An Idea of How to Publish a Book

I published both of my novels myself. I don’t mean that I hired a vanity press. My husband, Bill and I did it by creating a publishing company of our own. We hired a designer and a small press, and they contracted out the job of printing the books. By following the instructions in a book called The Self-Publishing Manual, I managed to get the necessary copyrights, Library of Congress numbers and ISBN numbers that the books needed. The books are beautiful. It was expensive, but we sold enough copies of The Simple Life to get our money back. Since then, the publishing business has changed so much that we haven’t done nearly as well with Ordinary Magic. (There is more information about this venture on my website under Bar Nothing Books section.)
However, I made two serious miscalculations. The first was that I thought the book wouldn’t be perceived as a self-published book if it was produced by its own press. The second mistake was just as dumb. I had no idea how important and how difficult the marketing part would be. So, although I’m not sorry I did my books the way I did, I couldn’t recommend that anyone else take the same route. But it doesn’t matter how you publish your book, if you aren’t a celebrity, you still have to learn how to do your own marketing.
The other day I had an idea of a much more sensible way to publish a book. When the book is finished, get it done by a print-on-demand publisher. I don’t think it’s very expensive. The publisher, if it is a reputable one, would get the ISBN and copyright and other numbers the book needs to have. Then get the book produced as an e-book for the Kindle, the Nook, and whatever others are around, because that’s where the sales are these days. After that, I would concentrate on internet marketing. Later on, when the book has got a large enough audience, it might make sense to do a beautiful hardcover version.