This Book Was Self-Published: A Technical Guide

There is no shortage of books about becoming a self-published author. Most titles try to motivate you to write your novel, focus on marketing strategies, and explore the occasional self-made millionaire success story. This is not that type of book. This is a technical manual. It identifies the benefits and risks of choosing Expanded Distribution for a project and the limitations of Independently Published titles issued exclusively by Amazon. It clearly explains the nuances of free and paid ISBNs and the strategy of using both to ensure titles are available to every library and bookstore in the world, while maximizing royalties for copies sold on Amazon. It explains the differences between standard PDF files and PDF/X-1a:2001 formats, and reasons why the latter is the best to use for final proof-ready documents. It includes all of the details the author wishes he would have known before starting his self-publishing journey throughout eighteen published books. The technical formalities of creating your own book are missing from the other titles in this space, and likely the reason many people never see their work make it to publication. This book removes the mysteries surrounding hardware configuration, software requirements, document formatting, book content, print publishing, E-book publishing, audiobook publishing, podcast publishing, book piracy, marketing, promotion, affiliate programs, income monitoring, tax reporting, and every other issue related to your own publication process.

This book lays out all of the author's experiences and how he chooses from the platforms available for distribution. The entire book was written while executing the steps which are discussed. While documenting the formatting of each chapter, the book itself is altered in real-time. All experiences are documented chronologically. As you read along, you experience frustrations and failures together with the author. All encountered issues are resolved before proceeding to the next task, and all templates are available for download. Simply stated, this book is about this book. It provides a unique experience which allows you to make it through the nuances of self-publishing.