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  • How Much Does It Cost to Self-Publish a Book? 4 Authors Share Their Actual Costs

    How Much Does It Cost to Self-Publish a Book? 4 Authors Share Their Actual Costs

    You want to self-publish your book, but budgeting for the process is more challenging than it looks. The numbers you hear from experts regarding the costs of self-publishing are all over the board.

    Do authors really manage to release quality books without paying for professional editing, design, marketing and other services? Or will you have to dig into your savings and fork over thousands of dollars to make sure you release a great book? How much does it cost to publish a book?

    To assuage these common concerns, we spoke with several top self-published authors about what they spent to release one of their books. They’ve shared real numbers, as well as why they chose to invest in certain services, to help you decide how best to allocate your investment during every stage of self-publishing.

    Ready to learn what it really costs to self-publish a book? Here is the Table of Contents:

    1. Editing
    2. Cover Design
    3. Illustrations / Graphics
    4. Formatting
    5. Printing
    6. Sales & Distribution
    7. Launching
    8. Total Cost

    And if you’re still trying to figure out which book to write and publish first, this assessment will help.

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    We interviewed these authors about the cost of self-publishing

    Hope Clark: In addition to her freelance writing expertise and two traditionally-published mystery series, C. Hope Clark is the author of the self-published non-fiction book “The Shy Writer Reborn.”

    Catherine Ryan Howard: Catherine is the author of two travel memoirs, “Mousetrapped” and “Backpacked,” as well a guide to self-publishing, “Self-Printed.” She blogs about self-publishing and more on her website.

    Joanna Penn: Since she quit her corporate job and published her first book about the experience, Joanna Penn has been a self-publishing powerhouse. She’s built a career as an author-entrepreneur, sharing resources for other authors at The Creative Penn and self-publishing New York Times and USA Today best-selling thriller novels as author J.F. Penn.

    Dana Sitar: And there’s me. I share resources, tips and tools for writers through my website and newsletter, and I’ve self-published two collections of essays, a variety of info-products and the Amazon Bestselling ebook: A Writer’s Bucket List.”

    How did we do it? Here’s the breakdown of how much it cost to publish a book for Hope’s nonfiction book “The Shy Writer Reborn;” Catherine’s second memoir “Backpacked;” Joanna’s first novel, “Pentecost;” and my ebook “A Writer’s Bucket List.” All dollar amounts are listed in USD.

    How much does book editing cost?

    Editing — which includes developmental editing, content editing, copyediting and proofreading — can make the difference between a good book and great one. For a quality, impactful book, you need more than a proofread or spell-check of a first draft.

    Beta readers and/or experienced developmental and content editors will help ensure your book shares your message or story coherently, and a strong copyeditor will help you make every sentence pop off the page.

    To keep costs of self-publishing low, think outside the box to find the right editor and reach into your network. Make the most of your money, effort and time by working with a genre-specific editor who understands your voice and brand. Not all editors are created equal!

    Hope:

    I used beta readers from my critique group and authors I knew. I had one author dislike the book, suggesting I write it in the format used by Writer’s Digest books (she published with Writer’s Digest Books), and [I] just rescinded my request because I did not want [that look].

    Catherine:

    It was nonfiction so I felt developmental editing wasn’t worth it (the events really happened, so I thought I was safe enough relaying real events while leaving out the boring bits!) and then I hired a copyeditor. She went through it line by line and then she did a proofread afterwards. I also asked a couple of friends to proofread it.

    Approximate cost: $600

    Joanna:

    Even avid readers of fiction don’t know how to structure a book, so for the first book,  [it’s a good idea to use a] structural editor. I also rewrote later on with feedback from more editors after publication. For “Pentecost,” I used five editors [multiple structural editors, a line-editor and a copyeditor], so that cost the most of all the books.

    [On the sixth book in the ARKANE series, now the process is:] get to a good second draft myself, then send to my editor for structural and line edits, two passes by the editor, rewrites, then send to the proofreader before publication.

    Cost: $1,500 per book for one editor and one proofreader

    Dana:

    I first shared the book with beta readers from the community of my former website, Writer’s Bucket List, for structural feedback.

    For proofreading and copyediting, I hired new writers who would benefit from the editing experience and offered pay plus a mention at the blog and in the book.

    Cost: $60

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    How much does book cover design cost?

    To develop an author brand, you want your cover to not only sell your book but to make readers immediately think of you. Book cover design is a unique craft — it takes more than InDesign skills and knowledge of fonts and colors to create a cover that achieves your goals.

    As if that wasn’t enough, you also want your cover to stand out and be legible in crowded pages of tiny thumbnail images. It’s a tall order!

    Look for quality designers who are just getting started in their careers and develop a relationship early on (the top recommended designers are usually booked quite far in advance!) 

    Hope:

    I hired a book cover designer (who happened to be my web designer) to design two covers: ebook and print.

    Cost: $250

    Catherine:

    I used Andrew Brown of Design for Writers, who I had used before. I was one of Andrew’s first clients, so I always get a good deal from him. His prices now are, I think, around [$299] for ebook only and [$499] for the ebook “front” cover and a print cover as well.

    Joanna:

    This is my other big expense [after editing]. I met Joel Friedlander of The Book Designer and paid him as a pro for book cover design for my first book, but he’s since passed away. I met Derek Murphy at CreativIndie when he was starting out and developed a relationship because of my platform [at TheCreativePenn.com].

    Dana:

    I DIYed! I had a big learning curve to overcome, and I went through three iterations of the PDF cover before landing on one I was comfortable with. Then I changed it again later when I published the Kindle edition (with great feedback from the Ebook Cover Design Awards).

    I design all my covers in Photoshop, which I owned previously, so I don’t consider it a publishing cost.

    Costs of self-publishing: adding illustrations, photography and graphics

    While it’s easy to disregard these additions to save money and time, custom images on your cover or throughout your book add a unique touch that gets readers talking. Forging a relationship with an artist is also a cool way to give your brand its own flair throughout your career.

    We’ve recommended 99designs in the past for affordable, quality cover design, but Joanna points out that the site is also a great resource for custom illustrations!

    Dana:

    I hired a cartoonist friend to do illustrations for the book, and it’s one of the best decisions I made! The illustrations have always gotten great feedback from reviewers.

    Cost: I paid her $50 down and share 10% of direct sales (about $1 per book).

    Costs of self-publishing: inner layout, formatting and ebook conversion

    Second to cover design, a conventionally formatted book interior (print or ebook) is your key to avoiding a sloppy DIY look.

    Many small details (that you might not think of) will red-flag your book as amateurish and sully the reader’s experience, so you want to do your research (or hire a pro who’s already done theirs) on the standards of book interior design.

    To DIY typesetting for print, try one of the free templates from CreateSpace, or a paid option from Book Design Templates.

    Hope:

    I did the print layout myself after much research and study of formatting guides. I queried my Facebook fans when I reached one impasse, and they fixed me right up.

    As for ebook [conversion], I turned that over to BookBaby. I bartered advertising for publication/preparation of my ebook.

    Typical cost for ebook publishing package: $299

    Catherine:

    I did [inner layout] myself, using Microsoft Word and the templates you can download from CreateSpace. If you have a straightforward interior layout, I think this is a good place to save some money by doing the work yourself.

    I did [conversion] myself for this book, but I’ve since started using eBookPartnership.com.

    Cost for standard ebook conversion: From $299

    Joanna:

    I format ebooks on Scrivener. I hate [print] formatting, so I pay for that.

    Cost: $150 for print formatter for full-length book; $40-45 one-time for Scrivener software (available for both Mac and Windows)

    Dana:

    I did these myself. It was another learning curve, as this was the first book I’d published with illustrations and the first I published in fixed (PDF) format.

    I designed the PDF version in OpenOffice Writer and converted directly to PDF. I also did the layout for the Kindle edition through OpenOffice, which creates an MS Word .doc. To sell the ebook at Amazon, I just uploaded that doc through KDP.

    Cost: Free

    How much does it cost to print a book?

    Even in a digital age, readers will still ask for a print copy of your book. Print-on-demand services make it possible for you to offer this without the expense or headache of managing and storing a print run. If you do speaking gigs or host author events, you’ll also want the option to keep print copies in stock for back-of-room sales.

    Across the board, we all use, have used, or plan to use Amazon’s CreateSpace for print-on-demand books. But if you’ve wondered how much it costs to publish a book on Amazon, know choosing this route saves you money because you only print books as readers buy them. You’ll pay manufacturing and shipping costs if you want to approve a proof before listing the book for sale, which is highly recommended.

    If you do want to order a print run of your books — which isn’t recommended unless you have a proven distribution method — you’ll also pay manufacturing and shipping costs to receive them.

    Publishing through CreateSpace is free, and they’ll keep between 20% and 60% of book sales, depending on the sales channel.

    Joanna also recommends IngramSpark for non-Amazon print-on-demand sales.

    Costs of self-publishing: Sales and distribution 

    How much does it cost to publish a book on Amazon or similar marketplaces? Well, self-publishing an ebook comes with the benefit of not needing to seek bookstores to stock your book. Selling your ebook through online retailers is relatively simple.

    Most popular ebook distributors (e.g. Amazon, B&N, Smashwords, etc.) charge no upfront costs to publish but keep a percentage of book sales. Publishers Weekly put together a great breakdown of royalty rates, pros and cons for each platform.

    Hope:

    I used Kindle Direct Publishing to sell through Amazon. For other ebook outlets, I used BookBaby. For print I used Amazon and Barnes & Noble. No costs.

    Catherine:

    KDP and Smashwords, so all free.

    Joanna:

    I upload directly to ebook stores [e.g. Amazon, iBooks, NOOK, Kobo] as well as use Smashwords for smaller markets. I was selling direct through selz.com until the EU VAT tax laws came in January 1, 2015.

    Dana:

    I used E-junkie for direct distribution of the PDF edition and payments via PayPal. I published the Kindle edition to sell on Amazon using KDP. Later, I made the PDF edition a freebie to email subscribers, so I used MailChimp to distribute it.

    Cost: $5 per month for E-junkie

    Costs of self-publishing: Launch and marketing 

    As a self-published author, your relationships are your greatest assets. In addition to tapping into your network for self-publishing services, you can also rely on your community to buy and promote your books.

    Building and nurturing these relationships shouldn’t come with direct costs, but as you try to publish a book, this is where you need to budget a huge portion of your (non-writing) time as an author.

    Hope:

    I used Facebook, my newsletters with FundsforWriters.com, Twitter and a lot of guest blog posting. I feature [the book] at conferences and speaking engagements.

    Also, I keep swag for all my books. Usually rack cards or postcards, business cards and stickers. I have a sticker for each of my books so people can immediately see what’s in the envelope when it comes in the mail.

    I use VistaPrint for postcards and rackcards, and I use Moo.com for business cards and the stickers. Moo is more expensive, but the quality is astounding.

    Catherine:

    I didn’t spend any money on [marketing]. I used my blog, Twitter account and Facebook page, and Goodreads for running giveaways [of print books].

    Joanna:

    I do all the marketing/launch [myself] and collaborate with other authors. I pay for BookBub and other email list advertising after launch once the book has good reviews. This is usually the most effective paid advertising for fiction authors in particular.

    Cost: BookBub advertising varies by genre and list price.

    Dana:

    My strongest launch effort was my Launch Team. Beyond that, all promotion has cost is my time and effort: I guest blog, run social media promotions, do ebook giveaways, host online events and more to engage readers and get my name out there.

    What about miscellaneous costs for book publishing?

    Indirect costs of self-publishing like travel, promotional swag, contest fees, audiobook recording and website hosting can help sell books as well as promote your entire business or brand, so consider these items part of your marketing budget.

    Hope:

    [When traveling to promote a book], I do not travel outside my state without being compensated for room, board, travel and an honorarium. I make appearances in conjunction with personal travel as well.

    I did submit “Shy” to the EPIC awards for ebooks, and it made finalist in the nonfiction category in early 2014. But keep in mind that I use this book for back-of-the-room sales to have a tool when I speak. It’s one of several tools I have, so it’s difficult to define individual expenses.

    Catherine:

    My domain name costs $18 a year (my blog is free on WordPress.com). I do regularly have travel costs to events but they’re offset by the speaking fees.

    For my first book, “Mousetrapped,” I had a bookstore launch but I’d never do it again. I had to buy the stock, print flyers [and] invites, buy an outfit to wear… and while it was fun, I didn’t make any money I wouldn’t have made without it.

    I since avoid stock at all costs — if I’m holding a physical edition of my book, I’ve lost money.

    The totals: How much does it cost to publish a book?

    It’s tough to nail down a final cost because of the number of indirect and one-time expenditures. With that in mind, here are approximate costs for one book from each of our authors:

    Hope:

    $250 for cover design

    Greatest cost: cover design

    Saves by: building relationships for bartering, tapping her network

    DIYs: print layout, marketing, sales and distribution

    Catherine:

    $1,250 (less bartering for cover design) for ebook conversion, cover design and editing

    Greatest cost: ebook conversion

    Saves by: promoting online, limiting print stock, building relationships for bartering

    DIYs: formatting, marketing, sales and distribution

    Joanna:

    $1,650 for editing and print formatting, bartering for cover design, plus BookBub ad fees

    Greatest cost: editing

    Saves by: building relationships for bartering

    DIYs: marketing, ebook formatting and conversion, sales and distribution

    Dana:

    $150 for editing and illustrations, plus $5 per month for distribution

    Greatest cost: illustrations

    Saves by: bartering for editing and illustrations

    DIYs: cover design, formatting and conversion, marketing, sales and distribution

    Key takeaways for keeping costs low

    • Look into your network to see how you can trade or barter services, experience, influence or exposure to offset the costs of self-publishing services.
    • Editors and cover designers you hire should know your voice and understand your genre — these aren’t one-size-fits-all services!
    • All stages and costs of self-publishing differ significantly from nonfiction to fiction.
    • Expect the greatest portion of your budget to go toward editing and cover design.
    • Very little (or none) of your budget should go toward paid advertising, other promotional services or print runs of the book.
    • To save money without sacrificing quality, you can DIY formatting and conversion with a little research and practice, if you’re willing to put in the time. Here’s a guide to formatting and converting an ebook for Kindle.
    • You’ll make a number of one-time investments early on, like purchasing software for word processing and design or taking courses in self-publishing and marketing.

    Your first self-publishing project will likely be the biggest hit to your wallet — and the greatest investment in your writing career.

    Are you ready to pay the costs to self-publish your book?

    Stop fretting about those costs, and start planning. Self-publishing is all about innovation and creativity. Now that you’ve created a product or work of art (or both!), flip the switch and use your creativity on the business side of things.

    Successful self-publishers are ambitious entrepreneurs who learn to wear several hats and display a variety of talents. To understand and cover the costs of self-publishing your book, dig into your network, do your research and plan ahead how you’ll allocate your time and money.

    To expedite that research and self-publish your book, check out Chandler Bolt’s bestselling book, Published. The Proven Path from Blank Page to 10,000 Copies Sold. It has over 1,000 5-star reviews.

    How much did it cost you to publish a book, and how do these numbers compare to your experience? If you’ve yet to self-publish, what do you think your greatest expense will be?

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    This is an updated version of a story that was previously published in 2015. We update our posts as often as possible to ensure they’re useful for our readers.

    Photo via fizkes / Shutterstock 

  • 9 Powerful Tips for Writing Your First Successful Ebook

    9 Powerful Tips for Writing Your First Successful Ebook

    Ebooks can be life-changing. If you want a steady stream of side income or you’re eager to take the first big step in your career as a writer, writing an ebook is a great place to begin.

    Lots of writers (and would-be writers) recognize that, but have yet to get started on their own ebook. Perhaps you’re one of them: you’re not sure where to begin, or you’re worried about how you’ll find the time.

    I’ve been writing and publishing ebooks — for myself and for clients – since 2008, and I’ve helped lots of writers get their own ebooks finished. I’m focusing here on nonfiction ebooks, but many of the tips will also work for fiction writers.

    These nine tips will help you come up with a great idea, do your research, and get your first draft written.

    TABLE OF CONTENTS

    1. Choose a Topic
    2. Identify Your Unique Expertise
    3. Survey Your Audience
    4. Allocate Time for Research
    5. Read Similar Books
    6. Fact Check
    7. Develop a Full Outline
    8. Write Distraction-Free
    9. Prepare to Sell/Market Your Book
    writing an ebook

    9 Tips for Writing an Ebook for the First Time

    The biggest mistake new writers make when figuring out how to write an ebook is picking an idea they think is good, without exploring whether there’s actually a market for that topic.

    Tip 1: Choose a Topic

    Some topics might sound like great possibilities because you know there’s a big market out there. But don’t decide to write a “dieting book” or “self-help book” (or any other type of book) just because you think it will make money. You may find that the market is saturated, and only established big names are currently selling well.

    Instead, choose a topic that (a) you already know a lot about and (b) you’ll enjoy writing about. This saves you doing lots of research just to get up to speed, and it substantially increases the chance that you’ll see your ebook through to a final draft.

    Tip 2: Identify Your Unique Expertise

    If you’re not sure what your specialist topics are, take a look at your magazine subscriptions or the blogs that you visit frequently. These should give you some clues!

    Once you’ve settled on a topic, dig deeper into these resources. You’ll probably find certain articles crop up again and again (with a different spin each time); these indicate perennially popular topics, and the core idea they cover could be a great topic for an ebook.

    Tip 3: Survey Your Audience

    If you’ve got a blog or an email newsletter, then you’re well ahead in the ebook game. You not only have a ready-made audience for your work, you also have a great source of ideas.

    Two simple ways to do this:

    • Come up with three to seven possible ebook titles or topics, and survey your audience to find out which they prefer. SurveyMonkey is great for this or even a Google Form.
    • Go through comments or emails you’ve received. What questions or problems crop up again and again? Could you write an ebook addressing those?

    Tip 4: Allocate Time for Research

    Many writers find it’s easy to get stuck at the research stage, gathering more and more articles and resources, thumbing through books again and again, jotting down great quotes, facts and references.

    Avoid this by giving yourself a limited amount of time for research. That could mean setting aside, say, two weeks purely for research before you begin writing, or researching for a certain length of time as you come to each new chapter of your ebook.

    Tip 5: Read Similar Books

    This may sound obvious, but some writers are overly reliant on blog posts and articles, and don’t necessarily turn to other (e)books. Whatever your topic, it’s likely you’ll be able to find some similar books and ebooks. If you can’t, you may have to consider whether it’s too obscure to focus on.

    You won’t need to read every word of every book you choose; instead, use the table of contents or index to help you find the parts most relevant to you. These can also help throw up extra ideas on aspects of the topic you might not have considered yet.

    Tip 6: Fact Check

    If your particular topic area has a few oft-quoted facts or statistics, it can be tempting to repeat these without double-checking them. Be careful, though: other authors won’t necessarily have verified the facts themselves.

    Between 2008 and 2011, I wrote a lot of material for personal development and self-improvement blogs. One popular “fact” in this area is about the “Harvard Goal Study.”

    One excellent blogger in the area, though, debunked this in a post Writing Down Your Goals — The Harvard Written Goal Study. Fact or Fiction? This helped open my eyes to the sad truth that some authors make up facts and statistics to suit them, so you do need to look for original studies, government publications, and other reputable sources of information where possible.

    If you come across something presented as fact which seems odd or hard to believe, Snopes.com is a great place to turn for an initial check.

    Tip 7: Develop a Full Outline

    One of the simplest ways to make writing easier is to have a clear outline before you begin. Otherwise, it’s easy to get stuck a couple of chapters into your ebook.

    Your outline should include, at the very least:

    • A title for each chapter. Don’t spend too long agonizing over the exact wording at this stage. It’s usually better to have, say, 15 short chapters instead of five long ones. If your ebook deals with a broad topic, it may also be appropriate to also split it into three to five different parts.
    • Subheadings or subsections for each chapter, with a list of points detailing information you want to cover. You could produce this as a linear list, or you could create a mind-map to help you come up with new ideas and link them in different ways.

    Tip 8: Write Distraction-Free

    For most people, writing is a demanding, high-energy task, and it’s often easy to give in to distractions.

    Don’t put temptation in your path: create a distraction-free environment by using a program that allows for full-screen writing, like Dark Room, Write Room, or Scrivener. Turn off your phone. Sign out of your email account, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and anything else that might make sounds or pop alerts up on your screen.

    Set yourself up for success by creating an environment that supports your goals.

    Tip 9: Prepare to Sell/Market Your Book

    Once the writing is done comes the hard part: selling and marketing your book! Check out our list of resources for doing just that:

    writing an ebook

    If you’ve got any tips of your own to share about how to write an ebook, or any questions about the ebook-writing process, just pop a comment below.

    This is an updated version of a story that was previously published. We update our posts as often as possible to ensure they’re useful for our readers.

    This post contains affiliate links. That means if you purchase through our links, you’re supporting The Write Life — and we thank you for that!

    Photo via G-Stock Studio / Shutterstock 

  • Stop! Don’t Make These Mistakes If You’re Self-Publishing a Book

    Stop! Don’t Make These Mistakes If You’re Self-Publishing a Book

    I spent 5 years in the digital publishing industry helping authors get their books into ebook formats.

    I watched as hundreds of would-be authors failed, often selling only a few books to close friends and family. However, I also saw a small percentage of new authors succeed, and make a significant profit selling ebooks on Amazon.

    Most authors spend hundreds of painstaking hours writing, rewriting and editing their books to perfection, before finally pushing “publish.” Yet, even the most insightful and well written copy can’t make a book successful, not by itself. One of the best sci-fi novels I ever read was written by a hopeful author, who to this day, has not sold more than a few dozen ebooks.

    Here are the 5 mistakes too many authors make when publishing their first ebook.

    1. Your ebook cover sucks

    Your cover image is a key aspect a potential customer will see when making their buying decision. Your cover needs to convey the quality of your book and convince interested prospects that your content is worth investing in. When someone decides to buy your book they are investing more than just money. They are also investing their time.

    Is your book cover professional and engaging enough to sway potential customers?  

    Authors are often the type of people who think they can do everything themselves, but most writers are not designers. If you want readers to invest in your book, invest in your cover! Find a designer, and get a killer ebook cover designed.  

    2. You spent how much?  

    Don’t spend money converting your book into ebook formats. If you have a budget for your book, spend that money on a great cover image, or on marketing or on a pizza.

    Turning your book into ebook formats does not need to cost you hundreds of dollars.

    In fact, you can get a professional quality ebook for free. It just takes a little effort, and the right tools. If you are willing to go the DIY book publishing route, there are free tools that make the process easy if you know what you’re doing. Here is a video tutorial that shows you how to use Sigil to write your ebook, or convert your book into ebook formats.

    3. I don’t know you. Why should I buy your ebook?

    Building some form of credibility is absolutely imperative when it comes to unknown or first time authors.

    Your customers have thousands of options, why should they choose to read your book? Are you an authority? Can you prove it?

    Think about what makes you uniquely qualified to write your content. Do you own a company in the industry? Have you spent 10 years researching the topic?

    Make sure your book cover and description builds your credibility. Recommendations and reviews from authors or industry leaders is another great way to gain credibility.

    4. I gave up after three lines of your dismally boring book description

    The book description you provide to Amazon is extremely important.

    If potential readers are not impressed by the first paragraph of your description, they will almost always leave! Make sure your content is well crafted and effectively communicates the nature of your content. What can readers expect if they read your book? You should also include keywords in your ebook description. Amazon and search engines like Google use the keywords in your book to determine when your book should appear for search results.

    Some useful keyword types include:

    Character types (single mom, veteran)

    Plot themes (coming of age, forgiveness)

    Setting (Colonial America)

    Story tone (dystopian, feel-good)

    5. Why can’t I find your ebook?

    Unfortunately, just because you wrote a book and published it online does not mean people are going to see it.

    According to Forbes, there are between 600,000 and 1,000,000 books published every year. Thats a lot of content!

    By the time you click publish and load your new book page, several new books in your category have probably already been published. So how do you stand out from the crowd and get eyeballs on your book?

    When companies launch a new product they spent months identifying their target market, crafting marketing messaging and determining ad placement. Yet, many authors don’t even consider marketing until their book has already been published. Do you have a marketing plan? How do you expect to sell books if you don’t have an audience?

    Write a book marketing plan that has specific action items and realistic timelines, then hold yourself accountable. Consider talking with local news outlets or bloggers in your niche. Give away some books. Have a contest. Use social media. Create a profile on Goodreads.com. There are hundreds of options, the key is to choose a few channels where you can focus your efforts.

    Writing a great book takes a lot of time and effort. Don’t let your hard work go to waste. There is still plenty of success to be had for the authors who are willing to put in the time. If you don’t make these common mistakes, you will be miles ahead of your competition!

  • Amazon Earnings for Self-Published Authors are Growing, Report Says

    Amazon Earnings for Self-Published Authors are Growing, Report Says

    Over the past few years, some people have said the ebook market is taking a turn for the worse. A few major industry reports — like this one from BookStats — have even suggested ebook sales are flattening out or even declining.

    It’s not great news for aspiring ebook authors.

    But the January 2015 Author Earnings Report paints a different picture, suggesting self-published books are not only alive and well, but a smart choice for many writers. Some authors prefer the term “indie” to distinguish their professionally edited work from the stigma of low-quality self-published books, but the report uses the terms interchangeably.

    The team behind Author Earnings, writer Hugh Howey and his anonymous partner Data Guy, have collected a lot of raw information — and we sorted through it so you don’t have to. These two findings struck us as particularly relevant for today’s writers:

    1. Thirty percent of ebooks purchased in the U.S. do not use ISBN numbers

    Sounds like an innocuous statistic, right? In reality, this matters for ebook authors, and here’s why.

    When it comes to traditional industry information about books, International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs for short) are key.

    That’s because large industry surveys — like those done by BookStats, StatShot and PubTrack — rely on ISBN numbers to track books. If a book doesn’t have an ISBN number, it’s not included.

    BookStats, StatShot and PubTrack all publically acknowledge that they don’t track books without ISBNs, which means independently published books may be underrepresented in their data. However, all three companies also seem pretty confident they aren’t missing substantial numbers of books by not including those without ISBNs.

    But the Author Earnings data challenges this assumption: if almost one-third of ebooks don’t have an ISBN, that’s a lot of books flying under the radar.

    So what does this all mean for authors?

    If you include the 30 percent of ebooks without ISBNs, ebook sales may very well be growing, rather than plateauing or plummeting.

    Author Earnings suggests “what [we] are actually observing is a progressive shift of ebook market share away from the traditionally-published ‘visible’ portion of the industry that uses ISBNs… and toward the invisible ‘shadow industry’ of ISBN-less self-published ebooks.”

    “A lot of indie authors thought there was some vast official conspiracy of silence in publishing to ignore the vast indie market share,” Data Guy writes in the report. “Turns out the answer was much simpler — and far more believable: bad data industry-wide, because of one bad assumption about ISBN usage.”

    2. Forty percent of all dollars earned by authors from ebooks on Amazon.com, with or without ISBNs, are from sales of independently published ebooks

    Under conventional wisdom, authors with the Big Five traditional publishing houses — that’s Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster — are bringing home the most earnings from their ebooks.

    But according to the AuthorEarnings report, sometime between May and July of last year:

    “Indie-published authors as a cohort began taking home the lion’s share of all ebook author earnings generated on Amazon.com, while authors published by all of the Big Five publishers combined slipped into second place.”

    … Making 2014 a landmark year for indie ebook authors.

    Based on this data, it looks like self-published ebook earnings are growing — a good sign for indie authors everywhere.

    Here’s the crucial distinction: We’re not talking about gross sales revenue from ebooks, but about the amount of money authors are earning. That’s why indie authors are coming out ahead: They earn a larger royalty from each self-published ebook they sell on Amazon (70%) than traditionally published authors earn from their Big Five-published books (25%, according to the report).

    It’s also important to note that while indie authors may be taking home a larger percentage of dollars earned than traditionally published ebook authors, that doesn’t mean indie ebook writers are individually making more money than traditionally published authors. There likely are a lot more indie authors sharing their pie.

    In fact, indie authors earn a median annual writing income of between $500 and $999, well below the $3,000 to $4,999 reported for traditionally published authors, according to a recent Digital Book World survey. (In an interesting twist, the survey also discovered that independent authors were most satisfied with their publishing experience, even when they earned less.)

    Regardless, the fact that 40 percent of author earnings from ebooks on Amazon.com come from indie ebooks does suggest that self-publishing is as viable or more so than it was a year ago.

    How reliable is this good news?

    Author Earning’s January 2015 report is just one of several studies released over the past year by Hugh Howey and Data Guy. The reports, which all share the same methodology, have garnered both praise and blowback in the publishing community.

    Many indie writers have welcomed the report — expressing that it lines up with their personal experiences and provides a sense of validation.

    “The data … gives me a sense of empowerment,” writer John Brown told Econtent magazine in response to a previous report. “It’s not the only source for this feeling, but the data helps me feel like I’m part of a group. I’m on the map. Indie isn’t just some back alley choice.

    “Seeing the numbers also gives me hope because it isn’t just a handful of indie authors doing well. I know the odds are still exceedingly long, but they’re not as long as I thought.”

    At the other end of the spectrum, some criticisms have been extreme — publishing veteran Mike Shatzkin wrote the first Author Earnings report was “toxic to consume.” However, most critiques are less harsh.

    For example, one issue with the Author Earnings data is it’s all from Amazon.com. Amazon was chosen because it’s the largest book retailer in the world, but it’s still only a piece of the ebook pie. AuthorEarnings recognizes that drawback, stating that their report is “limited in that it’s looking only at Amazon…but we acknowledge and state this limitation, and we plan on releasing broader reports in the future.”

    The potential biases of the reports’ authors have also been questioned.

    Hugh Howey is an independent publishing advocate and best-selling author behind the stratospherically successful sci-fi series Wool. Independent publishing has worked exceedingly well for him and it’s a central part of his brand.

    Data Guy is also a writer who does data analysis in the video game industry. Why remain anonymous? He says it’s because when he first began working on these reports, “one of the top mystery/thriller imprints was making unsolicited offers to re-publish my debut novel, so it made sense to be anonymous then.”

    Some critics have expressed concern that his anonymity makes him a less reliable source. Data Guy has a different take: “It keeps the discussion focused on the data itself, and encourages authors to think for themselves and fact check, instead of believing me because I’m a proven ‘expert,’” he explains. “Blindly believing what ‘publishing experts’ say is a big part of the reason authors have traditionally ended up with so little recompense for the fruit of their labors.”

    True to Data Guy’s word, Author Earnings has been 100 percent transparent around their information: all their raw data is available for free download, so you can crunch the numbers for yourself.

    What do you think? In light of this new data, would you consider self-publishing?

  • Dana Sitar’s Write Your Manifesto: Review

    Dana Sitar’s Write Your Manifesto: Review

    We review ebooks, courses and tools for writers, so you can make good decisions about how to invest in your writing career.

    Course: Write Your Manifesto

    About the creator: Dana Sitar is an author, blogger and e-publishing coach. She blogs at A Writer’s Bucket List and co-hosts the This Is Temporary podcast.

    Price: $45. The course comes with lifetime access and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

    Who It’s For: Anyone who wants to write a nonfiction, message-driven ebook (or, as Sitar calls it, a manifesto). It’s a perfect fit for people who know they want to write an ebook, but aren’t sure what they want to say or how to get started.

    What It Will Help You Do: This course will walk you through each step of writing your ebook — everything from carving out the time to write to defining your audience and finding your voice.

    What’s Included: An online course with 10 modules:

    1. Commit to Your Writing Routine: How can you fit writing into your life?
    2. Clarify Your Message: What do you want to be known for? What do you have to offer?
    3. Define Your Audience: Who are you writing for?
    4. Describe Your Offer: How are you going to solve problems for your readers?
    5. Determine Your Action Steps: What actions do you want your readers to take?
    6. Create Your Outline: What is your book going to say?
    7. Know Your Unique Voice: What is your genuine voice?
    8. Consider the FAQs: What questions will your readers have?
    9. Write!: Finish your first draft!
    10. Review What You’ve Written: Who can you ask for feedback?

    Each module is further segmented into information and tips, writing prompts, worksheets and assignments. Some modules have an “additional resources” section with helpful links for further reading.

    The Best Part: This course breaks down the monumental task of writing an ebook into bite-sized chunks. The truth is that you probably don’t need help with the writing itself; you need help figuring out what to write, who to write it for and how to manage your time.

    That’s where this course comes in. Sitar helps you determine your message and your offer through helpful writing prompts, questions and exercises. As shown above, you don’t even start writing an outline until Module 6 — and you don’t start drafting until Module 9. To top it off, she even includes an ebook publishing timeline for spreading your message to the world.

    What Would Make It Even Better: There’s a private Google+ group for people taking the course, but it isn’t active. As evidenced by events like #NaNoWriMo, writers thrive when they have a support network, so a lively Google+ community would give this course a huge boost. Almost all of the assignments are “community challenges” that encourage you to post in the group, but without anyone else posting there, it’s a bit intimidating.

    Our Recommendation: The hardest part of writing is starting, which is why this course is worth the money. It guides you through every step of the creation process, making completing an ebook much more manageable. If you take this course, you’ll have zero excuses for not starting — or finishing — your project.

    This post contains affiliate links. That means if you purchase through our links, you’re supporting The Write Life — and we thank you for that!

    Are you planning to write an ebook in 2015?

  • How to Turn Your Blog Into a Book (2024 Guide)

    How to Turn Your Blog Into a Book (2024 Guide)

    The idea of writing a whole book can be pretty daunting. Even if you’re a fairly experienced writer, you might think it’s beyond you.

    But if you’ve been blogging for a few months or years, you may have already written enough to fill a book. Turning your blog into a book is an increasingly popular option. (If you’re using WordPress, the Word Stats plugin is a simple way to check your cumulative word count.)

    Creating a book is straightforward and not especially expensive, with e-publishing and print-on-demand technology. Here are three reasons why bloggers do it — and why you might want to give it a try:

    1. Books reach a different audience

    Not everyone reads blogs. Maybe they’re not especially comfortable with technology, or they only have internet access while at work, or they simply prefer to read in other formats.

    And those who do read blogs might never have come across your personal corner of the busy blogosphere.

    Books can reach a different audience — potentially becoming a tool for promoting your blog, or even your writing services.

    2. Books have a certain credibility

    While it’s true that, today, anyone can publish a book (just as anyone can start a blog), books have a certain credibility.

    Being able to tell your audience that you’ve written a book, or including your book in your bio when you’re guest posting or speaking, can give you instant “expert” status in their eyes.

    Of course, if you’re going to look credible, it’s important to have a well-edited and well-produced book … which we’ll be getting to in a moment.

    3. Books give your content a new life

    If your blog’s been running for a while, there’s a good chance that most of your current readers missed out on your early content.

    While your archives, categories and search box can all help them find your earlier writing, you almost certainly have some brilliant posts going unread in your blog’s archives.

    By pulling together your blog content into a book, you can give it new life. Instead of skimming through your latest post in their inbox, your readers can curl up with their ereader or a hardcopy of your book and dig in.

    Is the blog-to-book journey starting to sound like one you want to take?

    I’ve bought quite a few books and ebooks in my time that started life as blog posts, and I’ve also been going through the blog-to-book process with my client and friend Barry Demp. He’s just published his new book The Quotable Coach: Daily Nuggets of Practical Wisdom — a compilation of posts from the past two years of his blog, The Quotable Coach.

    If you feel ready to self-publish, here are the three major steps that we recommend you follow:

    1. Compile and edit past blog posts

    Before your blog can become a book, you need to get all your posts into one place — probably a document on your computer, whether you choose to use Microsoft Word, Scrivener, Google Docs or another tool.

    You’ll need to go through and format your post titles in Heading 2, so that when you convert your document to an ebook, these can become chapter headings.

    You’ll almost certainly also want to do some editing: perhaps updating out-of-date references, fixing typos, or even adding or removing whole paragraphs.

    You may also find that you need to remove some posts. This could be posts that:

    • Were specific to a particular time, such as the 2012 Olympics or your New Year’s Resolutions for 2013.
    • Are much shorter than average — perhaps a post for a special promotion of your book.
    • Don’t match up to your usual standards; we found ourselves deleting several early posts that were written before we’d quite found our stride.

    2. Line up beta readers and reviewers

    However strong your editing skills are, you’ll want to have some extra eyes on your finished book. Ideally, this means hiring a paid editor — but if that’s not affordable, ask friends, family or colleagues to help out.

    These beta readers (like beta testers in the software world) could read just part of your book and let you know about any problems they spot — from typos and missing words to structural issues. Do try to give them as much advance notice as possible, and at least a couple of weeks to get feedback to you.

    Beta readers may well also be willing to review your book (though you’ll probably want to approach other individuals for reviews too). Reviews or testimonials are a hugely important selling tool, especially as you’re publishing your book yourself rather than with a major publisher.

    Again, give reviewers plenty of time, and stay in touch as your launch date approaches. Once your book is online and ready for reviews, send them the link (and brief instructions) so they can easily leave a review.

    3. Get a professional cover design

    If you’re going to invest in just one thing for your book, go for a great cover design. Like it or not, we all judge books by their covers — and if yours screams “amateur,” your book is unlikely to get a second glance.

    We went with 99designs to get a range of different options from many different designers at a great price. You might instead choose to work with an individual designer (especially if they’ve already done some work on, say, your website or logo). You may even be able to barter design for writing with an artistically-minded friend.

    If you really have no option but to create the cover yourself, keep it simple and classy: think “minimalist.” Use large fonts that can be easily read at thumbnail size, and stick with just one key image.

    So … how about it? Have you ever read a book that started life as a blog, and would you turn your blog into a book?

  • Ali Luke’s The Blogger’s Guide to Effective Writing: Review

    Ali Luke’s The Blogger’s Guide to Effective Writing: Review

    We review ebooks, courses and tools for writers, so you can make good decisions about how to invest in your writing career. Thanks to Ali Luke for sharing a review copy of this ebook.

    Ebook: The Blogger’s Guide to Effective Writing

    About the creator: Ali Luke is a professional writer of both fiction and nonfiction, including The Blogger’s Guide series, Publishing E-books for Dummies and the novel Lycopolis. She holds a Master’s degree in Creative Writing, and her work has been featured on ProBlogger, Men With Pens, Copyblogger and Write to Done.

    Price: $29

    Who It’s For: The Blogger’s Guide to Effective Writing is great for new bloggers. While it doesn’t explain the technical aspects of setting up a blog, it will walk you through the brainstorming, planning and writing side of blogging.

    The ebook would also be helpful for people who’ve been blogging for a while and are struggling to come up with new ideas or feeling stuck. Bloggers who want to shake up their writing style or refine their editing skills will also find this guide useful.

    What It Will Help You Do: The ebook promises to teach you to write well-structured, easy-to-read posts that draw readers in; to brainstorm many new ideas for posts; and to figure out what kind of content your audience wants. As Ali says, “Writing well is a learned skill, and blogging is no different. The purpose of this ebook is to help you understand what goes into great content, so that you can produce your own.”

    The ebook starts at the very beginning by working through a plan for a new blog. You’ll explore why you’re blogging and consider your ideal reader and audience as well as your call to action: what do you want readers to do after they read your posts?

    Ali walks you through the process of planning blog posts, from coming up with ideas to planning a good mix of different types of posts (lists, essays, how-to, reviews, etc.), and uses examples from prominent bloggers to explain the advantages and disadvantages of each type. She explains the writing process by focusing on each element of a post separately (title, introduction, middle and conclusion), again using examples from well-known blogs.

    Finally, the section on editing helps you polish your writing, from big-picture revisions to improve the flow, to the ruthless cutting of fluff words and phrases to strengthen your copy, to proofreading for silly mistakes.

    What’s Included: The ebook is 83 pages long and includes an appendix with links to lots of free material that supports and expands on points addressed in the book.

    In addition, the package includes seven bonus templates: one for each of the four post types the ebook explains, and three analyzing the structure of posts by popular bloggers Darren Rowse, Charlie Gilkey and Skelliewag.

    Finally, Ali includes two videos in which she reviews six posts by different bloggers, explaining each post’s strengths and weaknesses. The first video focuses on creative, narrative-style posts, while the second features structured, informative posts with calls to action. She analyzes each blog’s design, taglines, post headlines, writing style, word choice and more to help viewers understand ways they can strengthen their own blog posts.

    The Best Part: The section on developing your voice was especially interesting and thought-provoking for me. It helps you consider what sets you apart as a blogger and guides you to find your writing voice — including how to modulate it for guest posting so your content fits in well on the other blog.

    In addition, I found the editing section very helpful; I’ve printed out the list of questions on page 74 and hung it above my desk to help me revise and strengthen blog posts.

    What Would Make It Even Better: It’s hard to say anything could be improved in this ebook, especially with the addition of the bonus templates and videos. The only quasi-criticism I have is that a lot of the early chapters are fairly basic and more experienced bloggers will skim right past them. However, newer bloggers will appreciate the level of detail, and both groups benefit from the later chapters.

    How It Changed My Life: I didn’t anticipate that the ebook would help me as an editor, especially the section on finding your blogging voice. Since my work involves revising and tweaking to make each post the best it can be while maintaining its writer’s voice, it was helpful to reconsider how different elements reflect the writer’s quirks and natural style.

    Our Recommendation: While this ebook will be most helpful for new bloggers who want to make their work the best it can be from the beginning, even experienced bloggers will find interesting experiments and advice that will help reinvigorate their work, like new idea-generation options or strategies for improving headlines.

    This post contains affiliate links. That means if you purchase through our links, you’re supporting The Write Life — and we thank you for that!

  • 10 Free Ebooks to Motivate and Inspire Writing Adventures

    10 Free Ebooks to Motivate and Inspire Writing Adventures

    I started putting together this list of free ebooks for writers for my blog and intended to share an epic list of 100 free resources. Impressive and exciting, right? Shareable? Sure.

    But also — let’s be honest — kind of too overwhelming to be useful. And, admittedly, probably padded with some fluff, those ebooks about writing that everyone is always talking about and you’ve all heard of already.

    Instead, I pared the list down to these 10 that I think you should really check out. They’re written and published by my friends and colleagues you ought to learn more about, and they offer unique advice to guide you through different parts of the writing journey.

    Inspiration to Start Writing

    1. Releasing the Words: Writers on Writing, by Rhonda Kronyk and friends

    Authors and freelance writers share essays on how they tackle one of the scariest plights we face — writer’s block. (Look for my piece “Fear and the Divine Motivation to Write”!) Get it free in the DIY Writing Bookstore.

    2. Your Guide to Calling it Quits, by Kelly Gurnett (a.k.a. “Cordelia”)

    This guide from Kelly of Cordelia Calls it Quits is all about living intentionally — how to decide what to quit and tips to help you get started. Pick it up for the kick in the butt you need to live the life you want to live.

    3. The Anti-Meh Manifesto, by Career Meh

    This manifesto from the newly-launched Career Meh offers smart, actionable advice that gets results — for Millennials, by Millennials. Career Meh is “your cure for the common career” for go-getting young professionals.

    Self-Publishing Tips and Tricks

    4. After the Writing: A Short Guide on Navigating the Self-Publishing World, by Kylie Dunn

    dinkylune founder Kylie Dunn wrote this ebook to share some hard-won advice on the self-publishing process — the details she wishes she had known before publishing her first ebook. Get advice on ebook formatting, conversion, distribution, and more.

    5. Author 2.0 Blueprint, by Joanna Penn

    No one knows better than The Creative Penn founder Joanna Penn what an exciting time this is to be an author. But it can be hard to know where to begin if you’re just getting started. She created this blueprint to guide you with writing tips, how to self-publish, and how to market your self-published books.

    6. The Weekend Book Marketing Makeover, by Duolit Self-Publishing Team

    The ladies at Duolit understand that author-publishers are busy people with lives outside of writing. With the tips in this ebook, they’ll help you save time, build confidence, and have fun growing your fanbase in just 48 hours.

    Freelancing Guides and Advice

    7. 25 Types of Writing Gigs That Pay Well (and How to Find Them), by Francesca Nicasio

    Freelance writer Francesca Nicasio wrote this guide to help you find out what you should do to land lucrative writing gigs and get paid what you deserve. If you’re not sure where to start, or you’re tired of getting paid peanuts for your writing, grab this free ebook to find out where the lucrative gigs are and how to get them.

    8. LittleZotz Writing Adventures in Freelancing, by Lauren Tharp

    Lauren Tharp of LittleZotz Writing offers two free ebooks for freelance writers: LittleZotz Writing Adventures in Freelancing answers the question, “How can I become a successful freelance writer?” and The Freelance Writer’s ABCs is a comprehensive guide with 26 timeless lessons for freelance writers.

    9. How to Land Your First Paying Client, by The Write Life team

    Read real-life examples from writers and bloggers who make a living working with clients to learn how they broke the seal and got that first paying client. (Including my first-client story!) [Editor’s note: thanks for including our ebook, Dana!]

    10. ASK for Help. ASK for Referrals. ASK for Business., by Jennie Mustafa-Julock (a.k.a. Coach Jennie)

    Want to grow a strong solo biz? You’re going to have to ask for it! Learn three powerful tactics to get clients and get money in your bank account, from Coach Jennie, The Audacity Coach.

    Have you read any good, free books lately? Share them in the comments!

  • Why You Should Publish Your Book Before It’s Finished

    Why You Should Publish Your Book Before It’s Finished

    Here’s how a lot of people think you write and publish a book:

    1. You have an idea for a book

    2. You spend a year — or longer — working on it without showing it to anyone

    3. When you feel ready, you might show it to some friends or even a professional editor, though many people skip this step

    4. When you’re done-done, you submit your work to some Big Publishers (somehow… this part is fuzzy)

    5. Either you get a deal and you become a Published Author on your way to fame and fortune, or you don’t — and your manuscript collects dust, or whatever electronic files collect when you don’t ever look at them again

    These mistaken beliefs about the writing and publishing process are some of many damaging artifacts of twentieth-century publishing industry romanticism; together, these could be called “The Myth of the Doorstopper.”

    According to this myth, all good books are written by people who hide away for years in isolated cabins or bohemian apartments, then emerge with giant tomes which are perfectly complete at the very moment they are first made public (that is, published).

    The early days of in-progress publishing

    Nowadays, it is true that many novels are written and published that way, but historically, novels were often written and published in-progress — ever heard of Dostoyevsky, Dickens, or Tolstoy? Indeed, writers of in-progress books would often change their planned plots (if they had any fully worked-out plans to begin with) in response to the public’s reception of their work, as the chapters were published periodically.

    (Ever wondered why some nineteenth-century novels are so big? When you’re publishing serially and being paid chapter by chapter, it’s pretty tempting to embiggen the scope of your book if it becomes popular. Your publisher would certainly suggest that you do so.)

    Fortunately, new technologies have made it possible for writers to re-establish the conditions for in-progress publishing without waiting for Big Publishers to change their corporate strategies back to traditional serial publishing models. The combination of computers, the Internet, electronic reading devices and in-progress ebook publishing platforms means that authors and small publishers can start writing and publishing this way, again.

    In-progress publishing: a scenario

    Serial publishing is just one form of in-progress publishing, mostly suited to writing longer works of fiction.

    Imagine, instead, that you’re thinking of writing a nonfiction book; let’s say you’re passionate about model trains and you want to write “The Advanced Guide to Model Trains.” If you went the traditional “Myth of the Doorstopper” route, you’d write the whole thing and then try to find a publisher. If you couldn’t find one, you’d publish it yourself, or else just give up.

    Now, how would you feel if, after finally publishing your book, you discovered no one wanted an advanced guide, but that there was a huge demand from eager readers for a beginner’s guide? What if you found people objected to your overly technical approach to what they considered to be a fun topic? What if you discovered that, actually, you’re not a good enough writer yet to merit anyone’s attention? You’d have spent all that time writing a book no one wanted to read.

    Now, imagine that you chose the in-progress ebook publishing model instead. You start writing your technical “advanced” guide and publish the first version after you’ve only finished a draft of the first three chapters — after, say, just a couple of months of work (knowing, of course, that anyone who buys an early copy of your ebook will get all subsequent versions free and automatically.)

    What you’ll get is the same response described above, but without having wasted years of work and worry, and without the dashed dreams and belated realizations.

    Instead, you could change tack and start writing (and in-progress publishing!) a beginner’s guide, in a lighter tone, selling it to the readers you’ve already discovered from your first attempt, and building your readership as you write the book. You could be constantly evolving your book in response to meaningful reader feedback, and looking for new ways to find new readers over a longer period of time, rather than just at or after your book’s launch.

    Then, once you finished the beginner’s guide, you could write an intermediate guide for all your happy beginner readers. And eventually, you could even write that advanced guide you were so determined to write in the first place — but with an already established and growing following of readers.

    In-progress or “lean” publishing is both the past and the future of publishing. There will always be room for the authors of conventional twentieth-century Doorstoppers, but there will also be more room for people willing to write in more radical ways, and to engage with the kind of reader so eager, they’re willing to buy an unfinished book.

    Have you tried in-progress publishing? What do you think of the idea?

  • What You Should Know Before Publishing Your First Ebook

    What You Should Know Before Publishing Your First Ebook

    Publishing an ebook is a daunting task — so daunting many writers keep their brilliant messages to themselves rather than attempt to navigate the publishing process.

    What if I told you it’s not as hard as you think?

    That it doesn’t have to take as long as you think?

    That it won’t cost as much money as you think?

    The ebook publishing process involves a lot of steps and plenty of research, yes. But if you know what to expect before you get started, the process isn’t as intimidating as it seems.

    Here’s what you can expect:

    Writing and editing

    You might be sitting on a semi-finished draft or a few Big Ideas, but not moving forward because you’re convinced polishing your words into a publishable product will cost a fortune. Industry gurus have scared self-publishers out of their wits about the costs of editing!

    There’s another way. When you understand what your book needs, you can crowdsource or barter for editors and utilize beta readers to manage your own editing process.

    Before writing, you’ll vet your ideas and set a purpose for the book. You can hire a developmental editor, work with a book coach, or bounce ideas off a mastermind group or other trusted colleagues and friends who understand your target audience.

    During or after writing your first draft, you can work with a content editor or trusted beta readers for feedback to ensure the major organization of your ebook effectively meets your goals.

    Once you have a draft, copyediting and proofreading will polish your manuscript and make every word pop off the page. You’ll benefit from hiring a pro at this stage, but you can also barter or trade with a critique partner or colleague, as long as you trust them to understand what your readers expect out of your book.

    Formatting and design

    Once you’ve got a manuscript finished, you can turn it into a book. You have to choose a font, page layout, and relevant images; create a copyright page and other front-of-the-book matter; and — oh my god! — create a cover.

    Publishing a book is a whole new set of skills alongside writing a book. (Click to tweet this idea). If you don’t have any interest in or time for learning these skills, you can browse sites like elance or oDesk for affordable freelancers, and 99Designs to get the best deal on a cover design.

    If you want to learn to DIY, give yourself time to study before starting — you’ll save a bunch of headaches later. I recommend Guy Kawasaki’s APE: How to Publish a Book for an in-depth overview, including formatting tips to avoid a shoddy self-published look. For cover design, follow Joel Friedlander’s e-Book Cover Design Awards for pro tips to guide you.

    Conversion and distribution

    As a digital publishing coach, I could not have anticipated how many writers would come to me simply baffled about ebook conversion! What tools will I need? How much will it cost? Who should I hire?

    Hold the phone. Tuck away your wallet. And breathe easy. Unless your ebook relies on the placement of your images (e.g. a comic book, graphic novel, or scientific textbook), you shouldn’t need more than Microsoft Word (or free counterparts like OpenOffice or LibreOffice) and a free copy of Smashwords Style Guide.

    Kindle, NOOK, Apple, and Kobo all make publishing straight from your desktop as simple as formatting a Word Doc and following their step-by-step instructions. If you want to simplify even more, you can publish through Smashwords, which will convert and distribute your ebook across those online retailers. Or skip them altogether, and sell a PDF from your site through an e-commerce tool like e-junkie, Ganxy, or Gumroad.

    Launch and book marketing

    Next to conversion, “finding readers” is the scariest undertaking cited by most authors. You were promised “passive income,” so why is selling your book taking so much work?

    If you have an established audience and community before writing your book, marketing is certainly much simpler. Prepare for your launch by teasing them with updates on your process, free samples, or a cover reveal. Enlist your audience in book promotion by creating a launch team, as well as making sharing as easy as possible with tweetables and copy-and-pastable blurbs they can share through social media and email.

    If you don’t have an established audience (your ebook can be a good catalyst to build one), marketing and selling your book will require a significant time investment in community- and relationship-building.

    To do your ebook justice, build ongoing marketing into your schedule around other obligations. Planning ahead will help you grow an audience and consistently sell books, and avoid those panicky moments when you realize you spent months creating an ebook no one is buying.

    How to prepare to publish

    Spend some time (in between writing sessions, of course) becoming familiar with the ebook publishing process. Note where you already feel strong; where you think you can learn to DIY; and where you want to hire, barter, trade, or otherwise ask for help, and plan ahead to take the pressure off while you write.

    Are you ready to start writing your ebook? Join us for ManiWriMo, and complete a draft for your manifesto in 30 days!

    What fears do you have about ebook publishing? What about the process excites you?