Customer Reviews

ePublish: Self-Publish Fast and Profitably for Kindle, iPhone, CreateSpace and Print on Demand

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This small book cuts to the chase on just about every aspect of ePublishing. Not just listing the ways to self publish, but how to go about it. There is a lot of helpful hints and tips in this book. I wish there was more on statistics like what types of ePublishing sells best or with self published pBooks. Still, it's a great book and one every writer should read and own.

If someone like me, who transfers his home videos onto VHS tapes and prefers to listen to audio cassette books in his car, can read this book and feel armed and ready to compete in the ePublishing world, then author Steve Weber's 2009 publication of ePUBLISH is a resounding success! Because I highlighted and dog-eared nearly every page half way through the book, I stopped because, afterall, what's the point? (Of course, I had the old school paperback version. What would you expect from someone who cannot let go of the childhood familiarity of VHS and audiocassettes?) Everything in Weber's book is noteworthy, and I can easily use it as a reference as I attempt to podcast, create book trailers, join www.Amazon.Com 's Affiliate Program, Twitter, seek Beta readers, Kindle, and embed a widget. Honestly, these are only a few of the steps Steve Weber has inspired me to take as I embark on my publishing career. He will do the same for you. Next on the top of my "books to be read" pile is a paperback of Weber's PLUG YOUR BOOK! Plug Your Book! Online Book Marketing for Authors, Book Publicity through Social Networking Someday, just maybe, Weber might even inspire me to read an eBook, but then what would I do when I feel compelled to highlight and dog ear?

I was really surprised by this little book. When I first got it, I thought "Wow, it's so small." But after I read the book over the next two days, I was saying "Wow, it's so packed with useful information!" This little book is BIG in information. This purchase was one of my best on Amazon to date. The author is so generous with the information he gives you about all the ins and outs of getting your published in a variety of online mediums like via the Kindle, print on demand, iPods, etc. It's easy to read and all of the information is useful. I give this one a double thumbs up!

I really like this book. So much great information -- to keep an aspiring digital writer/publisher thinking, planning and poised to launch. It's an eye-opener because it is well researched, and goes into a lot of detail. It covers different formatting options, marketing, fulfillment, selling. At 110 pages, it's the kind of book you can carry around, put in your purse, briefcase or backpack for quick reference, inspiration and to bounce off of for further research. It's a fun and easy read. And going over it again, with all my underlines and notes in the margin from past readings, I'm still enjoying it in 2011.

Steve Weber knows his way around Amazon, social networking, promoting his own books and blogging too. He's a good resource. He's also polite, accessible and helpful. I recommend his ezine/blogs, as well. One is about epublishing and the other about selling used books on Amazon. I'd like to read all his books, if they are as good as this one. And I'm sure they're well written and packed full of great information. Why? Because with his good marketing, reputation, and all I've seen, I would expect nothing less. It's great to see people like Steve Weber who go the extra mile and exceed expectations.

[...]

Steve Weber's "ePublish" is the third book that I purchased from Amazon before I began to get any answers, any concrete, specific, usable help. (Previous to that, the first one that I bought was totally worthless, the second too narrowly focused and poorly written.) For the past two months ePublish--now well marked and annotated-- has been my bible.

Great resource if you want to publish an ebook. Give real techniques instead of that fake BS you find with the internet marketing scam artists

With all the good reviews this book received, I was excited to order and read it. What a huge disappointment! There are 110 "numbered pages."Of these, 4 are the index, 2 are the TOC, 2 are the copyright info, 7 pages are totally blank, 12 pages are at least half filled with pictures, most of which do not add any value to the content of the book. For example, do you really care to see a picture of an editor (a person not a tool), or a full page of what the Amazon Kindle looks like? Hello - you see the Kindle every time you sign on to Amazon! The remaining 79 or so pages are all large font with a lot of white space in-between. What this all boils down to is extremely limited content. The book is way over priced and I was very disturbed by the obvious tactics the author used to try to make the book appear larger. There is no way I would want to apply any of his techniques. Do you really want your readers to think you are also a rip-off?

Save your money and buy a self-publishing book by a reputable author. TheWell-Fed Self-Publisher by Peter Bowerman is a good one.

I usually donate a book to the library if I don't want it anymore. This is the only time I have ever returned a book to Amazon - I did not even want to donate it!

This is a pretty short book but it has some really worthwhile information in it.

If you're thinking of e-publishing your book(s) the information in this book is worth the price (currently about $12).

Digging out this information on your own would cost you more than $12 worth of your own time.

Addition to my original post:

The material in this book is still useful but since I wrote my original review it has become a bit dated. The author might want to update the book in light of technological developments since the original publication date.

I very much enjoyed Steve Weber's Plug Your Book! Online Book Marketing for Authors, Book Publicity through Social Networking. Getting your book published, even as an ebook, is only part of the process. Marketing and publicizing will also be required and I can't recommend Steve's other book more highly for that side of the book publishing business. However, this book doesn't rise to the same level as Steve's previous book.

First of all, pricing an ebook at a higher price than the paper version seriously rubs me the wrong way. To do so on a book that is aimed at publishing ebooks is simply inexcusable.

If you are looking for solid advice on publishing ebooks, I recommend the following two books:

Publish Your Book On The Amazon Kindle: A Practical Guide -- This book is real solid in describing what you need to do to get your book published, and is definitely the best value for the money.

and

Kindle Formatting: The Complete Guide To Formatting Books For The Amazon Kindle -- This is probably the best book available for describing how to format your ebook.

Steve Weber has written a short, fast paced, clear explanation of what you need to know to get your book published fast. Taking advantage of Amazon's user friendly services, the first time publisher can quickly get their book out on Kindle, iPhone or through CreateSpace with this books easy to follow directions. This is not necessarily the book to choose if you are already experienced with self-publishing, but it's a great start.

Use this in combination with Weber's "Plug Your Book" and you will have a everything you need to jumpstart your writing career, in just about the most painless way possible. If you can't do it with Weber holding your hand, maybe take up gardening.