The Kindle format is proprietary to Amazon, but the Kindle device is the dominant e-reader, and Amazon offers a free Kindle app for Windows and Mac computers, as well as for iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone 7 devices. I am taking the content from my popular “ 30 Days With Google Docs” and “ 30 Days With Ubuntu Linux” series, and publishing them as Kindle digital books.
Next page: The two-step publishing process, and how to set the right price.Īs it happens, I am self-publishing a book–two, actually.
It can be as simple as placing the title of the book in the center of the very first page with the author’s name beneath it.
You are not obligated to include all or any of these things, but your book will have a more professional look if you at least include a title page.
The back matter includes things such as an index or any appendices you wish to add at the end of the book. This section contains elements such as the title page, copyright page, dedication, preface, and prologue, and is referred to as the front matter. When you open nearly any paper book, you see pages at the beginning before you get to the first page of real content. Keep in mind that if you are creating a digital ebook, the Kindle and most other e-readers will render the page in black and white or shades of gray, so some things may not look as nice as you intend. In general, any images you include should be centered on the page. To ensure that each chapter will start on a new page and not just run together like one big chapter, insert hard page breaks at the end of each chapter. Decorations such as bullet points, fancy fonts, or information in the header or footer area of your document won’t translate to the finished product. Make sure to promote the book every which way you can.įollow some simple guidelines to upload cover art and add black-and-white images to your book.You can use some text formatting–such as bold, italics, or underlining–for emphasis, but don’t go crazy.
Post a status update and link to it on your Facebook page. Mention it in your email signature and on your website. Use all of the tools at your disposal to let your customers or the broader intended audience know the book is available. You won’t have a publisher with a marketing budget and a vested interest in the success of your book out there pitching it for you. When the book is done, remember that with self-publishing comes self-promotion. You should also prepare cover art of some sort, as well as relevant information, starting with credits for the author, illustrator, or editors. Amazon recommends creating and editing your content in Microsoft Word. The Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing service–which I’ll focus on for this article–can work with. Most ebook publishing services are at least capable of working with Microsoft Word files, PDFs, and the open-source ePub format. You can publish a book entirely by yourself, but most services also offer professional help for a fee if you want it.For starters, you need content: Self-published books don’t type themselves. Kindle Blogs are wirelessly delivered and updated automatically throughout the day the content downloads to a reader’s Kindle and remains stored for local access even when no wireless network is available.
If writing an entire book seems daunting, you might prefer to take an existing blog of yours and publish it via Amazon so that everyone with a Kindle can download and read your posted material.
Whether you want to create an actual paperback book to ship to readers (or a music CD or movie DVD, for that matter), or you just want to crank out an ebook for digital download, such tools make the project relatively simple. You have assorted options, including Amazon’s CreateSpace and Kindle Direct Publishing Barnes & Noble’s PubIt Lulu and. It establishes your business as an authority, and can lead to new opportunities, sales leads, or invitations for speaking engagements and other prospects for gaining exposure. Being published–even self-published–enhances your reputation and credibility. Would you settle for seeing your book on the digital shelf at ?įor a small or medium-size business, self-publishing has a variety of potential benefits. A great deal of pride and satisfaction comes with seeing your written work sitting on the shelf at Barnes & Noble–a dying concept in and of itself. I’m no stranger to publishing, having written or cowritten a dozen books. Thankfully, though, tools are available for you to publish your own electronic book. Unless you are already a bestselling author, landing a publishing deal is easier said than done. Rowling? Perhaps your aspirations are less lofty, but you still have a story–or expert information–to share with the masses.
Would you like to be the next Dan Brown or J.K.