The Complete Idiot's Guide to Self-Publishing

by Jennifer Basye Sander, Mark Victor Hansen (Foreword)

A practical guide for a booming market.

Every aspiring self-published author needs this guide, which covers everything from design to sales. It reveals all the tools they’ll need, including worksheets for estimating costs, timing, and resources; up-to-date information on production and design; formats for many genres; strategies for publicity and sales; plus success stories from self- published authors.

• Publishers Marketing Association estimates there are 73,000 small and self- publishers in the U.S., with 8,000-11,000 new ones each year
• Of the approximately 2.8 million books in print, 78% of the titles come from small/self-publishers (PMA)
• For small and self-publishers, sales increased 21% annually from 1997-2002; in 2002, these 73,000 publishers grossed $29.4 billion
• 81% of the population feels they have a book inside them; 6 million have written a manuscript; and another 6 million have a manuscript making the rounds

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published October 4, 2005

About the author

Jennifer Basye Sander has been an author and book packager for nearly 20 years. Her career has spanned all aspects of the business, from retail sales and book acquisition to editorial and publicity. She and her husband founded the Big City Books Group, which develops book projects and has over 40 successful books in print.

Also known as Jennifer "Gin" Sander

Reviews

[Natalie Weber · Rating 5 out of 5]

My friend, Jennifer, gave me this book to read so that I could outline what steps we needed to take next on her book project. In the course of reading it, I became intrigued by the process of self-publishing. I was still in the early stages of working on my book, Pajama School, and had planned to go the traditional publishing route. Inspired by the benefits outlined in this book (but trying to keep in mind the realities of how difficult it would be!), I decided to officially launch my Journey to Self-Publishing. This book provides lots of practical advice that helped get me started in the right direction.

[Sonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second time that I perused and skimmed this book. It is a great resource to refer to the different stages of publishing.

It is helpful with step-by-step guides and lists of what to do next. The authors provide additional books to dig deeper and fill in the gaps.

Helpful.

[Karlie Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book as a lot of great information, but I really wish it had more about fiction writing and marketing. Most of it focused on non-fictional writing, which is great and all, but I'm not a non-fiction writer. I was definitely hoping for more.