The Self-Publish Your Book Without Breaking The Bank series are FREE step-by-step guides to take your book from story to print.
They show you the steps to publish your ebook and print book on Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).
The Number One thing most people don’t understand about self-publishing.
If they buy their own ISBN number, then they are the publisher.
Amazon, IngramSpark, Apple iBooks, and other similar services are their printers and distributors. They can use any or all of these services. They can have their book printed at an offset printing company. It’s their book and they can do what they want with it.
HELPFUL LINKS FOR SELF-PUBLISHERS
Organizations
SCBWI - Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. www.scbwi.org
ALLi- The Alliance of Independent Authors. https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org
Desktop Publishing Software
Books on Writing and Editing
Comic Life - Easy to use software to layout and format your book for publication. Great for first time authors! www.plasq.com
Affinity Publisher - Low cost, professional software to layout and format your book for publication. Great for books that have a complex layout. www.affinity.serif.com
How to Create a Successful Children's Picture Book - by Bobbie Hinman
How to Master The Art of Writing Children’s Books - by Bobbie Hinman
Bobbie Hinman shares her easy-to-follow advice on writing and publishing books that children will love. www.bestfairybooks.com
Write A+ Papers - by Beverly Herrick -Spelling, punctuation and grammar are the tools of your trade. “Write A+ Papers”, uses the “Sentence Identification Method” to quickly improve your writing skills. www.writeapapers.com
Starting a Self-Publishing Company
How to Set Up An Author Business- Covers the different types of author businesses and the advantages and disadvantages of each type. https://nonfictionauthorsassociation.com/how-to-set-up-an-author-business-by-mike-kowis-esq/
How to Start a Publishing Company- Great article that covers the steps and questions about starting a self-publishing company. https://kindlepreneur.com/how-to-start-a-publishing-company/
Graphic Software
DAZ Studio - 3D character software that authors can use to create their own illustrations for their children’s books. www.Daz3D.com
Affinity Photo - Low cost, professional graphic editing software to edit your photos and illustrations. www.affinity.serif.com
Book Publishers for Self - Published Authors
Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) - Amazon’s self-publishing division. The best place for all self-published authors to start. www.KDP.amazon.com
IngramSpark - Useful for publishing hardcover books and books for distribution to bookstores and libraries. www.ingramspark.com
Note: As long as you own your ISBNs, you can self-publish your books with any distributor.
Copyright, ISBN, LCCN and CIP Block
U.S. Copyright Office - Create an account and register your work. www.copyright,gov
Bowkers - Where to purchase ISBN numbers (for books printed in the U.S.) eBooks do not require an ISBN number. www.myidentifiers.com
LCCN (optional) - Library of Congress (LOC) PrePub Book Link. The LCCN is the control number that librarians use to catalog books. https://www.loc.gov/publish/prepubbooklink/about/index.html
CIP Block (optional) - CIP blocks for Independent Publishers www.cipblock.com
When the book is published, the publisher includes the CIP data on the copyright page (usually the verso of the title page of print books), thereby facilitating book processing for libraries and book dealers. Note: A CIP Block is not required to be present on the copyright page.
Book Cover Creation
KDP Cover Calculator - Download a template to create a cover for your KDP book. https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/cover-templates
Getcovers - Low-cost cover creation service. https://getcovers.com
Book Brush - Easy to use cover creator for KDP books. Subscription service. https://bookbrush.com
Comissioning an Illustration
Randy Gallegos’ Guide For Publishers: Learning How to Commission Illustration - A pamphlet that lays out what commissioning illustration looks like, what information you need to know, so you can present your project to illustrators in a way that they'll be interested in working with you.
Download the 32 page PDF.
