Self publishing

[Keith Rich 10]

Has anyone ever self published a book?

 

I am in the proccess of wrting a novel and was considering publishing it my self so that I have complete control.

 

Anyone got any good advice?

 

Keith

[coyleys 10]

There are plenty of threads on that topic, here is one.

 

http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=356688&highlight=publishing

[Tallyman 10]

Keith

 

I can recommend Peacock Lady's blog - she is a professional book editor and has written and compiled vast amounts of information about publishing and self-publishing, especially the pitfalls and hazards.

 

You can find her blog here: How Publishing Really Works

[Keith Rich 10]

Keith

 

I can recommend Peacock Lady's blog - she is a professional book editor and has written and compiled vast amounts of information about publishing and self-publishing, especially the pitfalls and hazards.

 

You can find her blog here: How Publishing Really Works

 

Thanks I'll give her a try.

 

In the meantime my book is just about finished so I will be contacting agents, who will of course be fighting each other for rights to the book!

[staplingma 10]

I self-published last year on lulu.com. Very pleased with them, and it doesn't cost a penny. If you only sell one book, that's fine! But hopefully you'll sell many more.

 

My parents live in America, so they ordered my book from the American site, no problem.

 

Only cost is if you want to buy an ISBN number, and they take a commission on every book sold.

 

Andrew

[Karis 11]

Keith

 

I can recommend Peacock Lady's blog - she is a professional book editor and has written and compiled vast amounts of information about publishing and self-publishing, especially the pitfalls and hazards.

 

You can find her blog here: How Publishing Really Works

 

The best place to start is with the Writer's and Journalists Handbook, which contains a great wealth of information on self publishing.

 

And then, once you've assimiliated all of that, try to speak to some publishers, people who have genuine experience in the industry and who can help you through the hardships.

 

It's a meaty slog, though, selling your own book.

 

But good luck!!!

[E-Man Groovin 27]

I did it the hard way a few years back (the book's still available at various outlets including Amazon).

 

It was an anthology of new writing. I typset it using Microsoft Publisher which I think is passable for text-only layout, and a graphic designer friend produced a beautiful cover on Adobe Photoshop.

 

I converted all the copy to PDF format (ensuring that colours were CMYK and not RGB!) and sent them off to a litho printer in Malta. For a small run digital printing is OK - I'd recommend JEM Digital Print. There are lots of fun things to do at this point like selecting your book dimensions and paper weight and type. Also you'll need to contact Nielsen Book Data to get an ISBN number and produce a barcode.

 

Hope that helps! There are lots of useful web resources describing how to do it in more detail.

[Karis 11]

I can produce barcodes, if anyone wants one

[Sympsons 10]

I self-published last year on lulu.com. Very pleased with them, and it doesn't cost a penny. If you only sell one book, that's fine! But hopefully you'll sell many more.

 

My parents live in America, so they ordered my book from the American site, no problem.

 

Only cost is if you want to buy an ISBN number, and they take a commission on every book sold.

 

Andrew

 

I've looked on the site and it seems you have to pay :-(

[staplingma 10]

Are you sure? I didn't have to pay a penny. Completely free to upload anything you want. Lots of kids upload comics they've made!

 

If you sell anything, they take a percentage above merchandising costs, but if you sell nothing, you lose nothing.

[Sympsons 10]

I'll have a closer look, thanks

[Karis 11]

You have to BUY an ISBN, but you can make barcodes yourself, if you have paid for the software.