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Self Publishing 101 How To

Monday, December 29th, 2008
self publishing
Daniel Millions asked:


There are many great advantages of self publishing an ebook, rather than a traditional print style book. The main advantage has got to be the cost.

When you publish a print book, you have to pay the publisher. When you publish your own ebook you are the publisher. When you publish a print book, the publisher always gets a cut of your hard earned money from the books sales. But when you sell each ebook, the profit is 100% yours.

There is also no need for printing, packaging, and shipping charges. So not only are you saving money for yourself, your customers will end up saving money. By having no extra charges to pay, you are able to offer a lower price for your ebook. When customers see that the price is lower, of course they will be excited and want to purchase your ebook.

When you sell a lower priced, high quality ebook, you create relationships with loyal readers that support your work and efforts to give them the best possible deals.

When you publish a print style book, you need to send in your manuscript to several potential publishers, crossing your fingers hoping that they accept your work. Even after you’ve been accepted, editors may wish to change your manuscript. Self publishing your own ebook, there are no editors to change your work. So your work truly is your work.

There are no deadlines to keep when your are writing and ebook publishing. You are free to work at your own pace, and whenever you have the extra time. ebooks are much easier to produce and quicker than a traditional print book.

Ebooks are a vastly growing phenomenon in this day and age. Everyone is growing more and more comfortable with gadgets, and computers. People are always looking for the next best thing, and ebooks are the next best thing to the actual print style book.

Ebooks don’t have to be read solely on computers. There are ebook reading devices. So you can take your ebook with you wherever you go. Just like a traditional print style book, minus the weight and clutter of traditional print style books.

Ebook publishing is extremely low-risk and easy. You aren?t spending a ton of money to create your ebook, as you would with a traditional print style book. You aren’t paying to ship your manuscript to dozens of publishers. You are simply typing your ideas, compiling them into the right format and posting them on your web site.

If you have a business that you need to promote, why not post advertisements inside the pages of your ebook. People who read your ebooks will see this advertising and want to check it out.

The internet is an amazingly effective marketing tool. You can target any specific market of people easily. Whatever genre your ebook is, you will find that target market on the internet.

There are so many growing ebook publishers out there, and so many ebooks to choose from. Downloading and reading ebooks has never been easier. This is the age of technology and ebooks are being considered as the new hardcover.



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The Self-publishing Process Simplified

Monday, December 29th, 2008
self publishing
Michael McCain asked:


Publishing can be overwhelming to a new writer who still gropes in the dark not knowing how to get a manuscript published.  Despite online tips on how to publish a book, a writer can still get lost in the details of the process.

Outlined below are seven basic activities that may simplify the self-publishing journey.  These tasks appear sequential but they may be done simultaneously.

Decide what to write about. This is the first thing a writer ought to do.  Getting the manuscript printed is important but making sure that the story is interesting to the readers is even more critical.  Right from the start and before working on the book, the writer must seriously study the themes people want to read.

Discover your readers.  A book’s market niche must be clearly spotted out.  This allows the author to write effectively and tailor-fit the book’s overall package to the identified audience.

Dedicate time for writing. When the topic and the readers are already clear, the writer must dedicate quality time in writing the book.  If it is best for the author to compose during nighttime, then writing should be done at night and not in the morning.

Design effectively.  As a house needs interior designing, a book needs one as well.  It entails not only designing the physical look of the book but also the flow of the contents.  This needs careful planning and meticulous execution.

Designate a professional editor.  A book author must not self-edit the manuscript but must consult professional editors to improve the copy and make it more appealing to the readers.  A writer may think that the message is plain and written well but it could be unclear to the person reading it.  Making the story as lucid as possible is an editor’s job.

Deal with a professional publisher.  A writer does not have go through the trouble of thinking about technical details in book publishing.  Professional publishers like Xlibris can do the whole process with efficiency and excellence.  The company offers different publishing packages depending on the author’s needs.

Distribute the book effectively.  A book’s success doesn’t end when it gets published.  It starts when it is promoted and distributed.  Though marketing services are available from publishing companies like Xlibris, the book author is still the best person to market the self-published book.

These are seven basic tasks in self-publishing.  If you still feel lost, getting a free book publishing kit from Xlibris is a good start.

For more information, please visit http://www.xlibris.com/requestkit/index.asp?src=apr&key=rc , e-mail pressrelease@xlibris.com or call at 1-888-795-4247, to receive a free publishing guide.



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Off Set Printing is Still the Way to Maximing Profits When Self Publishing

Saturday, December 27th, 2008
self publishing
Danny Stooksbury asked:


If you are not familiar with offset printing, it is the process of transferring text and images from specially crafted plates to paper. The process has improved dramatically over the past 100 years. Many publishers prefer to use offset printing because it provides consistently high-quality images and is very cost effective when printing in large quantities. One plate can produce up to a million near identical impressions.

Offset printing is often the choice of publishers who want to maximize their profits. The primary costs are in building the plates and loading the images into the machines. The more books you print, the less you pay per copy. The key to earning big dollars self-publishing is often as simple as finding an offset press that can give you high quality at a low price. All printers have unique equipment. Whether they specialize in the type of printing your book requires or not, each printer will try to convince you they are your best option. The only way to truly know which printer will be right for your book is to get printing quotes from as many presses as possible.

Here are some things you will want to consider when finding the right printer for your book:



Collect quotes. There are many factors that will determine the offset costs of printing your book. These factors include colors, dimensions, page counts, paper stock, binding, cover type and quantities. Keep in mind that printing prices can very greatly from one company to the next. Try to narrow down the exact specifications as early in your writing process as possible. Then, take the time to get as many quotes as possible.





Time frame. Presses generally require four to six weeks to turn your computer files into a finished product. However, most printers keep very tight production schedules and can backed up for months at a time. It’s a good idea to settle on a printer as early as possible. Once you know when your files need to go to the printer, you can set a timetable for the writing, editing and layout of your book.





Page counts. Offset printers transfer page images onto plates called signatures. Some printers use 16-page signatures (8 pages on each side), others use 32-page signatures (16 pages on each side). Generally, printers charge you for the entire signature whether you use the entire plate or not. So a 160-page book would use exactly five of the 32-page signatures or 10 of the 16-page signatures.





Printer locations. The location of your printer could have a couple of major influences on your production costs. You will be responsible for any shipping charges. Be sure to ask your printer to include a shipping estimate with your quote. Your costs can also be altered by sales tax. Every state has its own tax rates. However, you will not be required to pay sales tax if you are printing out of state. That could save you as much as $1,000 on a $10,000 book order.



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Self Publish or Perish: the New Age of Book Writing

Monday, December 22nd, 2008
self publishing
Corey Blake asked:


In this new age of the Internet, information is everywhere and people are hungry to find it. If they have a question about ANYTHING in life, they are apt to jump online, go to a search engine and trust whatever they find. So how do you compete among trillions of pages of Internet content? The answer is simple: you write a book (or hire a ghostwriter to do it for you!).

In doing so, write a book with the intention of publishing it with a commercial publisher. This attitude will elevate your standards and create a high platform on which to perch. Quality is king. This book will speak for you forever; it will either speak poorly for you, or it will dynamically change lives. That being said, don’t let the traditional publishing industry push you around and force you to wait. People are relying on your information. If you invest in writing an exceptional book, you deserve to reap the rewards more quickly than traditional publishing allows (their process is as long as a year or more to get your book into bookstores), so partner your desire to create something outstanding with your ability to self publish and get your book out there into the hands of the people who need it most!

In life and in business, there are few things that bring the respect, the admiration, the financial reward, and the emotional gratification that writing a book does. The media will refer to you as an expert, your customers will look at you with newfound respect, and, most importantly, you’ll look at yourself differently, with so much more confidence and a crystallized understanding of what you offer your customers!

Remember when I said the answer was simple? Well, it was, but implementing it will require a bit more work. You need to take your expertise and create a unique, even remarkable delivery system for it. You and/or your ghostwriter are going to write a book  but not just any book; it will be YOUR book! This is an endeavor that should take no less than six months to write, writing at least an hour a day, every day. It could possibly take as long as a year or more (and that doesn’t mean three months on and six months off!) to write a great book. Writing an exceptional manuscript worthy of worldwide distribution is a creative process that requires tremendous focus and the dedication of a brilliant team of people: ghostwriter, focus group participants, professional analysts, structure professionals, proofreaders, formatters, and more!

Now what is most important? Starting to write a book today, because time is of the essence! Consider this: in a world of instant gratification, the publishing industry has not yet caught up to our need for speed. Commercial publishers still take 9 to 18 months to get a book from manuscript to the bookstores, which comes after contract negotiations (two to three months) and finding the right agent and publisher (probably six months to a year). Who has this kind of patience anymore?

This is where self publishing comes in! Mind you, my recommendation is to still go through the process of creating something truly remarkable, investing your time and your money to write a book or hire a ghostwriter to write a book worthy of commercial publication, but do NOT let the slow speed of commercial publishing deter you from getting your message out quicker. Self Publish! Hire your ghostwriter to write a book and then while you are submitting to agents and publishers, self publish it through one of the many vanity presses available.

In addition to your time, this alternative will require investing a bit of capital, probably around $5,000 to $7,500 for 2,000 copies of your book, including the price to format it, acquire your ISBN number and get it listed on Amazon. But realize this: when you write a book and then you self publish, you make so much more of the money. When you sell those 2,000 books, your income can be anywhere from $15,000 to $40,000, versus a much smaller royalty from a traditional publisher.

So write a book worthy of commercial publishing, and then self publish to test the content, and build up a stockpile of cash that you can use to market and publicize the book when it hits the bookstores. Heck, if you can sell 30,000 units on your own, a commercial publisher will pick you up based on that alone!

You must be strategic in this day and age to survive! Think about what you are doing today and what you’ll need tomorrow. Today you need to start writing (or find your ghostwriter), so you can self publish tomorrow, and commercially publish down the road. Without the writing, there is neither the self publishing opportunity nor the commercial publishing chance. So start your writing, or hire your ghostwriter immediately (check out my article: 10 Questions You Must Ask Before You Hire a Ghostwriter)!



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Self Publishing a Book is so Easy Now

Saturday, December 20th, 2008
self publishing
Ruth Barringham asked:


There is a big difference between writing a book and getting it published. When you first begin to write a book it seems like such a mammoth task, but trying to get a publisher or agent interested in your work is much harder.

So when you finish writing your first book you then have a choice.

You can begin with the time consuming, and quite costly job, of sending out your manuscript to as many literary agents and publishers as possible. This takes a lot of time to do and it can easily stretch into months, or even years, before anyone even takes the slightest bit of interest in your manuscript.

And the sad thing about it, is that most new authors are turned down by the major publishing companies. Most publishers prefer to publish books of writers they already know because they feel that unknown authors are too much of a financial risk.

But if, per chance, you were very lucky to get your book published with a publishing company, it could still be years before it actually is published and even then, you’d have to do all your own marketing and book promotions and all at your own cost.

The alternative to all this is to self publish your own books.

Some authors think that books that are self published won’t sell. But any good book will make sales if it’s marketed correctly and consistently.

The beauty of self publishing is that you can publish one book or several books and it will just keep getting easier. You see, once you’ve been through the publishing process and published one book, it’s easier to repeat the process with your next book, and your next.

If you wanted to you could even set up your own publishing company and publish as many books as you write. And the best thing about publishing your own books is that you get to stay completely in control of your own work. You get to choose the book design, the cover, the price AND you get to keep all the profits.

And when it comes to marketing, it doesn’t take much more time to market one book or a dozen books. You can send out a flyer to promote one book or a whole catalogue to promote them all.

Writing and publishing books gives you a passive income which means you don’t have to work yourself to death. You just write something once, publish it and then get paid over and over again.

And self publishing is so easy and it doesn’t cost a lot. To publish a book and sell it through online book stores, you don’t even have to leave your home. You can work from anywhere in the world, set your own hours and just keep writing and publishing.

Why not give it a try? Unless, of course, you’re not serious about being a published author…



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To be published or to self publish, that is the question.

Saturday, December 20th, 2008
self publishing
E. Ward asked:


In today’s society the book industry is starting to resemble somewhat of a social hierarchy. Meaning that there are certain levels authors strive for before they are considered to be at the top of the food chain. Herein lies the quandary; how should authors reach the top and what can they do to get there?

Many would answer find a publisher to take on your book, all of the costs involved and in the end get a royalty check every quarter. However, an equal amount of individuals would argue that self-publishing reduces the hassle of finding a publisher to begin with, and gets the books published quicker. This method comes at a higher cost to begin, but can also come with the reward of less people touching the profits and the possibility of being picked up by a publisher (as well as an entrepreneurial spirit). So which one is better, and why do some authors have a problem with self-published authors? Besides the few who take a reserved approach to self-publishing, the majority of authors have a great respect for each other’s work and the art of writing. Each method can work for each author, and therefore it can be a personal preference. Many find happiness in doing things for themselves, and some like the opportunity to have the work published for them. Whichever method is chosen by an author, one common element remains the same; everyone works hard to get to the top.

With trends within the book industry moving toward connecting directly with the reader, many authors start up their own websites with interactive features such as newsletters and blogs to market books. This is a common theme for published and self-published authors who are vying to be in the top percentile within the industry. There are websites sprouting up over the Internet that have seen this trend and are helping authors (whether they be published or self-published), as well as publishers in some cases, raise awareness of their books and reach the next level. However, many do not allow a lot of books to be registered for free, are cluttered with text and do not focus on connecting author and reader.

One simple site to use without any of the above problems is bookhitch.com. The website has had a successful reaction from many authors and publishers after only being live since May 2006. bookhitch is helping individuals reach the next level by offering them the opportunity to list an unlimited amount of books, for free. The website is unique because next to each description of the book an author can place a link to his/her own website (or publisher etc) to buy the book. Therefore readers can buy the book directly from the author, cutting out the amount of people handling the book. The site, like many authors sites, is also utilizing different mediums to connect further with their target audience of authors, publishers and readers. One such medium is their new “hitch news” newsletter, which offers information about marketing books and whatever else is suggested. Soon, the newsletter will even showcase select author’s articles.

To be published or to self publish, that is the question? The answer is simple, either one works, especially with websites like bookhitch helping to increase awareness of each author’s talent.



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The Profitable World of Self Publishing

Saturday, December 20th, 2008
self publishing
Mike Moore asked:


Five years ago I was a professional speaker desperately in need of my own book. After each presentation members of my audience would approach me and ask if had a book or a tape for sale. The need was obvious. The market existed. All I needed to do was write a book and bring it to my audiences. This is how my first book was born.

I wrote nonstop for two months and finally had it written and illustrated with my own original cartoons. The question facing me now was who would be chosen from among thousands of publishers to bring my masterpiece to the waiting, eager multitudes. After many submissions to numerous publishing houses and many rejection slips, I finally found one who agreed to publish my book. The problem was that they couldn’t get around to it for about a year and a half. I would receive 20% of the retail cost of each copy sold and would have to do most of the promotion myself.

This arrangement just wasn’t satisfactory. I needed the book as soon as possible and I wanted to receive more than 20% of each copy sold. It was then that I decided to enter the world of self publishing and started Lifeline Publications.

Five hundred copies of were printed as a test run and I sold them all within the year as ” back of the room” items at my speeches and seminars. Since I wasn’t on the road speaking 365 days of the year I wanted to have my book available for purchase seven days a week whether I was speaking or not. I had my webmaster create a store for me and connect it to my speaking website. I was in business.

With well chosen and well directed advertising online and off I began to receive orders in my mailbox and by email. As sales increased so did the number of published items in my store. At present I have a total of nine information products, manuals, books, tapes, and special reports available for purchase.

In my first year as a publishing tycoon I sold 300 copies of my products online alone and another 100 offline. Add these sales to those at my talks and you can see that I was off and running as a self publisher. The orders seem to increase in number each month.

Writers are no longer dependent on the acceptance and approval of editors and publishers. Using the internet as well as offline classified ads in popular magazines you can bring your writing directly to a wide and eager market. People are always seeking ” how to” information. In fact the most sought after items on the internet are information products. So if you research peoples’ needs, wants and interests then write to satisfy them you are going to sell effectively..

Self publishing is simple and cost effective especially if you print on demand. You don’t print a copy of your product until you get an order for that product. By doing this you avoid the cost of having 500 copies printed plus having to find storage space in your already cluttered basement.

If you have the writing bug and have received enough rejection slips to wallpaper a bedroom, try self publishing. When that first order comes in you will feel great satisfaction and a surge of self confidence which will, inevitably, result in more sales. You will be on your way to conquering the world of self publishing. GOOD LUCK!



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Self-publishers Can Fund Book Production With Presales

Friday, December 19th, 2008
self publishing
Danny Stooksbury asked:


There is no sweeter word to a self-publishing author than presales. Presales provide relief to the many expenses involved in publishing, including printing, marketing, purchasing office materials and dozens of little things here and there. Persistent authors are often able to sell enough advance copies of their books to start making a profit before ever stocking a single bookshelf.

Once you begin accepting presales, you’ll also gain an improved understanding of your book’s market. Keep records of your sales to use when determining how many books to order and where your marketing efforts have been most successful. If you are planning to order 1,000 copies of your book but sellout before your book even get to the printer, you’ll know your order needs to be increased. And if your book’s Website is overloaded with traffic after placing an advertisement in one newspaper but not another, you’ll know where your ads should be focused.

Here is a list of things to consider when you begin accepting presales. Remember the more people see and hear about your book, the more likely they will be to buy it:



Utilize the Internet. A well-maintained, well-built Website is the key ingredient to getting your first sales. Whether you build your own site or hire someone to do it for you, make certain your visitors have a way to reserve copies of your book. That might simply mean placing your personal contact information on your site, or it could mean posting a shopping cart directly on your Web page. Building online shopping carts can be a bit advanced for any first-time site builders, but you can cut some corners by utilizing Paypal.com’s “Website Payment” features.





Direct mail. If you can identify a specific group of people who will be interested in your book, wet their chops by mailing out postcards announcing your upcoming volume. You may be able to borrow or purchase mailing lists from organizations directly linked to your subject matter. The U.S. Postal Service has a partnership with Click2Mail.com that will allow you to create and send small black & white postcards for less than price of a postage stamp.





Flyers. Identifying high-traffic areas where your potential readers congregate will help you find the ideal locations for posting fliers about your soon-to- be-released book. Put some information about your book and your Web address on your flyers.





Friends and family. Your friends and family believe in you and most will want their own copy of work. Ask if they would be willing to purchase your book while you’re raising money to pay for the printing costs rather than after your book has been completed.





Spread the word. Talk about your book whenever you get the chance. Talk to your hairdresser, the guy at the grocery counter, your neighbors and anyone else who listen. Sometimes it’s the people you would never expect that will surprise you the most by ordering one, two or maybe even a dozen copies of your book.



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Thursday, December 18th, 2008
self publishing
Andy Ballentine And Merlin-publishing.com asked:


Today, there are hundreds of enterprising men and women who write simple research papers (known in the self-publishing industry as MANUALS) and sell them by mail.

In the article that follows, I’ll show you how you can do the same. I’ll show you how to select a subject, how to research it, how to write it, how to get it printed, and how to sell it.

I’ll show you the four ways to sell it.

If you are new to manual selling, I’ll show you which of the four ways is the best for you. That said, I hope you will read what follows very carefully and very thoroughly.

There are no catches. I have nothing more to sell to you (unless you want to read some of the other manuals which I have written).

I hope the information which follows can be of real benefit to you.

That is why I have written it!

Exactly what is a manual?

A manual can be called a booklet, a pamphlet, a report, a newsletter, a guide, an instruction manual, a plan, a manuscript, etc.

A manual is simply an easy-to-understand report which shows the reader “How To” do something that he does not already know.

Most manuals show the reader … How to start or expand a hobby; How to develop new abilities or qualities; How to start a new business or expand an old one; How to prepare for a new career; How to make or save money; How to solve personal problems; How to spend leisure time.

A well written manual is authoritative, factual, and helpful. It should be written in simple, easily understood language.

It can be anything from a brief two-page photocopied report to a professionally printed book bound in a hardback cover.

People who purchase manuals by mail are interested in the information they contain. Seldom do they care what brand of paper the information is printed on.

What kinds of manuals are now being sold by mail?

Pick up almost any magazine at a news stand that carries classified advertising and you will find ads written by people who are selling their manuals by mail.

Here are sample ads from magazines lying on the desk.

“Be secure, confident, successful! Learn the secret of personal power. $2.00″

“Secrets of the Spirit World! Only $2.00 Post-paid!”

“Traffic Tickets? Beat them, step by step method. $1.95″.

“Fluorescent Tubes Rejuvenated at no cost. Instructions $4.00″

“Why grow old and die? Li Chung Yun lived 256 years. You could too”.

“Guide to Witches Covens - $12.00″

“Learning Bridge? Send $12.95 for 20 page guide.”

“Learn the secret of making every dress you sew fit perfectly. Only $3.00″.

“10 Wonder Working Prayers. Enrich, Strengthen Your Life. $2.50″.

“Home Made Cheese. Hard, soft and cottage. Make it yourself! Complete instructions, recipes, $2.00″

“Peterborough Area Job Opportunities $2.00″

“Ship in Bottle. Instructions. Drawings. $3.00″

If you can produce a “How To” manual that is novel, interesting and genuinely helpful, you can do what the advertisers above have done. You can print it yourself and sell it by mail!

What should you write about?

You should write:

* only on subjects that really interest you, and * on subjects that you already know something about.

For example, if you just love to cook, write a manual on cooking.

If people like the first manual they buy from you, they will buy other manuals in the future, as long as they are on the same basic subject.

If you write on a subject that really does not interest you very much, you will be bored to death by the time you get to your third manual.

Ask yourself - what do I do with my spare time? Write a manual about that!

How do you research the manual?

Make yourself an expert on the subject!

Talk to friends and neighbors. Ask questions. Read books, newspapers, and magazines on the subject. Ask your librarian for suggestions. As you read, keep notes on everything. When you have read everything you could lay your hands on, sit down and study your notes. Read them over slowly and carefully. Then lay the notes aside and think about the whole subject for a day or two. You will be amazed at what your mind will do with the subject if you have researched it thoroughly. How do you write it?

Here is a tip from a professional writer.

Sit down and pretend that you are a person who knows absolutely nothing about the subject.

Write down fifteen questions that such a person might ask you. Then write out, in your own words, the answers to the fifteen questions.

Do not try to be literary!

When you are finished, lay it aside for a day or two. Then re-read it with a red pencil, crossing out all unnecessary words and sentences, inserting a new point here and there.

Rewrite the whole thing, and you will be amazed to discover that your manual is ready to be published!

How do you get it printed?

Type it as neatly as possible onto A4 white typing paper. Single space it, leaving two lines between each paragraph.

Take it to a local copy/print shop, who will make you however many copies of it, very reasonably, within 24 hours usually.

If you have more than four pages, have it printed on both sides of the paper. It will lower your printing costs slightly, and save you extra postage in the future.

To give your manual a professional touch, have it printed on canary yellow, pink, or light green paper.

How do you sell it?

1. Direct from ads in magazines and tabloid papers.

If economically possible, sell it for $2.00 or $3.00 per copy. Write a brief, eye catching classified ad, asking those interested to send their orders directly to you.

If your ad is novel, believable, and of genuine interest, you will be surprised at how many people will do this.

If your manual is about stamp collecting, advertise it in the stamp collecting papers.

If it is about astrology, advertise it in the Astrology magazines- to do otherwise is fatal.

Be sure to run your ad in at least three issues. If you have never sold manuals by mail, I sincerely suggest you use this method.

2. Advertise for Inquiries.

If your manual is quite elaborate, and must be sold for $5.00 or more, use this method. Write a brief, tempting ad describing your manual, and offer free details. Then mail literature describing the manual to those who answer the ads. Don’t expect more than one enquiry in ten to buy it from you.

Here are recent ads placed by manual writers who use this method:

“Never Won Anything? Anyone can win sweepstakes contests! Free details”.

“Troubled? God can help! Free information.”

“Overweight? I lost 53 pounds. Easily - Permanently. New Method. Information Free”.

“Make money clipping newspapers at home in spare time. Details free.”

3. Direct Mail.

If you have written a manual showing how to get your inventions patented, you could purchase a list of amateur inventors, and mail your sales literature to each individual on the list.

If you are lucky, you’ll sell your manual to about one person in every twenty-five.

Direct mail can be very effective for experienced mail order operators, but it is usually far too costly for the beginner.

It can easily cost you over two hundred and fifty dollars for each one thousand letters you mail.

4. Selling through agents.

If you are willing to sell your manual in small wholesale quantities, or if you are willing to drop ship manuals for mail dealers, then you might find this the most effective way to market your manuals.

Below are some ads placed by manual writers.

“Sell Health Books Mail Order! Write”

“Sell Books By Mail. Complete Dealer Set Up $2.00″

“Sell Books by Mail! 400% Profit”

“Free Newsletter! Sell Books by Mail. We wholesale/dropship”

Some of the above ads have been running for over ten years, indicating that this could be a very successful way to market your manuals.

Good Luck



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How to Promote your Self-published Ebook

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008
self publishing
Dorothy Thompson asked:


One of the questions I get from writers who have never written an eBook for the sole purpose of self-publishing is, “How would you promote a self-published eBook? Where would you even begin?”

Many writers balk at even attempting to play publisher, but if they only knew that it’s not as hard as they think it is, plus they keep to keep all the profits, I feel that more people would realize that self-publishing ebooks is not only a profitable venture, but they are really simple to promote as long as you take a no-nonsense guerilla approach to marketing.

As long as you have a market, and have a quality eBook that is free of errors, your eBook can become a success, thus give you that added income. But, the great thing is, you won’t be sharing the profits with anyone. There is no overhead except for website expenses, which you should already have.

I have successfully promoted several eBooks for myself and for my writing group, getting those eBooks into the #1 position in the search engines.

How?

That’s where your guerilla marketing plan comes in.

Here are a few simple ways I have used to promote my eBooks and get them to the top of the search engines:

1) Using key search words throughout my selling page and on every single piece of promotional literature I send out.

2) Using free press release sites frequently, keeping in mind to use those key search words not only in the title, but also throughout the release.

3) Using free article banks as vehicles to get my selling page’s link on hundreds upon hundreds of websites.

4) Using online storefronts who will list my eBook for free.

5) Using writer’s forums and websites who will let you announce your eBook.

6) Using blogs to announce your eBook and promote it.

7) Using others’ blogs to set up virtual book tours.

The secret to selling self-published eBooks (or any kind of eBook or print book, for that matter) is to get your link on as many websites as you can. You have to remember, you have an electronic book. You can’t go on book signings, so you have to rely on the Internet to get the word out. But, by following those seven examples above, I’ll guarantee you’ll get the sales you need.

So what if you’ve done everything above, and your eBook still isn’t selling?

Where some authors go wrong is that they fail to remember the most important thing you need in order to sell any kind of books—a market.

No amount of promotion is going to do you any good unless you have an audience who is willing to fork out the money.

Before you even put down that first word, you have to ask yourself these following questions:

Who is going to buy my eBook?

Why is my eBook any different than Joe Blow’s eBook on the same subject?

What will my audience gain from my eBook?

Can they already find this information readily on the Internet?

Will my buyers gain something from my eBook, or is it simply to entertain?

Pique your potential buyer’s interest.

Post an excerpt on your website so they can judge for themselves whether your eBook will be something they need.

Once you get into the mindset of your buyer, things start falling in place, and you’ll get those sales you want.

Zero in on your market, and do the steps I’ve outlined above, and I’ll guarantee you’ll be selling ebooks.

Happy promoting to you!

© Dorothy Thompson



Kansieo.com

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