Self-publishing is not for everyone. It’s not for the impatient. It’s not for those dreaming of great successes. Self-publishing is one of the hardest gigs to get into—that has been proven by hundreds (if not thousands) of authors who have self-published books. That’s not to say you cannot have great success, or even quick success, if you self-publish. It just won’t happen for most. Ted Heller recently wrote an article for Salon complaining about his own self-publishing experience. Heller had three previous books published the traditional way. When his latest book West of Babylon, didn’t get a bite, he decided to go the self-publishing...

After reading my review of David Gaughran's self-help guide to visibility-raising for self-publishers, Let’s Get Visible: How to Get Noticed and Sell More Books, Gaughran himself got in touch with me and outlined some of his views on traditional media exposure and self-publishing. As I noted in the review, traditional publicity venues didn't feature much in his book, and Gaughran explained to me why. With his permission, I'm reproducing his remarks, which may help other self-published authors still further with their marketing choices. “Right now ... there are very, very few paths to success outside Amazon, and I felt the book had...

As self-publishers gain legitimacy, the Writers’ Union of Canada is considering membership for the indie authors. The story was first reported on CBC (and linked to on The Passive Voice). The union represents more than 1,900 authors in Canada. The voting will take place at the end of the month in Ottawa. “I think it's been bubbling under the surface for a few years," John Degen, TWUC's executive director, told CBC. “There are a lot of young writers who are sold on the idea of having that level of control over their careers, which has nothing to do with their success in...

A couple of weeks ago I read about Draft2Digital, an e-book distributor still in beta mode. They got my attention with their claim to be able to turn a Word doc into a functional EPUB or Mobi (Kindle) file. Naturally I had to check them out, so I asked for a beta code, and I've been playing around with their conversions ever since, to see if they're any good. The results so far have been fair. I threw them a Word doc of my nonfiction book, which had previously given Barnes & Noble fits. Amazon had handled it well, but the...

Self-publishing means anyone can put out a book—from first-time authors trying to make a name for themselves, to celebrities who have the star power necessary to move units. The next big name to jump into the self-publishing fray? Actor Jim Carrey. According to a video interview Carrey conducted with the website, Hit Fix he's publishing a children’s book titled How Roland Rolls. “It's a story about a wave named Roland," Carrey told Hit Fix, who's afraid when one day he hits the beach [that] his life is going to be over. It’s deep. He’s struck by the notion that he’s not just the wave—that he’s the...

Canadian Government Creates Snitch Line to Report Librarians who Speak Publicly (Boing Boing) Self-Selling Self- Published Author Jennifer L. Armentrout Signs Six-Figure Deal (Digital Book World) Details on Copyright Register Maria Pallante's Call for Reform (Techdirt) Amazon Now Allows Schools to Buy Apps in Bulk with Whispercast (Good e-Reader) Kindle Daily Deals: Slipping Into Darkness by Peter Blauner (and 3 others)  ...

More than a few self-published authors, of course, have found serious success through various channels over the years—selling a vast amount of books on their own, for instance, or having their previously self-published book picked up by a big publishing concern. And yet, contrary to popular belief, not every self-published author actually wants to be picked up by a mainstream publishing house. Some are more than happy working independently, and pocketing as much money from their DIY publishing project as possible. This topic was brought up last Sunday, March 10, during the Self-Publishing in the Age of E panel at the SXSW in Austin, Texas. The...

By now, the success of indie author Hugh Howey has been widely publicized, including here on TeleRead. Howey wrote Wool, a book split into five novellas set in a dystopian future. Read Joanna Cabot’s review of the Wool Omnibus here. Howey recently did a radio interview with Orla Barry of The Green Room on Newstalk, during which he discussed his deal with movie director Ridley Scott (Prometheus, Black Hawk Down), who bought the movie rights to the book. Howey also discusses the rise in popularity of Wool. Howey didn’t expect Wool to take off the way it did, gaining steam without much marketing on...

Being able to trust a book review on popular sites such as Amazon and Goodreads is getting difficult. These sites have fake reviews—some good and some bad—designed to work the system by raising and droping books in the rankings. Amy Holman Edelman and those at IndieReader are looking to help readers with this problem. They recently created a Kickstarter campaing to raise funds for Rabble Reads, a website with aggregated book reviews for both traditionally published and self-published books. (Think Rotten Tomatoes for readers.) [caption id="attachment_80523" align="alignright" width="176"] Amy Holman Edelman[/caption] “This site will help people to zero in and what’s good and what’s not,” says Holman Edelman, of Montclair, N.J....

Note: This giveaway has ended. Click here to read about the winners. It's a TeleRead Giveaway! The name of author and entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki has held a lot of weight for a long time in the go-go-go entrepreneurial start-up scene—especially among the tech community in Silicon Valley, where Kawasaki lives, works, and cranks out book after book about social media, marketing, the entrepreneurial mindset, and succeeding wildly at business ventures large or small. But with the recent publication of his latest tome, APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur - How to Publish a Book, Kawasaki has ventured into the realm of digital self-publishing. He describes the...

I've written plenty on this site about e-book conversion (most recently here and here), and I almost skipped over the Bowker press release. I'm glad I decided to investigate further. Okay, quick details first. From the release: Once an author has decided to self-publish, the next step of creating an eBook alongside print is obvious – it is too big a market. Not too far in the future I believe we’ll drop the “e” and we’ll just have books,” stated DCL CEO Mark Gross. “We applaud Bowker for recognizing the need for trustworthy conversion services for its customers, and are honored to...

Self-publishing a book can come with pre-conceived notions from readers, other writers and even publishers. People used to think self-publishing a book meant it wasn’t good enough to get picked up by traditional houses. However, the stigma of self-publishing is changing. Success stories have become more and more abundant, and the shock those successes caused even five to 10 years ago is slowly beginning to dissipate. Those in the industry have watched the development closely. Smashwords founder Mark Coker began his site five years ago as an outlet for self-published authors. It started small and has grown into a site where nearly...