Best Books on Self Publishing

I've read several self-publishing books, and they were helpful, but none are coming to mind right now.

I can tell what's next on my list though:

A Self-Publisher's Companion by Joel Friedlander

I'm interested in this one because I used the templates from his website for my print books. Those templates were a life-saver! I love them. So I started reading his blog, and now I will read his book.

ScribeLady, you may want to check out Guy Kawasaki's book APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur, etc. I thought it gave a nice overview of the SP process. You might want to check out the inside-the-book portion to see if it looks like it would be worth the cash outlay.

There's also this free Amazon KDP book, if you're planning to publish through their KDP program. It's basic but worth downloading.

I am almost done with a great book for self-publishers (and trade published authors who want to know about marketing their books).

How to Market a Book by Joanna Penn

I'm not new to self-publishing, but I am always trying to learn more...especially about marketing. Joanna covers everything I know, and then taught me a lot more. I've read several books about marketing, and this one is the most comprehensive (for book marketing) that I have found. I think all self-publishers should read this!

Joanna also has a blog, youtube channel, podcast and twitter....if you want to know more before buying her book. Just search "the creative penn" and you will find her. I have no connection to Joanna; I just really like her work.

Check out Write. Publish. Repeat. by Platt & Truant.

You can get all their info for free by listening to their Podcast, but with 100+ episodes this very reasonable primer of the highlights without all the off-topic chatter and interviews.

The book is a bit verbose in my opinion, but the high-level view of producing and marketing are there.

If you're interested in the nuts and bolts of formatting ebooks yourself in HTML Guido Henkel's Zen of Ebook Formatting is a great resource. (He also has a less extensive free version on his website.)

I'd also vote for Joanna Penn. You could also try David Gaughran. Both have published free ebooks on the topic and maintain active websites/blogs that contain a great deal of information on self-pubbing.

Smashwords.com has a great free guide that walks you through it, and their site lets you upload in most formats. And even helps with converting the files for Amazon.

Dan Poytner's Self Publishing Manual is pretty thorough. I'm also a fan of John T. Reed's How to Write, Publish, and Sell Your Own How-To Book.

They're giving away Guy Kawasaki's APE book at BookBaby. Not sure how long the offer will last. You can get it in PDF or a couple of mobile formats.

Thanks Dragon!

Thank you from me as well, Dragon! Just the other day I was looking at APE online, but hadn't bought the book. Just downloaded it for free now

Plumone:
I also like Dan Poytner's Self Publishing Manual. Reading that one now, as well as The Fine Print of Self-Publishing, by Mark Levine. I like them both very much, and they seem to be complimenting each other so far (I'm about 100 pages in on each). If I had to pick one though, it would be the Self Publishing Manual, as it's more general and comprehensive.

Will have to have a look at John T. Reed's book.

Guy Kawasaki used CreateSpace

By the way, had been viewing info on Guy Kawasaki and his book APE via CreateSpace's website. He used CreateSpace and is a featured author on their site, as his book is doing well.

https://forums.createspace.com/en/c...blog/2013/05/16/author-spotlight-guy-kawasaki

AnnaPappenheim said:

I also like Dan Poytner's Self Publishing Manual. Reading that one now, as well as The Fine Print of Self-Publishing, by Mark Levine. I like them both very much, and they seem to be complimenting each other so far (I'm about 100 pages in on each). If I had to pick one though, it would be the Self Publishing Manual, as it's more general and comprehensive.

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I looked this up on Amazon and it looks really helpful, but I have one concern: it looks like it's pretty old (in internet years, anyway), published in 2007. Does it have up-to-date info to cover the most recent developments? Did CreateSpace and similar PoD operations even exist in 2007?

Dragonwriter said:

I looked this up on Amazon and it looks really helpful, but I have one concern: it looks like it's pretty old (in internet years, anyway), published in 2007. Does it have up-to-date info to cover the most recent developments? Did CreateSpace and similar PoD operations even exist in 2007?

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It is really helpful, but agreed-- it isn't as recent as I'd like. (POD did exist, by the way, and he does talk about his, though no mention of CreateSpace yet… and certainly would verify his advice before taking it.) That's one reason I'm finding Mark Levine's The Fine Print of Self-Publishing a good book to compliment. Much of the info in Levine's book (for ex: how to get your own ISBN number) is referenced as being looked up in 2013. Levine also mentions that, because the industry is always changing, he no longer takes an "in the weeds" approach to reviewing services in the newer editions of his book, but instead gives information and lists on what you will need for your purposes, offering that you will then have the resources you need to make an informed decision.

As for Poynter's book, so far I'm finding a lot of helpful general business advice. In my opinion, it's worth buying for that alone. For example: what to include on your back cover, and the best way to design your back cover. This is still valid. And if you look at his back cover vs. many other back covers in this field, you'll see it is not only easy to read, but also really appealing. Honestly, when both books came in the mail, I was at first solely interested in Poynter's book-- it was just so darn catchy to look at! The whole book is actually like this, which is, in part, just good organization.

Poynter also has a website, with many links and documents (some have a fee-- I haven't ordered any, so can't comment on their helpfulness), and I'm assuming that info is more recent.

I should mention, Poynter's book is specifically geared toward the nonfiction writer, although he does say that it can still be very helpful for the fiction writer and anyone coming up with a business plan. (He says nonfiction is what sells.)

…Though be forewarned: I'm not particularly well-read on the topic of 'self-publishing.' I searched awhile on the Internet, selected these two very well-revievwed books, and am now in the process of reading them. Am happy with what I'm reading though

Literateparakeet said:

I've read several self-publishing books, and they were helpful, but none are coming to mind right now.

I can tell what's next on my list though:

A Self-Publisher's Companion by Joel Friedlander

I'm interested in this one because I used the templates from his website for my print books. Those templates were a life-saver! I love them. So I started reading his blog, and now I will read his book.

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thank you for the link!

Self Publishing Podcast, not a book but a website with gobs of useful information.

AnnaPappenheim said:

Thank you from me as well, Dragon! Just the other day I was looking at APE online, but hadn't bought the book. Just downloaded it for free now

Plumone:
I also like Dan Poytner's Self Publishing Manual. Reading that one now, as well as The Fine Print of Self-Publishing, by Mark Levine. I like them both very much, and they seem to be complimenting each other so far (I'm about 100 pages in on each). If I had to pick one though, it would be the Self Publishing Manual, as it's more general and comprehensive.

Will have to have a look at John T. Reed's book.

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I haven't heard of Levine; I might have to look him up.

Reed's books are good, but he does spend A LOT of time in his book talking about why you shouldn't publish with Amazon or with regular publishers. It can get a little long in the tooth. His books are only available from his site- johntreed.com
I still highly recommend his stuff though.

plumone said:

I haven't heard of Levine; I might have to look him up.

Reed's books are good, but he does spend A LOT of time in his book talking about why you shouldn't publish with Amazon or with regular publishers. It can get a little long in the tooth. His books are only available from his site- johntreed.com
I still highly recommend his stuff though.

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I had found his website, and followed the link on why he doesn't sell through Amazon.com, so, yeah, I see what you mean by that. I'll have another look at his site! The book I was looking at was on writing "how to" books, and I'm not writing on this topic. Good to know he has multiple books, thanks!

Write, Publish and Repeat is good. I see that mentioned above and wanted to second that notion.

John T Reed

plumone said:

Dan Poytner's Self Publishing Manual is pretty thorough. I'm also a fan of John T. Reed's How to Write, Publish, and Sell Your Own How-To Book.

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Plumone: I'm wondering if John T. Reed offers advice in his books on a marketing plan/ how to get your book noticed. I understand he doesn't use Amazon, or any distribution options other than the customer must order through his website. In his book on self-publishing, does he talk about how to market your book through your website?

I'm not considering *not* using Amazon or other sources, but I am interested in what he may have to say about having a website and how to build that up.

Thanks if you can answer! Keep going back and forth on ordering his book. I have a lot of reading materials already, but I do like what he says on his website.

Anna,
Glad to help answer your question. I have that book right here on my desk, so I can reference it for you. His book has three chapters- Your Website, Marketing, and Free Publicity- that cover general topics, but don't include many ideas that you have probably haven't heard about already.
I think his opinion might be a little bit biased, because he has been self-publishing since the early 80s I believe, and stopped selling in bookstores and Amazon in the early 2000s. By then he had built a website that got traffic, he had a strong following of readers, and he was making a good income from self-publishing. His general opinion is that you need to publish a fair amount of books in one specific area to build up your name (and brand) as an expert in that field. For example, I think he has around 15 books on real estate matters. They are good. I bought a couple out of interest.
I have been using his no Amazon/no bookstore approach, and my results have been disappointing. My website has been up for two months and my books have been published for about a month and a half. I have no sales yet. I've been trying to keep my website updated with new articles every week (shameless plug- nahpublishing.com).
Reed doesn't go into internet marketing or things like how to create backlinks and get your Google ranking to rise. His general opinion on that is keep updating your website with quality articles on your field. I agree with him that this is the best way. However, it's not the quickest way to get ranked high.
So, you might want to skip his book for now. I still think it's one of the better self publishing guides out there, especially in regards to the business side of running everything. That stuff is great. However, for a complete newbie, I can see where you would want more marketing/website information.

I did find this book to be helpful as well:

Self-Publishing Tips and Market Resources by Susette Williams

plumone said:

Anna,
Glad to help answer your question. I have that book right here on my desk, so I can reference it for you. His book has three chapters- Your Website, Marketing, and Free Publicity- that cover general topics, but don't include many ideas that you have probably haven't heard about already.
I think his opinion might be a little bit biased, because he has been self-publishing since the early 80s I believe, and stopped selling in bookstores and Amazon in the early 2000s. By then he had built a website that got traffic, he had a strong following of readers, and he was making a good income from self-publishing. His general opinion is that you need to publish a fair amount of books in one specific area to build up your name (and brand) as an expert in that field. For example, I think he has around 15 books on real estate matters. They are good. I bought a couple out of interest.
I have been using his no Amazon/no bookstore approach, and my results have been disappointing. My website has been up for two months and my books have been published for about a month and a half. I have no sales yet. I've been trying to keep my website updated with new articles every week (shameless plug- nahpublishing.com).
Reed doesn't go into internet marketing or things like how to create backlinks and get your Google ranking to rise. His general opinion on that is keep updating your website with quality articles on your field. I agree with him that this is the best way. However, it's not the quickest way to get ranked high.
So, you might want to skip his book for now. I still think it's one of the better self publishing guides out there, especially in regards to the business side of running everything. That stuff is great. However, for a complete newbie, I can see where you would want more marketing/website information.

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Thank you for all that, Plumone!

I agree-- it sounds like maybe the website-only route may have worked well for him in part because he was already well-known.

That's a good thought on having good content on your website and keeping it updated. I'm not sure I'd be good at that, as I think it takes more consistency than I have But maybe I could hire someone to help with posts. Much to think about! Haven't even started building a website yet.

Here are two links you might find helpful:

http://www.parapublishing.com/sites/para/resources/infokit.cfm
This is a free info kit offered by Don Poytner, whose book I've been reading. Has some good advice. There's actually three free kits, but the third one is the one on marketing and the one you might find most helpful. You might want to get the second one too though, on publishing, if you're thinking of pursuing more publishing options/routes in the future. (It's free too.)

http://www.publiceye.com
Haven't looked at this website much, but came across it and noticed it has a fair amount of advice on marketing. Ultimately though, they're offering services for a cost.

Dallionz said:

I did find this book to be helpful as well:

Self-Publishing Tips and Market Resources by Susette Williams

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That does look helpful, and it's also inexpensive too! $2.99.

AnnaPappenheim said:

Thank you for all that, Plumone!

I agree-- it sounds like maybe the website-only route may have worked well for him in part because he was already well-known.

That's a good thought on having good content on your website and keeping it updated. I'm not sure I'd be good at that, as I think it takes more consistency than I have But maybe I could hire someone to help with posts. Much to think about! Haven't even started building a website yet.

Here are two links you might find helpful:

http://www.parapublishing.com/sites/para/resources/infokit.cfm
This is a free info kit offered by Don Poytner, whose book I've been reading. Has some good advice. There's actually three free kits, but the third one is the one on marketing and the one you might find most helpful. You might want to get the second one too though, on publishing, if you're thinking of pursuing more publishing options/routes in the future. (It's free too.)

http://www.publiceye.com
Haven't looked at this website much, but came across it and noticed it has a fair amount of advice on marketing. Ultimately though, they're offering services for a cost.

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Glad I could help!

Re: updating your website often, I've kind of developed a strategy for this. It's sort of based off of how Reed updates his site, mainly because I check it often for interesting articles. He has not mentioned this strategy- I just came up with it on my own after being in touch with his site for 4+ years.
He and I both write how to/reference style books. This plan wouldn't work for other styles, but it might spark a creative idea for you. Basically, for our books, we do a lot of research and testing of ideas before we put them in print. Everything in our books (speaking for Reed here, of course) is battle tested, unless it's specially said "here's an idea I haven't tested but I think could work". This is where coming up with articles comes into play- the free articles/blog posts I have on my site I'm treating more as a way to develop my ideas, test out theories I have, and the like. Still useful, helpful info, but more liberal with "here's an idea I haven't tried but would" style thinking. Hope that makes sense. And once again, this is for how to/reference style stuff.

Thanks for the Poynter link. I have his book and thought it was pretty good. I will have to re-check out his site. I will have to look at publiceye.