D. Self-Publish alone, breaking your head to perform the necessary formatting etc.

By Patricia de Hemricourt

Now, we are all capable individuals and should be able to manage on our own with the resources made available to us on-line.

If we want to publish a book on our own, there are a number of tasks we will have to perform.

1. Editing
2. Formatting
3. Book cover layout
4. Procuring an ISBN number
5. Distributing
6. Marketing

Let’s examine these one by one

1. Editing: no possible shortcut there, the book will have to be edited by a third party. In the absence of a qualified friend ready to do that as a favor, we could always try to find one through the numerous writers blogs, forum, community etc that swarm about the net.
2. Formatting: if time is not an issue, we could learn all the necessary skills to format our manuscript through free on-line tutorials. A non-exhaustive list of current relevant formats is .EPUB, PDF. .RTF, .PDB, .MOBI, LRF and TXT, as well as into online HTML and Javascript formats. Sounds like fun.
3. Book cover layout: These can be done through various free on-line image editing apps or programs. Not prime quality, but it will produce a book cover.
4. Procuring an ISBN number: That’s an easy one. It only requires calling the relevant national ISBN provider, found at http://www.isbn-international.org/agency and follow instructions.
5. Distributing: The main distributors are Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, Kobo, iBookstore, Barnes and Noble, Borders, Kobo, Diesel, Sony, Lulu, Scribd and Smashwords, each with its own formatting requirement and differential royalty rates. Reading Joe Konrath‘s sales figures, starting with just Amazon and Barnes and Nobles, which yearn the lion’s share of the sales might be a good idea, seriously reducing the formatting burden.
6. Marketing: Now is the time to get ready to forsake friends, family, sleep and possibly eating in order to get a minute chance of putting the word out. Yet, by devoting about 24 hours a day to foster the darling fiction book on the world wide net, it might just turn it into a decent “mediumseller”.

Now that we have all the elements it is …

Time to grade

1. Upfront money investment (nil+)
2. Time investment (a few hours – 24/7 for a while)
3. Time line to publication (a week +)
4. Probability of gaining access to the platform (100%)
5. Copyright retention (100 %)
6. Royalties percentage for the author (up to 100%)
7. Risk of ending with a scammer/unprofessional provider (nil)
8. Required self-involvement in marketing (24/7 and then some)
9. Probability of rising to best-seller status (low)

Now, we have all the elements and the upcoming week-end to think about them. Let’s meet on Monday and summarize.

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