Does anyone have any pointers to good, useful online resources (forums, blogs, groups newsletters) about How to self-publish? I’m trying to seperate wheat from chaff here.
@bradenslen Kboards and Writers Sanctum are the two best forums. Patty Janson’s Self Publishing Unboxed series is my favorite how-to resource, but they’re books not blogs. Joanna Penn, Jane Friedman, and David Gaughran have popular blogs. Many of us follow The Digital Reader for industry news. DepositPhotos is a wildly popular site for stock art used in book covers. It’s a broad subject so let me know if you’re looking for any specific subtopics. 🙂
@bradenslen I remember reading APE by Guy Kawasaki a few years back. I thought it was good but I can’t 100% vouch as I knew little then and can’t remember too much. (Hope it at least gets you started).
@Cheri Thank you so much for the reply, brimming with leads! In truth, I'm asking for some old and dear friends (yeah they all say that) one has published several print YA/Historical novels in paperback but her small press publisher (a one man shop) has gone out of business so she's thinking of a republishing after the legal stuff is over. The second is a writer with several completed manuscripts that have caught some interest from agents but just haven't gotten published. I'm sussing out starting points for them should they want to self-publish. I thank you for being so helpful. // cc. @kaa @ChrisJWilson
@bradenslen You're very welcome! If they decide not to go Amazon exclusive (Kindle Unlimited) it's worth checking out Draft2Digital. D2D will allow them to simultaneously publish in a bunch of stores (and library catalogs) with a single document and unified sales reporting. D2D takes a small cut of the royalties but they've got good customer service and will format the books nicely for you at no cost.
@bradenslen I follow The Everyday Novelist podcast, by a self published author. He also published an ebook called Business 101 which is geared toward writers. I appreciate most that he delves into the mindset and attitudes toward money required to successfully self publish, instead of merely providing methods.
@Cheri This is key information. I had heard on some podcast, a few years ago, that you could get locked into Amazon exclusively but could not remember the details. D2D sounds really good. I was impressed when I saw I could buy your books so many places/readers/platforms. I mean what is the point of taking control of your own publishing only to ceed that control back to Amazon only?
I'll pass this along and thanks again.
@bradenslen The Rocking Self-Publishing Podcast has lots of good interviews with authors telling how they got started.
@bradenslen Joanna Penn also has a long running podcast about self-publishing. She is always looking at it from a business angle.