Statistics show that 81% of people have a story they want to write, but very few actually do it. For most, this is because they either don’t know how to enter the publishing process, or they feel their writing isn’t good enough. Self-Publishing for Profit was designed to help overcome these fears by giving detailed publishing guidance, while simultaneously helping you become a better writer.… writer.
Produced by veteran independent author and self-publisher Chris Kennedy, Self-Publishing for Profit details the plan he used to sell almost 40,000 copies of his books in his first year, after starting with nothing but a story. Not only will readers learn how to produce ebooks, but also print books, audio books, and more!
Self-Publishing for Profit is the first book that gives authors all of the tips required for success. It not only shows how to design business and marketing plans that will help them be successful in the short term, but also how to improve their writing skills for long term success. It does so without requiring large outlays of cash, giving new authors a two-pronged strategy that anyone can follow.
Unit 1 – Self-Publishing as a Career
Chapter 1 – Why Self-Publishing?
Chapter 2 – The 4 Great Lies of Self-Publishing
Unit 2 – Author as Business Owner
Chapter 3 – The Author as a Business Owner
Chapter 4 – Getting Started with Crowd Funding
Unit 3 – Me? A Marketer?
Chapter 5 – Creating Your Author Platform
Chapter 6 – 5 Places You Have to Be; 5 Things You Have to Do
Chapter 7 – The Blog/Website
Chapter 8 – How to Create a WordPress Blog
Chapter 9 – Why You Should Blog
Chapter 10 – 8 Things Not to Do on Your Blog
Chapter 11 – Facebook and Engagement
Chapter 12 – Navigating Twitter
Chapter 13 – Using Pinterest to Promote Your Business
Unit 4 – Writing a Spectacular Book
Chapter 14 – What Should You Be Writing?
Chapter 15 – The First Chapter
Chapter 16 – How Not to Look Like a Newbie
Chapter 17 – Back Story and How to Weave It
Chapter 18 – Character and Location Description
Chapter 19 – On Adverbs
Chapter 20 – Show, Don’t Tell
Unit 5 – Making Your Book Better
Chapter 21 – Fact and Fiction about the Editing of Books
Chapter 22 – You Can Do Better Than These 10 “Bad” “Things”
Chapter 23 – Tightening Up Your Writing
Chapter 24 – The Final Checks
Unit 6 – Covering Your Gem
Chapter 25 – Book Covers and Knowing What Sells
Chapter 26 – Commissioning Your Cover: Elance
Chapter 27 – Commissioning Your Cover: 99Designs
Unit 7 – Publishing Your Ebook
Chapter 28 – ISBN and the ASIN
Chapter 29 – The Blurb
Chapter 30 – What Price, Perfection?
Chapter 31 – Publishing your Ebook
Chapter 32 – Optimizing Amazon: Literary Life or Death
Unit 8 – Other Formats
Chapter 33 – Beyond the Digital World
Chapter 34 – Preparing your Print Book for Publishing
Chapter 35 – Print Books: CreateSpace vs. Ingram Spark
Unit 9 – Increasing Your Reach
Chapter 36 – 5 Marketing Notes to Help You Refocus
Chapter 37 – Networking and Getting Noticed
Chapter 38 – Book Reviews and Other Things That Suck
Chapter 39 – 8 Other Ways to Promote Your Book
And much much more!
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These days, “How to Self-Publish” books are a dime a dozen. Chris Kennedy’s Self-Publishing for Profit is $6.99 on Kindle, but it’s easily the best $6.99 you’ll ever spend if you’re looking to break into self-publishing.
Kennedy’s writing background is similar to that of many indie writers, which is to say, he’d never really been a writer until he suddenly had an idea that wouldn’t let go (in this case, the idea that became his book Red Tide: The Chinese Invasion of Seattle). Since then, he’s gone from never having written a novel at all to writing several series and an ever-growing universe with several other authors and running his own publishing house. All this said, it makes him a perfect teacher for new writers who are starting in a similar position.
This is what makes Self-Publishing for Profit stand out from other self-publishing books. Though its first three sections focus on information similar to what you’d find in other books – namely, marketing and engagement – the fourth is where the book becomes truly valuable for writing newbies. It outlines everything from how to figure out what kind of book you should write (Tip: Don’t just follow trends, and try to be niche when you can.), to creative writing tips he learned through trial and error, to a section literally titled “How Not to Look Like a Newbie.” Formally-trained writers won’t have much use for this section, but if you’ve barely ever picked up a pencil except to write a grocery list, this is the section for you.
Formally-trained writers, depending upon their experience with book production, will have some use for the fifth section, which outlines how to perfect a book for publication. This section covers the different types of editing (copyediting and content editing), how to go about finding editors, words to avoid, and simple ways to tighten up your writing. Before I started publishing, writing had been one of the defining elements of my life – the people around me have identified me as “the writer” since 4th grade, and I took as many creative writing classes as I could and even majored in creative writing at one point – and there were a few practical tips in this book that I hadn’t come across even in my years of study!
These sections, then, are a gem for the new and inexperienced writer. The subsequent sections, however, are invaluable for writers of all kinds. Sections six through nine cover the important details one must consider to give a book the best chance of selling. Section six covers basics like cover design, while section seven covers how to make the book available for sale as an eBook. Section eight, though, is where this area begins to shine, covering the many ways in which books can be repackaged for sale – as print books, audiobooks, or foreign-language editions – and providing the reader with the resources to make those versions happen. This is perhaps the most valuable thing about this book – for every piece of advice given, there are links to resources where readers can pursue that topic further. Section nine delves back into marketing, and the book ends with section ten, which explores what to do next, whether you want to continue producing books, or whether you want to figure out why your current book isn’t selling as well as you’d hoped.
All in all, Self-Publishing for Profit stuffs a whole lot of information into a small, quick, easy-to-read package. If you want to self-publish but have no idea where to start, this is a great place, and even if you already publish, it can’t hurt to give it a read. You’re bound to learn something new!