Indie Endeavors, Part 5 – What the Heck is an ISBN?

So you’re thinking of self-publishing?  Jump into my how-to series…

• Part 1: My Eight-Year Journey
• Part 2: Tradtional vs. Self-Publishing
• Part 3: A Word About Editing
• Part 4: Cover Images

Next week we can begin diving into some of the publishing sites on the web, but before I do, a short discussion of ISBNs may be in order.  One of the first questions you will be asked before you begin publication is if you want to provide your own ISBN or not.  That begs the question, what the heck is an ISBN, anyway?

An International Standard Book Number is a unique 13-digit number given to every newly-published book and used for identification and cataloguing purposes around the world.  (Books dated before 2007 will have 9- or 10-digit numbers.)  Each country has its own distributor.  In America, that distributor is the Bowker Agency.  Anyone can purchase and register an ISBN through the Bowker website; however, if you purchase only one, it isn’t cheap.  Prices drop considerably when you buy additional numbers.  If you are interested in purchasing your own ISBN and you plan to write more than one book, you may want to consider purchasing ten numbers instead of just one, because it won’t cost much more, and the numbers are good forever.

Most digital publishers, however, purchase ISBNs in bulk and offer them freely to authors who publish through them.  AND they take care of any paperwork.  Is there a catch?  Yes, a small one.  The number issued by a company will point to that company.  In short, that means in within the cataloguing details, it will be easily deduced that you are a self-published author.

Last spring, I didn’t really understand how this all worked, so I undertook the expense and hassle of purchasing a set of three ISBNs.  And to make matters worse, I purchased through a reseller.  I did get a fair price, which included digital bar codes, but I have since come to regret my decision.  First, registering the numbers through this particular reseller was a pain, and my first attempt didn’t even go through.  Second, I found out that most publishers will generate a bar code anyway, so that part of my purchase was unnecessary.  Third, I found out that every edition of a book (hardcover, softcover and every ebook format) requires a separate ISBN, which gets expensive in a hurry!  And finally, I came to realize that the only ones who really look through the numbers are mostly bookstore people and librarians – not my primary market.  Joe Schmo who purchases my book off Amazon couldn’t care less what my ISBN is, let alone who issued it.

So I was out a hundred and forty buck with little to show for it.  I never even used the third number.  Since my early blunder, I happily accept whatever free ISBN is offered.  It’s made absolutely no difference, and it’s MUCH cheaper and easier.  If you want to pursue the placement of your book in libraries and bookstores, you may want to research this further, but it’s pretty tough for an indie to get inside brick-and-mortar.  So my advice would be, go for the freebie.

Part 6: Publishing ebooks on Kindle

Indie Endeavors, Part 4 – Cover Images

So you’re thinking of self-publishing?  Jump into my how-to series…

• Part 1: My Eight-Year Journey
• Part 2: Tradtional vs. Self-Publishing
• Part 3: A Word About Editing

Before you publish your manuscript, you must design a cover.  Even an ebook has a cover image associated with it.  It’s the first thing your potential readers will see, and you know what they say about first impressions.  Make it count!   Whether or not a person chooses to purchase your book is often directly related to the quality of your cover.

So what makes a great cover image?  It should be professional, appealing and uncluttered.  The title should be clearly readable even when the picture is reduced to the size of a thumbnail.  The author’s name is usually smaller and less important, unless you’re Steven King, but it should still be visible.  And the cover may or may not feature a snappy quote from a review.  Finally, the finished product should be saved in at least 300 dpi (dots per inch) to prevent a grainy image.

Sound like a tall order?  You can hire this done if you’d like.  Word-of-mouth recommendation are easy to come by on sites like Goodreads, Shelfari, or LibraryThing where lots of authors hang out.  There, you can “shop around” for covers you like.  If you find one, simply ask the author who designed it.  Or you can ask for recommendations on a forum like BookBlogs.  Here’s an example of one such comment thread.

But designing your own cover is cheaper, and it’s actually kind of fun.  All you need is image-editing software and images, and both are pretty easy to find.  You can use your own pictures, but if you’re no photographer, there are millions to choose from on the web.  But remember, copyrights pay a large role here.  Don’t just assume everything is freely available for your use.  Many sites on the web stock images you can purchase and use, but if you know where to look, you can find lots of great pictures for free.

Public domain images may be used by anyone in any way they wish.  For the most part, these include pictures taken before 1923, photographs of historical artworks, and government photos.  These can be found on sites run by state libraries, historical commissions, museums, universities and the Library of Congress.  There are even search engines to help you locate what you need.  Try everystockphoto.com.

Creative Commons provides another great way to find free photos.  Under a CC license, the copyright holder maintains only some of their rights.  The most generous terms allow a user free rein, but they must credit the copyright holder.  This is called attribution.  There are several levels of CC terms, however, so make certain you know which one an image is licensed under before using it.  I’ve found most of my CC images on Flickr and Photobucket.  (For a fuller explanation of both public domain and Creative Commons copyrights, visit http://www.pdimages.com/.)

Once you find an image you like, you need software.  Photoshop is the first program that comes to mind, but free downloadable programs do exist.  PaintNet is the one I use.  It’s been fairly easy to figure out, though I admit I’m still a novice.  There are plenty of plug-ins and features I haven’t even tried yet.  I’ve also heard decent things about Gimp, and there were many more options when I googled “photo software”.  Keep in mind that it may take some time and practice (and maybe some on-line tutorials) to learn the ins and outs of your program, so have patience, but once you’ve got the basics down, you can begin to choose fonts, colors and image effects to create exactly the cover image you desire.  Cut out sections of a picture, fade others, shrink them, move them, or even layer multiple images to create a collage.  The possibilities are endless.

In conclusion, a cover image seems like a huge obstacle at first, but it can be solved without too much pain.  Because I didn’t want to invest a great deal of money into self-publishing projects that may or may not pay for themselves, I chose to create my own cover images.  You can see them in the right hand column of my blog. Not the best ever, I freely admit, but I think they make a decent first impression.  And my books are earning a profit, not paying off a debt.  I’ll consider hiring an artist down the road.

Go to Part 5: What the Heck is an ISBN?

Indie Endeavors, part 3 – A Word About Editing

So you’re thinking of self-publishing?  Jump into my how-to series…

• Part 1: My Eight-Year Journey
• Part 2: Traditional vs. Self-Publishing

In my first post, I shared the path that led to my own decision to self-publish.  In my second, I briefly compared traditional and self publishing.  Now it’s time to get to the nitty-gritty.  How do you get your story out there for the rest of the world to read?

Okay, you have a polished manuscript that’s seen suggestions and revisions.  You’re ready to publish, right?  Don’t even think about it until your manuscript has been thoroughly edited.  I know, I know, even professionally prepared books sometimes contain errors.  But indie books have gathered a notoriously bad reputation in this department, and for good reason.  Many of the ones I’ve read have been so poorly edited that I hesitate to purchase them without previewing first.  And this coming from a self-published author!

It’s a good idea to hire a professional editor.  They’re simple enough to find through a Google search, but with fees charged per word, it can get costly in a hurry.  (Self-published author and blogger Lindsay Buroker recently posted a nice summary of three degrees of professional editing and their price tags.)  So I chose a non-professional option:

After the completion of my manuscript, I set it aside for a few weeks to let some of the details sift from my memory.  Then I read it again, twice, purely to search for errors.  After that, I sent it off to three fellow writers.  None of us proofread for a living, but we all have spell check and an excellent grasp of grammar.  I couldn’t believe how many errors I missed!  After making corrections, I went ahead and published my books…only to find they still weren’t ready!  My first few reviewers picked up on another ten or twelve typos and homophones (ie. sees/seas) in each book.

You’ll recall that my first several titles were published about the same time, so this process overlapped in a three-book mess.  One of my early titles, because it is the second in a series, didn’t receive quite the same amount of proofreading given to the others.  (Everyone wanted to read the first one.)  To my utter embarrassment, when I reread it several months after publication, I found dozens of errors.  I was horrified!  It has since received the attention that should have been lavished on it immediately.  Fortunately, digital publishing makes the correction of errors a fairly simple matter.  It cannot, however, erase the impression readers received when they purchased my unprofessional book.

So what have I learned?  Editing requires time and meticulous care.  And more eyes is definitely better.  A dozen typos isn’t horrible in a 50,000-word novel, but that’s still way more than I want.  (Dozens is unacceptable.)  For my next novel, I will repeat all the steps I mentioned above.  Then I’ll label my book as an ARC (advanced readers copy) and send it out to a much wider group of proofreaders, including some of the reviewers I’ve been fortunate to meet this past year.  Only after these come back and additional corrections are made will I launch my book.

I made a mess of my first attempts, and I do NOT want to repeat those mistakes.  Readers deserve a quality product immedietly (not to mention your reputation).  Take the time to give it to them.

**I’ll be without my laptop for a few days, so bear with me when I don’t reply to comments immediately. 

Go to Part 4: Cover Images

How to Self-Publish on Smashwords

This spring I decided to publish some of my manuscripts on the Smashwords website.  It will never make me rich, mostly because I’m a terrible marketer, but I’ve made a little fun money at it.  And it’s rewarding – extremely rewarding – to see my stories finally find an audience.  I recently encouraged a fellow writer to publish his work online as well, and it caused me to wonder how many other writers out there might benefit from this up-and-coming outlet.

If you’re not familiar with Smashwords, let me explain.  This is a site where you can purchase original titles from a variety of genres in any ebook file format from independent authors.  (Click for a listing and explanation of ebook formats.)  The files can then be uploaded to any reading device, including Kindle, Nook, Kobo, phones, or apps for pcs.  But the greatest thing about Smashwords is that aspiring authors no longer have to aspire.  They can publish their work and sell it at no cost to themselves.

How do I get started, you may be asking.  Simple.  Just head to the Smashwords website and create your own account.  Then read through the FAQ on the dashboard at the top of the page.  It will give you all the information you need to get started.  Let me point out, however, that Smashwords does not offer an editing service.  You have to make sure your manuscript is in tip-top shape before you publish it.

When you are ready to begin formatting for publication, it is vital that you read through the Smashwords Style Guide, a free-to-download manual with lots of tips and shortcuts.  READ IT!  It will save you time and tears.  Believe me, I tried it on my own first.  After several hours and lots of frustration, I ended up reading it anyway.  Also, let me put in a punch for the “nuclear option” it recommends.  Same story.  (Here’s a tip: I downloaded the Style Guide to my Kindle where I could reference it easily as I used my computer to format.)  If you’d rather not format on your own, the Style Guide suggests others who will do it for you at a cost.

Once your manuscript looks good, upload it and publish!  It will automatically become available for sale on the Smashwords website as is, whether it has errors or not.  It’s a good idea to download your new ebook and preview it in the MOBI and EPUB formats, since these are the two biggies.  If your pc won’t open one of them, look into free software downloads.  (Check out the MOBI and EPUB subtitles on this blog post for some options.)  It’s worth taking the time to check them out, fix obvious errors, and resubmit.

Smashwords then offers a variety of ways to market your published work.  You will be given an author page on the Smashwords website.  And you’ll want to gain acceptance to the Smashwords Premium Catalog, which will list your work with all the major online ebook retailers like Barnes and Noble (Nook), Amazon (Kindle) and others.  Once you’ve published your work, it will go into a queue to be checked for “autovetting” errors (which may take several days, depending on how many publications are ahead of yours).  If there are any errors, they will be listed with an explanation and resources to help you fix them.  Fix your errors and resubmit!  Only when your publication is free of errors will it be admitted into the catalog and offered to retailers, so it pays to take your time and format correctly.  For other suggestions on marketing your work, check out the free-to-download Smashwords Book Marketing Guide.

Then where you take your book is up to you.  Link to your book from your blog or website.  Offer free downloads to bloggers who do reviews.  Check out the FAQ for creating coupon for freebies and discounts.   Join Goodreads or Shelfari and promote your work.  The sky is the limit!  But first you have to take that first step.  Go to Smashwords and create your account right now.

eBook File Formats

During the last few years, ebooks sales have been on the rise.  This is true in part because downloads are far cheaper to produce than print editions, therefore, they are priced much lower.  But ebooks are also gaining popularity because of the variety of apps and devices available on which to read them.  And each device requires a different ebook format – many of which are available on Smashwords.com, an online ebook retailer and distributor.

I published on Smashwords and had a whale of a time trying to figure out which format matched which ereader, because I couldn’t find a succinct list.  I suspect there are others out there interested in producing or downloading ebooks who are having the same difficulty, so I will attempt to clarify what I have learned based on the formats offered by Smashwords.  I’m sure this list will not be exhaustive, so feel free to comment.

The EPUB format seems to be the most widely used.  It is compatible with the Barnes and Noble Nook; the Apple iPad; iPhone and iPod Touch; the Bookeen Cybook Opus; Sony Readers; the Bookworm Online ePub eBook Reader, a free online platform usable with any web browser;  the Kobo eReader; the Elonex eReader; iRiver Touch eReader; and the BeBook readers.  Apps include: ibisReader; Aldiko for Android devices; Stanza, for Windows, Mac, and the iPhone; Book Glutton: The Unbound Reader, for any computer with an internet connection; FBReader for many devices; Calibre; and Azarti.

MOBI for the Kindle and the MobiPocket Reader.

PDB for Palm reading devices.

LRF for older Sony Readers.

Besides the above, Smashwords makes available several formats compatible with most computers, including PDF, RFT and Plain text, as well as HTML and Javascript for online viewing over most web browsers.

If you have any of the above-mentioned devices or even a laptop or desktop, you can download ebooks from Smashwords.  You’ll find thousands of categorized books generally priced at $3.00 or less.  Many are FREE!  All you have to do to start reading is sign up for a free account.  And once you purchase an ebook, you can download it as many times as you like, in multiple formats.

If you don’t have any of the fancy apps or devices but can view from a computer, I’d recommend the easily-readable PDF version.  If you have a computer with a web browser, JavaScript is nice, too.  DON’T order Plain text or HTML; they lack formatting.  And RTF doesn’t seem to transfer complete formatting during conversion, so steer away if possible.

So, now you’re armed and dangerous.  Log on to Smashwords and start your ebook library today!