A Simple Guide to Self-Publishing: A Step-by-Step Handbook to Prepare, Print, Distribute & Promote Your Own Book - 3rd edition

Rating:
Summary: Simple is Great
Review: Back in the late 1980's I had the privilege of attending a self-publishing workshop with Mark Ortman, the author of this excellent how-to guide. I purchased "A Simple Guide to Self-Publishing" and used the knowledge I gained to successfully publish and market my first book. I've recommended this book many times over the years, since it provides a perfect introduction to the topic. I'm happy that Mark has kept the book up to date, and that the Third Edition includes helpful information on On-Line Publishing.

Rating:
Summary: Simple is Great
Review: Back in the late 1980's I had the privilege of attending a self-publishing workshop with Mark Ortman, the author of this excellent how-to guide. I purchased "A Simple Guide to Self-Publishing" and used the knowledge I gained to successfully publish and market my first book. I've recommended this book many times over the years, since it provides a perfect introduction to the topic. I'm happy that Mark has kept the book up to date, and that the Third Edition includes helpful information on On-Line Publishing.

Rating:
Summary: A Little TOO Simple
Review: I bought this book figuring that, for the price, it would be worth it for me. However, by my count, 17 of the 64 pages are the Introduction, Table of Contents, "About the Author," the Index, or one paragraph quotes. That leaves me with 47 pages. In my opinion, if you are starting out you are going to need a much more substantial book. And if you've done much reading on the topic or self-published before, you'll find little material here that hasn't been thoroughly covered in other much more complete and useful books such as "The Self-Publishing Manual." I don't doubt that the author is an expert in self-publishing, it's just that it's impossible to relate enough of that knowledge in so few pages. No one likes to keep things simple more than I, but this book takes the idea a little too far.

Rating:
Summary: A practical, "user friendly", invaluable instruction guide.
Review: In A Simple Guide to Self-Publishing, Mark Ortman lays out simple, concise, step-by-step "how to" guides for preparing, printing, distributing, and promoting a book that is published by its author. Now in a thoroughly updated third edition, A Simple Guide to Self-Publishing also includes the phenomena of on-line publishing and the electronic book (ebook). All of the references and resources for successful self-publishing are presented, including the easiest way to get started; where to apply for a copyright and ISBN number; ways to publishing a manuscript on the Internet; where to have a book printed economically; how to promote and distribute books on the Internet. A Simple Guide to Self-Publishing is a practical, "user friendly" instruction guide and reference that will prove invaluable for the novice self- publisher.

Rating:
Summary: To the Point & up to Date
Review: The Simple Guide to Self-Publishing is clear, accurate and up-to-date. Mark Ortman has condensed years of experience into concise and valuable checklists (complete with check-off boxes). Now the book has been revised again to include electronic and on-demand printing. You will refer to this book again and again. [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Insufficient Info
Review: This book helps you compare regular publishing with self-publishing to see if it's right for you.

Three main questions underlie the process:
Why do you want to publish your book?
Who is your audience?
What makes your book different or unique?

Chapters cover such topics as:
Learning about the industry and preparing the manuscript
Printing
Announcing your book
Distribution
Creating a demand, touring, marketing--by far the longest chapter

This book has lots of great suggestions, but he doesn't go into any very deeply. At only 62 pages, this is useful as a handbook. It is geared toward writers who needs an overview of the process, particularly those wanting more traditional paper publishing for their books.

Rating:
Summary: Insufficient Info
Review: This book may be a handy ADDITION to your publishing library, but it is definitely not "the" source book for marketing. In fact, in the rapidly changing world of publishing, I found that most of the information I did want to use was already out of date.

Rating:
Summary: Best Short Self-Publishing How-to Book
Review: This simple guide is exactly that, the bare bones basics for those who don't want to wade through hundreds of pages. You can get more than three times the information for only twice the price in a book like Dan Poynter's The Self-Publishing Manual, but more is not always best for everyone. If you are the type of person who wants "Just the facts" this book could be your ideal introduction to self-publishing.