Self-pub question

Do you have a cover made yet?

Have you decided whether you'll be going exclusively Kindle yet? (If not, you can't be on Kindle select)

Your back-cover blurb can probably be based on your query text. If you haven't made up a query, go to Query Letter Hell and work on one. I think the principles are basically the same.

Do you have a createspace account yet? (assuming that's how you're getting your hardcopy done). Can't start too early...

Lizzie7800 said:

Do I need a query letter if I'm self-publishing?

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No, but you do need a back-cover blurb, and it has to be catchy. I think in general the requirements for back cover blurbs and queries are pretty similar. And similarly hard to write. So don your lead-lined underwear, and get something started in QLH.

Lizzie7800 said:

Do I need a query letter if I'm self-publishing?

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No, just a blurb/product-description, which could be similar to the first/second paragraph of what you'd otherwise put in a query letter to an agent.

Blurbs and queries are two completely different things, really, but somewhere in a query letter there's a paragraph (maybe two?) describing the story, showing the "hook", the conflict, and making people want to read more?

So the QLH folder might still be helpful to you, in that regard. As might this site (and one or two others): http://queryshark.blogspot.com/ (this site belongs to an agent who sometimes posts here, in the "Ask An Agent" folder).

Good luck!

The query that I worked up in QLH became, with very little changing, the back cover blurb for my hardcopy and the descriptive blurb for the e-book in Amazon.

I'm talking about the story description, of course. You can toss out the intro paragraph that describes your genre, word-count, etc, and the bio, and so forth.

I will say that learning to format the manuscript yourself will save you money in the long run. I bought a book and taught myself, and it didn't take very long at all. Plus, if any changes need made, you can always make them yourself and not have to pay the formatter to make them.

Lizzie7800 said:

I am pretty close to publishing, at most a month away. My editor is almost finished

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If your editor hasn't yet finished, you'll be pushing it to get the book published within a month.

Once you've received your editor's suggestions you'll then have to go through them and act on them. Editors don't change things in books, they suggest changes which the author then agrees with, and makes, or disagrees with, and ignores.

Once you've done that you'll need to check the book through and make sure it is cohesive; and you'll need to copy edit it too, to make sure it's error-free: copy editing is best done after a break from the book, and if you hurry into it you'll miss things.

I'm not sure there's time to do all that as well as you can in less than a month.

and I hired someone to format to get it ready for print and Kindle.

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There's a huge difference between "formatting for electronic edition" and "typesetting for print edition". Make sure the person you've hired understands the differences.

Once the book is typeset and formatted you'll need to proof read the book, to check for errors again. It's astonishing how many can be introduced at the typesetting stage.

My question is, what else do I need to do? I haven't written my "blurb" yet and am wondering how long it should be. Is there anything else I am missing?

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To complete your book you need a jacket design, front matter, an author bio, back cover copy... look at the structure of a trade-published book to see what's required.

But then you also need other stuff. A press pack is a good idea: a press release with some promotional material to send out (cover flats, or electronic images of your cover in a selection of sizes, author photos, and so on).

You might be wise to send out review copies in advance of publication, to help build buzz; you could see if you can get quotes from other writers or personalities, which always helps; but these things are better done in advance of publication, and if you're hoping to publish in a month you don't have time.

I have trouble believing you are only a month away from publishing if you have not already gotten your edits back and your cover designed, which may or may not include specialized artwork, and gone through copy edits.

Old Hack gives you a lot of good advice. I might also add that you will need a bar code for print versions and ISBN for each version of your book = print, electronic, audio, etc. I would not publish without one...

For artwork, you will need to make sure you have copyright permission in writing for each version in which the artwork is used, again, print, electronic, audio, etc. If not, you may find yourself in need doo-doo...

Good luck...

Lizzie, you've received some good advice here. If I could do it over again with my first novel, I would have tried to line up reviews before putting it into general release. The failure to do so probably cost me some sales. Bottom line, make sure you have a marketing plan in place and you should be well into the execution stage before you release.

Along those lines, you'll want to start an author website. There are lots of ways to do this, the easiest going to blogger.com or wordpress.com, which I use. If you're on a limited budget or just doing this on a whim, you can use their free version. Or you can shell out a few bucks and get your own domain name. If you're planning on writing a bunch of books, you'd name the site after yourself. If you're one-and-done, then name the website after your book.

Also, if you're even moderately computer handy, take Jennifer's advice and learn how to do this yourself. It's a little time-consuming, but not difficult at all, and you have a lot more control over how it ends up.

thothguard51 said:

I have trouble believing you are only a month away from publishing if you have not already gotten your edits back and your cover designed, which may or may not include specialized artwork, and gone through copy edits.

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I don't think this is necessarily impossible, if the OP knows what she's doing. I could probably pull it off, having gone through it once. Of course, I'll follow critical path and earliest-finish policies and get stuff like the cover done early.

However, since this seems to be her first shot at this, there will be a lot of hesitations and false starts.

thothguard51 said:

Old Hack gives you a lot of good advice. I might also add that you will need a bar code for print versions and ISBN for each version of your book = print, electronic, audio, etc. I would not publish without one...

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Createspace supplies an ISBN free (and automatically) and also automatically places the barcode at the bottom of the back page. you just have to leave 2" of clear space.

thothguard51 said:

For artwork, you will need to make sure you have copyright permission in writing for each version in which the artwork is used, again, print, electronic, audio, etc. If not, you may find yourself in need doo-doo...

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I got my cover done by stormowl7. Was quick, inexpensive, and everyone who has commented on it says it looks great.

This is probably the only item on which you need to shell out money up front. But in my case, we're talking less than $200. Some others can be up in the thousands.

Angry Guy said:

Createspace supplies an ISBN free (and automatically) and also automatically places the barcode at the bottom of the back page. you just have to leave 2" of clear space.

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If I remember right, the ISBN will be in Createspace name as publisher. So will ownership of the barcode if you ever decicde to use other publishers besides Createspace.

If I am going to truly selfpublish, I want it all in my name...

thothguard51 said:

If I remember right, the ISBN will be in Createspace name as publisher. So will ownership of the barcode if you ever decicde to use other publishers besides Createspace.

If I am going to truly selfpublish, I want it all in my name...

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Granted, although at this stage, I'm just happy to be in print.

Someone else alluded to it, but something that many self-published writers forget: a marketing plan. Ideally, you want to have this done well in advance of hitting the publish button, to generate launch publicity and such. Or so I'm told

thothguard51 said:

If I remember right, the ISBN will be in Createspace name as publisher. So will ownership of the barcode if you ever decicde to use other publishers besides Createspace.

If I am going to truly selfpublish, I want it all in my name...

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Yes, that is the case if you go for the Free ISBN. They also offer an option to buy an ISBN that'll be assigned to you and show you (or your business name) as the publisher wherever the book is sold, but that is not free.

I don't think other retailers can use the CreateSpace ISBNs, though, no matter which variation you end up with.

From what I understand, you need an ISBN# for each publisher...

I'd like to echo something others have said already because hey, it's just that important:

Marketing plan!

It might help to make a list of the social media platforms you want to announce your book on. Maybe even pre-write some posts, if you want to be very prepared. Recruit any friends who might be willing to read an advanced copy and give you a review on your release day. Research paid advertising if you think there's a good venue for that.

Good luck and congrats on your impending book!

Old Hack said:

I don't think other retailers can use the CreateSpace ISBNs, though, no matter which variation you end up with.

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It's true. Same for Smashwords. I used to use Smashwords ISBN but from my recollection it's only useful for digital copies. I'm not sure if that ISBN extends to Kobo and the others.

You would have to purchase the ISBN if you wanted to use it universally.

This is from my experience self-publishing erotica over the summer.

thothguard51 said:

From what I understand, you need an ISBN# for each publisher...

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You should have a separate ISBN for each edition. If you're self publishing then you are the publisher.

Lhowling said:

It's true. Same for Smashwords. I used to use Smashwords ISBN but from my recollection it's only useful for digital copies.

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That wouldn't be a problem, as you should have a separate ISBN for each separate edition, such as print and digital editions.

If you are submitting to CreateSpace, I would recommend having your formatter use their Word template and submit in PDF format rather than trying to continually adjust the DOC file to use their online formatting tools.

This is not typesetting, it's simply creating a PDF file that CreateSpace uses to create your book. Once you have reviewed it online, print a proof copy and send it to yourself for review before going live.

They have a PDF cover template that makes submitting covers easy as well. Just enter the size of your book based on their information after you submit the PDF and you can download the correctly sized cover template. Your cover artist can do the rest.

Good luck and have fun!

Old Hack said:

I don't think other retailers can use the CreateSpace ISBNs, though, no matter which variation you end up with.

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Well, here's the way it's described on the site (note, I was earlier referring to the $99 option not the $10 one):

CreateSpace Custom ISBNs for PurchaseYou can purchase ISBNs using your own imprint through our website via myidentifiers.com.


Important information about CreateSpace Custom ISBN options:


Custom ISBN - $10

• You choose your “imprint of record” for all books with a Custom ISBN.
• With a Custom ISBN, you cannot use the ISBN with another publisher.
• Custom ISBNs are registered with BooksinPrint.com.
• You can take advantage of the “CreateSpace Direct” and “Bookstores and Online Retailers” outlets through Expanded Distribution.

Custom Universal ISBN - $99

• You choose your “imprint of record” for all books with a Custom Universal ISBN.
• A Custom Universal ISBN allow you the freedom to utilize this ISBN with another publisher should you choose to do so.
• Custom Universal ISBNs are registered with BooksinPrint.com.
• You can take advantage of the “CreateSpace Direct” and “Bookstores and Online Retailers” outlets through Expanded Distribution.

To learn more about Custom ISBN options available for purchase, feel free to visit our ISBN product page.

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That might be how it's explained, but that doesn't contradict my point.

I'm still pretty sure that physical bookshops, for example, can't use CreateSpace's ISBN: so if you try to get your books into physical bookshops, they won't be able to track their sales of your book. And if that's the case there's a good chance they might not agree to stock it.

I might be wrong. But it's worth pointing out the potential problems here.

Old Hack said:

That might be how it's explained, but that doesn't contradict my point.

I'm still pretty sure that physical bookshops, for example, can't use CreateSpace's ISBN: so if you try to get your books into physical bookshops, they won't be able to track their sales of your book. And if that's the case there's a good chance they might not agree to stock it.

I might be wrong. But it's worth pointing out the potential problems here.

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You are incorrect.

CreateSpace's ISBN can be used through their Expanded Distribution program in physical book stores. You can read about their Expanded Distribution program on their website.

Ingram and NACSCORP are two distributors who are enabled through this program. Barnes & Noble also purchases through this program.