I'm a big believer in not reinventing the wheel. If you want to do something, almost anything, chances are someone has done something like it before.
When I decided to upload my books to Kindle in July 2009, I went on a mission to learn everything I could about e-books and self-publishing. It was early days for Kindle, but I was lucky because an author named Joe Konrath had paved the way for me (and thousands of others). His site was a font of knowledge and I soaked it all up.
Over the next year and a half, I found other helpful sites that aided me in my self-publishing journey. I collected the links and shared them with the attendees of the self-publishing workshops I gave around the country (but mostly in Wisconsin). Now, I'm sharing the links with you.
http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/ A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing/ Author J.A. Konrath’s fascinating take on all things publishing and ebooks in particular. It's a treasure trove of information. If you could only go to one site for information, this would be the one.
If you have a lot of time, it's fun to read his blog right from the beginning and see how his views on self-publishing evolved as things changed.
www.fotoflexer.com Foto Flexer, an excellent, EASY, free way to design book covers. I'm very enthused about this site as a means for creating a JPEG cover. Fotoflexer.com lets you upload your own photo (either one you've purchased or one taken with your own digital camera) and crop it, add text, and use special effects to create a professional looking image. If you want to practice first, they have sample photos on the site for that purpose. I'm not tech-savvy at all, and I found this site to be very user friendly. For those who like visuals, they have video clips to walk you through the process.
www.istockphoto.com http://www.dreamstime.com/ www.bigstock.com
A few of the many places where one can buy stock photos and other images (including really cool artwork!). Make sure you read the fine print to determine if you have permission to use the image as a book cover.
The Library of Congress - Prints and Photographs Online Catalog --Thousands of images that can be used for free for book covers or book trailers.
http://www.publetariat.com/ Publetariot—People Who Publish/ a wealth of information on various aspects of self-publishing.
http://www.cheapindieauthor.blogspot.com/ Indie Publishing on the Cheap/ Author K.L. Brady gives advice on economical self-publishing, including how she got her book into chain stores.
Youtube.com video on How to Publish on Kindle (by Amazon)
www.pubit.com Barnes & Noble’s site / to make your e-book available for the Nook
http://www.smashwords.com Smashwords is an ebook publishing and distribution platform for ebook authors. From their site, “We offer distribution to major online ebook retailers such as Barnes & Noble, Sony and Shortcovers, and to all major smart phone platforms via app providers such as Stanza, Ereader, Shortcovers, Aldiko and Word-Player.”
http://ddalglish.com/wp/?p=710 Quick and Dirty Formatting by David Dalglish. It's quick, it's dirty, it's helpful! What's not to love?
https://www.createspace.com/ CreateSpace--a P.O.D. (print on demand) book publisher. My own personal choice.
To enter the wonderful world of self-publishing on Amazon's Kindle https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/signin
Lulu http://www.lulu.com/ A P.O.D. book publisher. Well regarded.
www.kindleboards.com A wonderful message forum for e-book enthusiasts. Visit the Writer's Cafe and you'll find a generous community of authors who share information on everything pertinent to self-publishing ebooks.
Marketing Tips for Authors Author Tony Eldridge shares marketing strategies for authors. Check out the book cover for his Kindle novel, The Sampson Effect. He used fotoflexer.com (he got the idea from me!). I think it turned out great.
Amanda Hocking's Blog Just because it's fun to read about someone finding success in a big way. Yay, Amanda!
20 comments:
Great stuff, Karen! Thanks for sharing.
You're very welcome!
As a freelance book designer, and wannabe novelist, I am rather saddened that would be authors might actually resort to something as potentially awful as the results you'll get from something like "foto flexer".
Yes there are certainly lots of ways you can do it yourself. But even Joe Konrath doesn't suggest that you do that. Covers and formatting DO matter.
You've spent months, maybe years perfecting your book, why on God's earth would you not want to give it the best possible chance of selling? Do you want to scream from the rafters, hey I did this my own self!! It's real good. No.
Karen, I admire what you're doing I really, really do. But it's hard out there for freelancers. The big book biz treats us as badly as it does authors. We can be had for a song these days. And we're everywhere.
My advice is slightly different: find a freelance designer who knows books. Get some help with the cover, if not for the whole package. You and your book will be much better off. You'll sell many more copies than if you hadn't given it the best face to put forth. That's my two cents—I think I still have two to rub together.
If you'd like to see some covers by me please visit my website.
Karen, I'm curious to what extent you feel that book bloggers helped you get the word out about your books and if you have any tips on getting them to pay attention to your book amid the sea of requests they must get.
Hi Sue,
You make some excellent points. I should have specified that my suggestions are geared toward those who were hoping to self-publish as cheaply as possible. Tough economy and all that. Clearly there are huge advantages to having cover art done by a professional.
Michael, I never contacted book bloggers when I was self-published. Amanda Hocking did though, and she credits bloggers with helping create the tidal wave of sales for her books. You might want to check out her blog for more information on the subject.
Thank you for your post. Very informative. :)
You might want to check this too
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=3483
It's very concise and to the point and some other posts are really helpful.
Lots of great links, Karen. I'm still struggling to find my way thru the Kindleboards - I'm not one to jump in with blather for the sake of ... well ... blathering. Oh yeah, I also can't get comfortable talking about my work or mentioning my titles. Other than that - I'm doing a great job of promoting. Helpful post - I'll be reading for hours.
For Sue - Personally, I wouldn't take on the task of cover art myself - but can see where it would be helpful for the author to pull examples from sites to share the author's vision of the cover with the artist without seriously hamstringing the designer's creativity - or wasting their time with 'let's try this'. One attraction of self publishing is the author's ability to control content & appearance, for better or worse. Best Regards.
Dave
Jacqvern, thanks for sharing the link to Dean Wesley Smith's site. Lots of great information there.
Hey Jaxpop (Dave)! I know what you're saying. I had trouble tooting my own horn too at first. If it makes you feel any better,it does get easier with time.
Once again, useful links & comments from Karen McQ. So many opinions, so little time! Please pardon my blathering in the wee hours. And not to worry, I'll toot your horn for you if I don't hear you doing it. I love this whole new self-publishing paradigm via ebooks!
Thanks for the links, Karen. Once a writer has a book 'out there', the biggest hurdle is trying to get the word out. Still working on that aspect. Again, thanks for all your help in th past.
Hi, Karen~
Thanks so much for this post!! I love your blog and your kindness in sharing your journey...
Happy almost April and hoping the sun is out over yonder!
Jools Sinclair
44
When I was ready to take the plunge into self-publishing, I had some difficulty knowing just where to start. There was so much to think about and so much to do!
So, I emailed Karen, and she was kind and gracious enough to email me back with this information. It made a night and day difference for me - and my debut. I'm certain it's done as well as it has so far because of Karen's collected advice here.
Seriously - thank you Karen. Joe may have paved your way, but you certainly helped pave mine.
Bill B., I like the way you mix it up by changing your photo. I need to do that one of these days.
I too am loving the changes in the book industry that came about as a result of the new technology. It reminds me of what happened in the music biz not too long ago. I'd love to see something similar happen with movies because so much of what hits the theaters is formulaic.
Mark Young, thanks for leaving a comment. I am going to talk about marketing in a future blog post. It's hard to get the word out, but there are things authors can do to reach potential readers.
Hey there, Jools Sinclair (I love a good rhyme)! Happy almost April to you too. The sun is shining today, but I haven't cast off my winter coat just yet. Hopefully soon.
Michelle Muto, you are too kind! For anyone who's reading this, Michelle has a book out on Kindle called The Book of Lost Souls for $1.99. I haven't read it just yet, but it has a cool cover and the story sounds intriguing.
And that's one of my marketing tips: every time you leave a comment on someone's blog, add a link to your book. Not all blogs allow it, but Blogger, which is hosted by Google, is very link friendly.
I stumbled across your books on Kindle and after a quick trip to Google, learned of your self-published success. Thank you for providing such helpful information and I look forward to reading more of your books on Kindle. Congratulations on your much deserved success!
Thanks for the bibliography, Karen. I am going to be using this info very soon and it's good to know where others have gone before me got help.
BTW, pat yourself on the back for Lies... and Favorite -- I liked 'em both! I've already used that line, "I'm sorry, that just doesn't work for me." Thanks for puttin' out more good stories [and ... and bargins to boot!].
Thanks for sharing all those, Karen. It's SO hard to find solid info. on indie publishing online--there's so much of the "get rich quick" stuff. I've been self-publishing p-books since 1988 off and on, then in PDF, and now that I have a Kindle--well, look out--the sky is the limit!
Hi Karen,
I know of most of those links you've posted but a few were new so thanks! Always like to discover new stuff! A caveat though for non-Americans: Pubit is basically not for non-US citizens unless they happen to have a US credit card with a US billing address, a US bank account, and an ITIN.
Hey another Karen! Thanks for the congratulations. :)
Cynthia, I'm glad I could help. Stay tuned--more information will be coming soon.
Hey Bill--I'm so glad you liked my books! I can't tell you how often I use that line. If I had to give Mom a royalty I'd be broke.
Bobbi C., if you've been self-publishing since 1988 you're a pioneer in the area. You're right about the sky being the limit now that there are e-books (Kindle being my favorite, of course).
Col, thanks for mentioning that Pubit has requirements (severe restrictions?) for non-US based writers. I wasn't aware of that.
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