Publishing books your self and marketing it

United States
October 2, 2010 9:46am CST
Ok i have written one book and had it published by a publishing company which sucks see that they don't do anything for me but its okay i just wanted my name out there. so now i finished a collection of short stories which i have put all my heart and soul into and i want to publish it myself. but i know it will be hard to market it so any advice on what i should do anything i should try to help me make some money with my book its costing $200 to publish so i want to make that back the first month. thanks everyone any and i mean any advice is welcome and i would be very happy for it.
4 people like this
3 responses
@Catana (735)
• United States
2 Oct 10
I hate to discourage anybody who's writing, but the chances of making $200.00 from the sale of your book in one month are about zero. If you're unknown and didn't build a reader base before publishing, you probably won't make that much in one year. I don't know whether you used a POD company or a vanity press, but usually, the only one who makes money that way is the publishers. If you're serious about self-publishing, you can do it without spending any money, but you still have to do a lot of work to get your book in front of readers. You can publish your book as an ebook on Amazon, for the Kindle, or on Smashwords. Smashwords will make your book available in several formats, so that readers can read on just about any device, or on their computer, and they have distribution deals with several publishing companies, including Sony. Smashwords also has three free books you can download to help you with marketing and editing. They're listed in the front page side bar. smashwords.com
2 people like this
• United States
2 Oct 10
well yes i have a few people who read what i write i have my own website just for that it mindofwill.com i will also check out the site you give me and maybe publish there to seeing that the full book and designs even the layout is made by me.
2 people like this
@Catana (735)
• United States
2 Oct 10
If you decide to publish ebooks, layout is very different from print. The Smashwords guide discusses the differences, so that authors don't waste time and energy on things like page numbers and fancy fonts. It's good that you have the knowhow to do your own work. Your book has to have a cover to get in Smashword's premium catalog, which goes to the various distributors. Without a cover, you're limited to the Smashwords site.
2 people like this
• Philippines
4 Oct 10
I came across i-proclaim.com. I published my work there for free but I do not have a copyrights reserve on it. You may earn money from it though when someone buys your book online. You get 10 or 30% off the price of your very own book. After posting your book, they send you a link as to where you could find it. You may also buy your book at a discounted price. They will send it to you and it's not paperback.
2 people like this
@hestylim (1210)
• Indonesia
16 Nov 12
I had my book published on i-proclaim, but I withdrew my book at the end because it didn't make any sales. Well, it might be my fault. But I don't know.. I think that site is not good enough if you are serious about self publish book
@anurag3786 (6267)
• India
2 Oct 10
I never publish any books of myself. But I have habit of reading. But I never try to read any books. Because I think what I write in any book. And why peoples will read my books. I think there are many good bookers who always published their books. But I never try this. So I can’t say anything about that how to publish a book.
2 people like this