The Glynn Stewart How-To Guide for Self-Publishing

A few people have asked me for a guide on the mechanics of self-publishing. Thankfully, most people seem to realize that ‘being successful’ at self-publishing is both a vague metric and a lot harder to tell people how to do!

Last night I sat down and finally wrote it. I used the same style I’d use for a basic office process manual, so it gets pretty simplistic at points.

For the curious, the text is after the cut:

Pre-Upload

1. Write the novel.
2. Review novel formatting. Chapter and title headers should be set up as styles in Word. Paragraphs should be indented via formatting instead of spaces, etc. (See Smashwords Style Guide: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/52 for hints)
3. I generally dis-recommend KDP select, but take a look at it. It provides the following benefits:
   • Ability to do promotions on Amazon (either free days or ‘countdown deals’)
   • Inclusion in the Kindle Lending Library. (This allows members of the Kindle Unlimited Program and the Amazon Prime program to read your book for free. If they read more than 10%, you are paid an amount based on the number of borrows over the month and the funding Amazon provides (this is currently ~$1.50, and seems to be trending downwards)
4. At this point, all spellchecking, formatting etc. should be complete. This version of the file is what I call the ‘GOLD’ version (term stolen from the music industry).
5. Save two copies of this file – label one Amazon, one Smashwords. (I do some others, but these will cover almost all of your bases). The Smashwords file must be a .doc, not a .docx.

Smashwords Upload

6. In the Smashwords file, add the following copyright disclaimer (required by Smashwords)  (Replace my name with yours, obviously)

By Glynn Stewart

Copyright 2014 by Glynn Stewart

Smashwords Edition

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

7. Go to Smashwords.com. Click the ‘Publish’ button in the top bar.
8. Fill in the name, long synopsis and short synopsis. Make sure both the long synopsis and short synopsis are complete back cover text you think can sell the book. (Many of Smashwords Vendors only post the short synopsis)
9. Set pricing. I currently use $0.99 USD for novellas and $3.99USD for novels.
10. Set categories. Primary AND Secondary – any way that you think people will search for the book.
11. Set the tags. Same as above, any phrase, word or collection that will bring people to the book. I use this list (from Amazon, it will be important when we do that upload): https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A2G3ZMYDPB9VRM
12. Review the e-book formats. This should not require any changing.
13. Under ‘Cover Image’ click ‘Choose File’ and select your cover image.
14. Under ‘Select file of book to publish’ click ‘Choose File’ and select the Smashwords version of the file we prepared earlier.
15. Read the Terms and Services if you haven’t already.
16. Click “Yes, I agree” and “Publish Immediately”
17. Smashwords will grind on the book for a few minutes. You don’t need to remain on this page.
18. You may receive ‘auto-vetting errors’ from Smashwords. These are, in my experience, relatively clear and easy to fix. Do so, then re-upload. (It’s usually wise to duplicate these fixes in the Amazon file).
19. Go to the Dashboard for a few final steps.
    • In Channel Manager, tell Smashwords not to distribute to Amazon. (They don’t unless you have over $2,000 in sales with them, but you don’t want to have to worry about it)
    • In VAT Manager, turn on the tool. This adjusts your prices in Europe to account for their VAT rules.
    • In ISBN Manager, find your recently uploaded book and click ‘Assign ISBN.’ Smashwords pays for this ISBN and it is required to distribute to several of their retailers.
20. Smashwords is now done. They will sell directly on their store and distribute to Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and a bunch of minor retailers that almost never sell anything.

 

Amazon Upload

21. In the Amazon file add the following copyright notice (this is not required, and can also be included at the end of the file).  (As with Smashwords, obviously use your name)

Copyright 2014 by Glynn Stewart

All rights reserved. This eBook is licensed for the personal enjoyment of the original purchaser only. This eBook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this eBook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons— living or dead— is entirely coincidental.

22. Use Word’s automatic table of contents generator to generate a table of contents from your chapter headings. This creates a set of internal bookmarks that Kindles recognize and use for navigation. I put this at the end of the novel.
23. Go to kdp.amazon.com. Sign in and go to the ‘bookshelf’ page.
    • Note that Amazon is fine with you connecting this to your current personal account, or setting up a new Amazon profile for it. I use my personal account to avoid confusing myself.
24. Click “Add New Title”
25. Enter your book name and description.
26. Click ‘Add contributors’
    • Under title select ‘Author.
    • Add your name, then click ‘Save’
27. Under ‘Verify Your Publishing Rights’ click: “This is not a public domain work and I hold the necessary publishing rights.”
    • (As the author, you hold all publishing rights unless you have contractually surrendered them)
28. Click ’Add Category.’ Navigate down to the category for your novel (I’d suggest clicking the ‘Fiction’ bar at the top.
    • Select two categories, then hit save.
29. Add keywords. Here’s where https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A2G3ZMYDPB9VRM comes in handy. That page is for SF&F, but you can navigate to similar ones for most major genres.

The page tells you what keywords will put your novel in which browse-able sub-categories.

THESE ARE VITAL on Amazon.

For example, Starship’s Mage has rarely been past #20 on the Space Opera list on Amazon.com, and has rarely been in the Science Fiction list at all – but the last couple of episodes have spent a long time in the top twenty of Space Exploration, where they have clearly caught attention.

30. Under ‘Upload or Create a Book Cover’ select ‘Browse for Image’ and select your cover image.
31. Under ‘Upload Your Book File’ click ‘Browse’ and select your book file – the docx file we have prepared for Amazon with the active table of contents.
32. There is an option to enable Digital Rights Management. Since I don’t want to make life harder for my readers for very little reduction in piracy, I don’t activate it.
33. Click ‘Save and Continue.’ This takes you to Amazon’s pricing page.
34. Set your USD price the same as on Smashwords (Amazon will reduce their price to match any lower price their spider programs find on the internet).
35. If your price is over $2.99, select the 70% royalty option at the top.
36. Do NOT leave the prices to auto-calculate. If you leave them like this, the final prices in each country look extremely unprofessional. (On Smashwords you have no choice with their VAT Manager right now, but since you can control it on Amazon – do!)
37. I usually go through and round each price to the nearest 0.49 or 0.99 (or equivalent in the local currency). European prices are inclusive of VAT, but the page will show you the VAT exclusive price (this is what the royalty will be based on)
38. The last two options are Kindle Matchbook, which is irrelevant unless you are also putting out a physical copy; and Kindle Book Lending, which allows people who have purchased the book to lend it to friends and family.
39. After deciding on Matchbook and Book Lending, read the terms and conditions if you haven’t already, then click the “By clicking Save and Publish below, I confirm that I have all rights necessary to make the content I am uploading available for marketing, distribution and sale in each territory I have indicated above, and that I am in compliance with the KDP Terms and Conditions.” radio button.
40. Click Save and Publish.
41. Amazon will chew on the novel for between two and twelve hours, and it will become available for sales in various markets effectively at random. You will receive an email once it is 100% live in all markets.

 

Final Notes – Tax & Payment

For Smashwords, you will need to set up a Paypal account that is able to transfer funds to your bank account.

Smashwords pays quarterly, and will require you to provide them a physical copy of a W-8BEN form (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw8ben.pdf) or they will withhold 30% tax for the IRS.

Thankfully, due to recent changes in US Tax law, you are no longer required to have a US tax identification number to access tax treaties. The Canadian withholding rate is zero.

For Amazon, you will need to provide them the same tax details, but you can fill out the W-8EN form online with them. From the bookshelf or reports page, click the ”X’s Account’ link in the top left corner and complete their ‘tax interview’.

If you do not provide Amazon with banking details, they will send you funds by check once you have earned in excess of $100 USD in an individual market. For EFT, there is no minimum payment, so I strongly recommend providing bank details.