Library: Publishing Resources: Self Publishing

Deciding to Self-Publish

I wrote before about my concerns about tenure and the manuscript’s being accepted as a legitimate publication if I self-published. But, after some soul-searching, I realized that I wanted people to read what I had written and that playing the submit-to-publishers-and-wait game was not the appropriate means to that end. If it doesn’t help on my road to tenure, then so be it. But the book is about taking some chances, so I took another one and went the self-publishing route." Isaac Sweeney, Chronicle of Higher Education blog

Selected Readings About Self-Publishing

150 Self-Publishing Questions Answered by Alliance Of Independent Authors; M. L. Ronn; Orna A. Ross (Editor)
Call Number: Z285.5 .R66 2020
ISBN: 9781913349899
Publication Date: 2021
Do you have self-publishing questions that you can't seem to find the answer to? We're here to help. It has never been easier to publish a book, but with so many options, it can be hard to know whether writing advice is good or bad. Your Self-Publishing Questions Answered is based on overwhelming data & analytics: 1,000+ questions from our author members, 2000+ ALLi blog articles, 400 ALLi podcast episodes, our 24/365 Facebook community where members ask questions daily, and input from our world-class advisors from every corner of the publishing industry. There's no question that ALLi hasn't seen. In fact, this book answers questions you may not have thought about yet. In an engaging question & answer format, you'll learn how to: Sell more books effortlessly Design bestselling covers Win the war against writer's block Edit your book till it shines Improve your marketing and sales And more, including a resource section with 75+ resources to help you keep learning and building on the information. The advice in this book is best practice as honed by the experiences of our members and the thousands of authors-novelists, nonfiction writers and poets -who visit ALLi's Self-Publishing Advice Centre each month. We're the only non-profit organization for self-published writers doing this kind of work. If you're ready to become a savvier author, grab 150 Self-Publishing Questions Answered, and let ALLi show you how to turn your imagination into income.

The Academic’s Guide to Self-Publishing: Why Self-Publish?
"Self-publishing draws as much praise as it does condescension for the exact same reason” democratizing literature. The voluntary lack of editorial and marketing oversight means authors control the entire means of production, from pitch to promotions. This route particularly benefits more independent-minded writers who want to reach audiences on their own terms, bypassing the usual publishing games involving pitches, agents, editing for marketers, and book tours. It grants them an opportunity to share what they have to say with readers who want to listen. Traditional publishing does not always allow that, no matter how insightful or worthy an author may be."
Enhance Your Career by Writing Your Own Books as Supplemental Materials: How to Produce Them and How to Use Them in Class.
The article discusses how legal studies educators can self-publish their own works to use within their classrooms to enhance student learning and also how to make the materials available for sale to the general public. Topics include the use of self-published supplemental materials in class, how self-publishing can allow educators more control over the educational process, and how self-publishing enhances a career by providing credibility, income and prestige.
Self-Publishing an Option for Academics, but on Periphery
"Academics, meanwhile, inhabit a parallel publishing ecosystem: a constellation of university presses and journals that publish slowly, offer few economic returns, and subject all work to painstaking peer review. Scholars and publishing experts in the U.S. and Britain say self-publishing by academics remains a rarity. A handful of scholars, however, have turned to self-publishing to produce pet projects, such as blistering critiques of academic life."
20 Things You Need to Know Before You Self-Publish
"Following our live chat, where our panel of experts explored the hows and why of self-publishing, we now round up the top 20 things you need to know for academic self-publishing success."
Academic Self-Publishing: A Not-So-Distant-Future
"After a long delay, our debate article “Academic self-publishing: a not-so-distant future” finally appeared at Prometheus, a journal publishing critical studies in innovation. The journal issue hosting our article was originally expected in September 2013, but a series of unfortunate events resulted in an eight-month standoff between the journal’s editorial team and its publisher Taylor & Francis. In short, the debate proposition paper, authored by four academics from the University of Leicester’s School of Management, harshly criticized the large profits made by major publishing firms on the back of academics’ labors and the failure of the Finch report on open access to address this problem."

Rudy Rucker, a retired math/computer science professor, prolific science fiction writer, and e-book novice wrote up his experience in publishing Ebooks in these four blog posts.

Help Documents and Resources

Book Publishers

LuLu
Since introducing self-publishing in 2002, Lulu.com creators have produced nearly two million publications. Website includes helpful resources for writers new to self-publishing.
CreateSpace
An Amazon company, CreateSpace is a full service self-publisher. Their website includes many helpful resources for new writers.
Additional self-publishing companies

Software and Tools

Scrivener - $$
Scrivener is a powerful content-generation tool for writers that allows you to concentrate on composing and structuring long and difficult documents. While it gives you complete control of the formatting, its focus is on helping you get to the end of that awkward first draft.
Storysist - $$
Mac and iOS only.
Best free software for writing: 10 programs to unleash your creativity by TechRadar

Adobe InDesign - The industry-leading page design and layout toolset now helps you work faster and smarter, connecting your desktop and mobile apps with all your creative assets, so you can make beautiful pages for print or digital no matter where you are. Available on university computers.

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Deciding to Self-Publish

Selected Readings About Self-Publishing

Help Documents and Resources

Book Publishers

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