The Fine Print of Self-Publishing [NOOK Book]

Don¿t wait any longer to publish your book - Make your own big break¿

"Whether your idea of a big break is to have your book published so your story can be read by family and friends or to become the next writer on the best-seller lists, you have some decisions to make. You can publish your query-letter-writing skills and spend the time it takes to get your manuscript into the hands of an agent or traditional publisher... Or, you can take control of your writing career and spend a little money to publish your book...Forget the agents and the publishers - you don't need them..." "Don't wait any longer to publish your book - Make your own big break..." Mark Levine writes in Chapter 1 of "The Fine Print of Self Publishing." <BR/><BR/>Levine continues to cover other aspects of self-publishing including: Chapter 2, Why You Need to Read This Book; Chapter 3, The Nine Qualities of a Good Self-Publishing Company; Chapter 4, The Fine Print of Publishing Contract; Chapter 5, Analyzing the Fine Print of Each Publisher's Contract and Service; Chapter 6, Outstanding Self-Publishing Companies; Chapter 7, Some Pretty Good Self-Publishing Companies; Chapter 8, Publishers Who Are Just OK; Chapter 9, Publishers To Avoid; Conclusion, You Found a Publisher, Now What; and Acknowledge. <BR/><BR/>"The Fine Print of Self Publishing" offers valuable advice and good information. It can save you a lot of time and research. The one thing I think Levine can do to improve this book is to provide a simplified excel sheet to do an apple-to-apple comparison of all the firms that he includes in the book, lists the standard items like publishing package cost, number of author's free copy, custom cover cost, editing cost, area of distribution, LCCN cost, ISBN cost, copyright registration cost, annual cost for maintaining the e-file at publisher's server, percentage of the publisher's mark up of print cost, etc. That will save us a lot more time. <BR/><BR/>Overall, "The Fine Print of Self Publishing" is a very good book. You'll be glad if you buy this book, it is well-worthy of your money. <BR/><BR/>Gang Chen, a Book Reviewer for Bookpleasures <BR/>Author of "LEED AP Exam Guide" & "Planting Design Illustrated." LEED AP, AIA

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Excellent place to start for all budding writers

As self-publishing, or Print-on-Demand (POD) publishing is becoming more popular, an important question for authors concerns the contract they are about to sign. Are they getting a good deal from the publisher, or are they (figuratively) signing their life away?

The book explores a number of things that the author must consider before signing a contract. Are the publishing fees fairly priced? Does it have a good reputation in the writing community? Does it offer decent royalties without fuzzy math? Can the author easily terminate the contract? Does the contract include the ability to obtain an ISBN or a UPC Bar Code? Never accept a contract whose terms extend for the length of the copyright (the life of the author plus 70 years). What happens to your book if the publisher declares bankruptcy?

Much of the book is taken up with an analysis of the contracts from 48 different self-publishers. The Outstanding publishers include Booklocker, Bookpros, Cold Tree Press, Infinity Publishing and Outskirts Press. The Pretty Good companies include Booksurge Publishing, Echelon Press and Third Millennium Publishing. The Okay publishers include Indy Publish, Llumina Press, Plane Tree Publishing and Publish to Go. The Bad publishers (to be avoided at all costs) include AuthorHouse, Holy Fire Publishing, PageFree Publishing and PublishAmerica. Any author thinking of signing with a "Bad" publisher needs to seriously reconsider if being a writer is really a good idea.

There is a more recent third edition available (this is the first edition). Regardless of the edition, this book needs to be on every budding author's bookshelf. It is full of information on what to consider, and what to avoid, before signing a book contract.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Hill Crests Media's Mark A Levine Disbarred lawyer Mark A. Lev

Hill Crests Media's Mark A Levine
Disbarred lawyer Mark A. Levine was sentenced Tuesday to four years and nine months in prison, the longest term imposed on members of a property-flipping ring.
Levine, 34, of Excelsior, was the only person charged in connection with flipping to take his case to a jury, which found him guilty Dec. 1 of 13 charges, including fraud and money laundering. He then pleaded guilty to another charge from a different indictment.
U.S. District Judge David Doty also sentenced Levine to share responsibility with others involved in the schemes for restitution of $183,419 to seven flip victims.

Very Infomational and Positive

Great Information for new writers,wanting information and facts about self publishing.

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