Quick Guide to Self-Publishing.

Quick Guide to Self Publishing by Matt Blythe

It has been said that every person has at least one
book to write about his or her life experience.

How many pages is your book? And do you intend to
publish it into a printed book, which I advise you to, since
most self-publishers give you the option to make it available
as an ebook anyway.

With mine, I prepared the manuscript as a word .doc
then I can adjust the page size and edit the text whenever I
need to. You can then upload your file to a web site like,
http://www.lulu.com or http://www.createspace.com.
Amazon also have a digital text platform where you can self
publish ebooks as a Kindle download, which is becoming
popular, http://dtp.amazon.com .

I recommend lulu.com to start with. They have a
simple wizard, which leads you through the publishing
process step by step, makes all the necessary file conversions
for you and has a really cool cover design program. Best thing
about lulu is it is all free of charge to set your title up, assign
an ISBN number, and list it on the lulu.com website and on
www.amazon.com . You get your own customisable store and
you can distribute your title for a small fee if you want worldwide
distribution.If you choose distribution your title also gets listed in
online stores and is also available to order wholesale and over the
counter at local bookstores. Lulu also registers your book with
Google Books, which has a search inside preview that is kind
of neat.

If you want marketing and the backing of a publisher,
you can always self-publish or tout for a mainstream
publishing deal later since you retain the rights to your own
work. Self-publishing packages really depend on your budget
because their printed products are generally better quality
than some of the online publishers. Plus they have marketing
add-ons you can “add-on” later, budget permitting, and you
can still list your titles with online publishers anyway.
Lulu has a pretty cool help and discussion forum, which I have
found useful sometimes. You can also buy your own book at
cost, which some publishers do not offer.

Let me know when get published I would love to read
your book. Book swaps are a great way to mutually market
your book with other authors and compare notes. You can
agree to write each other a brief review and post it to your
web site, blogg or social network.

Best of luck with setting up and making sales. It can be
a long process but a rewarding one, so if you think your title
is worth reading stick with it. The setting up and editing is
the hardest part, after that it is just marketing, promotion and
looking forward to the next sales report.

"I’m really going to need help with this...
Sales reports? Marketing? Promotion? Those
terms are completely foreign to me and
intimidating!”

You learn these DETAILS as you go along. A good
book promotes itself when you set it up affectively.
I strongly recommend that before you do anything
else, SAVE A COPY of your book file to CD or floppy disc,
then PRINT OFF a copy of the manuscript. That way, if all
else fails digitally, you can still scan and OCR (optically
recognise) your text. Also, when you are famous your
manuscripts will be worth a fortune and you can auction
them on eBay for charity.

When I first printed my manuscript, it was only 78 pages.
After formatting, editing, text resizing and page layout,
it comes to 148 pages, so I wouldn’t worry about the size too
much. The way the mind works is you would have the
essential information down already. But if there is more you
feel you want to add during editing, go for it. Writing is form
of self-expression and a great way to use our time
constructively.

And I will want a signed copy of course!

One other thing I want to mention about self publishing; most
publishers prefer new titles that are not self published in advance.
This isn't a general rule, but some people self-publish all their titles
and still do not do well, and then they cannot get a publisher or an
 agent and they have nothign left to go on. Other publishers will notice
 if you are selling LOTS of copies of your book and want to know
about it...  so it is a swing and a roundabout you have to way up.

If you would rather have a publisher consider publishing your
manuscript for you, and saving you the time and the hassle, the
Inner Vision Press publishing imprint is now live and actively
seeking submissions.

Inner Vision Press has worldwide distribution through
the Ingram Channel and their partners Bertrams, Gardeners
and also has accounts with Nielsons and Bowkerlink
distribution databases. My books are seen by a lot of
potential customers including retailers like Amazon, Barnes
and Noble, WHSmith, and Waterstones, as well as libraries,
colleges and universities and bricks-and-mortar retail outlets.
The Inner Vision Press “print-on-demand” model uses
paper sourced from wholly sustainable managed forests.
Because my books are print-on-demand they never go out of
print and are always available for short runs from one book to
any number.

I supply ISBN’s for both printed and digital books, set
the title up, design the cover, set the retail price and
distribute worldwide. This includes press releases, social
networking and submission to all the major search engines.

Inner Vision Press aims to be a bridge between
mainstream publishing and self-publishing for authors in the
field of Personal and Spiritual Development, with a wide
scale exposure in the book market.

If you have written a book in the genres of Personal
and Spiritual Development, Enlightenment, Relationships,
Self Help, Transformational Psychology, Non-Fiction or
absolutely anything with an Inspirational Message from a
healing perspective, Inner Vision Press would like to hear
from you!





Copyrights Inner Vision Press 2012.