Ask HN: How would you publish a novel? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How would you publish a novel?

15 pointswmeredith9 comments

HN'ers are always poo-pooing the traditional publishing houses, and for good reason. A close family member is publishing a novel this summer, wants to go non-traditional (i.e. website self-publish) and has asked for my help.

I have confidence in the material: she has published before. Mostly grad-level text books and children's books.

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Both Amazon (http://kdp.amazon.com/) and Apple's iBookstore (http://itunes.com/sellyourbooks) have self-publishing options, though if she has a large enough blog or Twitter following, she should try to sell directly from her own site.

Also check out eBookBurn (http://ebookburn.com/) as a resource (it's a service run by my startup, and most of my users are independent authors).

As for tips on composition and content, here is an interesting post from earlier today: "Practical Tips on Writing a Book from 23 Brilliant Authors" http://blogs.plos.org/neurotribes/2011/06/02/practical-tips-...

What is the topic? If it's fiction, self-publish on Kindle is increasingly a no-brainer. See jakonrath.blogspot.com

It is fiction. Right now I'm thinking of doing a single product site, like the ones you see for iPhone apps that has direct sales, and links to Amazon and iTunes versions as well.

I would recommend that, a free sample chapter, and an email list. If you want to throw something together really quickly, Woothemes for one of the single-product WP themes. Get a good cover design done -- see jakonrath for how to make one that sells online.

Try http://www.lulu.com

Here's an article by an author who has both self-published and was published by a publisher (an imprint of Penguin Books): http://blog.joethepeacock.com/2010/07/absolute-no-bullst-gui... . It focuses mainly on actually having the book printed, but is a very detailed discussion of the pros and cons.

1. Build brand equity. 2. Secure bookings with media 3. Book signings or the equivalent thereof 4. Appear on "The Daily Show" (or nearest facsimile) 5. Hire pro designer for print edition, which you sell in advance.

Repeat, modify, and add recursion as needed.

Seems that many people have had success using a blog as a launching platform and then using print on demand or going straight to Kindle. That said, if you can create your own .mobi or PDF that would be even better.

If you're also looking for physical copies sold into bookstore, or online, I know the guys that founded and run Authorhouse, they've been doing it for year and are quite good. Check them out.

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