Discusses various approaches in self-publishing.

1. Self-publishing
Vimal Kumar V.
Technical Assistant
Mahatma Gandhi University Library
Kerala
http://vimalkumar.info
WEBINAR ON 13 JUNE 2020, 11:30 AM
ORGANISED BY BENGAL LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

2. Summary
Traditional book publishing
Self-publishing
Copyright
Copyleft
Manuscript preparation
Prepare book for publishing
Publishing methods

3. Writing is hard
Publishing is easy

4. Book is a “non-periodical printed
publication of at least 49 pages
excluding covers.”
UNESCO

5. Traditional publishing
Image courtesy: coujennienash.com

6. Book Price
(One copy)
No. of books
sold
Royalty Income to
publisher
Total amount
100 1000 7,500 92,500 100,000
140 1000 10,500 129,500 140,000
200 1000 15,000 185,000 200,000
250 1000 18,750 231,250 250,000
Estimation of royalty to authors@7.5%
Royalty rates in India (Approx) 5%, 7.5%, 10%, 12.5%, and 15%.
Royalty matters

7. Traditional publishing Pros and Cons
Book publish under a brand name.
Professional approach.
They manage promotion and sales of
the books.
Time consuming process.
Rigorous review process.
Expensive.
Don’t expect a decent income.
Copyright problems.

8. Why writing is not a full time job?
Publishing houses charge the expenses in advance.
Discount to customers also affects the author's royalty.
Twice in a year, the royalty transfer to the author after the tax
deduction.
Very few well-known authors receive a higher rate of royalty.
Only lucky authors get translation, publishing, and film rights.
Popularity, and the respect from the society are the prime factors.

9. Self-publishing
Independent publishing process.
Author takes the full responsibility.
Freedom to take independent decisions.
Complete control over the publishing processes.

10. Various approaches in self-publishing
Online publishing
PDF, EPUB, Kindle, HTML, etc.
Paperback
Print on Demand, Offset printing
Mixed method
Both ebook and paperback copies.

11. Self-publishing Pros and Cons
Publish within short period of time.
Author himself can select professional
services.
Publish with the support of cutting edge
technologies.
Ebook and print editions can publish
simultaneously.
Make available books to anywhere.
Lot of misconceptions on self-publishing.
Expensive, if author can’t manage processes
alone.
Pricing of print on demand books little
higher.
Author need a good peer group support to
sell the books.
Need to invest more time and money.

12. Book publishing and copyright
Often copyright of the books goes to publishers.
DRM also restrict the circulation of digital version.
IPR restrict the wider circulation of books.
Limited number of books sell through
traditional channels.
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13. Copyleft
Usage increases when the book available
free.
More readers get the opportunity to use.
Opportunity for authors to interact with the
readers.
Copyleft licenses ensure copyright and the
free distribution of works.

14. Creative Commons
Suitable for the distribution of creative works.
It covers books, movies, plays, music, articles,
photographs, website and blogs.
Developed in 2002 under the guidance of
Lawrence Lessig (Harvard Law School).
Four conditions: Share, Attribution,
Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives.
Build license from here,
https://creativecommons.org/choose/

15. Manuscript preparation
Use a word processor for the manuscript preparation.
Use one word processor you are familiar with.
Traditional style word processing with MS Office,
LibreOffice.
LaTeX also good.
Cloud based, Google Docs and MS Office 365.

16. LaTeX document editor

17. Document in LibreOffice

18. Acquire ISBN
The ISBN agency in India is the Raja Rammohun Roy ISBN
Agency, located in New Delhi.
Online application at http://isbn.gov.in.
Publishers and individuals can apply for ISBN.
Aadhaar card, passport, address proof and PAN card details
need to upload.
Apply ISBN for paperback/hardcover/e-book.

19. Acquire ISBN…. Cover page

20. Acquire ISBN…. The model of Verso
page to upload at ISBN
site.

21. Acquire ISBN….
The model of title
Verso page to upload at
ISBN site.
For regional language
books write title name
in English letters.

22. Where to publish?
Open Access method
Websites and blogs
Academic social networks
Digital library/repository
Book selling
Self-publishing agency websites
Book selling websites

23. Where to publish?...
Websites/Blogs
Build a website/blog using
Wordpress or other content
management system.
Make use tools to know usage
analytics (e.g. Google Analytics)
It’s possible to collect feedback
and comments from readers.
Academic social networks
Research Gate,
Academia.
LinkedIn etc.

24. Where to publish?...
Digital library/IR
Deposit in working organisations DL/IR.
Deposit in any public DL/IR.
e.g. Internet Archive.
Commercial sites
Self-publishing agencies website
Book selling sites. e.g. Amazon

25. Publish through self-publishing agencies
Prepare your manuscript and cover.
Checking process of book meets content and quality guidelines.
Enter book details.
Choose royalty plan.
Publish and promote book.
Sales report.

26. Self-publishing in India
Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)
Pothi.com
Notion Press
Partridge

27. Publish through Amazon KDP
Decide the book size
Download template

28. Publish through Amazon KDP
Download a cover template

29. Amazon KDP book cover template

30. Book cover design using LibreOffice Draw

31. Get a free ISBN from Amazon KDP

32. Select book specifications

33. Upload the document and cover

34. Book preview before publishing

35. Book preview before publishing...

37. Pothi.com
Print on Demand service
Book printing
Author services
E-book publishing
Quick Print, Convert a PDF File to a
nicely bound Book.

39. Hybrid method
Prepare manuscript yourself or with the help of others.
Print the books in local press.
Sell through Amazon.in
No GST on books
Get paid every 7 days

40. Earnings from Amazon
Item Amount
Print cost /per book
(A4, 104 pages BW)
Rs. 75
Amazon charge Rs. 89
Total expense Rs. 164
Book price Rs. 350
Author income per book Rs. 186

41. Promotion
Social media
Webpages
Search engine optimisation
Friends circles
Professional groups.

42. Conclusion
Self-publishing is suitable for both academic and non-academic sector.
Easiest method to manifest the publishing process.
Books get global reach.
Author has to acquire the skills to manage the publishing process.
Self-publishing authors have to invest more time make it effective.

43. Thanks
My books available at
vimalkumar.info
Coming soon

44. Helpful links
Can Indian authors afford to pursue writing as a full time career?
Creative Commons License chooser
What is the difference between DPI, PPI, resolution and image size?
Raja Rammohun Roy National Agency for ISBN
Amazon Seller Central
Internet Archive
Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing
Swanthanthra Malayalam Computing Fonts