ventureskills
Fri 22 June 2007, 10:45 am GMT +0200
In answer to a question on the shoutbox I thought I would do a quicker primer on E-book publishing, if we are talking about a 5 page ebook being distributed for free then look away now...
Getting an ISBN number
ISBN is an international standard for identifying Books the number are now 13 digits long and the number needs to be applied for, each country has its own method for issuing the numbers and each version of a book requires an ISBN so fix that typo it needs a new number. Here in the UK and I believe its the same in the US a publishing company needs to buy in blocks with a minimum block of 10. For more information please see http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/index.asp Therefore if you are publishing just 1 book then it does not make sense to set up as a publisher as it is expensive.
Why would you need an ISBN well with it you can start distributing via more traditional channels such as bookstores (physical product) or on-line stores like Amazon.
Paper Publishing & Distribution services
My favourite publishers are Lulu a fantastic company that in fact will do all the above but they are one of a new breed of POD publish on demand, so as you or anyone else orders a book its printed and shipped directly from the printers.
Their are other companies out their but I have had some experience with Lulu as I used them to print my University material for a couple of years, the nice thing is they also offer packages to get ISBN number and Promotional bits and piece at reasonable prices finally they offer Amazon distribution service taking the hassle out of it.
An alternative is Book Surge Amazons own POD finally you could submit your book to Amazon separately this is a complicated (note this is me saying complicated! hint hint) involves several forms and sending them several copies of your book in various forms generally this process takes several months in my experience so unless you have a major reason not to go with a distribution system from lulu or similar.
Making Money
So once you got your book its time to promote it, now amazon takes a large percentage of your profit so you have a choice promote Amazon and hope for greater volume or promote direct publishing which will obviously be a better return but expect lower number of buyers. I always promote the Amazon route with clients and friends even though the return is smaller you tend to shift many units to reduce this lower return grab yourself an affiliate account with Amazon and promote your book using the appropriate codes or even look to open an astore both will offer a small return on top of your normal payments.
I hope this has helped those perhaps thinking about publishing, a word of warning if you use your own ISBNs with lulu you can't use their distribution packages ;)
Getting an ISBN number
ISBN is an international standard for identifying Books the number are now 13 digits long and the number needs to be applied for, each country has its own method for issuing the numbers and each version of a book requires an ISBN so fix that typo it needs a new number. Here in the UK and I believe its the same in the US a publishing company needs to buy in blocks with a minimum block of 10. For more information please see http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/index.asp Therefore if you are publishing just 1 book then it does not make sense to set up as a publisher as it is expensive.
Why would you need an ISBN well with it you can start distributing via more traditional channels such as bookstores (physical product) or on-line stores like Amazon.
Paper Publishing & Distribution services
My favourite publishers are Lulu a fantastic company that in fact will do all the above but they are one of a new breed of POD publish on demand, so as you or anyone else orders a book its printed and shipped directly from the printers.
Their are other companies out their but I have had some experience with Lulu as I used them to print my University material for a couple of years, the nice thing is they also offer packages to get ISBN number and Promotional bits and piece at reasonable prices finally they offer Amazon distribution service taking the hassle out of it.
An alternative is Book Surge Amazons own POD finally you could submit your book to Amazon separately this is a complicated (note this is me saying complicated! hint hint) involves several forms and sending them several copies of your book in various forms generally this process takes several months in my experience so unless you have a major reason not to go with a distribution system from lulu or similar.
Making Money
So once you got your book its time to promote it, now amazon takes a large percentage of your profit so you have a choice promote Amazon and hope for greater volume or promote direct publishing which will obviously be a better return but expect lower number of buyers. I always promote the Amazon route with clients and friends even though the return is smaller you tend to shift many units to reduce this lower return grab yourself an affiliate account with Amazon and promote your book using the appropriate codes or even look to open an astore both will offer a small return on top of your normal payments.
I hope this has helped those perhaps thinking about publishing, a word of warning if you use your own ISBNs with lulu you can't use their distribution packages ;)