Self-Publishing Advice
- Self-Publishing (this page)
- Publishing Resources (this page)
- Critique Groups (different page)
- Book Doctors (different page)
Self-Publishing
The “self” in self-publishing means it’s all — production, distribution, marketing — on the self-publisher’s shoulders.*
In traditional publishing, the publisher who purchases your manuscript arranges for copyediting, cover design, and typesetting. When you self-publish — and using a print-on-demand (POD) service essentially is self-publishing, even though your book will come out with the service’s ISBN — these tasks are among the many functions that become your responsibility.
If you choose to self-publish and want to produce a professional product, your manuscript must be edited for grammar, punctuation, and style. Every manuscript needs a fresh pair of eyes before printing, when corrections are still comparatively inexpensive. (A long-standing print industry maxim is “Fast, Cheap, Good: pick any two.”)
Readers do judge books by their covers. While readers commonly say they choose a book because they like that author or after reading the summary and skimming the book’s pages, what causes them to pick up a book they’ve never heard of in the first place?
Before you decide to self-publish, I strongly suggest you read at least one book on the subject. The most recommended book, Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual, covers the basics, from writing to book production to promotion. (I disagree with some of his suggestions about layout and writing, but his explanations of ISBNs, CIP data, and the publishing calendar are a great primer for new publishers.) Other helpful titles are The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing by Tom & Marilyn Ross and 1001 Ways to Market Your Books: For Authors and Publishers by John Kremer.
Considering publishing through one of the online POD services? Talk to others who have self-published that way. And read up on self-publishing so you’ll understand what the POD service tells you. Before making a decision, find out just how much help the POD service will give you in producing and selling your book, and whether you will be locked into a long-term agreement.
For more information about self-publishing, search Google or visit the Northern California Publishers & Authors Publishing 101 page.
I have assisted self-published writers with both editing and design.
By the way, POD is the acronym for print on demand, not publish on demand. POD provides a way to print long documents quickly. But you don’t have to take my word for it: What is Print on Demand?
Publishing Resources
If these links look familiar, it could be because I also collected the links for the NCPA Publishing 101 page.
BowkerLink: Publisher Access System
Purchase ISBNs or add your title to the Books in Print database here.
www.bowkerlink.com
Library of Congress: Especially for Publishers
Information about International Standard Serial Numbers (ISSN), Cataloging in Publication (CIP), and Preassigned Control Numbers (PCN).
www.loc.gov/loc/infopub/
Quality Books Inc.
Their Publisher’s Cataloging in Publication service provides data blocks for publishers who are not participating in the Library of Congress CIP Program.
www.quality-books.com
U.S. Copyright Office
Everything you could want to know about copyright, right from the official source.
www.copyright.gov
Library of Congress Online Catalog
Research book titles and authors using the online searchable database.
http://catalog.loc.gov
Ivan Hoffman, B.A., J.D.
Articles about intellectual property and copyright law
www.ivanhoffman.com
Publishing Law Center
Searchable database of articles on various areas of publishing.
www.publaw.com
California Lawyers for the Arts
Nonprofit service organization provides lawyer referrals, dispute resolution services, educational programs and publications to artists of all disciplines.
www.calawyersforthearts.org
Midwest Book Review
Online articles and links to resources. Don’t forget to send your published book to MBR for review — they give priority consideration to small press publishers and self-published authors, and their reviews are read by librarians nationwide.
www.midwestbookreview.com
Para Publishing
Dan Poynter’s site contains up-to-date reports that supplement his book, The Self-Publishing Manual.
www.parapublishing.com
Book Marketing
John Kremer publishes the list of top 500 independent book stores and offers an online Tip of the Week.
www.bookmarket.com
Bookselling This Week
Book news provided by the American Booksellers Association.
http://news.bookweb.org/
Book Industry Study Group
Purchase reports on the book industry here.
www.bisg.org/
Bookwire
This site, run by Bowker, bills itself as the "book industry resource."
www.bookwire.com/bookwire/
Publish-L e-mail discussion list
Publish-L provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and information about publishing and marketing books and related materials.
www.publish-l.com
Smallpub-civil e-mail discussion list
A free-ranging discussion of independent and small-press publishing and marketing. Other than bullying, name-calling, rude flames, spam, or entire newsletters, pretty much anything goes. Anyone engaging in a personal attack will lose posting privileges.
Subscribe by sending an e-mail to smallpub-civil-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or go to their Web site.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smallpub-civil/
Ind-e-pubs e-mail discussion list
This list discusses ways of producing, distributing, and selling e-books or various formats/types as a group of e-publishers only. Print On Demand is included as an e-book topic. Information-sharing is its only agenda. No direct advertising is allowed; advertisers will be removed.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ind-e-pubs
Pub-Forum e-mail discussion list
This unmoderated list is targeted at experienced self-publishers and small presses; newcomers may find their basic questions unwelcome.
www.pub-forum.net
* As one self-publisher defined it. Thanks, Danette!