SELL to CAN. LIBRARIES

CONTRACT REVIEW

MENTORING

WRITING RESOURCES

LINKS to Publishing Info

Marketing Resources

PUBLISHING RESOURCES

Barbara Florio Graham will review your publishing contract, commenting on the contract terms, flagging problems, suggesting modifications, and letting you know if there are any clauses that you should refer to a lawyer. Barbara is not a lawyer, and she is not offering legal services. But she's had sufficient experience (having worked as a law clerk) to understand legal language, and has considerable expertise in contract terms and copyright.  A full explanation of this service can be found HERE.

FIND an EDITOR, DESIGNER, ILLUSTRATOR, PHOTOGRAPHER, PROOFREADER, INDEXER, and other useful resources.

CANADIAN LIBRARIES DATABASE
90+ Canadian libraries with purchasing power, ready to print on labels

 

The best way to self-publish your book is with SmashWords
It costs nothing, and they don't try to upsell with extra services.
BUT you have to pay to have your book professionally edited first,
and create (or pay for) an excellent cover design. Then you can upload your book in Word to Smashwords, and they create the ebook in all formats, and distribute widely.

Imprimerie Gauvin is the local printer of choice for those in the Ottawa region. Hull's first genuine commercial printing business, opened in November 1892, they offer offset printing, high-end digital printing, and a mix of both to offer customers a wide range of options at highly competitive prices. They offer a discount to members of Ottawa Independent Writers.

CHECK OUT these warnings about publishing scams before you consider working with any publisher who asks you to pay some or all of the costs:   SFWA.org   Writer's Weekly 

Red Tuque Books is a Canadian distributor for Canadian small presses 
and self-published Canadian authors. 
www.redtuquebooks.ca

A book’s cover represents 73% of the buying decision; price represents 17%; rating represents 10%.
Canva offers free help to design your own book cover.

               The New York Times reviews about 1% of the books that come out in any given year.

Canadian authors now have an organization of agents to consult. Collectively, they represent  represent more than 1,000 writers and illustrators, allowing authors to communicate with the majority of agencies through one officially designated group when it comes to industry issues. The Professional Association ofCanadian Literary Agents  will work closely not only with book publishers but also with federal and provincial governments, prize granting organizations, writers associations, booksellers, literary festivals, review media, and educational institutions.

Publishing Options  This page discusses all the options authors can choose from.

Terry Whalin is the author of more than 60 books from traditional publishers, a former literary agent and still works as an acquisitions editor. He points out that editors and publishers don't read manuscripts; they want a solid proposal. Whalin's book, Book Proposals that Sell, offers 21 secrets to writing a winning proposal. He also offers courses and seminars to help you through the process. Go to http://SimonTeakettle.com/nonfiction.htm

The Self Publisher's Ultimate Resource Guide lists more than 850 curated and verified resources in 33 Categories, compiled by Joel Friedlander and Betty Kelly Sargent. Endorsed by all the top names in the field, including Dan Poynter, Joan Stewart and Patricia Fry, the surtitle of this book describes it perfectly, as every indie author’s essential directory, to help you prepare, publish, and promote professional looking books.
Order from http://www.thebookdesigner.com/

Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual is in its 16th printing. Poynter died in 2015, but his last book was Volume 2 of the Manual, bearing the subtitle, How to Write, Print and Sell Your Own Book Employing the Latest Technologies and the Newest Techniques. It explains how to write your book faster, publish it for less, discover more economical ways to distribute your book, and earn more profit by cutting out the middlemen. This book covers print books, e-books, audiobooks, and others.

Bobbi Linkemer is a prolific author, writing coach, ghostwriter, and editor. She's written a number of books about writing and publishing, including How to Write a Nonfiction Book: From planning to promotion in 6 simple steps (7th Edition), and The Prosperous Author: The business of writing books.

Author Jane Friedman offers a wide range of advice and experience with all kinds of publishers:
http://janefriedman.com

The Fine Print of Self-Publishing, by Mark Levine, which compares and ranks more than a dozen companies in this growing field. Full review HERE.  This is an area where things change very quickly, companies are purchased by others, terms change, and there are new additions all the time. So you need to have the most current edition. The fourth edition is out now. Mark has two other websites with useful info. Start with
www.Go-Publish-Yourself.com.


Self Publishing: Writing A Book and Publishing Books and eBooks For Yourself and Others
is a  workbook containing 22 chapters of detailed instructions and more than 140 screen shots illustrating every step in the writing and self-publishing process. A. William Benitez, whose company, Positive Imaging, LLC, offers writing, publishing, distribution and web design services, has provided the first clear, comprehensive guide I've come across. Best of all, he describes how to use  free and/or inexpensive software, offering step-by-step instructions for using each one. Read my full review HERE. There's also a complete description of the book, with ordering information, at:  http://selfpublishingworkbook.com  Benitez also offers a free self-publishing eCourse at:http://publishingsimplified.com/FreeSPCourse/SPeCourse2012.pdf


 A blog which discusses the problems with Author Solutions (owned by Penguin) and how to control your book's future without succumbing to scams: The Value of Control by David Gaughran. Don't be mislead by affiliations with top brand names. Penguin Random House owns the world’s largest vanity press – Author Solutions – which is currently subject to a class action for deceptive business practices, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and violation of business statutes in California, New York, and Colorado. Author Solutions and its parent company, Abbott Press, were also listed as a "Writer's Digest Company" until spring, 2014.

Choosing A Self Publishing Service 2014: The Alliance of Independent Authors Guide, compiled by the Watchdog team at The Alliance of Independent Authors, draws on recommendations from ALLi members, warnings from their Watchdog Services, other community word-of-mouth and in-depth research, comparing the most significant self-publishing services -- from single service suppliers to package providers; from large big brand names to smaller sole traders; from off-the shelf providers to bespoke services. The guide evaluates these players, compares one to the other, tells you what they do and don’t do, what they charge and for what. Offerings are categorized, prices examined, royalty structures broken down, terms and conditions trawled, small print scrutinized, and claims checked against the experience of real-life authors who have actually used these services. Using these twenty examples, the guide shows you how to do such a comparison yourself: the good and bad signs to look for, the questions to ask. The aim is to demonstrate all the options you are likely to encounter and show which services are doing a good job — and why you might avoid others. Most importantly, in a landscape where things change rapidly, the Guide provides the criteria by which you can evaluate any author service. This is updated annually by ALLi's Watchdog team, so all the information is bang up-to-date.

Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author  (Allworth Press, 2012) is the 35th book from Patricia Fry. Patricia's previous books include The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book,  A Writer’s Guide to Magazine Articles for Book Promotion and Profit, and Over 75 Good Ideas for Promoting Your Book. I've contributed to a couple of these, including her other 2012 title from Allworth: Talk Up Your Book, How to Sell Your Book Through Public Speaking, Interviews, Signings, Festivals, Conferences and More. Also check Patricia's excellent blog at:  www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog  Patricia, the Executive Director of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network), a networking organization which she helped form in 1996, is also an excellent publishing consultant.

CHECK COMPARISON CHARTS for e-book and POD publishers, showing costs and royalties at
www.publishyourownebooks.com (tiny URL for specific page at: http://tinyurl.com/3nh3o6y

Angela Hoy, of WritersWeekly.com and BookLocker.com, provides comparisons of how many books you need to sell to recoup your investment if you use any of the popular POD publishers. Read it HERE.

Another useful site: https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/self-publishing

NEW:  Color House Graphics, Inc.: A privately owned business headquartered in Grand Rapids, MI, delivers quick response, high quality book manufacturing by combining digital and offset bookmanufacturing to help lower inventory cost. Contact Louis Segovia at Louis@colorhousegraphics.com

POD PUBLISHING COMPANIES I RECOMMEND: 

CANADIAN: Five Rivers Publishing is an independent publisher of fiction and non-fiction, giving voice to new and established Canadian authors. They pay royalties of 10% of retail price on print, 50% of net proceeds on digital.

U.S.: BookLocker produces beautiful books for self-publishers. You can obtain your own ISBN or let them assign one (no charge). They format for a very reasonable cost, print via Lightning Source (the standard in the industry), and distribute via Ingram. Prices are among the most reasonable in the field.

If you're self-publishing, you need a professional designer for your cover (front, spine and back, properly layered and ready to print) as well as for the interior, in digital format, ready to go to the printer as well as to ebook outlets. I recommend Mike O'Reilly, who has been a friend for many years. Contact him HERE.

Another option for self-publishers is particularly helpful for first-time authors. Foboko is an online tool that allows anyone to write, design, and publish e-books. There's no charge to use their Publishing Wizard software, to access the community, or to publish your book. They offer free distribution via Free-eBooks.net, which attracts over 1,000,000, unique visitors every month to their online library. Developed by Paradise Publishers in Nevada, the company appears to be a viable option for those who want to "test-drive" a book, obtain comments and assistance from other authors, and earn a bit of revenue via advertising posted around their eBook. 

Order free PDF reports on writing-related subjects, including correct manuscript format, how to form and run a critique circle, how to identify weak writing and repair it, self-publishing versus traditional publishing, and much more. Go to http://zebraeditor.com/free_reports.shtml

Free barcodes: http://www.barcoding.com/upc/

Royalty-free images: http://www.gettyimages.ca/creativeimages/royaltyfree

If you use public domain material for content, check out this page of resources: 
http://provencontent.com/resources/ 

Check http://www.biography.com/ if you need information about famous people, including lists and statistics.

Access a free checklist for social media image sizes at:
https://makeawebsitehub.com/social-media-image-sizes-cheat-sheet/

VIDEO TRAILER FOR YOUR BOOK

Canadian Printers:

Note the bar at the top of this page about a printer in the Ottawa area: 
Imprimerie Gauvin.

Go to http://www.beautebook.com/freebies/ to download a template that allows you to create your own six-by-nine book or e-book.

Help with Contracts and Legal Issues:

Barbara Florio Graham will review your publishing contract, commenting on the contract terms, flagging problems, suggesting modifications, and letting you know if there are any clauses that you should refer to a lawyer. Barbara is not a lawyer, and she is not offering legal services. But she's had sufficient experience (having worked as a law clerk) to understand legal language, and has considerable expertise in contract terms and copyright.  A full explanation of this service can be found HERE.

Independent Book Reviewers: 

CANADIAN LIBRARIES DATABASE
90+ Canadian libraries with purchasing power, ready to print on labels

A comprehensive resources site: http://100kresources.com/

WEBSITES for Publishing Information

            The Alliance of Independent Authors brings together self-published authors for mutual support.

            Bibliocrunch.com - an online resource connecting writers with the publishing professionals they need,  
            such as editors, graphic designers and formatters.

            BookDesignTemplates.com

            www.authorronknight.com  Ron Knight is a co-founder of UpAuthors, and his site contains many free
            booklets on book promotion, including 71 Ideas to Sell Books.

http://abookinsideforum.ning.com/  a forum for self-publishers

SOURCES: a searchable, deep-indexed database of Canadian experts, media spokespersons, and other sources of information.

ISBN information:

AGENTS & OTHER SERVICES:

CONTRACT REVIEW - JUST $75/hour. Contact Barbara Florio Graham: bfg at SimonTeakettle.com

            QueryTracker.net: About 200 publisher listings and 1,000 agent listings. Basic service is free.

            https://canadianauthors.org/national/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Literary_Agents_ListF.pdf 

            Poets & Writers: http://www.pw.org/

For a single list of 1,400 literary agents, including 250+ foreign rights agents, you can instantly download a copy in Word format for $30 at http://www.bookmarket.com/orderform.htm.

OTHER RESOURCES

BOOK PROMOTION & PUBLICITY

LIBRARY DIRECTORIES

           http://www.travelinlibrarian.info/libdir 
           http://www.webpan.com/msauers/libdir

           A list of 2,224 U.S. public and college libraries, in various data formats, for $40. from 
http://www.bookmarket.com/orderform.htm
Note that this is not a curated list, so probably contains many local branches who do not have purchasing power. 

CANADIAN LIBRARIES DATABASE
100+ Canadian libraries with purchasing power, ready to print on labels

The Donohue Group, Inc. (DGI) is a library contract services firm with extensive experience in cataloging, retrospective conversion and publisher cataloging-in-publication.

BEFORE YOU CONSIDER PRINT-ON-DEMAND OR INTERNET-BASED SERVICES, PLEASE CLICK HERE

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

CANADIAN LIBEL LAW

The Canadian Booksellers' Association

CLICK HERE FOR MARKETING RESOURCES

A NOTE RE DISTRIBUTION:
Ingram and Baker & Taylor are WHOLESALERS, not distributors. All they do is provide a way for booksellers to order the books. A distributor actively markets the books they represent to those booksellers, and most demand a higher discount--usually 65-75%.

RECOMMENDED SOFTWARE FOR WRITERS

CANADIAN LIBRARIES DATABASE
100+ Canadian libraries with purchasing power, ready to print on labels