Updated on December 22, 2016
Synopsis
Here is a basic list of websites that you must know about when starting out as a self-publisher.
Here is a list of websites that you must know about when starting out as a self-publisher. Most of the sites listed are considered to be the biggest names in the industry. I personally find many of them to be essential to running a professional and profitable operation.
They are listed in a random order:
1. Google.com/AdSense: is a free, simple way to make money online by placing ads on your website/blog.
2. LinkedIn.com: build your professional identity online and stay in touch with colleagues and classmates.
3. WordPress.com: the biggest, the easiest, and the best way to create a blog. Free. Also see WordPress.org
4. Scribd.com: PDF document storage and sharing; and sales of documents and ebooks. Free.
5. SmashWords.com: excellent place to get involved with publishing ebooks. Smashwords is an ebook publishing and distribution platform for ebook authors, publishers and readers. We offer multi-format, DRM-free ebooks, ready for immediate sampling and purchase, and readable on any e-reading device.
6. Amazon.com Advantage Program For Books: the largest and most important internet retail sales book site. You are going to spend a lot of time learning about Amazon.
7. BarnesAndNoble.com: the second largest retail sales book site.
8. APSS: The Association of Publishers for Special Sales: helps authors find new opportunities for sales to non-bookstore buyers.
9. iBooks.com: for sales of your ebooks.
Linkedin – 27 Websites For Managing, Promoting, And Marketing Your Self-Published Books
11. YouTube.com: the most important place to show your videos. Free.
12. LightningSource.com: a POD source for printed books and ebooks; will manage your POD sales worldwide, and distribute to Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Considered a back-door way to get your publications into Ingram’s database.
13. BowkerLink.com: the source for buying and managing ISBN’s.
14. FreeBarCodes.com: a great place to create Bookland barcodes for your publications. Free.
15. Linda.com: the best place for learning about publishing software. I spend a huge amount of time using this website.
16. MailChimp.com: mailing list management. Free to a certain extent.
17. EzineArticles.com: authors can post their articles in a searchable database for newsletter publishers to publish. Free.
18. PRLog.com: is an online press release distribution and release submission service. Free.
19. CreativeCommons.org: provides licenses that help the copyright owner share some rights with others. Free.
20. Gravatar.com: a website used to create your personal avatar that will appear where ever you post a comment. Free.
21. CafePress.com: an excellent website to create t-shirts, hats, etc. with graphics and images that you create. Excellent way to add a small side-income to your book sales.
22. SPAWN.org: Small Publishers, Artists, and Writers Network. Excellent way to connect with your peers. A huge amount of helpful information. Their mission is to provide education, information, resources and a supportive networking environment for creative individuals and small business owners interested in the publishing process.
23. IBPA-online.org: Independent Book Publishers Association. Excellent way to connect with your peers. A huge amount of helpful information. IBPA is a trade association of independent publishers. Founded in 1983, it serves book, audio, and video publishers located in the United States and around the world.
24. SelfPublishingReview.com: is an online magazine devoted to self-publishing: book reviews, publisher reviews, interviews, news, opinion, and how to’s.
25. PayPal.com: a fast, easy, and very popular way to send and receive money.
26. CIPblock.com: librarian and publisher Adrienne Bashista will create the CIP block for your books. Bashista’s goal is to provide quality CIP blocks to the independent publisher at a reasonable price while maintaining a high level of service and quality.
27. Shopify.com: the biggest, the easiest, and the best way to sell your books through your own online store. No design skills needed, and can easily be customized.
• This article is also posted on LinkedIn.com
• This article is also posted on EzineArticles.com
Excellent post from @jckunzjr https://t.co/6FdeEMbTm6
— Dave Lynch (@PublicityAdvice) October 20, 2015
Hashtags: #selfpublishing #bookmarketing
Thank you very much. Yes, it has already become a full-time business. Publishing and sharing information has been an integral part of our main business since 1984. But when the internet came along it became much easier to publish and market on a much larger scale. Publishing on a worldwide scale has helped move our main business into areas we could never have imagined back in 1984.