How to Publish an E-Book: Resources for Authors

About the only thing that remains constant in e-book publishing is that it changes—everything from the services to marketing strategies. Here, I’ve attempted to round-up all the good resources I know of related to (1) how to publish an e-book, (2) finding the right e-publishing services, and (3) staying on top of changes in the industry.

Excellent Book-Length Guides

Write. Publish. Repeat. by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant
How to Market a Book by Joanna Penn
Let’s Get Visible & Let’s Get Digital by David Gaughran
The Naked Truth by Self-Publishing by 10 NYT bestselling authors
How I Sold 30,000 eBooks on Amazon’s Kindle by Martin Crosbie
Your First 1,000 Copies by Tim Grahl
Secrets to E-Book Publishing Success by Mark Coker (free)

Getting Started & Principles

How to Self-Publish Your Book (Jane Friedman)
The Basics of E-Book Publishing (David Gaughran)
10 Questions to Ask Before Committing to Any E-Book Publishing Service (Jane Friedman)
How an Enterprising Author Sold a Million Self-Published Books (Copyblogger)
How to Make Money on E-Books (JA Konrath)
5 Observations on the Evolution of Author Business Models (Jane Friedman)

Producing a Solid Product

Writing Your Book’s Back Cover Copy (Jessi Rita Hoffman)
The Importance of Categories, Keywords, and Tags (M. Louisa Locke)
How to Improve Your Amazon Book Description and Metadata (Penny Sansevieri)
How to Self-Publish Children’s Books Successfully (Darcy Pattison)

Sales, Marketing, and Promotion

Book Promotional Sites & Tools for Authors (Martin Crosbie)
How Authors Can Find Their Ideal Reading Audience (Angela Ackerman)
The Strategic Use of Book Giveaways (Jane Friedman)
Should You Join KDP Select? (Lindsay Buroker)
Hit the eBook Bestseller Lists with Preorders (Mark Coker)
Why (Many) Publicists Don’t Work With Self-Published Authors (Dana Kaye)
Top 5 Money Wasters in Book Publicity (Dana Kaye)
The Perfect Book Sales Page (Tom Morkes)
Social Media Marketing That Reaches Your Audience
How to Sell Books With BookBub (Skipjack Publishing)

Getting Reviews

Author Tools and Promo Sites (Martin Crosbie)
The Ultimate Guide to Goodreads for Authors (The Creative Penn, Mayor A. Lan)
10 Ways to Find Reviewers for Your Self-Published Book (Empty Mirror)
The Indie Reviewers List (The Indie View)
7 Strategies and 110 Tools to Help Indie Authors Find Readers and Reviewers (Digital Pubbing)

Tools for Creating & Formatting E-Books

Scrivener: not free, but can export EPUB files
Calibre: free formatting and conversion tool
EasyEdit: easy-to-use software for PC users that generates ebooks for Kindle (trial version is free)
Jutoh: free software for creating e-books, paid version available with more functionality
PressBooks: free formatting tool (up until a point), WordPress-based
Apple Pages (can export EPUB files)
Vellum: easy-to-use software for Mac users only to produce EPUB files
Here’s a list of educational resources and tools if you want to learn about ebook formatting and development.

Tools for Creating Enhanced, Multimedia, or Full-Color E-Books

KDP Kids’ Book Creator: for creating children’s picture books
Apple iBooks Author: will limit you to Apple iBookstore, but the software is free
Blurb: great for producing print + digital full-color books; distributes to Apple platforms
Book Creator: iPad app for illustrated books, great for children’s authors
Tablo.io
Creativist
If you need assistance preparing your ebook files, try Brady Typesetting

Major E-Book Retailers

Note: for reviews and insight into all of these retailers and more, read the reviews at The Independent Publishing Magazine by Mick Rooney

Amazon. Sells 60-80% of all e-books, more for some authors and titles.
Apple iBookstore. Widely considered the No. 2 ebook retailer in U.S.
Barnes & Noble Nook Press. Considered No. 3 e-book retailer in U.S.
Kobo. Gaining ground, international presence. Important for the Canadian market.

Major E-Book Distributors & Services

Note: for reviews and insight into all of these retailers and more, read the reviews at The Independent Publishing Magazine by Mick Rooney

Smashwords. The largest ebook distributor of self-published titles
Draft2Digital. Similar to Smashwords, but smaller and more customer-service focused
BookBaby. You pay for a publishing package upfront (which includes ebook formatting), then you receive 100% of net sales.
eBookPartnership. Compare with the services above and see which fits your needs best.

Authors Who Blog About E-Book Publishing

Joanna Penn
CJ Lyons
Joel Friedlander
Self-Publishing Podcast
JA Konrath
David Gaughran
Kristine Rusch
Dean Wesley Smith
Lindsay Buroker
Bob Mayer

News & Trends About E-Book Publishing

Digital Book World
The Independent Publishing Magazine by Mick Rooney
Mike Shatzkin
FutureBook
Kindle Boards Writer’s Cafe (popular hangout for self-publishers)
The Hot Sheet (my email newsletter for authors, subscription required)