Customer Reviews

The Publish It Yourself Handbook: Literary Tradition and How-To (Fourth Revised Edition)

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I was fooled by the title of this book. I thought it would have some useful information on how to self publish, but this is no "handbook". Instead, it is a book of anecdotes (circa 1970s) of other people's "personal woes" and what led them to become self publishers. If a person is full of self doubt and in need of being "emboldened", they might be better served to read one of Anthony Robbins' self-help books to muster up some courage. If you really want to self-publish, skip this book and read Dan Poynter's informative self publishing book.

What makes an author want to self-publish his/her own book rather than following the conventional methods for publication? The answer to that question is found in this splendid book where authors share their experiences in the self-publishing arena. This 25th anniversary edition of the classic never loses the flavor of the original as it explores the motivations of those writers who said the hell with commercial publishers.

Contained in the book is an interesting history of self-publishing in the United States from Thomas Paine through Ernest Callenbach (author of Ecotopia). After the introduction, the authors tell their stories about their foray into the arena. Their reasons are diverse as the works that they have written. Some stuck with self-publishing throughout their careers while others entered it briefly only to go back to commercial publishers. See the reasons why they felt the need to self-publish as well as why some of them returned to the commercial arena.

I enjoyed reading about their experiences and would encourage anyone seeking to self-publish to get their source of inspiration from this book. I must caution you that this is NOT a how to book. The title is misleading and the so called updated how-to tips are a joke. I was disappointed in finding out that this wasn't a how-to book but it was an enjoyable read.

This book has a misleading title. It is not really a handbook,except in that it may be held with your hands. The image it sends isthat it is a self publishing manual, like Dan Poynter and others have written. It's not, so don't be fooled.

This book is a collection of stories about self publishers and self published works. At that, I found it to be interesting, and a worthwhile read. But if you are expecting it to be something else you may well be disappointed.

Imagine buying a Repair Your Own Car Handbook, and finding it to only contain stories of others who have repaired their cars. The misleading title scenario here is essentially the same.

The title is an injustice to potential buyers. This is not a how-to book. This is not a handbook (except in the sense that it may be held with your hands).

This is a book with many accounts of books which have been self published, and the people who have self published them. As such, you may find some value or interest in this book. Do not, however, confuse it with The Self Publishing Manual by Dan Poynter (which really is a self publishing manual/how-to/handbook etc).

The material covered is old, (some of it really old-like Thomas Paine, William Blake, and Walt Whitman). This book is potentially interesting, but don't let it catch you by surprise.