Process 3 & 4: Production & Distribution

Self-publishing Author Advice about book production and distribution of audio, ebooks and print books

How To Self-Publish An Ebook On A Budget

Guest Post By Stephanie Zia

In a perfect world you'd consult and employ professionals at every stage to produce an ebook – from copy editing to formatting, proof reading, cover design and beyond. But not many of us have the resources to do that. I certainly didn't.

I was blogging my discoveries as I learnt until, in July 2010, I decided to gather everything into an ebook for other writers with little publishing and technical knowledge. Here is a quick run-down on my methods of producing an ebook with little or no initial outlay.   When you've finished writing, put the work away, had another look, re-edited etc etc. and find you really have reached “The End” and are ready to publish, the next stage is to copy edit.

1. A copy editor corrects grammar and spelling mistakes, looks for consistencies in spelling, capitalisations and spacings, and checks facts, names, dates, references, timescales in fiction, and so on. This is obviously a

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How Indie Authors Can Work With Trade Publishers

Jackie Collins Independent Author

Jackie Collins now successfully combining self-publishing and trade-publishing

Today, in the fifth and final part of our ‘Which Distributor’ series, Orna Ross explains how independent authors can successfully work with trade publishers to distribute some of their books.

At a writers conference, an agent and writer are putting out tentative feelers towards each other. The agent is from a venerable company, with a long list of illustrious clients. The writer is an independent author, who has earned her indie spurs by successfully self-publishing two ebook thriller titles (with more on the way) and building a vibrant and growing fanbase, both for her books and her writing advice website.

The agent wants to sign this author, who is young, hardworking, full of ideas, with many books ahead of her. The author is actively seeking a trade publisher, because she wants a third party to handle print.  For her, print takes too long and requires the sort of activities that don't interest her. It's the one thing trade publishing can do better than she can do for herself, she believes.

The two talk, they seem to understand each other. Back home, the agent sends over an  Author Representation Agreement but before she's read too far, the writer is concerned. A clause states that the agent will

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Is DIY Distribution Best For Self-Publishers?

Self Publish yourself or get somebody to distribute the books for you

Today, in the fourth part of our ‘Which Distributor’ series where Alliance members share the experiences, Elizabeth Lorraine, vampire lover, TwiMom, avid gardener, world traveler and author of the Royal Blood Chronicles explains why she prefers to go direct to retailers.

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For me, even though it takes a little time, I prefer to go to each site and upload my books myself, rather than use a middlman service. I have three main reasons for this:

  • I like being able to track daily sales.
  • It makes it easier for marketing, since I can tell if something is working right away and act accordingly.
  • I get paid monthly.

I started out on Create Space, Amazon’s self publishing engine for print, in the fall of 2009. Those first years they didn’t make it easy for you to get the formatting right. I had to

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Lightning Source Best for Self-Publishers?

 

Ben Galley

Today, in the third part of our ‘Which Distributor' series where Alliance members share the experiences they've enjoyed with distributors, author Ben Galley gives us his take on Print on Demand (POD) company Lightning Source:

If your book were a delicious pie, distributors would be the ones who put it in the hands of the supermarkets.

It's a very simple analogy, but it rings true. Distribution is the supply link between our printers and the bookstores, and without it, our books would simply never reach our readers' hands. That's a painful vision. And to me, so is keeping a veritable mountain of books in your garage, shipping one at a time, staring at the big hole in your bank account.

No, thank you, I want a different road.

With the advent of the digital revolution came Print on Demand, and with it came distribution relationships. Now, POD companies have forged relationships with the wholesaler distributors to allow us indies access to

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International Rights Agent To Work With Alliance of Independent Authors

Jennifer Custer, International Rights Director, AM Heath

We’re delighted to announce that we have secured the services of Jennifer Custer, Rights Director at AM Heath, to represent those of our members who have suitable books in translation markets.

Founded in 1919, AM Heath has always been one of the UK's leading literary agencies and has represented some of the iconic writers of the 20th Century. The agency currently represents a broad range of best-selling and award-winning authors, including novelists, historians, biographers, and children's authors — and has a reputation for successfully launching talented newcomers.

The agency offers representation in all markets and all languages throughout the world and Jennifer Custer heads up the international rights department. “We have huge successes,” says Custer. “Many of our authors, Hilary Mantel, Conn Iggulden, and

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Guest Post: How Author Collectives Boost Self-Publishing

Triskele Books is a team of six, three of whom are publishing books this summer. We Indie Authors self-publishing as collective Triskele Booksall have day jobs and different skill sets but what we share is that  we’re all writers.

Together, we make one hell of a team.

The motivation behind the birth of Triskele came after a series of online conversations over a few months, culminating in a meeting in a posh London hotel to decide if this idea really had legs. We'd known each other online for about six years and although we lived in different countries, we were

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