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    Publish Yourself: Create & Sell Your Own E-Books
    Publish Yourself: Create & Sell Your Own E-Books
    Publish Yourself: Create & Sell Your Own E-Books
    Ebook133 pages1 hour

    Publish Yourself: Create & Sell Your Own E-Books

    By J.M. Snyder

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    About this ebook

    If you've ever wanted to retain more of your royalties or try publishing e-books but didn't know where to start, this book is for you!

    Recently e-books have exploded onto the publishing scene, making it easier than ever for writers to break into the market. But many people who read e-books aren't familiar with how to create them. What formats should you offer? Where do you sell them? What do you use for a cover? And, most important, how do you go from a Word document to an EPUB, MOBI, or PDF file?

    Best-selling, multi-published author J.M. Snyder has written this no-nonsense, hands-on guide. She takes the mystery out of e-publishing while making the process of creating an e-book simple, cheap, and easy.

    Using Microsoft Word (or an equivalent word processing program) along with inexpensive or free software readily available online, you will learn how to create the nine most common e-book formats. You will be walked through cover art design, interior book layout, and e-book creation, as well as given many of the tips J.M. has learned along the way. Also included is a brief guide to online bookstores where you can sell your finished e-book.

    Let J.M. Snyder help you discover how easy it is to publish yourself!
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJMS Books LLC
    Release dateNov 20, 2011
    ISBN9781611522099
    Publish Yourself: Create & Sell Your Own E-Books
    Author

    J.M. Snyder

    An author of gay erotic romance, J.M. Snyder began self-publishing gay erotic fiction in 2002. Since then, Snyder has worked with several e-publishers, most notably Amber Allure Press and eXcessica Publishing.Snyder’s short fiction has appeared online at Ruthie’s Club, Tit-Elation, Eros Monthly, and Amazon Shorts, as well as in anthologies released by Alyson Books, Cleis Press, and others.For more book excerpts, free fiction, and purchasing information, please visit http://jmsnyder.net.

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      Book preview

      Publish Yourself - J.M. Snyder

      *

      Section I: Introduction

      When someone learns I publish e-books, one of the first questions I'm asked is simply, How? I've given advice on the subject to many authors seeking to self-publish their stories in electronic format, but my general replies never seemed to be enough. People want in-depth explanations, from start to finish, on how to format their stories into e-books: how to lay out the books so others can access them, how to convert the books into a variety of e-book formats, and where to sell the finished product.

      After one too many e-mails soliciting advice, I realized what seemed second-nature to me wasn't necessarily as intuitive to others, so I decided to write this book. Be warned--it isn't the end-all, be-all of publishing guides. It isn't going to make you millions overnight so you can quit your day job and write full-time. Hell, it may not even tell you anything you don't already know. But it will explain to you in no-nonsense detail how I personally create an e-book from beginning to end, how I format a book into nine of the most common electronic formats, and where I publish my stories online. Following the instructions in this book, you will be able to create and sell e-books, too.

      Sure, there are other publishing guides out there, but many of them are overpriced and don't offer any real assistance. I've never understood why someone who spent little or nothing creating an e-book thinks they should make $15 or more per copy. The beauty of an e-book is that there are few, if any, overhead costs, and 100% of what you earn, you keep. Many distributors have no set-up fees, conversion software can be found online for little or no cost, and the techno-savvy person can generate an e-book without spending much beyond what they've already paid setting up their home computer. So why spend an arm and a leg to learn how to do it?

      You may think my sharing the process with you is tantamount to giving away trade secrets, but I don't see it that way. There are always going to be writers who want to work with publishers--people who don't want to bother with the creation and marketing of books, who don't want to go through the hassle of dealing directly with multiple distributors, who don't want to muck about with cover art and interior design and whatnot. People who only want to write and will leave the messy and sometimes complicated business of getting their words into print to someone else.

      This book isn't for those writers.

      Instead, it's for people like myself who enjoy controlling every aspect of writing, from a story's inception through to seeing it published. People who want to learn how to format their own stories, who want to track their own sales, who want a more hands-on approach than what is offered through traditional publishing venues. People who have already self-published a book in print but now want to explore the budding world of e-publishing. People who want to keep more of their profits.

      People who believe in their own stories and are going to get their books out there for readers regardless of whether or not a publisher decides to take them on.

      This book is for you.

      * * * *

      Basic Assumptions

      In writing this book, I have made some very basic assumptions about you, the reader. In order to benefit from the advice and suggestions herein, you must:

      Already have a book or story written and edited, ready for publication. If not, stop reading and get to work!

      Know your way around a computer. Be familiar with a word processing program--I use Microsoft Word, but the same functions are available with any similar program.

      Be comfortable downloading and installing software to your computer, such as FTP and e-book creation programs.

      Know you'll have to spend money to make money. Self-publishing isn't exactly free--you will have to buy cover images (or hire a cover artist), promotional services, copyrights, and ISBNs. While some of the software available online to assist you with creating e-books is free to use, a few programs I mention here are inexpensive shareware.

      Realize distributors will take a cut of your profits. But, in the long run, you may end up earning more than you spend, and more than you'd make with a publisher taking a percentage of your sales.

      Realize your book isn't going to sell thousands of copies. Self-published books rarely do, though authors can make a living on their own if they have multiple titles for sale and publish regularly. But you will need to be prepared to market your title and promote yourself heavily, both online and off. It doesn't matter if you aren't outgoing by nature or if you prefer not to mingle on social networking sites--you need to tell people about your book. Be ready to sell yourself and your book, or stop now.

      Throughout this book I will mention websites and programs I use to help in the creation of an e-book. In the appendix you'll find URLs for all programs and websites I mention. This list is current as of the publication date of this book. Please realize these URLs may change over time! If you try visiting one of the links and get an error, Google it to see if the program or site is still online.

      Any program or site name whose link is included in the back of the book will be highlighted in BOLD BLUE text.

      * * * *

      My Self-Publishing Journey

      Before we start, let me give you a little bit of background about myself. I'm sure you're wondering where I get off presuming to tell people how to create and sell their own e-books. Many readers who know of my writing may not realize I actually started in self-publishing, releasing my first novel in 2002. For four long years I struggled to learn the business, focusing only on print titles and trying desperately to get them into bookstores and in front of readers. When I first heard of e-books, I thought I'd give them a try, but I didn't expect much. How things change over time!

      I grew up knowing I wanted to be a writer. In high school I subscribed to Writer's Digest, which I believed to be the Bible for Those Who Would Be Published. In college I took every writing class and workshop offered, and began to send out my first tentative submissions. With each manuscript I mailed, my collection of rejection slips grew. I told myself I was 'on my way.'

      After college, I used the Internet to connect with other like-minded people interested in publishing. I discovered a variety of genres I never knew existed, including M/M fiction, or gay erotic romance. I was floored to find that, not only did other writers write these sorts of stories, but people actually read them! Without further thought, I leapt head-first into slash fan fiction, sure I had found my true calling.

      Unfortunately, fan fiction is not a paying market. So I began to explore original gay erotic romance at a time

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