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Because Self-Publishing Works: Everything I Learned About How to Publish a Book

V.V. Cam (Goodreads Author)

4.25 · Rating details · 16 ratings · 7 reviews

Do you have a unique story, talent, or idea that you want to share? If you want to use your words to change the world in a positive way, there is no better time than now to write and publish your book.

Whether you want to write for your mind, your heart, your wallet or for the betterment of humankind, enjoy the journey that you are about to begin, because it can be incredi ...more

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Paperback, 180 pages

Published April 27th 2017 by Jack A. Langedijk

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Feb 01, 2018 Pooja rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc, 100-pages, non-fiction

Take all my stars!

I'm always emphasizing on the importance of documenting your journey while trying your luck in a completely different field than your brain was adjusted to and this exemplary project sets a standard. An evidence of perfection and sheer focus.

Reading "Because" by Jack (Author's husband), I had no idea that I will be getting to read their publishing journey as well. Writing a novel is a tremendous task and getting it published and marketing is a huge process in itself. Gone are ...more

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Apr 27, 2017 Caitlyn Lynch rated it it was amazing

Shelves: writing-reference

This is an absolutely excellent book for any aspiring author wondering how self-publishing works and how to go about it. And yes, there are a few tips and tricks in here that those who've already taken the plunge will find helpful as well.

The author writes in a clear, conversational style, detailing the self-publishing journey she and her husband undertook to get his first fiction novel on the market, and sharing with the reader all the things that they learned along the way. Beginning with a cl This is an absolutely excellent book for any aspiring author wondering how self-publishing works and how to go about it. And yes, there are a few tips and tricks in here that those who've already taken the plunge will find helpful as well.

The author writes in a clear, conversational style, detailing the self-publishing journey she and her husband undertook to get his first fiction novel on the market, and sharing with the reader all the things that they learned along the way. Beginning with a clear explanation of what exactly self-publishing (or indie publishing) is, as opposed to traditional publishing and hybrid publishing, she moves on to detail all the myriad tasks a self-published author needs to manage, either by performing the tasks themselves or by delegating to others.

As an indie author myself, I full well know the magnitude of these tasks - and this is before the marketing even comes into the picture. They include beta reading, editing, cover design, blurb writing, formatting for ebooks and paperbacks, choosing distributors and aggregators, pricing and royalties, making sure you have your tax information in order, building a newsletter list and an author website, and a multitude of other tasks before you even get your book on the market.

Does that sound exhausting? It is, I can tell you from personal experience. However, V.V. Cam makes it a great deal easier by supplying a range of excellent checklists to use at various stages of the writing and pre-publishing of your book, starting with one that asks you consider whether self-publishing is even for you. A host of useful links are included to various sites where you can find experts to help you with those tasks outside your personal skill set; I've used a number of them and can vouch for their usefulness. You can also download the useful checklists and templates provided in the book.

I'd highly recommend this to any aspiring author considering taking the plunge, whether self-published or traditional. It's a really great overview of what exactly it takes to get a book to market. I'm very much looking forward to the second in the series, which covers promoting your book once you get it out there - I always tell aspiring authors that promotion and marketing is 90% of the work if you want to be successful, so I'm very interested in what tips V.V. Cam will have to share in the sequel.

Five stars.

Disclaimer: The author sent me an ARC of this book for review. ...more

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Apr 27, 2017 James Minter rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: new or intending self-publishers

Shelves: reviewed

Self-publishing is now a very accepted way to bring your novel to market – even the most successful authors like JK Rowling are using this approach. However, writing a novel to the standards demanded by readers is, in many writers minds, the biggest and principle issue they face. As a self-published author of twelve books, believe me when I say that writing an attention-grabbing story, though significant, is only one step to becoming a successful author. The demands of the self-publishing proces Self-publishing is now a very accepted way to bring your novel to market – even the most successful authors like JK Rowling are using this approach. However, writing a novel to the standards demanded by readers is, in many writers minds, the biggest and principle issue they face. As a self-published author of twelve books, believe me when I say that writing an attention-grabbing story, though significant, is only one step to becoming a successful author. The demands of the self-publishing process are high, complex, time-consuming, frustrating, bewildering and at times, make you question is it all worth it.
Any author going down the self-publishing road needs all the help they can get. As V.V Cam says in her introduction, there is a heap of information out there on the internet, but what she has done is make a good attempt at bringing it all together into a single place. By doing so this she’s made the information more accessible, as well as presenting it in a logically structured style – you only need to read the Table Of Contents to see that. Moreover, it is heavily spread with her own hard-won knowledge and experience gained by going through the process with her husband’s book. That’s why I love “How to…” books. They capture hard-won knowledge and experience and make it available in an easily consumable form so saving you making the same mistakes or going off tangent.
People write for many reasons, but not everyone attempts to publish their work. A useful device V.V Cam employs throughout the book is self-assessment questionnaires. In chapter two she offers one appropriate to answer the question – is self-publishing right for you. I recommend you complete this since you will better understand why your writing and if you’ve the time/tenacity/money to bring you book to the general public.
Self-publishing is a big, evolving process, and a guide such as this cannot be complete or totally up to date. As with all eBooks, it can constantly be corrected, amended, or added to. V.V Cam makes a good use of live links to allow the reader to explore some of the software products and tools she mentions.
I’m a visual person, and for me, I would like to have seen a diagram covering the whole process. That way each chapter could reference the diagram as the book unfolds so you can monitor your progress. By its very nature the publishing steps are interrelated, and on a few occasions reference is made to an item like ISBN’s or Tax Identification Number but not discussed until much later. Also, some recommendations like grabbing your Author page on Goodreads and Amazon were weak suggestions rather than being presented as a must do. Additionally, I felt chapters 6, 7, and 8 were rushed/sketchy and needed more attention.
In conclusion, a book worth purchasing but there are gaps, but in fairness writing the definitive guide would be near on impossible.
The author supplied me with a copy for the purpose of a review. ...more

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Jan 06, 2018 Young Kim rated it it was amazing

Everything about practical and realistic way to self-publish your book!

pp. 26-27 alone is worth a million dollars with great instructions that make it really possible for any realistic person to actually self-publish one.

The book's full of realistic and practical advises from the first step (writing) to the last (marketing) with precise descriptions and examples, truly valuable knowledge obtained from her own successful experience and expertise in self-publication.

Like her amazing life story tha ...more

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Jul 11, 2017 Gábor László Hajba rated it it was amazing

Shelves: megvan

First of all: I've received my copy through the Goodreads Giveaways.

I liked this book. It is not just about how the author learned the publishing process: the book contains a lot of useful tips, checklists and downloadable material you can use if you want to publish a book yourself.

One thing I miss though is LeanPub which is a self-publishing platform too. Perhaps it is covered in the second book of this series because I've read a small opinion about something similar what LeanPub does.

I'll defi ...more

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Apr 30, 2017 Henk-Jan van der Klis rated it really liked it

Many aspiring authors don't only have a writer's block to overcome, but the hurdles to get their book published as well. In times like these, you can use the help of people like Virginia Cam who provided her husband answers to the many questions he had regarding editing, formatting, and publishing debut novel. It's an exciting time: anyone can self-publish with options like print only, printing on demand, e-book only, or a mixture of media. Cam currently has two books in the Because Self-Publish ...more

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Jelena rated it it was amazing
Jun 09, 2018

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Apr 28, 2017 Grady rated it it was amazing

‘Let’s get started on your publishing journey!’

Author V.V. Cam has a fascinating history – she and her family had to flee Vietnam to Hong Kong by boat when she was just 13 and in Hong Kong she was housed in a prison that had been turned into an overcrowded refugee camp. That was where she started her journey to become the happy and successful wife, mother, and entrepreneur that she is today. While working in an electronics factory earning money to help her family survive the hardships of daily ‘Let’s get started on your publishing journey!’

Author V.V. Cam has a fascinating history – she and her family had to flee Vietnam to Hong Kong by boat when she was just 13 and in Hong Kong she was housed in a prison that had been turned into an overcrowded refugee camp. That was where she started her journey to become the happy and successful wife, mother, and entrepreneur that she is today. While working in an electronics factory earning money to help her family survive the hardships of daily life, she taught herself to speak
and write Chinese. A year later, a church sponsored her family to start their new life in a small town in Ontario, Canada. She put her language learning skills to use again, this time mastering English. She soon became one of the top students at her school and helped the office staff with her typing and office skills. Along with her industrious family, she learned to sew and made money sewing for local shops and for friends. Her resume soon included an impressive list of accomplishments: She worked her way from seamstress, waitress, bartender, and receptionist to IT support specialist and trainer, to real estate agent and broker. She has worked in executive positions with large organizations managing finances, human resources, and relationships and has built a couple of small businesses. In her spare time, she created two high-traffic and successful websites that offer teaching tools and support to the Vietnamese communities. She’s also founded a philanthropic organization that provides micro loans for poor people in Vietnam.

That is the sort of giving person VV is and her book on Self Publishing carries that tenor. As she states in her Introduction, ‘A few years ago, I knew absolutely nothing about the publishing world. After spending countless hours researching and learning, I was able to help my husband publish and promote his book on bestseller lists in multiple categories on Amazon, get it into over a hundred libraries, and have it translated into Chinese. If you are reading this book, I assume you are either thinking of having your work published or are interested in knowing more about publishing. I want to help you pursue your own writing dream with the knowledge and confidence you need to succeed. My husband and I have learned a lot about self-publishing during these past few years, and we wish to share our experience with others embarking on their own self-publishing journey. In this book, I will point out those little things that you’ll want to know and give you all the tools, checklists, and templates that I have collected or created during our publishing journey. I hope these tools will make your own self-publishing experience better. My intention is to
save you time, money, and confusion by outlining everything you need to know as succinctly as possible.’

From that inviting opening VV shares the steps in the ever-growing popular concept of self-publishing in a manner that is accessible and easy to follow. She takes us through the 7 steps – Write your manuscript, Find Beta Readers, Edit your manuscript, Proofread you manuscript, Format your book (e-book, print book, front an back matter, Design your book cover, and Publish your book. The sections on distribution, pricing, ISBN and copyright (as well as DRM – Digital Rights Management!) are particularly helpful.

This is the go to book for beginners and a better guide probably has not been written Highly Recommended. ...more

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About V.V. Cam

V.V. Cam

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V.V. Cam's philosophy of life exemplifies the saying “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” When it comes to exploring the ever-changing world of self-publishing, V.V. has proven she is no stranger to embracing new worlds and ideas. She has not only learned how to fish, but also has spent her life teaching hundreds of others to become ...more