Are you an author who wants to publish a book but you don't know how to do it? Don't worry, take a few minutes of free time and make yourself comfortable because in this article I want to explain to you what self-publishing is and what they are the best Self Publishing sites that allow you to create and print your novels yourself, how they work and above all how much you can earn without having a publisher.
What is Self Publishing? Some time ago to publish a book you had to send it to several publishing houses and often the author did not receive any response. In modern times, self-publishing of books has become a consolidated and rapidly growing reality and has favored the birth of great writers. In fact, self-publishing allows a professional or amateur writer to take care of his own volume from start to finish: conception, drafting, correction, graphics and printing. We even get to the waxing of the personalized cover and the definition of the price to the public. In short, it is the author himself who also plays the role of editor, taking care of everything in complete autonomy.
The best self publishing sites they do not make any selection of the material and the author is responsible for what his book contains. This means that you will not have a review and control of the text, but in return there is no danger of being rejected.
The first step is to write a book whether it is a novel, an essay, a diary or a biography. The system is very flexible and allows you to publish illustrated or photographic books yourself. Each service has standards to be respected for what concerns the sending of the material. Usually this will involve creating a text file with suitable formatting and then uploading the document in the required format, which could also be .doc, docx, pdf or other.
From now on, the upload procedure may vary by service. Generally, the creation of the artwork for the cover is provided through an integrated tool. Thorough checking of the file to make sure it does not contain typos and listing. Some self-publishing services focus on the ePub format, then on eBooks, but most allow the creation of the classic paper volume.
In both cases, readers will be able to purchase the book through the site of the service itself and you will receive a payment directly to the current account through a bank transfer.
Self-publishing requires a considerable amount of work and a certain skill not only in writing, but also in the creation of the graphics, in the correction of proofs and in the management of sales, including advertising.
For all these reasons, self publishing sites often make available extra services ranging from paid review of the manuscript by a professional, to application of the code ISBN, a unique book identification code whose purpose is to allow you to sell your book through both physical and online bookstores.
A different speech deserves the YouTube's ADS, but click on them,, where to invest to increase sales? More established self publishing services can help you with advertising banners on other sites, With the 'optimization SEO to find your book more easily in search engines and even support you in selling in book circuits of national level.
THE BEST SELF PUBLISHING SITES
Over time, self-publishing sites have increased and greatly improved the usability and availability of ancillary services, also simplifying the payment systems for authors' fees. Let's see together which are the most famous:
LULU
Lulu - is a self-publishing site that allows the creation of eBooks and paper books, also offering a good choice of ancillary services, such as the ISBN code and the possibility of selling the book on numerous international platforms.
To subscribe to Lulu you have to click on the official page, on the link above Log in / Sign up and typing on the next page Full name, Email e Password, accept the terms and conditions, and press Create an account. Once registered, you can write, edit and format your book, choose format, paper and binding, indicate the title and author name, upload the formatted book file, create the cover and finally publish it.
How are earnings and author commission calculated on Lulu? The author's income is the total amount of money obtained from the sale of the published material. The author's earnings include royalties and other earnings.
On the sale of a paper book, 80% of the total profit goes to the author of the book. While for eBooks, the gain is 90%. Lulu's commission represents 25% of the compensation the creator sets for the books that get published. This grants Lulu a commission corresponding to 20% of the total profit of each item sold. So if your creator's fee is $ 4, Lulu adds a $ 1 fee. The total profit is 5 euros, 1 euro constitutes 25% of 4 euros (your earnings as a creator) and 20% of 5 euros which represents the total profit.
As for the payments, Lulu pays the author's earnings through check or by paying them directly into an account PayPal.
MY BOOK
My book - is among the most popular self publishing portals in Spain, both for its ease of use and versatility. The site manages digital and paper books indifferently, with services that support the author in the correct layout and creation of an eBook. In addition to the more common extras, such as the ISBN code and the sale in international circuits, this online service offers the possibility to the author to decide the cover price and define his own margin, excluding printing costs. For example, with a cover price of € 16, the author could pocket € 3,50.
To subscribe to My Book you need to connect to the official website and click on the button above: Sign Up. On the following page you will have to enter Email, Date of Birth, Name, Surname and Password, accept the general conditions and consent to the processing of personal data and then click on Confirmation.
When you have finished creating an account, you can press the button Create and Publish to self-publish your book. When you insert a book in the catalog and publish it on the site, you will remain the owner of the rights to your work.
You can promote it through advertisements on Facebook, Google, Repubblica and other marketing tools. Furthermore, by expanding the distribution of your product with the ISBN code, you can also make it available on the IBS.com website.
After you decide the price you can start earning by providing My Book, IBAN and bank name to receive the earnings credit.
How are earnings and author commission calculated on My Book? The author's earnings for the sale of each book is the difference between the selling price of the book and the price of the services provided by the site.
The showcase service is offered by the site for a fee and must be paid for in making the sales. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of your work will be retained by the site to cover the hosting service offered. The price in this case is equal to 20% of the difference between the retail price (including VAT) and the printing price (including VAT) and not less than 0,36 (including VAT). For example, if you sold the book for 10 euros and the print price is 6 euros, the window price will be 0,8 euros.
If, on the other hand, 20% of the difference between the sale price and the print price is less than 0,36, the system will apply the minimum price for the service, which will be 0,36.
AMAZON KDP
Amazon KDP - if you favor eBooks, Amazon's offer is definitely the best, as it reaches the audience of e-reader users. Compared to other services, the operations to sell through Amazon are much more laborious even if the showcase of the American giant has no equal.
To sign up for KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) you need an account Amazon. If you don't have one click on Sign Up and follow the steps required by the site.
At the end you can publish paper books and eBooks.
Publication of paper books: allows you to be the owner of the copyrights, the book will never be out of print, with Amazon's websites you can also reach European and Intercontinental readers, finally you can earn royalties up to 60% on the list price you set, less printing costs. To publish a paper book you must prepare the book and make sure that it confirms the site guidelines, then log in to KDP with your account and from your library press on Create new title click on + Paper book. Fill in all the required information and at the end set the list price.
Publishing of eBooks: allows you to maintain control over the rights and independently set list prices, to have the book available in Kindle stores around the world, to earn up to 70% royalty on sales around the world. To publish you need to prepare text and cover, make sure the book complies with the site guidelines, log in to KDP and in the library, go to the section Create new title and click + eBook Kindle. Fill in all the required information and at the end set the list price (digital books must have list prices within the minimum and maximum prices indicated in the List Price Requirements.
How are earnings and author commission calculated on Amazon KDP? For each digital book you can choose between 2 royalty options, the 35% and 70% royalty option.
- In the first case, the royalty rate at 35% is calculated on the list price of the digital book, excluding VAT. 35% Royalty Rate x (List Price - applicable VAT) = Royalty
- In the second case, the 70% royalty rate is calculated on the list price of the digital book, excluding VAT, minus the shipping costs for sales to customers residing in the Sales Territories such as France, Germany, United States, Spain and so on. (for more information take a look at the Pricing Page). 70% Royalty Rate x (List Price - Applicable VAT - Shipping Costs) = Royalty.
Royalties are paid 60 days after the end of the month in which the payment threshold (100 euros) has been reached. The payment methods are: bank transfer, check and direct deposit (EFT). This is a payment method, also called an electronic transfer, which will allow you to receive the royalties you have earned without the need for a minimum threshold for crediting.
CONCLUSIONS
I conclude by recalling that all the author's fees are subject to taxation according to current regulations and must be declared if the author is required to provide a tax return.
