Self-publishing Crash Course 2015

CARL A KING [email protected]

SELF-PUBLISHING

CR ASH COURSE

BASICS • • • • • • • •

What is self-publishing? Formats: PDF, EPUB, MOBI

• •

How to format

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Attracting a publishing partner

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Warning: tools and services to avoid

Vendors I trust Simple ebooks Simple print books Complex and color books Selling direct

Packaging your book for the marketplace

The one thing you must do to make sure you’re free to change services any time you want

What company should I self-publish with? Fictitious Business Name, aka
 DBA (Doing Business As) EIN (Employer Identification Number) Your Own ISBNs purchased from Bowker Copyright

Making Books

FORMATS

STYLES Make everything easier

STYLES

File Creation

File Creation • • • • •

File creation guides Spine width calculators Export to PDF Upload to distributor Common errors Spine width Images less than 300 dpi Bar code placement

FORMATTING TOOLS AND SERVICES

PDF, MOBI, EPUB

99 - 300

• • • • • • • •

based on wordpress blog to book small book s + samples g reat templates customization easy to hire help easy collaboration work in the cloud

Choose from over 50 themes

PUBLISHING Who to trust?

Vendors I Trust

Smashwords

• • • • • • •

Free MS Word > all formats Wide distribution including libraries for bestsellers Everyone except Amazon 85% Net Royalty Coupon codes Preorders

Draft2Digital

• • • • • •

Free MS Word > all formats Wide distribution including libraries for bestsellers Everyone except Amazon 90% Net Royalty Customer support

Amazon KDP until you evaluate your marketing strategy

• • • •

MOBI Kindle ebook distribution to Amazon only Free • Preorders $79 conversion from CreateSpace POD book 70% Net Sales Royalty in most territories (US) minus “delivery” and 35% elsewhere

BookBaby • •

One file one order Format, design, distribute


• • •

Hardcover, paperback Full color, complex books eBook/fixed-layout eBook

•

Great support and satisfaction guarantee

•

Many pricing models $199-$999+ 100% of net sales - online retailers fee ~40%

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IngramSpark • • • •

Hardcover Paperback Ebooks Plain and full-color complex

•

You design & format

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Wide distribution incl bookstores

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FREE! *$49 signup fee refunded w order of 50 print books Royalty 45-70% minus print costs Annual $12 distribution fee

• • IngramSpark replaced LSI but sophisticated author/publishers can still use

Blurb

Blurb

Easy tools 80% royalty (-30% distribution to Apple iBookstore)

Sales, mockups for designer, personal books, supplementary books

CreateSpace

• Amazon POD only • Paperback only • B&W + Full color • MOBI for Kindle w conversion fee

• You provide PDFs • Free • 80% CreateSpace POD • 60% Amazon POD • Great POD book prices, fast delivery

• Great phone support • Do not use expanded distribution 


iBooks Author

Export as a PDF, text file, or .ibooks file, which you can distribute outside the iBooks Store or through iTunes U.

Convert and distribute to Bookwire, Ingram, INscribe, Smashwords, and BookBaby via their list of aggregators. Sell on your site and via online stores and payment services like Gumroad. Royalties 70% of list price.

KDP Kids

• •

Distribute to Kindle store only Royalties are 70% of list price

KF8 Format

Teachers - check out Kindle Textbook Creator (beta)

BookBaby ONE STOP SHOP Hardcover Trade paperback Full color, complex eBook/fixed layout eBooks

• • • • •

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Cover and interior design & formatting EPUB and KF8/mobi Distribution including bookstores Many pricing structures $199 - $999 100% of net sales (minus online retailers
 fee of ~40%+) Great support and satisfaction guarantee

Book Covers

Creating a Cover

Wordpress Site & Blog -$5/mo SELF-HOSTED MANAGED WORDPRESS

Gumroad

+

or

Publish early, publish often. Authors and publishers use Leanpub to publish amazing in-progress and completed books.

Weighing the Options STUDY LATER

Weighing the Options STUDY LATER

• Easiest 


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Where most people buy books
 Amazon.com (CreateSpace/Kindle)

• Best royalty


•

Complex & Full Color Print & E
 BookBaby, Blurb - most expensive, easiest
 IngramSpark - provide print-ready files

•

Hardbacks
 BookBaby, IngramSpark, Blurb

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Best POD price ( ARCs, events )
 Amazon CreateSpace (easiest to use, no setup fee)
 IngramSpark (print-ready files, refundable setup fee)

•

Best global reach
 IngramSpark, Blurb for print
 Kobo, for ebooks, wide international distribution and ebook sales inside brick & mortar bookstores
 (Ingram distribution feeds Kobo)

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Most profit
 Selling direct (website + Gumroad)

BookBaby (format, design, distribution, but highest $) IngramSpark (no format/design, but great distribution esp to bookstores
 Direct to retailer (Amazon, Apple, Kobo, Nook)
 Direct via your site + Gumroad/Selz or Leanpub

• Best brick-and-mortar bookstore reach
 IngramSpark (biggest distribution in world)
 BookBaby good too
 Kobo for in-store purchase of ebooks

• Best eBook distribution


Smashwords (largest in world, library reach)
 Kobo distributes bookstores worldwide
 IngramSpark, BookBaby, Blurb also good

• Single-vendor tools + distro


Kobo, Smashwords, Amazon CreateSpace & KDP, Apple (for direct relationship, testing waters, ARCs)

Publishing Partners

For example...

Kamy Wicoff and Brooke Warner

short fiction in ebook format Peggy Northrup and Laura Fraser

aviation history, high-performance aircraft of all types, air combat, aircraft modeling, and a layman's technical look at a range of aircraft types

bloggers

WARNING

The one thing you can do to protect your book and keep it portable among vendors

ISBN Buy 10 for $295

978-09646445-6-4

Carla King Misadventures Media SelfPubBootCamp.com [email protected]

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