FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bestselling book about self-publishing has been revised, updated and expanded.
MILFORD, CT (March 7, 2011) — In late 2009, Michael N. Marcus wrote and published “Become a Real Self Publisher: don’t be a victim of a vanity press.” The book criticized “pay-to-publish” companies and urged authors to form their own small publishing companies to produce better books faster and make more money.
That book has been on two Amazon.com bestseller lists. Reviewers called it “amazingly complete and detailed,” and said “this encyclopedic book is vital for anyone with aspirations of becoming a published author.”
Publishing—especially self-publishing—is an extremely dynamic field. Self-publishing on paper and in “eBooks” is having tremendous growth. Marcus has just published an updated, revised, expanded (and better-looking) version of the 2009 book. It’s called “Independent Self-Publishing: the complete guide.” It has 88 more pages than the earlier book, but the price is the same. The new book is filled with valuable time-saving and money-saving advice. It covers recent developments which affect authors, such as the iPad, Microsoft Word 2010, Espresso Book Machine, Nook, Pubit!, AuthorHive, Google eBookstore, and even the Borders bankruptcy. There is an extensive section on eBooks and eBook readers, a large chapter on publishing terminology, reviews of recommended books and even help with grammar and spelling.
According to Marcus, “Many companies that charge authors to publish their books grossly overcharge for their services and are deceptive and careless. One company charges $249 for a copyright registration—that can be obtained easily by anyone for $35. Another charges $1.99 for promotional postcards that are readily available for about 10 cents each. The Library of Congress charges ZERO for a Control Number and it takes about five minutes to request one. One publisher charges its customers $99 to order the Control Number. These companies make most of their money by selling services and trinkets to misinformed and naive writers, not by selling books to readers. Some publishers claim to publish books for free—but no books are printed unless the publisher gets paid.”
Marcus has been writing professionally for over 40 years, and has had books published by traditional publishing companies both large and small. “One thing these companies all had in common,” says Marcus, “is that they published books that I didn’t like and they didn’t pay me much.” In an effort to have more control, produce better books and make more money, Marcus formed Silver Sands Books in 2008. He initially planned to publish just one book, but this book is his twelfth, and it shares what Marcus learned while publishing the first eleven.
This book will help writers sort out misstatements and misunderstandings. It will guide them from first word to first sale. It can help a frustrated writer make a quick and painless transition to become a less frustrated writer and publisher. According to Marcus, “For better and for worse, all creative people can now compete on a level playing field, and the ultimate judges of quality are readers—not the gatekeepers of traditional media businesses.”
The new book provides detailed advice and instructions on title selection, book design, page formatting, sales, advertising and publicity. It even includes a test to help writers decide if they are good enough to have commercial success, plus tips on forming, naming and operating a publishing business. The book covers hiring designers and editors, compares the costs and earnings for different methods of publishing, and discusses copyrights, sources of inexpensive high-quality photographs, pricing a book, setting up a website, getting book reviews, and much more.
Cover price for “Independent Self-Publishing: the complete guide” is $19.95. The ISBN is 978-0-9816617-9-7. It is sold by Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and other online and terrestrial booksellers. Review copies are available from the publisher.
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Contact: Michael N. Marcus
Silver Sands Books
www.SilverSandsBooks.com
1.888.225.3999
books@ablecomm.com
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