This manual is a valuable collection of information for promoting a book. Since the author is speaking from experience, he is able to explain the intricacies involved in self-publishing and to share workable ways to be successful at it. Charts and links are available, and everything is easily explained. It may be possible to do the research yourself and gather the information that he is providing; however, I think the better investment of time is to buy the book and take advantage of the tools and insights generously included in it.
— Red Sapphire
This guide takes you all throughout the publishing process, ensuring you a smooth trip throughout the process of publishing your book. I think this guide, and the rest in the series can be a very valuable asset for new writers, or those interested in moving into self publishing. They are well worth the price for the series, you will learn much from these guides.
— Thomas Lawson
Hank covers the basics and shows you how to do it and better than that, he gives you a list of free resources that will help you do it better. If you or someone you know is thinking about or has already written a book this book will help make your dream become reality so much faster.With Hank’s knowledge behind your efforts you won’t be one of them.
— AD Simmons
Edition #63 – January 5, 2014
SELF-PUBLISHING A BOOK
By Hank Quense
This book is part of my Self-publishing Guides. There are three other books in the series besides this one. Marketing Plans for Self-published Books concerns itself with marketing and selling a book while Manage Your Self-publishing Project provides a way to manage and control the two complicated processes of publishing and marketing a book. It uses flow charts and mind-maps to present the information in a visual format. In effect, it integrates the publishing and marketing process into a unified project. Business Basics for Authors discusses business issues that authors need to know.
Recently, I read an article by a renowned author who claimed that self- publishing is easy. You just upload the cover and manuscript files and the book is done. Technically, this is correct, but it also facetious. The statement ignores the thorny issues involved in getting the manuscript prepared and into a proper format so that it can be uploaded.
Ignoring the vital preparation steps means the book — no matter how great the content — will look amateurish. Such a book will get few recommendations from readers and won’t pick up any highly rated reviews. One final argument about the need to do all this preparation work: when the book is published, your name is on it.
The ‘easy’ statement above also ignores the difficult process of marketing a book. That marketing process is doubly difficult when the author is unknown and is impossible when the book screams “Amateur.”
The purpose of the Self-publishing Guides is to explain the procedures involved in publishing and marketing a book. The more an author knows about these processes and procedures, the less likely he or she will fall prey to the scammers who swarm around new self-published authors.
One more comment: publishing a book means you have a business. The mission of that business is to sell the book. From this, it follows that the publishing decisions you have to make should be business decisions, not ego-driven decisions.
This book is based on years of experience. I have four novels, three collections of short fiction and a series called Fiction Writing Guides. My first two books were put out by a small indie press house. I self-published a few books and now have mine on the imprint, Strange Worlds Publishing.
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Hank Quense writes humorous and satiric scifi and fantasy stories. He also writes about fiction writing and self-publishing. He has published 14 books and 50 short stories along with a few dozen articles.
He often lectures on fiction writing and publishing and has a series of guides covering the basics on each subject. He is currently working on a series of four books called Self-publishing Guides.
The book titles are: Self-publishing a Book, Marketing Plans for Self-published Books, Manage Your Self-Publishing Project and Business Basics for Authors.
Based on his journey of discovery on how to write publishable fiction, he details a process that focuses the writer’s creativity on the important elements of story design.
He and his wife, Pat, usually vacation in another galaxy or parallel universe. They also time travel occasionally when Hank is searching for new story ideas.
Find Hank on:
Facebook – Website – Twitter
Strange Worlds Online