How to become an Independently Published Author

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How to publish independently with little or no money.

This page is designed to offer insight and advice to help the independently published, or those considering taking the independent plunge.
I will share my own personal trials and triumphs in this industry, as I publish my books and try to market them.

How to advertise yourself as an Author
Some Marketing Tips
Self-promotion

more...

The Game Plan

Your First Step

You have to have some sort of plan once you intend to publish your book, and start out on the road to marketing and promotion. It is a good idea to start early, even before you publish and build momentum for the upcoming book.

I decide to start small by publishing several smaller books, to introduce my writing to the reading public.
Now I'm working on a novella, then on to publishing my novels.
Starting with the smaller books was actually quite helpful, as it allowed me to work out all the kinks with my marketing and promotion strategies.

This lens deals with my experiences publishing at Lulu.com, but much of what is here can be used by any independently published author.

How to format a book for self-publishing

6x9 trade paperback format

A quick guide for self-formatting a book for publishing. This guide uses the 6x9 inch size, but it should work for any size. (Just change the page size, of course.)

First Step: Format the margins and page size.

- Margins should be at least 0.5". Left Gutter settings should be set at 0.2" to 0.3".
- Other settings should be: Mirror Margins, Whole Document.
- Page size should of course be 6 x 9 inches, or 15.24 x 22.86 cm.

Second step: Font size and Line Spacing.

- Font should be 10-point or 12-point, preferably in a "serif" font such as Times New Roman, Century, Palatino, etc. (unless this is to be an ebook, then use a "sans serif" font, such as Arial or Verdana)
- Line Spacing should be set at 1.5.
- Don't forget to embed the fonts

Third Step: Required Layout Pages.

- Title page: should include the book title, and any subtitle, your name or pen name, and the name of your publishing company, if you have one. This should be on an odd numbered page, such as 1 or 3. (If you are using the 3rd page as your title page, you can: 1) leave your first page and second page blank, or 2) put reviews, previous books, plot blurb, etc. on the first page, and leave the second page blank.)
- Copyright page: Should include a basic copyright notice, and the "all rights reserved" notice. Also be sure to include a notice about restricting permissions (check the copyright notice in any book for a guideline). Put your copyright on an even numbered page (2 or 4) immediately after the title page.
- Dedications (if any): Should be put on the page following the copyright,(Page 3 or 5). If you don't have a dedication, you may wish to leave this blank, or put a list of your previous books here. Note: depending on your layout and the length of your table of contents (if you have one) you may wish to leave the next page blank
- Table of Contents (if any): This follows the dedications, and depending on the layout may be preceded by and/or followed by a blank page.
- Body of Work: You will have to decide whether you want the main body of work to start on an even numbered page or an odd numbered page; an even numbered page will start your work on the left side of the book, the odd numbered page will start it on the right side. Blank pages may be needed to achieve your layout.
(The layout step may sound complicated, but using a published book as a layout guide can help.)

How to advertise yourself as an Author

My experiences at self-marketing.

I tired of beating my head against the wall of traditional publishing, and decided to try out self-publishing. I did some research (Google is a wonderful invention) and compared the top-rated subsidy publishing companies. And found out they are expense. Not overly so, but enough to give me second thoughts.
Then I found Lulu.com. Its basic publishing service and distribution is free, which I liked, and the optional distribution package is reasonably priced; I did not like the fact Lulu does not offer editing or marketing services.
But I thought, why not give it a try? There wasn't anything to lose if I went with the free service. So I published a book of my Poetry after carefully studying the guidelines for formatting, book design, cover art, all supplied at Lulu.com.
I was happy. The book formatting took some work, but it wasn't difficult. The cover art wasn't a problem because I used some of the artwork supplied by Lulu. I made a Lulu storefront, and presto I was a published author.
Then came the marketing, and I realised I had very little idea how to market a book. As advised by Lulu, I posted the book up on my websites and did some press releases (free ones, as this was basically a publishing test run).
Then I ran out of ideas. So I returned to the ever helpful Google, and found there are dozens of helpful places on the internet willing to impart their marketing wisdom for free. (And dozens more that will sell it to you.)
So here are my free or cheap marketing wisdom for marketing a book online:

1. Get a Website: An essential selling tool. You can sell your books directly from the site via links, or you can set up a store of your own. (It can be done, there are helpful sites that show you how).
There are plenty of free, or inexpensive hosting sites that you can use for your site. I went with Bravenet.com; you get some nice free website add-ons, such as hit counter, guestbook, email forms, etc. If you would like a look at my site here it is: Afallon Website

2. Make an Online Press Kit: You need to sell yourself and your book. This is an excellent way to do it. Create a bio, book list, post your reviews, press releases and any other promotional stuff. For an example of a kit, see mine: My Press Kit

3. Join the online social networking: Get your presence as an author out on the World Wide Web. Join Squidoo, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Gather.com, AuthorsDen, BookBuzzr, Ning.com or any other writing forum that suits your needs.

4. Promotional freebies: It is not to difficult to create your own brochures or flyers, (using a program such as Powerpoint), that you can make available for a free download. And a definite must is a downloadable Media Kit for your book. There are also inexpensive professional print options such as Staples.

5. Book Trailer: You can get a professionally done book trailer, (if you look there are inexpensive options) or do your own. Windows Movie Maker can be use to make an interesting promo with some imagination.

6. Write Articles: Excellent way to spread your name as a writer. There are plenty of places, such as EzineArticles and eHow, where you can post them.

7. Get a Blog: Write your opinions, your experiences, post excerpts from your books, write online stories, whatever.

Trying to market your books, and make a name for yourself as an author can be tough, especially if you self-publish. And it can be expensive, if you listen to all the big marketing companies. They are loads of sites that try to sell you on their new and improved, breakthrough system, guaranteed to get you sales or bring traffic to your website. Maybe they can, but they usually cost hundreds of dollars.
So, I went looking for free advertising. And, yes you can find it, but you get what you pay for. I tried some of the free classifieds, the ads where you put code in your website, places where you can add banners, the advertising forums; basically a waste of time. Skip the freebie advertising.
Now for the free stuff that does seem to work.

Advertising your Website:

1. Put the URL in as many places as you can: on your blog, social networking sites, press releases, emails, media kits, website guestbooks, generally anything that goes public. And don't forget to put it in your books.

2. Get in the search engines. Submit to Google, Yahoo, DMOZ, etc. Submit manually or use free search engine submission. Just keep in mind the free search engine submission sites also have pay versions and will try to sell you on those. Free bulk submission is easier, but I have found free manual submissions work better.

3. Get indexed by Google and Yahoo. You have to be indexed to use their helpful website monitoring tools.

4. Get Links. One useful way is link exchange. Link Market is an excellent free link exchange site, and you can pick and choose who goes on your site. And do not put just any link on your website, make sure they relate to your site in some way.

5. Submit your URL to free directories. You will have to this manually, but get it out there. Do a Search, and find those directories. There are several niche directories to which you can add your website.

6. Advertise your website with a free press release. Tell the world that you exist, and what you are all about. If you would like to see an example, my press release can be viewed here: Press Release

7. Hold a contest. I've created several contests and posted all on Grandma Jam's Sweepstakes Guide to advertise. I got interest, and website traffic.
My Contest Page

8. Join one of those online bookmark sites, and add your own website. I've joined del.icio.us and StumbleUpon.

And if you have a special site, or preview page, for your book, make certain to list it in the directories and search engines as well. Also add to your online bookmarks.

Some Marketing Tips

Here's what I've learned (the hard way).

A quick how-to guide on book marketing, for those who have no funds for professionals.

The Must Have Items:

1. A Website
2. A Press Kit (online and/or for mailing out)
3. A Media Kit for individual books
4. A Press Release

* A Website:

Find a webhost. There are free hosts out there, (Geocities and Bravenet, for instance, and of course Squidoo), as well as inexpensive ones. Just make sure they are reputable.

You will have to decide whether you are going to use CSS or HTML; either way it is a good idea to become familiar with both forms. (Just use Google, there are a lot of tutorials out there). I recommend CSS, it is more confusing to edit, but it gives a nicer website.
As for editing, it can be done in notepad.

Use a website template. It will make creating a website far easier. Some webhosts provide you with free templates, but there are other places to find them as well.

Meta tags. Use them: title, description, keywords. They can be useful for search engines, and they don't hurt.

Add webtools. Whether you get from your webhost or another source, they are handy things. You can add a newsletter, forms (for surveys, contest entries, etc.), a guestbook, a message forum, polls.

Add your books to your site. Post pictures and weblinks so people can see and buy your books, or if you can, use a widget (Some publishers have widgets that link to your books). Also add any links to reviews or other sites that have your book info. Put book excerpts on your site, plus any book freebies such as brochures, flyers, media kits, etc. And list any future books; you never know who will be interested.

A link page. Now you can add one or not, but I've found a lot of free directories want a reciprocal link, and it makes it easier if your links are on one page. Also, you may wish to offer a link exchange with other writing sites, or other authors.

To see what I've done go here:
Afallon Website
Enter Afallon

* A Press Kit:

This is for promoting yourself as an author. You will need:

* A short Biography of yourself, written in the third person.
* A good quality photo of yourself. (Although I did use an icon in my online press kit.)
* A list of your books, with all their information and a good synopsis. Also including any good reviews won't hurt.
* A list of any awards or accolades, if you have any.
* A list of your writer's groups
* A contact list; email, websites. (If you are mailing a press kit, you may wish to include a phone number.)
* For an online press kit, add a link to your blog.
* Freebies such as flyers, brochures. (Hard copy for mailing , downloadable for the online kit). And if you are mailing your kits out, throw in a business card.

You can have a separate site for your online press kit, or simply make it a page of your website.

To see what I've done go here:
My Press Kit

* A Media Kit:

I use this as a press kit for each book. I include:

* A fancy cover page. A pretty design, with the name of the book, my name, the date and where I published.
* A cover sheet. It includes a short descriptive blurb about the book, and a list of the media kit's contents.
* A photo of the book cover
* A fact sheet on the book. It includes a description of the book, the publisher, where it is available, the price and the product details. (such as copyright, page length, binding, etc.)
* Any book reviews
* An Excerpt from the book
* An sample author interview, in the form of a Q and A. (This is only for the online version.)
* The book's press release

You can find my media kits on my website or at my online press kit.

* A Press Release:

I use the free online press release services like Sanepr and PRlog. You will need a press release for each book, and you can also send out releases for book events, the launch of your website, for winning awards, etc.

For a how-to on writing a press release go here:

Press release tips
OR
Write a proper press release

Self-promotion

Five ways to promote yourself and your books without becoming annoying.

1. Do not saturate the market: Don't post the same bulletins or updates on a daily basis to the same site. If you have an upcoming book, post to various sites, and then post every so often as gentle reminders. It helps if you have something to add to your posts: a play-by-play of a book's progress, news of a review or sale, etc.
2. Stay away from hyperbole: Don't exaggerate the magnificence of your book, engage in excessive praise or use fabricated book reviews. Be positive, use well written descriptions, and be honest.
3. Mention your book title: When talking about your books, mention them by title. If you want people to buy the book, saying "my newest book" won't sell it. Saying, "my newest book, Chronicles of the Undead", will at least put the name in people's heads.
4. Add your links: When writing articles, emails, or posts, add your website link, or book link to the bottom. It should be visible, but not overpowering. It doesn't have to be present on everything, just on most.
5. Blog: Post your writing trials, advice, book updates, book recommendations, your bad day, whatever strikes your fancy. Keep it topical and genuine.

A Word on Website Design.

Do it yourself or go professional?

Getting your website designed professionally is the best thing to do, if you can afford it. There are reasonably priced designers out there, so if it is in the budget, go pro. Just make sure who you choose is reputable, and not a fly-by-night scam artist.

If you can't afford the cost, you can, with time and patience, design your own. The best way to go, unless you are a computer whiz, is a free website template. There are lots of sites that provide them, available in HTML or CSS versions. (I started out using HTML, but recently switched to CSS; they are more streamlined and, I think, more professional looking.)
Once you have your template just fill in your information, code, and hyperlinks where you want them in the template. You should open the template in a browser, so you can check your changes as you edit.
After you finish, and uploaded the site, check it with a website validation service.
Note: if your site is hosted on a free site, an HTML validation service will show error codes for the ads (you can still check the rest of the site for code errors though); if you use CSS you can validate your site, even if it is on a free hosting site.

If you are confused or unfamiliar with HTML and CSS, there are many tutorials on the net that can help you.

Free CSS Templates
Free CSS.com
Free HTML Templates

A Sell Sheet

(also called a tip sheet)

A sell sheet is a cross between a flyer and a fact sheet. It is usually one page, designed to catch the eye and promote your product, in this case your book.
It can be used for promotion at events, sent to bookstores/libraries, or added to press kits.
It most often consists of:
The book title and book cover thumbnail
Book Facts
Book Synopsis
Reviews
Marketing strategy such as book tours, appearances, book signings, advertising, etc.
Contact and buying information
Author Biography

The iUniverse website has a nice article on how to make a sell sheet.
Here's the Link: Make a Sell Sheet

You can have your sell sheet designed for you, or you can attempt your own using Microsoft Word or Powerpoint. I recommend using Microsoft Office Powerpoint.

Social Networking

Comparing the merits of five social networking sites, and their uses for writers.

I'm going to compare the five social sites I have joined, (Squidoo is not included, because we all know it is just wonderful), and list the most useful aspects I've found.

1- Twitter

THE GOOD:
- It's quick and it's easy to post short updates (a minute or two and you are done posting).
- You can get immediate feedback
- Easy to follow other peoples updates (especially if you get a browser application like TwitterFox).

THE BAD:
- Not much; it took me some time to figure out the replies, direct messages, hashtags and other Twitter stuff, but overall it's a great site.

2- Facebook:

Facebook has improved and is now far more author friendly.

THE GOOD:
-If you are an author you can (if fact should) create a fan page as well as your profile page. On the fan page you should post links to your books and sites, add widgets, and interact with your fans. You can also send out updates when you add to your fan page.
- Many writing groups to join, or create your own.
- There are several writing or writing related applications to add to your profile.
- You can interconnect Twitter (and Goodreads) to update your Facebook status.
- The Notes application can be used to post writing samples, or updates. (Just be careful what you post; never post anything you don't want on Facebook permanently).

THE BAD:
-Has annoying applications
-Not easy to find new friends, or preview profiles.
-Can glitch, especially if you have a slower connection.

3- Book Buzzr:

THE GOOD:
-A fabulous site for book promotion; you upload an excerpt of your book to to the site.
-You get an author profile and excellent cross promotion widgets, plus you can customize automatic updates to Twitter.

THE BAD:
-Occasionally glitches, but they are usually minor and they have excellent tech help.

4- Gather.com:

THE GOOD:
-Easy set up and has a nice profile page.
-Promotes publishing articles, pictures, videos, and your articles get on Google.
-Excellent network of authors, unpublished writers, and writers who are dabbling. You can give and get useful feedback and advice.
-Great place to establish a list of articles, and get a voice on the internet, or do a little shameless promotion.
-Great writing groups you can join.

THE BAD:
-sporadic glitches in the article editor, and in other features.
-occasional lack of interest in articles. My advice: Use the spotlight feature for your post.
-A limited help section.

5- Ning.com

THE GOOD:
- There are several great social sites on this network for writers, and they can be very interconnected.
- You can post videos (or embed videos), photos, join groups, chat, post events.

THE BAD:
- It is a bit confusing at times to navigate
- The usefulness depends on which sites you join

I also recommend joining MySpace, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn, and the bookmark site Del.icio.us.

How to organize your own Blog tour.

What is a Virtual Book Tour (also called a Blog Tour)?

It is when an author does a series of guest posts, interviews, and/or book spotlights on other people's blogs.

You need to do two things to organize your own blog tour: plan out your posts and practice some polite begging.

The Planning:
- You will need a list of articles on writing to use as guest posts (you can use your book to illustrate your topic in examples, or discuss your process in writing the book). I would say five to ten is a good number, but it will depend on how long your tour runs, so if you want to write more go ahead; you can always post leftovers on your own blog later.
- Be prepared to answer interview questions. Some of your hosts will want to do an interview and will supply you with a list of questions. If you are unsure what to expect check out other interviews. You can also do a Character Interview, where you answer the questions as a character from your book (the questions can be supplied by you or your host).
- Some of your tour stops can be Book Spotlights. You will need a snappy book synopsis, a small photo of your book cover, book links, and possibly a book excerpt. The blogs Authors Promoting Authors and Authors and Their Books offer book spotlights on a regular basis.
- Have at the ready an author photo; some blogs will want one, some won't; it never hurts to have a short author bio handy as well.

Once prepared, you have to find your hosts, so send the word out on your social networks. This is where the polite begging come into play. You are going to have to make sweet inquiries to your most obliging writing friends, asking if they would care to play host on your tour. You should target the ones who blog about the genre you write, or who spotlight authors on a regular basis.

Now a word on Hosting on a Virtual Book Tour;
If you want to participate as a host in someone's blog tour, you can do one of the following:
- Offer to let the author guest post
- Offer an interview, either an author or a character interview. You generally supply the author with a list of questions, and they supply the answers.
- Spotlight their book.

Also it is nice to add a photo of the author, a photo of the author's book cover, and links, usually to their book, website and/or blog.

SITES SPECIFICALLY FOR WRITERS:

A list of websites designed to showcase authors and writers

Here is a list of good sites where writers and authors can publish profiles, samples of their work, and their books.

1- AuthorsDen:
An excellent place to put your author profile and post books; it gets you a link on Google.
Features both a free subscription and a paid upgraded subscription. The free subscription is limited, but not overly and the paid upgrade has three levels; the Bronze being quite reasonable at $40/yr.

2- WritersCafe: A wonderful site for writers to post their books, writing samples and their profile. They encourage feedback between their members, and it's free to join.

3- WritersNet: It's free to join, and you can post a profile and your books. The site also lists editors, agents, publishers and writing resources.

4- Nothing Binding: It's free to join, and you get a personal profile page. There are also writer's groups you can join, and media add-ons you can purchase.

5- Ebooks Cafe: It's free to join. It allows you to post a short profile and your books to the site.

6- Self Publishers Place: A relatively new site where self published authors can post their book information. Free to use, and there is a writers discussion forum.

All these sites are list in the Helpful Link List.

Twitter Publishing Search

WoodiejrRoten Dec 5, 2009 @ 6:24 pm

Once Again: Vanity Publishing Doesn't Matter | Self-Publishing Review http://bit.ly/8U0JQc
lenlabar Dec 5, 2009 @ 6:18 pm

#in Posted another blog on self-publishing tips at http://lenlabar.blogspot.com/ .
delicious50 Dec 5, 2009 @ 6:10 pm

MagCloud | The Best New Magazines, Printed on Demand by HP http://bit.ly/wMQTw web2.0 printing design publishing magazines self-publishing
trumpstyles Dec 5, 2009 @ 5:40 pm

Once Again: Vanity Publishing Doesn't Matter | Self-Publishing Review http://bit.ly/8U0JQc
Grael Dec 5, 2009 @ 5:10 pm

The Temp, The Actress and The Writer: The Self Publishing Debate http://ow.ly/J0y6
sinkan Dec 5, 2009 @ 4:01 pm

2010-08-09 The Complete Guide to Self-publishing: Everything You Need to… Marilyn Ross/… [ペーパーバック] http://bit.ly/7EzIma
lissiexdee Dec 5, 2009 @ 3:49 pm

Text Layout for Self Publishing in OpenOffice.org - Part 1 http://is.gd/5drnX
GoodTimes100 Dec 5, 2009 @ 3:22 pm

NaNoWriMo RE: Self Publishing? Good or Evil? « EK's Star Log: In short, they make money, while you go broke.. http://bit.ly/8o5NQN
harricharan Dec 5, 2009 @ 3:03 pm

Some good advice when it comes to Self-Publishing: http://ow.ly/J0c1
djusher Dec 5, 2009 @ 3:02 pm

Recent marvelous experience w/lulu.com self publishing Carol's book. Uploaded on Thanksgiving Day, printed books received 12/1! Kudos!

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Review Sites

A list of book review sites. Many list independently or small press published books, and some offer promotional or editing services.

Rebecca's Reads: A book review and publicity service serving the reading audience, authors, publishers, publicists and buyers/sellers.
The Compulsive Reader: Reviews of books by some of the hottest writers working today, exclusive author interviews, literary news and criticism.
The Midwest Book Review: The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promoting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. The Midwest Book Review gives priority consideration to small press publishers, self-published authors, and academic presses.
The Muse Book Reviews: The Muse Book Reviews reviews a variety of books and accepts books from self-published authors, traditional or POD published authors.
Armchair Interviews: Features book reviews and author interviews, with helpful articles and links.
Bitten by Books: A site featuring paranormal fiction. Has reviews, interviews, contests, etc.
Welcome to Scribe & Quill ~ The site for all writers!: Writer's resource that includes articles for writers, writing courses, book reviews and news and information for writers of all genres.
Reader Views: Book reviews of all genres. Also provide editing and publicity services, literary awards, contests and book giveaway.
New Mystery Reader Magazine: Introducing a new mystery magazine featuring information on new mystery releases. Includes mystery book reviews of new mystery releases, mystery short stories, and recommendations.
Road to Romance: Romantic and Women's Fiction: For Readers and Writers of Romantic and Women's Fiction Books
BookLoons: Your corner bookstore in the global village with book reviews across genres, columns and contests, and sections for teen books and children's books.

Add New Links

Do you have a blog on publishing, provide author services or are just a writer? Post your link here.

How to become an Independently Published Author

How to publish independently with little or no money.

Contents at a Glance

Contents at a Glance

Table of Contents

What's on the lens:

The Game Plan

Your First Step

How to format a book for self-publishing

6x9 trade paperback format

How to advertise yourself as an Author

My experiences at self-marketing.

Some Marketing Tips

Here's what I've learned (the hard way).

Self-promotion

Five ways to promote yourself and your books without becoming annoying.

A Word on Website Design.

Do it yourself or go professional?

A Sell Sheet

(also called a tip sheet)

Social Networking

Comparing the merits of five social networking sites, and their uses for writers.

How to organize your own Blog tour.

SITES SPECIFICALLY FOR WRITERS:

A list of websites designed to showcase authors and writers

Twitter Publishing Search

Review Sites

Add New Links

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Helpful Link List

Useful sites with ideas for writers.

Opinions and Questions

Amazon Book Spotlight

Independently Published Books on Amazon

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List of Author Websites (Plexo)

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