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How to Self-Publish a Novel in 2017

zhubert.com

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Re: How to Self-Publish a Novel in 2017

#91

Post by Finnucane »

j2kun wrote: post #84
Finnucane wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a problem. In epub, you can use MathML, but support on reading systems is spotty. You could embed something like MathJax, but that would also depend on there being scripting support (not all systems have it). On the Kindle, there is none--no Latex, no MathML, no scripting, nothing for math support at all. Your only choice is graphics. SVG or high-res PNG works best. Though on a Kindle, there's no "S" in the S…

What is your opinion on publishing a math-heavy e-book (like, equations on every page, inline and offset)? I don't think I will be able to do better than having a physical book paired with a pay-to-download PDF.

I guess it comes down to what the market is, how much work it would take to do the conversions, and what compromises you're willing to take. Inline math is easier to deal with, usually it's just a matter of making sure the characters display correctly. Complex multi-line math is where things start to fall down. If this is a specialized technical reference that is of interest to 500 people, it might not be worth a lot of work to sell 20 copies on Kindle.

Re: How to Self-Publish a Novel in 2017

#92

Post by buzzybee »

exergy wrote: post #63
BeetleB wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>On the other hand, in general I almost exclusively read books and blogs because I'm interested in what the author has to say, rather than what I'd like to hear. I assume you read mostly nonfiction, then?

I'd say the author's voice shines through even clearer in fiction though. Authors certainly can exercise flair when writing history or something, but even more when they invent a fictional world and develop and atmosphere and characters within it. When a fiction writer comes up with a plot, or even a turn of phrase that blows my mind, that's one of the best things about reading. Like "how did he think up all this?!"

When the work gets as broad as a fictional book, authors don't magically expand their skills like a gas to cover all the new volume. They pick a target and start writing towards the target. It's the realigning of everything else to fit that target -- that is how a design becomes unusual.

Re: How to Self-Publish a Novel in 2017

#93

Post by aantix »

aantix wrote: post #77
zhubert wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Howdy, author here. Completely agree on the early reader feedback. I went through two rounds of readers (alpha and beta) and it was immensely helpful in grinding down some of the rough edges of the book. A development editor would be fantastic as well, I honestly just didn't know where to find one!

Stephen King, is that you?

Tough crowd.

Re: How to Self-Publish a Novel in 2017

#94

Post by valine »

> The lingua franca for most writing is Microsoft Word so you’ll have to buy that eventually...

I don't understand why something as ubiquitous as writing necessitates spending $100 on software from Microsoft. A plain text editor works out of the box. If you have a need for more complex formatting you could use LibreOffice, OpenOffice, Pages (comes free with a new Mac/iPad), WPS Office, etc. I get that Word has is the standard and all, I just don't understand why the agreeded upon standard needs to cost upward of $100, especially for something as simple as word processing.

Re: How to Self-Publish a Novel in 2017

#96

Post by mkaziz »

joeax wrote: post #70
zhubert wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I definitely agree with your initial post, I'm just not able to offer advice on how to write a good book as I may, or may not, know how :) In the writing groups I've participated in, there seem to be a number of authors that are scared off by the process of getting their work out there. I'm hopeful that this post will help them overcome the technical hurdles in doing so.

There is a book out there called "Writing the Breakout Novel" by Donald Maass. The book was a tremendously help for me in deconstructing my plot and characters. I rewrote and even rearranged entire chapters. I had subplots that had no closure that I rewrote to provide an ending. I invite you to check out my novel's Amazon page and read some of the reviews. Even the negative reviews praise the story itself, while slam…

Would you mind answering a few questions? I'm curious how you published your novel (self vs traditional), how you marketed, what your sales were like, etc.

Re: How to Self-Publish a Novel in 2017

#97

Post by mindcrime »

CreateSpace is fine as self-publishing /print on demands goes, but just FYI another option is Lulu.com.

Disclaimer: I used to work for Lulu, but no longer do, and have no financial stake in them. Just wanted to point out the existence of another option.

Re: How to Self-Publish a Novel in 2017

#98

Post by imjustsaying »

6stringmerc wrote: post #71

Very nifty guide and honestly very needed in the DIY space I think. Mostly because I feel long-form print (specifically hard copy) is occupying a smaller and smaller market share year after year. There's definitely still demand - as in airport bookstores - but the ROI doesn't seem very appealing. My experience was through Smashwords and I was pleased with the platform. Never even recouped the $10 or so fee to get the…

Is Dr. Tingle fiscally successful?

Re: How to Self-Publish a Novel in 2017

#100

Post by marvindanig »

Dotnaught wrote: post #10
dagenleg wrote: post #6

tldr: - use proprietary tool №1 - enslave yourself to Amazon - use proprietary tool №2 from Amazon

Others offering self-publishing advice stress using both Amazon CreateSpace and IngramSpark/Lightning Source for broader distribution. See: http://selfpublishingadvice.org/watchdog-ingram-spark-vs-cre...

Not everyone wants to live by amazon or even succeeds with it.

Try https://bubbl.in for example if you wish to sell your work like a responsive book straight on the web. Zero lock-ins and great sales outside of a garden if you will ;)

Full disclosure: I'm the developer/engineer behind the service.

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