13 Action-Oriented posts to help you reach your self-publishing goals

Yesterday we shared 10 inspirational posts about writing, and today we're bringing you 13 posts for successful distribution. These posts are a small but important representation of industry and indie author experience that will help you with the key self-publishing decisions you need to make.

1) You've written your manuscript now what? Don't forget to make sure you have a back up of all your manuscripts and marketing files. I personally lost everything about 15 years ago when I got the Blue-Screen of death on my PC. I didn't have a back-up and learnt the hard way about the importance of backing up EVERYTHING.

2) If you don't “go digital” you're missing a huge sales opportunity. This low cost distribution option is ideal of beginning authors, and the backbone of the the indie author movement, but should you go exclusive with KDP or  distribute as wide as possible? Find out what Susan Kaye Quinn and Pippa DaCosta have to say about which model works best for which kind of books, and the pros and cons of each approach.

3) Karen Myers put together a handy self-publishing checklist to help you get your books in the hands of as many readers as possible by seeking broader distribution through as many channels as possible.

4) Draft2Digital's Dan Wood  explains the different requirements of each of the major ebook distributors and how to give your book the best chance of landing one of those coveted spots on Amazon, Apple, Kobo, and Nook.

5) Once you've defined your distribution model, Penny C Sansevieri, Founder and CEO Author Marketing Experts, Inc. provides tips and advice about how to optimise your Amazon listing by correctly using keywords, categories, and themes.

6) Before you decide how to price your book, there are lots of questions you should ask yourself to make sure you’re not selling yourself short or pricing yourself out of the market. Blog Editor Debbie Young provides you with 5 questions you need to ask yourself before you set your price.

7) As ebook pricing is such an important factor of your indie author business model, Debbie also shared 12 Top Tips for setting your book's price, which is a fundamental resource lists for beginning authors.

8) You may not be ready to release you're book yet, but that doesn't mean you need to keep it under wraps until launch day. Smashword's Mark Coker explains how to leverage the preorder process to sell more books.

9) There's always so much written about distributing via Apple, but ALLi watchdog Giacomo Giammatteo shares how to make more money for your self-published books via Apple, using its affiliate program and other ideas.

10) If you're at the beginning of your self-publishing journey don't feel pressured into releasing your book in print unless it fits into your indie author strategy. Robin Cutler from IngramSpark chats to Orna Ross about how to assess whether print is right for you and how to incorporate a print book release into your indie author strategy.

11) The choice between using CreateSpace and Ingram Spark for your print on demand needs isn’t an either/or decision. Here at the Alliance of Independent Authors we recommend using CreateSpace and Ingram Spark for their strengths, and this article breaks down the information you need to make informed decisions.

12) The third element in the format equation is audio books, and ALLi advisor Joanna Penn shares how to self-publish and market audiobooks and lays out your narration options. She also talks about the important role podcasting plays in building an author platform.

13) Do you need an ISBN? If you've listened to any of the Ask ALLi podcasts with Orna Ross and Joanna, you'll know how frequently this question rears it's ugly head. So a round-up about book production wouldn't be complete without this comprehensive post on the topic of ISBNs brought to you by ALLi watchdog Giacomo Giammatteo.

There you have it, tips, advice and options from other self-publishing professionals to help you make the decisions to achieve your indie author goals in 2017.