Self-publishing

Vonita

Hi,

Has anyone self-published, and willing to share stories with me? Have you used Xlibris / Author Solutions / Lulu etc. Interested to hear about others experiences. Either email or comment below please! Would love to hear your feedback.

Thank you!

39 thoughts on “Self-publishing”

  1. I am interested in self publishing my memories, and poetry. I have not done it before. Please do give pointers at how to do it, or how you did it? What were the difficulties, and what lies ahead? Thank you. Sheen.

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    1. HI Sheen,

      I have only had my book designed and edited independently (my own choice of design and editor). I am still in the process of having my book available in POD (print on demand), at the moment I have PDF availability. Looking for feedback from others. I have had a few terrible experiences over the past six months, but will share those when my book is finally published in print format.

      Good luck with yours in the meantime!
      Vonita.

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  2. i write some science fiction and fantasy – there is a facebook page that lets me know where publishers need work in my genre
    the name is
    OPEN CALL: SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY & PULP MARKETS

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  3. I used CreateSpace and it was an easy process. Pretty sure they’re by far the biggest self publishing platform. I had a couple of things that I didn’t like when I got my PDF proof and then also in the print proof and all I had to do was tell them and submit the changes and it was worked out. You can always call their customer service and they are always helpful. And since they’re an Amazon company, it isn’t necessary to have your book way overpriced.

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  4. I’ve published three books on amazon kindle. It’s quite easy. The only problem is that if you publish your book on amazon, lulu etcetera you will get no promotion whatsoever therefore it can stay on your page in the internet with zero chance of ever being spotted by potential customers With amazon though if you publish your first book for free for the first three months many people will download it and you will be known. The good thing is that even if you offer it for free you will get some money from the amazon global fund for books sales. I think that it’s worth doing like that. I didn’t do it like this because I had no need. However the next one will be free so when people will download it they will see my other three. Another thing that I’ve done is to have a page titled My Books in this blog in another blog and a website that I have. Remember that publicity is the soul of commerce. Talent alone is not enough in this highly competitive field therefore you must think of how to advertise your books first of all.

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    1. Hi, thank you for this feedback. I will be embarking on a marketing campaign, however, I’ve had many problems getting my book published in the first place. I have had it professionally designed and edited, and have an ebook at the moment, am trying to work out next steps! Thank you so much for your feedback! 🙂

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  6. I am currently looking into using Createspace (Amazon) because it seems very easy. Also with the Amazon platform you quickly can get a Ebook (kindle) and paper version. If you’re really wanting to push things, they also have Audiable.com where you can get an audio version of the book.

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  7. Createspace, Word to format, create soft copy and EPUB for Kindle/smartphone readers. You can format your own cover with templates. Photoshop helps with getting photos to exact size for front cover. Forget FB advertising – all but worthless.

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  8. welcome. If you format correctly using Word – it works for soft copy and EPUB with little changes. Table of Contents in soft copy using Word but remove for EPUB. Follow these rules and it will a snap.
    For Example, let’s assume your book has a few main sections (Title Page, Copyright, Preface, Body, Epilogue) and a number of chapters, some of which contain subchapters or subsections. Your EPUB TOC will therefore consist of three levels:
    1.Apply Heading 1 style to the Title and to each line containing a Section name (copyright, prologue, etc.) or section (Part 1, Section II, etc.). Heading 1 style will always appear at the top of the next page.
    2.Apply Heading 2 style to each line containing a Chapter name or number
    3.Apply Heading 3 style to each line containing a subchapter or subsection.

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  11. use this right under your copyright info – Copyright © All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems – except in the case of brief quotations – without permission in writing from the author.

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      1. Kindle EPUB version add final page after: ~ THE END ~

        Back Cover
        place here because you won’t have in a E-book version. Tell about author and/or what will be on soft copy back cover. List website if you have one.

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  12. get your own EPUB reader to check out your Kindle version!
    Get Kindle for PC Free!
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_pc_mkt_lnd?docId=1000426311
    Get Kindle for iPhone
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_iphone_mkt_lnd?docId=1000301301
    Get Kindle for BlackBerry
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=klm_lnd_dtl?docId=1000468551
    Get Kindle for iPad
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_ipad_mkt_lnd?docId=1000490441
    Get Kindle for Android
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_red_ddp_dtl?ie=UTF8&docId=165849822

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  13. I used CreateSpace and they were great. The website is user friendly and has great tips/educational info about their process. It posts to Amazon immediately after you approve the final manuscript. They even provide a template for formatting so you don’t have to pay someone to do it for you.

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  14. My situation is a bit different. And I’m in the process of publishing my first book. But I’m not charging any money for my book, which means I’m not going to use createspace because it won’t let me keep my book free 100% of the time. I’m leaning towards smashwords (which will still add my book to places like B&N, Kobo, and Apple iBooks) and wattpad. I am considering doing print on demand at lulu for the cost of having the book printed and shipped, but there will be no profit for me.

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      1. Writing is not only my passion, but it’s my therapy. I do it to help me cope with some very unfortunate things that have happened in my life and it keeps me from sinking. I want as many people as possible to be able to read my books. Maybe one day, but for now, it’s something I want to share. And I’ll definitely keep you posted on lulu.

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      1. That is right! I did not cash my first check but I will see how that works. Amazon has possibilities all over the world. I get the money transferred on my bank account.

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