A week has passed, and I'm ready to publish my latest book, The Lazarus Serum. A lot of people have asked me how to go about self-publishing, since there are so many different ways to do it now that the industry has exploded!
In this post, I have compiled a list of tools that have helped me tremendously in the epic adventure that is self-publishing.
1. Smashwords
If you are looking for a quick and cheap way to publish e-books, I strongly recommend using this website. You can access formatters for your book through their website, and they will get all of the kinks worked out so that your book looks professional when it gets into the market. And did I mention the distribution benefits? Provided your book passes the formatting requirements, (which it will if you pay for formatting) you can get your book carried through Barnes & Noble's website, along with Amazon and various e-readers.
2. Lulu
This is much more expensive than Smashwords, but your best bet for quality print works. They have a wide selection of editors, marketing packages, and formatting selections. You can do hardback, paperback, or iPad e-books with this option.
3. Grammarly
In addition to its free plagiarism checker which compares your work to billions of others', Grammarly offers contextual grammar corrections and word choice suggestions. It's way more comprehensive than what you'll find in your word processor - it's cheaper than hiring an editor, too!
4. WritePad
I used this iPhone/iPad app to write two of my novels - The Jaws of Life and The Lazarus Serum. It's a word processor that lets you write your books by hand rather than by keyboard on your screen. It has built-in handwriting recognition that will translate your scribbles (even cursive) into neatly typed words. You can customize your own text and color themes, export documents as PDFs, and sync with any cloud.
5. Your Blog
This is your best marketing tool. And believe me, marketing is the most important part of self-publishing. I use social media like Blogger, Facebook, and Twitter to keep my readers informed about what I'm up to next. Your blog is also a great way to link people to your products. For instance, I have separate pages for each of my books on my website that tell a little bit about each story! Besides talking about your own works, your blog is a great place to talk to your fans directly and rant about your hobbies - like I'm doing right now.
To get a feel for what a self-published book looks like in its final form, check out The Jaws Of Life
or The Lazarus Serum!