Publishing Tips: Where to Self-Publish

There have likely been entire books written on this subject, but let’s just try to briefly touch on a few things.

So you’ve edited your manuscript, and now you want to know where to publish it. The options seem endless. Google. Apple iBooks. Amazon. Ingram. Kobo. Smashwords. The list goes on. Do you want it to be an ebook? Paperback? Both?

It must be said that the more places you can publish, the better. And a lot of places are even free. But if you’re limited on time, what should you do for the most effect?

Well, you probably don’t want to do Smashwords for your ebook. They have a grueling process involving something called the Meatgrinder. If you don’t follow their guide by the letter, you might find yourself unable to properly publish your manuscript. Honestly, it seems like a lot of work without a lot of payoff. It is to be noted, however, that they distribute to companies like Apple, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.

I would recommend the path that Jann and I have taken with most of our books: Ingram Spark and Amazon.

Now, with Ingram Spark, you’ll be facing costs. For an ebook, setup is $25. For a paperback, it’s $25. Anytime you want to update the text, you have to pay the money again, so you’ll want to make sure you’ve done things right. Now, Ingram Spark distributes to a lot of retailers, so that will help with your book’s availability. That doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get your book in brick and mortar bookstores, but it means that you can order your book, for instance, through Barnes and Noble. It’s Print on Demand, so you don’t have to worry about having further costs typically. It is to be noted, though, that since bookstores can order physical copies, you’ll probably want to turn on the option to allow them destroy any copies that don’t get sold; they’re more likely to order books then. In that case, you will potentially have some costs coming out of your book money.

When it comes to ebooks, Amazon is king. You can publish your ebook for free through Kindle Direct Publishing, and it will show up on Amazon’s website. That’s great, as a lot of people (like me) only buy books from Amazon. You can also publish your book in paperback form through CreateSpace. Again, it’s free. Updates are also free, though you may have to wait for changes to take effect. With your book showing up in both ebook and physical (Print On Demand) form on Amazon, that’s a major part of the battle. I’d say that’s even more important than Ingram Spark, to be honest.

One thing to keep in mind is that Amazon does not play very nice with most of the rest of the publishers out there. If you intend to have your book available in bookstores, don’t just publish through Createspace and expect it to show up in your local Barnes & Noble. They won’t stock anything they have to buy through Amazon. For that, you’ll need to go through Ingram. The other thing to note is that if you have done any business through Amazon, Ingram will not distribute to them. So you’ll likely be putting your book up for sale through at least Amazon on Ingram, regardless of whatever else you do.

One other note about physical books: you cannot publish a hardcover through Amazon. As a beginning author, you likely won’t jump right into the world of hardcover books anyway, but if you do, you’ll need to put the hardcover up through Ingram. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to distribute the hardcover through Amazon, but the lion’s share of Amazon sales come from ebooks anyway, so it’s not a problem. In my mind, publishing physical books is solely for the possibility of getting them in brick and mortar stores, and while it is not an easy thing to get a bookstore to stock your books without publisher backing, it is possible.

What about the other places? Well, ebooks on Google are easy to set up for free, so you might consider that route, though you may not make much money. If you have a Mac or want to use an application called a virtual Mac (as iBooks require Publisher to create and upload), you can try to get your stuff to Apple directly instead of going through a middleman like Smashwords. And Kobo, Nookbooks, and iTunes also have a significant presence, so publishing directly to them is probably worth it, especially because they are free to publish.

The bigger point to all this is that if you have problems finding an agent or publisher, you don’t have to despair. The benefits of self-publishing are total control over your work, a larger share of the profits, and the ability to set your own schedule. Of course, publishers provide you with the name backing and marketing–you have to do all that yourself when your self-publish. But self-publishing is becoming a more common way of getting your work to market, and it’s a viable way to make sure your work gets out there. And there is a great satisfaction in doing that!