Learn2succeed.com Incorporated - Self-Publishing for Beginners: How to Prepare, Edit, Publish and Market Your Own Print Books and eBooks

Self-Publishing for Beginners: How to Prepare, Edit, Publish and Market Your Own Print Books and eBooks

Everybody has a book inside them - but it doesnt do any good until you pry it out. Well, best-selling author, Jodi Picoult, is partly correct in making that statement, however, the challenge is what to do with it after it is pried out. It wont do any good until it is published!

Most first-time authors are rejected by publishers, so what do they do if their manuscript has been turned down? This book will provide them with a practical alternative i.e., self-publish it.

It starts by giving readers hints on how to prepare their manuscript and use the Internet to conduct their research. It introduces them to some of the computer software that can help them. Then it suggests different ways to edit and proofread their document. It covers all the important cataloguing, copyright and legal stuff.

Readers will learn how to publish print books and how to advertise, market and sell them online.

Then, it shows them how to prepare eBooks; the different formats; how to handle covers and some of the self-publishing alternatives that are available. Also, they will learn how to sell their eBooks through resellers and the importance of metadata to help in the discoverability of their titles.

It discusses Digital Rights Management to protect their content; the issues around pricing and offering free content.

Finally, it looks into the future; what the publishing industry will look like and the social consequences as the publishing industry continues to go digital.

Every author should read this book which is written under a pseudonym by a publisher with many years of experience operating a small publishing company. It is packed with inside information that will help every aspiring author self-publish their own print books or eBooks.

ISBN: 978-1-55270-490-5

Written by:

Learn2succeed.com Incorporated

Published in Canada by:

Productive Publications, P.O. Box 7200

Station A, Toronto, ON. M5W 1X8

Phone: (416) 483-0634 Fax: (416) 322-7434

Canadian Web Site: www.ProductivePublications.ca

American Web Site: www.ProductivePublications.com

Front Cover Art:

Spider web adapted from copyright free clip art from Corel Gallery 200,000

Corel Corporation, 1600 Carling Ave. Ottawa

Copyright softcover version 2014 by Learn2succeed.com Incorporated

Copyright epub version 2015 by Learn2succeed.com Incorporated

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Self-publishing for beginners: how to prepare, edit, publish and market your own print books and eBooks / by Learn2succeed.com, Incorporated.

Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-1-55270-488-2 (pbk.).--ISBN 978-1-55270-489-9 (pdf).-

ISBN 978-1-55270-490-5 (epub)

1.Self-publishing. I. Learn2succeed.com Inc., author

Z285.5.S44 2014 070.5'93 C2014-904525-5 C2014-904526-3

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission of the author.

Disclaimer

This book mentions the names of a number of companies, software publishers as well as private businesses. These are provided only by way of example and are not a solicitation to make investments in them; purchase or sell such securities or to purchase the products they offer. Readers should consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment or purchase decisions.

No representation is made with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and both the author and the publisher specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose and in no event shall either be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage; including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential or other damages.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

From Scribes to Gutenberg to eBooks

Its a Crowded Field

Author Rejections from Mainline Publishers

Dont Be Rejected....Self-Publish!

Before You Start, Ask Yourself: Why am I Writing This Book?

What Makes a Best-Seller?

The Role of the Literary Agent

The Challenges the Publisher Faces

Returns: The Self-Publishers Secret Nightmare

The Marketplace is Changing

Youve Got to Muscle Your Way into the Marketplace!

Part 1

Preparing Your Manuscript

Fiction Covers a Wide Spectrum

Key Points When Writing Non-fiction

Use the Internet to Research and Verify Your Facts

Search Engines

Narrowing Down Your Search

An Example of a Search

Your Essential Computer Printer

Dragon Voice Dictation

L&H VoiceXpress

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Software

OmniPage Professional

Portable File Format (PDF)

Acrobat Reader

Adobe Acrobat

Nitro

Lightening PDF

ABBYY PDF Transformer

Embedding Fonts with PDF Documents

Microsoft Word

Corel WordPerfect

Corel Ventura

FrameMaker

Adobe InDesign

QuarkXPress

Thompson Reuters Endnote

AccentExpress

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop Elements

CorelDRAW

Adobe Illustrator

Backup! Backup! Backup!

Part 2

Editing and Proofreading Your Manuscript

Check that Your Book Has All the Basic Building Blocks

Editing

Substantive Editing

Structural Editing

Stylistic Editing

Copy Editing

Use Adobe Acrobat When You are Editing

Redlining

Word Comparison and Insert File Software

Proofreading

Part 3

The Cataloguing and Legal Stuff

What is an ISBN?

What is an eISBN?

Where do You Get Your ISBNs?

Barcodes

What is a UUID?

What is Cataloging in Publication (CIP)?

The Challenge of Discoverability

Metadata

Book Industry Standards and Communication (BISAC) Codes

BIC Standard Subject Categories

The Excel Spreadsheet

ONline Information eXchange (ONIX)

Metadata is More Useful for Non-Fiction Works

Metadata is Replacing Traditional Book Advertising

Metadata Overcomes the Geographic Limits of Traditional Advertising

Use of Keywords to Attract Potential Buyers

What is a Legal Deposit?

The Legal Deposit for Electronic Publications

Copyright

Copyright in the U.S.A.

Fair Use and Fair Dealing

Further Information on Copyright in the U.S.A.

Copyright in Canada

Get Permissions to Use Copyright Material

Part 4

How to Self-Publish Print Books

The Photocopier is Still a Powerful Self-Publishing Tool

Duplex Printing

Digital Printing

Adobe Acrobat Can Help You With Digital Printing

The Offset Printing Press

Use Heavy Paper Stock

Creating Book Covers

Binding: The Achilles Heel of Self-Publishing Print Books

Espresso Book Machines

Cerlox Bound

Hardcover Binding

Perfect Bound Softcover Binding Machines

Trimming

Financing Your Self-Published Book By Using Rewards-Based Crowdfunding

Kickstarter

RocketHub

Crowdfunder of the UK

Part 5

How to Market Your Print Books

Dont Forget the Economies of Scale

The Challenge of Returns from Booksellers

The Challenge of Getting Paid by Booksellers

Selling Through Distributors

Pricing Your Book

Consignment Sales

Book Signings and Book Tours

Press Releases

Book Reviews

Direct Mail