Publishing Your Book
Welcome! If you are an author looking to get published, you need to be aware of the money grabbers. That might seem very unkind, but I have been down those lonely dark roads and, it only leads to disappointment and eventual anger.
As an author, you want more than a book you can display on a coffee table or share with friends and relatives. You work hard and believe in your project. It takes months to write a 300+ page novel, so please do not give it to just anybody. In fact, please don't give it away at all. Keep it… all of it.
You can do it all yourself. I did! But it takes a considerable chunk of your time.
Genuine self-publishing is work; there is no doubt about that. You have to know more things. You have to understand your rights. You have to take the initiative to get every part of the process done, which can be difficult. You have to spend real money on your books to buy your ISBNs, to format your books, to design your covers, and of course, to promote them.
There are several great sites out there to help you through the process. Here are a few of the steps you need to take.
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Read through it, making revisions, so it is your best possible work.
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Hire a copy-editor to make sure your book is as error-free as humanly possible.
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Buy your ISBNs. (It's your work.)
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Hire a professional graphic designer, so your cover looks fantastic.
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Format and package your book for Kindle, Nook, iBooks, Google Books, and other eBooksellers you may decide to use.
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Write an awesome description that will grab the reader's attention.
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Get into as many genres/categories as possible that fix your story.
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Once you're up and running, promote, promote, promote!
*If you don't, no one will know who you are, and that leads to few or zero book sales.
As I said, I have been doing this all on my own for over 18 years, learning and, at times, stumbling along the way. I spent my nights reading tons of articles and studying what the bestselling authors were doing. It took time, but it paid off. I have talked with many authors who have gotten caught in the vanity press trap. If you are contemplating going with a Vanity Press or some so-called "Self Publishers," DON'T DO IT!
Amazon is the best deal out there outside of a traditional publishing deal (that's where the publisher foots the bill and pays you a royalty on books sold). Amazon will take 30%, but it's worth it for the exposure you will get.
All the services you will need to get your book published or resurrected you will find at Out of the Stack. I am currently partnering with Seven Horns Publishing in New York, helping their authors find their way Out of the Stack and into the hearts of new readers.
For information on how you can publish your book or breathe new life into a book lost in the stack, please go to www.outofthestack.com