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A Detailed Guide to Self-Publishing with Amazon and Other Online Booksellers: How to Print-on-Demand with CreateSpace & Make eBooks for Kindle & Other eReaders

A Detailed Guide to Self-Publishing with Amazon and Other Online Booksellers: How to Print-on-Demand with CreateSpace & Make eBooks for Kindle & Other eReaders

byChris McMullen
Format: PaperbackChange
Price:$9.99+ Free shipping with Amazon Prime
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Top positive review

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Antony Chow
VINE VOICE
5.0 out of 5 starsA Must Buy Guide for Authors Looking to Self-Publish
January 27, 2013
A Detailed Guide to Self-Publishing with Amazon and Other Online Booksellers Vol. 1 by Chris McMullen is an accurately titled guide that provides in-depth instructions on the self-publication process. When I bought this guide, I was looking for tips on two issues: pricing of my books, and marketing strategies. This guide provides a ton of useful information on the former, but leaves the latter topic to volume two of the series.

The author is a professor at a university who self-publishes his works via Amazon Createspace for print, and also publishes electronically via Amazon Kindle Publishing and other major ebook formats. What strikes me, when I started reading, is the author's ability to impart information in a very casual, conversational manner. As an educator by trade, his mind is automatically trained to impart information in digestible portions to his readers. This is an important point to note, because a first time publishing author can read this guide, and use it to publish his work. This book is broad in the range of topics covered, but the author is able to discuss the material in a way that readers can easily follow.

The author uses Microsoft Word, and he provides an in-depth discussion of the differences between versions 2003, 2007, and 2010, and how to use the tools and formats to create a variety of books. He also discusses the use of illustrations, and the differences that each online publisher has regarding image sizes.

For me personally, the most important topic is pricing, and the author does not disappoint me in this subject. He discusses your expected royalty from each publisher, and goes through the numbers in great depth. He also stresses the important of qualifying for Amazon's 4-for-3 pricing for paperbacks, and also qualifying for Amazon's free shipping for orders over $25.

A Detailed Guide to Self-Publishing wiht Amazon and Other Online Booksellers, Volume 1 by Chris McMullen truly lives up to its name. I only have two disappointments with this book. First is the fact that the author left marketing out for a second volume. Second is the lack of online contact information for the author, in case readers have questions regarding his book. Despite these misgivings, this book is VERY detailed, and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to novice self-publishing authors, and experienced authors alike.
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51 people found this helpful

Top critical review

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B. Franklin
3.0 out of 5 starsGood Introduction to Self-Publishing but Could Be Made Better
June 11, 2013
I used this book to get my Dad's book published and it met most of my needs but I feel it could be made better. For instance I was preparing a Kindle version of his book just now and I had remembered reading something about ISBN numbers for electronically published books but because there was no index, it took a while to find it and the chapter titles were not that much help.
This book is clearly designed as a book that will be referred to from time to time, yet there is no index and only four chapters (each chapter is split into two subchapters). It seems like it could be organized better to provide faster access to the information that the reader is looking for. Also I found my self wishing for more simple lists and checklists instead of requiring the reader to pick thru the fairly dense text. Careful addition of some white space would help the reader get the most out of the book.
I have no real quarrel with the MS Word tutorials but found like other readers that is was a little too specific for MS Word 2010. It would have been nice if the author would have taken the extra step and mentioned the alternate steps for MS Word 2007 when they differed from 2010.
I was also caught a little short when I found, buried on page 163, the following warning:
"It's important to note that you can't add a LCCN (i.e., Library of Congress Control Number)after your book is published. After you click Approve Proof, your book is published and it is too late to add an LCCN." If this had been important to me, I would have been unlikely to have seen this until it was too late....
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101 people found this helpful

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K. Russell
4.0 out of 5 starsThe instructions work!
October 5, 2013
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
This manual by self-published author Chris McMullen has made it possible for me to do what I thought I'd need a pro designer to do--create a book cover! The instructions are lengthy, but clear, and I was able to follow them step by step. Now I'm gloating over my beautiful cover. McMullen has also helped me turn a Word manuscript into a print-ready PDF. That step is still in progress, because--as he advises--checking my PDF I see things that need work, and I can fix them before I submit the book. McMullen is so experienced with self-publishing and so good at explaining the nuts and bolts of the process that I'm eternally grateful to him for sharing his knowledge with us.

Like another reviewer here, I do miss an index in this book (the print version). Instruction manuals need indexes because we need them the way we need a search engine to find information online. An index would make this chatty, reader-friendly manual a perfect self-publisher's companion. Instead it's more like attending a good professor's lectures and hoping you remember all you need to know. Nevertheless, McMullen's manual is truly helpful and I eagerly await volume 2.
21 people found this helpful
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Colt
4.0 out of 5 starsA Thorough Compendium
June 18, 2014
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
If you are considering self-publishing on Createspace and/or KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) you need to get this book. In fact, there is more information in here than most of us will ever need. The author presents extremely detailed step-by-step instructions for each phase of the creation process. He also continuously updates his information. My copy was the sixth edition and I notice that he has taken some of his early reviews to heart and made the recommended changes and additions. For instance, many early reviews complained about the lack of an index ... he added that in his fifth edition.

My one criticism is niggling. I bought the paperback version and I wish he hadn't included a border on every page. I found it to be unnecessary and distracting, but more to the point, the borders took up space in the margins where I would normally make notes. If he wanted to demonstrate what a border looked like, one page would have been sufficient. And speaking of margins, I would have like to see the outside margins a bit wider to make note-taking easier. (I can understand why he didn't -- it would just add more pages to the book).

In any event, I agonized as to whether to give this four or five stars. If I could give four-and-a-half, I would. But after thinking it over for a while I had to settle on four. The borders were just too distracting for my tastes.
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joseph m. hamilton
4.0 out of 5 starssame info in two separate books
June 2, 2017
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
I purchased both of McMullen's "Self-Publishing" guides. This one was the 7 1/2" x 10" format a prior version. I also purchased the 5" x 8 1/2 " format.They over lapped. The larger format was published in 2 Volumes, most of which was covered in the smaller format. I received Vol 1. Confusing. Very good info, but I thought I was buying two separate books? You need to revise your advertising description. Very good info in both additions
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Joyce Scarbrough
4.0 out of 5 starsGood resource
July 30, 2014
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Very informative and helpful, but most everything was geared toward non-fiction. I would have liked more novel-specific tips. Also, there's a reference on page 176 to reviewing your proof being covered in Chapter 5, but there is no Chapter 5 in this book. And now I see that I'd have to buy volume 2 to get tips on how to review proofs.
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Janet Cherry
4.0 out of 5 starsAmazon Self-publishing
September 4, 2017
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Good information if you are writing a book and wanting information on the services Amazon offers for a self-publishing projects.
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Trish
4.0 out of 5 starsDisappointing that I need to purchase the second volume to answer some questions but that is good marketing I guess
July 29, 2017
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Very helpful. Disappointing that I need to purchase the second volume to answer some questions but that is good marketing I guess.
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Barbara Svoboda
4.0 out of 5 starsVery Helpful Self-Publishing Book
August 22, 2017
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Extremely detailed. But has everything you need. The most helpful book I have found on self-publishing. You have to be able to pick and choose what information you need/want and what you can skip over....
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rubypeach
4.0 out of 5 starsHelp for the Novice
February 13, 2017
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Being a complete novice to the self-publishing field, Chris Mullen's book on Self-Publishing with Amazon answered many questions and gave me a heads-up in several areas. I can't say we navigated each area easily and without problems, but it gave us information we could use. Thanks!
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Robert G Kirkup
4.0 out of 5 starsExcellent book
February 26, 2016
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
This is an excellent book. Very detailed. I used it to self publish two books. You really need volumes 1 and 2 to get the full story. Sometimes the detail can be 'too much', but then again, sometimes you need that!
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Robert G.
4.0 out of 5 starsUseful
August 20, 2017
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Detailed. Readable. Very understandable and useful.
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