It’s almost exactly ten weeks since I decided to take the plunge into my blog archives to see if I could wrestle an actual book from its depths. If you’ve followed along, you’ve seen me take these steps:
- Find ways to create a book from blog articles.
- Go through the book creation process,
- Look at picking book titles and covers,
- Set up the title for Books in Print
- Examine how to get testimonials
- Put the book out for print on demand production
- Review how to write a press release for the book
- Examine how to use the testimonials you get in your media kit
- Solicit other bloggers for guest posting opportunities
- Put together an online and downloadable
I’ll also have a mini-tutorial coming on publishing with Barnes & Noble’s Pubit e-book service and several other aspects of this publication.
But today we’ve reached a milestone in the journey of this book. It’s now for sale on Amazon as both a print book and a Kindle e-book. Later this week the ePub version will come online at BN.com, and a little after that the book will be in Apple’s iBookstore.
This journey hasn’t been without its ups and downs, and I’m collecting material for another post about just how many ways things can go wrong.
But today, I want to sit back and enjoy what I’ve accomplished. Throughout the week I’ll have articles and interviews appearing on other blogger’s websites, and there are numerous book reviewers who have requested the book.
Where to From Here?
As I often remind authors, once the book is finished the real work begins.
But really, the work should have started long ago. Building an audience, putting ideas into the conversation, watching the trends for how people like to buy and read their books are all activities that take time.
I feel fortunate to have the support of a great and sharing community of authors, editors, designers, bloggers and others to launch this book. It’s humbling to be the recipient of so much good will and practical assistance.
The publication of A Self-Publisher’s Companion has been an amazing test bed for me, even though I regularly participate in book design, book reviews, book launches and strategy sessions with authors and consultants.
When you put your own money, time, energy and commitment on the line, when you have “skin in the game,” the world looks different, and more alive.
Thanks for taking the journey with me so far, and hang on for the rest of the ride, it should be interesting.
Info Links
As part of my preparation, I also built a mini-website within this blog. Check out the Companion tab on the navigation bar at the top of the page, and you’ll see the main sales page for the book as well as various sub-pages.
A Self-Publisher’s Companion is available now at:
Print
Amazon.com <---Click this link to go to detail page on Amazon to complete your purchase. If you enjoy the book, do me a favor and leave a review, thanks!
BN.com <---Click this link to go to detail page on BN.com to complete your purchase. If you enjoy the book, do me a favor and leave a review, thanks!
Kindle
Amazon.com <--- Click this link to go to detail page on Amazon to complete your purchase. If you enjoy the Kindle e-book, do me a favor and please leave a review. Thanks!
Congratulations, Joel! How exciting 🙂 I’ll definitely be recommending this to those getting started with self publishing!
Great news, Joel! And congrats! It will be great for self-publishing authors to have your valuable info at their finger tips in one spot. I’m looking forward to reading it as well.
Thanks, Sue, I really appreciate it.
Joel, I bought the Kindle edition of your book and devoured it in one afternoon. I’ll certainly go back and read each chapter more carefully. This is just the starting point I need in my exploration of the world of self-publishing. I’ve posted my review on your Amazon pages.
One detail I noticed is that there is no link to the Kindle edition from the paperback book page. This is the second self-published book I’ve run into recently that has this glitch. I wrote the other author and he has contacted Amazon about the lack of Kindle listing on the paperback page.
Just read Christy’s post. Sorry for repeating what’s already been covered.
Wow, that’s a lot of reading in one sitting, Michael. Thanks.
I’m trying to fix up the book-Kindle link now.
Joel, my take on this book is time compression. Your ten weeks would be ten months minimum, in traditional publishing. And that’s probably a big underestimation.
Joel, congratulations! How exciting to get it done and Launched. I hope it finds many readers. Your content for indie publishers is extremely valuable. Thank you for all your hard work, and here’s to your success.
Mat
P.S.
I also noticed the hard cover wasn’t linked to the Kindle. Good to know it happens automatically. Thanks Christy.
Just bought it for my Kindle–congratulations on doing all this major work in record time. You deserve a great book launch, you done so much to promote all of us self-publishers. You sure created an elegant book for me. Many many thanks and have fun with this!
Thanks Susie, I really appreciate it. And although you can’t see it, I’m panting.
Got it! I’ll be sure to leave a review. Don’t forget to make sure that the print edition and Kindle edition get linked. It should happen automatically in a few weeks, but you can speed up the process by contacting Amazon DTP and giving them the ISBN and ASIN. I’ll prepare a blog post about it once I get the chance to read through the Kindle edition (I have time today, amazingly, because I am waiting for my editor to finish editing another project).
Thanks for the tip, Christy, I was wondering how long that would take.
Congratulations on releasing the book, Joel. You deserve a day off to celebrate and reflect on this latest accomplishment. You’re the hardest-working person I know, and I wish you ever success!
Congrats on your book launch, Joel. Another much needed resource for the growing self-publishing army.