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Shelf Help - The Complete Guide To Self-Publishing
"The first truly comprehensive, honest, objective guide to publishing I've seen" - Polly Courtney
Confused and bamboozled by the wide world of self-publishing? Written a book but have no idea how to get it onto shelves? Disillusioned by traditional publishing and want something better? Well, you’re in the right place. Shelf Help is the brand new and comprehensive guide to becoming a professional indie author.
This handy little guide will tell you in great detail exactly how to go from manuscript to royalty cheque. With Shelf Help, you’ll learn how to self-publish the DIY way - retaining all your rights, royalties, and utter creative control whilst keeping it cheap, quick, and above all, professional.
So whether it’s cover design that’s foxed you, or eBooks that give you a headache, self-publishing consultant Ben Galley has the answers.
Also featuring interviews with best-selling authors and self-publishing gurus: Hugh Howey, Joanna Penn, and Polly Courtney.
THIS GUIDE COVERS:
THE INDUSTRY
- A History of Publishing
- The Rise of Self-Publishing
POLISH IT:
- Why you need to edit your book
- Sourcing a professional editor
- Using beta readers
- How to get a great cover design
- eBook formatting
- Blurbs, copyrights, and tables of contents
- Typesetting for print
PUBLISH IT:
- ISBNs
- Metadata and book pricing
- Print on demand (POD) printing
- Bulk and offset printing
- eBook publishing and distribution
- KDP and KWL
- Smashwords and BookBaby
PROMOTE IT:
- Introduction to marketing
- Organic and active marketing
- The marketing funnel
- Websites
- Social media
- Reviews
- Email marketing
- Content marketing
- Merchandise
- Signings and events
- Paid advertising
- Pricing, giveaways, and competitions
Confused and bamboozled by the wide world of self-publishing? Written a book but have no idea how to get it onto shelves? Disillusioned by traditional publishing and want something better? Well, you’re in the right place. Shelf Help is the brand new and comprehensive guide to becoming a professional indie author.
This handy little guide will tell you in great detail exactly how to go from manuscript to royalty cheque. With Shelf Help, you’ll learn how to self-publish the DIY way - retaining all your rights, royalties, and utter creative control whilst keeping it cheap, quick, and above all, professional.
So whether it’s cover design that’s foxed you, or eBooks that give you a headache, self-publishing consultant Ben Galley has the answers.
Also featuring interviews with best-selling authors and self-publishing gurus: Hugh Howey, Joanna Penn, and Polly Courtney.
THIS GUIDE COVERS:
THE INDUSTRY
- A History of Publishing
- The Rise of Self-Publishing
POLISH IT:
- Why you need to edit your book
- Sourcing a professional editor
- Using beta readers
- How to get a great cover design
- eBook formatting
- Blurbs, copyrights, and tables of contents
- Typesetting for print
PUBLISH IT:
- ISBNs
- Metadata and book pricing
- Print on demand (POD) printing
- Bulk and offset printing
- eBook publishing and distribution
- KDP and KWL
- Smashwords and BookBaby
PROMOTE IT:
- Introduction to marketing
- Organic and active marketing
- The marketing funnel
- Websites
- Social media
- Reviews
- Email marketing
- Content marketing
- Merchandise
- Signings and events
- Paid advertising
- Pricing, giveaways, and competitions
- GenresSelf Help
290 pages, Paperback
First published February 26, 2014
1 person is currently reading
306 people want to read
About the author
Ben Galley
51 books842 followersBen Galley is a British author of dark and epic fantasy books who currently hails from Vancouver, Canada. Since publishing his debut Emaneska Series, Ben has released the award-winning weird western Scarlet Star Trilogy and standalone The Heart of Stone, the critically-acclaimed Chasing Graves Trilogy, and the new Scalussen Chronicles.
When he isn’t conjuring up strange new stories or arguing the finer points of magic systems and dragon anatomy, Ben explores the Canadian wilds, sips Scotch single malts, and snowboards very, very badly. One day he hopes to haunt an epic treehouse in the mountains.
Find all of Ben’s books or join his Discord and Patreon at: www.linktr.ee/bengalley
When he isn’t conjuring up strange new stories or arguing the finer points of magic systems and dragon anatomy, Ben explores the Canadian wilds, sips Scotch single malts, and snowboards very, very badly. One day he hopes to haunt an epic treehouse in the mountains.
Find all of Ben’s books or join his Discord and Patreon at: www.linktr.ee/bengalley
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 7, 2014
Ben Galley's Shelf Help has a lot of great advice and resources to consider for anyone going indie. Its nice to have it in this handy 'pocket' collection, but I was disapointed it didn't go further. A lot of the resources and information could be found with a little bit of searching. Ben's own insights, and the inclusion of advice from a few other noted indie's, does provide some additional perspective, but I'm not sure it was enough depth to warrant purchasing this guide.
I recommend for those just getting started or like collection guides.
I recommend for those just getting started or like collection guides.
April 30, 2014
Ben Galley is a young indie with something that many other self-published authors lack: passion, skill, professionalism and courage. He stands in this crowded environment has a giant, a real author-preneur, a self-made indie with numbers to show the success he has been able to accomplish by himself.
When I found out he was releasing this guide I bought it without a second thought. I finished it in four hours.
Unfortunately, I remained somehow disappointed by it.
What Worked
Ben Galley is one out of a few names that have successfully started fighting the image of narcissist amateur with which the media picture most self-published authors. The passion and energy he puts in everything he’s done cannot be underestimated and people like him are so very welcome in the blossoming age of self-publishing.
Galley knows what he’s talking about. Everything he explains in the book is something he experienced himself first hand.
But let’s talk about the content of the book.
The book is divided in many parts. Three macro-sections are the very core of the book. A “pre-phase” (the draft stage), a “middle-phase” (before publishing your book) and a “post-phase” (your book is out there). The guide per se is short (you can finish it in a few hours) but it covers a lot of subjects.
There’s a bit of everything, from editing to ISBNs, from metadata to platform building , all explained in a simple and engaging way. This bears repeating: such simple formatting choice may well be of value for someone who’s deciding or have yet to decide how to approach the self-publishing arena as the book provides useful tips and shortcuts easy to understand. There’s a very helpful bunch of information and resources that could save people money and time.
The final section of the book provides a very interesting Q&A segment with some of the most known indie authors, some helpful links and a handy glossary.
I want to conclude this part with praise for the formatting of the Ebook itself. Almost flawless (except for the images featured in, which I’ll be speaking about shortly). There’s hardly any typo or grammar mistake.
An author who uses his own advices is a rare thing indeed.
What Didn’t Work
I tend to classify books in two groups: those that add value and those that don’t. Unfortunately, after reading Shelf help - The Pocket Guide, I felt its place was in the latter.
I personally think that if you have struggled in the “indie realm” for six months or more you’ll hardly find anything in this book useful to you. It’s simply too general and you probably already know most of the things discussed. There is a lot of information, sure, but it is “over-stretched” and hurried at best.
After all, it couldn’t be different. A book this short can’t possibly analyze in depth anything at all. So, if you are expecting something ground-breaking or original you’ll probably be disappointed.
Something else I found really annoying. Galley often invites the reader to “google” for more information. This is fine; I have no problem with that. The thing is that he uses this “formula” far too often. I felt like he wanted to dismiss a subject after the other too quickly in order to discuss something else.
Quantity prevails over quality.
Also, the fact that the main source of information of the author seems to be Wikipedia, says a lot about the backbone of the work itself. It is with no surprise that the part called "A History of Publishing" (even if very short) is plagued by a couple of embarrassing historical inaccuracies. The invention of the printing press in 1440 by Gutenberg being only the worst of them (printing technology was invented in China in the eight century A.D. and movable type printing technology was also invented in China in the eleventh century A.D.)
Finally, as much as I enjoyed the images provided in the book, some of them were almost illegible on my Kindle. This is a problem other reader may not experience, though.
Conclusion
Shelf Help-The Pocket Guide is a must read if you know nothing or very little about self-publishing. If this is the case, get it NOW. This book is made for you. If, however, you’ve already sailed the self-publishing sea for a while STOP to think whether these are money well spent. There is very little in this guide that cannot be found surfing the Internet. For free. Sites like michaelhyatt.com, thebookdesigner.com, goinswriter.com, thecreativepenn.com or even free Ebook like Mark Coker’s “Smashwords Book Marketing Guide” and “The Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success” provide much more material with respect to Galley’s work.
I felt like this could have been a much more solid work if only Galley had divided the book in three parts and sold it separately.
This way he could have spared time and effort, reached a broader audience and explained in a completely different fashion the all “Polish, Publish, Promote” structure.
This book has good intentions and there’s clearly a lot of work behind it.
I simply had high expectations reading that name, and I ended up being disappointed.
When I found out he was releasing this guide I bought it without a second thought. I finished it in four hours.
Unfortunately, I remained somehow disappointed by it.
What Worked
Ben Galley is one out of a few names that have successfully started fighting the image of narcissist amateur with which the media picture most self-published authors. The passion and energy he puts in everything he’s done cannot be underestimated and people like him are so very welcome in the blossoming age of self-publishing.
Galley knows what he’s talking about. Everything he explains in the book is something he experienced himself first hand.
But let’s talk about the content of the book.
The book is divided in many parts. Three macro-sections are the very core of the book. A “pre-phase” (the draft stage), a “middle-phase” (before publishing your book) and a “post-phase” (your book is out there). The guide per se is short (you can finish it in a few hours) but it covers a lot of subjects.
There’s a bit of everything, from editing to ISBNs, from metadata to platform building , all explained in a simple and engaging way. This bears repeating: such simple formatting choice may well be of value for someone who’s deciding or have yet to decide how to approach the self-publishing arena as the book provides useful tips and shortcuts easy to understand. There’s a very helpful bunch of information and resources that could save people money and time.
The final section of the book provides a very interesting Q&A segment with some of the most known indie authors, some helpful links and a handy glossary.
I want to conclude this part with praise for the formatting of the Ebook itself. Almost flawless (except for the images featured in, which I’ll be speaking about shortly). There’s hardly any typo or grammar mistake.
An author who uses his own advices is a rare thing indeed.
What Didn’t Work
I tend to classify books in two groups: those that add value and those that don’t. Unfortunately, after reading Shelf help - The Pocket Guide, I felt its place was in the latter.
I personally think that if you have struggled in the “indie realm” for six months or more you’ll hardly find anything in this book useful to you. It’s simply too general and you probably already know most of the things discussed. There is a lot of information, sure, but it is “over-stretched” and hurried at best.
After all, it couldn’t be different. A book this short can’t possibly analyze in depth anything at all. So, if you are expecting something ground-breaking or original you’ll probably be disappointed.
Something else I found really annoying. Galley often invites the reader to “google” for more information. This is fine; I have no problem with that. The thing is that he uses this “formula” far too often. I felt like he wanted to dismiss a subject after the other too quickly in order to discuss something else.
Quantity prevails over quality.
Also, the fact that the main source of information of the author seems to be Wikipedia, says a lot about the backbone of the work itself. It is with no surprise that the part called "A History of Publishing" (even if very short) is plagued by a couple of embarrassing historical inaccuracies. The invention of the printing press in 1440 by Gutenberg being only the worst of them (printing technology was invented in China in the eight century A.D. and movable type printing technology was also invented in China in the eleventh century A.D.)
Finally, as much as I enjoyed the images provided in the book, some of them were almost illegible on my Kindle. This is a problem other reader may not experience, though.
Conclusion
Shelf Help-The Pocket Guide is a must read if you know nothing or very little about self-publishing. If this is the case, get it NOW. This book is made for you. If, however, you’ve already sailed the self-publishing sea for a while STOP to think whether these are money well spent. There is very little in this guide that cannot be found surfing the Internet. For free. Sites like michaelhyatt.com, thebookdesigner.com, goinswriter.com, thecreativepenn.com or even free Ebook like Mark Coker’s “Smashwords Book Marketing Guide” and “The Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success” provide much more material with respect to Galley’s work.
I felt like this could have been a much more solid work if only Galley had divided the book in three parts and sold it separately.
This way he could have spared time and effort, reached a broader audience and explained in a completely different fashion the all “Polish, Publish, Promote” structure.
This book has good intentions and there’s clearly a lot of work behind it.
I simply had high expectations reading that name, and I ended up being disappointed.
June 22, 2014
Great book for beginners
Although I have indie published a number of books, I picked up a number of worthwhile tips from this book. If you have not published before, this book wil really help you.
What works:
- This book is short and to the point, and gives the essential information you will need.
- Ben know what he's talking about and the technical information is accurate.
- Getting images to display clearly on a Kindle can be tricky. I had no problem on my Kindle paper-white.
What doesn't work:
- There is too much boring background information about the industry for my liking.
- Ben frequently advises his reader to google for information. The reason I read books on this type of subjects to save myself the time of having to search for everything myself.
Although I have indie published a number of books, I picked up a number of worthwhile tips from this book. If you have not published before, this book wil really help you.
What works:
- This book is short and to the point, and gives the essential information you will need.
- Ben know what he's talking about and the technical information is accurate.
- Getting images to display clearly on a Kindle can be tricky. I had no problem on my Kindle paper-white.
What doesn't work:
- There is too much boring background information about the industry for my liking.
- Ben frequently advises his reader to google for information. The reason I read books on this type of subjects to save myself the time of having to search for everything myself.
April 21, 2018
One line summarise how Americans see it: this book did not do much but single out international theme. Ben choose to concentrate on British publishing industry. Why heck this book appears in my library bookshelf?
Where’s our own Jane Friedman? FYI: There’s lot of Canadian writers and it seems this book neglected covering Commonwealth worldwide.
Tone of this author did change midcourse, even worsen with repeat themes in later chapters. Other reviewers was correct to point out, the one would have to dig up online for references.
Please do tell me the approach more crispy to say, “Ah why I haven’t think of that.” Instead, after reading pages by page it dawn as if nothing new bound to happen.
Where’s our own Jane Friedman? FYI: There’s lot of Canadian writers and it seems this book neglected covering Commonwealth worldwide.
Tone of this author did change midcourse, even worsen with repeat themes in later chapters. Other reviewers was correct to point out, the one would have to dig up online for references.
Please do tell me the approach more crispy to say, “Ah why I haven’t think of that.” Instead, after reading pages by page it dawn as if nothing new bound to happen.
May 29, 2015
As someone who had dipped their toe into self-publishing, I found this book extremely helpful in getting me into a business frame of mind. The areas of knowledge are simply explained and whilst I understand some commentators saying it isn't advanced enough for them, I feel it is an extremely worthwhile book for the uninitiated or the ankle deep self-publisher as I was when I read this book. I thought it worth it's price tag and hopefully one day Mr Galley can highlight some of us who have read the book as examples of how to do it! Certainly professional which, as Mr Galley states, is what we self-publishers need to be in everything.
Read
June 26, 2016A positive and upbeat how-to guide, as worthwhile for its ability to imbue a can-do attitude to self-publishing as it is for its informativeness - definitely recommended!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews