"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands."
(Psalm 19:1 NIV)
by Tom Macy
SELF-PUBLISHING
Why Self-Publish
 Can’t find an agent (The Martian)
 Traditionally published but want an




inexpensive book as a “leader”
Family histories
Memoirs
Family Cookbooks
Other limited audiences
What do you want
 eBook publishing (KDP, Nook Press,…) Free
 Paperback publishing (Create Space,…)
 Traditional vs Self-Publishing
 SmashWords Market Survey
Traditional or Self Publish
 Given a choice, most any author would
choose to be published by a big brand-name
publishing house. Self-publishing is the
second choice.
Traditional or Self Publish
 Traditional – Someone else helps you along the
way.





Query letters
Agents
Publishers
Editors
Marketing
 Self-publish –You are your own boss, responsible
for everything. Also known as Indie Author
 Publish (proofreading, editing, cover design, …)
 Market
 Cost
Traditional Advantages
 Cover design, proofreading, printing, marketing, and





publicity are, to some degree, covered by a publishing
house
An advance against future royalties
Bragging rights of a big name publisher (Me vs Penguin
Random House)
The legitimacy mystique of a publishing house
Help getting respected book reviews, media interviews,
book signings, occasional tours, award nominations and
wins, and other promotional opportunities
Make your book part of the library, bookstore, and general
publishing infrastructure
Self-publishing Advantages
 Available to anyone.
 Timing - Do you want to wait to find a publisher, or do you want







to publish your book now?
Complete creative control
Market your book for as long as you want and in any way you
want.
Keep your profits. (eBook vs paperback) (Traditional publishers
pay royalties of between 5% and 12% of the book’s cover price.)
(Self publisher, you set your own price.)
Readers just want a good read; don’t care who published it.
Appealing to a niche market. (hobby, family, ...)
Promote your status as an expert in your career field.
I've heard that agents respect the efforts of self-publishing
authors and may give them extra consideration.
Indie
Author
Manifesto
 I am an indie author









I have experienced the satisfaction that comes from self-publishing.
I have a right to publish.
My creative control is important to me. I decide when, where and how
my writing graduates to become a published book.
Indie does not mean “alone.” I choose my partners.
I shall not bow beholden to any publisher. In my business relationships, I
seek partnership, fairness, equity, and mutually aligned interests.
We indie authors comprise diverse writers united by a common purpose
to advance, empower and celebrate writers everywhere.
I am a professional. I take pride in my work, and I strive to improve my
craft to better serve my readers, myself, my fellow indie authors and the
culture of books.
My writing is valuable and important. This value and importance cannot
be measured by commercial sales alone.
I celebrate the success of my fellow indie authors, for their success is
mine, and mine theirs. Together we are pioneering a better future for
books marked by greater quality, creativity, diversity, choice,
availability, affordability and accessibility.
Self Publish
Things You Will Need
 Your Manuscript
 Lots of document options, including Word
 The Cover
 Design
 Experience with Photoshop or similar tool
 PDF
 Web Site
 Your own with sales interface like Paypal
 Amazon, B&N, Create Space
eBook or Paperback
 eBooks
 No (or minimal) overhead
 Change anytime
 Kindle / Nook formatting
 Free conversion software (Calibre)
 Paperbacks
 Print on Demand (Cost when printed)
 No changes once published.
 Straightforward process of many steps.
eBooks
 eBooks can be created by you and sold on
your web site with no one else involved.
 Conversion
 Calibre (https://calibre-ebook.com/)
 Amazon (https://kdp.amazon.com/signin)
 B&N (https://www.nookpress.com/)
 Web sites
 Your own
 Ability to create a web site
 Ability to include a shopping cart (Paypal)
 B&N and Amazon
eBook From Word
1. Upload Word doc to Amazon for conversion
to Kindle file format (mobi). As of the last
time I created eBooks, Amazon’s conversion
formatted the book better.
2. Download mobi file to your computer.
3. Use Calibre to convert mobi to epub (Nook
format)
4. Upload epub to B&N
Log in to KDP to publish an eBook for Kindle
Create the Kindle eBook
Nook is similar
 Enter book details: Title, subtitle, series, edition, publisher,









description, contributors, language, ISBN
Verify Publishing Rights
Select categories (genres), age range, grade range, search
keywords (7)
Book release option (now or pre-order)
Upload cover
Select DRM or no DRM
Upload book file
Amazon evaluates your upload
Preview the eBook / Download the eBook
Approve for publishing
Overview of Paperback Steps
 Create your formatted manuscript
 Margins
 Paragraph indentations
 Odd/even page margins
 Cover
 Front image
 Back cover
 Spine
 Web Sites
 Create Space (https://www.createspace.com/4430938)
 B&N and Amazon
Independent Publishing
with Create Space (POD)
 Requires leaving your comfort zone
 The changing world of print
 Other companies:
 Author House, MyPublisher, Wordclay, Xlibris, iUniverse,
Blurb, LuLu, WEbook, Shutterfly, Book Baby




Some (LitFire, Dorrance, …) will do more for a fee
Amazon Company
Print on Demand
Orders come through Create Space
https://www.createspace.com/
International Standard Book Number
Before Publishing, Get Proofs
1. Jacket Statements
2. Reviews
• Readers Favorite
• Focused Reviewers
3. Update Front Cover
4. Update Back Cover
5. Publish
Using Google Alerts
Smashwords Survey (eBooks)
 http://blog.smashwords.com/2017/06/smashwor
ds-survey-2017.html
 Romance authors and readers dominate
 Climb the power curve incrementally by
implementing no-brainer best practices
 Always launch with preorder
 Write series + use perma-free (permanently free)
series starter
 $4.99 joining $2.99 and $3.99 as sweet spots for
full-length indie fiction
 Single-author box sets grow readership, but not
huge moneymakers
Smashwords Survey
Top Fiction Categories
Romance (73%)
Erotica
Fantasy
Young adult or teen
Science fiction
Gay and lesbian
fiction
7. Thriller & suspense
8. Historical
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
9. Adventure
10. Horror
11. Literature
12. Women’s fiction
13. African American fictio
14. Christian
15. Children’s books
16. Anthologies
17. Human & comedy
Smashwords Survey
Top Selling Romance Categories
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Contemporary
Paranormal
Erotic
New Adult
YA romance
Historical
Suspense
Fantasy
Sci-fi
10. Adult
11. Regency
12. Western
13. General
14. Action adventure
15. Time travel
16. Clean and wholesome
17. Christian
18. Short story collections
19. Gothic
Pre-Orders
 Sell more copies.
 Book can go on sale at the same
time at multiple retailers.
 At iBooks, Barnes & Noble and
Kobo, all accumulated preorders
earned during your preorder
period credit toward your book's
first-day sales rank when your
book goes onsale.
Free Books
Alternative to Amazon Giveaways
SmashWords
 Set Amazon to Price Match your eBook
 Set it to $0 on Smashwords. (Doesn’t always
work)
 Smashwords will publish and distribute your
eBook. (Problem with Amazon)
 Limitations of Amazon
 No other cheaper distributors
 Lack of integration with third parties
Questions