So you have made some money selling ebooks and information products, but now the old dream of actually becoming a famous published author of a REAL book has started to haunt you again.
Or maybe you’re being approached by people who wants the paperback version of your book. Familiy members call you and ask you why they can’t find your books in the local bookstore? (by the way, only a minority of “authors” make it into those places these days. )
You’ve heard a bit about “print on demand” and publishing and wonder how easy it would be to actually get a “proper book” created. You may even know of Lulu, Lightningsource and possibly CafePress as someone that can help you get the e off your ebook and finally turn that virtual product into something substantial:
A book that fits on a bookshelf.
The truth is that for someone who knows what they are doing, this stuff is easy, maybe even downright boring. It’s important, but it is a technical “A to Z” process that needs no creative input at all. It’s a list of things to do.
The list of things you MUST and SHOULD do, only come to about 11 tasks in total and some of them are REALLY simple. In my “manuscript to printed book” process one of the tasks simply reads “get ISBN number”.
The difference between us (I presume) is that I actually have some already. When I run out I also know where to get them. That is actually the core point to this whole book and interestingly the whole reason why we got books in the first place. Knowing.
Knowledge and our lust for it. That’s what drives the book publishing industry. Sharing the information that we know. Maybe the desire to share your knowledge was one of the reasons why you started to publish ebooks in the first place (other than making money from them of course).
Over the next few days (or pages, depending on where you are reading this.) my aim is to make sure that you know
– how and who to select as your print on demand partner(s)
– the step by step tasks you need to complete to get your ebook ready for printing.
– The legal requirements of ISBN numbers and where to buy them if you want to own your own ISBN numbers
– what the benefits and downsides are to using someone elses ISBN numbers and why you should never use “resellers”
You’ll also know more about print on demand, digital short print runs, book distributors and where to register your book so that every book store in your country (and even the world) can order YOUR paperback book for that family member of yours that’s been browsing for your titles all this time!
