ArtDriver has been working with a number of writers and journalists who expressed an interest in self-publishing their books or magazines. New media websites and Internet have been generous enough to make the book self-publishing process easy and relatively inexpensive to allow emerging authors to reach hundreds of thousands of readers online.
Self-publishing can be a good choice for writers. It is cost-effective, relatively quick, pays better than standard royalty contracts, and lets maintain control over the publishing process.
So how to start a self-publishing process?
We will outline some basic steps and possible strategies to create successful online/print publications and generate good exposure and additional revenue from book sale commissions and royalties.
The first step that needs to be done to begin self-publishing is to put together an electronic version of the book. There are many software applications that can be used. Some of the most popular book design computer programs are Adobe InDesign or PageMaker. While putting together the book, it is strongly recommended to select the right size and format of the book which will be compliant with the standards of the selected publishing house. We suggest to hire a designer with book experience. The designer will design the type, flow the pages, and create a spectacular jacket as well. ArtDriver can provide high-quality book design services for a reasonable price.
The second step is to examine the competition and readers' demand to see whether it makes sense to print/sell large quantities of the book or simply publish enough copies to distribute to friends and family. You may call the book distributor Ingram at (615) 213-6803 and enter the ISBN of the book with a similar topic to hear a voice message containing the number of copies sold in the last year.
The third step is to actually publish the book by requesting the ISBN number (the cost for 10 ISBNs is $150, plus a minimum $75 processing fee) and choosing the right publishing house. Some of the known websites/shops that can help with self-publishing are www.lulu.com, www.trafford.com, www.xlibris.com and www.Iuniverse.com.
Once the ISBN number is assigned and the book is published, the book author can start selling the book via various Internet book shops (www.amazon.com, www.lulu.com, www.trafford.com, www.xlibris.com, www.Iuniverse.com, etc). Some shops work on a consignment basis, which means that you do not have to store and ship sold books from your location; rather, once the book is sold, the company ships it to the buyer and then issues you the payment minus commission.
The fourth step is to protect your pdf book file in order to avoid piracy and content duplication in case you decide to sell your ebook on your website on your own. Once again, there is plenty of resources online that can help to choose the right software to protect your ebook. One of the reasonably priced programs is called "Book Guard Pro," protection for your pdfs, ebooks and more (www.bookguardpro.com).
Wherever you decide to sell your book (print or ebook), it is always good to increase the exposure and direct readers to the sale point. You can use such websites as Google Books (http://books.google.com/), Amazon.com or Ebay to let readers find your book and then direct them with a link to the online store to buy your publication.