How to Publish and Promote Online by M. J. Rose, Angela Adair-Hoy, Angela Adair-Hoy

From the Publisher

Everything you need to know about profitable online publishing and promotion

From Stephen King to authors who haven't become household names quite yet, authors are increasingly turning to the Internet as a way of taking charge of their own publishing destiny. The opportunities are vast, but also confusing: Should you publish an e-book, a conventional print book, a Print On Demand book, a CD-ROM, or all of the above? What do you need to know to create an e-book? How do you set up a website, and how can you actually get people to visit that website? Where can you sell your books on the web? And how can you use the Internet to generate massive free publicity?

M. J. Rose and Angela Adair-Hoy provide the answers to all of these questions and more. When she self-published her first novel, Lip Service, as an e-book, M. J. Rose became a "cyber pioneer" (PW Daily) and attracted so much publicity that she sold the rights to a major book club and a New York publisher. As the co-owner of a highly successful e-book publisher, Booklocker.com, and the publisher of Writersweekly.com, an e-magazine featuring markets for freelance writers, Angela Adair-Hoy also learned all of the possibilities that online publishing could offer. Using their own experiences-combined with insiders' tips from other authors on the web-they published an e-book, The Secrets of Our Success, that became the underground bible for online authors and publishers.

Now thoroughly revised and expanded, this book is an indispensable guide to navigating the publishing jungle from you own personal computer.

Writers Write

Anyone who is considering self-publishing, epublishing or promoting a traditionally published book on the Internet will find this book to be an invaluable reference.

Product Details

• Table of Contents
• Read an Excerpt

Table of Contents

Read an Excerpt

While I'm humble enough to say I'm not yet a success, I do believe that I'm doing everything that an author can and should do to become a success — and I'm seeing the fruits of that expanding each and every day.

When I sold my first book to an electronic publisher, I faced the fact that 1) I didn't know anything about this medium, 2) I didn't know how to promote in this medium, and 3) I didn't know if there was even an audience for it. So I made some decisions. I would educate myself about e-publishing, I would educate my fellow writers about it, and I would educate the public and get myself an audience. Success, as an e-published author, sometimes requires that an author first tell the readers what electronic publishing is and then why they should read your e-book.

These are just some of the numerous methods I've used, and advise other authors to use, to reach success:

1. Have a personal web page, somewhere you can send readers to find everything they need to know about you. An e-author without a Web site is like a cat without claws. No way to climb up. Very few e-authors succeed without one.

2. Promote heavily on the web. Search the Web for places to promote yourself through interviews, live chats, reviews, title listings, and so on. Never let an opportunity pass by to get your name out there. You want to be as many places as you can possibly be at the same time.

3. Establish a presence for yourself in your chosen medium. If the authors know you, the publishers know you. There's a very good chance that opportunities will arise for you, and that could lead to more readers.

4. Traditional methods of promotion almost never work for e-authors especially new ones. These should be saved until later in your career or for in-person functions (book signings, conferences, etc.). Be creative in your promotion. A new, exciting medium invites new, exciting methods of promotion.

5. Write outstanding books that transcend mediums. Very few people will look at a book that's received lavish praise and say, "I don't read e-books on principle." They'll be too curious for that. Set high standards for yourself in this vein.

6. The humble writer is the loser in most cases. Promotion of oneself is a conceited business, but it's absolutely necessary. To be a success, you must look like a success and sound like you really know what you're talking about. Believe in yourself enough to go out there and say, "Hey, I'm good. I'm worth reading!"

7. Never limit yourself to one medium. Writers have a whole world of options-print, electronic, audio, screenplay. Use all of your rights to expand your resume. You never know when you'll hit the jackpot.

8. Don't limit yourself to a single publisher. I believe strength in numbers in this medium will come from having as many books out there as possible, in as many arenas as possible.

9. Don't neglect your fans. Each and every person who takes the time to sign my guestbook and write to me receives a personal reply. Someday it may not be possible to have time to respond personally, but when you're just starting out, these people are your fan-base. They are one part of a chain that will spread the word-of-mouth about you. Later, you may only be able to honor them with a great story, but never forget them.

Karen Wiesner is the bestselling author of Falling Star and Electronic Publishing: The Definitive Guide.