Posts tagged: publishing

#8 Converting your original book layout to an ebook format

Once you have completed your book and had it proofed, you can go ahead and offer your book for sale as a digital book. You needn’t wait for the bound copy to be printed or even sent to the printer. You will be doing the latter while you set up the digital versions and get [...]

Your book’s cover is its own best salesperson!

Your book only needs three kinds of covers, but they can all be designed from the same model. 1. Your bound books will require a full cover, meaning a front, a spine, and a back. (In the rare case you produce a cloth-covered book–a hardcover book–the needs are the same except that you might also [...]

(#7 of 10) Publish your book as a paperback, almost free

The purpose of this 10-unit series of blogs is to answer the working question, “How can I publish a just-finished book six times, all within a couple of weeks?” This unit will discuss publishing your book as a paperback, with the publishing part nearly free. In earlier blogs we read of getting the book in [...]

What must you have in your book?

Take an hour, for starters. Go some place where you won’t be disturbed and write down your book’s purpose statement. It may be easier to start with a working question, like “What will your book be about?” The answer is the “purpose statement.” Your book will help realize that purpose. The statement might be: “The [...]

Landing pages help sell your books (#6 of 10)

If you’re writing a book to sell, you need some launching pad where the potential buyer can see the book cover, the title, the copy on the title, the copy on the back cover (if it’s a paperback)–or the copy that would go there if it’s an ebook, some selling prose that would be on [...]

How many book pages a day should you write?

A hard reminder: if you really want to write a book (even better, get it published), the whole writing issue is up to you. Novelists often write two to five pages a day, unedited. Old veterans can plunk out 10-20. Nonfictionfolk pretty much write once they have the facts. Somebody wrote the story of the [...]

Writing a book? You need three copies at all times

You need to have your book in three places: in your computer (seeable on the monitor), on a USB flash drive (or some equivalent) just in case, and in a three-ring binder. The first is obvious. The second gives you peace of mind and lets you work on others’ computers and keep your results safe [...]

(#5) Your book needs a description, a price, and your bio

#5 in our “how to publish your own book” series focuses on a description of your book, its price, and your biography to list in your book “open” publishing listing. Since the submission form requires all three items to have your book published free, or almost free, at Kindle, Nook, Smashwords, iPad, CreateSpace, Scribd, and [...]

Why publishing is upside down in your favor…

Long ago there were monks who “printed” books with quills. Later, the printing press appeared in Europe. Many authors sold books first, then wrote them if enough people bought enough copies in advance to pay for the printing. Move past World War II. If you wanted to be a published author (particularly of novels or [...]

Why aren’t you, your kids, and your folks in print right now?

Do you have a book inside you just shouting to escape? Do you have something to say and time is running out? Are you afraid that if you don’t get to it soon, will you be the zillionth person who dies bookless? Maybe it’s a novel, a kid’s book, a joke book, a memoir, or [...]