Advice needed for self-publishng an e-book.
December 17, 2014 8:56 AM   Subscribe

I wrote a 45-page nonfiction book I would like to put out as an e-book. Need input on how to go forward.

A professional copy-editor has gone through it and fixed errors and it is ready to go.

Need input on how to go forward.

My goals: I would just as soon give the book away for free but I want it in the format that people can easily read on tablets (EPUB?). I would also like to distribute through Amazon because they have such a large market share. I know they will not allow me to price it $0.00 and have a minimum price of $0.99, so that is what I will charge on Amazon.

1) Cover: I have no graphic skills and will pay to have someone do a cover. But (1) I don't have much budget and (2) don't need a fancy cover with a picture, just something that doesn't look too amateurish

Do I get a freelancer through odesk or elance to do a cover? Amazon has Kindle Cover Creator. If I use this can I also use the cover it makes for other platforms (e.g. iBooks)?


2) Lulu and Bookbaby.com have packages for turning documents into e-books. Any thoughts?


3) I thought I read Amazon has a deal where if you go exclusively through them for 90 days they will somehow promote your book more. Is this available to no-name authors with short non-fiction books? Is it worth it?
posted by sitecoach to Writing & Language (5 answers total) 14 users marked this as a favorite
 
There was a thread a few days ago you might find interesting in this regard:

http://ask.metafilter.com/272968/How-to-nom-de-plume
posted by hz37 at 9:04 AM on December 17, 2014


check your memail
posted by Klaxon Aoooogah at 9:05 AM on December 17, 2014


Well for actually making the epub, you can just try it. Print as pdf and then use zamzar.com to make an epub. It's free so you can just do it and see the results.
posted by chasles at 12:30 PM on December 17, 2014


Since you're going to use amazon, why not use their guide/software. You can always convert their kindle version to e-pub using calibre.
posted by Obscure Reference at 6:29 PM on December 17, 2014


I use someone on Fiverr.com for all of my book covers and thoroughly recommend them - memail if you'd like contact info.

You can use CreateSpace on Amazon to make your print book - it's fiddly but reasonably simple.

To offer other formats, use Smashwords. Oh, and if you price at $0 on Smashwords, eventually Amazon will see the lower price and adjust theirs. I think that still works.

KDP Select, the service on Amazon you mention, is available to everyone. It allows your book to be loaned out, and you get a small fee every time that happens. But if you want your book to be widely available, I'd go the non-exclusive route. Note you get locked in for 90 days if you go on KDP, so maybe choose not to, see how it goes, then experiment with using KDP later on.

The Creative Penn website has excellent info on all of this (they are a client but I also use the advice on the site all the time for my own books).
posted by LyzzyBee at 2:29 AM on December 18, 2014 [1 favorite]


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