Dan Poynter's Self-Publishing Manual: How to Write, Print and Sell Your Own Book

In his best-selling book, Aiming at Amazon, Aaron Shepard says that Dan Poynter's Self-Publishing Manual is one of the three books that still lead their field. (The other two, he claims, are The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing by Tom and Marilyn Ross and 1001 Ways to Market Your Books by John Kremer.)However, after giving these books their due credit, Aaron says that "...the approach they espouse is showing its age." They are, he concludes, "still geared toward breaking into the publishing world as it was decades ago."Aaron, of course, is entitled to his own opinion. But his opinion runs counter to those of many prestigious reviewers who claim Poynter's book to be the best self-publishing manual on the market. Perhaps the words "wide scope vs. limited view" and "brief summaries vs. detailed descriptions" can be used to resolve these differences.Aaron's books, Perfect Pages and Aiming at Amazon, provide detailed, practical instructions on how to use the very latest self-publishing techniques, procedures, and practices to create, format for POD presses, publish, and sell your book. (On Amazon, see my reviews of these books.) But what his books lack, when compared to Poynter's, is the COMPLETE list of topics, the FULL RANGE of knowledge about the publishing industry offered by Poynter's 16 Editions and 27 years of self-publishing experience. One look at Poynter's table of contents will make clear this difference.Admittedly, Poynter's book is geared toward teaching you how to establish your very own, full-blown, self-publishing business. If you are not interested in starting your own publishing company, but wish, instead, only to get your book or books published and listed for sale on Amazon (as I do), much of Poynter's advice will not be useful to you. (The same goes for Tom and Marilyn's book.) But much of what Poynter says will be helpful. Anyway, if you are serious about self-publishing your own book, you need to broaden your knowledge of this rapidly expanding field. You won't feel you have wasted your money if you buy this book.Edwin Scroggins is author of  HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH YOUR BOOK WITH BOOKSURGE FOR LESS $$$: A Step-by-Step Guide for Designing & Formatting Your Microsoft Word Book to POD & PDF Press Specifications

This is a bible for self-publishers and those who want to know how things work in the publishing world.I guides you step-by-step and gives great suggestions on how to get it done w/o an agent or publishing house. It also tells you what to expect if you do go the route of agent/publisher.I love the illustrations (it keeps this type of dense information from being overwhelming) as they are very helpful and encourages you to keep reading.Even if you don't read the entire book, use it as needs as a reference tool along your way.It should also include how to get a single ISBN number for a subsidiarity of Browkers - which is 'My Identifiers'. They allow you to purchase one ISBN number which is referenced back to you.Criticism and Suggestions:Also, it should state that you need to have a computer to accompany the book. Many of the further reading and research is directed to his website. That begs the question of reader access. Some people don't have access or every know how to use a computer. Although I am computer savvy, I found it irritation that I was instructed to go on his website for further reading to find the answer. Not cool. Just expand the book on the key points that he has on his website.

There's a darn good reason--indeed lots of reasons--why Dan Poynter's manual has frequently been called the "bible of self-publishing." To the best of my knowledge, it was the first and certainly one of the very best ever published on this specialized aspect of book production. It covers the entire process from pre-pub requirements right through the mechanics of design, formatting and printing.Dan doesn't simply throw out generalities about what must be done in each phase of the project; he delves into the nitty-gritty simplifying this challenging effort for those of us tackling self-publishing for the first time. I know. I did it after I studied his book from cover to cover.Dan also includes a plethora of resources interspersed in the text as he illustrates each step. These can be most helpful to the uninitiated who are told what they must do in so many other books, but don't know where to go to accomplish each of those steps. At the simplest level, as an illustration, Dan doesn't just state that you have to procure an ISBN, he explains what it is and why it is needed and most important of all where to find it on the Bowker web site.There are three excellent books that I have used to brief myself on self-publishing before producing my latest book. In addition to Dan's Manual, I suggest reading Peter Bowerman's "The Well-Fed Self-Publisher" and Patricia L. Fry's excellent study of the subject.I attribute much of the success of the award-winning "The Writer Within You" to all three of them. I strongly suggest you start your effort with the outstanding guidance Dan has provided.

Excellent information for a new author! Easy to follow, fun to read.

Perfect book for those who are planning on writing and/or publishing books! Soooooo much valuable information! This was a great buy!

À une époque où autoédition rime avec ebook, il peut être utile de se pencher sur un modèle qui, bien que plus exigeant, chronophage et coûteux, permet d'atteindre infiniment plus de lecteurs. Le livre de Dan Poynter, qui possède 200 livres papier et numériques à son actif, ne vous dissimule aucun détail de cette complexe chaîne du livre nécessaire pour produire un ouvrage de qualité professionnelle. La démarche est intéressante, mais on peut douter qu'elle puisse fonctionner de la même façon en France, où les représentations et les préjugés sont très différents.

Very helpful and contains some useful informaton. Dan Poynter knows what he is talking about evidently. He writes as an expert.

Great BookHelped me a lot in my self publishing odyssey.