vijay07roy / book-markdown

book-markdown

A Consumer's Guide for Self-Publishers

A Consumer's Guide for

Self-Publishers

Reviews of writing and publishing companies,

tools, and services for authors

CARLA KING

MISADVENTURESMEDIA
SANDIEGO

UPDATE APRIL 2019 All Rights Reserved Misadventures Media Contact:Carla King

You are welcome to use excerpts of this book with credit and link to the source under Fair Use. It would be great if you could drop me a line to let me know and to make sure you’re using the most up-to-date version as this book is in constant change. I update it monthly.

The changing nature of this industry makes it difficult to publish a book that will be accurate for a year or even months or weeks in this case. I can keep you updated if yousubscribe for updates, even replacing the book with a new version.

Frequent changes to the content also mean that errors may sneak in so I really appreciate being notified of copyediting errors, bad links, and unclear descriptions. Please send emails to [e-mail].

Thank you! ~Carla King

Contents

Introduction

Don’t read this book! 1

Everybody wants you^2

1

Other Books by the Author 6

Disclosures 7

PartI.Creating Your Book

1. Interior Design and Formatting

PartII.Distributing Your Book

7. Distribution Services

9. Full-Service Formatting, Design, and Distribu-

PartIII.Marketing Your Book

PartIV.Selling Your Book Direct

PartV.Doing Business as an Author

• Adobe Acrobat Pro / Document Cloud
• Adobe InDesign
• Amazon Kindle Create
• Amazon Kindle Comic Creator
• Amazon Kindle Kids’ Book Creator
• Apple iBooks Author
• Author Marketplaces
• Author Solutions
• Barnes & Noble Press
• Blurb
• BookBaby
• Bookbuilder’s Almanac
• Book Design Templates
• Bublish
• Calibre
• Canva
• Convert Town’s Change DPI of Image
• Font Squirrel
• FastPencil
• Gatekeeper Press
• Kobo Writing Life
• Pandoc
• Pressbooks
• Publish Xpress

• Reedsy

• Scrivener
• Shalamar Media
• Text Mechanic
• Zamzar
• Learn how to design and format your book
• Adazing 2. Book Cover Design
• Book Cover Design Marketplace on Facebook
• Book Design Templates
• Canva
• Font Squirrel
• GoOnWrite.com
• Remove Image Background
• Scrivener
• Freelancers
• Cover design services

• Learn how to design and format your book

• Calibre 3. Ebook, Document and Image Conversion
• Convert Town’s Change DPI of Image
• Pandoc
• Publish Xpress

• Zamzar

• Amazon ACX 4. Audiobooks and Podcasts
• Anchor
• Audacity
• Author’s Republic
• Book2Pod
• Findaway Voices
• I’m Hearing Stories
• ListenUp Audiobooks
• Podiobooks
• SoundCloud

• VoiceBunny

• Aloha Publishing 5. Custom Publishing Services
• Authority Publishing
• Green Leaf Book Group -
• Bay Area Editors Forum 6. Editing Services
• Editorial Freelancers Association
• FirstEditing
• Other Editing Companies
• Freelancers

• Shalamar Media

• Amazon Advantage
• Amazon Kindle Create
• Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)
• Amazon KDP Print
• Amazon KDP Select
• Amazon Kindle Kids’ Book Creator
• Blurb
• BookBaby
• Bookchain
• Bublish
• Draft2Digital
• Gatekeeper Press
• Kbuuk
• IngramSpark
• Lightning Source
• Lulu
• Notion Press
• Pronoun
• PublishDrive
• Scribl
• Slicebooks
• Smashwords
• StreetLib
• Tablo, Australia

• Type & Tell, UK & Sweden

• Walmart eBooks by Rakuten Kobo
• XinXii
• Learn how to distribute your book
• The Big 8. Direct to Retailer Services
• Amazon Advantage
• Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)
• Amazon KDP Select
• Amazon Kindle Kids’ Book Creator
• Amazon Kindle Print
• Apple iBooks Author
• Barnes & Noble Press
• Google Play
• Kobo Writing Life

• Learn how to distribute your book

• Author Solutions Companies tion
• BAM!Publish
• BookBaby
• Booklocker
• Bookstores Near You
• Bublish
• FastPencil
• Gatekeeper Press -
• Drip 10. Publishing by Subscription
• Flattr
• Gumroad
• Leanpub
• Patreon
• PayPal
• Steady
• Substack -
• Amazon Advanced Search 11. Market Research and Competitive Analysis
• Book Review Targeter
• Google Adwords Keyword Planner
• Google Cloud Vision
• K-lytics
• KDP Rocket
• Kindle Spy
• Pickfu for Surveys
• Yasiv

• Learn how to market your book

• BetaBooks 12. Critique Partners and Beta Readers
• BetaReader.io
• Booksie
• Booksiesilk
• Bublish
• CP Matchmaking
• Facebook Notes
• Figment
• Gumroad
• Leanpub
• Scribd
• Wattpad
• WEbook

• Writing.com

• Amazon Top Reviewers 13. Book Review Services and Software
• Booksprout
• Book Blogger List
• Book Review Targeter
• Chanticleer Book Reviews
• Goodreads Giveaways
• Hidden Gems Books ARC Program
• IndieReader
• IndieView
• LibraryThing
• NetGalley
• Redheaded Book Lover
• Writers’ Blog Finder

• Learn how to get book reviews

• Booklist 14. Trade Reviews
• BlueInk Review
• Booklife PW Reviews
• Bookreporter
• Foreword Reviews
• Foreword’s Clarion Reviews
• The Horn Book
• IndieReader
• Kirkus Reviews
• Midwest Book Review
• NetGalley
• Publishers Weekly
• RT Book Reviews
• San Francisco Book Review

• Learn how to get book reviews

• ConvertKit 15. Email Marketing
• MailChimp
• MotionMail
• Substack -
• AuthorCats 16. Websites and Blogs
• Domain Names
• GoCreate.me
• Pub Site All-In-One Site for Authors
• Shalamar Media
• SiteGround Web Hosting
• Sumo Plugin
• Thrive Themes & Site Builder
• WordPress Web Hosting & Themes
• Yoast SEO Plugin -
• Amazon Advertising 17. Marketing Ads and Apps
• Author Marketing Club
• BookBub
• Bookbuzzr
• Book Funnel
• Book Connect
• Bublish
• Independent Book Publishers Association
• Facebook Ads
• Forums
• Freado
• Open Road
• Prolific Works (Instafreebie)

• Virtual Assistants

• Best Page Forward 18. Copywriting
• The Blurb Bitch -
• Blockchain solutions 19. Direct Sales Tools
• BundleRabbit
• Gumroad
• Issuu
• Leanpub
• Scribd -
• Amazon Pay 20. E-Commerce Solutions
• Google Wallet
• Intuit
• PayPal
• Skrill

• Stripe

• Bublish 21. Online Marketplaces
• Bibliocrunch
• Fiverr
• PubLaunch
• Reedsy
• StreetLib
• UpWork
• Writers Boon
• Learn how to distribute your book -
• Amazon Kindle 22. Book Sales Tracking Software
• Amazon Author Central
• BookCore
• Book Report for Kindle
• eBookTracker for Kindle

• TrackerBox for Windows

• Draft 23. Writing Software
• Google Docs
• Hemingway App
• Microsoft Word
• OpenOffice
• Ulysses for Mac
• Scrivener
• WriteMonkey

• yWriter

• AutoCrit 24. Editing Software
• Consistency Checker
• Draft
• Fictionary
• Grammarly
• Hemingway Editor
• Masterwriter
• ProWritingAid

• SmartEdit

25. Business and Productivity

Barcodes 161

Blasty 162

BookLinker 162

Character and Word Counter 163

Copyright Services 163

DropBox 164

Google Drive 164

ISBN Agencies 165

Legal Zoom 165

Library of Congress 165

Rev Transcription Service 166

The Self-Publisher’s Ultimate Resource Guide 166

161

26. Crowdfunding Tools

IndieGoGo 168

Inkshares and Unbound 168

Gumroad 169

Kickstarter 169

Pentian 169

PubLaunch 170

Publishizer 171

168

27. Affiliate Programs

Aerio 172

Amazon Associates 173

Commission Junction 173

Smashwords 173

172

28. Book Translation Services

Bablecube 174

Tektime 174

First Edition Translations 175

Mincor Book Translation 175

Today Translations 175

Translation Company 175

Translators Base 176

174

29. Writing Around the World

AngkorHUB 177

CoWorking.coffee 177

Deskpass 178

Outsite 178

Nomad House 178

Roam 179

Workfrom 179

177

Suggested Reading

Publishing 181

Writing 182

Business 182

Marketing 182

181

Author and Publisher Organizations

Alliance of Independent Authors (Alli) 183

Independent Book Publishers Assoc (IBPA) 184

Romance Writers of America 185

183

Subscribe for Updates 186

About the Author 187

Acknowledgements 189

There's lots more where this came from!

Get the guide 190

Online courses 191

Website and blog 191

Got a burning question? 192

190

Introduction

Don’t read this book!

Justkidding...sortof. Butreally,thisisareferenceguide.It’s essentialreadingbutit’snotmeanttobereadfromfrontto backallinonesitting.Flipbackandforth.Highlightthings. Visit the various company websites. Sign up for the free trials.

Icreatedthisguidetohelpauthorsavoidmakingexpensive mistakesandtohighlightthecompanieswhodoagreatjobat fairprices.Refertoitwhenyouneedtomakeachoice.Com- parewhat’sofferedandfindthebesteditingsoftwarefor you , thebestdistributionservicefor you ,thebestwebsiteservice for you ,thebestdirectsalestoolfor you .You’llsavebothtime andmoney.That’stimeyoucanspendwritingandmarketing your books.

Ifyou’vegottheebook version,usethesearchfunction to findservicesyou’reinterestedin.Printbookreaderswillget thesearchableebookviaemailwhenthenextupdatehappens, aslong asyousubscribeforupdatesat http://www.selfpubboot- camp.com/readers.Aswellasasearchfunction,you’llfindlive links in the ebook, too.

Makesuretocheckforupdatesbeforeyoucommittousinga free or paid product, tool, or service.

Thisbookis invaluableonitsownbutI createdittosup- plementmystep-by-stepself-publishingguide,the Self-Pub- lishingBootCampGuideforAuthors,4thEdition .Getithere: books2read.com/spbc4

Introduction| 1

Everybody wants you

Self-publishinghasbecomeahugeindustryandthousandsof companieshavesprunguptoserveindependentauthorsinthe past decade. This is both good news and bad news.

Thegoodnewsisthatyou’rereallypopularasaconsumerand youhavealotofchoices.Thebadnewsisthatyou’rereally popular and you have a lot of choices.

That’skindofajoke,butIdon’tmeantodiminishtheserious- nessofyourplight.Ifyou’relikemostauthorsyouareover- whelmedbythenumberoftoolsandservicesavailabletoyou. It’sdifficulttofigureoutwhichonestostayawayfromand whichonesarereputable,muchlesscomparefeaturesand pricing.

That’swhyIcreatedthisguide.I’vebeenactiveintheworldof self-publishingforaverylongtimeandmypassionistokeep abreastofthechangesintechnologiesandservicesthathelp authors succeed.

There are a lot of great options

Solet’slookatthegoodnews.Anawfullot ofthesetools andserviceswerecreatedbypeoplewhoweretryingtosolve theirownproblems.Theyareauthorsandpublishers,editors anddesigners,bookPRandmarketingpros.Whentechnology founders“scratchtheirownitch”theysolveyourproblems, too.Companieswithfoundersofthissorttendtobethemost passionate and helpful of all.

Now,abouteditorsanddesigners.Manyofthesefinepeo- plewerelaidoffduringthecrashofbigpublishingand,inhope anddesperation,hunguptheirownshinglesasfreelancersto

2 |Introduction

plytheir tradeindependently.Theymay have movedaway frompublishinghubslikeNewYorkCityorSanFranciscoto cut costs and offer freelance services from their home offices.

All good news for authors who want to self-publish.

Who do you want on your team?

Still,theproblemremains.Whodoyouwantonyourteam? Whoisreliable,affordable,conscientious,effective,andpas- sionate about helping you publish well?

That’sexactlytheproblemthatthisconsumer’sguidesolves for you.

I’ve been self-publishing since... (drum roll) ...

1995

Trustme.Istartedself-publishingin 1995 andhavefollowed theindustryasanauthor,independentpublisher,blogger,and reviewerasindependentauthorshipblossomed.Asaformer technicalwriterandgeargeek,Ihavealwaysbeenfascinated withthetechnologybehindtheproductsandI’mnotafraidto digintoexploreandaskthehardquestions.Pricingmodels, customerservice,quality,andauthorsrightsarealsoalwayson my mind.

Introduction| 3

It’s a small world and I know many of these

people personally

Moreover,Iknowmanyofthefoundersofthesecompanies personally.TheymayhaveparticipatedinoneofmySelf-Pub- lishingBootCampsorintheSanFranciscoWriter’sConfer- ence,orImayhaveinterviewedthemforablogpost,article,or AuthorFriendlypodcastepisode.Someareguestlecturersfor my online courses.

This guide complements other resources

Thereisalotofinformationonthewebandinprintaboutself- publishing.My344-page Self-PublishingBootCampGuidefor Authors isnowinits4thedition.Itguidesauthorsyouthrough eachstepofcreatingyourbook,settingupapublishingbusi- ness,distributingyourbook,sellingyourbookdirecttoyour fans,andhelpsyoufigureoutbookmarketingandpublicity. It’sallabouttheprocessofpublishing.Thisguidecontainsmy opinionatedreviewsofthevendorsthatwillhelpyouaccom- plish each task in your publishing journey.

So here’s your guide... go forth and choose

wisely

Iamproudtoofferyouthisguidetohelpyoudecidewhoyour partnersinpublishingwillbe.You’retheboss!Chooseyour teamandmanagethemwell.Gotquestions?Ihaveanswered many of them inthe Self-Publishing Boot CampGuide for Authors ,on theselfpubbootcamp.comblog,and inmy free mini-emailcourseforauthorswhodon’tknowwheretostart. Sobeforeyousendmeanemail,pleasegosignupforthat course on the website and search my blog posts.

4 |Introduction

Nowyouarereadytosetforthonyourjourneyasaninde- pendentauthor.Youhaveallthetoolsyouneedatyourfin- gertips,includingfreeupdatestothisebook.Subscribetostay informed.

http://www.selfpubbootcamp.com/readers

Introduction| 5

Other Books by the Author

Self-Publishing Boot Camp Guide for Authors, 4th Edition
Your roadmap to creating, publishing, promoting, and selling
your books
Misadventures Media
January 18, 2018

*** Update February 2019 ***

6 |Other Books by the Author

Disclosures

Iamnotpaidtorecommendanyofthetoolsorservicesinthis bookbutIdouseaffiliatelinks.Here’showitworks.WhenI findatool,service,orproductIlove,Iaskthecompanyifthey haveanaffiliateprogram.Igetaspeciallinkandifyouclickit purchase I get a small percentage of the sale.

Ithinkyoushoulddothis,too,especiallywhenyourecom- mendbooks(orlinktoyourown).AmazonandSmashwords bothhaveaffiliatelinks.Wheneveryourecommendsomething (abook,ajuicer,apairofflip-flops),useanaffiliatelink.Ihave awholechapteronmakingabitmoremoneywithaffiliate links. [Jump to it.]

Bylaw,youmustdisclosethatyouareusingaffiliatelinks.In particular, Amazon requires the following text.

WeareaparticipantintheAmazonServicesLLCAssociates Program,anaffiliateadvertisingprogramdesignedtoprovidea meansforustoearnfeesbylinkingtoAmazon.comandaffili- ated sites.

Thanks for clicking!

Disclosures| 7

PARTI

CREATING YOUR BOOK

Theinformationinthisbookgetsupdatedalot.Youcansub- scribe to get free electronic updates here.

http://www.selfpubbootcamp.com/readers

Doyouhavesuggestionsorrecommendationsforproducts, tools,andservicesyoutrust? Pleaseletme know!Sendan email [e-mail].

Creating Your Book| 9

1. Interior Design and

Formatting

I’ve usedmostof thesedesign,formatting, andconversion toolsatonetimeoranotherandIlikethemfordifferentrea- sons. Browse through them to find the ones that attract you.

SeethechapteronOnlineMarketplacestofindprofessionals todesignandformatyourbookforyou.(Bublish,Fiverr,Pub- Launch, and Reedsy,)

Reminder:Thisconsumer’sguideisacompanionreferenceto theSelf-PublishingBootCampGuideforIndependentAuthors, 4thEdition,whichprovidesstep-by-stepinstructionsonhow to create, publish, distribute, and market, and sell your book.

Adobe Acrobat Pro / Document Cloud

acrobat.adobe.com/us/en/acrobat/acrobat-pro.html

AcrobatProandthenewAcrobatCloudareAdobe’ssoftware forviewing,creating,combining,andcontrollingAdobePDF documents.Ifyou’redoingyourownbookformattingandcon- versiontoPDF,youneedtheseandyouneedtokeepthem updated. Most authors, however, hire this out.

YoucancreatePDFfilesfromanyapplicationthatprints,com- binefilesintoasinglePDFdocument,protectdocumentswith password protection,annotate andcollaborate, signdocu- ments,createfillableforms,andexporttoOfficeappsretain- inglayout,fonts,formatting,andtables.AcrobatProcanbe purchasedforabout$50ifyousearcharoundtheweband Document Cloud is a $14/mo subscription alone but it’s

Interior Design and Formatting| 11

includedwithaCreativeCloudsubscription.Thecloudversion comeswithalotofextrasbutmostself-publisherswon’tneed them.

Adobe InDesign

adobe.com/products/indesign.html

InDesign,unlikeWord,wasdesignedasaprofessionalbook andmagazineproductionprogram.Itisthede-factostandard usedbyprofessionalbookdesigners.It’sexpensiveandachal- lenge to learn.

InDesign’sparagraphstylesaremoreaccurate,itallowsyouto fine-tunelineandletterspacing,imagesstayputandexportto CMYKforprint(insteadofRGB),anditproducesamorepro- fessional, polished book.

A subscription to InDesign costs about $10 per month. Whetheryouareusingityourself orhiringaprofessional, make absolutely sure they are using the latest version.

TheeasiestwaytolearnandformatyourownbookinInDesign istobuyatemplate.Ifyougetstuck,youcanalwayspayapro- fessional to finish it.

You’llspendabout$70forthetemplateand$10amonthfor thesoftwaresubscriptionfromAdobe,andit’sagoodideato spend$25amonthforasubscriptiontoLynda.comforvideo instruction. (Try it free for a month.)

Ifyou hateformatting,you won’tdoagoodjob,so spend themoneytohireaproifyouwantyourbooktolookgood. Youcanfindadequatehelpforalow costusing aservice likeFiverr,Guru,orGigbucksbutmostreallygooddesigners charge $500-$2000.

Get book design templates for InDesign atbit.ly/interiorbdt.

12 |Interior Design and Formatting

Amazon Kindle Create

amazon.com/b/?node= 18292298011

UseKindleCreate(PCorMac)totransformyourcompleted manuscriptintoa Kindleebook.Youcanmakeseveraltypes ofeBookswithKindleCreate:comicbook,cookbook,travel guide, or novel.

Amazon Kindle Comic Creator

amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1001103 761

KindleComicCreatorisafreedownloadforWindowsorMac forauthorsandpublisherstoturncomics,graphicnovels,and mangaintoKindlebooks.Importartwork,createguidednav- igation,setdouble-pagespreadsorfacingpages,andpreview howyourbookwilllookonKindleFiretabletsandKindleeInk readers.

Amazon Kindle Kids’ Book Creator

kdp.amazon.com/kids

UseAmazonKindleKids’BookCreatortocreateandsellchil- dren’sebookstoownersofKindleFiretablets.TheauthorsI knowwhohaveuseditsaythatit’sstillprettybasic,butexpect improvementsandenhancementsovertime.Thisistheonly waytocreateachildren’sbookfortheKindleFireotherthan doingityourselforhiringaprofessionaldesignerand,Ithink, a great way to break into publishing books for kids.

Interior Design and Formatting| 13

Apple iBooks Author

apple.com/ibooks-author

AvailablefreeontheMacAppStore,iBooksAuthorenables youtocreateebooksfortheiPadandtheMac.Youcanusean Apple-designedtemplateoruseyourownimagination.Ifyou haveafull-colorebookorinteractivebookidea,knowthatyou cancreateswipe-friendlyphotogalleries,animations,scrolling sidebars,pop-overwidgets,and3Dobjects.Widgetscanbe settoplayautomatically,offeringyourreadersafunsurprise whentheyturnthepage.ThenexportyourbookiniBooksfor- mattopublishandselloniTunes.Youcanalsouploadyour booktoGumroadoranotherdirectsalestool.Royaltiesare 70% of list price.

Ifyouhaveasimplerbookanddon’tneedallthebellsand whistlesofiBooksAuthor,oraplain-textbook,agoodalterna- tiveforcreatingEPUBstouploadtoApple(andotherstores)is Vellum.

Author Marketplaces

SeetheAuthorMarketplaceschapterforplacestofindpro- fessionalstodothisforyou.(IncludingBublish,Fiverr,Pub- Launch, and Reedsy,)

14 |Interior Design and Formatting

Author Solutions

WARNING:iUniverse,AuthorHouse,Trafford,Xlibris,Book- Tango, Balboa forHayHouse, LifeRich forReader’s Digest, ArchwayforSimon&Schuster,andWestbowforThomasNel- son

See Full-Service Formatting, Design, and Distributionto understandwhyaprofessionalself-publishershouldnotuse these companies.

Barnes & Noble Press

SeeAggregation and Distribution.

Blurb

blurb.com

Creatingaprofessional-lookingcomplexbookisabigjoband canbeexhaustingforabeginner.Manyauthorsgiveupat somepointandhireitout,butthatcanbeexpensive.Whydo Irecommendit?IoftenrecommendBlurbasawaytopresent designconceptstoaprofessionalbookdesigner.Themore directionyougivethemthelesstimeitwilltaketocreateit. LikeallPOD(PrintOnDemand)services,Blurboffersafree(up front) solution that takes a fee when you make a sale.

IrecommendBlurb’sBookWrighttooltoauthorswhoaretest- ingideasforfull-colorbooksandeitherdon’thavethemoney tohireitoutorwhowanttotryitthemselves.AndIalways crossmyfingersandhopethey’lleventuallyhireapro.Book-

Interior Design and Formatting| 15

Wrightmakesitveryeasytousetodesignbeautifulcomplex, full-color books. However, since it’s proprietary software, you’restuckwiththeBlurbprintingservice.Thisisn’tterri- ble—theyhavegooddistributionandveryhigh-qualitydigital printingonheavypaperwithaccuratecolorseparation.But becauseit’ssuchhighquality,theirprinting costsarevery expensive. And I mean, very, very expensive.

Listen,Blurb’sagreattoolbutI’donlyuseitforalimited,spe- cialtybook.RecentlyIwasataboatshowandoneoftheyacht rentalcompanieshadcreatedaBlurbbookasaglossy,expen- sivebrochuretogiveawaytoclientswhopaytheequivalent ofmyyearlyincomeonaten-dayvacation.Weddingphotog- raphersuseBlurbtoprintandsellalbums.I’vealsorecom- mendedusingBlurbasamarketingtool—aneasywaytocreate small color books that advertise your other work.

BookBaby

SeeFull-Service Formatting, Design, and Distribution.

Bookbuilder’s Almanac

amzn.to/2psP6Yj

Ilovethisbook! TheBookbuilder’sAlmanac isanideabookof typefacesyoucanusetochoosetypefacesforyourbook.It includesarticlesonhowtoaccuratelyestimatelength,onpage density,andphotos.Thesectionongrayscaleconversionillus- trateshowthevariousprofileschangetintsandphotos.Sam- ples of tints and lines settle concerns about detail and screenedareas.Withit,youcanpredicthowyourdesignwill perform before you print the book.

16 |Interior Design and Formatting

Book Design Templates

bit.ly/interiorbdt

TheeasiestandcheapestwaytoformatyourbookinWord isbyusingatemplate.Simplychooseadesignyoulike,paste yourWorddocumentintoitandapplytheappropriatestyles thatarepredesignedforeachelementofyourbookssuchas yourchapterheadingsandbodytext.(Don’tgetfancywith fontsinyour interior –see the Self-Publishing BootCamp GuideforAuthors andthe HowtoDesignandFormatYourBook course for details.)

It’seasytocustomizethetemplatetomakeityourown.Simply change the fonts, leading, headers, and footers. TheBook DesignTemplatescompanyprovideseasyinstructionstoguide youthroughtheentireprocesstomakeyourbooklookbeau- tiful and professional.

TheBookDesignTemplatescompanyalsooffersamediakit foryourwebsite,pressreleasetemplate,bookproposaltem- plate,andlotsofotherproducts.Thesetoolsoffloadalotof thehardworkofdesignandroteworkbyprovidingdo-it-for- you products and services for very reasonable prices.

AllthemajorbookPOD anddistributioncompaniesaccept thesetemplates,includingAmazon,IngramSpark,Draft2Digi- tal, Kobo, and Smashwords.

Bublish

bublish.com

Bublishoffersanonlineebookcreationtoolalongwithstrong betaandsocialmediamarketingfeatureslikeBookBubbles thatallowreaderstopreviewyourbookandlinkstoonline

Interior Design and Formatting| 17

storeswithaBUYbutton. SeeBetaReadersandBetaPub- lishingformoreonBublishandOnlineMarketplacesfortheir author services portal.

Calibre

calibre.com

SeeConversiontools.

Canva

canva.com/create/book-covers

UseCanva’sfreebookcovermakerfortemporarycoversand assketchestogivetoyourdesigner.Canvaofferspremade templatesinvariousgenrestochoosefromwithimagesand typographythatworkwelltogether.IalsolikeCanva’ssocial media banner and blog post templates.

Canva’sBook CoverMaker is freeif youuploadyour own images,buttheirimagescostonly$1or$2.Costis$0,$9,and $18/mowhichincludesoveramillionroyaltyfreeimagesand about 600 templates.

ThereareafewCanvacompetitors:DesignWizardandSten- cilaretwo,andDepositphotos,asiteforstockphotos,hasa similar tool calledCrello.

DesignWizardlicensesyourdesignforasmanyusesasyou need while Canva makes you license every single use.

18 |Interior Design and Formatting

Convert Town’s Change DPI of Image

convert.town/image-dpi

SeeConversion Tools.

Font Squirrel

fontsquirrel.com

UseFontSquirreltofindfreefontsforcommercialuse.Italso offersafontidentifiersothatyoucanuploadanimageofafont you like and it will tell you what it is.

FastPencil

SeeFull-Service Formatting, Design, and Distribution.

Gatekeeper Press

SeeFull-Service Formatting, Design, and Distribution.

Kobo Writing Life

SeeDirect to Retailer.

Interior Design and Formatting| 19

Pandoc

SeeConversiontools.

Pressbooks

pressbooks.com

IfyoulikeWordPressyou’lllikePressbooks,anonlinepub- lishingtoolthatproducesbeautifully-designedPDFsforprint andprint-on-demand.Useittocreateprintbooksthatyou sellusingvendorslikeAmazonandIngramSpark,alongwith ebooksyoupublishonKindleforAmazonandEPUBforApple iBooks, Nook, and Kobo. I used Pressbooks to create this book.

It’sbuiltontheopensourceWordPressbloggingplatformso, ifyou’rebloggingonWordPress,youalreadyknowhowtouse it.I’vecreatedseveralbooksandbooklets withPressbooks, including an earlier edition of this book.

IlikethePressbooksblog-to-bookimportfeature,whichis awesomeforcreatingthefirstdraftofabookfromaseriesof blog posts.

SimplylogintoPressbooks,pasteinyourtext,addfrontand backmatter,andchooseoneoftheirbeautifullydesignedinte- riorbookthemes.Whenyou’reready,exportyourbooktoPDF, EPUB,and MOBI. Theyhave greatinstructional videoson YouTubeand theBCcampus sitealso offers videos.

Ifyou’reintimidatedbyPressbooks,startsmallbyusingitto createashortbooktogiveawaytoyouremailnewslettersub- scribers.Playforfree.$20-$100toremovethewatermarkfrom your book so you can publish and distribute.

20 |Interior Design and Formatting

Publish Xpress

publishxpress.com

SeeConversiontools.

Reedsy

Reedsyofferstwothings;afreeonlinemarketplacewhereyou canfindproslikeeditorsanddesignersandafree,simple onlineformattingtoolthatexportsebookandprintfilessoyou canuploadthemtothevariousretailers.FinddetailsinOnline Marketplaces.

Scrivener

WindowsorMac

SeeWriting Software.

Interior Design and Formatting| 21

Shalamar Media

shalamarmedia.com

Shalamarisasmall,author-runservicewithastaffofeditors, formatters,bookdesigners,andWordPresswebsitedevelop- ers.Theyalsocreateonlinepresskitsandofferabookreview service.Ifyouneedprintedmedialikebookmarks,business cardstheycandothat,too.Theypridethemselvesonhelping new authors by keeping their services affordable.

Text Mechanic

textmechanic.com

Vellumisbecomingthego-toappforMacuserstoeasilycre- atebeautifulebooks.Bookstylesincorporateclassictouches likecustomdropcapsandornamentalflourishes.Alivepre- viewinstantlyshowshowyourbookwilllookinreadersand refresheswhenyoumakechanges.Youcanauto-importyour manuscript from Scrivener.

VellumEbooksis$199.99andVellumPressforprint(anddigi- tal) is $249.99.

Zamzar

zamzar.com

SeeConversiontools.

22 |Interior Design and Formatting

Learn how to design and format your book

TheSelf-Publishing BootCamp courseswill helpyou with everyaspectofself-publishing.Checkoutthedesignandfor- matting coursein the bundle.

Interior Design and Formatting| 23

2. Book Cover Design

Bookcovers.Don’tskimp!Hereareplacestofindbookcover design templates and professional cover designers. Think aboutinvestinginaprofessionalcoversoyoucanmarketyour bookwayaheadoftime.Ihavesomespecificrecommenda- tionshere,butyou’llalsofindcoverdesignersintheOnline Marketplaces.

HERE ARE THE DIY AND STOCK COVER TOOLS. SCROLL
DOWN FOR A LIST OF RECOMMENDED DESIGNERS.

Adazing

http://www.adazing.com/free-tools-templates-graphics/

Findfreebookcovermockups,editablemediakit,business cardtemplates,sellsheettemplates,etc.Theyupsellyoualot but this is good stuff for design and marketing.

Book Cover Design Marketplace on Facebook

facebook.com/groups/bookcovermarketplace

Wherecoverdesignersshowandtelltheircoverdesignsstart- ingat$50.Topendseemstobearound$200andmostlyfor premade genre fiction.

24 |Book Cover Design

Book Design Templates

bit.ly/interiorbdt

MyfavoritebookdesigntemplateserviceforWordalsohasa book cover template. SeeInterior Design and Formatting.

Canva

canva.com/create/book-covers

UseCanva’sfreebookcovermakerfortemporarycoversand assketches togivetoyourdesigner.Canvaofferspremade templatesinvariousgenrestochoosefromwithimagesand typographythatworkwelltogether.IalsolikeCanva’ssocial media banner and blog post templates.

Canva’s BookCoverMaker is free ifyou uploadyourown images,buttheirimagescostonly$1or$2.Costis$0,$9,and $18/mowhichincludesoveramillionroyaltyfreeimagesand about 600 templates.

ThereareafewCanvacompetitors:DesignWizardandSten- cilaretwo,andDepositphotos,asiteforstockphotos,hasa similar tool calledCrello.

DesignWizardlicensesyourdesignforasmanyusesasyou needwhileCanvamakesyoupurchasealicenseforeverysin- gleuse.Beforeyoupublish,researchimageandfontlicenses! This postfrom attorney Helen Sedwick will help.

Book Cover Design| 25

Font Squirrel

fontsquirrel.com

UseFontSquirreltofindfreefontsforcommercialuse.Italso offersafontidentifiersothatyoucanuploadanimageofafont youlikeanditwilltellyouwhatitis.Makesuretogetthefont license!

GoOnWrite.com

goonwrite.com

Pre-made book covers for $80+.

Remove Image Background

remove.bg

Afreebackgroundremovaltoolforyourimages.Greatfor author photos.

Scrivener

WindowsorMac

SeeWriting Software.

26 |Book Cover Design

DESIGNERS

ThisisanevolvinglistofcoverdesignersandcompaniesI recommendalongwithrecommendationsfrom authorsand trustedindustryfolks.Donotforgettogetallofyourassets alongwithyourcover.ThatmeansPhotoShopfiles,imageand font licenses, InDesign files, illustrations, and everything.

Freelancers

• Michela Tirone(UK)Attraente Design Pty Ltd$150-$250
• Bookfly Design$649+
• The Book Cover Designer $49+
• Romance$300
• Okay Creations$150+
• Killer Covers$127
• Jeroen Ten Berge(covers, illustration, branding, design) – pricy but worth it

Cover design services

• Damonzacovers have been getting awards lately. $595+ ebook, print, and 3D
• 100 Covers$100+
• Design Arts Studiofor children’s books, comics, and illus- tration

Book Cover Design| 27

Learn how to design and format your book

TheSelf-Publishing BootCampcourses willhelp youwith everyaspectofself-publishing.Checkoutthedesignandfor- matting course.

28 |Book Cover Design

3. Ebook, Document and

Image Conversion

Theseconversionstoolsarehandywhenyouneedtoconvert adocumentorebookfromoneformattoanotherorifyou haveanimagethatneedswork.Ifyoudon’twanttodoityour- self,youcanfindsomeonetodoitforyouusingtheresources listed in theOnline Marketplaceschapter.

Calibre

calibre.com

Usethefree,open-sourceCalibredesktopapptoconvertyour book files into MOBI and EPUB format.

Whenyou’re creating AdvancedReading Copies(ARCs) for reviewers,Ialwaysrecommendprovidingachoiceofprint, PDF,MOBI,orEPUB.Personally,Ilikereviewingbooksonmy Kindle.Itraveltoomuchtohaulbooks aroundwithme.If they’re not in MOBI format, I’ll never get to it.

Onceyoudownload theCalibreapplicationyousimplyadd yourbook—itcanbeinWordformat—completethebookmeta- data(title,authorname,descriptionandallthat),createasim- plecoveroruploadyourprofessionallydesignedcover,click theCONVERTbutton,anddownloadittoyourcomputer.Then uploadittoaprivatefolderonDropBox(orsimilar,seeBusi- ness&ProductivityTools),andinviteyourreviewerstograba copy.

Ebook, Document and Image
Conversion| 29

Convert Town’s Change DPI of Image

convert.town/image-dpi

Veryhandy! Youneedimages of atleast 200 dpiforyour printbooks,butwhatifyourimages(andscreenshots)areonly 72 dpifordigitalpublishing?Ifyoudon’thavePhotoshopor GIMPimage-editingprograms,oryoujustwantafastwayto increasetheDPIofanimage,usethistool.Justdragyourlow- resolutiontotheirsitetomakeiteither 200 (forsimplegraph- ics) or 300 (for photos).

Related is Zamzar, a file conversion service described below.

Pandoc

pandoc.org

GEEKALERT!Ifyouneedtoconvertfilesfromonemarkupfor- matintoanother,pandocisyourswiss-armyknife.Pandoccan convertdocumentsin(severaldialectsof)Markdown,reStruc- turedText,textile,HTML,DocBook,LaTeX,MediaWikimarkup, TWikimarkup,TikiWikimarkup,Creole1.0,Vimwikimarkup, OPML, Emacs Org-Mode, Emacs Muse,txt2tags, Microsoft Worddocx,LibreOfficeODT,EPUB,orHaddockmarkupto HTML,wordprocessorformats,ebooks,documentationfor- mats,archivalformats,pagelayoutformats,outlineformats, TeXformats,PDF,lightweightmarkupformats,andcustom formats written in lua then this is for you.

30 |Ebook, Document and Image Conversion

Publish Xpress

publishxpress.com

Ifyou’veformattedyourWorddoccorrectlyusingStylesjust dropitintoPublishXpresstocreateanEPUBandaMOBIfile. Itdoesanamazinglygoodjob.Free!Ifyouneedtoeditthe EPUB or MOBI, use Calibre (see above).

Zamzar

zamzar.com

Zamzarisabrowser-basedconversiontoolforover 1200 kinds ofdocument,audio,andvideoformats.Iusethisappallthe time.

Forexample,forWorddocumentscreatedontheMac,which donotretainhyperlinkswhen convertedtoPDF.Forquick conversionsofyourdocsintoMOBIandEPUBformats,which isgreatwhenyouwanttoofferafreebietoyouremailsub- scribers. You can also use Zamzar to convert image files.

Iusethefreeversionbutifyouconvertlotsandlotsoffiles theyofferbasic,pro,andbusinessversionsfor$9,$16,and$25 per month.

Ebook, Document and Image Conversion| 31

4. Audiobooks and

Podcasts

Peopleloveaudiobooksandthereismoredemandthansupply. Soitjustmakessensetoconsidercreatingoneforyourbook. Don’tworry,youdon’tnecessarilyhavetobethevoiceactor. Youcanofferyourbookasapodcast,too!Browsethesetools andservicesforasolutionthatmatchesyourskillsetandbud- get level.

Amazon ACX

bit.ly/amazonacx

Youcannarrateyourownbook,shareroyaltieswithanarrator, orpayanarratorupfrontwithACX.Everyaudiobookyou makeonACXwillbeavailableonAudible.com,Amazon.com, andiTunes,butalsoifyougrantAudibleexclusivedistribution rights, then you’ll earn royalties of 40%.

Anchor

anchor.fm

Freepodcastcreationmobileappandwebtoolforrecording, editing,and distribution. Their e-commercesystem allows supporters to donate money to your podcast.

32 |Audiobooks and Podcasts

Audacity

audacity.org

IuseAudacityalottorecordinterviewsoraudiolessons.It isfree,open-sourcerecordingsoftwarethatyoucanuseto recordyourownaudiobook.Torecordyourownaudiobook you’ll also need the following:

• A computer with a USB port
• A high-quality microphone with a stand and a pop filter
• A quiet place with no background noise or echo
• Audiobook creation software (like Audiobook Builder for Mac) to create an MP3 file at CBR recorded in mono for- mat, with opening credits, closing credits, and each chap- ter a “track.”

Youcansellyouraudiobookonyourownwebsiteusingane- commercesystemlikeGumroad,ordistributeitusingKbuuk or Amazon ACX.

Author’s Republic

authorsrepublic.com

Author’sRepublicisan“aggregatedistributor”thatclaimstobe theworld’swidestaudiobookdistributionnetworkwithover 30 majorretailers,libraryprovidersanddistributors,withnew channels added monthly.

Audiobooks and Podcasts| 33

Book2Pod

book2pod.com

Book2Podtransformsyourbookintoaudiofilesusingtext-to- speechtechnologyandpublisheseachbookchapteraspod- castepisodesoniTunes,Stitcher,GooglePlay,andSpotify.You getyourownpodcastchannelandlandingpage.Therobotic voicesarenotperfectbutat$147foraconversionafractionof the cost of a professional narrator.

Findaway Voices

findawayvoices.com

Narration,production, quality-checking,anddistributionto retail,library,andK–12consumersinmorethan 170 countries. Royaltyratesvarybyretailerbutworksouttoabout80%. Narrationcostiscalculatedonaper-finished-hourbasisand variesbasedonbooklength,narratorselected,andcomplexity. There’sacalculatorontheirsite.The$49administrationfee, waivedwhensigningupaspartofDraft2Digital’sdistribution service.

I’m Hearing Stories

imhearingstories.com

Thiscompanycanhelpyouwithaudiobookproductionser- vices,withcourses onrecording and producingyour own audiobook, choosing a narrator, and more. Lots of free resources.

34 |Audiobooks and Podcasts

ListenUp Audiobooks

listenupindie.pub

Listenupisanaward-winning,spoken-wordaudioproduction companyandaudiobookpublisherbasedinAtlanta,Georgia withstudiosandtalentcountry-wide.Theycandistributeyour audiobook at no extra cost at 80% net.

Podiobooks

scribl.com/info/podiobooks

PodiobooksmergedwithScribltosupplyreaderswithcom- panionaudiobooksandpodcasts.Createanaudiobook,upload thefiles,anduploadyoure-bookfiles(EPUBandMOBI).In afewdays(orhours,sometimes),you’llseeyourpaidaudio- bookversioninalloftheaudiobookoutletstowhichScribldis- tributes,plusafree,serializedversionwillappearoniTunes andStitcher,plusothers,likeGoogle,for 70 percentroyalty. Youearn 85 percentofthesaleonScriblandyoucanopt-in toCrowdPricingEverywhere(for 90 percentroyalty)toboost salesonotherretailers,too.Thisroyaltyishigherthangoing direct to some retailers, including Amazon.

SoundCloud

soundcloud.com

SoundCloudhasbeencalled“theYouTubeofaudio.”It’sasocial soundplatformthatletsyoucreateaudioandshareitevery- whereontheweb,privatelyandpublicly,andtoallyoursocial

Audiobooks and Podcasts| 35

networks.Theyalsoprovideanembedwidgetforyoursiteand blog.Withthefreeaccount,youget 120 minutesofuploaded audio.It’seasy touseanda greatwaytooffer freeaudio previewsofyourwork(excerpts,storyreadings,interviews) thoughthereisnowayforvisitorstopayyouforthecontent unlessyousetupprivateaccessviayouremaillistorasitelike Gumroad, PayPal, or Patreon.

VoiceBunny

voicebunny.com

Gethigh-quality,professionalaudiobooksproducedwithout payingroyaltyfees,keepalltherightstoyouraudio,anddis- tributeithoweveryouchoose.Crowdsourcingtechnologylets youchoosefromover28,000voiceactorsinmanylanguages, accents, and age groups. VoiceBunny is partnered with Kbuuk.com,theaudiobookdistributortogetyourbookinto Amazon, Barnes&Noble,andKobo. Whenyou’rereadyto convertyourbooktoaudio,checkoutthenewVoiceBunny AppavailableintheKbuukPublishingAppStore.Fromthere,a memberoftheVoiceBunnyclientservicesteamwillpersonally assisteachauthor.Youcaneither1)browseforactorsandbook one,or2)runacontest,or3)getaspeedy(doitforyou).That last option (speedy), for a 60,000-word book, will cost $1,197.

36 |Audiobooks and Podcasts

5. Custom Publishing

Services

Custompublishingservicesaremoreexpensivethanthefull- servicedistributionserviceslistedinanotherchapterbutthey give you a truly full-service solution with personal attention.

Thesecompanieschargemorethanthe$1500orsoyou’llpay forfull-service“packages.”$8000isprobablythemedianprice point.Theywilldoeverything,includinghelpyouhireaghost- writerifyouneedone(whichwillraisethepricesignificantly). Book marketing services will also raise the price.

TheseareafewcustompublishingservicesIknowandrespect buttherearemanyothers.DoyourresearchandcheckWriter Bewarefor scams.

Aloha Publishing

alohapublishing.com

AlohaisastateofmindforthisIdaho-basedcompany.They cameonmyradarthroughNathanBarry’sbooksandIspoke abouttechtoolsforauthorsattheirconferenceafewyears ago.

Authority Publishing

authoritypublishing.com

Custom Publishing Services| 37

I’ve known Stephanie Chandlerat AuthorityPublishing for aboutaslongasI’vebeenintheself-publishingbiz.We’vespo- kenonpanelstogetheratconferences,andsherunstheNon- fiction Writers Conference online every year.

Green Leaf Book Group

greenleafbookgroup.com

GreenLeafisalargecompanyandaveryexpensiveoptionbut theycreatealotofbestsellers.TheyruntheimprintforInc. magazine.

38 |Custom Publishing Services

6. Editing Services

Publishingprofessionalsagreethatprofessionaleditingisthe numberonemostimportantthingthatself-publishedauthors don’tget. (Thesecondmostimportantisprofessionalcover design.)

Youmayneedalineedit(thisisstoryediting,whichyoucan alsogetfrombetareadersandanelectroniceditingprogram calledFictionary).Lineeditingisalsocalleddevelopmentalor structuralediting.Youdefinitelyneedtohireacopyeditorand then, after your book is produced, a proofreader.

Full-service distribution companies and custom publishing servicesmayhandleeditingforyou.Youcanalsofindagreat lineeditor,copyeditor,orproofreaders byrecommendation fromauthorsinauthorandpublisherorganizationsyoubelong to. Or explore the options in this list of resources.

Bay Area Editors Forum

editorsforum.org

Youdon’thavetoliveintheSanFranciscoBayAreatousethe editorslistedinthisforum.Andyoumayfindasimilarforum in your area, so do a web search if you want to hire locally.

Editorial Freelancers Association

the-efa.org

Editing Services| 39

EFAmembersareareeditors,writers,indexers,proofreaders, researchers,desktoppublishers,translators,andotherswho offer a broad range of skills and specialties. They pro- videresources forbothfreelancersand clients,including a chartofcommonrates.TheironlineEFAmemberdirectory offersauthorsandpublishersfreeandinstantaccesstothe diverseassortmentofhighlyskilledpublishingprofessionals whomakeupEFAmembership.ThefreeEFAjoblistingservice offersauthorsandpublishersanotherwaytofindtheright freelancer for the job.

FirstEditing

firstediting.com

FirstEditing is all about editing and only editing. Director JoEllen Taylor canassignyou a line editor, copyeditor,or proofreaderbasedonthegenreofyourbook.Theirlargestaff ofeditorsworldwidecanhandlefictionnonfiction,andacade- micediting.Theyalsoofferafreeeditingsampletomakesure you’rematchedwell.IlikeFirstEditingalotandinvitedDirec- torJoEllenTaylortoco-teachtheeditingportionofthePub- lishingFreedomCourse.Findoutaboutthedifferenttypesof editingandgetaninstantpricequotebasedonwordcount anddocumenttype.Pricingisaffordableandtheserviceisfast. You’ll get a recommendation for an editor within 24 hours.

ListentomyconversationwithJoEllenTaylor,DirectorofMar- ketingforFirstEditing,ontheAuthorFriendlyPodcast,episode 16.

40 |Editing Services

Other Editing Companies

FirstEditing.comhascontributedtheirwisdomtomySelf-Pub BootCampcourseandcanconnectyouwiththekindofeditor youneed.Herearesomeothercompaniesthatprovideediting services

• Editorial Freelancers Association
• NY Book Editorsemploys former Big 5 publishing house editors. Pricy!
• Double Vision Editorial(Because one pair of eyes is never enough)
• She Writes Presseditorial services
• RedAdept Editing

Freelancers

HerearesomefreelancerswhoIknowaregoodandwhohave been recommended to me by authors I’ve worked with.

• Elisabeth Kaufmann at theWriting Refinery(Fiction)
• Beth Bolwerk isThe Harping Editorand she edited the

Editing Services| 41

first round ofSelf-Publishing Boot Camp Guide for
Authors, 4th Edition 2018. (Any errata in the 2019 update
is mine.) She gets busy so book her months in advance.

• Terry Staffordis an experienced author, editor, book coach, and student of Self-Pub Boot Camp course. He’s an award-winning author and active in the Self-Pub Boot Camp private Facebook group.
• Victory Editing(Ann)

Shalamar Media

shalamarmedia.com

SeeDesign and Formatting Tools and Services.

42 |Editing Services

PARTII

DISTRIBUTING YOUR

BOOK

Theinformationinthisbookgetsupdatedalot.Youcansub- scribe to get free electronic updates here.

http://www.selfpubbootcamp.com/readers

Doyouhavesuggestionsorrecommendationsforproducts, tools,andservicesyoutrust? Pleaseletme know!Sendan email [e-mail].

Distributing Your Book| 43

7. Distribution Services

Theservices you’lluse todistribute your print books and ebooksisanimportantone.Aslongasyouhavepurchased yourownISBNsyouarefreetochangecompaniesatanytime. Thischapterreviews distributionservicesthatreachmany retailers.NotethatI’vealsolisteddirect-to-retailercompanies hereforyourconvenience.Theseretailersdonotorshouldnot be used to reach retailers other than their own.

Seemyblogpostexplainingbookaggregationanddistribution forrecommendationsforcombiningaggregationanddistribu- tion services with direct-to-retailer solutions.

Amazon Advantage

SeeDirect to Retailer_._

Amazon Kindle Create

SeeDirect to Retailer_._

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)

SeeDirect to Retailer_._

Distribution Services| 45

Amazon KDP Print

SeeDirect to Retailer_._

Amazon KDP Select

SeeDirect to Retailer_._

Amazon Kindle Kids’ Book Creator

SeeDirect to Retailer_._

Blurb

SeeDesign & Formatting Tools.

BookBaby

bit.ly/bookbabyforauthors

FindoutallaboutBookBabyinthesectionFull-ServiceDesign, Formatting & Distribution.

46 |Distribution Services

Bookchain

scenarex.ca/en/bookchain

Adistributionsystembuiltonblockchainthatallowsauthors andpublisherstoconfigurethesecurity,traceability,attribu- tion,anddistributionsettings(includinglendingandreselling) of a digital document.

Bublish

bublish.com

Bublishisanonlineebookcreationanddistributionplatform along witha strong beta and social media marketing fea- tures.SeeBeta Readers and Beta Publishingfor details.

Draft2Digital

draft2digital.com

Draft2Digital(D2D)isapopularebookandprintbookcreation anddistributionserviceadmiredforitsease-of-useandcus- tomersupport(emailandtelephone).Uploadyourmanuscript, your cover, and basic sales information, and they do the rest.

AuthorPagesatD2D’ssistersiteBooks2Read.comgivesyou anAmazonCentral-likeauthorpagewithauniversalbooklink (UBL)thatyoucanpasteintoyourwebsitesothatyourreaders caninstantlyfindyourbookinthestorewheretheyshop.That wayyoudon’thavetopasteintheiconsofeverystoreandlink it to your book. Yay! Tedium eliminated.

Distribution Services| 47

YourbookgetsdistributedtoAmazonKDP,AppleiBooks,B&N Nook,Kobo,Inktera,Scribd,24Symbols,andTolino.Youcan choosetoopt outofany of them.(Forexample, if you’re alreadydistributingtoiBooksandKoboviaIngramSparkor directly.)

TheygiveyoutheEPUBtodistributeinotherplaces,suchas IngramSpark,AmazonKDP,yourownwebsite,orusingaser- vicelikeGumroad.YoualsogetaPDFsuitableforuploadingto Amazon or IngramSpark.

D2Dsendspre-orderstoalmostallpartnersfrom 90 daystoa yearinadvance.Theyarefamousfortheir24/ 7 customersup- port.Youpaya15%commissiononnetroyalties(approx.10% of list price) upon sale.

ListentomypodcastepisodewithD2D.Changessincebroad- cast include the ability to create and distribute print books.

Gatekeeper Press

gatekeeperpress.com

YoucanuseGatekeeperPresstodistributeyourbooks,too. Find out more about them in Full Service Formatting, Design,and Distribution.

48 |Distribution Services

Kbuuk

kbuuk.com

Kbuukisanebookpublishingsubscriptionservicewithgood analytics tools.Fees aresetat $0 (2 books),$5(unlimited books),and$10(unlimitedbooks)permonth.Uploadadocx orEPUBfile,ortheirservicesincludeEPUBconversion,sales intheirstore,widedistribution(includingKindle,Nook,and Kobo),and80%royalty,evenatthe$0/molevel.Premiumand proplansincludemarketingtoolsandadashboardanalytics toolcalledPubHubthathelpsyoubuildyourplatformbyshow- ingyouhowcustomersreadyourbookandhowmanysales you made.

IngramSpark

ingramspark.com

Ingramisthegiantinthetraditionalbookdistributionworld andIngramSparkistheirsimplifiedtoolforself-publishersand smallpress.Theycanprintanddistributepaperbackandhard- backbooksinmanydifferentformats,andebooks,too.You mayhave heardabouttheir publishertoolcalled Lightning Source(LSI),whichistheenginethatrunsIngramSpark.Don’t useLSIunlessyouareasmallpresspublishingfiveormore books per year.

IngramSparkletsyousetthehigherdiscountsandreturnspro- gramsthatbricks-and-mortarbookstoresrequire.Soifyou’re surethatyouhaveamarketinthesestores,andyou’rewilling todothepromotionworktoreachthem,IngramSparkcanbe a great choice.

Distribution Services| 49

NOTE:Ifyou’reaimingtosellyourbooksviatheonlineretail- ers,youonlyneedtosetyourdiscountto30%.Ifyou’remar- ketingtobricks-and-mortarbookstores,you’llneedtosetthe discount to 53% and opt-in to the returns program.

IngramSparkcanprintyourbookson-demandtoanyoftheir manylocationsaroundtheworldandhavethemsenttoyour destinationusinglocalpostage rates.Theyalsoofferoffset printing services.

WhenyouprintwithIngramSparkyour$49print(POD)setup feeisdeductedandrefundedafteryouorder 50 books.(Thisis a reasonable number of books to order for gifts and publicity.)

Youcansetyourprintbookandebooktopre-orderstatusup to 12 monthsinadvanceofpublication.Thisiscurrentlythe onlywaytogetyourprintbookinpre-orderstatusatAmazon otherthantheunwieldyAmazonAdvantageprogram.Youcan makechangestoyourbookupto 15 daysbeforepublication,as Ingramwillstartprintingthebook 10 daysbeforepublication to supply the retailers in preparation for their orders.

It’salsoimportanttounderstandthatIngramSparkpays40% oflistprice(ratherthansalesprice).Salespriceiscalculated onthepricethattheretailersellsyourbookforontheirsite, sotheprofityoumakewilldependonthediscountedpriceon anygivenday.Whenyou’repaidbasedonthelistprice,you consistently getthe same profit on each sale.

IngramSparkofferscustomer supportbyphone andemail. Hoursaretied totheirTennesseelocationand holdtimes canbeveryslow,especiallyonMondays.Emailsmaynotbe answered for a couple of days.

Ifyourself-publishedauthorbusinessgrowsintoasmallpress, IngramSparkcanmoveyou into IngramPublisherServices (IPS),whichprovidesfulldistributionservicesincludingware- housing and sales into major and independent booksellers.

Get free title setup withIBPA membership.

50 |Distribution Services

Related: FindoutwhyIrecommendthatmostauthorsuse AmazonKDPPrintplusIngramSparkfortheirprintdistrib- utionsolutionin thisblog post. And listen tomy podcast episodeswithRobinCutler,DirectorofIngramSpark.[Episode 17 andepisode 18.]

Lightning Source

SeeIngramSpark,above.Ifyouareasmallpressyoumaywant to use Lightning Source instead of IngramSpark.

Distribution Services| 51

Lulu

lulu.com

Luluisisapopularbookdistributionservicethathasbeen aroundalongtime.Unfortunately,LulupartneredwithAuthor Solutions,apredatoryvanitypress,toprovidepre-publishing packages(do-it-for-you formatting and design) along with expensiveandlargelynon-effectivemarketingservices.Their printingisveryexpensiveaswell.Irecommendavoidingtheir do-it-for-youservicesuntiltheybreaktheirpartnershipwith Author Solutions.

Notion Press

notionpress.com

AprintandebookcreationanddistributionplatforminIndia withtwotypesofservices,DIYwithcloud-basedinteriorand coverdesigntoolsorchoosefromasetof“guided”packagesif youneedhelp.FoundedinOct2018,they’vesetanambitious goaltopublish100,000authorsinthenextfiveyearswitha strong focus on Indian languages but also in English.

Pronoun

PronounwasshutdownbyownerMacMillanonJanuary15, 2018.Theywereagreatebookcreationanddistributionser- vice (that started way back with Vook) and I miss them.

52 |Distribution Services

PublishDrive

publishdrive.com

PublishDriveisaglobalebookaggregatorthatwilldistribute yourebooktomorethan4oostoresincludingmajorretailers Apple iBooks,Google Play Books, Kindle, Scribd, Barnes& Noble,plus240kdigitallibraries(schools,universities,public librariesincluding OverDriveand Ciandofor10%afternet sales. Use them toreach the Spanish subscriptionservice 24Symbols,Tookbook,CasaDeLibro,RedShelf,eSentralinSE Asia,andIndia’sRockstand.UploadyourWorddoctotheirfree EPUB converter plus your finished book cover.

ListentomyinterviewwithPublishDrive’sfounderonThe Author Friendly Podcast. Changes since publication:

• Subscription pricing: pay a monthly fee and keep all your royalties.
• Affiliate program.
• Built-in Amazon Advertising tool with advanced keyword targeting
• Savant, their author AI tool, reads your book and suggests categories
• A list of allmarketing tools here

Distribution Services| 53

Scribl

scribl.com

Scribldistributes your ebook to Apple, Amazon, Barnes & Noble,Kobo,andhundredsofothers,anditalsooffersyour ebookandaudiobook(andpodcasts,too)intheirstoretocus- tomershungryforfreeandlow-costbooksusingacrowdpric- ingschemethatencouragesreaderstotakeachanceonnew, undiscovered authors.

WhenyourbookisfirstpublishedonScribl,itwillbefreefor abriefpromotionalperiod.Themoregoodratingsanddown- loadsitgets,thehigherthepricegoes,andvice-versa.The mostpopularbooksamongreaderscostaboutasmuchasyou wouldpayforatypicalpopularebookatyourfavoriteonline bookstore. Books that have not yet sold as well cost less.

WhileIreallylikeScribl’sideaofcrowdpricing,theyhavean unusualcontractinthattheylockyouinforfouryearsandit keepsrollingalongandneverends.Iftheypayyouroyaltiesof over$600ayear,theagreementkeepsextendinganotherfour years.Soforasuccessfulbook,thecontractneverendsand the author has no way out.

Here’sthetroublinglanguage. “YouagreethatYoumaynotter- minatethisAgreementforfour(4)yearsfromthelastone(1)year periodduringwhichScriblpaid,onaverage,atleastfiftydollars ($50) per month (six hundred dollars ($600) per year).”

ButScriblclaimsthatcrowdpricingproduces 30 timesmore total revenue forcontent than with conventional, author- pricedsystems.Becausecustomerstrusttheprices,sothey’re morewillingtopay.Theyalsoreportthatmostdownloadsare paiddownloads—unlikeconventionalsystems,wheremostof the downloads are free.

Their CrowdPricing Everywheresystem earns 70% royalty (oftenmorethanifyouposteddirectly)alongwithalisting intheircrowdpricingsitewithprice-basedratings.Youearn

54 |Distribution Services

75-85%ofgrossrevenue(notnet),minusPayPalfees.They keep15%-25%.Ifyoujustprovideyourebookyouget75%.If yousupplyyourebookandaudiobook,youget85%andother benefits. You are paid every 48 hours.

IthinkI’denjoytryingthisoutforayear,togivethemarketing viacrowdpricingachance,butafour-yearrenewablecommit- ment is just too much.

ListentomyinterviewwithScribl’sco-founderonTheAuthor Friendly Podcast.

Slicebooks

slicebooks.com

Slicebooksisthemanifestationoftheimaginedfutureofdigi- talpublishingwiththereader’sabilitytocreatecustomebooks and print books.

Ilistedthiscompanybecauseauthorscanusetheirserviceto sliceexistingbooksintoready-to-sellpackagedchunksat$1 per file.

Theyalsohave a“createastoreapp”servicethatletsyou deliverbooksbyauthor,publish,category,keywords,oreven ISBNs (for your own books) for sale in an app.

Distribution Services| 55

Withsubscriptionpricingintiersbetween$9-$999permonth, it’sreallyasystemformediumtolargepublisherswhohave enough books to slice to make it worthwhile.

Here’showitworks.PublishersuploadtheirbooksintoSlice- books(forafeeof$10/book)tosliceanddicethemintochap- tersandsections.Youcanremixyourbook(s)intocompletely newtitleswithnewcoversandsellthemalongwiththeindi- vidualslicesintheSlicebooksiTunes-styleretailplatform.You getyourEPUBandPDFfilestodowithasyouwish(suchasto sell them in your own store).

Consumerscanmixandmatchslicesfromthebookswithany otherslicesoldintheSlicebooksstore.Embedyourownstore toofferyourcontentslicedandremixable.You’repaidbythe slice,too.Travelbooks?Anthologies?Cookbooks?Imaginethe possibilities.

SoyourtravelessayonRomemightbemixedwiththeRome chapteroftheLonelyPlanetguidetoItalyandsomerecipes from an Italian cookbook. Pretty awesome.

Smashwords

smashwords.com

Ifyou’vewrittenanebook,thefastestandcheapestwayto getitdistributedquicklyeverywhereistopairSmashwords withAmazonKindleDirectPublishing(KDP).Asadistributor, Smashwordswilldistributeyourebooktothemostimportant majorretailersandlibraryplatforms,exceptAmazon.Afteryou upload to Smashwords, also upload your ebook to Amazon.

AlthoughSmashwords’primarybusinessisebookdistribution toretailersandlibraries,they’reuniqueinthattheyalsooper- atetheirownsmallebookstorewhereauthorsearnroyalties up to 80% of list price.

56 |Distribution Services

YoucanuploadeitheraWordfileoranEPUBfile.Smashwords willautomaticallyconvertyourWordfileintomultipleebook fileformats(includingEPUBandMOBI,themostimportant)so yourbookisreadabletocustomersoftheSmashwordsStore onanye-readingdevice.ThentheydistributetheEPUBver- sion to its retailer and library partners.

TheSmashwordsStyleGuide(availableasafree download atSmashwords),providesstep-by-stepinstructionsforhow toprofessionallydesignandformatyourmanuscriptpriorto upload,thoughIliketouseBookDesignTemplatesinstead, which is a lot easier.

FormatfirstforSmashwords,andthenusethatsameformat- tedMicrosoftWordfiletouploadtoAmazon.(Hint:Forbest resultswithAmazon,saveyourWordfileas“filteredHTML” before you upload it to Amazon).

Do get the Style Guideincludes useful tips on paragraph stylingtohelp your bookrender betteronKindlereading devices.Ifyoudon’thavethetimeorpatiencetolearnhowto formatwithMicrosoftWord,anotheroptionistohirealow- costfreelancerfromMark’sListatwww.smashwords.com/list. Formattingfornovelsstartsaslowas$35andgoesupfrom there depending on complexity.

ThesecondoptionistouploadanEPUBfiledirectlytoSmash- words.Ifyou’vealreadyhiredaprofessionalebookdesignerto createanEPUBfileforyou,oryou’vealreadycreatedyourown professionallydesignedEPUBfile,thisisafineoption,espe- ciallyifyourbookrequiresalotofchartsandgraphs.Smash- wordsalsogivesyoutheoptiontouploadbothaWordfileand anEPUBfile.Inthisway,youcanreplacetheSmashwords- generated EPUB with your own custom EPUB.

TIP:UseadifferentISBNfortheAmazonKindleversionofyour book.

ForsalesofyourebookthroughSmashwordsdistributionto iBooksandallothermajorretailers,you’ll60%ofthelistprice (theretailertakesacommissionof30%listandSmashwords takes a commission of 10% list). Smashwords pays monthly.

Distribution Services| 57

Onceyourbookissuccessfullyconverted,Smashwordsoffers itforsaleimmediatelyintheirSmashwordsstore,andthen sendsittoaverylargenumberofebooksellers—exceptthe AmazonKindlestore.So,remembertouploadaseparatefile (withadifferentISBN)totheKindlestoreviaAmazon’sKindle Direct Publishing, too.

Smashwordshasthemostimpressiveebookdistributioninthe marketandisalwaysexpanding.Findacurrentlistofretailers, libraries, and app stores,here.

Smashwordsoffersanumberofunique(andfree)ebookmar- keting tools, the most prominent of which isSmashwords Couponswhichallowsyoutoruncustombookpromotions. TheyalsoofferamerchandisingfeaturecalledSpecialDeals. Createapubliccouponforyourbook,andSmashwordsgives your book extra promotion within their store.

SmashwordsfounderMarkCokerprovideslotsof informa- tionalandhow-tovideosontheirSmashwordsYouTubechan- nel.

Listento my interviewwithSmashword’s founderon The Author Friendly Podcast.

58 |Distribution Services

StreetLib

streetlib.com

StreetLibisanebookandprintbookcreationanddistribution servicebasedintheUSAandItalywithreachintoonlinestores inGermany,AustriaandSwitzerland,Turkey,andLatinAmer- ica.Whenyousetupyourbillingprofiletoreceiveyourroy- altiesyou’llgetspecificinstructionifyouareintheUS(like providingaW9form),andyou’llbethenautomaticallymoved to StreetLib USA.

Youcancomposeorpasteyourbookintotheirfreecloud- basedbookcreationtool,andit’scapableofformattingcomics, cookbooks,andpoetry.ExporttoEPUB,MOBI,fixedlayout, andPDFforprint.TheydistributetotheBig 5 ebookretailers (AmazonKindle,GooglePlay,AppleiBooks,Kobo)alongwith hundredsofotherstores.Theirtakeis7%-10%ofthecover price to US authors.

StreetLibalsohasapartnershipwithPerlego,asubscription servicethatgivesreadersaccesstoover90,000professional andacademicbooks.Yougetpaiddependingonthenumber of pagesreadbasedon55%of themembership revenues. (Streetlib keeps 65%.)

AsanauthoronStreetLibyoucanclaimyourownbookpage, editthecontent,andearn15%ofsalesrevenues.Youcanadd otherbooksfromtheirextensivecatalogtosellfora15%com- mission.Thisisagreatwaytoofferacuratedbookstoreto make additional income. (Similar to Aerio.)

Asaleswidget(similartoGumroad)isalsoincludedtoembed inyourwebsite,soyoucanaskyourwebsitevisitorstobuy fromStreetlibsoyoumakemoremoneythanwithAmazonand company.

Theyofferalacarteformatting,editing,coverdesign,EPUB correctionandvalidation.And,getthis.Theyofferbooktrans-

Distribution Services| 59

lationservicesviaapartnershipwithBabelcube.Babelcube doesnotchargefortranslationbuttakesapercentageofyour translated book’s sales revenue.

StreetLibpartneredwithBowkerin 2017 tobecometheirbook publishingplatform.SowhenyoupurchaseISBNsyou’llseean ad for them on the site.

They’vealsogotStreetLibMarketwhereyoucanfindprofes- sionaleditors,bookcoverdesigners,marketingpros,orsignup as one.

ListentomyinterviewwithStreetLibonTheAuthorFriendly Podcast.

Tablo, Australia

tablo.io

CreatingabookandbuildingaprofileonTabloisfree,with globaldistributionrangingfrom$99to$299peryear.Every distributionplanincludesallrequiredISBNs(butI strongly recommendyoupurchaseyourown)andauthorskeep100% oftheirsaleproceedsafterretailers’margins.Authorscanalso orderpaperbackcopiesfromTablodirectlyusingtheirprint- on-demandservice.AllofthiscanbeaccessedthroughTablo’s

60 |Distribution Services

onlinewritingandpublishingplatformthatallowsanybodyto uploadorwriteabookforfree.Whenyou’redone,exportitto any format you need.

Type & Tell, UK & Sweden

typeandtell.com

BritishauthorsmaybeinterestedinType&Tell,theUK-based start-up that created the English-language edition of the Swedishself-publishingservicecreatedbyBonnierBooksVen- tures,a branchofBonnier Books.(Swedish authors, go to http://www.typeandtell.com/sv.)Authorscanusetheircloud-basedAuthorscanusetheircloud-based) writingandediting(bookcreation)tooloruploadtheirown document,getcoverdesign,professionalinteriordesign,and worldwideprintandebookdistribution.Theirpublishingpack- agesrangefrom£199to£3399.Youcanalsochoosealacarte serviceslikecoverdesign(£285)andediting(£789for50-75k words). Distribution is handled by Ingram Content Group.

Walmart eBooks by Rakuten Kobo

SeeDirect to Retailer.

XinXii

xinxii.com

IsaGermanebookaggregatorthatdistributestotheusualsus- pectswith85%toyou(generally)andtoforeignmarketsyou

Distribution Services| 61

maynotbeabletoreachwithotherebookaggregators.They offeranauthorpagewhereyouearn70%ofnetsaleswhen your book is priced over $2.49, and 40% if less than that.

Learn how to distribute your book

TheSelf-Publishing BootCampcourses willhelp youwith everyaspectofself-publishing.Learnaboutyourdistribution options atwww.selfpubbootcampcourses.com.

62 |Distribution Services

8. Direct to Retailer

Services

Thetoolslistedhereareprovidedbytheonlineretailersso thatyoucanuploadyourbookforsaleintheirstores.Plenty ofauthors“distribute”byuploadingtheirbooktoeachretailer separately.Thiswillgiveyoualargerroyaltybutit’stime-con- suming to upload, track, and keep accounts.

Itcanbesmarttogodirecttooneretailerbefore“goingbig” withanaggregationordistributionserviceforthesimplerea- sonthatwhenyougodirectlytoaretaileryoucantakeadvan- tageoftheirmarketingprograms.AmazonKindleDirectPub- lishing(KDP)“Select”isAmazon’sprogramandKoboWriting Life also has really great marketing programs.

WorthnotingisthatyoucanuseAmazonAdvantage,Amazon KindlePrint,KindleDirectPublishing,andKidsBookCreator toenjoyadirectrelationshipwithAmazonwhiledistributing elsewhere using IngramSpark, Smashwords, StreetLib, or anotherservice.Seemyblogpostonprintbookdistribution onhowtousebothAmazonKindlePrintandIngramSparkfor your print distribution.

Theconsiderationsandnuancesofallofthesedecision-mak- ingprocessesareexplainedinmyblogpostonhowyourbook getstoreadersandinamoredetailedmannerinthe Self-Pub- lishing Boot Camp Guide for Authors, 4th edition.

The Big 5

Toclarify,whenpeopletalkabout“theBig 5 onlineretailers” or bookstores theymean:Amazon, B&N, Apple,Kobo,and GooglePlay. When people talk about the Big 5 publishing

Direct to Retailer Services| 63

housestheymeanHachetteBookGroup(HBG),HarperCollins Publishers,MacmillanPublishers,PenguinRandomHouse,and Simon&Schuster.Let’stakealookattheBig 5 onlineretailers.

Amazon Advantage

amazon.com/advantage

Ifyou’veprintedhundredsorthousandsofbooksusinganoff- setprintingcompanytokeepcostsdown,youcanusethe AmazonAdvantagefulfillmentservicetogetyourbookintothe Amazonstore.The$99/annualfeeisdeductedfromyoursales. Ifyoudon’tgenerateenoughsales,theywaivetheunpaiddif- ference.

Inthisscenario,youhaveprintedyourbookelsewhere(prob- ablywithanoffsetprintcompany—seethe Self-PublishingBoot CampGuideforAuthors fordirectiononhowtodothiscor- rectly.)Youship yourbookstothem(atyourcost)attheir request.They’llaskforthemwhentheyneedmore.Theywill payyou45%ofyourbook’slistprice.Youdoriskreturnsof unsold books.

AuthorshaveusedAmazonAdvantageasaworkaroundtoget printbookpre-ordersintheAmazonstore(sinceAmazonKin- dlePrintdoesnothavepreordercapability),butyoucandis- tribute pre-orders to Amazon using IngramSpark. (See below.)

WhywouldyoudothisinsteadofusingAmazontogetyour printbooksintotheAmazonstore?Ifyouhaveagreatplatform andyouknowyoucansellthousandsofbooksonAmazon,you maywanttouseanoffsetprintertomaximizeprofitsandcut yourprintingcostsinhalf(ormore).UseIngramSpark’sPOD service to distribute everywhere else.

64 |Direct to Retailer Services

IadvisemostauthorstodistributetheirbooksPODfirsttoget thebugsout(there’salwayssomething!)beforeprintingalarge quantity.It’sheartbreakingtohavepaidfor 1000 copiesofa book with errors.

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)

kdp.amazon.com

AmazonKindleDirectPublishing(KDP)distributesyourebook inKindle(MOBI)formattotheAmazonstoreonly.Youcan uploadyourmanuscriptinthefollowingformats:Worddocor docx,HTML(ZIP,HTM),MOBI,EPUB,RTF,TXT,PDF,orKPF. MostauthorsuseWordbutsavingthedoctoHTMLfirstis preferred.Thereareclearinstructionsonhowtodothiswhen you’re ready for it. Amazon is very good at hand-holding!

TIP:IfyouhavealreadyformattedyourbookfortheSmash- wordsedition(usingtheirstyleguideorabookdesigntem- plate),giveitanewISBNandmakeadjustmentsasspelledout intheKDPformattingguidelines.(Orvice-versa,youcancopy your KDP file and modify it for Smashwords.

Priceyourbookbetween$2.99–$9.99USDandyouearn70% minus15¢permegabyte.(Othercountrieshavesimilarpric- ingbutauthorsinBrazil,India,Mexico,andJapanitdefaultsto 35% flat royalty.)

AmazonKDPprovidesemailcustomersupportwithknowl- edgeable staff and good response times.

YoucanalsogetyourbookintheAmazonstorebydistributing withIngramSpark, Draft2Digital,StreetLib, PubLaunch,and the full-service self-publishing companies listed in this book.

Direct to Retailer Services| 65

Ebookroyaltyratesare35%oflistpriceinallterritoriesor70% oflistpriceminusdeliverycostsinsetterritories(and35%of listoutsidethoseterritories).Toget70%youebooksmustbe priced between $2.99 and $9.99.

Amazon KDP Select

WhenyoupublishanebookusingAmazonKDPyouwillbe invitedtouseKDPSelect.Don’tuseitunlessyoueducateyour- selfontheexclusiveprogramandyou’reusingitforyourbook launch.Theylockyouintoa90-dayexclusivitycontract.You can always use them later.

Amazonmakesyouthinkthatyouhaven’tfinisheduploading yourebookifyoudon’tclickEnrollinKDPSelectbutyoudon’t have to so ignore them.

Amazon Kindle Kids’ Book Creator

SeeDesign and Formatting.

66 |Direct to Retailer Services

Amazon Kindle Print

kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G202059560 tar- get=”_blank”

AmazonKindlePrintisthetoolAmazonwantsyoutousetoget yourprintbooksintotheAmazonstore.Theyproducepaper- backs“on-demand”forsaleintheAmazonstore,butnothard- cover books. (For hardcover books I suggest IngramSpark.)

Createyourfiles(IrecommendusingBookDesignTemplates andnottheAmazontemplates)anduploadaPDFoftheinte- rior and the cover.

IngramSpark,BookBaby,GatekeeperPress,andothersdistrib- utetoAmazonbutIsuggestalwaysusingAmazontoolsto enjoyadirectrelationshipwithAmazon.Thatway,you’llnever getthosepesky“OutofStock”messagesonyourbookpage there.Inaddition,youcanexperimentwithkeywordsandcat- egories without incurring a change fee.

Don’tusetheirISBNsbecausewhenyoudistributeyourpaper- backwithIngramSparkorelsewhereyouwillneedasecond ISBNand thingsgetweird.One ISBN=One bookformat. Paperbackisabookformat.EPUBisabookformat.MOBIis abookformat.Hardcoveris abookformat.Youdon’twant twoISBNsforthesameformat.Soyouneedtopurchaseyour ownandyou’llbefreetomoveyourbookfromoneserviceto another and use multiple services with the same ISBN.

Royaltyratesare 60 percentintheAmazonstoreworldwide with some exceptions.

DonotusetheirExpandedDistribution,whichwillmakeyour bookavailabletootheronlineretailersandbookstoresbecause thediscountissetat 40 percent,whichisallwronginseveral ways:1)You onlyneedtoseta 30 percentdiscounttosell toonlineretailers.2)Forbookstores,you’llneedtoseta 53 percentdiscount(minimum)plusopt-intoareturnsprogram,

Direct to Retailer Services| 67

whichAmazondoesnotoffer.3)Andfinally,bookstoresdon’t likeAmazonandarehesitant(tosaytheleast)toorderbooks from them.

SouploadyourpaperbackdirecttoAmazonusingKindlePrint, butuseanotherservicetoselleverywhereelse.Alsonotethat youshouldusethesameISBN(purchaseddirectlyfromyour ISBNagencyandnotthroughadistributororservice)foryour paperbackformat wherever you print and distribute your book.

Apple iBooks Author

SeeDesign and Formatting.

Barnes & Noble Press

press.barnesandnoble.com

B&NcombinedtheirNOOKPressebookplatformwiththeir printondemandplatformsintoasingleexperience.Newroy- altyratesare65%forebookspriced$10andaboveonallcopies sold,andtheabilityforauthorstosetebookpre-orders 12 monthsinadvance.Ontheprintside,theyhaveaddedaddi- tionaltrimsizes,glossycoveroptions(inadditiontomatte), and less expensive color printing.

Yourbookwillappearinebookandprintformatsintheirstore, andBestsellingauthorsareeligibletopitchtheirbooktoB&N store buyers and host store events & booksignings.

Theyhaveteamedupwith 99 Designstogiveyouaspecial priceon bookcover design,interior book formatting, and ebook conversion.

68 |Direct to Retailer Services

Google Play

play.google.com/books/publish

WithGooglePlayyourebookhasthepotentialtoreachone billionAndroidusersinover 50 countriesonmultipleplat- forms.Yourbookscanbediscoveredandpreviewedonthe world’s most popular search engine throughGoogle Books.

TouploadbooksdirectlytoGooglePlay,signinusinganexist- ingGoogleAccount,orcreateanewaccount.UsethePlay BooksPartnerCentertouploadcontent,setprices,andchoose the countries where you want to sell your books.

Youwillreceive52%ofthelistprice(beforetaxes).IntheUS,if yourbookispricedat$14.95you’llget$7.77. Ifthebookissold inanothercountry,theearningsarecalculatedat52%ofthe book’s price at the exchange rate at time of sale.

Kobo Writing Life

kobowritinglife.com

KoboWritingLifeisado-it-yourselfpublishingportalthatgets yourbooksoldintotheKobostoreandtheWalmarteBook- storeaswellastheOverdrivelibrarydistributionsystemand ebooks in independent bookstores.

Kobohasthemostpersonalizedanddiversemarketingpro- gramsofallthestoresandthey’reveryaffordable...$5tounder $100.Ifyouapplytoparticipateinamarketingprogramand don’tgetacceptedtheytellyouwhy:aninappropriatecover, incomplete metadata, or weirdly formatted book interior.

UseVellum,PressBooks,oranotherprogramtocreateanEPUB oruploadyourdocfileandtheyautomaticallyconvertitto EPUBformat.(Aslongasit’sformattedcorrectlywithStyles.)

Direct to Retailer Services| 69

Aswithotherdirect-to-retailerebookservices,youdon’tneed anISBN;they’llassignanumberforyouthoughIalwaysthink youshouldpurchaseandassignyourownISBNtoeachformat of your book asexplained inthe Self-Publishing Freedom Course.

KoboisaCanadian-basedcompanywithretailpartnersaround theglobeandanarrangementwiththeAmericanBooksellers Associationwhichistheirroutetosellingyourebooksinbook- stores.TheirparentcompanyisJapanesee-commercegiant Rakuten and in August 2018 they partnered with Walmart.

Yourbookwillbeavailabletoover 12 millionreadersin 190 countrieswithKoboandnow,withRakuten’sdealwithWal- martbecomingtheexclusivemassretailerofKobodevicesthe service extends Kobo’s reach into the United States. Co- brandedWalmartandKoboappsarenowavailableforebook andaudiobookcontent,andWalmartstoresalsoselldigital book cards.

Kobooffersauthors70%ofthelistpriceonbookspriced$2.99 andhigher,45%forbookspricedbetween99¢and$2.98,and you can also offer your ebooks for free.

ListentomyinterviewwithChrissyMunroe,DirectorofKobo Writing Life, on theAuthor Friendly Podcast.

70 |Direct to Retailer Services

Learn how to distribute your book

TheSelf-Publishing BootCamp courseswill helpyou with everyaspectofself-publishing.Marketingstartsatthevery beginningintheSelf-PublishingFreedomcourse,withbuilding yourplatformandfindingyourreaders.You’lllearnhowtodo businessasanauthor,howtochoosethedistributionbestfor yourbook,howtomarketyourbookandsellyourbookdirect. Find them atwww.selfpubbootcampcourses.com.

Direct to Retailer Services| 71

9. Full-Service Formatting,

Design, and Distribution

Thesecompanieswilldothedesignandformattingforyou. Some may also provide ebook and print book distribution.

Author Solutions Companies

WARNING: AvoidiUniverse,AuthorHouse,Trafford,Xlibris, BookTango,BalboaforHayHouse,LifeRichforReader’sDigest, ArchwayforSimon&Schuster,andWestbowforThomasNel- son.

AlloftheabovecompaniesarerunbyAuthorSolutions,Inc. andareoverpricedvanitypressesthatdonotletyouassign yourownISBN,chargetoomuchforprinting,setunrealistic expectations,andupsellyouateveryopportunity.Do your researchbeforeyouchoosevanityorsubsidypublishing.Vic- toriaStraussmaintainstheWriterBewaresite,whereshelists predatoryvanitypresses,unethicalagents,contestandaward fakes,andotheralertsforwriters.Checkitbeforeyoupublish!

BAM!Publish

bampublish.com

BAM!Publishisa“completeauthoringandpublishingsolution” poweredbyFastPencil (see below)forthe Books AMillion bookstoresacrosstheUnitedStates.Theirpackagesare$699, $1799,and$2799.Ican’trecommendthisserviceforprofes-

72 |Full-Service Formatting, Design, and Distribution

sionalindependentauthorsandpublishers.However,ifyou haveonebookanddreamofseeingitinabookstore,andyou havethemoney,whoamItodenyyouthispersonalbutprob- ablyunprofitablesatisfaction?Again,seeFastPencilbelowfor details on this service.

BookBaby

bit.ly/bookbabyforauthors

BookBaby offersfull-servicebookcreationanddistribution aswellasalacarteserviceslikeeditingandcoverdesign. Theyofferwideprintandebookdistributionincludingwhole- salebooknetworks IngramandBaker&Taylor.Theirbook printingserviceisveryhigh-qualitydigitalprintingin-house. Theydocolorbooks,complexbooks,andhardcoverbooks, too.Theyalsohavereliable(telephoneandemail)customer support.Insteadoftakingapercentageofsales,theychargea flatfeeandyoukeep100%ofnetsales(afterthesaleschannels havetakentheirpercentage).Yourbookwillbeavailableavery widenetworkofonlineretailersincludingtheBig 5 retailers.If you’remarketingtobookstores,you’lllikethattheydistribute atthe55%tradediscountwithreturnabletermsbuttheydo notoffera30%discountoptionthatmostself-publishersuse when selling to the online retail channels.

DiscMakers,thecompanythatowns BookBaby,alsoserves indiemusiciansandfilmmakerswithCDBaby.TheirHostBaby websitebuilderisaneasy-to-usecontentmanagementsystem forbuildingyourauthorormusicianwebsite.Youalsogeta BookShoppage,whereyoucanearnmoreroyaltybyselling direct, which is a handy link for your website.

Full-Service Formatting, Design, and Distribution| 73

Booklocker

booklocker.com

Booklocker offersself-publishing packages forany budget. TheirDIYoptioncostsa$25setupfeewitha$35proof.The firstyearPODfilehostingfeeis$18.Theirmostpopularpro- gramisabasicservicewhereyousendyourWorddocand coverandtheydotherest.Theycandesignyourcover,too. Theycanhelpwithfictionandnon-fictionaswellaschildren’s andotherfull-colorinteriorbooks.Booklockerdistributeswith Ingram,library,andschoolpartners,too.Thecompanyalso ownsWritersWeekly.com.

Bookstores Near You

Doesanindependentbookstorenearyouofferself-publishing help?BookshopSantaCruz’spublishingserviceisanexample. IusedtoliveinSantaCruzandthisindependentbookshopis welllovedbylocalsandtourists.Thereisalargewritingcom- munitythereandIexpecttheystartedtheserviceatthesug- gestionofmorethanoneauthor-customer.Socheckwithyour mostlovedindependentbookstorestoseeiftheyofferaser- vice like this.

Bublish

bublish.com

Bublishdoesbookdistributionandawholelotofotherthings. See Ads and Apps.

74 |Full-Service Formatting, Design, and Distribution

FastPencil

fastpencil.com

FastPenciloffersanonlineebookandprintbookcreationtool withtemplatesandacovercreatorinthecloudwithversion control,writing,editing,andcollaborationtools.Despiteits impressivesuiteoftoolsandservices,Icanonlyrecommend itforprofessionalindependentauthorsifyoupay$599fora SmallPublisherCustomImprintSetup,inadditiontotheother costs.Why?Becauseotherwise,youdonotgettoapplyyour own ISBN and therefore your publisher is FastPencil.

It’sfreetocreateandprintyourbookprivately.Itcosts$249to distributeyourbooktoAmazon,BAM!,Ingram,Koboandoth- ers.Theycharge$999toaddprojectsetup,review,andcover design,and$1999forapremiumversionofthesame.That’s pretty expensive.

Ifyouareaprolificbloggerwhowantstoturnyourblogposts intobooks,youmayhaveconsideredFastPencil,butPress- books offers an easy alternative for only $99.

Theyalsoprovidebookmarketingservices,whichIdon’trec- ommendbecauseyoushoulddoyourownandoutsourcing bookmarketingisthenumberoneworstinvestmentaself- published author can make.

Thebottomline:Ifyouareamulti-bookauthorlookingfora cloud-basedbookcreationtoolthatallowsmultiplepeopleto contributetothebook,alongwithadistributionservice,and youaresellingenoughtorecoupthefees,youmaybetempted. Butprintyourbookelsewherebecausetheirinflatedprinting costsmakeyourbooksmorethantwiceasexpensiveasother services.

FastPencilisthetechnologybehindBAM!Publish,whichguar- anteesyourprintedbookintheirstoresacrosstheUS.(See above.)

Full-Service Formatting, Design, and Distribution| 75

Gatekeeper Press

gatekeeperpress.com

GatekeeperPressisafull-servicecompanythatoffersdesign, formatting,anddistributiontothemajoronlineretailers.You canalsousethemforalacarteserviceslikeeditingandcover design.Smallbutgrowing,theyhavegreatcustomerservice (emailandtelephone)andgreatpricesonservicesandamong thelowestprices,I’veseenonprintbooks.(SeemySelf-Pub- lishingBootCampGuideforAuthors,4thEdition,forafull price comparison.)

They’llhandleyourebookandprintbookcreationanddis- tribution,editing,andcoverdesignforabout$600.00plus 99¢/pagebeyond 200 pages.Theydistributetoallthemajor ebookandprintbookretailers.Gatekeepermakesitsmoneyby charging you up front for services. You keep 100% of royalties.

Ifyouwanttolistyourownimprintaspublisherinsteadof GKPit’sonlya$100charge.They’vekindlyofferedtowaivethat charge for my readers by using the coupon code: carlaking

You’llget10%offwithanIBPAmembership,alsohighlyrecom- mended. (See more about IBPA in theOrganizationschapter.)

ListentomyconversationwithGatekeeperPressfounderRob Price on the Author Friendly Podcast,episode 20.

76 |Full-Service Formatting, Design, and Distribution

10. Publishing by

Subscription

Canyouconsistentlyoffervaluableorentertaininginformation thatpeoplewillpayfor?Mostauthorscan.Herearethesub- scription-basedpublishingplatformsyoumightusetoprovide written, audio, and video content to your readers.

Threeoftheseplatforms,Drip,Patreon,andSteady,domuch thesamething.Youcreatecontentontheirsiteandtheyhan- dlemembership,subscription,delivery,andpayments.Flattris abrowserextensionthatfollowssubscribersaroundtheweb andpaysyoubasedontheamountoftimetheyspendonyour websiteandsocialmediaproperties.PayPalhandlesyoursub- scription and other e-commerce but does not deliver content.

Drip

d.rip

DripisanewofferingfromKickstarterthatletscreatorspub- lishontheplatformandcollectsubscriptionsfromsupporters. It’sinbetawithaninvite-onlysignuprightnow.Youpublish toyoursupporterswhosubscribetoyourchannelonDripin exchange for a monthly subscription fee.

IfyouwanttoleaveDrip,theypromisetosecurelydownload andtransfercontent,subscriberdata,andpaymentsinforma- tion.Thisisanimportantdifferentiatorfromtheotheroffer- ings.

Pricingisnotpublishedatthispoint,butKickstartertakes5% and 3% plus 20¢ per pledge (€0.20 in Europe).

Publishing by Subscription| 77

Flattr

flattr.com

Flattr(founded2010)isaSwedish-basedcompanywhoseplat- formallowsyoursupporterstorewardyouforworkpublished onyourownwebsite,blogandsocialmediachannels.Sub- scriberssignup,chooseasubscriptionlevel(startingat$3/ mo),andinstallaChromeorFirefoxbrowserextensionthat privately follows them around the web.

Tolinkawebsiteusingyourowndomain,youaddthefollowing metatag(simpleHTMLcode)tothesectionforall pagesonyourwebsite.Itlookslikethis:<metaname=”flattr:id” content=”12dnke”>.(Ifyoucan’tdothisyoucanhiresomebody to do it very cheaply using Fiverr or another service.)

Oncethecodeisinplaceandyoulinkyoursocialmediachan- nels,thetrackercantellwhenaFlattrsubscribervisitsyour siteorsocialmediachannelsandyougetpaidaccordingto levelofengagement,suchastimespentonthepageandother activities.Theamountwill bevariable,asit’stakenfrom a monthly pool of Flattr subscribers.

Trackable social media accounts are currently YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter, Flickr, GitHub, Medium, Twitch, Word- Press.com, SoundCloud, and 500px.

Flattr takes 7.5% of received revenues and their payment providertakes9%.Ifyouearnabove$10.00/motheirfeeis $3.00.

Soifyouraudienceisweb-savvyenoughto,there’sreallynoth- ing to lose by trying Flattr.

78 |Publishing by Subscription

Gumroad

gumroad.com

FindoutmoreaboutGumroadinthechapteronDirectSales Tools.

Gumroad(founded2011)haslongbeenoneofmymosthighly recommendedtoolsandtheyofferasubscriptionprogramas wellasasaleswidgetyoucanplaceonyoursite.Theychargea $10/mohostingfeeplusaper-transactionchargeof3.5%plus 30¢.SeeGumroad’sfullreviewinDirectSalesToolsforacom- pletedescriptionofalltheotherthingsGumroadcandofor you,suchaspreordersandphysicalsalesofbooks,mugs,t- shirts, or whatever.

Leanpub

leapub.com

Leanpubisaniterativeorserialpublicationtool,notstrictlya subscriptiontool,buthassimilarities.SeemoreaboutLeanpub in thein the chapter onDirect Sales Tools.

Patreon

patreon.com

Patreon(foundedMay2013)wasthefirstrobustsubscription platform forartists. You canpost blogs, audio, video,live streams on the platform and offer off-platformperks like

Publishing by Subscription| 79

ebooksandprintbooks.It’sanexcellentwaytoraisemoney andkeepintouchwithyourfans.IusedittofundmyBaja Adventure Guide.

Patreontakesaflatfeeof5%ofsuccessfully-processedpay- ments, which gives you 95% of earnings from the site.

PayPal

paypal.com

SeemoreaboutPayPalinthechapteronE-CommerceSolu- tions.

InadditiontousingPayPalasyoure-commercesystemfor singlepaymentsanddonations,youcanuseittocollecta subscriptionfee.It’sveryeasytocreateaPayPalsubscription button,customizethebuttontextandappearance,andplace it on your website.

You’llneedtohostyourdigitalproductselsewhere,butPayPal cantakethe work outofhand-creatingaccountsforyour subscribersbyautomaticallygeneratingusernamesandpass- wordsformember-onlycontentonyourwebsite.Thisrequires writingoreditingaPerlscriptandplacingitonyourwebsite server.Ifyoudon’tknowhowtodothis,youcaneasilyhirea webexperttodoitforyouonasitelikeUpWorkorFiverr.(See Business & Productivity Tools.)

Youcanevenofferafreeordiscountedtrialperiod,haveit trackinventorysoyoudon’toversellbooksorotherproducts, and add a drop-down menu with prices and options.

80 |Publishing by Subscription

Steady

steadyhq.com

Like Patreon andDrip, Berlin-based Steady(founded2016) providesyouwithaprojectpageontheirplatformwhereyou cansetpricesanddecidewhattoofferyoursubscribers.You promoteyourpagetoyourcommunityandtheytakecareof thesubscriptionprocess.Steadykeepsa10%commissionand there are no fees for payment processing.

Substack

substack.com

Substack’smotois“paidnewslettersmadesimple.”Useitto startanemailnewsletterthatmakesmoneyfromsubscrip- tions.Justsignup,connectyourbank account,andgetto work.

Youcanuseittopublishyourbookseriallyforfreeandjust collect emails for your newsletter.

Publishing by Subscription| 81

PARTIII

MARKETING YOUR

BOOK

Theinformationinthisbookgetsupdatedalot.Youcansub- scribe to get free electronic updates here.

http://www.selfpubbootcamp.com/readers

Doyouhavesuggestionsorrecommendationsforproducts, tools,andservicesyoutrust? Pleaseletme know!Sendan email [e-mail].

Marketing Your Book| 83

11. Market Research and

Competitive Analysis

Manyauthorsskipdoingcompetitiveresearchfortheirbut that’samistake.Doingyourresearchhelpsyoufigureoutwhat categoriesyoucanbecompetitivein,andwhetheryourbook cover,title,andkeywordsarerightforyouraudience.Hereare the tools that can help.

Amazon Advanced Search

bit.ly/amazonadvancedsearch

AmazonAdvancedSearchiswhereyoudoyourcompetitive research. Find books like yours that have been published recently,figureoutwhatyourcoverneedstolooklike,narrow downthebestcategoriesforyourbook,findkeywordsthat work,andseehowbestsellingbookdescriptionsandauthor bios are structured,

Book Review Targeter

BookReviewTargetercanhelpyoudoresearchandgetbook reviews. See its full description in theBook Reviewssection.

Market Research and Competitive
Analysis| 85

Google Adwords Keyword Planner

adwords.google.com/home/tools/keyword-planner

GoogleAdwords’keywordplannerisareallygoodresearch tooltofigureoutwhatkeywordsyoushouldusewhenupload- ingyourbookfordistribution.You’llneedaGoogleaccountto use it.

Startbysearchingwordsorphrasesrelatedtoyourbook.You’ll seehowoftenkeywordsaresearchedandhowtheirsearch volumechangesovertime.You’llprobablywanttochooselow- to-mediumcompetition keywords.Narrow is better.Your book may get lost in a high-competition search term.

Thisisn’taneasytooltouseandthat’sbecauseit’ssopowerful. Sotakesometimetouseitright.Here’sahow-toontheirsite.

Google Cloud Vision

cloud.google.com/vision

Getinsightsaboutyourimagespre-trainedAPImodelsoreas- ilytraincustomvisionmodels.Itquicklyclassifiesimagesinto thousandsofcategories(suchas,“sailboat”),detectsindividual objectsandfaceswithinimages,andreadsprintedwordscon- tainedwithinimages.Youcanbuildmetadataonyourimage catalog,moderateoffensivecontent,orenablenewmarketing scenarios through image sentiment analysis.

K-lytics

k-lytics.co

86 |Market Research and Competitive Analysis

K-lyticsis acategory and keywordanalysis tool with two monthlytiersof$47/moor$97/mo,or$497for 1 year,withthe twohighertiersgivingyouaccesstoseminarsandVIPsup- port.(Monthlyaccesspreferableifyouaredoingallyouranaly- sis in one shot.)

KDP Rocket

bit.ly/spbc-kdprocket

KDPRocketisa$97desktopapplicationforMacandWindows PCsthathelpsyoufindKindlekeywordsthatreaderstypeinto theAmazonsearchenginetofindthebooksthey’relookingfor. It’savaluabletoolforcompetitiveanalysisshowingyoulots ofinformation:howmanytimescustomerstypeinakeyword, therankingofotherbookswiththatkeyword,andhowmany booksarecompetingforthekeyword.You’llbeabletofind yourpotentialcompetitorsalongwiththereviews,bookcover, andearnings.ForMacandWindowscomputers.$97desktop application.

Kindle Spy

bit.ly/af-kdspy

KindleSpyisa$47browserextensionthathelpsyoufigure outwhatAmazonKindlecategoriesyoushouldchooseforyour book.Seewhatbookslikeyoursareusingandwhatcategories aretoopopular(saturatedwithsomanybooksthatyourswill getlost)andwhichyoucanactuallycompetein.BecauseBISAC codesaresimilartoAmazoncategoriesitcanhelpyouchoose these wisely, too.

Market Research and Competitive Analysis| 87

Pickfu for Surveys

pickfu.com

Pickfuhelpsyougetunbiased(notfromyourfriendsandfam- ily)feedbackbeforeyoupublishonyour bookcover,titles, graphics,marketingcopies,evenyourbookidea,bycreatinga poll.It’seasytosetup,theybringtheresponders,andyoucan sliceanddiceresponsesbyage,gender,ethnicity,income,and education. Costs about $20/poll or discounted for bulk.

Other survey tools include:

• Facebook polls
• Google Formsto your email list
• Mturk(Amazon’s artificial intelligence survey tool)

Yasiv

yasiv.com

Yasiv.comisafreetoolcreatedbyAmazonthatprovidesvisual mappingofpurchasesmadebyAmazoncustomers.Startby searchingforabooklikeyourstoseeamapofotherbooks thatreadershavebought.Thistoolreallyhelpsyouunderstand howpeoplearesearchingonAmazonforbooksinyourcate- gory.

Learn how to market your book

TheSelf-Publishing BootCampcourses willhelp youwith everyaspectofself-publishing.Marketingstartsatthevery

88 |Market Research and Competitive Analysis

beginningintheSelf-PublishingFreedomcourse,withbuilding yourplatformandfindingyourreaders.Thenwhenyourbook isdone,yourfanswillhelpyoumarket,asyou’lllearninthe Marketing and PR course at http://www.selfpubbootcamp- courses.com.

Market Research and Competitive Analysis| 89

12. Critique Partners and

Beta Readers

Thesuccessofyourbookdependsonthepeoplewhoreadit beforeit’spublished.Startwithcritiquepartners,early(beta) readers,andbetapublishing.Doneright,you’llgetabunch ofpeoplegivingyourbookfive-starreviewsonlaunchday. Ifyou’recrowdfundingit’sespeciallyessential.Earlyreaders willalsohelpyouimproveyourstoryandpolishyourprose. Findoutmoreabouthowyoucanusebetapublishingtomoti- vateyoutofinishwritingandevenmakemoneyonyourbook beforeit’sdone inthe Self-PublishingBootCampGuidefor Authors, 4th Edition and in the Self-Publishing Freedom Course.

BetaBooks

betabooks.co

BetaBooksisanawesomebetareadingtool.It’sbrowser-based soyourearlyreadersgatherallinonespot.Nomorejuggling emails and word docs!

Yourreaderswilllovehoweasyandprofessionalitfeelstoread andcommentfromanydeviceandyouwilllovethewayitcen- tralizes all the feedback.

Thefoundersdevelopedtheplatformtosolvetheirownprob- lemcollectingreaderfeedback,anditshows.IusedBetaBooks to share this book with my beta readers.

Nomoreconvertingbetweenformats,ordealingwithyou- know-whowhocannevermanagetoopenyourfiles.Invite your readers by email and you’re done.

90 |Critique Partners and Beta Readers

Receivecommentsandtrackyourreaders’commentschapter bychapterandversionbyversion.Itsavessomuchtime,you’ll neverwonderwho’sreadwhatagain.Filteryourcomments byreader,chapter,orcharacter.Markitasdonewhenyou’ve made the changes you want to make.

Thisisalsoagreattoolforwritinggroupstoshareandcom- ment on stories and books.

There are three ways to getreaders to BetaBooks:

1. Bring your own beta readers to the platform.
2. Apply to share your book with The Beta Reader Pool.
3. Join The Beta Exchange and exchange manuscripts with other authors for critique.

Startwiththeirfreemembershipforonebookandamaxof threereaders.Thenexttieris$149.99forunlimitedbooksand amaxof 20 readers.Thepremiumtieris$349.99/annually withunlimitedbooksandreaders,andanembeddablesignup widgettoplaceonyourwebsite,TheyareaddingMailChimp import and other features all the time.

I’monthepremiumplanandconsideritanawesomevalue andinvestmentinmyauthor-publisherbusiness.Afterall,beta readersarebookreviewers,too,andyouwillneedthose(esti- mated) 50 AmazonreviewsonlaunchdaytocausetheAmazon recommendationenginetokickinandalsotobeabletoqualify forBookBubpromotions.

Listentomyconversationwithco-founderPaulKilpatrickon the Author Friendly Podcast,episode 3.

Critique Partners and Beta Readers| 91

BetaReader.io

betareader.io

BetaReader.ioisacross-devicereaderandfeedbackmanage- mentplatformforauthorstosharetheirworkwiththeirbeta readers.LikeBetaBooks,it’saweb-basede-readerthatcen- tralizesfeedback. It’s in private beta now so you needto request an invite.

Booksie

booksie.com

Booksieisafreesocialpublishingsitethatprovidesaplace wherewritersandreaderscanconnectfromacrosstheglobe. Overthepastsevenyears,tensofthousandsofwritershave postedhundredsofthousandsofshortstories,novel,poems, articlesandmore.Booksieisforwriters13+(noadultcontent). Booksieorganizesyourportfolioandgivesyoutools(including amicro-blogger)toconnectwithyouraudience.Youcanfea-

92 |Critique Partners and Beta Readers

turecertainworkinyourportfolio,embedimagesandvideo, tellyourwritersaboutthelatestnews(micro-blogging),and keep tabs of your fans.”

Booksiesilk

booksiesilk.com

ABooksiespin-off,Booksiesilk,isforeroticaandadultcontent. “BooksieSilkisanadultplacetoexplorethosefantasies,share them,andreadwhatthoughtsandguiltypleasuresothersare thinkingup.Whetheryourfantasyisimaginedorreallyhap- pened,youhavefoundtheplacetoletothersenjoytheplea- sures of your mind.”

Bublish

bublish.com

Bublishoffersstrongbetaandsocialmediamarketingfeatures likeBookBubbleswithexcerptsofyourbookpresentedpro- fessionallywithyourauthorphoto,bio,andbookcover.Embed them in your website or share on social media.

YoucancreateyourEPUBelsewhereorusetheircloud-based tool.Onceyourbookisonsale,yourbubblecanlinktoonline storeswithaBUYbutton.Realtimemetricsshowyouwhich bubbles drive traffic to your website and social channels.

Bublishalsooffersanauthormarketplacewhereyoucanfind professionalstohelpyouwitheveryaspectofpublishing,sim- ilartoReedsyandPubLaunch.Theirebookdistributionservice is in beta.

Freemium with $9.99/mo or $99/yr plans.

Critique Partners and Beta Readers| 93

CP Matchmaking

cpmatchmaking.wordpress.com

Get matched with a critique partner in your genre.

Facebook Notes

facebook.com/help/115983655152193

FacebookNotes is a great littlepublishingtool. You might committopublishingyourbooksothatyourfans,evenifit’s justyourfamily andfriendsonFacebook,canholdyouto adeadline.

Figment

figment.com

Figmentisanonlinecommunityandself-publishingplatform foryoungwriters.CreatedbyJacobLewisandDanaGoodyear, whobothworkedatTheNewYorker,Figmentcurrentlyhas over300,000registeredusersandover370,000piecesofwrit- ing.Otherfeaturesincludefrequentwritingcontests,ablog, forums,and TheFigmentReview .FigmentisownedbyRandom HouseChildren’sGroup.Makesureyoureadtheirtermsof servicebefore you sign up.

94 |Critique Partners and Beta Readers

Gumroad

gumroad.com

Myfavoritee-commercetool.Useittopre-selldirectlyand betapublishtoyourlistorasaplacetostoreyourfilesfor access by readers and customers. Find details inDirect Sales.

Leanpub

leanpub.com

Ireallylikethisiterativepublishingplatform.Useittopublish seriallyortodevelopyourmanuscriptwiththehelpofearly readerswhilesellingyourbookwithapay-as-you-wantpric- ingsystem.Italsoformatsyourbookintoprintandebookfor- matsyouneedtopublish.Finddetailsandaninterviewwith the co-founder inDirect Sales.

Scribd

scribd.com

YoucanuploadyourstoriesandbookstoScribdpublicallyor privatelyandsharethemwithyourearlyreaders.Youcansell there, too. SeeDirect Sales Toolsfor details.

Critique Partners and Beta Readers| 95

Wattpad

wattpad.com

Wattpadisworthmorethanaglance.It’stheworld’slargest community forreaders and writers. They have 60 million monthlyusersacrosstheworldwhoreadthe400+million uploadsby2.4millionwritersin 244 differentcountriesand 55 different languages.

Thesite’s raisond’etre isforsharingandcommentingonsto- ries.Genrewritersandauthorswithayoungadultaudience getthemosttraction,buttheywanttoattractolder,more maturereaders,too.IhavestoriesonWattpadbuttheydon’t getmuchtractionandIlikethewaythey’represented.Ikeep hopingthattheplatformbecomesmoreattractivetomature authors and readers.

Here’showitworks.PostyourstoryonWattpad,enterthe metadata(keywords)and categories,and startbeingsocial. Thisisthekey—beingsocial.Findotherauthorslikeyouand commentontheirstoryand,hopefully,they’llcommenton yours.

Yourstory canbeupvotedand acomments featuresallow readerstomakecommentsonparagraphs.Readerscanadd yourstoriestotheirreadinglistsandmarkitasafavorite. Wattpadcuratesalistofthebeststories,calledtheWatties, which can also help float your stories to the top.

Wattpadblocksthe copy/paste function,so youcan post unpublishedworksonthe sitewithout worryingtoomuch about copyright infringement.

WattpadPremiumforreadersallowsreaderstogetad-free storiespushedtotheirmobiledevices.Thecosttosubscribers is$5.99or$59.99peryearandthereisnocosttoauthors. Theyhaveastatedcommitmentthatreadingandwritingon Wattpad will always be free.

96 |Critique Partners and Beta Readers

WEbook

webook.com

Webookisgearedtowardsdiscoveringnewwritersandhelp- ingthemontheirpathtopublication.Itbringstogetherwrit- ers,readers,and literaryagents, WEbookwas launchedin 2008, with corporate offices based in New York City.

Inadditiontoprovidingavenueforwriterstoreachanaudi- ence,WEbookhelpswritersfindagentsthroughtheirAgentIn- Boxservice.Thisservicepre-screensqueryletters,guaran- teeingthatquerieswillmeetindustrystandards,andallows writerstochooseagentsfromthelistofthoseinterestedin specificgenres.Writerscanalsoeasilytailormanuscriptsam- ples to make sure every agent gets what they’re looking for—AgentInboxwillautomaticallymatcheachagentwiththe right sample version.

Writing.com

writing.com

Oneofthelargestonlinewritingcommunities,thesiteoffers writingportfolios,email,anewsfeed,groups,contests,survey forms,madlibs,andsubmissiontracking,aswellastutorials. Writing.com is geared to amateur writers.

Critique Partners and Beta Readers| 97

13. Book Review Services

and Software

Getbookreviewssoyourbookhasmomentumrightoutofthe gate. There are various ways to get reviews.

1. Trade reviews are reviews by professionals that publish- ing trade that the booksellers and librarians read. Trade reviewers offer free and paid review services and adver- tising. (Listed in the next chapter.)
2. Review services that are not tradereview services.
3. ARC (Advance Reading Copy) delivery services help you deliver your ebook and print book to your readers in for- mats that match their devices.
4. Book matching sites that match your book with reviewers on their list who read and review your genre.
5. Apps and tech tools that help you find reviewers.

Thisisalistofallnon-tradereviewservices.Tradereviewser- vices can be found in the next chapter.

Amazon Top Reviewers

amazon.com/review/top-reviewers

YoucanfindthetopreviewersattheURLabove,butfiguring out which ones read your genre and finding their email addressesisarduous.WhichiswhyproductslikeBookReview Targeter exist. (See below.)

98 |Book Review Services and Software

Booksprout

booksprout.co

BookSproutisanappthatdeliversyourARCtoyourreaders’ Apple,Android,andKindleFiredevices.CreateanARCand sharealinkwithyourreaders.BookSproutsendsthebookto yourreadersandkeepstrackofwholeavesreviewsandwho doesn’tsoyoucancleanyourlist.Theappsendsanalertto yourreaderstwodaysbeforetheARCreviewsaredue.What’s coolisthatitallowsyoutoimportbooksyou’vealreadypub- lished on Amazon.

Book Blogger List

bookbloggerlist.com

Someavid readershave becomebookbloggers, takingthe challenge tofind and recommend great books.Find them atTheBookBloggerList,aplaceto“helpbookbloggersfind like-mindedbloggersandhelpauthorsfindbookbloggersthat might be interested in their book.”

Book Review Targeter

bit.ly/getbookreviewsnow

BookReviewTargeterisafantastic,time-savingtooltoauto- matetheprocessoffindingAmazonbookreviewerswhohave listedtheircontactinformation.ForbothMacandWindows at$247butlookstobeon“permanent”salefor$197.Thistool findsallAmazonreviewerswhohaveprovidedcontactinfor-

Book Review Services and Software| 99

mation.Justtypeinyourkeywordsandsearchresultsforthe relevantbooks willappear.Thenthetoolfilters outallthe reviewersthatdonothavecontactinformation.Exportthe informationintoaCSVfile:reviewernames,emailaddresses, profileURL,theURLoftheirreview,nameofthebookthey reviewed,bookauthor,andASIN.Thecreatorofthisprogram, DebbieDrum,hasalsoprovidedacontactemailtemplatewith wordingthatworkstoattractreviewers,andconnecteditto aGooglemailmergeadd-oncalledYAMM.Thisletsyouauto- maticallypopulatetheemailandsend 50 emailsperdayto thesereviewers(becauseAmazondoesn’tletyousendmore than that.) Training videos come with the tool.

Chanticleer Book Reviews

chantireviews.com/book-reviews

Chanticleeris abook andaudiobookreviewcompanythat reaches librarians, publishers, and booksellers, a Top 1% GoodreadsReviewerandisTopRankedRevieweronAmazon. Theyalsosellmanuscriptreviews.Usethereviewhoweveryou like.Theywillpostitontheirwebsiteandotherreviewsites andsenditoutviatheirnewsletterandviasocialmedia.From thesite: Eachworkisgivenanobjective,editorialbookreviewof approximately350- 700 words,includingaLeaderQuoteatthe topofthereview,whichcanbeusedasastand-alonemarketing quote.Thereviewissummedupbyaclosingparagraph,which givesauthor’scredentials(ifappropriate),theratingandopin- ionoftheworkbytheprofessionalreviewer,andifitispartofa seriesornot...Ifthereviewisnotpositive,theauthor/publisher maychoosenottoletthereviewbepostedorpublished.The reviewisthepropertyoftheauthor/publisherwhopurchasedit, and may be used, or not, in whatever manner they choose. $425

100 |Book Review Services and Software

Goodreads Giveaways

goodreads.com/genres/goodreads-giveaway

GoodreadshaschangedthewayGiveawayswork.Ifyoupub- lishthroughKDPit’sworththeinvestmentbutphysicalbook giveawaysarestillriskyastherearealotofeBayresellerswho lurkonthesitewaitingtogetthatfreecopyandresellit.So useitifyou’reonAmazonKDP.$119forstandardand$599for premium.

Hidden Gems Books ARC Program

hiddengemsbooks.com/arc-program

TheHiddenGemsARCprogramsendsyournoveltotheirlist ofreviewerstomatchyourtype/genreofbookwithread- ersthataremostlikelytoenjoyitforaregistrationcostof $20.Furthercostsare$2.00perreaderbetween 50 and 149 readers.For 150 ormore,thepriceiscappedat$300 They claimareviewrateofover80%,cleaningtheirlistfrequently to remove readers who ask for books but do not leave reviews.

IndieReader

indiereader.com

IndieReaderoffersreviewsfor$225and RUSHreviews(4-6 weekturnaround)for$300.Ifyourtitleearns 4 to 5 stars,itwill beincludedinIndieReader’smonthly“BestBook”roundupin the Huffington Post (from Paul Kilpatrick and Amy Edleman).

Book Review Services and Software| 101

IndieView

theindieview.com/indie-reviewers

Register to see the list of book review bloggers on The IndieView.The list starts with “prolific indie reviewers.”

LibraryThing

librarything.com

LibraryThing is a GoodReads-like platform run by the US Library.Itmatchesbookswithreadersbasedonthebooksin thereadersLibraryThingcatalog.Theprogramforself-pub- lishersiscalledMemberGiveaways.Theprogramhelpsyou distributeadvanceorcurrentcopiesofbookstointerested readers.Youmayrequestthatyoureviewthebookbutreaders are not penalized for not reviewing it.

1. You are aLibraryThing Author
2. You have at least 50 books in your LibraryThing account
3. You have a paid LibraryThing account

TheyalsoofferaHobNobwithAuthorsgroupwhereyoucan chat with readers and attract new readers.

NetGalley

netgally.com

NetGalleyallowsyoutopitchyourbooktoprofessionalread- ers (media,reviewers,booksellers, librarians, bloggers, and

102 |Book Review Services and Software

educators)whocanreviewandrecommendyourtitle,from onelocationfor$399.(GetadealonNetGalleyifyou’reamem- berofIBPA.)Miral Sattar ofBibliocrunchpublished a useful interviewwithNetGalleyonhowself-publishedauthorscan use the service.

Redheaded Book Lover

http://www.redheadedbooklover.com

FreelancebookreviewerAimeeAnnwhooffersafullrefundif shecan’tawareyourbookfourorfivestars.Providesauthor spotlights. Also does editing and proofreading.

Writers’ Blog Finder

writersblogfinder.com

Checkoutthisfreesearchengineforfindingthetopblogsin your genre.

Learn how to get book reviews

TheSelf-Publishing BootCamp courseswill helpyou with everyaspectofself-publishing.Marketingstartsatthevery beginningintheSelf-PublishingFreedomcourse,withfinding yourreadersandturningthemintosuperfans.IntheMarket- ing&PRcourseyou’llfindouthowtogettradebookreviewers tonoticeyourbook,too.Finditatwww.selfpubbootcamp- courses.com.

Book Review Services and Software| 103

104 |Book Review Services and Software

14. Trade Reviews

Tradereviewservices,paidorfree,cangetyourbookinfront ofthebook“trade”likebooksellersandlibrarians.Theseser- vicesrequireyousendyourbookinadvanceofpublication though some have paid services for post-publication reviews.

Booklist

booklistonline.com/get-reviewed

BooklistandBooklistOnlinearetheAmericanLibraryAssoci- ation’s(ALA)bookreviewservice.Sendyourbookinadvance ofpublicationforfree.Theygetover60Ksubmissionsperyear andwillnotnotifypublishersiftheirbooksarenotselected forreview.BlueInkReviewisapartnerandtheysuggestthat self-publishersusethatrouteforachanceofbeingincludedin Booklist’s pages.

BlueInk Review

blueinkreview.com

ApartneroftheALA’sBooklistReviewservice,thiscompany onlyreviewsindieandself-publishedbooksandtheirreviews cost $395.

Trade Reviews| 105

Booklife PW Reviews

booklife.com/about-us/review-submission-guidelines.html

You can submit your book to unpaid book review sites likeBookLife’sPWReviews,butitmaybedeclinedforreview.If yougetintoBookLife,yourbookalsohasachanceofbeing reviewed by Publishers Weekly.

Bookreporter

bookreporter.com

Mostlyfiction,mustbeprofessionallyproduced,andavailable toreviewinprintformat.BesidesBookreporter.com,Submit morethanthreemonthinadvanceofpublication.TheBook ReportNetworkiscomprisedof 5 otheronlinebookreview and author feature sites:

• ReadingGroupGuides.com
• 20SomethingReads.com
• Teenreads.com(for teens ages 12-18)
• Kidsreads.com(for kids ages 6-12)
• GraphicNovelReporter.com

Foreword Reviews

publishers.forewordreviews.com/reviews

Thegoodnewsisthatthesereviewsarefree.Thebadnews isthatit’sreallyhardtogetthemtoacceptyourbookfor review.Still,youshouldtry.Especiallyifyouknowthatyour

106 |Trade Reviews

bookreallydoescompeteinthemarketplace.Sendyourper- fectbooktothematleasttwomonthsbeforepublication.It willbeevaluatedandeitheracceptedorrejectedforreview.To hedgeyourbets,I’dsubmititfourmonthsbeforepublication and, if rejected, consider a paid review service.

Foreword’s Clarion Reviews

publishers.forewordreviews.com/reviews

Foreword’s Clarion Reviews charges $499 for a 450-word review,whichyouwillreceivein 4 to 6 weeks. Clarion isalso associatedwith BlueInkReviews ,anindieandself-published book reviewer who charges $395.

The Horn Book

hbook.com

The Horn Book site reviews children’s and young adult books. The Horn Book Magazine , launched in 1924, is a bimonthlyjournalofopinion,reporting,andtimelyreviews ofthebesttitles.Itssisterpublication, TheHornBookGuide , isstrictlyreviews—aconcise,authoritative,andindexedpub- lication thatcritiquesandranks morethan 2,000booksin eachsemi-annualissue.TheHornBookGuideOnlineisafully searchable electronic database of more than 80,000 reviews.

Trade Reviews| 107

IndieReader

indiereader.com

IndieReaderoffersreviews for$225 andRUSHreviews (4-6 weekturnaround)for$300.Ifyourtitleearns 4 to 5 stars,itwill beincludedinIndieReader’smonthly“BestBook”roundupin the Huffington Post (from Paul Kilpatrick and Amy Edleman).

Kirkus Reviews

kirkusreviews.com

Kirkuscharges$425forareviewthatyoucanexpecttoreceive in 7 to 9 weeksor$575fortheirexpressservicethattakes 4 to 6 weeks.

Midwest Book Review

midwestbookreview.com

The MidwestBookReview publishes Bookwatch reviewsforthe tradeandthegeneralpublicandgivespriorityconsideration tosmallpresspublishers,self-publishedauthors,andacade- mic presses. Free for print and $50 for ebooks.

NetGalley

netgally.com

108 |Trade Reviews

NetGalleyallowsyoutopitchyourbooktoprofessionalread- ers (media,reviewers,booksellers, librarians, bloggers, and educators)whocanreviewandrecommendyourtitle,from onelocationfor$399.(GetadealonNetGalleyifyou’reamem- berofIBPA.)Miral Sattar ofBibliocrunchpublished a useful interviewwithNetGalleyonhowself-publishedauthorscan use the service.

Publishers Weekly

publishersweekly.com/pw/diy

PWSelect($149)isanadvertisementthatcosts$149.Yourbook willappearinthemagazine,the PublishersWeekly and BookLife homepages, BookLife’s emailnewsletter,Twitter,andFace- bookchannels,aswellasalistinginitsspecialannouncements database, and to readers who subscribe to its magazines.

RT Book Reviews

rtbookreviews.com

RTBookReviewsspecializesinromance,erotica,sci-fi,fan- tasy,inspiration,mystery,andyoungadulttitles.Submitwell inadvanceofpublicationor,ifyou’vealreadypublishedyour book, use their paid service. Est $425.

San Francisco Book Review

sanfranciscobookreview.com

Trade Reviews| 109

Youdon’tneedtoliveinthecitytousetheSanFranciscoBook Review’sservice.SistercompaniesaretheManhattan,Seat- tle,andTulsaBookReviewandKids’BookBuzz.andtheyare allownedbyCityBookReview.Submit 90 daysinadvancefor theirfreeservice.Ifyourbookhasalreadybeenpublishedyou canpurchasetheirpaidservice($199)and,for$99,cross-post it to the other book review magazines.

Learn how to get book reviews

TheSelf-Publishing BootCampcourses willhelp youwith everyaspectofself-publishing.Marketingstartsatthevery beginningintheSelf-PublishingFreedomcourse,withfinding yourreadersandturningthemintosuperfans.IntheMarket- ing&PRcourseyou’llfindouthowtogettradebookreviewers tonoticeyourbook,too.Findthematwww.selfpubbootcamp- courses.com.

110 |Trade Reviews

15. Email Marketing

Gettingyourreadersand would-bereaderstosubscribeto your news via email is the numberone author marketing superpower.Bydoingthat,theygiveyoupermissiontocontact them directly.Don’t squander this opportunity. Givethem whattheywant–afreebiethattheyvalue–andinteractwith theminahumanway. Herearesomegoodoptions.Ijust moved from MailChimp to ConvertKit.

ConvertKit

convertkit.com

ConvertKitisalittlemoreexpensivebut,inmyopinion,worth it.ItwascreatedbyadesignerandauthorNathanBarryfor designers and authors. The focus is on text-based emails rather than highly designed emails.

WhatIespeciallylikeaboutitistheir autorespondervisual flow.It’smucheasiertocreateautomationsthatsendsub- scribersthepromisedreward(story,worksheet,etc.)andother emails,dependingonwheretheysignedup.Youcancreate landingpagesforyourbooks,workshops,events...anything, andsendastreamofcustomized,automatedemailsthatare relevanttothatsubscriber.Theprocessmakesalotofsense when you look at it this way.

Email Marketing| 111

MailChimp

convertkit.com>eepurl.com/piC95

MailChimpisanemailmarketingserviceproviderthathelps youcollectemailaddressesfrominterestedwebsitevisitors, andis possiblyyour mostimportantmarketing tool.Other vendorsthatdothesamesortofthingincludeConstantCon- tact,VerticalResponse,AWeber,and Sendy,butMailChimp isarguablythemostpopularandyoucancreatebeautifully- designed(orjustplainandsimple)emails.UseMailChimpfor freeifyourlistisunder 2000 emailaddressesbutyoudon’t

112 |Email Marketing

gettheautoresponderservice.Aswithallemailmarketingser- vices,theymakeiteasytoplaceasignupformonyourwebsite and blog. MailerLiteis a strong competitor.

MotionMail

convertkit.com>motionmailapp.com

MotionMailisanappthatcreatesacountdowntimerinyour email. Createasenseofurgencywitha time-limitedoffer. Competitorsincludeconvertkit.com>DeadlineFunnelwhichis apopularpremiumtool,butit’scomplicated.Anotherfreebie isconvertkit.com>TickCounter.

Substack

convertkit.com>substack.com

Substackisafreetoolthatmakesitsimpleforawritertostart anemailnewsletterthatmakesmoneyfromsubscriptions.You don’tneedtechskillstouseit.Theyprovidethepaymentand paywall(youconnectittoyourStripeaccount)aswellasa contentmanagementsystemforpublishingtoboththeweb andemail.Justsignup,fillinyourdetails,importyouremail list, and begin. Comes with a landing page.

Email Marketing| 113

16. Websites and Blogs

Yourwebsiteis“youcentral.”Somakesurethateverythingyou doiscenteredthere.SeemyblogpostGrowYourAuthorEmail ListwithThese 7 TechEssentialsandthe Self-PublishingBoot Camp Guide for Authors, 4th Edition.

AuthorCats

authorcats.com

AuthorCatsis agoodbutexpensiveWordPressforAuthors systembyNickStephensonwithalotofauthor-specificfea- tureslikedirectsalesanddelivery,upsells,liveevents,and joint-promos.Itcosts$59/moor$497/yrfortheBasicplan and$99/moor$997/yrfortheProplan.Thisproductisnot beginner-levelbutforauthorswhoaremakingthe kindof sales that easily recoup these costs.

Domain Names

See WordPress Web hosting and Domain Names , below.

GoCreate.me

gocreate.me

114 |Websites and Blogs

ThisWordPressthemeservicebyCaro Bèginoffersa free themewithachildthemejustforauthorsthatyoucancon- figureyourselforapremiumthemefor$199whichisamore modernandhigher-convertingParallax theme.Foranother $199GoCreate.mewillinstallthethemeonyourWordPress site.IfyouwantaWordPressauthorwebsitethisisagreatway to go.

Pub Site All-In-One Site for Authors

pub-site.com

IhighlyrecommendPubSiteforanyauthorwhoistimidabout creatingtheirownsite.PubSiteisawebsitesystemjustfor authors.ThecreatorsareJohnandFauziaBurkeatFSBAssoci- ates,anonlinemarketingfirmwhohavebeenpromotingbooks andauthorsonlineforovertwentyyears.Theyhavedeveloped over 200 authorwebsitesforsuchauthorsasSueGrafton, JonathanKellerman,GailGodwin,TomClancy,andCliveCus- sler.

Unlikealltheotherwebsitebuilders,PubSiteconcentrateson thethingsthatauthorsneedandreadersneedtoknowsuch asISBNs,booksellerlinks,tourdates,directsalesofyourbook, yourbio,photo,andvideoifyouhaveone.Youcanalsocreate newpagesformedia,interviews,presscoverage,andanything else you like.

TheinterfaceiseasyandWYSIWYGandimpossibletobreak. Justfillintheblanks,customizeyourcolorsandlayout,and your website is done!

FindmyinterviewwithJohnBurkeexplainingmoreaboutPub Site on the Author Friendly Podcastepisode 19.

Websites and Blogs| 115

Shalamar Media

shalamarmedia.com

SeeDesign and Formatting Tools and Services.

SiteGround Web Hosting

siteground.com

Like GoDaddy, SiteGround offers reliable managed hosted WordPresswebsitesforaboutthesameprice.It’sfasttoset upandcreateasitewithadrag-and-dropwebsitebuilder.For $3.59/moit’llhandleupto10,000uniquevisitorspermonth beforeyouhavetoupgrade.Theyhave24/ 7 customersupport with both phone and chat options.

116 |Websites and Blogs

Sumo Plugin

sumo.com

Sumohelpsyougrowyouremaillistwithemailsignupribbons, popup boxes, and more. I use it and love it. Alternatives includeHelloBar,SleekNote,and IceGram,These and other freeorinexpensivetoolscanputabarorribbonatthetop ofyourwebsitethatinvitessitevisitorstosignupforyour emaillist.Theyconnectwithyouremailmarketingservice(like MailChimp)sosubscribersareautomaticallyaddedtoyourlist. sothey’reautomaticallysubscribed.BecauseIamamember ofThriveThemes,however,Iusetheirplugintodothesame thing.

Thrive Themes & Site Builder

thrivethemes.com

AftertryingacoupleofpluginsfromThriveThemesIpur- chasedtheannualmembershiptogetalltheirthemesandplu- gins.Thiscompanyisawesome.Itmakesbuildingpagessuper easywithclick-and-dropheadings,textareas,images,offers premiumthemes andpluginstomakeitveryeasytoclick anddropdesignelementsintoyourwebpages.Thesethemes includeeasy-to-createleadpages,countdowntimers,credit cardwidgets,calltoaction(CTA)forms,andallkindsoffea- turesthataren’tavailablewithotherthemesandhandledwith individualplugins.Currently,$19/mopaidannually($228)and worth every cent.

Websites and Blogs| 117

WordPress Web Hosting & Themes

bit.ly/wordpress-godaddy

Ifyou’regoingtouseWordPressyou’regoingtoneedaWord- Presshostingplan. Myblogsand websitesarehostedwith GoDaddy,whichiswhereIalsobuymydomainnames.Click herefora$1/modealonaGoDaddyManagedHostedWord- PressWebsitethatincludesone domainnamethroughmy affiliationwiththem.Thisisprobablythebestdealyoucan get.TherearemanyotherwebhostingcompaniesbutI’vebeen withGoDaddyforyearsandaskedtobeanaffiliate.Through myaffiliatelink,itcostsyouonly$1/moforWordPresshosting andafreedomainname.Thisincludesthesecurityfeatures, backups,and24/ 7 supportyouneed.Lockinthe$1/moby purchasingmanyyearsatthesametime.Otherwise,itrenews at $7.99/mo.

Yoast SEO Plugin

yoast.com

YoastisanSEOpluginforWordPressthathelpsyouoptimize yourwebsiteforbettersearchresults.Itincludesreal-time contentanalysissothatyoucanseerightawayifyourblog postandpagetitlesareontarget,yourimagetagsandtitles, metadescriptions,andmore.It’skindofmagichowithelps youchoosekeywordsandpromptsyoutolinktoothercontent inyoursite,justtomentiontwovaluablefeatures.There’sa freeandpremiumversion.Thisisagreatmarketingtool(pas- sivemarketing/metadata)andIrecommendYoastPremiumat $89.00.

118 |Websites and Blogs

17. Marketing Ads and

Apps

Doingmarketingforyourbookcanbeoverwhelming.These tools help simplify the process.

Amazon Advertising

advertising.amazon.com/lp/books

Amazon offers advertisingforthe books category through AmazonMarketingServices(AMS).Youcanfeatureyourtitles nexttosimilar booksand authors,featurenew releasesto drivesalesassoonastheypublish,andtargetreadersbykey- word,product,orinterest,includingrelatedgenres,titles,and authors.

LogintoyourKDPaccountatkdp.amazon.com/dashboard.To getstarted,click‘PromoteandAdvertise’nexttotheKDPtitle youwanttopromote.FromhereyoucanenrollinKDPSelect andrunapricepromotion.(Thismakesyourbookexclusiveto Amazon for 90 days.)

AdcampaignsonAmazonworkmuchlikethoseonFacebook. Yousetthebudget,targeting,andtimingofyourcampaign, andyoupayonlywhencustomersclickyourads.Therearetwo campaign types to choose from:

SponsoredProductsAdsdeliverrelevantadsinsearchresults basedoncustomerkeywordsearches.Whenclicked,adssend shopperstoyourbook’sdetailpage.Adsappearbelowsearch results and below the fold on product detail pages.

Marketing Ads and Apps| 119

ProductDisplayAdsdeliverinterestorproduct-targetedads tocustomersondetailpagesandKindlee-readerswhereeli- gible.Whenclicked,theadredirectsshoppersdirectlytoyour book’sdetailpage.Adsappearonrelatedproductdetailpages and on Kindle e-reader screensaver and home screens.

PublishDrivehasAmazonAdvertisingbuiltinto itsplatform. See theDistribution Servicessection for more info.

Author Marketing Club

bit.ly/af-ame

TheAuthorMarketingClub assists authorswithmarketing help,providingtoolsandresourcesandonlinelearningand trainingtoauthorssotheycanhaveasuccessfulbookmarket- ingcampaignandlaunch.Anauthormembercansubmittheir booksforpromotional opportunities,aswellasaccess free onlinetrainingandresourcesrelatedtobookmarketing.Plus muchmore,registertohavealookaround,it’sfree!Areader memberwillgetnotifiedaboutnewanddiscountedbooksand can discover new authors.

Thepremiummembershipofferstoolsthathelpyoulocate high-qualitybookreviewerstoreviewyourbooks,createcom- pellingandbeautifulbookdescriptions,promoteyourbooksto newreaderswithexclusivepromotions,andinstantlydisplay yourbooksonyourwebsitewithzerowebdesignskillsneeded.

Premiummembersalsogetaccesstoalargevideolearning librarywithcourseslike“HowtouploadabooktoAmazon” to“Howtosellyourfirst 100 copies”to“Buildingyourauthor platform.”Therearemastermindgroups,pre-madebookcov- ers,casestudies,promotionblasts,andmore.Thisisagreat waytojumpstartyourbookmarketingeffortsandclimbyour way up the learning curve. $149/annual fee.

120 |Marketing Ads and Apps

BookBub

bookbub.com

BookBubisafreeserviceforreadersthathelpsthemdiscover bookstheeditorialstaffthinksthey’lllovethroughunbeatable deals,handpickedrecommendations,andupdatesfromtheir favorite authors.

AuthorsandpublishersfindBookBubincrediblyeffectivebut theyareincrediblypickyaboutthebooksthattheyfeature. Youcansubmityourbookstobefeatured(FeaturedDeals)for afeefromunder$100toabove$500dependingongenreand the deal ($0-$3+) you’re offering.See their chart.

Manyself-publishedauthorsarerejectedforreasonsranging frompoorlyproducedbookswithinappropriatecoversand unprofessionalinteriorlayouttonotenoughreviews.Somake sure yourbook is producedtoprofessionalstandards(see IBPA’s checklist) andget those reviews!

YourbookwillneedtobeavailableonretailerslikeAmazon’s Kindlestore,Barnes&Noble’sNookstore,Apple’siBooks,and others.Readerschoosethetypesthey’dliketogetnotified about—withcategoriesrangingfrommysteriestoromance tocookbooks—andBookBubsendsthemgreatdealsinthose genres so you are sure to hit your target market.

Bookbuzzr

bookbuzzr.com

BookBuzzeroffersasuiteofbookmarketingtoolsincluding aflip-bookstylebookpreviewer,aLookInsideappforyour Facebookpagesalesrankalerttool,aTweetscheduler,and

Marketing Ads and Apps| 121

othermarketingfeatures.Free14-daytrialthen$10/mofor onebook,$30foruptofivebooks,and$60formorethanfive books.

Book Funnel

bookfunnel.com

BookFunneldeliversyourbookstoyourreaderswithoutthe hassleofhavingtosignupforaservice.Readerschoosetheir deviceandthentheycandownloadthefileoremailthebook tothemselves.ArguablytheeasiestwaytodeliverARCsand reviewcopiesof yourbookaswellasbooksformarketing giveaways.Startsat$20annually.$100/yeargetsyouemail addressesofreviewersand$250annuallygetsyouintegration withyouremaillist.Theyalsoofferplansforpublishingcom- panies.

Book Connect

bookconnect.review

DebbieDrum’sARCdeliverysolutioncompetingwithBook- Funnel.Pricingat$10,$27,and$47/annually.Featuresinthe advanced plan ($47) include:

AutomaticFollowUpWithReviewers–Afteryoudistribute yourbook,theywillgentlyremindthepersontoleaveareview andprovidealinktowheretoleavethereview.Thiscutsdown on your follow up time.

DescriptionPages–Youcanhavedifferentbookdescription pagesasyoumightwanttoprovidedifferentbookdescriptions for different audiences.

122 |Marketing Ads and Apps

CollectEmailAddresses–Dependingonwhatplanyouhave, you can download reviewer email addresses.

Bublish

bublish.com

Bublishdescribesitselfasa“publishingtechnologycompany thatofferscloud-basedtools,metrics,andresourcestoequip today’s business-savvy authors for success. An innovative, award-winningplatform,Bublishempowers authorpreneurs by providingacompletesocialmarketinganddigitalpublishing solution.”

Here’showitworks.Join(forfree).Createabioandupload yourphoto.UploadyourebookinEPUBformatandaddasyn- opsis,alinktoyourwebsite,andatleastonelinktoanonline retailer where readers can purchase the book.

NowyoucreateaBookBubble,orexcerptofyourbookalong withan“authorinsight”topersonalizewhatyoushared,to shareonsocialmedia,andtrackhowmanypeoplelookedatit.

Bublish is $9/mo or $99/year.

Independent Book Publishers Association

ibpa-online.org

IBPAmemberscansignupforthe BooksforReview catalog mailed quarterly to about 3000 reviewers, journalists,and bloggers across the United States.

Marketing Ads and Apps| 123

Otherbookstoreandlibrarymailings($200-$400est)willget your bookin front of booksellers, libraries, and university bookstores.See this article for details.

Read more about IBPA in theOrganizationschapter.

Facebook Ads

facebook.com/business/products/ads

LotsofauthorsuseFacebookAdswithvaryingdegreesofsuc- cess.Ithinkit’sagreatwaytodomarketresearchforyou bookaswell.You’veprobablyseenalotofexpensivemarketing trainingsaroundusingFacebookAdsandwonderediftheyare worthit.Probablynot,unlessyou’rereadytothrowyourself wholeheartedlyintoit.Butitisacheap,easy(anddareIsay, fun),waytoexperimentwithcreatingadsthathavetheability totargetaverynarrowaudience.OnethingIlikeaboutFace- bookadsisthe“Lookalike”audiences.Youreallyneedtoknow your marketplace to do these ads well.

Forums

reddit.com

Redditisahuge,activeandinteractiveforumwherepeople gathertodiscussmanytopics.Thereareforumsforfantasy, horror,sciencefiction,self-publishing,andallkindsofbusi- nesstopics.Pluginyourgenreorinterestandseewhowants toreadyourstoriesorconnectwithotherauthors.Lookfor forumsinyourareaofexpertiseorgenre.Therearesomany forums I encourage you to Google “forum .”

124 |Marketing Ads and Apps

Freado

freado.com

ReaderssignuptogetfreeKindleebooks.Youorganizeagive- awayofyourfreebooksthatarealreadyintheKindlestore. Youmustalreadyhaveatleast 10 four-starreviewsonAma- zon.Yougetalistingofyourbookintheirfreeebookspageand inFreado.com,theinclusionofyourbookintheirdailybest ebooksemailwhichgoesoutto10k+readers,atweetwithyour bookcoverintheirTwitteraccount,andapostintheirFace- bookpage.They’reaffiliatedwithBookBuzzr,amarketingtool. (See above.) Free.

Open Road

openroadintegratedmedia.com/ebook-promotions

PlaceanadintheirEarlyBirdBooksnewsletter($180)toreach readers.Yourbookwillbeadvertisednexttothosepublished bythebighouses,andtheyeagertoworkwithindieauthorsif you’ve published to professional standards.

Prolific Works (Instafreebie)

prolificworks.com

Connectwithnewreadersandfansbysettingupsneakpeeks, advancepreviews,specialgiveaways,and/orgroupgiveaways ofyourfreeebooktoreaders.Instafreebiesharesyourworkto morereaders,too.Usegroupgiveawaystopartnerwithother authors in your genre and expand your audience.

Marketing Ads and Apps| 125

Your readers can get your books on their e-reader app instantlywitheasy“sideloading”ofbooksforreadersthrough email or the Instafreebie app.

ProlificWorksincludesadoubleopt-inprocessforyourread- ers.

• Unlimited giveaways and distribution at no cost.
• 1 pen name and 1 author page with author bio, book descriptions, and giveaways.
• $20/mo to add MailChimp integration, customizable giveaways, and tracking.
• $50/mo to add personalized giveaway branding and up to 5 pen names and author pages.

Virtual Assistants

Findvirtualassistantsbysearchingfor“authorassistants,”or checkout TheSelf-Publisher’sUltimateResourceGuide or,bet- ter yet, get a recommendation from other authors.

126 |Marketing Ads and Apps

18. Copywriting

Don’tbeatyourselfupbecauseyoucan’tseemtowritecom- pelling,keyword-richcopytodescribeyourbook.Thisisadif- ferentskillsetentirelythancreativewriting.Hireitouttothese experts.

Best Page Forward

bestpageforward.net/blurbs

BestPageForwardisablurbservicebyBryanCohenandteam. Getaprofessionalbookdescription,aFacebookAdversionof thedescriptioncopy,andtextforyourbooklandingpage.Book descriptionsareakeymarketingeffortandthisisagooddeal. Costs$197($297foraone-weekturnaround,$397forthree- day turnaround).

ListentomyconversationwithBestPageForwardfounder Bryan Cohen on the Author Friendly Podcast, episode x.

Copywriting| 127

The Blurb Bitch

blurbbitch.com

TheBlurb Bitch isCarol Ann Eastman,a sassy author and copywriterwhowhipsblurbsintoshapeforanygenreofbook. Here’shercurrentpricingmenu.Turnaroundtimeisabouta month or you can pay for a 72-hour rush job.

• Rewrite $35. 00
• Rushed rewrite $45. 00
• From scratch $60.00
• Rushed from scratch $70.00
• Tagline $15. 00
• Promotional poetry $60.00
• Rushed Promotional Poem $70.00
• Boxed set $60.00
• Rushed box set $70.00

128 |Copywriting

PARTIV

SELLING YOUR BOOK

DIRECT

Theinformationinthisbookgetsupdatedalot.Youcansub- scribe to get free electronic updates here.

http://www.selfpubbootcamp.com/readers

Doyouhavesuggestionsorrecommendationsforproducts, tools,andservicesyoutrust? Pleaseletme know!Sendan email [e-mail].

Selling Your Book Direct| 129

19. Direct Sales Tools

Usethesedirectsalestoolstoconnectwithyourreadersand earnmoreincomefromyourbook.Youcanselldirectlyatthe sametimeyoudistributeyourbookwiththeaggregationand distributionordirect-to-retailerservices(unlesscontractually stated otherwise).

Blockchain solutions

Blockchainishotandpublishingisgettingintoit.It’searly, butifyou’reinterested,offeringsforpublishingincludethese direct sales with blockchain tools.

• Alexandria
• theAuthorshipproject
• Decent
• Gilamesh
• Po.et
• Publica

Blockchaincanbeusedtopreventpiracyissuesandcryp- tocurrencyisdefinitelybecomingmoreprevalent.Isuspect thatserviceswillstartusingblockchainandcryptoeventually butifyou’reonthecuttingedgeofthis kindofthingyou maywanttocheckitout.(SeeStreetlib’sBlockchainforBooks pagefor an interesting analysis.)

BundleRabbit

bundlerabbit.com/home/authors

Direct Sales Tools| 131

BundleRabbitletsyoubundleyour ownebooksforsaleor becomeacuratorbybundlingebooksbyavarietyofauthors. Youcanaddyourbookstothesitesothatothercuratorscan bundleyourbook(withyourpermission)withtheirbundles.All authorswhocontributetheirbooksarepaiddirectlytotheir accounts.

Allauthorsinabundlereceiveacombinedtotalof70%foreach bundlesold.Thus,ifthereare 10 booksinabundle,and 2 of themareyours,youreceive14%ofthenetsale.Asthecurator, youreceive5%ofeachbundlesold.Theauthorsinthebundle receive a combined total of 70%.

Gumroad

gumroad.com

Gumroadprovideswidgetstoembedinyoursitesothatyou canselldirectlytoyourcustomersonyoursiteandnotsend- ingthemtoablankPayPalpage.ItisbyfarthetoolIrecom- mendmostfordirectsales,subscriptions,andpre-ordersfor digital and physical products.

Simplyuploadandsellyourdigitalfiles–upto 4 GB–orcreate anorderformforsellingphysicalobjects.IntegratedFacebook andTwitterbuttonsencouragesharingwithcustomernet- works.Yougetcustomerdataand95%royaltyminusa25¢ transaction fee.

IlikeGumroadforitsabilitytoprovidebothdigitaldownloads andorderformsforphysicalproducts,asaneasyshopping cartsystemforyoursiteandfeaturesthathelpauthorsdrum upexcitementduringthebooklaunch.Gumroadcompetitors includeSelzandSellfy. If you use the free version the fee is just 8.5% +30 centsper transaction. If you get the premium version it’s $10(USD)/month plus 3.5% +30 centsper sale.

132 |Direct Sales Tools

Issuu

issuu.com

Issuuisadigitalpublishingplatformforpublishingmagazines, catalogs,andbookletselectronicallyandinprint.Withwebsite embedsandsocialmediasharing it’sagreatwaytodeliver relatedworksandmarketyourbooks.Theyofferfreeandpre- mium programs with a 14-day trial period.

Leanpub

leanpub.com

Leanpubisacombinationofabookwritingplatformandan onlinebookstore.WithLeanpub,youcanquicklypublishbeta books,booksinprogress,serials,andsubscriptions,updating yourreadersautomaticallywhenthebookisupdated.Youcan alsopayaco-authorautomaticallyandsetupadonationtoa cause.

AswithPressbooks,yourbooklivesinthecloud,soyoucan makeitavailabletotrustededitors,collaborators,andassis- tantswhocaneditandreplacefiles.Apublisherpageholds commonassetslikeaversopage,copyrightmessage,company logoandotherelementsthatcanbeappliedtomorethanone book.Takeadvantageofpay-what-you-wantpricingbysetting aminimumandsuggestedprice,suchas$4.99–$10.99,oreven higher.Leverageyour 1000 TrueFans byaskingfordonations up to $500.

IthinkLeanpubisaveryunderusedtoolinthegeneralindie publishing marketplace.Especiallyasyoucanmakemoney withyourwritingbeforeyourbookisdone,plusleverageyour

Direct Sales Tools| 133

readerstobetatestyourbookandgiveyoufeedbackfrom developmental editing todetailed proofreading toinstruc- tional corrections or just encouragement.

Youcanwriteandpublishabookinanumberofdifferentways on Leanpub:

• In your web browser with a visual editor (perfect for nov- els!).
• By uploading a Word document (.docx) that you have written according to Leanpub’s formatting guidelines.
• By uploading a PDF, EPUB, or MOBI.
• In your web browser, in plain text, using Leanpub-fla- vored Markdown or Markup as the formatting markup syntax.
• On your computer, in plain text or Word, syncing with Dropbox.
• On your computer, in plain text or Word, syncing with Git and GitHub or Bitbucket.

OneofthemostpowerfulthingsaboutLeanpubforauthors isthe“variablepricing”model.Themostprofitablebookon Leanpubhasafreeminimumprice.Peopleoftenchoosetopay morethantheminimumprice,includingwheretheminimum price is free.

Other things you can do with Leanpub include bundles, coupons, and packages.

• You can create bundles of your own books, and bundle your books with books by other authors.
• You can create coupons, which is a really useful way to promote your book.
• Using our “packages” feature, you can sell your book along with other digital content you have created, like videos or presentations.
• If you create your book using Leanpub’s tools, then it is automatically available to customers to read it online and in their iOS app, as well as in PDF, EPUB, and MOBI.

134 |Direct Sales Tools

Theypayaroyaltyrateof90%minus50¢perbookpurchase. It costs $99 to create a Leanpub book.

Leanpubisapublishingplatformthatexportstoebookand printformats,butitcanalsobeusedasapaidbloggingplat- form or for crowdfunding.

Listentomyconversationwithco-founderLenEpponthe Author Friendly Podcast,episode 2.

Scribd

scribd.com

Scribdisadocument-sharingsiteandall-you-can-readbook subscriptionservice.Alotofthedistributioncompaniesdis- tribute yourbook toScribd. Butyoucansell directusing Scribd,orgiveawayyourstories,excerpts,ARCs,andebooks inPDFanddocumentformats.There’slotsofplatform-build- ingpotentialhereascommenting,socialmediaandsharing widgetsareeverywhere.It’sfreetojoinandwhenyouselltheir takeis20%plusa25¢transactionfee.Thoughthesocialpub- lishingfeaturesarenotasprominentastheyoncewereIstill thinkofScribdaskindofaWattpadforgrownups,withthe bonusofbeingabletosellyourworkanddistributeadvance reading copies and private beta docs.

Direct Sales Tools| 135

20. E-Commerce Solutions

Ifyouwanttosetupyourownwebstorewithoutusingone oftheservicesIreviewedintheDirectSaleschapteryoucan useoneoftheseservicestogetpaiddirectlytoyourown bankaccount.You’llneedtofindyourAPIandothertasksthat requirealittletechsavvyandyoucanprobablyfigureitout, butthisisthe kindoftaskthat’seasilyhiredinexpensively usingaservicelikeFiverr.Theseservicesallallowinstantdig- italdownloadsandorderformsforphysicalbooks.Lookfor pricing around 2.9% + 30 cents per sale.

Amazon Pay

pay.amazon.com/us/merchant

AmazonPayletsyourcustomersuseinformationstoredin their Amazon account to pay and arrange for delivery.

Google Wallet

google.com/wallet

SimilartoPayPalwithcreditcardprocessingandtheabilityto send out invoices.

136 |E-Commerce Solutions

Intuit

intuit.com

Ifyou’reasmallbusinessowner,youmayalreadyuseIntuit products.Besidesbeingabletoacceptpayments,bothonline andin-personwithGoPayment,Intuitcanalsohelpyoupay employees, calculate payroll taxes, and file payroll tax forms.

PayPal

paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/accept-payments-online

Themostcommonsolution,convenient,andtrusted.Adda checkout,donation,orsubscriptionbuttontoyoursiteand startacceptingpaymentsfromyourreadersfromtheirown PayPalaccountsoranymajorcreditcard.Youcanalsosend invoices.

Skrill

skrill.com

Freesetup, lowfees,andtheabilitytosendtextmessages straightfromyouraccount.Apopularandsimplealternativeto PayPal.

E-Commerce Solutions| 137

Stripe

stripe.com

LikePayPal,Stripeisane-commercesystemyoucanuseto collectpaymentsfromcustomerswhopurchasebooksfrom yourwebsitewithmajorcreditcards.Intocryptocurrency?I am! Stripe allows you to accept payment in BitCoin.

138 |E-Commerce Solutions

PARTV

DOING BUSINESS AS AN

AUTHOR

Theinformationinthisbookgetsupdatedalot.Youcansub- scribe to get free electronic updates here.

http://www.selfpubbootcamp.com/readers

Doyouhavesuggestionsorrecommendationsforproducts, tools,andservicesyoutrust? Pleaseletme know!Sendan email [e-mail].

Doing Business as an Author| 139

21. Online Marketplaces

Wheredoyougoifyoudon’thavearecommendationforbook designers,formatters,editors, andmarketers?Theseonline marketplaceshavesprunguptolistvettedprofessionalsto choose from.

Justasareminder,thisconsumer’sguideisacompanionref- erencetothe Self-PublishingBootCampGuideforAuthors,4th Edition, whichprovidesstep-by-stepinstructionsonhowto create,publish,distribute,andmarket,andsellyourbook.This bookisalistingofservices.Ifyouwanttoknowhowtouse them, get the boot camp guide.

Bublish

https://bublish.leadpages.co/author-services/

Bublishhasanauthormarketplacewhereyoucanfindpeople tohelpyouwitheveryaspectofpublishing,similartoReedsy and PubLaunch. See Beta Readers and Beta Publishingfor more on Bublish.

Bibliocrunch

bibliocrunch.com

Bibliocrunchisacommunityofauthors,curatedpublishing professionalsandreaders.Postaproject,receiveproposals andviewprofilesofratedandreviewedprofessionals.They haveaconciergeservicetoguideyouthroughtheself-pub- lishingprocessforjust$25/mo,whichIthinkitagreatprice!

Online Marketplaces| 141

Also fabulous is their new suite of promotional tools for authorstohelpyouhostcontestsandbookgiveaways.Start for free.

Fiverr

fiverr.com

Fiverrisusefulforfindingpeopletodosimplejobsorfixes. I’vefoundpeopletocorrectmywebsitePHP,toremoveback- groundsandtouch-upphotos,tocreatebookmarksinavery largeWordfile,helpmeproduceaudiofilesformypodcast, and other tedious jobs.

Unfortunately, I’ve foundmany problemswithmanuscripts formattedbypeopleonFiverr.I’mgoingtogeneralizehereand saythattheydonotrealizethatheadersandfootersdonot belongonthefirstpagesofchapters,orthatchaptersopenon oddpages,andtheydon’ttakeintoaccounthalf-titleandtitle pages and other standard front and back matter.

Inshort,Fiverrpeoplearelikelytodoexactlywhatyoutell themtodo,andnomore.I’veexperiencedexceptionstothis rule,ofcourse,butthat’sthegeneralimpressionI’vehadfrom using it for a few years now.

Fiverr alternatives include FiverUp,GigBucks, and Guru. A moresophisticatedFiverralternativeisUpWorkwhereyou’ll findmoreexperienced(andhigher-priced)professionalswho are vetted by the company.

PubLaunch

publaunch.com

142 |Online Marketplaces

PubLaunchisaCanadiancompanythatoffersanonlinemar- ketplacethat’sconnectedwithacentralizedbookproduction platformaswellasacrowdfundingplatform.PubLaunchwas foundedbyalongtimeeditorandtheyareespeciallycareful aboutthe editorstheyallowontheirplatform.Finddetails inthe Crowdfundingsection ofthis book. ThePubLaunch founder is interviewed onThe Author Friendly Podcast.

Reedsy

reedsy.com

Reedsyofferstwothings;afreeonlinemarketplacewhereyou canfindproslikeeditorsanddesignersandafree,simple onlineformattingtoolthatexportsebookandprintfilessoyou canuploadthemtothevariousretailers.Theydon’thavemany stylingoptionsrightnow,butit’sgoodenoughforebooks,and worth keeping an eye on this free tool.

Reedsytakesa10%commissiononeachsideofthecollab- orationsthattakeplaceontheplatform.Forexample,ifthe authoracceptsaquotefor$1,000fromaneditor,theauthor pays $1,100, and the editor will receive $900.

Inexchange,theyprovideasmartcollaborationinterfacewith messaging, file sharing, integration to Dropbox and GoogleDrive, automated payments, and project protection, which offers mediation and refunds in case of dispute.

StreetLib

streetlib.com

Online Marketplaces| 143

StreetLibisanebookandprintbookcreationanddistribution servicethatalsooffersamarketplacebutit’sprettynarrow atpresent,mostlyforservicesinItalian.Thecompanyhas expandedtotheUSsoexpecttheseservicestogrow.Seemore about StreetLib inAggregation and Distribution.

UpWork

upwork.com

Findaqualifiedfreelancertodoyourinteriorbookdesign,for- matting,orbookcoverdesigner,editor,proofreader,indexer, copywriter, ghostwriter, email marketing pro, illustrator, videographer,voicetalent,translator,administrativesupport, and so on.

TheUpWorkinterfaceforcestimetrackingandtakesrandom screenshotstocheckthattheworkerisworkingonyourjob. Ifoundaninteriorbookdesignerwhowasextremelyprofes- sionalanddidgreatwork.Iinterviewedhimbysubmittinga brief–Ionlysubmittedbriefstoqualifiedprosajobsuccess ratenearing100%.Hewasn’ttheleastexpensive(hourlyrate) but I think I got a deal because he did it fast. Quality counts!

Writers Boon

writersboon.com

Writer’sBookisanonprofitorganizationwithbookpromotion tools, discount marketplace, expert answers, selling to libraries.I’veheardgoodthingsaboutitbuthavenodirect experience. Do you? $89/year.

144 |Online Marketplaces

Learn how to distribute your book

TheSelf-Publishing BootCamp courseswill helpyou with everyaspect of self-publishing.Checkout thedistribution course in the bundle.

Online Marketplaces| 145

22. Book Sales Tracking

Software

Whenyouusetrackingyoucanmonitortheeffectivenessof your advertising, social media campaigns, and personal appearances.Youcanalsousetrackingtoseeifchangesin metadata (keywords, book descriptions, book covers) are working to get it in front of the right audience.

Amazon Kindle

Onlyshows 90 daysofbooksales.Free.Reachitthroughyour Amazon Author Centralpage.

Amazon Author Central

authorcentral.amazon.com

ShowsNielsenBookScan,salesrank,andauthorrankforeach ofyourbooks.Free.Reachthis datathroughyour Amazon Author Centralpage.

BookCore

bookcore.net

146 |Book Sales Tracking Software

BookCoreconnectstoyourAmazonKDP,AppleiBooks,Google PlayBooks,andSmashwords,andcollectsyourbook’ssales data,tracksreviewsandstars,rankings,andrevenue.It’sin beta,soit’snotperfect,butthisisprobablythebestandmost complete solution of all the tracking tools. Free for now.

Book Report for Kindle

getbookreport.com

BookReportisafreebrowserextensionor“bookmarklet”to trackyourearningsintheKindlestore.It’sfreeunlessyouearn morethan$1000fromyourKindlebooks,thenyou’llpay$10/ mo.

eBookTracker for Kindle

tracker.kindlenationdaily.com

Seetheimpactofmarketingeffortsandpricechangesonyour books’salesranksandpricing,knowrightawaywhensales starttoslowononeofyourtitlesandseehowyourbooks’rank and pricing data compare to those of your competitors. Free.

TrackerBox for Windows

storyboxsoftware.com/tdownload.htm

Unfortunatelyforme,aMacuser,TrackerBoxisonlyavailable forWindowsusers. Ittracksyourbooksalesacrossallthe

Book Sales Tracking Software| 147

majorretailersandgeneratesreportsthatwillhelpyouwith yoursalesstrategy.Usersreportthatit’swellworththeone- time fee of $59.99.

148 |Book Sales Tracking Software

23. Writing Software

Writingsoftwarecanhelpyouprovideadistraction-freewrit- ing environment,a collaborativewriting environment, ora highly-structuredwritingenvironment.Manywritingtoolscan alsobeusedtoformatyourbookbyexportingitformatslike PDF and EPUB.

Draft

draftin.com

Draftisawriting,editing,collaboration,andpublishingtool you access online using your browser. Each contributor’s changesshowupindifferentcolors,with“accept”and“reject” options.Youcanmarkmajorrevisions,findandreverttoprevi- ousversions,importdocsfromDropbox,Evernote,andGoogle Drive,andpublishdirectlytoplaceslikeWordPress,Tumblr, LinkedIn, and even MailChimp. They’ve provided a handy Chromeextensionthatletsyouturnanytextareaontheweb intosomethingyoucanwriteandeditwithDraft.Youcaneven hire a human editor via the program.

Draftmakesitclearwhatchangeshavebeenmadeandletsyou collaborate with many others in the cloud.

YoucanemailadocumenttoyourDraftaccountandcreatea simplepresentation,thenselectsegmentsofwritingandthe “simplify”robotcatchescommonwordsandduplicatewords and attemptstodetectand deleteunimportantsentences. Morefeaturesincludeanaudio-videotranscriptiontool,ana- lytics,andawebsitebuildertool.“HemingwayMode”provides distraction-free writing.

Draft is free, but donations unlock more benefits.

Writing Software| 149

Google Docs

docs.google.com

Googledocsisawordprocessorinthecloudandworksgreat forsharingandcollaboration.Iuseittocollaboratewithmy author-clients.Wecanwork onmarketingplansandother tasksatthesametimeorseparately.IlikeGooglespreadsheets (weuseittofigureouttheschedulefortheSFWritersCon- ference),andforms(whichIusetoaskquestionstomymailing list). Free.

Hemingway App

hemingwayapp.com

Hemingwayisadistraction-freewritingtoolthatdisplaysa rowofformattingelementsacrossthetopforbold,italics,bul- leting,numbering,headings,andlinks. SlideitfromWRITE modeintoEDITandyou’llgetaclean,visualtakeonwhat mightbewrongwithyourwriting. Thewordandcharacter counters are also very handy.

Withthe $10desktop app forMacand Windowsyoucan importandexportyourtexttoWord,andexportasHTML orMarkdownlanguageforyourbloggingplatform,WordPress, or CMS files.

SomepeopleliketowriteandeditinHemingwayandthen importthem into a tool calledStackEdit,a browser-based Markdowneditor,thoughyoucouldeasilyuseanyoftheother tools I’ve already mentioned.

Thebrowser-basedversionisfree.ThedesktopappforMac and Windows costs $10.

150 |Writing Software

Microsoft Word

bit.ly/interiorbdt

Microsoft Word is the most popular program forwriting, designingandformattingabookinterior.Overtheyearsithas evolvedfromasimplewordprocessingapplicationtoasophis- ticated page layout program.

Toformatabookinterior,you’llneedtolearnaboutWord Styles.Stylesautomatecharacter,section,andparagraphfor- matting.ThisishowWord“programs”yourdocumenttodis- play your book correctly in all the ebook reading devices.

WhenyouworkinWordtoformatyourbook,it’sessentialthat youuse Styles insteadoflineandparagraphbreaks,spacesand tabs.

Iwroteahow-toguideaboutthis.DownloaditfreeatSmash- wordswithcodeEC55D.(OneofthereasonsIlikeSmashwords isthattheyhavetheabilitytodiscountandofferfreebieswith couponcodes.SeemoreabouttheminBookAggregation& Distribution.

$149.99or$69.99/yr.GetbookdesigntemplatesforWordat bit.ly/interiorbdt.

OpenOffice

openoffice.org

OpenOfficeisafree,open-sourceversionofWordthatworks on Windows, Max, and Linux.

Writing Software| 151

Ulysses for Mac

itunes.apple.com/us/app/ulysses/id1225571038?mt=8

UlyssesisawritingenvironmentforMac,iPhone,andiPad. Itspleasant,focusedwritingexperience,combinedwithdoc- umentmanagement, synchronization betweendevices, and exporttoPDF,EPUB,andDOC,makeUlyssespopularwithiOS users. $39.99/yr

Scrivener

WindowsorMac

Scrivenerisoneofmyfavoritebookcreationtools.It’sadesk- topwritingandorganizationappwithanamazingfeatureset thatcanhelpyoudevelopstoriesandbooks.Iuseittoorganize andwriteblogpostsandarticles,too.Youcanexportyour booktomanyformats.AndimportyourScrivenerdocintoVel- lum for final formatting.

Vellumisadvancedsoftwareandrequiressomepatiencewith the learning curve.

$45 desktop application with a 30-day free trial.

WriteMonkey

writemonkey.com

TheWriteMonkeyfolksdescribetheirfreeWindowsdesktop app as“zenware” forwriters. Like Hemingway and Draft, WriteMonkeyoffersastripped-down,distraction-freewriting

152 |Writing Software

environment. Youcancustomizeyourbackground,font,and what you see inthe toolbar,such as wordcount, witha progress bar and the current time.

Moreadvancedfeaturesareavailableaswell,suchastheability tomanageseparatechapterfilesinabook-lengthworkusinga “Jumps” feature.

Youwriteinsimpletext,formattingusingMarkdownlanguage ortheTextilemarkuplanguageifyoulike. Youcanexportto HTML and upload it to the web as a page or a blog post.

WriteMonkeyissupportedbydonations. Yourdonationgives you access to manypluginsthat are available separately.

yWriter

spacejock.com/yWriter6.html

yWriterisafreewordprocessorforWindowswithabetafor iOS.Itwascreatedbyanauthorandprogrammer.Itbreaks yournovelintochaptersandscenes,helpingyoukeeptrackof your workwhile leaving your mind free to create.

Writing Software| 153

24. Editing Software

Manuscripteditingsoftwareprogramsdomuchmorethanthe built-inspellingandgrammarcheckersinyourwordproces- sor.Someoffer“first-pass”or“last-pass”editingtocleanup mistakesinspelling,grammar,andpunctuation;othershelp you improve your writing with detailed reports.

Theseprogramscanalertyoutooveruseofadverbs,clichés, redundancies, overlong sentences,sticky sentences, glue words,vagueandabstractwords,diction,andthemisuseof dialogtags,tonamejustafew.Someofthesetoolswilleven connectyouwithahumaneditorwithaclickofabutton.In alphabeticalorder,herearesomeofmyfavorites(thisisbyno means an exhaustive list)

AutoCrit

autocrit.com

AutoCritiswellorganizedandoffersalotofinformationina cleaninterface.Inmywriting,itrevealedanexcessofgeneric descriptions,passivevoice, andtoomany initial pronouns, names,and“ing”words.Ialsousetoomany“ly”adverbs.On theplusside,I’mgreatatshowingandnottelling,andIdon’t repeatwordsandphrasesorusealotoffillerwordsorclichés.

AllthesewereeasyfixesonceIwasmadeawareofthem.But hey,ifyou’refeelingdepressedaboutyourerrors,justclickthe “comparetofiction”tabtoshowhowyourwritingstacksup againstpublishedworks,includingmass-marketpaperbacks and bestsellers. It might make you feel better.

Themanuscriptanalysisprovidesalotofconstructivecrit- icisminaclean,easy-to-readlayout.Ilikethevisualcharts representing sentence length and paragraph pace, too.

154 |Editing Software

AutoCrit is $29.97/month.

Consistency Checker

intelligentediting.com/products-pricing/consistency- checker

Thisfree softwarewill find the mistakes your spelling and grammarcheckersdon’tsee,suchasinconsistenthyphenation (parttimevs.part-time)andspelling(colorvs.colour).Italso findsthingslikenumeralsinthemiddleofsentences,com- poundwords,andabbreviationsthatappearindifferentforms.

Itdoesnotcheckspellingandgrammar,justconsistency.Note: this is the freemium version of the $99PerfectIt appfor Microsoft Office 2013 and Google Docs.

Ittargetslongnonfictiondocumentlikeproposals,grants,and how-tomanuals.Iwishthiskindoftoolhadexistedbackwhen IwasaSiliconValleytechnicalwriter!Iwilldefinitelyrunit thenexttimeIeditmyhow-tobook,the Self-PublishingBoot CampGuideforAuthors .Whattheheck,I’llrunitinmynarra- tive nonfiction works, too.

InstallConsistencyCheckerinWordbyvisitingtheMicrosoft Office 2013 store.ToinstallitinGoogleDocs,gotothestore listing,loginandclick“Free,”thenrunGoogleDocsandCon- sistency Checker will be in the “Add-ons” menu.

InstallingConsistencyCheckeradd-oninGoogleDocsiseasy. (Note that I also installed the ProWritingAid add-on.)

Draft

draftin.com

Editing Software| 155

Draftis a writing, editing, collaboration, and publishing tool. SeeWriting Software for more info.

Fictionary

fictionary.co/

Fictionaryisanew,browser-basedtoolthatidentifies plot holesandtimelineissues, pacing, scenes with no purpose, confusingpointsofview,oremptystages.Itprovidesyouwith awordcountperscene,rewritingtips,andavisualnarrative arc with character evaluation (entry and exit), and more.

Thiscouldbeagoodtooltousebeforeyousendyourmanu- script to an expensive developmental editor.

IntegrateswithbothGrammarly andProWritingAidvia the Chrome browser extension.

$20/mo with a free 14-day trial.

ListentomypodcastinterviewwithKristinaStanley,best-sell- ingauthorandco-founderofFictionaryontheAuthorFriendly Podcast,episode 15.

156 |Editing Software

Grammarly

bit.ly/grammarlyforauthors

IusedGrammarlyforaboutayearandreallylikeit.Itdelivers informationbothline-by-lineandinsummaryform.Ibought anannualsubscriptionin2015,andIlikethewayitfollows mearoundthewebtocheckmyWordPressblogposts,my GoogleDocs,Gmail,andcommentandfeedbackformsonoth- ers’blogpostsandarticles.Italsocorrectsmysocialmedia postsandcommentfieldsonothers’posts.BecauseIamapro- fessionalwriter,itisembarrassingwhenImakebasicspelling andgrammaticalerrorsinquick,socialmediapostsandemails, so I appreciate this feature.

Grammarlycosts$139.95annually.There’sa7-daymoney-back guaranteesoyoucantryitout.Ifyouneedahumaneditor, quick,youcanreachonethroughtheirsiteforareasonable price.

Likemostrobusteditingtools,Grammarlyofferssettingsfor variouskindsofwriting:businessdocuments,novels,creative nonfiction,medical,technical,andcasual.Isetminetocre- ative nonfiction. And it looks like I have some work to do!

Hemingway Editor

hemingwayapp.com

SeeWriting Software.

Editing Software| 157

Masterwriter

masterwriter.com

Masterwriter is a valuable addition to any of the editors describedinthischapter.It’sathesaurusonsteroidsinthe cloudthatwillimproveyourvocabularyandyourprose.Enrich yourwritingwithitssynonymfinder,rhymingdictionary,allit- erations,wordfamilies,phrases,dictionary,andevenasetof 11,000 icons of world culture to add imagery to your writing.

Insteadofyourstory’ssunbeingsimplyhotyou’llfindideas likeblazing,sizzling,fiery,torrid,punishing,merciless,orrag- ingsun.Justputawordintheleftsideandclickthedictionary you want to use and get results on the right side.

CheckoutthevideotourandIthinkyou’llbeimpressed.An audiopageenablesyoutocollectyourthoughtsormusic.Free trial and then $99.95/annually or $149.95 for two years.

ProWritingAid

prowritingaid.com

OfallthetoolsI’veusedandreviewed,ProWritingAidprobably offersthe most value,especially withtheir clean, updated interfaceanddetailedreportswiththeclickofalink.Iwasso impressedthatIboughttheannualsubscriptioneventhoughI alsosubscribetoGrammarly.IlovetheirfreeGoogleDocsand Chromebrowserextension,too.IstilluseGrammarlybecause itfollowsmeeverywhereontheweb,butwithitsthorough critique,IthinkProWritingAidmakesmeabetterwriter.Asan editorandpublisher,thereportsalsohelpmecommunicate better with my authors.

158 |Editing Software

Ascaled-downversionofProWritingAidisfree online,with Premiumeditionsofferedat$40annually,$60foratwo-year license, $80 for a three-year license, and $140 for lifetime use.

ProWritingAidalsooffersacoupleofadvancedfeaturesyou maybeinterestedinusing. Asapublisher,Icancreatemy ownrulesand housestylethatdetects patterns,wildcards, overusedwords,dialog,andrepeatedwords,plusitletsme create customized advice messages for my authors. TheirdeveloperAPIallowssoftwaredeveloperstoaddwriting analysis to applications they are developing.

ProWritingAidalsooffersacoupleofadvancedfeaturesyou maybeinterestedinusing. Asapublisher,Icancreatemy ownrulesand housestylethatdetects patterns,wildcards, overusedwords,dialog,repeats,andletsmecreatecustomized advicemessagesformyauthors. TheirdeveloperAPIallows softwaredeveloperstoaddwriting analysistoapplications they are developing.

SmartEdit

smart-edit.com

SmartEditisafirst-passeditingtoolforcreativewritersand novelistsworkingonWindows.SinceI’mMac-based,Icouldn’t reviewitbutgleanedalotofinformationfromthescreenshots anduserreviewsontheirsite.Itcosts$57-$67foradesktop download, and there’s a free 10-day trial period.

Like AutoCrit and Grammarly, SmartEdit runs a series of checksonyourworkandhighlightsareasofconcern.Youcan openyourmanuscriptdirectlyinSmartEdit,orcopyandpaste from your word processor into the SmartEdit Editor.

Uniquefeaturesincludeasentencelengthgraphanddetection ofcurly/straightquotes,hyphenandem-dashcounts.Asen-

Editing Software| 159

tence-startlistdisplaysyoursentencesandcountsthenumber oftimesyoubeginthemwithaparticularword,whichcanbe shockingly instructive.

SmartEdit’sSentenceOpenersfeatureisshockinglyinstruc- tive.

SmartEdit,likeProWritingAid,maydeserveconsiderationby professionaleditorsandpublishersasitallowsyoutoexport listsofproblemstheprogramcaughttoExcel,PDF,HTML, CSV,andtext.Thiskindoffeedbackhelpsalotwhencommu- nicating with writers and editors.

160 |Editing Software

25. Business and

Productivity

Herearemypicksforessentialbusinessandproductivitytools youneedfordoingbusinessasaprofessionalauthor-pub- lisher.

Reminder:Thisconsumer’sguideisacompanionreferenceto the Self-PublishingBootCampGuideforAuthors,4thEdition , whichprovidesstep-by-stepinstructionsonhowtocreate, publish, distribute, and market, and sell your book.

Barcodes

MakesuretoalwaysincludetheISBN(oneforeachformat)and the price in the barcode. See myguidefor more information.

Free options include:

• Derek Murphy at CreativIndieCovers provides afree online barcode generator.
• You’ll also get a free barcode when you use Ingramspark’s free bookcover template generator.

YougettwobarcodeswhenyoupurchasetheISBNandEPUB conversionserviceatBowkerviatheirpartnerStreetLib.(See Bowker, below.)

Business and Productivity| 161

Blasty

blasty.co

BlastyisanonlinetoolthatmonitorsGoogleforillegalcopies ofyourcontentandallowsyoutoremovethemfromGoogle searchengineresultswithoneclick.Theproductisinbeta untilNovember 2017 butyoucangetfreeaccessnow.Blasty’s systemwillalertyoubyemailwhenitfindsaGooglesearch engine entry for your book.

BlastyhasanarrangementwithGoogletotakedownyour listingwhenyouclicktheorangeBLASTbuttonnexttoan infringingsite.Thelistingwilldisappear,ofteninafewhours. RemovingsearchresultsfromGooglemeansthatpeoplewill not see them offered for free.

Thisisconvenientbecauseotherwise,you’dneedtocontact Googledirectlytoremoveeachsitefromtheirsearchengine results.

Inacheckboxnexttoeachsuspectedentryyou’llbeableto click Forbidden (trusted by Google site), Whitelisted, or Blast.

SitestrustedbyGoogleareretailerslikeAmazon,whomay indeedbeofferingyourebookforfree,withyourpermission. Whitelisttheentries yourecognize asblogs,excerpts,and interviewsforwhichyou’vegivenpermissionbyclickingthe whiteflag.Forinfringingsites,clickBlastandit’llbetakencare of. (Sounds ominous, huh?)

BookLinker

booklinker.net

162 |Business and Productivity

Universallinkcreatorforyourbooksothatthecustomeris automaticallydirectedtotheAmazon.com countrywebsite they live in. Allows Amazon Affiliate links.

Character and Word Counter

charactercountonline.com

Abrowser-basedword,character,andsentencecounterwith afewothercoolfeatures.Useittocountcharactersandwords for your author bio and book description.

Copyright Services

bit.ly/author-copyright

IntheUSyoucanregisteryourcopyrightfor$35inabout 35 stepsand,coincidentally,ittookmeabout 35 minutes,too. Iwrotealengthyblogpostaboutthis,detailingthestep-by- stepprocess,withscreenshots.TheUSGovernmentCopyright Registrationsite providesvery detailed instructions.Other countrieshavesimilarcopyrightregistrationprocedures.Do takealookatthepostbeforeyoustartsoyoucanprepare allyourmaterialsandgatheryourinformation.There’salotof it!

Learnaboutcopyrightinfringementvsfairuse.TheAuthors Alliance has published a guide to Fair Use forNonfiction Author,available in PDF format.

Business and Productivity| 163

DropBox

bit.ly/af-dropbox

You’regoingtoneed toshare your manuscript,yourbook cover,andimagesbackandforthwithbetareaders,editors, artists,andallkindsofpeople.Butlotsofemailhostingser- vicesblockemailswithlargeattachments,soyouremailmay never arrive. Also, attachments can carry viruses.

You’rebetteroffusingafreeonlinesharingservicelikeGoogle Drive,DropBox,Hightail(orSendOwl,SendThis,WeTransfer, and many others).

Mostoftheseserviceswillnotifyyouwhenyourinviteejoins thesiteanddownloadsthedocument,soyou’llneverhaveto wonder if your document reached its destination.

Google Drive

drive.google.com

Don’tuseemailattachments,useGoogleDrive,afreeoffice suiteinthecloudthatallowsyoutosharedocumentswith othersandevenworkonthesamedocument,concurrently. GoogleDrivegivesyou15MGofstoragefree,butforanaddi- tional$1.99amonthyouget100GBmore(or1TBfor9.99/mo) tostore,sync,andsharedocuments,images,videos,andother data,withtheabilitytoaccessviaanywebbrowseritfrom anyofyourdevices.Thisisareallygooddeal,andit’sgreat forbackupsandforsharingyourwork.Youcandownloadyour docfromGoogleDrivetoWordanduseatemplatetocreate your ebooks and PDF for print.

164 |Business and Productivity

ISBN Agencies

myidentifiers.com

MaintainyourindependenceandpurchaseyourownISBNs. BowkeristheofficialU.S.ISBNagency,andyoushouldbuy yourownsetof 10 ormoreISBNswiththeirMyIdentifiersser- vice.Othercountrieshavesimilaragencies.IntheUKit’sthe NielsenUKISBNAgencyandCanadaitsLibraryandArchives Canada. Do a web search foryour country’s official ISBN agency.

Bytheway,BowkerhasapartnershipwithStreetLib,anebook andPODcompanyI’vereviewedinAggregationandDistribu- tion.TheirWord-to-EPUBformattingservicesbundledwith 10 ISBNsandtwobarcodesfor$395.Here’sthemath:TenISBNs cost$295atBowkerintheUS,soyou’llspend$100onEPUB formatting.They’llthrowintwobarcodesforfree(thoughyou can get them free elsewhere).

Legal Zoom

legalzoom.com

LegalZoomisanonlinelegalservicethathelpsyouobtain,fill out,andfiletherightformsforyourDBA,LLC,soleproprietor- ship,ornon-profit.Youneedthistobecomealegitbusinessas an independent author-publisher.

Library of Congress

pcn.loc.gov

Business and Productivity| 165

IntheUSandothercountries,librarysystemshavetheirown wayoftrackingbooks.Makesureyourbookislibrary-friendly! UsethePreassignedControlNumberApplicationtogetafree LibraryofCongressControlNumber(LCCN)sothatyourbook iscataloged.Recordthisnumberonyourcopyrightpageand makeiteasyforlibrarianstoshelveit.AlsogetaCIPblock throughaservicelikeDonahueGroup,FiveRainbows,Cassidy Cataloging,orQualityBooksforabout$135.Inothercountries doawebsearchon CIPBlockyourcountry tofindacataloging agency.Thisisanessentialstepincreatingaprofessionally- producedbookthatisindiscerniblefromthosepublishedby thebigpublishinghouses.Needastep-by-step?Getthe Self- Publishing Boot Camp Guide for Authors.

Rev Transcription Service

rev.com

Ateamoftranscriptioniststakesyouraudioorvideorecord- ingsandtranscribes themto99%accuracy.Simplyupload yourfilesorusetheiriPhoneTranscriptionAppandgetacom- pletetranscriptinassoonas 12 hours.$1.00perminute.Done by people and not speech recognition software.

The Self-Publisher’s Ultimate Resource

Guide

amzn.to/2nNIUdy

TheSelf-Publisher’sUltimateResourceGuideisabookavail- ableinprintandebookformatsthatlistscuratedandverified resourcesforindependentauthorswhoplantopublishtheir ownbooks.Producedbyateamwithlongexperienceinboth

166 |Business and Productivity

traditionalandindependentpublishing,theover 850 resources arelistedinaneasy-to-useformat thatincludeslivelinks, phonenumbers,emailaddresses,andbriefdescriptivecopy. TheGuidemakesvendorsandotherresourceseasytofindby separatingtheminto 33 distinctcategorieswithinthethree maintaskstheself-publishermustdealwith:Prepare,Publish, and Promote.

Are you serious about doing business as an

independent author or small press?

TheSelf-Publishing BootCamp courseswill helpyou with everyaspectofself-publishingincludinghowtocreateabusi- nessasanindependentauthor.Visitthecoursepageandinvest intheSetUpYourPublishingBusinesscourse.It’sworthit! Find out with the 30-day 100% guarantee.

Business and Productivity| 167

26. Crowdfunding Tools

Youcanusecrowdfundingtoolstopayforyourbookeven beforeyou’vewrittenit.Crowdfundingisacommitmentbut manyauthorswhodedicatethemselvestothemarketingeffort it demands find the process rewarding.

IndieGoGo

indiegogo.com

IndieGoGowasfoundedin 2007 asaplacewherepeoplewho wanttoraisemoneycancreatefundraisingcampaignstotell theirstoryandgetthewordout.Theycharge4%ofthemoney youraiseifyoumeetyourgoalor9%ifyoudonot.Lotsof authors have raised money for books on this platform.

Inkshares and Unbound

inkshares.comandunbound.com

Two publisher crowdfunding programs areInkshares(San Francisco)andUnbound(inthe UK).Thesecompanies host yourcrowdfundingsiteand,ifyoumeetyourgoal,theywill publishyourbookundertheirimprint.Theyofferattractive royaltiesandedit,design,andmarketyourbook.Youarenot self-publishingwiththesecompanies;theytakeonyourpro- ject as an author publishing under their imprint.

168 |Crowdfunding Tools

Gumroad

YoucanuseGumroadforcrowdfundingaswellasformany other things. Find out more about it in Direct Sales Tools.

Kickstarter

kickstarter.com

SinceKickstarter’slaunchin2009,morethan5.2millionpeo- ple have pledged more than $900 million, funding nearly 53,000creativeprojectslikefilms,games,books,music,art, designandtechnology.Projectcreatorssetafundinggoaland deadline.Ifpeoplelikeaproject,theycanpledgemoneyto makeithappen.FundingonKickstarterisall-or-nothing.Pro- jectsmustreachtheirfundinggoalstoreceiveanymoney.To date,nearly44%ofprojectshavereachedtheirfundinggoals. Kickstartertakes5%ofthefundsraised.FunderspayviaAma- zonPayments(only),whichthenwillapplycreditcardprocess- ingfees(between3%and5%).CheckoutKickstarterCreators get started pagefor publishing projects.

Pentian

pentian.com

Pentian is acrowdfunding programthat allowsbackers to shareinrevenuegeneratedfrombookroyalties.Italsooffers book distribution to the usual channels.

Crowdfunding Tools| 169

Pentian’sstaffofeditors,marketingpros,anddesignershelp preparethebookandauthorforthecampaign,whichlasts 60 days.RoyaltyshareisAuthor(40%),Backers(50%),andpub- lisher, Pentian (10%).

Authorsuploadtheirbooks,thenbackerssupportthebookby pledgesatdifferentlevelsentitlingthemtodifferentrewards andaportionofprofits,andPentiandistributesthebook.They own sales rights for three years.

Based in Spain, they have also launched in the US.

PubLaunch

publaunch.com

PubLaunchisthreethings:aprojectmanagementplatform,a marketplaceforpublishingservices,andacrowdfundingplat- form:

• An online marketplace where you can find vetted profes- sionals to hire. They’re vetted based on standardized tests. In a later phase they will incorporate a rating sys- tem a la Fiverr.
• An embedded budget calculator will help you calculate how much it will cost to hire professionals based on your book data (page count, images, etc.)
• A crowdfunding platform is built in (this was PubSlush’s model) so that at the end of your budgeting process you can choose to pay directly or start a crowdfunding cam- paign. But you can also use the crowdfunding platform without using their marketplace.

Onceyou’veputtogetheryourteamandstartedyourbook, a“launchroom”willbecreatedforyousothateveryonecan communicatewithprivatemessagingandgettheproduction process done in one space.

170 |Crowdfunding Tools

Authors upload your manuscript, select your publishing requirements,chooseyourteam,getyourestimate,crowdfund orpay,andmanageyourprojectthroughtopublicationwith guidance at every step.

Supplierscreateaprofile,gettestedandapproved,receive submissionsfromauthors,workontheproject,andgetpaid via the platform.

ThecompanyisbasedinToronto,Canadabutservicesare basedinUScurrencyfornow.PubLaunchmakestheirmoney from5%ofcrowdfundingrevenueand10%ofsupplierside revenue.

ListentomyconversationwithGregIoannou,founderofPub- Launch, on the Author Friendly Podcast,episode 7.

Publishizer

publishizer.com

Publishizer is a crowdfunding platform that connects the authorwithpublishers.Yep,ifyour goalisreached, they’ll queryyourproposaltoatargetedlistofpublishers.Ifapub- lisherexpressesinterest,youcancontactthemdirectly.Pub- lishizer keeps 30% of funds raised during the campaign.

Crowdfunding Tools| 171

27. Affiliate Programs

Affiliateprogramsandcurationtools helpyoumakeafew morepenniesoneachsaleofyourbookaswellasonother booksandproductsthatyourecommend.Youcanevenset upapage(orpages)onyourwebsiteto“curate”aselectionof affiliate books and products.

Ifyoulikeandtrustaproductorserviceandyouwantto spreadthewordaboutit,askthepersonorcompanyifthey haveanaffiliateprogramyoucanjoin.(OrjustGoogle“affiliate programproductname.”)Idothisalot.Forexample,Iaman affiliateformanycompaniesIrecommendinthisbook,includ- ingBookDesignTemplates,BookBaby,Scribd,ThriveThemes, GoDaddy, 48 HourBooks,BookReviewTargeter,LegalZoom, andGrammarly.Theyoffermefromabout5%toawhopping 30%ofsales.Sowhenyouclickmylink,Imakealittleextra money. (Thank you!)

Interestedindoingthisyourself?Seemyin-depthblogposton affiliate marketing for authors.

Aerio

aer.io

UploadyourownbookstoAerioandchoosefromtheirinven- toryof 14 millionprintbooks,gifts,games,andmoretocreate acuratedstorefrontonyourwebsitetomakeasmallpercent- age of each sale made through your site.

172 |Affiliate Programs

Amazon Associates

affiliate-program.amazon.com

SignupforAmazonAffiliateprogramandmakeafewpennies onyourownbookandotherbooksandproductsthatyourec- ommend when you use their affiliate links.

Commission Junction

cj.com

CommissionJunctionisoneoftheleadingaffiliatemarketing serviceintheindustry.Ifyouhaveanichemarketandthink thatyoucansellproductsviayourwebsiteandblogviarecom- mendationsandlinks,lookhereforvendorswhowillgiveyou 5%andmoreforeachsale.Forexample,IuselinksfromCJin reviewsfortravelgear.ShareASaleisanotherpopularaffiliate marketing service.

Smashwords

smashwords.com/about/affiliate

SignupfortheSmashwordsaffiliateprogramandmakealittle extraonyour ownbookand otherbooks yourecommend when you use affiliate links.

Affiliate Programs| 173

28. Book Translation

Services

Doyouwantyourbooktranslatedbutdon’thavethemoney? Checkouttheservicesthatofferrevenuesharingwithzero costup-front,servicesthatconnectyouwithfreelancers,and formal book translation firms.

REVENUE SHARING SERVICES

Bablecube

babelcube.com

Booktranslationinover 15 languagesforzeroup-frontcost, just revenue sharing. Includes distribution.

Tektime

traduzionelibri.it

Booktranslationandnarrationintoover 30 languagesatno up-front cost, just revenue sharing. Includes distribution.

PAID SERVICES

174 |Book Translation Services

First Edition Translations

firstedit.co.uk/services/book-translations

UKtranslationservicespecializinginnonfictionbooks.They havealivechatandyoucangetafreequote.OffersAmerican- ized translation services.

Mincor Book Translation

mincor.net/books.html

Get humans or machine translation here.

• Machine Translation Software Only – $0.03 per word
• Machine Translation with Human Editing – $0.08 per word
• Human Translation and Editing – $0.11 – $0.15 per word

Today Translations

todaytranslations.com/literary-translation-services

ThisLondon-basedtranslationcompanyisapremiumservice. Get a free quote for your book.

Translation Company

translationcompany.org/what-we-translate/book-translation

Book Translation Services| 175

Translates from English into over 256 languages.

• Icelandic:EUR 0.16 – 0.18 per English source word.
• Eastern European languages:EUR 0.07 – 0.09 per English source word.
• Exotic languages:from EUR 0.09 per English source word.
• German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese:EUR 0.10 – 0.14 per English source word.
• German, French, Russian, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese into American or British English:EUR 0.09 – 0.14 per source word.

Translators Base

translatorsbase.com

Postaprojectdescriptionandgetquotesfromtranslatorsand agencies.

176 |Book Translation Services

29. Writing Around the

World

Haveyou heardtheterm“DigitalNomad?”Digitalnomads roamtheworld,workingonthego.Ifyou’reanomad,orjust travel a lot,you cantakeadvantage ofwork-play lodging, sharedofficespaces,andsitesthatshowyouwheretotake advantageofcoffeeandhigh-speedinternet.Findaworldwide co-workingdirectoryhere.Hereisanarticleandadirectory forco-livingspaces.Belowaresomethathavebeenrecom- mended to me.

AngkorHUB

AngkorHUB.com

AngkorHUBisagreatexampleofentrepreneur-ledshopsfor aninternationalcrowd.It’saCambodianco-livingandbusiness centerinSiemReapneartheAngkorNightMarketandAngkor WatTemple.Peaceful,greatwi-fi,withfamily-stylelunches, andit’sawesome,saysmyfriendTammy,whostayedthere.A privateroomisabout$200/weekwithcoworking24/7,Break- fast/Lunch,Laundry,AC,hotshowers,airportpickups,and SIM card on arrival.

CoWorking.coffee

CoWorking.coffee

Writing Around the World| 177

Thiscommunityofremoteworkersandtheirfriendsshare theirbestlocationstoworkinthebestconditionsanywherein theworld.Joinandfindgreatplacestowork,andcontribute your picks. Free.

Deskpass

deskpass.com

AmonthlycoworkingsubscriptioninChicago,NYC,LA,Austin, SanFranciscoandDenverprovidingaffordable,flexibleaccess toover 175 wonderful,diverseworkspacestowork,learnand meet. Starts at $49/mo.

Outsite

outsite.co

LiveandworkinSanDiego,VeniceBeach,SantaCruz,and Tahoe,CA,Austin,Lisbon,NYC,SanJuanPuertoRico,Bali, Costa Rica, and Oahu. Rentals vary in price.

Nomad House

nomadhouse.io

30-daythemedretreatsforfreelancers,founders,andinflu- encerstogetthingsdone.Retreatdates,prices,andlocations vary.

178 |Writing Around the World

Roam

roam.co

Aninternationalnetworkofcolivingandcoworkingspacesin Ubud,London,SanFrancisco,Miami,andTokyo.Pricingvaries.

Workfrom

Workfrom.co

Workfrommakesiteasytofindtrustedplacestogetyourwork done.Recommendationsarecrowdsourcedandthecommu- nityprovideshardtofindinsightsaboutwhatyouneedto knowaboutworkingfromplaceslikecoffeeshops,cafes,bars, coworking spaces, hotels, restaurants and more. Free.

Writing Around the World| 179

Suggested Reading

Asinanyindustry,thereareessentialbooksthatareworth purchasing.Thesearethem,inmyopinion.Gotasuggestion? Let me know!

Publishing

Self-PublishingBoot Camp Guide for Authors, 4th Edition Carla King

Thisismy344-pageguidetoeveryaspectofself-publishing.It costs$24.99andincludesmembershipinareaderslisttoget freeupdatesforthelifeoftheguideanddiscountsonmySelf- Publishing Boot Camp online courses.

Green-LightYourBook:HowWritersCanSucceedintheNew Era of Publishing, Brooke Warner

Suggested Reading| 181

Writing

Finish Your Book in Three Drafts HowtoWriteaBook,ReviseaBook,andCompleteaBook While You Still Love It, Stuart Horwitz

The Business of Being a Writer Jane Friedman

Chicago Manual of Style Free30-day online subscription. This is especially helpful when you’re doing the final, final formatting of your book.

Business

Register Your Book The Essential Guide to ISBNs, Barcodes, Copyright, and LCCNs,David Wogahn

Self-Publisher’s Legal Handbook, 2nd Edition Helen Sedwick, Attorney and Author

Business Plan in a Day Rhonda Abrams, founder of the Planning Shop

Marketing

Online Marketing for Busy Authors A Step-by-Step Guide, Fauzia Burke

Master Content Marketing ASimpleStrategytoCuretheBlankPageBluesandAttracta Profitable Audience, Pamela Wilson

182 |Suggested Reading

Author and Publisher

Organizations

Therearesomanywritingandpublishingorganizationsthatit wouldbeimpossibletokeepupwiththemhere.Googleforone nearyou!SoI’velistedthetwobiggies.Ibelongtobothand Irecommendthemasawiseinvestmentinauthor-publisher education, connection, and book marketing opportunities.

Alliance of Independent Authors (Alli)

allianceindependentauthors.org

ALLi,theAllianceofIndependentAuthors,isanon-profitpro- fessionalassociationforauthorswhoself-publish.Thealliance offers connection and collaboration, advice andeducation, advocacyandrepresentationtowriterswhowanttoself-pub- lish well. Based in London, it is a global organization.

Members-only benefits includea closedonlineforum,dis- countsanddeals,freeguidebooksandbooklets,seminarsand events,contractandlegaladvice.Tothewiderindieauthor community,theyrunaself-publishingadvicecenterandblog. Threetimesayeartheyhostafreeonlineconference,Indie Author Fringe.

Author and Publisher
Organizations| 183

Independent Book Publishers Assoc

(IBPA)

ibpa-online.org

Inanutshell,IBPAmakesiteasierforindependentbookpub- lishersandself-publishedauthorstonavigatethesometimes intimidating publishing process.

TheIndependentBookPublishersAssociation(IBPA)isanot- for-profitmembershiporganizationservingandleadingthe independentpublishingcommunitythroughadvocacy,educa- tion,andtoolsforsuccess.Withover3,000members,IBPAis thelargestpublishingtradeassociationintheU.S.Forinde- pendentpublishers,self-publishedauthors,smallpresses,or mid-sized publishers.

Theyofferahugelistofbenefits,fromprintingtoBowker ISBNs,marketing,foreign rights,reviews,cooperativebook catalogs,legaldisputes,healthinsurance,networking,freight, andmore.Nottomentiontheawesomeprintmagazinethat comes to your snail-mailbox every month.

Theannualconference,PublishingUniversity,roamsaround theUSandiswellworthattending.Findmyinterviewwith IBPACEOAngelaBoleontheAuthorFriendlyPodcastepisode 13.

184 |Author and Publisher Organizations

Romance Writers of America

https://www.rwa.org/

Ifyou’rearomancewriteryoumustmustmustbelongtothe RWA.Thisorganizationisfamousforthecaliberofitsconfer- ence,itsresources,andtheenthusiasmandgenerosityofits members.

Author and Publisher Organizations| 185

Subscribe for Updates

Theinformationinthisbookgetsupdatedalot.Youcansub- scribe to get free electronic updates here.

http://www.selfpubbootcamp.com/readers

Doyouhavesuggestionsorrecommendationsforproducts, tools,andservicesyoutrust?Pleaseletmeknow!Sendan email [e-mail].

Thanks!

Carla

186 |Subscribe for Updates

About the Author

CARLA KING

CarlaKingisfounderoftheSelf-PublishingBootCampedu- cationalprogramof books,workshops,onlinecourses,and servicecenterforself-publishersandsmallpresses.Her Self- PublishingBootCampGuideforAuthors detailingeachstepof publishingisnowavailableinits4thedition,alongwithacom- prehensiveonline course.

Carlaspentmanyyearsasatechnicalwriterand,intheearly daysofportablecomputing,wasafreelancewriterformag- azineslike PCWorld asatravelgearexpert.Thisexperience pavedthewayforacareerasanadventuretravelwriterand shehas contributedhundreds ofstories tomagazinesand anthologies.

Herfirstself-publishedbookwasa 1995 guidebookto Cycling theFrenchRiviera .Withherwritinggroup,theWildWriting Women, she self-published Wild Writing Women:Stories of WorldTravel in 2001 andsoldittoaNewYorkpublishing house.(Ithasn’tmadeapenny,since.)OtherbooksCarlahas authoredinclude StoriesfromElsewhere:TravelsonTwoand ThreeWheels, amemoirtitled AmericanBorders:Acircumnav-

About the Author| 187

igationoftheUnitedStatesonaRussiansidecarmotorcycle ,and MotorcyclingforWomen:HowtoChooseaBeginnerBike .Find all of her books onCarlaKing.com.

Today,sheisthepublishingtechnologyexpertatBookworks, shepenstheadventuretravelcolumnforDiscoverBaja.com andhascreatedanonlineguidetoBaja’s BahiaConcepcion area.Shestillstrugglestofinishhermemoiraboutmotorcy- cling solo across China.

CarlaisbasedinDanaPointonthecoastofCaliforniaandBaja, California.ShespentmanyyearsintheSanFranciscoBayArea andstillrunstheself-publishingandtechnologytrackatthe SanFranciscoWritersConference.Youcanfindheradventure travelwritingatCarlaKing.comandherself-publishingblog, books and online courses atSelfPubBootCamp.com

188 |About the Author

Acknowledgements

Thisbookhasbeenmadebetterbytheparticipationofmanyof thefoundersofthetoolsandservicesreviewed.Sothankyou, always,foryourinput.Ilookforwardtokeepingintouchand amopentomakingcorrectionsandchangesasyourcompany grows.

Iamalsogratefulforrecommendationsfromauthorswhoare notshyaboutgivingmetheiropinionsaboutthetoolsandser- vices here. It truly makes a difference. So keep it coming!

ThankyoutoMarkWilliamsoftheNewPublishingStandardas wellasJaneFriedmanandPorterAndersonforTheHotSheet. I scour these publications for news of interest to authors.

Ifyou’dliketosuggestchangestoanyofthereviewsitwould beawesomeifyoucouldmakecommentsintheFeedbackarea below each chapter.

Thank you.

Acknowledgements| 189

There's lots more where

this came from!

Self-PublishingBootCampoffersaneducationalprogramof guides,workshops,andonlinecoursestohelpauthorsnavi- gateeverystepofpublishingaqualitybookthatsucceedsin the marketplace.

The380-page Self-PublishingBootCampGuideforAuthors,4th Edition ,isyourroadmaptocreating,publishing,marketing, and selling your books.Find out more about it here.

Get the guide

Publish professionally with guidance from this 4th edition step-by-stepmanual.Gettheguideinpaperbackorebookfor- mat.

190 |There's lots more where this came from!

Online courses

TheSelf-PublishingBootCampseriesofonlinecoursespro- videfurtherinstructionwithwrittenmaterials,audio,video, worksheets,checklists,officehours,aprivateFacebookgroup, and the printed guide with purchase of the bundle of courses.

http://www.selfpubbootcampcourses.com

Website and blog

ChecktheSelf-PubBootCampwebsiteforup-to-dateinfor- mationonself-publishingcompanies,tools,andservices,plus breaking news and the Author Friendly Podcast.

http://www.selfpubbootcamp.com

There's lots more where this came from!| 191

Got a burning question?

Needmorehelp?Ihopeyou’llletmeknow.Gotaburningques- tionaboutself-publishing?I’llgiveyouanansweratbit.ly/self- pubquestion.

192 |There's lots more where this came from!

Don’t forget to subscribe for updates!

You’llnotonlygetupdatestothisbookbutself-publishing news,anotificationwhenanewepisodeofthe AuthorFriendly Podcast episodeispublished,andanoptiontosubscribetoa self-publishing beginners mini-course via email.

THANK YOU!

There's lots more where this came from!| 193