Self-Publishing - Publishing Your Own Book
Traditional trade publishers are quite selective about what books they publish and it's not easy to get their attention. But traditional publishing is not the only avenue to getting your book into the marketplace. For a fee, vanity presses and self-publishing companies allow any writer to create a book--and they offer as much editorial and book marketing support as an author chooses to afford. Read about the options--or share your own self-publishing experience with About.com readers, below.
Vanity Presses vs Self-Publishing Service — Publishing Your Own Book
While vanity presses have long been around, today's print-on-demand and ebook technologies, internet sales channels, and social media marketing make it possible for many more authors to successfully self-publish their own books.
Self-Publishing Your Book: Reasons to Self-Publish Your Book
Today, self-publishing a book has become a widely accessible option for many writers. Whether your self-publishing goals are personal or professional, whether your desire is to reach a large audience or just to make your Mom smile, it makes sense to take stock of your expectations before you self-publish. Then, when you hold your book in your...
Self-Publishing - Considerations for Choosing A Publishing Service
Which publishing service should you choose to help you publish your book? It depends on whether you want to create a print book or an ebook, whether you want to potentially see your hardcover on a store shelf or allow your family and friends to print your book on-demand. Read about some of the factors you should consider when you compare...
Self-Publishing Success Story: E-Book Author Amanda Hocking
Self-published writer Amanda Hocking made millions of dollars in her first year as a DIY author of young adult paranormal romance and urban fantasy novels. How did Hocking find self-publishing success? By having a large body of work to draw upon, by knowing her audience... and by having some market savvy.
Amazon.com's CreateSpace
For a paperback book format combined with the advantages of Amazon.com distribution, CreateSpace is a popular self-publishing service choice.
Amazon.com's Kindle Direct Publishing
Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) offers an e-book self-publishing service with the distribution capability of the online retail giant, Amazon.com.
Author Solutions — Self-Publishing Parent Company
Author Solutions is the self-proclaimed world leader in self-publishing--or "indie publishing," as it refers to its services. Its divisions include: AuthorHouse, Inkubook, iUniverse, Palibrio, Trafford Publishing, Wordclay, and Xlibris, each with somewhat different capabilities. Author Solutions also maintains partnerships with traditional...
Barnes & Noble's PubIt!: An Overview of B&N's PubIt! eBook Publishing Service
If you're considering self-publishing an ebook, B&N's PubIt! offers the distribution barnesandnoble.com and some of the useful promotional features of Barnes & Noble bricks-and-mortar stores. Here’s an overview of some of the PubIt! features.
Blurb — An Overview of Blurb's Book Self-Publishing Services
While Blurb allows self-publishing in a variety of book formats, the service is a favorite of graphic artists, photographers and cookbook authors who whose work lends itself to a highly-designed, full-color book. Read about some of Blurb's self-publishing features.
iUniverse Self-Publishing Service
The wide range of “guided self-publishing” packages and add-on editorial and marketing options makes iUniverse a good choice for those willing to pay professionals to help craft and launch a strong print/e-book combination into the book marketplace.
Lulu.com's Self-Publishing Services
The popular Lulu.com provides "the widest selection of print-on-demand options" — a large variety of book format choices and an array of services (for extra fees). Read about some of Lulu.com's self-publishing features.
Smashwords: An Overview of Smashwords Self-Publishing Platform
Smashwords is an e-book publishing and distribution platform that offers multi-format e-books without the digital rights management strings — and with a higher percentage of profits — than many other self-publishing services. If you're thinking about publishing your own e-book, read more about how Smashwords differs from other e-book...
Have you self-published a book? Tell readers about your experience:
There's a wide selection of companies available to help authors self-publish their books. But what's the experience really like? What facts are useful for prospective authors know before they undertake the process? About.com readers who are self-published authors weigh in with real-life experiences. See submissions See submissions See......See submissions
About Self-Publishing with Jared Koch, Self-published Author of CLEAN PLATES NYC
Self-published author of the healthy restaurant guide Clean Plates NYC, Jared Koch purposefully chose the DIY publishing route for his book and did his self-publishing with a hand-picked team. Given the book's respectable sales figures and extensive media coverage, About.com asked Koch to talk about his path to self-publishing success.
Book Publishing for Authors
Being a book author is a business--and, like any successful enterprise, involves having a good product (your book), a distribution channel (booksellers) and someone to get it there (your publisher's salespeople). You'll also need marketing and publicity efforts to get your book to customer (the readers). Read about the business of book...