Dan Poynter's Self-Publishing Manual, Volume 2: How to Write, Print and Sell Your Own Book

by Dan Poynter

Book publishing is this book describes how to take advantage of those changes. This Volume II is the sequel to The Self-Publishing Manual (Volume I), the most successful book ever written on the subject. This manual describes how to use new techniques to write your book even faster, use new technology to publish it for less, and how to use social media for promotion.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction

144 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2009

About the author

Since 1969, Dan Poynter has written and published more than 100 books including Writing Nonfiction, The Self-Publishing Manual, and The Skydiver's Handbook.

Dan Poynter's seminars have been featured on CNN, his books have been pictured in The Wall Street Journal, and his story has been told in U.S. News & World Report. The media comes to Dan because he is the leading authority on book publishing.

Dan shows people how to make a difference and a living by coaching them on their book."

Reviews

[Mike Kowis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has LOTS of practical tips for newbie authors / indie authors. However, it was written a while back and some of the advice is outdated (e.g., reference to myspace in the social media section) and several of the links no longer work. In any case, I still recommend this book for newbie authors as it has lots of great tips.

Another great book on the same subject that I recommend is "14 Steps to Self-Publishing a Book" by Mike Kowis, Esq. While it doesn't have as many marketing tips as the Self-Publishing Manual, the 14 Steps book does a nice job of walking the reader through the exact steps it takes to self-publish a fiction or nonfiction book as an eBook, paperback and hard cover on popular book retailer sites.

[Gwyneth Garrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely helpful. Provided many good pointers, and made me realize just how MUCH there is to it....

[Carolina Romaní · Rating 4 out of 5]

Self-Publishing Manual, Volume II of Dan Poynter, shows how self-publishing is an option for authors who we wish to produce books on our own, without the help of a publisher. Authors we can choose to self-publish our work in electronic or physical format and the type of self-publishing we choose depends largely on our needs and creative capabilities.

It is clear that technology has advanced a lot in the last decades, making self-publishing easier and cheaper, and for this reason, many professional and non-professional writers, who we want to write, we are inclined to self-publish our books and this way to avoid the long process that would mean publishing in a traditional publishing house and, of course, counting that someday we will be published. 

In addition, digital readers access new works through online libraries, bookstores that have online catalogs. These books are also available on smartphones, computers and other electronic devices such as tablets or e-readers. Electronic publishing makes it easy for readers to access new works without any hassle. 

That's why I assure you that Poynter's book is full of ideas, which I will follow from now on, and also provides links, most of which are still active today.

For all these reasons I recommend this book to all self-published authors, but also to those who want to get started in self-publishing.

[Salvador Vollmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Understandably outdated, but helpful and inspiring, you will find out soon, most links are no longer valid (as neither are some websites referred such as MySpace), need to "translate" those reference to current platforms, to know: x.com, instagram.com. same with groups and apps.
Read it with google/AI bot handy.

[Carol Ghattas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having already published several books, I wasn't sure how useful this recommended read would be, but I did find some good helps for myself, especially in the area of promotion.

This is a good resource for new or impending authors. Though dated, the basics are still very useful.

[David Goodberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I already read two different editions of the Self Publishing Manual and loved every minute of it. When I saw this book for sale, I bought it, no doubt in mind. It was a good read despite being a very quick read, but ultimately I was not thrilled with it. It was filled with good advice and tips, but much of the book overlaps with the regular manual. I don't know why he didn't just tack on the non-similar information into his regualr book - ti wouldn't add that much thickness.

For the most part, online marketing is a very tricky business and is best explained in "Plug your book" by Steve Weber. And I'm not filled with complaints here though; this books had many great things to say about buyer mentality and especially ebooks. I've read countless books on book marketing and am reaching the end of my pile and was very glad to find a section in this book on ebooks, the different formats, and the outlets to reach online stores.

This is a good book and should be read, but it won't fill your head with wisdom.

[Michael Holley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan Poynter's is the Godfather to the self-publishing world. If you ever even thought about writing your own book and/or self-publishing your book after writing this Dan's series of books are a must read. I recommend this book first to give you a good over view of the publishing world. I would have never or could have ever written my first book without Dan's help. Again, a must read for anyone who aspires to write his or her own book. Self-Publishing Manual, Volume II: How to Write, Print, and Sell Your Own Book Employing the Latest Technologies and the Newest Techniques

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan is THE self-publishing Guru - if you are self-publishing, get this book-I think this summarizes my views on this book; however, to add some verbiage, I will say that this book is filled with wisdom from MANY years in the industry and the links and resources Dan provides will save you hours of searching. Dan also provides LOADS of information and a newsletter, free of charge, on his website.

If you are looking to self-publish, do yourself a favor and get this book, and the others that Dan has published. Other authors whose works are invaluable are: M.A. Demers, "The Global Indie Author", Aaron Shepard's book, "Aiming at Amazon" and Jason Matthews book,"How to Make, Market and Sell Ebooks: All for Free."

[David Katzman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Essentially a cliff-notes version of Volume 1. The "new media" highlights are nearly worthless. It does present a decent overview of the entire process if you are looking to get a quick peek into self-publishing. But if you are actually planning to self-publish, then this is a waste of your time. I get the feeling this was ghost written on Poynter's behalf. :-(

[HealthCastleGlo · Rating 4 out of 5]

It does have some good, unique information about self publishing and marketing. However, the formatting is pretty horrendous. It is hard to look for information and it feels like it's just a compilation of articles with different authors. I didn't read volume 1, and I have a feeling that would probably be a better read than this volume 2.

[Tamela Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's time to update this book, but it's a great resource. I am a big-picture person who doesn't usually sweat (or sometimes even notice) the details, but sometimes I was distracted by the quirky way the ebook rendered on my screen.

[Mark Polino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dan Poynter's Self Publishing Manual, Volume 2 provide some useful self publishing advice if you've done no research and don't have a clue. If you've started researching self publishing a book, then the big benefit to this volume are the lists of resources embedded in this small volume.

[Aleshia Robinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

THIS BOOK WAS THROWN TOGETHER BY THE AUTHOR. WHILE VOLUME 1 WAS HELPFUL, THIS BOOK IS PRETTY MUCH PAGES OF LISTS AND LINKS. ALL OF WHICH HELPFUL BUT BUY THIS ONLY IF YOU WANT A MORE OF A RESOURCE GUIDE AS OPPOSED TO A HOW TO GUIDE.

[Evan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan Poynter does an outstanding job of breaking down the complex aspects of self-publishing into a useful, succinct, play by play manual. I found this book insightful and the ideas easy to implement.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

WhenI found this most intriguing book, I later realized it has good information to publish my fantasy novels. I guarantee whoever wants to get published with their books is to use book. Thanks to Dan Poynter!

[Carole Crosby]

This edition of Self Publishing Manual is way more up-to-date, so I am finding it far more relevant in my research for my work.

[Emmanuel Donkor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the volume 2, this one does not disappoint. Full of good advice for anyone thinking of going solo.

[Kitty Bucholtz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful information and links. A good addition to Volume 1. Lots of information for nonfiction writers, and much of it can be applied to fiction writers, too.

[Andrew Hunkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has some great resource material but the format is sloppy, as if the author did not follow his own advice.

[Daniel Wieser · Rating 2 out of 5]

Out of date information.
Would not advise to read for SP

[Salem Lorot · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second volume builds up on helpful suggestions on self-publishing. I am implementing them. I will share my experiences on what works and doesn't for me.