Customer Reviews

A Simple Guide to Self-Publishing, Revised 3rd Edition

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In A Simple Guide to Self-Publishing, Mark Ortman lays out simple, concise, step-by-step "how to" guides for preparing, printing, distributing, and promoting a book that is published by its author. Now in a thoroughly updated third edition, A Simple Guide to Self-Publishing also includes the phenomena of on-line publishing and the electronic book (ebook). All of the references and resources for successful self-publishing are presented, including the easiest way to get started; where to apply for a copyright and ISBN number; ways to publishing a manuscript on the Internet; where to have a book printed economically; how to promote and distribute books on the Internet. A Simple Guide to Self-Publishing is a practical, "user friendly" instruction guide and reference that will prove invaluable for the novice self- publisher.

The Simple Guide to Self-Publishing is clear, accurate and up-to-date. Mark Ortman has condensed years of experience into concise and valuable checklists (complete with check-off boxes). Now the book has been revised again to include electronic and on-demand printing. You will refer to this book again and again. DanPoynter@ParaPublishing.com

This simple guide is exactly that, the bare bones basics for those who don't want to wade through hundreds of pages. You can get more than three times the information for only twice the price in a book like Dan Poynter's The Self-Publishing Manual, but more is not always best for everyone. If you are the type of person who wants "Just the facts" this book could be your ideal introduction to self-publishing.

I met Mark at one of his classes on publishing in late 1995. I knew absolutely nothing about publishing when I attended the class; all I had was an idea for a book. Now I have my own small press. I published "A Cowboy Never Lies" exactly one year from meeting Mark. I read The Simple Guide to Self-Publishing and although I referenced some other books on self publishing, The Simple Guide is my publishing bible

This book may be a handy ADDITION to your publishing library, but it is definitely not "the" source book for marketing. In fact, in the rapidly changing world of publishing, I found that most of the information I did want to use was already out of date.

The perfect resource on the basics of Self-Publishing. An easy read that inspires and motivates a writers spirit from pen to printed page.All the basic information needed to self-publish!

This is the best book you'll find for the money.
I met Mark Ortman at Bumbershoot Book Fair in Seattle in 1994 and '95. He's sharp. He has done his
research and he doesn't bother with that which is not "it." This is one of the best, most logically and
succinctly presented books I've ever seen on the subject. I am the author of "How to Make a Book" and
several others, and I learned from and was impressed by this little book. Therefore I recommend it to
anyone even vaguely interested in small-sc

This book helps you compare regular publishing with self-publishing to see if it's right for you.

Three main questions underlie the process:
Why do you want to publish your book?
Who is your audience?
What makes your book different or unique?

Chapters cover such topics as:
Learning about the industry and preparing the manuscript
Printing
Announcing your book
Distribution
Creating a demand, touring, marketing--by far the longest chapter

This book has lots of great suggestions, but he doesn't go into any very deeply. At only 62 pages, this is useful as a handbook. It is geared toward writers who needs an overview of the process, particularly those wanting more traditional paper publishing for their books.

I met Mark Ortman at Bumbershoot Book Fair in Seattle in 1994 and '95. He's sharp. He has done his research and he doesn't bother with that which is not "it." This is one of the best, most logically and succinctly presented books I've ever seen on the subject. I am the author of "How to Make a Book" and several others, and I learned from and was impressed by this little book. Therefore I recommend it to anyone even vaguely interested in small-scale publishing and marketing. I often recommend Ortman's book as a valuable adjunct to my own book. Even those writers who don't plan to publish on their own will benefit from the extensive research, and hence perspective, lent by Mark Ortman's book. As a small publisher I've seen lots of "crapola" books. This is not one of them. It should be on any writer's desk, along with Strunk and White, and...well, maybe a couple of my books.------John Paul Barrett 7/'9

Mark's book is a concise and invaluable tool for anyone interested in pursuing their dream of writing and publishing their own book. It is encouraging to discover a guide written in such simple terms, yet containing a treasure trove of information.