Selfie

I've done it - I've officially hit "publish" on my first reverted novel! It's slowly clocking through the works and going up on Apple, B&N, Amazon ...  (fingers crossed)

It took me about six months of angst to get to this point, and then Lo And Behold it turns out to be WAY WAY EASIER than I'd ever imagined. All those earnest "how to" guides online make it sound like a huge technical undertaking, and it really isn't. If you've thought about self-publishing but never dared, be reassured - if I can do it, anyone can!

• You need a clean pared-down Word document. No contents page, no title page.
• You need a cover JPG, unless you are amazingly lazy and want to use a generic one.
• You need your bank details or paypal account, and tax reference number.
• You need an ITIN if you are not American, to stop distributors withholding 30% of your US royalties.

 You don't need to do your own digital conversion. You don't need to buy your own ISBN.

• Go on Draft 2 Digital and set up your account, with bio and author pic.
• Upload your cover, if you have one, or use one of theirs.
• Upload your .DOC and they convert it for you. Look through the preview. Choose from their array of fonts and styles.
• They make a .EPUB for you to publish.
• They make a .MOBI which you can take to Amazon
• They make a PDF which you can upload to paperback publishers.
• They provide links to free emulators so you can check these all look okay on various readers (phones, tablets, Macs).
• Then, when you're ready, pick a price and hit "publish".

• Repeat process with Kindle Direct for Amazon platforms. KDP is less user-friendly than easy-peasy D2D but it's not that bad, honestly.

Then wait...

UPDATE: D2D now publish through Amazon too, so you don't even have to go through the Kindle Direct process if you don't want.