February 4, 2012

I want to self-publish a book. Where do I start?

I want to self-publish a book.  Where do I start? – Self-Publishing has never been any easier, as long as you go into the process prepared. Unfortunately it’s a virtual minefield out there, which you need to successfully navigate, or you can end up flushing lots of money down the toilet. Your primary mission is to properly analyze your personal situation and set your goals accordingly. Those of you who have been through this process realize that this is easier said then done.  Now there is a simple quiz you can take to help you get started on the right foot and give you the best chance of achieving your goals. (Click here to read more)

Having worked with self-publishers on book publishing projects for over 35 year, I found that most potential book publishers have the same set of core questions.  To answer these core questions, I co-authored the book, Publishing Basics- a Guide for the Small Press and Independent Self-Publisher.  This book is about to go into its fourth edition and has helped over 30,000 authors make the transition from author to book publisher.  Publishing Basics is available as a free download by clicking here.

While the Publishing Basics book provides a general foundation of the book publishing business, it is not targeted to a particular author’s specific needs. Targeting individual needs has always been a little more problematic, in a cost-effective scenario because lengthy individual attention is expensive. Enter the selfpublishing.com “What kind of self-publisher are you?” self publishing test.  This quiz asks the potential book publisher to answer seven simple questions. The answers to these questions are then reviewed and an individualized self publishing analysis is returned to the author.

A combination of the book Publishing Basics book and this individualized analysis, gives the author the clear picture of what lies ahead on the road to becoming a successful book publisher.  Take the quiz today.  The analysis might surprise you.
Take Self-Publishing Analysis Quiz Now!

Ron Pramschufer
RJ Communications
www.self-publishing.com

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Ron Pramschufer

Ron Pramschufer has been in or around the printing and publishing industry for over 35 years. His experience, including working in the pressroom, bindery, production office and estimating department helped give him a firm foundation to build on when he entered sales and management. He was partners in a small press publishing company in Annapolis, MD in the late seventies and co-invented and marketed two controversial political board games which sold over 100,000 copies in the early eighties. Moving from his home state of Maryland to New York City after his game experience, Ron sold printing services to, primarily, small to mid-sized book publishers for over a decade before founding RJ Communications with an old friend. Ron recognized the potential of the Internet very early as a powerful communications tool. In 1997 he started one of the first printer related websites, www.rjcom.com, which caters to the professional print buyer. This evolved into www.BooksJustBooks.com and more recently www.selfpublishing.com which target the print buying novice, primarily self-publishers. All three sites are still operating successfully and SelfPublishing.com was named as one of Writers Digest’s, 101 Best websites for writers for 2006. Educating the novice print buyer has been a top priority from day one. To help address this issue, Ron co-authored the popular title Publishing Basics- a Guide for the Small Press and Independent Self-Publisher, now in its Third Edition, as well as Publishing Basics for Children’s Books, in its Second Edition. He is the organizer of the monthly Publishing Basics Newsletter where he writes a sometimes controversial Ask Ron column which addresses various aspects of the publishing process. On the same note, he started the Publishing Basics Radio PodCast in 2005 and serves as the show’s host. A wide variety of topics are covered including a very popular series titled, The Truth Behind POD Publishing, where he conducts interviews with a select group of industry insiders. Since its inception, RJ Communications has helped thousands of customers print over 105 million books. Ron is married and has three children. His daughter, Stephanie, teaches second grade and recently self-published her first children’s book in the Oliver the Clownfish series. Matthew, his oldest son, owns a website design business and Erik, the youngest, is enjoying high school.

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Comments

  1. Reese Garab says:

    Hi Ron,

    I thoroughly enjoy your news letters, and am writing my first short book, and would like to order your book, Publishing Basics 3rd edition, but can’t find it anywhere. Your web site said “sorry sold out” Could you please help me with this.

    Thanks

    Reese

  2. anne says:

    Thank you for your helpful articles. How many pages is Publishing Basics? I’d like to know before downloading.

    HI,
    It’s 112 pages. If you send me a mailing address to ron@rjcom.com, I’ll mail you a printed copy, free of charge
    Ron

  3. Deborah McLeod says:

    I am very interested in reading the information that you have available. I thank you for all that you send me.

  4. Paul says:

    Hi Ron
    i am considering writing and publishing a book on the origins and history of cigarette packet advertising. It has been a collecting interest of mine for almost 30 years and i have amassed enough information, i think, to produce a book on this subject. The book will primarliy consist of graphics (which i own) of old cigarette packets and advertising. I plan to do as much of the work as possible, but i am concerned as to the printing cost due to the large amount of graphics that it will contain, possibly 100 or more. I am looking to produce less than 100. I have found your articles very helpful but but have been unable to find information relating to the cost of printing graphical content. I would like to know if you think this is a feasible endeavour and what sort of cost would be involved in publishing such a book, with approximately 100 pages with up to 100 graphical images.
    Any hints would be very much appreciated.
    Love this site
    Paul

  5. Paul Feldman says:

    Hello again Ron,

    I am getting ready to download your book about self publishing childrens books and would like know how many pages it contains before doing so.
    Thank you.

    Paul Feldman

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