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July 25, 2005
11 Tips to Avoid Self-Publishing Traps
Marilyn and Tom Ross are the coauthors of 13 books including The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing.
They give the following advice to self publishing authors:
Self-publishing used to be the Rodney Dangerfield of book publishing. It didn’t get “no respect.” Today that’s all changed. With originally self-published books like The Celestine Prophecy, Butter Busters, The Christmas Box, and What Color is Your Parachute? monopolizing bestseller lists—do-it-yourself publishing is very much in vogue.
To be successful, however, it’s mandatory that you adhere to certain guidelines. By following the tips below, you’ll avoid the pitfalls and enhance your chances of flourishing.
1. Educate yourself. Self-publishing is a business. Approach it as such. There are informative books on the subject, seminars offered, and associations where you can learn the ropes and network with the more experienced. This can be very lucrative if properly approached. Conversely, you can waste thousands of dollars by blundering along without knowledge or a plan.
2. Study the competition. Don’t add more to a subject that’s already glutted. Be sure the topic hasn’t been overdone. Just checking a local library or bookstore is not adequate research. Look in Books in Print Subject Guide and Forthcoming Books in Print Subject Guide. You’ll be amazed at how many books there are on the topic. Yours must be better than what’s already available. Make it shorter, longer, easier to use, more informative, funnier, richer in content, or better organized. For fiction, try to tie into a hot topic so you have a “hook” for publicity.
3. Write what other people want. Catering to your personal desires often makes for...
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Posted by Andreas at July 25, 2005 07:40 AM
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