The Self-Publisher’s Ultimate Resource Guide

Every Indie Author’s Essential Directory—To Help You Prepare, Publish, and Promote Professional Looking Books

“An essential reference to the best publishing resources for every self-published author.  Highly recommended.” -- Mark Coker, Smashwords founder

“This short-cut to the top pros—editors, designers, marketers, bloggers, distributors—is just exactly what we’ve all been waiting for. This book is a must-have for any author or publisher.”  --Penny Sansevieri, Author Marketing Experts

Here, for the first time, dozens of leaders in the self-publishing industry—editors, designers, book shepherds, printers, teachers, publicists, marketers, workshop leaders, illustrators, reviewers—have come together to share their knowledge of the dynamic, ever-changing indie book publishing business. Whether you are a first-time author or a seasoned pro the articles and curated lists in this guide will save you hours of hit-and-miss research. Want to learn all about e-book conversion—check out Carla King's article on page 153. Have questions about distribution--see what Robin Cutler of Ingram Spark has to say on page 165. Do you want to hire an author assistant? Take Kate Tilton’s advice on page 249. And talk about keeping current—The Self-Publisher’s Ultimate Resource Guide is updated every few months all year long. No other book on self-publishing combines the wisdom and down-to-earth advice of over two dozen indie publishing professionals with over 850 links to resource providers. It may well be the "best book for self-publishers" anywhere.

Joel Friedlander is a self-published author, an award winning book designer, and a blogger on a mission to educate writers in how to print, market and sell their books with confidence.

Betty Kelly Sargent is the former editor-in-chief of William Morrow, author of seven traditionally published books plus two more that are self-published. She has over 30 years experience in the book and magazine business in New York City and recently founded BookWorks: The Self-Publishers Association.

Contributors of this revised and greatly expanded edition:

• “Indexers” by Rachel Rice of Rae the Indexer
• “Image Sources: Finding an image for your book cover” by Cathi Stevenson of Book Cover Express
• “Book Shepherds & Publishing Consultants: Adding power to your book’s success” by Judith Briles of The Book Shepherd
• “Illustrators & Cartoonists: The quest for illustrators, cartoonists, and other creative professionals” by Kat Vancil of KatGirl Studio
• “Writers’ Conferences & Workshops Offering Scholarships: Three reasons writers need conferences more than ever” by Michael Larsen of San Francisco Writers Conference
• “Grants & Funding for Writers” by C. Hope Clark of FundsforWriters
• “Professional & Trade Associations: Why indie authors need trade associations” by Sharon Goldinger of PeopleSpeak
• “E-book Conversion” by Carla King of Self-Pub Boot Camp
• “Print-on-Demand (POD) Printing & Distribution Services: What is book distribution, anyway?” by Robin Cutler of IngramSpark
• “Subsidy Publishers: Is there a difference between vanity and subsidy publishing?” by Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware
• “Short Run Printers: Short run printers for indie authors” by Gordon Burgett of Gordon Burgett’s Website
• “Book Production Software: What software do you need to produce your book?” by David Bergsland of Radiqx Press
• “Website Design for Authors” by Tyler Doornbos of Well Design
• “Social Media Consultants: The dos and don’ts of social media” by Rachel Thompson of BadRedhead Media
• “Book Review Services: Book review services: where to find them and how to use them” by Miral Sattar of Bibliocrunch
• “Author Assistants: What is an author assistant?” and “Sites to List E-books” by Kate Tilton of Kate Tilton’s Author Services, LLC
• “Press Release Services & Sources: The power of paid press release distribution services” by Joan Stewart of The Publicity Hound
• “Virtual Book Tours: Sell more books with virtual book tours” by Dana Lynn Smith of Savvy Book Marketer
• “Marketing & Publicity: Book marketing basics” by Penny Sansevieri of Author Marketing Experts
• “All About Publicity for Indie Authors and Their Books” by Amy Edelman of IndieReader
• “E-book Aggregators & Book Distributors: How to use an e-book distributor to reach more readers” by Mark Coker of Smashwords
• “Major Retailers: Major retailers and what they offer indie authors” by Tracy Atkins of Book Design Templates
• “Writing Contests, Fellowships, & Prizes: The good, the bad, and why they matter for indie authors” by Liz Dubelman of VidLit
• “Book Awards for Self-Published Authors: Why awards matter and why some matter more than others” by Shelley Sturgeon of Bound and Determined
• “Consumer Protection” by Orna Ross of The Alliance of Independent Authors