Things You Need to Know Before Self-publishing a Book

By Mike Swedenberg

This book is my lecture presented to writers at Nassau Community College on Long Island.
For the last five years I have helped independent writers complete, format and publish their books online over a variety of publishers and book resellers. There are reoccurring issues with many of my writers who have labored to complete their first book. Because of their lack of experience in writing and publishing, they make rookie mistakes that require hours of editing and reformatting to correct, all which were avoidable if they had only known. This book, a synopsis of my all-day lecture on self-publishing, helps new writers avoid the many pitfalls they encounter.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mike Swedenberg
• Release date: Oct 31, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370974108

Mike Swedenberg

Mike Swedenberg saw a need to assemble a study guide to help those persons wishing to immigrate to the United States whose second language is English. This study guide is annotated with the names of current Representatives that all applicants must know. The list is current for State Governors, US Senators and US Congressmen. This list will be updated at each election cycle.Mike has authored two novels, A New York Wedding and the Bully Boss along with books on Advertising Copywriting and Salesmanship.Mike teaches publishing courses at Queensborough Community College in New York, studies classical oil painting at the Long Island Academy of Fine Art and is an avid photographer.Other books by MikeA New York Wedding – a novelBully Boss – a novelThe Road Warrior a sales manualAdvertising Copywriting and the Unique Selling PropositionSam ChinkesSound Advertising, Las Vegas

Book preview

Things You Need to Know Before

Self-publishing a Book

By Mike Swedenberg

Copyright © 2016 James Michael Swedenberg

Published at Smashwords.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the Author, addressed Attention: Permissions Coordinator, at [e-mail]

Brand names, logos and trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. This listing of any company, blog, website, publisher or their logos is not intended to imply any endorsement or direct affiliation with this publication.

The information contained herein is on an as is basis, without warranties or conditions of any kind, either express or implied, including, without limitation, any warranties or conditions of title, non-infringement, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose. You agree that you will not rely on and are solely responsible for determining the appropriateness of using the information provided this publication and assume any risks associated with following it.

All rights reserved.

DEDICATION

To all those with a story to tell

Contents

Forward

My Background

What Do Independent Authors earn?

Mandatory Reading

#1 Creating a professional quality

#2 Handling criticism of your work

#3 What labels you an amateur

#4 Ban these words from your books

#5 Proper punctuation of dialogue

#6 The good news - Indie Publishing is easy

#7 The odds are against you

#8 Romantic Novels lead the sales categories

#9 Your title needs to be unique

#10 What sells as an eBooks

#11 Build your Social Media NOW Not Later

#12 Write a Great Description like the Pros

#13 Never pay for book reviews

#14 Make the most out of your Amazon page

#15 Pricing is Critical

#16 Fiverr.com for reasonably priced help

#17 A Great Book Cover won’t guarantee sales but a bad one will kill it.

#18 It Takes Time

#19 Show/Hide is Your Friend

#20 Proper Formatting

#21 Odds and Ends

About the Author

"Being a writer is like having homework every night

for the rest of your life."

Lawrence Kasdan

Forward

The following is my lesson plan presented to Writers at

Nassau Community College and other

Continuing Education Institutions.

A Training Nightmare

I worked for a publishing company that would only hire experienced sales reps from other publishing companies with specific track record in the Legal Market (Selling Law and Tax Books)

They sent us to Sales Training 101 run by an instructor with zero sales experience who used an off-the-shelf generic training lesson.

She was the least experienced person in the room and had only recently joined the company. She had no product knowledge and could not answer any of our questions. Nevertheless, the company pulled us out of the sales field, sent to the home office for a week of Sales 101. We had to sit there and listen to her drone on about things she knew nothing about.

At the end of the class, an evaluation test revealed the number one sales representative in the country had poor selling skills while the lowest ranked reps excelled.

This experience has motivated me to outline my background and qualifications. To earn the right to offer you my advice.

My Background

Education

Adelphi University BS Business and Management

School of Visual Arts Advertising Copywriting and Design

Gotham School of Writing

Career

Ten years Advertising Copywriting and Production

Sixteen years sales, marketing in Publishing for global companies

Four years as a Continuing Ed Instructor

My Courses at Nassau Community