Home Page
Learn how to build your publishing business. As a Self-Published author, and former Self-Publishing instructor, I will show you how. I'll reveal what I have learned about writing, producing, publishing and marketing books. I will do my best to simplify the steps. Follow them, and watch your business grow. It will take hard work and dedication, but if it's what you really want it will be well worth the effort.
I have been through the whole writing and publishing process.
I have taken publishing and business classes. I struggled and made mistakes along the way. It wasn't easy to get to where I'm at today, but I wouldn't change a thing. Now I teach, and I can help you avoid some of my mistakes.
No matter how much I have learned already, I know that I will continue to learn more. I will continue to add more information for my readers. Return to my site to view updates.
I realize that you may have questions as we go along, and I will do my best to answer those questions. My contact information is listed below and I look forward to hearing from you.
Artistic Creations Book Publishing
2216 6th Avenue
Moline, Illinois 61265
(300) 737-8909
Becoming a publisher
Most likely, you've already written a book that you're planning to publish. That's the reason you're here. Of course it's important to finish writing the manuscript. Don't worry about perfecting it. First get it finished. You can ask freinds and aquaintances to review it later, then determine what changes you'd like to make.
Publishing a book is a business, so you'll need a business plan. There are so many things to think about. Consider the size and layout of your book. How many pages will it be? What type of paper will it be printed on? Are you able to design a layout yourself or will you need professional help? Will there be photos or illustrations in your book? Who will provide the pictures? How will the book be printed and bound? Do your best to figure out the details and how much it will cost. Estimate how long it will take you to come up with a finished product that is ready to sell.
Write your business plan. You will need to plan everything from finances to marketing. Think ahead as much as possible. Research other companies. Based on your research, how much do you expect to make? How much will you spend? Develop a cash flow chart for at least the first 12 months.
When you publish your own book, you are starting a business. You will need to register your business and obtain a sales tax number. You should also apply for an FEIN number. Locate someone who can help you with this process and tell you the order of these steps. Determine a name for your publishing company. Do a search on the Internet to make sure the name isn't already being used. Try to choose a name that is easy for people to remember. Once these steps are done, check with your bank about opening a business account. Explain what you are doing to your banker, so he or she can assist you.
You can become a publisher by purchasing a set of ISBN numbers from Bowker. You only need one ISBN number for your book, but the minimum you can purchase is 10. You can order them online at http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/index.asp Be sure to decide on a projected publication date beforehand. If there are questions on the form that you can't answer, it would be a good idea to clear up those issues before you proceed.
Once you have received your ISBN list, assign one of the numbers to your book. Now you will need to contact the Library Of Congress for an LCCN number (Library Of Congress Control Number). This can be done Online as well at: http://pcn.loc.gov/pcnfaq.html . These are free.
This is an announcement of your upcoming book. Later on, you should return to this site to upload your cover image.
If you are planning to have your book in book stores, you will need a distributor. This should be done as soon as possible, because there will probably be a wait. In order to get a distributor, you will need a barcode for your book. Look up distributors to determine the type of barcode they require. You will need to have decided on a price for the book. To order a barcode go to:
Find out how far in advance of publication the distributor will need the application. They may also request a copy of the book. Research all of this before you send your paper work. It's a good idea to have a marketing plan in place to send with your application. Reviews are also a good idea. Distrbutors may ask for recommendations from Book Stores, but this may be difficult if you are a new publisher. It is worth a try, and if you get them that's great!
Write a news release to distribute to the media. Try to have a cover image ready to print on your news release and upload to Bowkerlink. Cover images are also great advertising for your book.
Once you have a finished copy of your book, contact managers of book stores, to request book signings. Be sure to let them know that you have contacted a distributor. (Don't forget to send a finished copy of your book to the Library Of Congress).
Once you have a distributor, your books are placed in book stores, and have set up book signings you are on your way. Enjoy your journey as a Self-Published author!
In the future, I will be giving more in-depth advice. Return to my site for detailed Self-Publishing instructions.
Marketing Your Book
I want to skip ahead a little bit to talk about marketing your book. You need to let people know that your book exists, and you need to do everything you can to get it noticed. Write a news release ahead of time. Put a picture of your cover image on the release. Take the news release to the media along with a copy of your book. Write a letter to go with it. Find out ahead of time who the contact person is.
Join a Writer's Group. They may be able to help you with marketing. Read your book or portions of it at Open Mics. Ask the book stores about special events where you can do book signings.
If you live in the Quad Cities area, I would recommend that you join the Midwest Writing Center. Go to: http://www.midwestwritingcenter.org/ for more information. They provide wonderful resources and support for authors.
If you don't have a website, get one. Develop your site with interesting material. Advertise. Submit your site to search engines. A lot of them are free, so submit to as many search engines as possible. If you wish to sell your book online, you may wish to get a shopping cart and a merchant account. ( I will be adding more details on these subjects later.)
Make business cards or bookmarks with your website address on them. Distribute them to as many people as possible.
Contact schools about doing presentations on writing and publishing. A lot of schools are interested in having author visits. Tell people about your book. Eventually word will get around if you are pesistant.
There are many places you can sell your books. Besides bookstores, you may want to cosider placing them in Gift Shops. You might also want to participate in fundraisers. If you do sell the books yourself, you will need to collect sales tax. If they are sold through stores they will collect the sales tax.
When your book is finished, you may wish to sign up with authorsden at the following link.
You may also sell your book on Google Base or Google Book Partners. Simply go to Google, follow instructions and sign up.
You may also promote your business by writing articles for ezines, publishing elert gadgets or squidoo lenses. You may also wish to add Google Adsense to your website in order to possibly earn money. In addition, you can advertise for other companies. There is a lot of information about this on my websites.
Producing Your Book
The methods you use to produce your book will vary from one publisher to another. You can find a book manufacturer to do the work for you, or you can do part or all of it yourself. If you choose to do the work yourself, you need a plan.
The best thing I can do is explain how I did it. I write children's picture books. I used photographs (with a little of my own art work) for my first original book. For the second one I used photos with a little computer art. My third original book included more computer art work combined with the photos. Below are some examples.
(These are from photos of my own children as described in the about us page.)
I am currently working with artist Melody Karns Trone. She is creating illustrations that are based on the actual living stars from my original books.
The way your book layout is set up will depend on how you wish to design it. My books are size 8 1/2 by 11, but they are saddle stitched. This means they need to be printed on paper that is twice that size. I also needed to use a landscape page layout which means that the page is wide instead of long. The pages are folded and stapled in the center.
To determine how the book should be set up, I took regular paper, folded it in half and wrote down what went on each page. It's a little tricky with this type of set up because each sheet of paper actually contains 4 pages. The first page is on the same sheet as the last page. This is why it's best to plan it on regular paper and figure out where the pictures go, etc. Once this is done you may number the pages. This is very helpful in determining how many pages will be in the book also. Below is a page from My Sister The Twister.
