer, this is a great introduction, but most (including serious/professional authors) will likely find that they're going to need some significant help and require additional resources to know what they're getting themselves into and to best leverage the business side of the business.
There's a lot of subtlety left out in the rapidly shifting marketplace, particularly as it relates to the politics of what is happening as the publishing industry changes, though she at least alludes to it tangentially.
The sections on promoting/marketing ebooks on one's own were reasonable outlines, but I have a feeling that the actualities of these sections will be lost on most and particularly those without high levels of knowledge about the social media spaces. It's also deficient for helping tyro users who have incredibly small/non-existent social media followings. Users in this category will certainly need a separate "Social Media Marketing for Dummies Book" or something from someone like Gary Vaynerchuck to cover this gaping hole.
I was surprised that Luke's own twitter account didn't have a few Twitter lists of some of the authors she suggested following or other interesting/useful lists of editors, proofreaders, etc.
Even outside of the Twitterverse she could have provided (more/better) lists of resources for more easily finding consultants in the areas of editing, proofreading, and even marketing/PR to cover the portions that serious authors will more likely need help with.
Some of the coding and set up sections for things like WordPress and Calibre were nice to see, but most will need to delve in far further to get mileage out of them. Some of the Calibre code and instructions are also now out of date, but those who are adventurous will ultimately find the correct formatting.
I was also shocked to see that she didn't recommend/cover setting up affiliate codes for one's own web page/social media presences to capture additional referral revenue. Hopefully future editions will also add in emerging platforms like http://99designs.com/ which help authors find/commission portions of the work like book cover art.
For the hobbyist writer, this is a great introduction, but most (including serious/professional authors) will likely find that they're going to need some significant help and require additional resources to know what they're getting themselves into and to best leverage the business side of the business.
April 8, 2013
The book I read to research this post was Publishing E-books for Dummies by Ali Luke which is an excellent book which I bought from kindle. This is quite an interesting subject which I may do more posts about but in the meantime I have done related posts on things like blogging & social media on my computing blog at http://scratbag.me Anyway let's look at the subject in hand. A lot of people give away ebooks which is a viable option as it at least gets your name well known. A lot of authors give a book away on a site like kindle for a limited time. There is 3 major formats for ebooks which are epub, mobi & pdf. The kindle ebook reader uses epub & alot of other ebook readers are compatible with mobi. Obviously the kindle or amazon site is the most popular for downloading ebooks. Another good one is http://smashwords.com which sells your ebook on a variety of sites but that doesn't include amazon also if you sell on a 3rd party site you have to them commision. Some other good sites are kobo, barnes & noble & nook which tend to have proprietary ebook readers themselves. Two good sites for publicising your ebook are goodreads & shelfari which are social network sites for readers so you will be expected to rate books by other authors. On goodreads once you rate 50 books you can apply for librarian status & it has more than 9 million members. A librarian can add new books to goodreads although you should be able to locate a librarian via facebook or twitter. It's a good idea to have a self hosted wordpress site as you can sell stuff on your site which is forbidden on wordpress hosted sites. You need to set payments up with paypal & can set up a buy button with http://e-junkie.com Also you might find it useful to get an ISBN number for your book which in the USA you can find at www.myidentifiers.com & in the UK is at www.isbn.nielsenbook.co.uk For actually writing your book a lot of people use microsoft publisher which is reasonably priced. If you want a free option try openoffice, google docs or calibre. Openoffice has lots of features but google docs lets you store your work on the web on what is essentially a web site.
February 2, 2018
Read this book if you are in the throes, or have just finished writing a book (fiction or fact) that you are considering turning into an e-book. It'll hold your hand gently yet firmly, and guide you through the next stages.
The advice given is bang up to date and right on the nose - all the latest systems and interfaces are described faithfully and accurately so it was easy for me to sign up for a brand new Kindle Direct Publishing account, a spanking new Wordpress website and blog and it subsequently taught me how to manipulate all my future minions into buying my wonderful (as yet unwritten) e-book - mwahahaha (can you believe there is an official spelling for an evil laugh? I know - I looked it up)!
Of course all this bang-up-to-dateness means that it's going to be out of date in oh so short a time - but of course, then there are always new editions to write (ain't it great when you see a plan coming together?).
I love Ali's geek girl style and disingenuosnessness; it's all very endearing. It also adds to the authenticity when she demonstrates, through screen shots, that she's been through this mill herself. I love the advert she snuck into one of the last chapters for... I think it was Play.com - I wonder if they paid her for that. If they didn't, they should have!
This is a really, really really good book, that I read a little too early really; although I'm glad I did because it sharpens the future a little for me in that it gives me the confidence to see that what I want to do can be done.
It just means that I'll have to dip into it again closer to the time - so it's all good.
******update 2018******
And I did. Read it again this year when I'm in the throes of setting up my own publishing company: OJ Publishing. I never read books twice - but this one is worth it.
The advice given is bang up to date and right on the nose - all the latest systems and interfaces are described faithfully and accurately so it was easy for me to sign up for a brand new Kindle Direct Publishing account, a spanking new Wordpress website and blog and it subsequently taught me how to manipulate all my future minions into buying my wonderful (as yet unwritten) e-book - mwahahaha (can you believe there is an official spelling for an evil laugh? I know - I looked it up)!
Of course all this bang-up-to-dateness means that it's going to be out of date in oh so short a time - but of course, then there are always new editions to write (ain't it great when you see a plan coming together?).
I love Ali's geek girl style and disingenuosnessness; it's all very endearing. It also adds to the authenticity when she demonstrates, through screen shots, that she's been through this mill herself. I love the advert she snuck into one of the last chapters for... I think it was Play.com - I wonder if they paid her for that. If they didn't, they should have!
This is a really, really really good book, that I read a little too early really; although I'm glad I did because it sharpens the future a little for me in that it gives me the confidence to see that what I want to do can be done.
It just means that I'll have to dip into it again closer to the time - so it's all good.
******update 2018******
And I did. Read it again this year when I'm in the throes of setting up my own publishing company: OJ Publishing. I never read books twice - but this one is worth it.
June 18, 2013
As a technical writer, I have been busy writing technical stuff, and creating art, that I allowed the e-book scene to (partially) bi-pass me. Now, I have an historical fiction title in the works (The Journal of Rudd) - and some shorts on Africa, apartheid and all that - just sitting on my hard-drive.
Then... one gorgeous Arizona day, a few weeks ago, I was browsing the local library - to stay cool - and happened on Ali Luke's Publishing e-Books for Dummies.
THANK YOU Ali Luke! A whole new vista has opened for me. Let's be clear on one thing. I have never been a fan of for Dummies titles. Never. Ever. Why? I'm NOT A DUMMY! Then again, neither is Ali. The title is very well written, bit of humour here and there, and lots and lots of stuff I did not know about.
Issues I never suspected I would find, and am delighted the author mentioned was formatting your Word.doc with styles before creating and saving in various e-book formats; never heard of numerous e-book portals, one of them (e-junkie.com) right here in Tucson, AZ (!); in fact had never heard of EPUB or Mobi, whatever. As I said, this whole thing has nearly passed me by.
I enjoy Guerrilla Marketing, and Luke has come up with a good many tips, while not too many are pure G/M issues, some cost, I still learnt from the entire book. What I really like, and I know the from years of frustrated paging through computer titles - Luke keeps the sections SHORT! There are lots of them - that's OK - but they are short and can be read and absorbed in minutes. -
I've learnt so much from this title, that I truly can say I am no longer an e-book DUMMY! Now to pay the fine at the library and return the book.
Great subject, a truly GOOD READ!
=JSB
Then... one gorgeous Arizona day, a few weeks ago, I was browsing the local library - to stay cool - and happened on Ali Luke's Publishing e-Books for Dummies.
THANK YOU Ali Luke! A whole new vista has opened for me. Let's be clear on one thing. I have never been a fan of for Dummies titles. Never. Ever. Why? I'm NOT A DUMMY! Then again, neither is Ali. The title is very well written, bit of humour here and there, and lots and lots of stuff I did not know about.
Issues I never suspected I would find, and am delighted the author mentioned was formatting your Word.doc with styles before creating and saving in various e-book formats; never heard of numerous e-book portals, one of them (e-junkie.com) right here in Tucson, AZ (!); in fact had never heard of EPUB or Mobi, whatever. As I said, this whole thing has nearly passed me by.
I enjoy Guerrilla Marketing, and Luke has come up with a good many tips, while not too many are pure G/M issues, some cost, I still learnt from the entire book. What I really like, and I know the from years of frustrated paging through computer titles - Luke keeps the sections SHORT! There are lots of them - that's OK - but they are short and can be read and absorbed in minutes. -
I've learnt so much from this title, that I truly can say I am no longer an e-book DUMMY! Now to pay the fine at the library and return the book.
Great subject, a truly GOOD READ!
=JSB
August 25, 2014
I found this book to be superior to APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur. How to Publish a Book as a handbook for self-publishing, and it was indispensable as I worked on the release of Rumpled, especially in the technical aspects of preparing a clean and professional file. Like most "for dummies" or "idiot's guide" books, this one is not necessarily compelling reading if you're going to sit down and read it straight through, but it offers valuable and easy-to-follow instructions for various aspects of publishing e-books, from securing cover art to preparing the file to marketing. It also takes into account that many writers may be on a tight budget and offers lower-cost alternatives while not downplaying the importance of professionalism.
While the encouraging tone is reassuring, one of my main criticisms of the book is that I think it sugar coats the reality of self publishing a little bit, setting high expectations with the rare authors who have made it really "big" going this route. I think it would be easy for inexperienced authors to have an inflated expectation of their success. Still, those who have read this book probably have a slight advantage over those who don't, and I would recommend it without hesitation to anyone planning to publish an ebook. Read it quick, though, because technology changes fast and I expect it may be out of date before too long.
While the encouraging tone is reassuring, one of my main criticisms of the book is that I think it sugar coats the reality of self publishing a little bit, setting high expectations with the rare authors who have made it really "big" going this route. I think it would be easy for inexperienced authors to have an inflated expectation of their success. Still, those who have read this book probably have a slight advantage over those who don't, and I would recommend it without hesitation to anyone planning to publish an ebook. Read it quick, though, because technology changes fast and I expect it may be out of date before too long.
September 2, 2015
I had already read Publishing E-Books for Dummies by Ali Luke early last year when first planning to publish a novel online. I was then at work on another piece of fiction with which I have since grown dissatisfied and decided to shelve. At that time, however, I found Luke's book extremely informative and so decided to reread it in its entirety when recently preparing my novel New York Sonata for placement on Amazon.
In spite of its obnoxious title (how I loathe paying money to a publisher that refers to its customers as "dummies"), Publishing E-Books is actually as comprehensive a guide as one could hope for when initially approaching Amazon and other self-publishing sites. Luke's style is thoroughly engaging and easy to read as she guides the novice writer in this often confusing task. She offers a number of strategies and tips I probably would never have thought of on my own.
The bottom line is that I'd strongly recommend this book to any writer considering self-publishing an ebook for the first time. It is a great help in understanding what's involved and in simplifying the entire procedure. The chapters regarding Amazon are alone worth the purchase price.
In spite of its obnoxious title (how I loathe paying money to a publisher that refers to its customers as "dummies"), Publishing E-Books is actually as comprehensive a guide as one could hope for when initially approaching Amazon and other self-publishing sites. Luke's style is thoroughly engaging and easy to read as she guides the novice writer in this often confusing task. She offers a number of strategies and tips I probably would never have thought of on my own.
The bottom line is that I'd strongly recommend this book to any writer considering self-publishing an ebook for the first time. It is a great help in understanding what's involved and in simplifying the entire procedure. The chapters regarding Amazon are alone worth the purchase price.
August 28, 2016
This is one of those great books that you don't have to sit down and read from cover to cover, although you can do that also! The sections are separated in a way that you can skip to the ones that are the most helpful for you and go back to them later when you need them. This book contains a lot of information for people who are publishing their first book as well as seasoned authors who are looking for tips to sell more copies of their self-published books. The information provided can also be used for print versions of your book as well.
This book has extensive information about marketing your book and gaining a fan base, although I think if you were to follow all of its advice, you may not have much time left over for writing, especially if you have another job and other responsibilities. That being said, the information is laid out clearly in a way that is easy to understand and you can pick and choose which marketing tips to try depending on what your own personal definition of success is.
This book has extensive information about marketing your book and gaining a fan base, although I think if you were to follow all of its advice, you may not have much time left over for writing, especially if you have another job and other responsibilities. That being said, the information is laid out clearly in a way that is easy to understand and you can pick and choose which marketing tips to try depending on what your own personal definition of success is.
May 20, 2013
This book is excellent and reading it has been a jump start to my writing career. This is the book that explained to me the proper way in which I could use www.goodreads.com to market my books. Previously I thought of goodreads as a fun site to keep track of my reading and to discover books to read. Now I plan to use goodreads to promote my writing.
I am not sure if I will venture into the world of e-books. I am old fashioned and like the feel of pages in my hand. I may stick to publishing actual books instead of electronic media. However, more and more people are moving to e-books, therefore I might be a fool if I don't publish my books electronically.
Yet, even if I do decide to stick to actual paper and ink, this book has clearly told me how to market my book by, blog, facebook, my personal site, goodreads and email.
If you are a writer and need one more idea on how to find another reader, buy this book.
Ty
I am not sure if I will venture into the world of e-books. I am old fashioned and like the feel of pages in my hand. I may stick to publishing actual books instead of electronic media. However, more and more people are moving to e-books, therefore I might be a fool if I don't publish my books electronically.
Yet, even if I do decide to stick to actual paper and ink, this book has clearly told me how to market my book by, blog, facebook, my personal site, goodreads and email.
If you are a writer and need one more idea on how to find another reader, buy this book.
Ty
September 30, 2013
This is a superb book to assist you on you road to putting together, and selling, your Ebook.
Having self-published a print book many years ago, I new a little about the process; however, there are a lot of nuances that can trip you up when you try to produce your E-book even if you have a handle on traditional publishing. As an example, one of the biggest issues arises with formatting during the conversion process from your original document into one of the E-book formats. If you do it incorrectly it will potentially be a a chaotic mess.
In addition to the creation of your Ebook, there are valuable sections for selling and marketing your book as well.
Overall, this book is a great resource. One area that I would like to see expanded though(Ali if your reading this), is the section on DRM. If possible, and I know that the technology changes quickly, a component on the advantages and disadvantages of the various types of DRM on the market would be beneficial.
Having self-published a print book many years ago, I new a little about the process; however, there are a lot of nuances that can trip you up when you try to produce your E-book even if you have a handle on traditional publishing. As an example, one of the biggest issues arises with formatting during the conversion process from your original document into one of the E-book formats. If you do it incorrectly it will potentially be a a chaotic mess.
In addition to the creation of your Ebook, there are valuable sections for selling and marketing your book as well.
Overall, this book is a great resource. One area that I would like to see expanded though(Ali if your reading this), is the section on DRM. If possible, and I know that the technology changes quickly, a component on the advantages and disadvantages of the various types of DRM on the market would be beneficial.
December 5, 2012
This is a good book for people thinking about e-publishing, but who know nothing or very little about it. Those who haven't been following other self-published author's for a while. For those people, this is a very complete book with good advice and clear instructions.
I, on the other hand have been following the work and advices of self-pulished authors for a while and therefore I find that this book adds very little to that.
Still, it's a good book with sound advice. The only thing I found missing, was an approach to foreign authors. There's very little of that in any of the "how to publish ebooks" books I've read, and that's a shame.
September 26, 2013
I bought this e-book after looking at the many on publishing e-books and I wasn't disappointed. Even though many areas were new to me, I followed the applicable chapters line by line. I used Paint.net to create my own e-book cover and I was quite pleased. Word was used to write my e-book using the formatting tips in the book and then I converted the file for Kindle following the steps outlined. It took a few tries to get it the way I wanted it to look and each time I just went back to the chapter and followed the steps again. I highly recommend this book if you are thinking about publishing an e-book!
May 15, 2014
This book has been a tremendous help to me. If you're an unpublished author and want to publish--but don't know whether you should step left or right--then consider letting Ali Luke lead you out of the ignorance of having no direction.
Basically, she's been there and done that, and the one who has had no experience that has experienced is probably the one you should listen to. Luke takes us step-by-step through self-publishing as she knows it. She gives us helpful sites, hints, and must know knowledge. From where she starts you, you can navigate and make your own way.
Thank you Ali Luke. You're an inspiration and big help to us all.
Basically, she's been there and done that, and the one who has had no experience that has experienced is probably the one you should listen to. Luke takes us step-by-step through self-publishing as she knows it. She gives us helpful sites, hints, and must know knowledge. From where she starts you, you can navigate and make your own way.
Thank you Ali Luke. You're an inspiration and big help to us all.
August 31, 2015
This is a well written book that introduces the novice
writer to the arena of E-Book indie publishing...
This book is reasonably well written; but, most of the
book is geared to writers that make use of a Windows
based PC...
This is in spite of the fact that Microsoft itself has
admitted that its operating system is becoming extinct.
If the author of this book was really wanting to make
the book pertinent then he should have geared the book
to those users of Mac OS-X and Linux based operating
systems and software tools.
writer to the arena of E-Book indie publishing...
This book is reasonably well written; but, most of the
book is geared to writers that make use of a Windows
based PC...
This is in spite of the fact that Microsoft itself has
admitted that its operating system is becoming extinct.
If the author of this book was really wanting to make
the book pertinent then he should have geared the book
to those users of Mac OS-X and Linux based operating
systems and software tools.
September 27, 2013
This book was most helpful to me for marketing e-books, and the principles apply to a book in print as well. It helps you to know how to format your book in Word before making it a MOBI or EPUB file. In Chapter 8 it shows you how to make those files with Calibre. I was hoping for InDesign. It also tells you how to make an e-book using a PDF file or how to make one with iBooks Author. The author's voice is conversational and easy to follow.
August 7, 2014
As is all Dummie books, this one covers it all in a simple and concise manner. The step-by-step process of even signing up to Goodreads author page is given for those technically challenged.
Options when choices are available are given, but encouragement to do what you can is enforced rather than pay someone else to do it.
The book will take your e-book from writing to the reader in all its various ebook forms.
Helpful, basic, encouraging, a good resource.
Options when choices are available are given, but encouragement to do what you can is enforced rather than pay someone else to do it.
The book will take your e-book from writing to the reader in all its various ebook forms.
Helpful, basic, encouraging, a good resource.
October 25, 2014
Rarely has a book been so well worn, food-stained and underlined as Ali Luke's "Publishing E-Books for Dummies", and that's because it is such a treasure trove on e-publishing. I bought it to get an overall view on the topic, and the book more than satisfied my expectations. There's plenty of technical, computer-related information, names, tips and addresses. Extensive, carefully studied and user-friendly.
January 23, 2016
A great book for all you budding independent writers just itching to get published. I read this before I embarked on my self-publishing career and it was filled with just about every scenario you may encounter when just starting out.
This book doesn't cover everything, though. The mistakes you make on your own, if you learn from them, may prove invaluable down the road.
This book doesn't cover everything, though. The mistakes you make on your own, if you learn from them, may prove invaluable down the road.
September 23, 2012
If it were not for this book I would not have published my first book and ebook of poems, Shadows on lulu.com. It gave me some needed resources and some valuable tidbits here and there, which was all I needed
December 19, 2013
This was absolutely the most helpful book I have found on how to publish E-books. I have saved it as a resource book and use it as my go-to guide for when I want to double-check how to do many, many things related to e-publishing. I have also recommended it to several writers I know as a keeper.
June 19, 2014
Absolutely essential for those who do not know how to ebook publish. This book has made my life easier and saved me money!! It also gives advice about marketing and a broad variety of things, so it really is extremely helpful for do-it-yourself authors like me!
December 30, 2014
I found this book to be one of the best resource a first time ebook publisher could read. It explains each step of publishing in a way that is not confusing for some one who is taking the leap into self publishing for the first time.
May 25, 2023
Great book on getting your ebook published
Look great book on getting your book published and how to market your book. Do not think it is for writers who are not into self publishing.
Look great book on getting your book published and how to market your book. Do not think it is for writers who are not into self publishing.
October 21, 2012
Gets right to the point on how to format your book for difference devices; how to publish on different platforms; and how to sell and market your book (very important.
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