But there's a lot to know. This website can be used as a starting point to understanding what questions to ask (half the battle is discovering what you don't know). We hope you enjoy this attempt to make sense of this very complex subject!
I need to make some basic decisions, but I'm not even sure what questions to ask!
This is the place to find a lot of answers. But because this is generic so that it covers the largest number of topics for those interested in publishing, you may not find every answer helps you in your specific quest to get published. Read through the FAQ. Then, if you don't find what you're looking for, please contact Jacqueline Simonds jcsimonds
Whether you've written the next big best-seller or just want to put out a little ebook pamphlet for your friends, self-publishing is for you!
Need more in-depth answers? The Self Publisher's FAQ book is available in both physical and electronic formats.
INDEX
- In the Beginning
- What is Traditional Publishing?
- What are the Advantages of Traditional Publishing?
- What are the Disadvantages of Traditional Publishing?
- What is Subsidy publishing?
- What are the advantages of subsidy publishing?
- What are the disadvantages of subsidy publishing?
- What is self-publishing?
- What are the advantages of Self-publishing?
- What are the disadvantages of Self-publishing?
- What are Book Packagers?
- Setting Up a Publishing Company
- The Alphabet for Publishers
- What is an ISBN and why do I need one?
- How do I get an ISBN?
- Wait a minute, these are expensive! Why you can't I buy just 1?
- Once I have it, where does the ISBN go?
- When should I order my ISBN block?
- What is an LCCN / PCN?
- How do I get an LCCN?
- Once I have it, where does the LCCN go?
- When should I get an LCCN or CIP?
- What is a CIP?
- How do I get it?
- Why can't I get a CIP?
- What is a Copyright?
- Where does the Copyright go?
- How do I register my Copyright?
- Can I use songs, poems and articles I've found?
- What is Fair Use, and why do I have to care?
- What are BISAC codes and where do I get them?
- What is a SAN and do I need it?
- Creating the Interior of Your Book
- What is interior design?
- What is Typesetting?
- Do I need to worry about typesetting if I'm just putting out an ebook?
- What are Fonts?
- What are Kerning and Leading?
- What is Tracking?
- What are Widows and Orphans?
- Why can't I just use Word or WordPerfect to typeset?
- Are InDesign or Quark all I need to typeset my book and send it to the printer?
- What is Back Matter?
- What are End Papers?
- Your Cover
- Should You Hire a Publishing Professional?
- Why should I hire outside help to publish my book?
- Book Shepherds and Book Packagers
- Editors
- Why do I need to hire an outside editor?
- What are the different kinds of editing?
- I'm worried that an editor will destroy my book. That they'll make the work sound like them instead of me.
- How Does a Developmental Editor Help My Manuscript?
- What does it look like when the manuscript is edited?
- Do I need to Hire Different Editors for Developmental and Mechanical Editing?
- How Much Should I Pay an Editor?
- Book Design
- Marketing — Why you need this step before you publish the book
- What's a marketing plan and why do I need it?
- How do I write a marketing plan?
- How do I do that?
- How do I reach my audience?
- So social media is all I need?
- I'm getting confused about when I need to edit, market, and send stuff out!
- Do I need a publicist?
- Should I use a publicist to announce my book?
- What else do I need to have for a marketing plan?
- So, all I need to have is a clear plan and that will guarantee my success?
- Printing a Paper Book
- Should I print hard copies of my book... or should I just do an ebook?
- How do I decide whether to print hardcover or paperback?
- What are the types of paperbacks I can choose from?
- What are the book sizes I should choose?
- How long does it take to print a book?
- How much should I expect to pay for printing my book?
- How do I find a printer?
- What is an RFQ?
- What is a signature?
- What are paper weights and what should I choose?
- What cover stock should I use?
- Which is better, off-white or white paper?
- What are Galleys, ARCs and F&Gs?
- Can't I just use Kinko's to print my galley?
- What is an F&G?
- Ebooks
- Should I Only Release My Book in an Ebook Format?
- What Are the Types of Ebook Formats?
- What Are the Most Common Ebook Readers?
- Do I Need to Buy an ISBN If Amazon Will Assign an ISBN to My Kindle Edition?
- Do I Need to Assign ISBNs to All the E-Versions of the Book (Kindle, Sony, Apple, etc)?
- Can I Skip All the Traditional Steps to Publishing a Paper Book?
- Do I Need to Have My Ebook Typeset?
- Can I Make My Own Cover or Use one a Template the Ebook Company Offers?
- What Should I Charge for My Ebook?
- Should I Offer My Ebook for Free Initially, Then Charge for It Later?
- How Do I Get My Ebooks Formatted into the Various Programs?
- Should I Use an Ebook Distributor to Get My Title into All the Versions There Are?
- Can I Distribute Ebooks Myself?
- What Else I Should I Submit When I Set Up My Ebook?
- What is DRM and Should I Use It?
- Should I Worry About People Selling My Book Illegally—Otherwise Known as Piracy?
- The Business of Publishing
- What Should I Price My Book?
- Why Do I Have to Discount My Book?
- Where Does My Discount Go?
- What Are the Discounts If I Print POD?
- Returns and Other Unpleasant Facts.
- What Are Returns?
- What does this mean to me as a publisher?
- What If I Tell Wholesalers I Won't Take Returns?
- How Do I Cope With Returns If I use a POD printer?
- How Can I Manage Returns?
- What Do I Do With "Hurt" Books?
- Distributors and Wholesalers
- What are Distributors?
- How do I get a distributor?
- What are Wholesalers?
- How Do I Get in to Baker & Taylor (also called B&T)?
- How Do I Register a New Title With Baker and Taylor?
- How Do I Get into Ingram?
- How Do I Get My Book into Libraries?
- Getting Reviews and Publicity
- Where Do I Send My Books for Review Before Publication?
- Why Are These Reviewers Important?
- How Do I Get a Review After the Book Is Published?
- Why Aren't Paid Reviews Recommended?
- What Do I Do With Reviews?
- How Do I Edit a Review?
- I Sent Out a Book to Be Reviewed, But It Wasn't. Shouldn't They Send the Book Back?
- I Got a Terrible (One Star) Review! Can I Make the Website Where It's Posted Take It Down?
- Are Blogs Worth Sending Books To?
- What Are Blog Tours?
- What is a Press Kit?
- What Is in a Press Kit?
- Do I have to have a Press Kit?
- What is a Press/Media Release?
- Can I Just Write a Media Release Announcing My Book?
- How Do I Get My Press Release to the Media?
- What Is a Publicist?
- Can I Be My Own Publicist?
- Should I Use My Own Name When I Am Publicizing My Book?
- Are There Any Awards to Which I Can Submit My Book?
- Are Book Awards Worth Anything (Will Anyone Care)?
- Amazon.com
- How Do I Get in With Amazon?
- How Can I Add Content to My Amazon Page? It Looks Kind of Bare!
- What Else Does Author Central Offer?
- How Do I Get into the "Search Inside the Book!" Program?
- How Else Can I Make My Book Page Look Better?
- I Got a Great Review, But They Can't Post It Directly on My Amazon Page. What Can I Do?
- What Does My Ranking Mean?
- I Have a Website, Can I Get People to Buy from Amazon.com?
- There's Someone Selling Copies of My Book on Amazon Marketplace! How Did They Get My Book?
- There's Someone Selling My Review Copies on Amazon! Can They Do That?
- Websites
- What Do I Do to Start Up a Website?
- I Don't Have a Lot of Money. Can I Just Do a Simple Website?
- What Should I Have on My Website?
- Should I use PayPal to handle the mechanics of a website sale?
- I'm Ready to Put Together a More Complex website. What Should I Have?
- Why Should I Send Customers to Amazon or B&N When I Sell My Book at Full Retail?
- Miscellaneous Questions Answered
- May I Trademark-Protect My Book Title?
- Do I Need a Letterhead?
- What Should I Have on My Business Card?
- Do I Need Publisher's Liability Insurance?
- Should I join SPAN or IBPA?
- What Is SPAN?
- What is IBPA?
- Are There Any Publisher's Associations I Can Join?
- Does Anyone Ever Succeed at Self-Publishing?
- Useful Websites
- Registrations of All Sorts
- Books to Help You Publish -- General
- Books to Help You Publish -- Legalese
- Books to Help You Publish -- Book Design
- Books to Help You Publish -- Marketing