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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Latest Publishing Articles Subscribe

Don’t Let This Happen to You! - From The Vault of Publishing Horror Stories

by Carolyn Madison ~ July 8th, 2008

I’ve noticed that nothing gets fingers pointing, phones ringing, keyboard clicking, and inboxes flaming faster than errors found after a piece of writing is published. It’s bad enough if it happens on a Web site where it can be quickly fixed, but when it happens in printed material, especially in books, it’s even worse.

From Self-Published To Published - The 10 Deadly Sins of Writing a Query Letter

by Jeff Rivera ~ July 8th, 2008

There are few things I’ve learned from helping so many authors get agents and I have developed what I like to call the “10 Deadly Sins”. Commit any of these sins in your query letter and you can kiss your shot at getting an agent goodbye.

Sales amateur vs. sales professional

by Alen Majer ~ July 8th, 2008

I am sure you have heard about salespeople earning $200-300k, a million or even more. Do you think this sales person is better than you are? They are not much different from you; they are not geniuses or impeccable experts in their field.

Bookstore Distribution—Self Publishing Dream come true or The Emperor’s New Clothes?

by Ron Pramschufer ~ July 8th, 2008

Remember the childhood story of the Emperor who paraded around in his underwear but the royal subjects were too afraid to say anything until one day a small child blurted out “the emperor has no clothes.” Well I am a long way from being a small child but I am going to blurt out for all to hear, “Bookstore distribution is the publishing’s emperor who has no clothes.”

Bookstore Distribution – You think that you have problems?

by Bob Johnson ~ July 8th, 2008

The demise of Biblio Distribution has some lessons for seasoned and rookie authors and publishers alike. That’s why I’ve written the following open letter to the president of Biblio’s parent company, National Book Network (NBN), a company that continues to try to drag down with it some of the small publishers formerly associated with Biblio.

How to Negotiate a Large Order for Your Book

by Brian Jud ~ July 8th, 2008

The ultimate objective is to close the sale on your first visit with a buyer. However, this is unlikely to happen, particularly for a large order. The negotiating process begins when you try to close the sale and the buyer disagrees with, or objects to one or more of your terms or conditions. Start the negotiating process by asking questions. Find out as much as you can about the other side’s concerns (do not refer to them as objections). Why did the buyer not accept your initial proposal? How far apart are your positions? If close, can you split the difference

Finding Leads (for Free) for Your Cold Calling Campaign

by Wendy Weiss ~ July 8th, 2008

(Part 1) Not sure where to start with your cold calling campaign? Not sure who you should be calling or where to find great leads? Never fear. Leads are everywhere and you can find them easily and inexpensively