Sarah Lentz - Writer on a Budget: Insider tips and resources to help you write, polish, publish, and market your book at minimal cost

When I wrote my first book, I operated according to theexpert advice that sounded the most plausible to me at the time.

I outsourced everything: comprehensive editing (with contentediting, then line editing, and finally proofreading), formatting for both theebook and paperback versions of my book, and the book cover design for both.

I also bought a boatload of books mostly digital, becausetheyre easier to bring with me everywhere I go (on my phone, which is myfavorite e-reader, hands down). Id like to share the titles of those thathelped me and what I learned from them.

So, while Im sharing quite a few links in this book tobooks, websites, tools, etc. this is not just a book of links.

Its a companion to authors who want to create,self-publish, and market their own books without spending a lot of moneyoutsourcing everything and loading up on books that dont keep their promises.

In the same year (2016), I did the following:

1. I wrote my first book, paid a hefty sum for book coverdesign, editing, and formatting, and self-published and marketed it (beginningon launch day, October 20th).

2. I wrote my second book and self-published it less thantwo months after launching the first (December 11th), but this time I did myown editing, formatting (for both Kindle and CreateSpace) and book coverdesign.

3. I also joined Derek Doepkers KDSales Machine program, which taught me the finer points of Amazons adcampaigns, so I could make it work for me. I spend some time on it every day,but it works for me 24-7 to generate new sales. I will never regret joiningthis program.

4. As a result of the second book and learning how torock Amazon ad campaigns, my December royalties were seven times the royaltiesI earned in November (from about $62.50 to $458.50)

Im working on books #3 (this one) and #4, right now, and Iplan to apply what I learned from creating and launching my second book, aswell as what I learned and retained from the first books launch. And I plan tocontinue learning.

And while my degree of success so far might sound like smallpotatoes to some, I want to share what Ive learned so far to help you achievethe success you want without going broke in your pursuit of it.

That said, this book isnt for everyone.

I have nothing against those who decide to outsource as muchof the non-writing work as they can so they can focus on the writing butunless they want to help a fellow author who cant afford to outsource much,they may not find this book as useful as those interested in learning how toget their books ready for publication without spending a lot of money.

Im not ruling out outsourcing certain book-creation tasksin the future, but I happen to enjoy designing book covers and interiordesigning my books for both Kindle and CreateSpace. And my budget says thatsa good thing.

Im no stranger to editing and proofreading, either, andhave done both for others (for pay or as a favor), for fiction (my most recentproject is a novel) as well as for academic papers from short essays toMasters capstone papers.

The reason I went ahead and did everything for my secondbook was because I was measuring the royalties coming in from my first bookagainst the (comparatively) huge amount of money I spent (using a credit card)creating and marketing my first book, and I wanted to find out whether I coulddo all those things myself and still create a book that did well in the Amazonmarketplace.

That second book has been wearing the best-seller banner moreor less consistently as of the writing of this book, and my monthly sales havemore than quadrupled since I launched it.

I have four books planned for 2017, and this is one of them,because Im in a bit of a hurry to share not only what Ive learned aboutwriting and marketing bestselling books at minimal cost but what others havelearned, too (those from whom Ive learned).

Theres a lot of good stuff to share, so I hope you keepreading.

See you in Chapter One!