The Well-Fed Self-Publisher: How to Turn One Book into a Full-Time Living (Paperback)

by Peter Bowerman (Author)
Key Phrases: fulfillment company, niche book, commercial writing, The Well-Fed Writer, Peter Bowerman, Spinoff City (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"As an industry insider, this book is a refreshing alternative to most of what’s out there on the subject." -- Ron Pramschufer, 35-year publishing industry veteran

"Aspiring self-publishers NEED to run out and buy this book. A goldmine of resources, tricks, and trade secrets!" -- Fern Reiss, Author, “The Publishing Game” series

"GREAT book. I figured I’d seen it all, but I kept coming across ideas that leaped out at me." -- Moira Allen, Author, “Starting Your Career as a Freelance Writer”

"This book is a gem. Well organized, well written, all the facts, and lots of smart advice." -- M.J. Rose, (Former Self-Publisher), Author, International Bestseller, "The Venus Fix"

"This book is a gem. Well organized, well written, all the facts, and lots of smart advice." -- M.J. Rose, (Former Self-Publisher), Author, International Bestseller, “The Venus Fix”

"This book is a gem. Well organized, well written, all the facts, and lots of smart advice.” --M.J. Rose, (Former Self-Publisher), Author, International Bestseller, "The Venus Fix"

"This comprehensive reference covers all the bases, and does it with humor and a personal touch." -- Dan Poynter, Author, "Self-Publishing Manual" (and 120+ books)

"This comprehensive reference covers all the bases, and does it with humor and a personal touch." -- Dan Poynter, Author,

"This comprehensive reference covers all the bases, and does it with humor and a personal touch." --Dan Poynter, Author, "Self-Publishing Manual" (and 120+ books)

“As an industry insider, this book is a refreshing alternative to most of what’s out there on the subject." --Ron Pramschufer, 35-year publishing industry veteran

Product Description
Landing a publisher has never been harder. So many want to get published, but few understand the enormous challenges, the fierce competition, and the merciless reality of bookstore shelf. But, what if you are one of the lucky ones to land a publisher? Well, here’s what you can count on: anemic royalty rates, 18 to 24 months to publication, and giving up the rights to your book. And guess what? You’ll still be expected to do most of the marketing yourself! There’s a better way. Thanks to the Internet, self-publishing has become easier, more viable, and more potentially lucrative than ever before. In 2000, veteran commercial freelancer Peter Bowerman self-published The Well-Fed Writer (an award winning Book-of-the-Month Club selection) and in 2005, he did the same with its companion, TWFW: Back For Seconds (triple-award-finalist). The books became “standards” in the lucrative field of commercial freelancing: writing for businesses, large and small, and for hourly rates of $60-125+ or more. As this is written, together, the two books – about 50,000 copies in print – had earned him a full-time living for over five years. The definition of a full-time living (straight from the horse’s mouth): Okay, we’re not talking “picking-out-chateaux-in-the-South-of-France” kind of money, but the book paid all my bills (including a couple of print runs each year), allowed me to stay the course in funding my retirement account, stay completely out of debt, and take a few nice vacations each year. Would that work for you? The Well-Fed Self-Publisher is a 300-page, detailed, step-by-step blueprint that explains exactly how the author did what he did. According to Bowerman, “This book is for those who really want to turn their passionate creative efforts into real ‘pay-the-mortgage’ money.” Acknowledging that “self-publishing” carries an enormous amount of negative baggage (and deservedly so), the author says the focus of the book is to dramatically raise the bar on quality, for starters: I’ll show you how to create a book indistinguishable in quality from one produced by a reputable publishing company; how to do a far better job of marketing and promoting that book than a publisher ever could; and how to make far more money than you ever would with that publisher. And by doing it all yourself, you control the timetable (potentially shaving 12 to 18 months off production). Plus, you retain all the rights, allowing you to leverage the brand you’ve created into a host of profitable “spinoff” businesses – each with its own income stream. Starting from perhaps not-so-obvious fundamentals (“Write a book people will want to read”), the book progresses through a discussion of the significant limitations of the conventional publishing model (despite the best intentions of most publishers). Then, in a nod to the outright panic and terror most “creatives” experience at the mere mention of the term “sales and marketing,” the book provides an entire early chapter to help demystify these often daunting concepts. As Bowerman is quick to point out, “Success as a self-publisher is far more a function of a process than an aptitude. It’s far less about some way you have to be than it is about a bunch of things you have to do.” At that point, the book kicks into gear, offering up discussing in-depth discussions of book production, distribution, marketing, promotion, publicity (through one’s own web site, the Internet, radio, article writing, bookstores and far beyond), Amazon, spinoff businesses, and an entire chapter on the controversial so-called “revolution” known as “POD publishing” (print-on-demand). The book finishes with five appendices offering up resources and a time line for the self-publisher, a primer on foreign rights, and more.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 294 pages
• Publisher: Fanove Publishing (August 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967059860
• ISBN-13: 978-0967059860
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #25,394 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for the entrepreneurial freelancer, November 10, 2006

By	H. Grove "owling6683" (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Peter Bowerman is a successful freelance writer in the commercial market who rocketed to success with his first self-published book, "The Well-Fed Writer," followed that up with "The Well-Fed Writer: Back for Seconds," and has now packaged the keys to his success for other writers in "The Well-Fed Self-Publisher" (TWFSP). He chose to self-publish for several reasons: greater control of the process was certainly one of them, but he also felt he could do better by overseeing the process himself than by handing it over to a publisher. Why? Because he believes that unless you're selling to a mainstream market, many of the marketing efforts of a publishing company will be ineffective compared to the highly-targeted efforts you can put together yourself. Besides, as he points out, these days publishing companies expect you to do much of the marketing yourself anyway, so why not pocket more of the profits as well?

TWFSP is fairly specifically aimed at authors of niche market books--primarily non-fiction--who have written quality products and seriously wish to market and sell them to make a profit. If you want to self-publish a novel for the mainstream market or a family history just for friends and family you'll still find some handy information in here, but the book isn't really aimed at you and you'll find much of it irrelevant.

For folks who fit the book's intended audience, however, "The Well-Fed Self-Publisher" is a dragon's hoard of clear, well-presented information. Because of the tight focus, Bowerman is able to present highly targeted and relevant information that walks you through each step of the process. This makes the whole thing feel less overwhelming (although don't make the mistake of thinking it's simple!) and allows him to present a great deal of information on ways to cut your costs without cutting quality. By keeping his focus narrow he gives himself room for depth.

If you're a talented writer in a niche market who wants to write and sell her own book, "The Well-Fed Self-Publisher" provides an incredible amount of information as well as plenty of pointers to more. It's written in an accessible, friendly style jam-packed full of information to absorb. It's encouraging in tone, yet never tries to soft-sell the amount of work involved in this endeavor. It's difficult to imagine trying to make a serious attempt at self-publishing without this book right next to my computer.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Reference on Self-Publishing for Everyone, February 19, 2007

By	Holly Cooley (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Peter Bowerman has created a wonderfully accessible reference for anyone who has ever thought about self-publishing. He presents all the ins and outs of publishing your own book in a straightforward manner. Even better, he includes his own experiences, both good and bad -- yes, he made mistakes -- making his book both more real and more readable, and ultimately more useful to the potential self-publisher.

A quote from The Well-Fed Self-Publisher sums up what Bowerman explains so well in this book: "Self-publishing is a big job, no question, but technology has made it so much more feasible than it's ever been before in history."

Make no mistake, this is a self-publishing how-to book with solid credentials behind it. The author has earned a full-time living for over five years, from his two previous books, The Well-Fed Writer and The Well-Fed Writer: Back for Seconds. Before that, Bowerman spent close to 30 years in sales, marketing, copywriting and publishing. Clearly, he has certain skills from his background that you may not have. By letting you know exactly how he went about self-publishing his own book, he has made it possible for you to decide what will work for you.

The author covers how to approach writing, marketing and selling your book, and discusses publicity avenues including Amazon.com, the mainstream media, your own website, radio and bookstore signings.

Almost 50 pages of useful material can be found in the five Appendices. Not only does the first of these, Resources, include books and websites, but also the specific vendors that helped Bowerman with his own books, from cover design to typesetting to publicity.

Bowerman is very convincing - his personality as it comes through in the book is engaging, self-deprecating, enthusiastic and humorous. In The Well-Fed Self-Publisher he tells you how to make an informed foray into the realm of self-publishing and realize your own dream of seeing your byline on a published book.

By the way, if you do decide to follow this route, Bowerman's surprisingly long list of self-published authors proves you will be in good company, with the originally self-published likes of Ernest Hemingway and Edgar Allan Poe.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Serious Self-Publishing, February 6, 2007

By	Rebecca Johnson "SeasonedwithLove.com" (Washington State) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

"For me, self-publishing is the first choice." ~ Peter Bowerman

Peter Bowerman's ideas will be most useful to the serious self-publisher. If you are interested in taking care of all the details yourself then this book has a lot to offer. This book will also be useful to anyone who is tired of waiting for publishers to respond to their queries. Peter Bowerman actually shows why it might be more profitable to pay for your book to be printed by a reputable printer. His ideas about POD (Print-on-Demand) publishing are not encouraging although I've tried it twice and have always been happy with the results. It works well enough if you just want to have copies available for anyone who is interested and the cost is less at the start ($500 vs. $15,000). If you are more serious about distribution and marketing then you might find "The Well-Fed Self-Publisher" to be worth your time. This book teaches authors to think more like a buisiness owner than a writer. Whether you are a seasoned or aspiring author, this book has a lot to offer.

~The Rebecca Review