This was posted back in the fall of 2014… felt it was worth re-posting for the new year.   Participate in my Self Publishing Group for Authors and Publishers …  subscribe to the mailing list for future updates, upcoming teleconferences and webinars and more.  Or, Learn more at the tab: Self Publishing Group on this website.

Easy Steps to Getting Your Work on Amazon and Beyond

1. Write your book – the preferable software is MS Word. Write, don’t format at this time. Do your own edits initially, meaning your version of rough drafts.

2. Plan your book (preferably while you’re writing) and budget the upfront costs. Prices are approximate for illustration of this discussion:
* Cover concept / design – $200 – $500
* Interior layout – see editor fees
* Editor – approximately $250-$500 (maybe more if they also do the layout)
* Set up a publishing company name to be used with your ISBNs – $100.
* ISBN – the only official seller of ISBNs is R R Bowker (they re-direct you to MyIdentifiers.com to buy (prices currently $125/1; $295/10; $500/100).  Note they often have sales so keep your eyes peeled to take advantage of their discounts.
* You will need an ISBN for each version of your book – print at CreateSpace; eBook at Smashwords; etc. Currently Kindle and NookPress do not require an ISBN to list your book with them.

3. Familiarize yourself with Amazon’s CreateSpace and Kindle websites.
https://www.createspace.com is a DIY for free, or use their services for a fee
https://kdp.amazon.com – for eBooks using Kindle only

 Terms and Agreements
 Cover and Interior Template options
 Their services for a fee and what you can do for free
 Their eViewer (Online look/see before they review your book and before it’s published
 Royalties information
 Extended Distribution
 Proof Copies – online or print
 Your cost to buy once published
 Publish Button that takes you LIVE for customers to BUY

Using other “Vendors” like Lightning Source; Infinity Publishing; LuLu; BookBaby; iUniverse; or other print houses such as Thomson Shore, Morris Publishing etc. to publish your book?… Most will list your book on Amazon and of course it is built into their fee. I’ve found working with Amazon directly offers the best deal.

Other places to consider putting your book after the 90 day exclusive with Amazon and Kindle expires is: www.Smashwords.com. Also consider http://www.NookPress which is the Barnes and Noble’s eReader – The Nook. There are many other places for your readers to buy, but these 4 sites (Amazon/Kindle/Smashwords/NookPress) cover probably 90% of the market.

Remember to set up your Author Profile in Amazon along with asking your readers for reviews. Get involved in social media – Facebook Author Page; Twitter; LinkedIn; Pinterest; and others. Experiment with each one to see where you get the most followers. Boosting your Facebook page and/or posts (for a fee) to generate followers. Collect email addresses with a subscribe button and send out monthly emails about your book or what you are doing. You can use MailChimp.com or ConstantContact.com for these list building/email services.

Consider a website – preferably “yourname.com” as the domain. That was the best advice given to me in 2000. Buy your domain (networksolutions.com) and have it hosted (hostgator.com). Easiest place to set up a website is WordPress, you can have them host it or pay for a hosting company. Need help? Go to www.fiverr.com and work with someone there to set up a WordPress shell. I worked with several people on Fiverr.com who set up WordPress website shells (and I maintain the content) for under $250.  Some individuals may be less, some will be more.

Familiarize yourself with the term Independently Published. Self Publishing no longer carries the stigma it did 20 years ago – or even 5 years ago. The term “Self Published” is now being widely recognized as Indie Publishers or Independently Published. The 5 remaining New York Publishing Houses no longer accept unsolicited manuscripts. Literary Agents want to see your marketing efforts as an Indie before taking you on. Thousands of copies need to be sold before presenting you to a NY Publisher. The rules have changed and the players have switched roles. Authors are in control of their work when they independently publish. Readers don’t care who published the book, they care about the book’s content. Enjoy the journey, as you get to decide where to publish your book so your readers can enjoy your work.

Other places to help with online marketing:
 Author Publicity Pack by Shelley Hitz and Heather Hart
 9 Strategies to Build and Grow your Author Platform by Shelley Hitz
 Publishing eBooks for Dummies

Best Wishes for Author Success!

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