Questions tagged [self-publishing]

Any effort by the author to produce his own work, whether it be in print, electronic, or other format.

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34
votes
9answers
12k views

How to prevent ebook piracy from stealing your livelihood?

I'm a part-time writer, still working on my novel (with a long term goal to make a living as a writer). My partner is also a writer, full time, with a couple dozen novels in ebook format, who makes a ...
34
votes
12answers
8k views

Is it true that good novels will automatically sell themselves on Amazon (and so on) and there is no need for one to waste time promoting?

This is what Dean Wesley Smith teaches in his articles and workshop videos. He says that all you have to do is just write and publish your books on kdp (Kindle Direct Publishing, the self-publishing ...
32
votes
3answers
6k views

Should I self-publish my novella on Amazon or try my luck getting publishers?

I have completed my novellas first draft which is 32k words long. For all the reasons, I was doing research as to whether self-publish or try my luck getting a publisher. I should tell you that I ...
30
votes
5answers
3k views

How do I promote a self-published book?

I am in the process of writing a book and I'm considering setting up my own publishing agency to get it published, or else publish solely through the internet, but there is the obvious problem of ...
29
votes
5answers
846 views

Publishing for Kindle

I am very keen to get into writing, and have come up with several outline plots for short stories, novels and even trilogies. However, one hurdle, which I expect is not uncommon for most new authors, ...
22
votes
4answers
1k views

What's the distinction between “vanity publishing” and “self publishing”?

This question came up on the pros and cons of publishing avenues question; when I tried to look it up, I found the results confusing. For example, SFWA's explanation of publishing types gives the ...
21
votes
5answers
26k views

Can a self publishing author use a Pen name/Pseudonym?

I know that an author can use a Pen name/Pseudonym instead of a true name when publishing the traditional way. This is done by signing contracts with the publisher/agent using the real name ...
18
votes
6answers
794 views

Can I self-publish on a reputable publishing platform, and how much would it cost?

With the barrier to having a publisher sign a new author seemingly high, especially without prior success or experience, are there any good author-funded alternatives out there to the repeated mailing ...
18
votes
3answers
731 views

Pros and Cons of different styles of publishing

I was reading on the meta site that someone thinks we're hostile to self-publishing, and I read over some old questions looking for evidence. I didn't really find signs of hostility, but I certainly ...
16
votes
7answers
3k views

Why shouldn't I use a pen name?

I don't like my name. I feel like seeing my name on the cover of my novel will be an embarassment more than a moment of pride - I just can't take things I've written under my own name seriously, for ...
15
votes
3answers
2k views

First Chapter for Free?

I am currently working on a novel, and am approximately 45% of the way through (~37,500 words / 100 A5 pages). Working full time, I am unable to finish my story within the next month, and I plan on ...
15
votes
7answers
2k views

Does self publishing via Amazon or similar services make your book ineligible for later acceptance by a publisher?

I have a non-fiction book that is ready for publishing, and I am weighing between whether to self-publish via modern methods made available by the internet, or go the more traditional route of ...
15
votes
4answers
11k views

How to handle taxes for a self-published book

I'm thinking of publishing a book on kindle, but I don't currently have a business set up. Do you need a business to publish a book? I'm curious as to how to handle US taxes for the royalties. I ...
15
votes
1answer
24k views

What binding and paper should be used on a self-printed novel?

The last time I printed a book I just needed something done cheaply and quickly. The print store used very bright, glossy office paper (the same that they use for office documents) and used ...
14
votes
4answers
2k views

How much web presence should I have?

I am getting ready to release my first fictional novel. At the moment I have zero web presence (besides E-mail accounts). I am considering using Amazon's Kindle Direct. Before releasing should I ...
14
votes
4answers
580 views

Best e-book formatting process?

The question I would like to ask is this: does anyone else have their own process (or one borrowed from elsewhere) that they use for formatting and then creating their e-books? Are you using other ...
13
votes
6answers
3k views

Self publishing: Do I still need to follow the arbitrary word count limits?

I am thinking of going down the self publishing path. Now looking at most agents and publishers websites, it seems the expected word count for most novels is around 70-90K. Now these word counts may ...
13
votes
4answers
2k views

What matters more when it comes to book covers? Is it ‘professional quality’ or relevancy?

This is a sort of follow up to my previous question. It is generally understood that covers matter a great deal in terms of getting people to click on a fiction eBook and check out its blurb and ...
12
votes
2answers
929 views

Is publishing to Amazon Kindle-alternative eBook markets worth the time and effort?

I have published a few collection Kindle eBooks, and am planning on publishing at least 3 more in the not-too-distant future. While my experience with the Kindle marketplace has been mostly positive, ...
11
votes
6answers
4k views

Are tables of contents mandatory in novels?

I've had several people ask me why my fiction story does not have a table of contents. I never really thought about it, seeing as plenty of fiction stories do not have one either. Is a table of ...
11
votes
6answers
24k views

If I get a free ISBN through Amazon's CreateSpace now, will that impact any decisions about getting my own ISBN later?

I am preparing my book for print-on-demand through Amazon's CreateSpace service, and I am trying to understand the options for getting an ISBN. I am a little confused. CreateSpace offers a "free" ...
11
votes
1answer
469 views

How to express copyright when you use a pen name

I am about to self-publish my first novel using a pen name. I will be registering the copyright this week. My question is, on the first page of the novel where you put all the publishing/copyright ...
11
votes
1answer
167 views

Advice on Amazon Marketing Campaigns?

Amazon has two types of marketing campaigns, "sponsored products", and "product display ads". Can anyone point me to information about how effective these are? I'm especially interested in what works ...
10
votes
6answers
4k views

What are the advantages and disadvantages of digital rights management for self-published authors?

DRM (digital rights management) is being used in just about every electronic format, including files used in electronic readers. My question is whether this is a good thing or a bad thing for writers, ...
10
votes
5answers
879 views

Would there be any problems with choosing a pseudonym of another ethnicity and sex?

Taking some advice here You might notice that pen names usually sound like names a real person would have. So when you want to make a writing career under a pen name, you might want to pick a less ...
10
votes
5answers
755 views

How overcome the budget constraint while building a fiction writing career?

Recently I was exposed to several sources that suggest that writing one novel a month is possible: The book 2K to 10K by Rachel Aaron, "Write. Publish. Repeat", and my old statistics file that shows ...
10
votes
2answers
534 views

Are online critique groups a good substitute for editors?

I'm thinking of self publishing. Now what all the blogs tell me I have to do is hire a professional editor, who will see any plot / character holes, other story problems etc. (For the moment, I'm not ...
10
votes
6answers
241 views

Is it advisable to begin marketing a book before it is published?

I watched a presentation called Your First 10k Readers. It explains a marketing course that will build an audience for your book prior to release - even prior to completion. It sounds sensible and the ...
10
votes
2answers
190 views

Is a professional editor worth the cost?

The pros and cons of alternatives to professional editors have already been discussed here. It has already been established that nothing can quite replace the many alternatives that exist, as these ...
10
votes
5answers
312 views

What can publishers do for me in a niche market?

I'm writing a book in a niche market, and it's my first one. It seems to me that the following things need to happen to publish my book: Finish the book Design cover (a friend is helping) Edit ...
10
votes
2answers
245 views

Will people not want to download my book if it's put up on sale for free?

A lot of people say that putting your book up to be sold on sites such as Amazon for free will boost your sales, but I'm really skeptical. Won't that put readers off--thinking that something must be ...
9
votes
9answers
16k views

Cheapest way to self-bind a large book

I'm finishing up a 350 page book that I will self publish. I plan on printing my book at a local printing store but they charge $6 to bind each book. I'm paying my tuition with the profit of this book ...
9
votes
2answers
1k views

Kindle self-publishing, automatically update

I have a couple of small ebooks available on Amazon via Kindle direct publishing - I've just found a mistake in one of them so I fixed it and have reuploaded the file. I'm assuming that everyone who ...
9
votes
2answers
279 views

Can I make money from short fiction?

Can one still make money from short fiction, and what is the best way? I know in days gone past it has been possible to sell short fiction to magazines or papers, who would pay per word, or some such, ...
8
votes
5answers
14k views

Is CreateSpace 100% free for self-publishing?

I looked all over CreateSpace, but cannot find anything to tell me if the service is 100% free to use. I wonder if there are hidden costs. I read that some people paid for a printed copy to make sure ...
8
votes
7answers
5k views

What is the most cost effective way for me to get my book printed?

I have written a book that I would like to get printed. I am not looking to have it published at this time but would like to get a limited number of copies (100-200) printed up for family and friends. ...
8
votes
2answers
323 views

Which free licence to choose for my book (manual)?

I wrote a 50 page manual that I plan to release for free. I do not mind if the book is copied, translated, printed, shared, ... I just want two things: I am the only person who can sell a copy of ...
8
votes
4answers
188 views

Do most e-book writers just self publish on Kindle to start with?

On a lot of writers forums and in articles, it seems like Kindle is the main platform most self-publishing writers use just because that one is the one that is referenced all the time. I was ...
8
votes
2answers
2k views

Is it impractical (not cost effective) to publish individual short stories on Amazon KDP?

This answer suggests that nothing published through Amazon (or other indie e-book route) should be priced at $0.99, and I'll give that Dean Wesley Smith has a lot of experience at this and is a ...
8
votes
2answers
158 views

Do I need permission to name organizations in a non-fiction book?

I am self-publishing a dog photography book. I have obtained permissions for all subjects in the book. One of the pictures I am using has the American Kennel Club (AKC) logo in it. I'm assuming I need ...
8
votes
2answers
463 views

Would Amazon allow sex between transformed humans (animal/object) with normal humans

I'm concerned about what Amazon will allow since their guidelines are so vague, or in the case of what I am writing, a gray area. In the stories I'm writing, human beings are transformed into ...
8
votes
3answers
248 views

How to advertise a free e-book?

I've created a free e-book in online HTML, EPUB, MOBI, and PDF formats. I've created a small site to advertise this book and an other site (currently supports forums) for the community of readers of ...
8
votes
1answer
2k views

Promoting your books when you've written under a pseudonym/pen name

I know this question could be considered a "list" question, or "subjective", but I think that it is a valid question and can be quite helpful for a lot of authors. My question is, as a self-published ...
8
votes
1answer
114 views

Are there certain keywords that Amazon expects one to use if one's genre fiction book contains sex scenes but doesn't really fall under erotica?

I’m having a lot of trouble with this issue, not least for the very fact that I am not even really sure what exactly ‘erotica’ means and how it differs from so-called ‘romance’ fiction that has ...
7
votes
6answers
520 views

Publishing and selling ebooks [closed]

What are my: options caveats / pro's & con's reasonable expectations for publishing my work digitally as e-books? I remember Stephen King did something along these lines with his 'Dark Tower' ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views

Outsourcing people to make a cover [closed]

I need some very specific art for my book cover and will probably not be able to find a generic one on a website, so do I hire someone for it and what's the average hourly wage for hiring one? How do ...
7
votes
3answers
366 views

Copyright - Can I go to any other publisher?

I have a question. I have self-published a book through Partridge publishing. This is what my contract says - "1.4. You will retain all rights to the content of the Work. We do not own rights to your ...
7
votes
3answers
148 views

Would a full service PoD company include a literary agent?

I have been communicating with three PoD companies. I was considering the first, it has been in business for years and provides a certain number of copies to the author, the rest are sold from their ...
7
votes
3answers
270 views

Can I ePublish my out-of-print history book?

Can I assume that the rights to my history book Frontier Theatre (Sono Nis 1983) reverted wholly back to me when the book went out of print around 1992? The contract was a standard pre-digital ...
7
votes
1answer
4k views

Is there a way to know who bought my books on Amazon?

I self-published some books on Amazon. I find it frustrating that I cannot contact my customers to ask for feedback on the books / ask them if they are interested in further products and use the book ...
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