How to publish your own book.

nrnlss Level 1

October 31, 2018, 9:27 am

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How to publish your own book.

Hello everyone! Can you suggest of ways how to publish your own book. Like what is better e-books or actual books? Also, can you recommend where can I sell it?

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csk81

csk81

With the traditional publishing company that have interest in the topic you are writing about or using self publishing platforms like lngramSpark and CreateSpace. You also may want to use the services of literary agent and also you can hire freelance professionals and consultants while self publishing. You can seek support by your prospective readers on crowdfunding platforms like IndieGoGo and Kickstarter, which more or less makes your readers to become your publishers too.

6 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

Do you know the rate of those publishing companies and budget on every person that I need?

6 years ago

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ElectorAlexande

ElectorAlexande

That is true too, they are quite expensive. Publishing a book is a stress but after publishing it you will love how far it has gone and you will be proud of yourself. But I must recommend you get a professor to also help you out.

6 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

ok, thank you for this suggestion. It's very helpful.

6 years ago

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allyn2017

allyn2017

I agree with you, yiu need a lot of things to do before you can self publish a book.

6 years ago

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jayjaydimson

jayjaydimson

That's a nice question because most of us don't know how much is the rate to publish a book. I'll stay notified on this thread.

6 years ago

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allyn2017

allyn2017

I agree with you. It might be higher than we thought of lower than we thought.

6 years ago

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burgosmichael24

burgosmichael24

I have a friend who publish his book and he spent more than a hundred thousand for the first publication. Its quite expensive to publish hard copies. However, it's worthy if you got your target sales. I am also planning to publish my book but I don't have enough money for the publication.

6 years ago

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jeffreyjose48

jeffreyjose48

I could not publish my own book. Its because I have not written a book yet. If I have one, I will definitely publish it.

6 years ago

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ElectorAlexande

ElectorAlexande

I think you should be preparing to write your own book, it's a good thing to do even if you don't publish it yet. In Iceland every individual has written a book once or twice in their life time.

Have already started thinking of what to write about.

6 years ago

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allyn2017

allyn2017

wow, really? That is impressive. I would love to read books from people there.

6 years ago

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jayjaydimson

jayjaydimson

Yeah, but the question is where can you publish a book, to give you an idea, you can publish your own book online using e-books.

6 years ago

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allyn2017

allyn2017

Yes, it is more cheap too than publishing hard copy.

6 years ago

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Jeane

Jeane

Strange thing is "traditional" self-publishing houses still exist. You pay them for their services. They will edit your book, print the number of copies you order and let you do all the marketing. I hope no one ever uses these services because there is no need to pay to have your book published when this won't cost you any money if you publish your book say on Amazon kindle. And if readers want a paperback, it could still be printed and shipped.

6 years ago

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overcast

overcast

The earning percentage with the traditional publishing house is 40% of the pre payment or the royalty payment option. So it may not be the most profitable venture in that case. To some extent royalty based income can earn. But that is not a good income. So ebook is a good option.

6 years ago

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Jeane

Jeane

I believe that the one thing that scares most people who have thought about publishing their ebooks say on Amazon, is competition. They look at how many books are listed on the Amazon marketplace and they wonder whether it is possible to make any money at all.

Obviously nothing will happen overnight but with some marketing, your ebooks could earn you a decent passive income.

6 years ago

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overcast

overcast

Competition is a healthy sign that anything is in demand. And one just have to do more promotion to get over the competition. That's how big brands in real world compete. Lack of competition is not a good idea considering the moment competition comes in some niche you may experience drop in the earning. So get into competitive area and sell your book with more promotion.

6 years ago

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Alymae

Alymae

True. I've been looking at Amazon kindle and some other sites. You won't pay any money for publishing your book there. Whereas, "traditional" self-publishing houses asks you to pay. Nowadays, everything is almost digital. I think that publishing your book as a e-book is an advantage compared to paperback. As for me, almost all my books are e-books because they are easily accessible worldwide. I can still have the book that I like printed anyway. Books that I love are the ones on print.

6 years ago

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Youngshark

Youngshark

I also have only been reading people's books but have never really settled to read my own. I think that it requires some serious effort to write a book let alone publish one. This is a thread to stay notified on if one needs to have a book done.

6 years ago

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overcast

overcast

I think you should write say 500 words a day. That habit at the month would give you a good book. I know in case of fiction you need to have some specific ideas about the plot. But that is definitely not easy way for you to work around it. But it can be done.

6 years ago

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Martinsx1

Martinsx1

I know someone who used the aid of crowdfunding platforms like IndieGoGo and Kickstarter to publish his books.

Getting the financial support from crowdfunding platforms is not an easy task but as long as you have a very good work, someone will definitely pick interest and help you.

6 years ago

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ElectorAlexande

ElectorAlexande

Yea that's true, if you are a good writer someone will surely pick an interest in you and assist you in publishing your book especially when you write in a captivating way that can change the way someone sees thing.

6 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

wow, thank you for this,this is really a good suggestion.

6 years ago

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allyn2017

allyn2017

Wow, is that really a thing? I don't have any idea with that.

6 years ago

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overcast

overcast

I can tell you that crowdsourcing is a good option in case if you use patreon type model. Because that model gives you some monthly earning. And you can feel motivated to write more on the topics. I guess not all the time indiegogo and kickstarter would work. But overall I can say it can be a good earning.

6 years ago

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vinaya

vinaya

I have tried Kindle and Createspace. While I have not been very successful with book publishing business, I admit kindle for ebooks and createspace for print on demand books are the best book publishing platforms. These platforms are best because books published on Kindle and Createspace are available in Amazon for sell. You do not have to look for other selling platform.

6 years ago

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anyone01

anyone01

In case you don't need print on call for, there is little purpose to use CreateSpace for editorial and layout services. Their work is low-end, priced consequently, and delivered slowly, meeting-line style. They assist authors fit their publishing desires to suitable pre-press and printing services each day, and offer a 30-minute, no-cost, no responsibility consultation.

6 years ago

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vinaya

vinaya

The major benefits on publishing on amazon, whether with kindle or createspace, is your book will be available on Amazon. Amazon is the world's largest online store. Another benefit is publishing on free. Third benefit is if manage to get noticed on Amazon, you might even find a good book contract with a traditional publisher.

6 years ago

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allyn2017

allyn2017

I agree with you, they are known for w while so there's a lot of buyers there compare to websites that are new.

6 years ago

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overcast

overcast

Createspace seems to be only worth it when you have grand plan of publishing some book with proper future planning. Like say royalty and having the name for your books. That seems to be the approach that works with the book publishing in case of createspace. In case of kindle a lot of books are low quality. So I'd say it's better to try out different options in case of content.

6 years ago

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vinaya

vinaya

I have published with kindle as well as createspace. My kindle book has some success. I was able to earn around $200 as royalty from my kindlebook. I made a loss with createspace book. I hired a professional editor and designer for my book and spent around $400 on my books. However, the book did not even generate $200. I still have these books available on Amazon, however, they are not generating any sales.

6 years ago

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overcast

overcast

Yes createspace seems to be a good site but the issue is that paperback products dont get quicker sales. So one needs to be regularly working on the publishing and other type of the publishing like say paper or the social books or the magazines. But createspace being dedicated POD publishing. It's harder to work with that.

6 years ago

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Youngshark

Youngshark

I have heard many people who have offered positive testimonies about their experiences in indiegogo and I think it is an excellent platform to try out one's luck.

6 years ago

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ElectorAlexande

ElectorAlexande

I will have to give it a try and see how far I can go with it because I also want to write and publish one but the stress here in Nigeria is too much.

6 years ago

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Youngshark

Youngshark

I feel you my brother because I actually live on the same continent although on different sides and the pain is not any lesser. i believe that with persistence one can get a solution and online space is always the best to seek answers from.

6 years ago

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menchuuy58

menchuuy58

First you have to make your own book. Then it must be submitted to the publishing house. They will proofread and edit everything.

6 years ago

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stbrians

stbrians

Good advice. I love it as it really gives us insight into publishing.

6 years ago

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allyn2017

allyn2017

I haven't heard of this websites before. I might try these websites.

6 years ago

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overcast

overcast

I know one author makes use indiegogo and there seems to be many peopel supporting that person. If that person gets enough funding ,they are going to release the book in open source. So it seems like a good idea for the people to make use of the system like this. patreon is another model that works out.

6 years ago

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jaybee19

jaybee19

I am actually not that very knowledgeable about Book Publishing but I have some knowledge about it based from the information I got from the readers whom I follow and their books are already published. If you want to publish your book on a print, I suggest that you contact a publishing company and submit your manuscript to them as they might consider buying the copyrights for your manuscript and eventually publish it as a book. However, I also heard that publishing ebooks are much more profitable nowadays. According to an article posted on a forum where I'm a member of, some writers use Ebook Aggregators or persons/companies who sends your ebooks to ebook providers like the Amazon Kindle and the only thing you'll do is to wait for your profit. However, you also have to pay a specific fee for the aggregators as payment for using their services.

6 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

I've heard of that too, that the ebooks are now more profitable, but you need to establish your name first before you can gain a lot of readers and costumers.

6 years ago

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jaybee19

jaybee19

That's true. The part where you have to make yourself known is totally very challenging. However, if you really want to succeed with your passion, a writer I know said that you must endure the hardships and make sure to be resilient because everyone really starts from being unknown. That writer is actually a very popular book author now and she started writing novels on Wattpad. After gathering so many fans, she was eventually invited by a publishing company to submit her manuscript and fortunately she was able to publish almost all of her books. Same goes to when you want to publish ebooks, if you gain a lot of loyal readers, they will definitely follow you wherever platform you publish your books.

6 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

That make sense, I was also thinking of wattpad, however the majority of the audience there are teens and wants romance so I have a slim chance getting a big audience there.

6 years ago

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jaybee19

jaybee19

Most wattpad readers are definitely teenagers, however I've actually observed that most of them doesn't like to read romance books anymore. I've actually seen a lot of books there that are sci-fi, action, and even crime investigation stories and they have a lot of readers as well. I actually think that most of the teenagers nowadays don't like to read full romance books anymore because they've seen a lot of it on TV and so what they want are extraordinary stories that most film companies and TV Networks won't show.

6 years ago

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Jeane

Jeane

That certainly does work. Create a blog, be active on social media groups where prospective customers hang out and build relationships that will prove profitable. How long that would take, no one can tell for sure.

For those willing to spend a little money to promote their books, you'll probably sell your books faster if you advertise because people who visit some of these sites where the ads will be displayed are people who have the intention of buying ebooks.

6 years ago

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overcast

overcast

The process is something like this. You write the story (assuming its a fiction storybook). You then edit it for the quality using editors in the freelance sites. You the format the book for ebook formats which are also suitable for print. Then you publish it on online platform such as kindle, nook, smashwords etc. And use createspace in case if you have any paperback book demands. That way the publishing process works out.

6 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

This is really helpful thank you for this. It is a nice idea to start in ebook before printing an actual book, to see of the costumers are interested with my book.

6 years ago

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overcast

overcast

I think publishing the book as ebook first tells you if people like it. And the print book being expensive for both buyers and the seller. The sales are not something you can rely on. So it's always better to start with the publishing ebook. So one can go ahead with that slowly.

6 years ago

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Youngshark

Youngshark

Yeaah yeaah yeaah an ebook will always act as a test in the market allowing one to get a feel of how customers will appreciate the content to be published and hence when one makes it a trial and error it can be a significant indicator.

6 years ago

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emiaj55

emiaj55

If I may ask; If we publish the book online with e-book format, do they get copy-righted automatically when we posted it on those websites? My concern is that it might get copied before we could publish the physical books ourselves. Is there any possibility this might happen? How could we avoid this?

6 years ago

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vinaya

vinaya

I cannot tell about other platforms, however, when you publish with Amazon, copyrights lie with you, the author of the book. Since kindle books are very different from ebooks on pdf or epub formats, it is quite hard to steal Kindle ebooks.

6 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

I agree with you, amazon is a really good platform.

6 years ago

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emiaj55

emiaj55

I see thank you very much. I think I would take into consideration putting my works on Amazon just to try it out.

6 years ago

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overcast

overcast

Yes the copyright is handled in case of the books sold by the stores. And another thing is that lot of published book from amazon are protected this way. And nobody can second guess their publishing system so far. That's what I have learned.

6 years ago

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Jeane

Jeane

If you choose the self-publishing route, your readers can choose to either buy a digital copy of the book or get the paperback. So you really don't need to choose either of the two.

As it has already been mentioned, there are numerous places on the net where you can publish your ebook. I also would recommend publishing via an ebook aggregator like draft2digital or smashwords because they'll do the rest of the hard work for you - getting your book listed on more than five ebook marketplaces.

6 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

I've heard of those too, but I don't know which is better. Also, which pays more.

6 years ago

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Jeane

Jeane

You'll probably make more money if you list the ebook you want to sell on the online marketplace yourself because the "middlemen" will take a cut of what you earn.

But to answer your question, I think the aggregator that would get your book listed on more marketplaces would probably earn you more money. That would be Draft2digital.

6 years ago

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Youngshark

Youngshark

Thanks very much for the suggestion my friend. It is an eyeopener that cannot be undervalued and I highly appreciate it since it has widened my search for content sites such as during the periods that I need to look for fresh content from people in book form.

6 years ago

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vinaya

vinaya

If you publish with Kindle, you have an option to auto publish with createspace. Kindle and createspace are both free publishing platform from Amazon. Kindle is ebook publishing platform where as createspace is print on demand publishing platform. I have used both platform and made some money by publishing ebook and print on demand book

6 years ago

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jayjaydimson

jayjaydimson

You can publish your own book on the internet if you want, there's an e-book available now in play store or app store, just make sure to input your details for the author authenticity.

6 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

oh really? that's wonderful! what is the name of the app?

6 years ago

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emiaj55

emiaj55

I am also interested. Is this a viable way to publish your E-book?

6 years ago

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mitan143

mitan143

I have one friend who is currently a writer of a book - the printed one. She managed to get her works to be published as book through her friend'as referral to the company where she works now. Try to ask your friends if they knew one company that could help and hire you. But you can search on the internet with companies who are hiring and searching for a qualified writer for them. I believe there are a lot of choices available on the internet that you can choose from.

6 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

That's great good for her, I will ask my friends and see if they knew someone from a publishing company.

6 years ago

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emiaj55

emiaj55

That is really fortunate. It is really valuable for writers to have a good connection to publishers. They could really save a lot of effort in marketing their products.

6 years ago

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vhinz

vhinz

I haven't published any book yet but I think e-book is much easier to produce and distribute and it doesn't cost you big amount of money to sell. If you have an e-book, you can sell it on your own website or on Amazon. Digital publishing gives opportunity to many authors that have been rejected by publishers.

6 years ago

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overcast

overcast

Indeed ebook publishing is lot easier. And with tools like amazon ebook creator, sigil and calibre. You can pretty much easily work with any book. All you need is written content. And then you can format that in an hour or two. And then get to publishing in few minutes to hours.

6 years ago

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vhinz

vhinz

e-books has big market these days because it can be read anywhere as long as you have your smartphone, tablet or laptop. It has greater perceive value because it is concise and the content is easy to digest and can be finish in one sitting. Amazon actually now sold more kindle e-books than paper print. And the demand for e-books is continuously increasing. This only means that e-books is more profitable than hardbound. Great opportunity for e-book authors.

6 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

But it is really hard to sell an ebook if you haven't have a name in book industry.

6 years ago

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Jeane

Jeane

I've been reading something about how you can sell artwork to people you already know.

When you publish your ebook, your first customers should be your social media connections - friends, family, their friends. That's how some photographers make money when they start out. There is no reason why writers shouldn't try that.

6 years ago

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amelia88

amelia88

When I published a book I used a site called Lulu.com. They allow you to upload your own book and publish it, complete with its own ISBN. It's worth a look if you plan on trying to publish something yourself.

6 years ago

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Martinsx1

Martinsx1

I'm definitely going to be check out this site which you have recommended called Lulu.com and see how possible it is for me to publish some of my written works.

Poems are my major breakthrough with writing, so I'm definitely going to see if I can publish a few of my poems on the site.

6 years ago

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amelia88

amelia88

I think you can publish whatever, whether it be books, short stories, poems...it's open to whatever. I hope you enjoy using their site for publishing as much as I have!

6 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

Noted, I haven't heard that site before, so thank you for this useful suggestion.

6 years ago

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allyn2017

allyn2017

I haven't heard of that website. I might visit that website and try my luck.

6 years ago

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Martinsx1

Martinsx1

From what I have read on several articles online, there are sites where you can publish your own book and they will give you copyright. Although I haven't done so, I'm very sure that it's possible to have it done.

If you have the funds to publish your book in hardcopy, it's very good as well. I have only published hardcopy of children poems.

6 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

Thabks for this info, what is the name of the website?

6 years ago

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edencaga

edencaga

I want illustrated children's book. I wanted to try creating children's book with illustrations. I am not really good in writing though but I think finding appropriate authors is good. I have printed a children's book before because of our thesis. Printing shops will give you discount if you print thousands of book.

6 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

I think you can onlinebookclub, send your book there before you post it in amazon.

6 years ago

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edencaga

edencaga

Thank you for information. Yes, I will try to send books in onlinebookclub. I think it's good to have a book published and owned by you. I am not into amazon but will definitely try to sell it soon once we finish the book that was planned by my friend since he is into making stories and poems.

6 years ago

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anyone01

anyone01

You can actually do that. And you could do it without assist. Whether or not all people buys your book or ebook is another story, however. It will should appeal to readers. Appropriate spelling won’t be sufficient. It will must be an excellent story with desirable characters, set in an exciting area. You’ll need a creative cover as nicely.

6 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

I agree with you, proper spelling and grammar is really important too, even if you have a great story and characters if you have an awful grammar, the readers will be discourage with your book.

6 years ago

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mdayrit

mdayrit

As a beginner, I think it will be easier to publish an ebook first. I heard that "Kindle publishing" is a good venue for selling ebooks. Just watched it over YouTube while searching for more ways to earn money online. Haven't tried it really or even obtain information about it yet but it is one in my list of things to do.

6 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

I think so too, but it is really hard to publish ebook if you haven't establish yourself first.

6 years ago

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allyn2017

allyn2017

I've heard about kindle, but the problem with it is you have a lot of competition there.

6 years ago

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Jeane

Jeane

There is competition everywhere. This (concern) however could be eliminated if you put some effort into promoting your ebook. Supposing you were selling the ebook on your blog, how would you get those who visit your site to buy your ebook?

Lots of writers who sell many kindle books use ads to find customers. There is one site ( I don't remember the url) which guarantees 30 downloads for every $5 ad. Depending on how your book is priced, a number of ads worth $5 ( running for a few weeks) could make you some decent profits. Obviously this won't go on indefinitely but at least you have the guarantee that you'll get some sales.

6 years ago

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theresajane

theresajane

Yes, I agree with you. Publishing E-books first is a good training ground and activity for an amateur writer. A lot of people are using Kindle, though it may be a tough competition, still, you'll have a great foundation in writing as you will realize what needs improvement.

6 years ago

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cks003

cks003

If publishing a book, one needs a publisher and if e-book, one can delegate the publishing job to Amazon, which has the widest market for e-book sellers. One has to create a manuscript of the book with the cover page ready. Preferably one has appointed an editor to edit and give comments about the book before sending it for publication. One is also encouraged to send a free copy to some well known researchers in that particular field, so the readers can give a comment when launching the book.

6 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

I know a site that you can pay for a book review, so I think that's a good start for me.

6 years ago

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Jeane

Jeane

To have people review your book free, for a few days offer it free to readers on Amazon.

In order for lots of people to know that they can get a free ebook, you'll need to find them on sites which list free ebooks. Should you get a few hundred downloads, there is a high probability a few of those who read the book will leave some feedback especially if they like it.

This could also help you reach more potential readers - your local paper. Send them a letter informing that you have a book they could review, if they publish book reviews. There's no guarantee you'll get a response but should you get one, the free publicity you get would be really good for you.

6 years ago

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theresajane

theresajane

Well, as we all know, publishing E-books is the most convenient and easiest one. If you are still starting, I suggest that you first publish and sell your e-book on your website, if you have one. If you don't have one, then you can try Amazon Kindle.

6 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

Thank you for this useful comment.

6 years ago

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vivalavanda

vivalavanda

There are a lot of ways to publish your own book: through a publishing company, self-publish, or publishing online. Through publishing company is an extensive work because you need to comply with the standards of the company before your work will be published. Self-publish is expensive because the money is all on you. The cheapest and easiest one would be publishing online, if you are just starting, this would be the perfect platform.

6 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

It is indeed expensive, but if you will go with ebook, I think it will be less expensive.

6 years ago

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theresajane

theresajane

I agree with you. E-book will be the best option for newbies. It's cheaper too.

6 years ago

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DenisP

DenisP

I’d say that if you’re going to self-publish, e-books are definitely the easier way to go. These days just about anyone can self-publish an e-book because it’s basically just distributing a PDF file (or epub if it’s specifically for e-readers). That is definitely the easiest way to go, but you’re probably not going to make a lot of sales at first.

Going through an official publisher is going to get you more sales right off the bat, simply thanks to the promotional services they offer. On the downside, it can be quite difficult to find someone to publish your book if you’re not a well-known writer. You kind of just have to throw a bunch of manuscripts at a wall of publishers and hope that one of them sticks.

6 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

yes, I agree with you. It is a harder path if you self publish your book.

6 years ago

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jaymish

jaymish

The internet has changed the publishing industry. I agree with the comments you can self publish.However you need to learn online marketing. You can put your book on Amazon for sale. You can find affiliates willing to promote it. I don't think publishing a physical book its a good idea. I think those times are truly gone. I think it's very expensive and you probably will not be able to get back your money. This is not a bad thing , as paper is made from trees and I'm all about saving the trees.If you have a good plot or information to get out there, there's no shortage of ways you can publish your book.

6 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

I agree with you, as sad as it is. I think of that sometimes too.

6 years ago

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theresajane

theresajane

I agree with you. The reality could be sad at times, but we have to learn how to deal with it and look for ways that you can still have an advantage

6 years ago

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cmoneyspinner

cmoneyspinner

A friend sent me an eMail about her newest book and it reminded me of this organization. It's called B.R.A.G. Medallion and it supports people who want to be self-published authors. https://www.bragmedallion.com/

6 years ago

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HappyLady

HappyLady

I have done this quite a few times. You can use somewhere like Lulu.com or createspace. They will even give you a free ISBN. However it is very important to follow all the formatting guidelines. If you do not, the book will not look right. Publishers can easily tell a self-published book as people forget there are industry guidelines to follow. Research these and google a bit about self-publishing to be sure that you follow them. The other thing people do not realise is there are things publishers do not want to see in books. I go to prowritingaid.com and remove all sorts of things until I get a high score for both grammar and style and even then I am looking to see what publishers look for. I also use an editor. I and a friend co-edit. You cannot edit all by yourself. The world is littered with self-published books that are not properly edited. That was how I discovered I needed to work on my tendency to use too many sticky/glue words. You will find it easier to write the book than format it. Never use more than two or at most three fonts. Make every chapter uniform. Also, my tip is to use H1 for the heading and H2 for chapters and never go below H3 even in a print book as that makes it easier for ebook foratting if I want both. You need to work with styles for any kind of book so learn how to do this. Page numbering can be a headache. Also, while you can do your headings forget any formatting until you have edited the whole book. Every little change will make another. Finally, make sure you have a killer cover. I could write a book about this. Just now I am formatting a book and it is taking ages. Factor in as much time for editing and foratting as for writing your book.

If you use a free ISBN that does save money, but publishers and booksellers will be able to tell you self-published.

Don't expect to make a forutune, but every so often, someone does and I think every writer should self-publish at least one book to know the process.

Also, you cannot self-publish and then send a manuscript to the editor as they will reject anything online and some may, if they accept a future manuscript, be iffy about what you have published.

I got a lot of information from a publisher I met. I have done this quite a few times. You can use somewhere like Lulu.com or createspace. They will even give you a free ISBN. However it is very important to follow all the formatting guidelines. If you do not, the book will not look right. Publishers can easily tell a self-published book as people forget there are industry guidelines to follow. Research these and google a bit about self-publishing to be sure that you follow them. The other thing people do not realise is there are things publishers do not want to see in books. I go to prowritingaid.com and remove all sorts of things until I get a high score for both grammar and style and even then I am looking to see what publishers look for. I also use an editor. I and a friend co-edit. You cannot edit all by yourself. The world is littered with self-published books that are not properly edited. That was how I discovered I needed to work on my tendency to use too many sticky/glue words. You will find it easier to write the book than format it. Never use more than two or at most three fonts. Make every chapter uniform. Also, my tip is to use H1 for the heading and H2 for chapters and never go below H3 even in a print book as that makes it easier for ebook foratting if I want both. You need to work with styles for any kind of book so learn how to do this. Page numbering can be a headache. Also, while you can do your headings forget any formatting until you have edited the whole book. Every little change will make another. Finally, make sure you have a killer cover. I could write a book about this. Just now I am formatting a book and it is taking ages. Factor in as much time for editing and foratting as for writing your book. If you use a free ISBN that does save money, but publishers and booksellers will be able to tell you self-published. Don't expect to make a forutune, but every so often, someone does and I think every writer should self-publish at least one book to know the process. Also, you cannot self-publish and then send a manuscript to the editor as they will reject anything online and some may, if they accept a future manuscript, be iffy about what you have published. I got a lot of information from a publisher I met.

6 years ago

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angie828

angie828

Both ebooks and regular books have their own set of benefits. One thing that I will say is that if you decide to do a book, think about how book companies will often require a minimum amount printed. And this is a cost that can be quite a bit upfront. You may have to sell them on your own, which sometimes presents a problem for some. And if they do not sell, you may be stuck with tens or hundreds of books.

Ebooks are nice, however, not everyone is on board with technology, such as elderly people. So if you are targetting an older age group, you may wish to think about that.

6 years ago

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