Alright here it is, my short list of my favorite publishing books. These are the books I turn to for information on publishing. There are other resources also but this is a good list to get your feet wet. Not in any particular order. All of these books can be found at Amazon.com. My next list will be on some of the websites I follow to keep up with the latest info on what is going on in the rapidly changing world of publishing. Love to hear your comments and what book your use.
Write. Publish. Repeat. (The No-Luck-Required Guide to Self-Publishing Success), by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant
As the subtitle says, “The No-Luck-Required Guide to Self-Publishing Success.” Write, Publish, Repeat tells the tale of how Platt and Truant write and market their books. These two guys have a writing partnership and this book takes you through the process. This is a how to write book and a how to sell book. These guys take you through the process of your covers, titles, formatting, pricing and publishing on different platforms. The part I really like is how to set your books up as a funnel. Learn how to bring your readers in and then move them through your series of books. Basically make more books, make more money. I highly recommend this book for the funnel process alone. It is one of my favorites.
Write. Publish. Repeat.: The No-Luck-Required, Guide to Self-Publishing Success
61 Ways to Sell More Non-Fiction Kindle Books, by Steve Scott
One of my favorite people for Kindle and Amazon strategies. This book is filled with ideas for how to use your book for marketing, your efforts and your book. I really like the quick list of 10 ideas right up at the front. This book talks about promotions, building audience, sales techniques and just making your book work for you. Steve’s site SteveScottSite.com is also on my favorite list. I highly recommend subscribing to site and following his blog.
61 Ways to Sell More Nonfiction Kindle Books
Kindle Publishing Package: How to Discover Best-Selling eBook Ideas + How to Write a Nonfiction eBook in 21 Days + 61 Ways to Sell More Nonfiction Kindle Books by Steve Scott
This Kindle pack includes three of Steve Scott’s books including 61 Ways to Sell More. I haven’t read the other two, How to Discover Best-Selling eBook Ideas and How to Write a Nonfiction eBook in 21 Days but if they are anything like his other book or website SteveScottSite.com they should be excellent.
Your First 1000 Copies: The Step-by-Step Guide to Marketing Your Book by Tim Grahl
Tim Grahl is a book marketer and has worked with some of the best writers in the business turning their books into best sellers. This is a book about how he does it. Tim takes you through a process of developing open communication with your audience, engaging them with your content, introducing yourself to your readers, pulling in sales and tracking the results. He calls this the connection system. This is a how to book.
Your First 1000 Copies: The Step-by-Step Guide to Marketing Your Book
Author Quick Guide to Making Your Book a Best Seller by Kristen Eckstein
Kristen is a book coach. She has a ton of advice spread over many short information packed books. This is one of my favorites of her books. It is filled with tons of hands on tips about setting your book up for being a best seller. She talks about finding your niche and categories, setting your book up for organic sales in Amazon, finding people to promote your book and building continuous sales. One of my favorite parts of this book is how to set up your book launch. This is a key part of selling your book. I like all of her books but this one is a great addition to your library.
Author’s Quick Guide to Making Your Book a Best Seller
Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, Steve Krug
This isn’t a writing or publishing book, it is a book on web usability. But in reality it is a book on how to think. I recommend this book all the time for anyone working on their website. But it also applies for designing your book covers and your marketing material. It is a short read that really makes you think about what you are designing or putting out to the world. Repeat this title when you are working on your title.
How to Market a Book by Joanna Penn
I have been reading Joanna Penn’s book How to Market a Book, learning what to do as I market my Animals Love to Play books, it is excellent, really excellent. For tips and techniques for marketing your book start with this one. Joanna Penn is a very accomplished writer and shares what she knows and learns with her audience. This book is filled with great advice. This book covers marketing principles, understanding your market, cover design and editing. She then moves on to understanding your platform, list building, speaking, networking, podcasting, book trailers and much more. The last part of this book is about how to launch your book. The entire launch process is so critical these days for getting your book out the door, Penn takes you through the process.
This book has been recently updated and is also include in the The Indie Author Power Pack: How To Write, Publish, & Market Your Book.
Building Your Book for Kindle for Mac by Amazon
Building your Book for Kindle by Amazon
The big question is “How do I format my book for Kindle?” It can be hard or straight forward. These are the guides from Amazon that tell you how to do it. The key is keep your book simple, just follow what the tell you to do. One for PC and one for Mac MS Word. The main difference is how you build your Table of Contents. On the PC it is automatic on the Mac you have to build it. Not hard, just follow the instructions. Same for uploading to Kindle, just follow the instructions. At the moment the Mac version is under review, you can use the PC one except for the TOC stuff.
PC
Building Your Book for Kindle
Mac
Building Your Book for Kindle for Mac
From Word to Kindle by Aaron Shepard
From Word to Kindle: Self Publishing Your Kindle Book with Microsoft Word, or Tips on Designing and Formatting Your Text So Your Ebook Doesn’t Look Horrible by Aaron Shepard is also pretty good for learning how to format your Word document for Kindle publishing. Shepard covers some of the things that the Amazon books don’t. Like lists, tables, more info on styling and spacing. He takes you through the entire process from formatting to submitting your book and previewing. This is worth having in your Kindle formatting library.
Publish and Profit by Mike Koenigs
Publish And Profit: A 5-Step System For Attracting Paying Coaching And Consulting Clients, Traffic And Leads, Product Sales, And Speaking Engagements by Mike Koenigs is another #1 Amazon book for him. This book highlights Mike’s ideas about how you can use what you know to create a book and then use that book to help you develop clients and business. Basically your book becomes your calling card. I pay a lot of attention to what Mike says and I also pay attention to how he says it. This book like Steve Scott’s book and other use the power that Kindle gives you to connect your book to the larger world. Kindle books can have live http links in them. Your book is one long brochure. Mike really uses this technique by putting links at the ends of every chapter that connect into his marketing funnel. As with many of these writers pay attention to the words and also pay attention and mimic what they do, very powerful. All of Mike’s books are filled with very practical tips that you can use right away.
