Author Tools & Resources, Self Publishing Your Book

Self Publishers! Awesome Tools & Resources for Producing & Creating YOUR Book

*This is part 3 in the series Awesome Tools & Resources for Writers (Mostly Free) and is cross posted from my site Ladies Who Critique.com. Find part 1, Writing a Book here. Part 2, Querying a Book here.*

3. Producing a Book (for independent & self-published wannabes)

The independence that self-publishing has created is wonderful. Many companies and services have jumped on the bandwagon trying to sell their services and help converting and producing printed books and eBooks. While there is some merit (and certainly convenience) in these services it is possible for those on a tight budget to produce both paperback and digital formats. Here are some great links to get you started:

1. Print on Demand Companies: (e.g. Createspace, Lulu, Lightning Source) Print on Demand (POD) services allow you to print as many or as few copies of your book as you like, have it dropshipped and therefore eliminate the need for a publisher or physical stock. The most common and well regarded companies are:

– Createspace (My preferred POD company)

– Lulu

Lightning Source

2. eBook typesetting and formatting:

Reedsy Book Editor (free)

3. Book Cover Design: I strongly suggest hiring a fantastic book designer to produce a cover that looks as professional and pleasing as possible. Reedsy is your best bet for this. They have book cover designers in Australia, the UK, the US, or anywhere you can think of.

For those who have some graphic designer skills and/or really cannot afford a professional’s help, royalty -free/ low cost images are available from:

Graphic River.net

istockphoto.com

Dreamstime.com

Bigstock.com

The Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog

4. Publishing Digitally

– Publishing on the Amazon Kindle: https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/signin

– Publishing on Barnes & Noble Nook: www.pubit.com

– Smashwords: For publishing on other eBook retailers and platforms (Kobo, iStore, Sony and more) I suggest converting your manuscript for Smashwords (the infamous meatgrinder is notoriously difficult to format for, but please see below for “easier” guidelines)

– The Official Smashwords Style Guidehttp://www.smashwords.com/books/download/52/1/latest/0/0/smashwords-style-guide.pdf

As always, let me know if I missed anything!