30 FAQ by New Authors on Publishing

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS BY NEW INDIE AUTHORS


The following is a list of 30 common questions asked by First-Time Indies or things they need to know. The answers can be found in three main sections of this toolkit. This FAQ will be updated from time to time.


BEFORE PUBLISHING



1. Who is an Indie Author/Publisher?

Listen to the short audio teaching on Indie vs. Traditional.

For our purposes, these are essentially two models of publishing: one is published by and managed by another, pays no money for publishing, gets an advance and royalties (Traditional Publishing); the other manages the publishing process, pays all fees and hires freelancers or a self-publishing service providers to do the publishing (Indie Publishing or Self-Publishing)

2. I'm almost finished or finished writing my book/manuscript now what? 

Ans. Review the Manuscript Completion Checklist to refine the manuscript before submitting to an editor or publisher. Contact a publisher/author service company and review the Simplified Steps to Publishing Checklist.

3. I have no money, how do I publish for free or on a budget? 

Ans. Request our Budget-Friendly Price Guide and contact us for resources to learn how to self-publish. Email [email protected] or [email protected]. Buy the book Authorpreneur Secrets which breaks down the entire process from writing to publishing

4. How much will it cost to publish my book and how long does it take to publish? 

Ans. Publishing can cost anywhere from US$1000 - 12,000. It depends on your word count, your needs and the company working with. On average 90 days and if editorial needs are great, requiring rewriting and extensive revision, up to one year.

5. Should I get a Publisher or DIY?

Ans. If you are not prepared to spend hours learning the process and executing, get a traditional publisher or hire a Done For You Self-publishing Service Provider. See the Simple Steps to Publish Checklist for an outline of the Process.

6. Who are the trusted list of Indie Publishers/Author Service Providers? 

Ans. See the Alliance of Independent Authors Watchdog list and get referrals from other authors.

Please see below these links of companies and tactics to avoid.

https://accrispin.blogspot.com/2018/01/army-of-clones-author-solutions-spawns.html 

The Alliance of Independent Authors also has a watchdog list that you can use or share with friends

https://selfpublishingadvice.org/best-self-publishing-services/ 


7. How do I know if the self-publishing package is affordable or exorbitant? Am I getting a good deal?

Ans. Request Budget-Friendly Publishers Checklist and the Standard Publishing Rates Checklist.

8. How much should I pay for layout/formatting, cover design or editing if I choose to outsource/ hire freelancers? 

Ans. See Standard Publishing Rates vs. our Budget Friendly Price Guide.

9. I want to self-publish which platform should I use? Is Amazon the only self-publishing platform?

Ans. Amazon is the best place to start. Branch out later and publish wide. See an article below by Joanna Penn about publishing wide.

Publishing Wide

10. What is manuscript format and how do I do it? 

Ans. It is a document present similar to a college paper with double spaced sentences, x12 font and chapters properly highlighted in heading 1 style, paragraphs indented at 0.5 inches and each chapter starting on a new page. Search for instructions on YouTube (Manuscript Format)

11. How do I know what type of editing I need?  

Ans. Get the Editing Guide for Authors by the EFA

12. Where can I find a good affordable cover designer?

Ans. Get recommendations from other authors, go to Fiverr.com, 100 covers.com or BambuSparks

13. How do I know if my book title/subtitle is good?

Ans. Watch this video on Choosing Your Book Title

14. What book size should I choose?

Ans. Watch this video on Choosing Your Book Size

15. How do I get my book on Amazon?

Ans. Publish your book via Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform by setting up your KDP account and uploading your book for free. Watch videos on YouTube.

17. Should I buy an ISBN or take a free one?

Ans. If you want to distribute your books widely to bookstores and libraries, get your ISBN in your own imprint. If it's just for your personal use and direct sales, you may choose the Free one. The publisher will be listed as Independently published on Amazon. No ISBN is needed for an ebook on Amazon but may be required for other vendors.

18. Where can I find high resolution royalty free or affordable pictures, illustrations or images for my book cover or interior? 

Ans. Go to sites like pixabay.com and Unsplash. Google other sites.

19. What category/genre is my book? What keywords should I use?

Ans. Look at the basic BISAC categories at this website https://bisg.org/page/BISACEdition to begin with. Your book will either be fiction or non-fiction and then divided into further sub-categories.

20. What price should I give my book? 

Ans. Go to Amazon and look at other books in your genre and their pricing. Traditional books are usually higher priced. You don't want to outprice a book by a well known author. Don't exceed US$16.00 for print book unless it is a textbook for a specific purpose or program.



21. What is KDP and how do I set up my KDP Account? 

Ans. KPD is Amazon's self-publishing platform for print and ebooks. They publish your books to the Amazon store and other distributors.

22. How do I upload my book to KDP? 

Ans. See the KDP Upload Checklist and Search for videos on YouTube. See Week 4 of the course.

23. What should I put on my back cover and how do I write a good blurb or book description for my book?

Ans. Set up a free or paid consultation to get your question answered or research same on YouTube.


AFTER 


24. What's the next step after publishing on Amazon or elsewhere? How do I market and sell more books?

Ans. Join our Indie Authorpreneurs Facebook Group for to get answers; book a paid consultation session at www.extramileja.com.

25. How do I order books from KDP and how much should I give away for free?

Ans. Log into your KDP account and request author copies.

26. How do I get paid from Amazon?

Ans. You either request a cheque which you get after you have earned at least US$100 or you supply banking information or get a Payoneer Card. There are several videos on YouTube that provide answers.

27. How do I know how many books I have sold?

Ans. The answers are in your KDP account under reports. There are several videos on YouTube that help you to become familiar with your KDP account.

28. How do I get my books into stores?

Ans. Use IngramSpark and contact bookstore owners. Get referrals and guidance from other authors who have done it and do your own investigations. Have a marketing plan ready. 

29. What is KDP Select and should I use enroll in KDP Select?

Ans. It is the Amazon exclusive program which has special benefits including an opportunity to run promotional campaigns every 90 days. There are several videos on YouTube that help you to become familiar with your KDP account.

30. How do I become a bestseller and how will I know?

Ans. You may watch videos on YouTube for additional guidance or book a paid consultation session at www.bambusparks.com

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