Self-Publishing Tools and Rules

http://amazon.com/author/randalldyck

Dr Randall J Dyck

Rules for self-publishing that I discovered over the last year while publishing several of my books. It shows resources that you can use and guidelines for e-books.

The Traditional Publishing Model1. Publishers control

* the printing press* the distribution* the knowledge to professionally publish

2. Publishers reject most authors3. Publishers decide what readers can read4. Slow production cycles (12-18 months)5. Books forced out of print early6. Authors earn only 5-17% of list price7. Publishers judge books on perceived commercial

meritCredit: Smashwords.com

Solution: Self-Published E-Books

Ebook publishing made easy! Free tools enable writers to become their own

ebook publishers Higher royalties (60-85%) Distribution to major ebook stores like the Apple

iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Kobo

Ebooks are books on screens

Ebooks as a percentage ofUS book market

Source: Association of American Publishers, publishers.org

Why ebooks are hot Screens offer better reading experience than paper

Changeable font size A A A A Portable and compact E-reading devices will get

better/faster/cheaper More functional

Your book can be for sale at multiple ebook retailers quickly

Useful Tools of the Trade Agents to Distribute your Ebook:

http://smashwords.comhttp://draft2digital.comhttp://kdp.amazon.com Authors outside the USA need a EIN # from the IRS to submit on W8 Benefit form or 30 % of your royalties will be withheld.

Some agents convert Word files for you but here are tools to work with Ebook formats: Mobi (Kindle): use Scrivener or Calibre Epub (others): use above tools or Sigil

Other Tools of the Trade Viewers for Ebook Formats: Mobi (Kindle): use

Mobipocket or Kindle Previewer(can also convert epub) Epub (others): use Adobe Digital Editions

Book Covers can be designed with: Free programs: Paint.NET, Picasa, Gimp, Gimpshop

http://pixlr.com Trial programs:Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Acrobat

Useful Things to Consider Translations of your ebook to other languages:

Register with http://babelcube.com Obtaining an audio version of your ebook:

Register with http://acx.com Prepare 3-4 pages for audio auditions Use program Audacity to edit audio ebook

Author sites to register with:http://authorcentral.amazon.comhttp://authorcentral.amazon.co.uk http://goodreads.com (register as author)

General Rules to Consider Use left-justified paragraphs with a maximum of around

4 lines for easy viewing by ereaders Start each chapter on a new page left-justified Center all images that you insert It is better if tables are clipped and put in as images

since ereaders can alter their formats Put your own website in your ebook but not email

addresses or links to retailers since other retailers can then refuse to publish your ebook

Put in the publisher as your own name Use http://bisg.org to see BISAC book categories Use agent’s extra distribution to get into all bookstores

Free Ebook Publishing Resources

Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success (best practices of successful authors)

Smashwords Book Marketing Guide (how to market any book) Smashwords Style Guide (how to format an ebook)

Thank you for listening!

Q&A

Connect:Web: http://amazon.com/author/randalldyckhttp://rdyck.mynucleus.caPhone: (403) 703-1878Email: rdyck@nucleus.com