Welcome to the SPoaB Guide!
A Free Self-Publishing on a Budget Guide!
This guide is laid out in phases from Phase One to Phase Six in the hopes that when it is finished, it will lead authors from start to finish through the Self-Publishing Journey. This is based on what I have learned as I have written and published my own books.
NOTE: Since this is a work in progress… some blogs aren’t written yet. Be patient.
And Enjoy!
PHASE ONE—Dreaming and Writing
Just startin’ out!
Understanding Self-Publishing
Things to Consider with Vanity Publishers
Writing
Writing Software–Scrivener and yWriter
Scrivener and yWriter explored
Five Great Tools to Help Your Writing
Ideas to Drive You to Write: Writing for NaNoWriMo!
Three Questions to Ask Yourself about Your Writing
Outlining the Story
How Long Should My Book Be?
Early on in the Process
Telling People You’ve Written a Book
PHASE TWO—Editing and Cleaning Up
I have a manuscript… now what?
Editing
Attitude: Five Ways to Tell You Do Not Want Feedback
Attitude: Six Ways to Receive Feedback Well
The Questions I Ask My Alpha and Beta Readers
Finding an Editor: Interview with an Editor: Eric Shay Howard
Finding an Editor: Interview with an Editor: Deborah A. Bowman
Finding an Editor: Interview with an Editor: B. N. Harrison
Professional Editing
The Ups and Downs of Self-Editing
PHASE THREE—Publishing
So… now what do I do?
Setting Direction
To Pseudonym or Not to Pseudonym
Book Design and Formatting
How to pick a Fabulously Fun Font Type for your Book Part I
How to pick a Fabulously Fun Font Type for your Book Part II
Setting up Your Book: the Basics
Setting up Your Book: Front and Back Matter
Formatting Your Book–Pressbooks Part I
Formatting Your Book–Pressbooks Part II
Formatting Your Book–Pressbooks Part III
Creating a Barcode for your Print Book
Cover Design and Artwork
What is it actually like to Make a Book with a Professional Designer
Choosing a Trim Size for Your Book
Setting up Your eBook with Scrivener
Publishing
Working with Smashwords
Setting up Your Book–KDP ebook Part I
Setting up Your Book–KDP ebook Part II
Setting up Your Book–KDP Print
KDP Print vs. Createspace Part I
KDP Print vs. Createspace Part II
Setting up a Google Books Account
Writing a Book Description
CreateSpace, Ingram, Blurb, etc.
Offset Printing
Pricing Your Book
Understanding the Kindle Options
Your Own Publishing Company
Producing an Audiobook
Understanding the Amazon Ranking System
Author Pages:
Setting up a Goodreads Author Page
Setting up a Facebook Author Page
Setting up an Amazon Author Page
Setting up a Pre-Order for Your Book Part I
Setting up a Pre-Order for Your Book Part II
PHASE FOUR—Book Launch!
That’s launch, not lunch. One you eat, the other you throw.
Book Launch
Asking for Reviews
Using Booksprout to get Reviews
Connecting a Book to Your Goodreads Profile
Understanding Feedback/Reviews
PHASE FIVE—Marketing and Promotion
So, I have a book on Amazon… am I rich and famous now?
Marketing
Using Bing Ads to Promote Your Book
Using Google Ads to Promote Your Book
Using Social Media to Promote Your Book: Twitter
Using Social Media to Promote Your Book: Facebook
Using Social Media to Promote Your Book: Goodreads
Using Social Media to Promote Your Book: Other Social Media
Using Bookbub Featured Deals (with J. A. Paul)
Amazon Author Central
Using Wattpad to Promote Your Books
Amazon Affiliate Program
Amazon Ads
Getting Your Book Out There
How Many Sales Make a Bestseller?
PHASE SIX—Living as a Famous Author
Hmm… how do you talk about something you’ve never experienced? For me to speak about that would only spread ignorance. While I may be content to do that in some ways, it’s not something I want to get in the habit of doing.
Some final thoughts…
When I started this site, one of my goals was to create this SPoaB Guide. I wanted to post a series of blogs that could be laid out in a way to allow for an author to simply follow through the Guide, one step at a time.
Not all the above posts are finished (or started). I’m open to requests to finish one before another (if you see a topic you want covered soon), and I’m open to suggestions on topics/posts that are missing.
Comment below with your thoughts, suggestions and more!
Shawn
4 responses to “SPoaB Guide”
Very well written.
Thanks, Deborah! You’re always such a great encouragement!
Keep going forward!
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