The Digital Scholar

Do you want to see your book in print, but don’t have the patience to follow the rigorous process of finding a publisher? Self-publishing still harbors all kinds of negative connotations, but it isn’t what it used to be. For this reason, I prefer to think of self-publishing as “independent publishing.” These resources can help you get your book into print for little or no cost, whether you eventually plan to find an established publisher for your book or go it alone.

In becoming an independent publisher, you take on the responsibility of editing, designing, printing, marketing, and selling your book, although you can farm out any of these activities to someone else. In the past, self-publishing was usually equated with vanity presses, which usually require payment by authors or a minimum purchase of copies. The advent of print-on-demand (POD) and other technologies have changed the playing field, so now you can take control of all aspects of publishing your (or someone else’s) book.

I have yet to try out independent publishing myself, but I have been researching it to see if it is something I would like to pursue. I cannot personally recommend or vouch for the resources listed below beyond any brief comments I happen to make about them, but there are several books that compare and rate the quality of various independent publishing options. I highly recommend that you read a few books and thoroughly research any company before you commit to publishing with them.

If you know of or think I should add other resources to these lists, please contact me. I’d love to hear about them.

• Books on Independent Publishing
• Publishing Services
• Independent Publishing Resources
• Related Articles from The Digital Scholar

Books on Independent Publishing

• Complete Guide to Self Publishing: Everything You Need to Know to Write, Publish, Promote, and Sell Your Own Book by Tom Ross and Marilyn Ross – A comprehensive guide to independent publishing. Even though it could use some updating, the principles it outlines remain in place.
• Book Design and Production by Pete Masterson.
• Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual: How to Write, Print and Sell Your Own Book by Dan Poynter.
• The Fine Print of Self Publishing: The Contracts & Services of 45 Self-Publishing Companies Analyzed Ranked & Exposed by Mark Levine.
• Niche Publishing: Publish Profitably Every Time! by Gordon Burgett.
• Print-on-Demand Book Publishing: A New Approach To Printing And Marketing Books For Publishers And Self-Publishing Authors by Morris Rosenthal.
• Self-Publishing For Dummies by Jason R. Rich.
• Top Self Publishing Firms: How Writers Get Published, Sell More Books, And Rise To The Top: And Make Money Working From Home With The Best Print On Demand Self-Publishing Companies by Stacie Vander Pol.
• The Well-Fed Self-Publisher: How to Turn One Book into a Full-Time Living by Peter Bowerman.

Publishing Services

• About Books
• Author Solutions
  
• Blurb
• CreateSpace – This is Amazon’s self-publishing unit. Books published through this site will appear on Amazon.com.
• Creative Minds Press
• iUniverse
• Lightning Source
• Lulu
• Mill City Press
• Xlibris
• Wordclay

Independent Publishing Resources

• Bowker – Purchase ISBN numbers for your book through Bowker.
• Preassigned Control Number Program from the Library of Congress – Apply for a catalog control number that the Library of Congress assigns to each book to help librarians locate its catalog record.
• Self-Publishing Book Expo
  
• Self-Publishing Review – An online magazine devoted to self-publishing.
• Small Publisher’s Association of North America (SPAN)
• The United States Copyright Office – Information and links to register your book with the U.S. Copyright Office.

Related Articles from The Digital Scholar

• The Author as Publisher – The blurring of the line between the author and the publisher in the digital publisher world.
• The “Finished” Book – Changing assumptions about the nature of the book.