1. Self-publishing: getting started Adapted from LIBRARIES PARTNERING WITH SELF-PUBLISHING, Chapter 5 by Miranda Ericsson and Lissa Staley Libraries Unlimited, 2016

2. The State of Self-Publishing
Bringing your written work to market for sale and distribution has never been faster or easier.
Technology has leveled the playing field. Writers can publish work inexpensively with tools available at most public libraries, or as part of most home office setups.
The publishing and distribution game has changed completely because of e-books and print- on-demand.
Self-published titles and small presses have gained increased legitimacy and marketability. There is still a stigma, but it’s being defied by successful self-published authors.
Authors have better odds of reaching their audience than ever before.

3. What’s so great about self-pub?
Rapid response! Ebook publishing gives writers the ability to publish work rapidly to respond to reader demand and trends.
It’s faster! Just as copying books by hand was a time-consuming process compared to the advance of the printing press, the traditional publisher timeline of bringing an accepted manuscript to market is very slow compared to new publishing methods.
Print-on-Demand! Instead of running a personal warehouse from a garage, authors can upload their manuscripts to a print-on-demand service such as CreateSpace and make their works available for sale through Amazon.com at no cost or risk to themselves for the outlay of printing costs.

4. Is Self-publishing right for you?
A self-publishing author takes on every role and responsibility—writing, editing, design, layout, printing, promotion, storage, and distribution. Think about those lengthy “acknowledgments” in most books, and assign many of those duties to yourself!
A self-published author essentially is running a small business.
When considering whether or not to self-publish, a writer should ask herself if she’s willing to schedule her own book tour and readings, seek speaking engagements, create a Web page or pay someone to do so, and solicit reviews.

5. Is Self-Publishing Right for Your Book?
When deciding how to publish a book, the first question should be, “who are the readers?” Before deciding how a work should be published and shared with readers, take the time to consider carefully the intended audience and how they are likely to access your work.
Some projects are a better fit for self-publishing than for traditional.
Micropublishing--smaller quantities are desired for a smaller audience, such as books written for a niche market or for a regional audience.
Books that mix genres--traditional publishers may shy away from work that seems to resist existing marketing templates.
If your book is time-sensitive or addresses a current issue or trend, self-publishing gets it to readers much faster.

6. Consider the following questions for the book’s genre:
What are the best sellers?
What are the books that professional critics and reviewers rate highly?
Which books have great ratings and reviews from readers on Web sites such as Goodreads or Amazon?
Are the hot titles in the book's genre predominantly published or self- published, or is there a good mix? (Romance is a genre where there is clearly an audience of readers who are open to self-published titles, for example.)
Are there awards in the genre? If so, which books are winning them? Are they the same books that are popular with readers?

7. Selecting a Platform
Consider the project and the current offerings on the market and choose the platform that is the best fit for the specific project and budget.
Consider the goals for the finished book, then do the homework to investigate distribution options for each platform in consideration.
Consider the reach of the platform—how will it be marketed and distributed? Are sales figures available? How do those numbers compare to similar platforms?
Carefully check the terms and determine what share or percentage of the sale the printer expects, what the cost per book will be for the owner ordering directly, and what restrictions apply. Read all terms and agreements carefully to make sure that exclusive agreements will not prevent the work’s distribution from another platform.
For example, the author may just want a stack of print copies to sell locally, or she may want the book to be available as a print-on-demand title that readers can order online and have shipped to them, or download instantly as an e-book.

8. Selecting a Platform (Cont.)
We’re focusing on Smashwords and Createspace because we have successfully utilized those services for our Community Novel Project here at the library. However, there are times when another platform might offer an advantage for your particular project.
Publishing veteran and consultant Jane Friedman provides a useful snapshot perspective of some things to consider in her Key Book Publishing Paths:
Jane Friedman’s site offers a wealth of resources for self-published writers:

9. Marketing Considerations
A self-published author makes her own contacts with bookstores, libraries and book fairs. She'll also arrange readings, signings and book tours.
Marketing means online work, and an author needs a Web site and social media presence to reach the wide world of readers.
Books should be available to order online, and the author should be prepared to maintain a steady supply of books, and to pack and ship books for customers or retailers if a print-on-demand company is not retained.

10. Before ordering books and marketing your work, consider:
Overhead/risk of printed books
Overhead/risk of consignment
Your time in author events
Cost versus the return of advertising  

11. Draft a Sales Strategy First book in the series for free
Offer excerpts online or include them in other books
Limited time sales and discounted prices
Integration with Goodreads and other consumer book review websites
Integration with Amazon and other book sales websites
Integration with Kindle, iBooks and other e-book sales websites 
Self-published authors are their own marketing team. If the author is not willing to spend as much time writing careful jacket copy and marketing material as he would spend to pitch the book to dozens of traditional publishers, self-publishing might not work out so well.

12. Overdrive
For a customer to suggest an ebook for purchase in the library’s collection, that title would need to be submitted to smashwords, and then could be available for a customer of that library to recommend through the Overdrive interface.
Recommending a title does not guarantee its purchase.

13. Great Courses—How to Publish Your Book
Friedman is a professor for Great Courses, and her course How to Publish Your Book is owned by the library—check it out!

14. Thank you!