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Writing and Self-Publishing section added to bookstore

August 24, 2008 by John Dilbeck
Filed under: Act On Your Dream!, Affiliate Marketing, Books, Lulu, Marketing, Promote Yourself, Self-Publishing, Writing 

Ever since I read Make Your Knowledge Sell! several years ago, I’ve known that I wanted to write a series of reports and ebooks with several goals in mind…

  • To share the knowledge I’ve learned over years of researching affiliate marketing and from the daily practice of it
  • To enhance my reputation as being someone with integrity who offers good advice about online marketing
  • To provide information that will help you avoid the pitfalls I’ve traversed and to make more money with affiliate marketing
  • To do more of something I enjoy doing: writing

About a thousand years ago, Nicki Fink and I wrote a textbook we used for teaching our students how to use Macintosh computers and several of the more popular applications that were in use at the time.

Knowing nothing about writing a book, we just did it.

Our first couple of editions were printed on a laser printer and we did all the collation and comb-binding ourselves.

When we finally approached a publisher, we had a pretty good book that was helping our students learn how to use Macs by completing a series of projects.

I submitted the entire book to Addison Wesley and instead of getting a rejection notice, as everyone had advised me to expect, we got an offer from Addison Wesley and Benjamin Cummings.

Addison Wesley wanted to get it into print quickly and Benjamin Cummings wanted a complete rewrite along with reviews by several colleges and academies before publishing it.

We made the mistake of going with Benjamin Cummings and added about another year to the project in addition to having several disagreements with the editor about the direction we wanted to go with the book.

Eventually the book was published and we received a few thousand dollars in advance royalties.

I was happy to have a published book that was helping some people learn how to use their Macs better, but the entire experience was less than satisfactory. I swore that the next book I wrote would be self-published.

Now, in the 21st century, a lot of things have changed. Books and reports can be released as ebooks and offered in downloadable PDF format. Tools and applications for doing this are becoming more popular and affordable.

Additionally, if you take the time to format that PDF ebook correctly, you can have it printed and sold at places like Lulu.com, CafePress.com, and many other print-on-demand publishers.

(I’ve started a Lulu.com storefront where I’ll be promoting reports, ebooks, and books in the coming months, as I have time to research and write them. Currently, there is one free downloadable copy of my Act On Your Dream! newsletter.)

Since writing and self-publishing have moved up higher on my to-do list, I researched these topics on Amazon.com this evening. As a result, I’ve added a new section to my Amazon store for Writing and Self-Publishing Books.

I have an older copy of Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual and I’m looking forward to buying and reading his latest edition.

Most people who dream of being a writer don’t know that writing is only one part of the job. Perhaps more important than writing a good book is promoting and publicizing it. If nobody knows about it, you won’t sell very many copies!

I added a few books about writing non-fiction, but most of the books in the new section are about promoting, publicizing, and networking. After all, if you’re reading this blog, you’re probably interested in affiliate marketing and other topics related to online marketing, so I’m sure you will find books of interest in this new section of my bookstore.

I’m always interested in your comments and recommendations. If you know of an excellent book about writing, self-publishing, or promoting books, I hope you’ll share with us.

Act on your dream!

JD

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4 Comments on Writing and Self-Publishing section added to bookstore

  1. Pat on Mon, 25th Aug 2008 2:21 am

    2. Congratulations on your success. I look forward to hearing more!!

  2. John Dilbeck on Mon, 25th Aug 2008 10:22 am

    3. Thank you, Pat. It’s always good hearing from you.

    I look forward to sharing what I learn, and hearing about great resources and sites that you discover, too.

    Act on your dream!

    JD

  3. Patricia Fry on Tue, 26th Aug 2008 2:02 pm

    4. Hello JD,

    Check out my hallmark book, “The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.” It is a good companion to my friend, Dan Poynter’s book. And it covers all publishing options. Learn more at my website and/or my amazon book page. Also, let me know if you have any questions.

    Patricia Fry, President
    SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) http://www.spawn.org

  4. John Dilbeck on Wed, 27th Aug 2008 7:39 am

    5. Hi Patricia,

    Thanks for letting me know about your book:

    The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.

    I’ve added it to my Amazon bookstore and moved it to the first page in the Writing and Self-Publishing section.

    The reviews are good and I look forward to reading it.

    Act on your dream!

    JD

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