Knowledge is Power!

  1. Publish (pub•lish), v., pub•lish•ing, To prepare and issue (printed material) for public distribution or sale.
  2. Basic (ba•sic) - Of, relating to, or forming a base; fundamental:
  3. Publisher (pub•lish•er) - n. One that is engaged in publishing printed material.
  4. Self, n. pl. selves - 1. The total, essential, or particular being of a person; the individual:
  5. Vanity Press n. A publisher that publishes a book at the expense of the author.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved

Self-Publishing is a virtual minefield. To successfully navigate the treacherous waters ahead you need to understand the “Basics” of Publishing as well as some “Basic” definitions.

Based on the above a “self-publisher” would be an individual who is engaged in the publishing of printed material. It’s as easy as that. If You Are Not The Publisher…You Are Not A Self- Publisher, Nor Are You Self-Publishing. The Publisher owns the ISBN used to identify your book. If you do not own the ISBN that appears in your book, you are not the publisher nor are you self-publishing.

On the other hand, look closely at the definition of vanity press. If you are not the publisher but are paying a publisher to publish your book, your book is being published by a vanity publisher. … Period…. No matter what they call themselves.

Your self-publishing journey starts with the purchase of a single ISBN. If you are interested in getting started on that journey, click here.

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It’s 102 degrees out… it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

by Ron Pramschufer ~ August 19th, 2010

It’s 102 degrees out….. it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. – How was your summer? In case you haven’t looked at the calendar lately, it’s almost over.  Around the Pramschufer household we’re busy packing bottles of shampoo and cases of “cup of noodles” in preparation for the trip back to Ohio to take [...]

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Caveat Emptor. “Let the buyer beware.” – Part II

by Phil Whitmarsh ~ August 19th, 2010

When I was about ten years old, I saw something that I have never been able to explain … until now. There was a house in our neighborhood with a sloping driveway that descended into the basement. We’re talking a 30-dgree angle here. I was walking to a friend’s house when I saw a group [...]

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Authors Who Love too Much

by Patrica Fry ~ August 19th, 2010

I’ve edited quite a few book proposals lately, and am noticing a common thread among them. Some authors are so passionate about their projects that they tend to lose their focus when attempting to pitch their books to agents or publishers. Sometimes an author is so in love with the concept of her book and [...]

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Phun with Phoners: 5 Radio Phone Interview Tips

by Burke Allen ~ August 19th, 2010

Many of the most effective radio interviews you’ll do are “phoners”, or interviews conducted on the telephone with a radio show (or in rare cases, a television show).  There are several techniques that are crucial for a successful phoner; here are five of the most important: Always keep in mind that you’re having a one-on-one [...]

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EBook basics: What is an EPub and what does it mean to the self-publisher?

by Ed Matte ~ August 19th, 2010

EPUB is short for Electronic Publication an open e-book standard that was developed by the International Digital Publishing Forum. EPUBs were specifically designed to work with the many e-readers that are now available. If you are reading  an EPUB on an e-reader and the text is too small for you,  you can simply change the [...]

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Platform, Positioning and Population

by Bill OHanlon ~ August 19th, 2010

I have had 30 books published by major publishers such as HarperCollins, John Wiley and Sons, W.W. Norton, Penguin and others. When I first became involved in writing and publishing trade books (publishing industry jargon referring to books for a general audience), I had an author’s mindset. That is, I was thinking like an author. [...]

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Never Stop Chasing Coverage

by Shel Horowitz ~ August 19th, 2010

If you talk to big publishers, you’ll hear a lot of malarkey about the brief, tiny window for news coverage on a new book-measured in months. This is absolute garbage, and they should know better. After all, they’ve invested many thousands of dollars in each book. It’s in their interest to succeed, although sometimes it [...]

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