The Self-Publishing Dilemma Continues for Indie Authors Trying to Avoid Publishing Scams!

Are you trying to figure out how to get your book published? 

Tired of searching the web for the most legitimate, and affordable way to make your dream of publishing your own book a reality? 

ME TOO!

I've been scrounging the internet for months now, searching for the best way to get a children's fiction picture book published, and this is what I've come up with so far....there are WAY TOO MANY SCAMS OUT THERE, and it can be a scary world for Indie authors who are trying to weed through the garbage subsidy and vanity publishers trolling the web for writers with aspirations of becoming published. 

What a discouraging process this can be for self-publishing authors! Who to trust? 

Please, don't give up! 

If you are like me, you are determined to find the best route to take, which is why I would like to start a conversation on this blog, so Indie authors who are publishing books themselves, can share their horror stories and hopefully provide many of us with some clear, much needed information about this process.

I'm at the point where I have decided to become a small publishing firm, which I've researched requires no governmental licenses. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

I've commissioned an illustrator, using social media, who has agreed to do the illustrations, and cover design, for no fee, and in return he will receive 15% of all royalties. I plan to try and cap that amount to what his normal fee would be if I were paying up front. If anyone has a great illustration agreement or contract they would like to share, I'd love to see it! 

I've learned that the best route to obtaining ISBN's is directly through Bowker, not only for affordability, and to maintain control, but because an ISBN is the first step to getting your book found! You will also need a bar code, if you plan to sell your book in any store, and bar codes can also be purchased from Bowker Identifier Services.

The purpose of the ISBN is to identify one specific version of a book. If you wish to have a hard bound copy, a soft bound copy, an ePUB, a PDF, a MOBI, or even register a new version, you will need a unique ISBN for each version. This allows retailers to help the customer understand exactly which version of a title they are purchasing. Bowker offers 10 ISBNs at heavily discounted prices.

I had a few teacher friends, with exceptional grammar and mechanics, edit my story. This worked well for my children's picture book, but won't be the best route for everyone. Through my research I found that hiring an editor is not only necessary, but costly as well. If you have a written anything over 900 words, I highly suggest finding an affordable editor to read you work.

I found that www.Kobo.com/writinglife offers free ebook conversion and submission, but the author must own the digital rights. I'll post more information on that process, once I actually decide to use them to convert the book to ebook.

Then...the hardest part in my opinion...finding a reasonable print on demand service to print your book. That's where I'm currently hitting a wall. I would love to hear from someone who raves about not only the quality of their printed book, but the affordability of using the POD service they chose.

After that, it's promotion, advertising, and sell, sell, sell hopefully!

If you actually finished reading this post, and can contribute to this ongoing conversation, please feel free to comment below.  

Happy Writing!