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A Handy Guide to Self-Publishing

If you are a n00b in the world of publishing and self-publishing, have I got a treat for you! At the beginning of the year, I had just finished writing my first novel, In the Days. It was sitting on my computer, all shiny and read to go somewhere. A friend of mine recommended that I self-publish it, which meant…what? As a total newbie, I had no idea what to do to self-publish my work. I'm a writer, plain and simple. All of the other aspects of publishing a book beyond typing it out was--and still is--a bit beyond me. I turned to the one thing that has rarely let me down: my good friend Google. Typing in "how to self-publish a novel" led me to all kinds of interesting resources, particularly a book called Let's Get Digital. Published by David Gaughran, this book is stuffed with pretty much everything you'll need to know to self-publish your own book. You'll find that it's got a TON of valuable information, and it will basically walk you through the process of writing, editing, and publishing your book. Here's some of the stuff you'll find in the e-book, which is totally free on David Gaughran's website:
  • Why you should self-publish (Hint: The royalties are much higher if you can get your book to sell)
  • How to produce a professional-looking manuscript
  • How to format the book so it can be uploaded to Amazon and the other online book retailers
  • How to set up your own blog or website to start getting your name out there
  • How to figure out the price for your book
  • The importance of finding an editor and beta readers(a term I had never heard before)
  • Why it's so essential to have a professionally designed book cover (thank you Marie Story for mine!)
  • How social networks and online networking can help you sell more books, meet more people, and expand your author base
Basically, it's an ABC of self-publishing, and it was supremely helpful to get me started. Sure, there's a lot more you'll need to learn, but it's definitely going to help any new author figure out what they need to do to get their work "on the line". The link above will send you directly to the ebook, and there's another link below for your convenience: http://davidgaughran.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/lets-get-digital-by-david-gaughran-free-pdf-edition.pdf (Disclaimer: I'm in no way affiliated with David Gaughran, and am not receiving any compensation for this post. It's just so darn useful I had to share it with everyone.)