Publish Like the Pros - Michele DeFilippo

Summary:  Publish Like the Pros: A Brief Guide to Quality Self-Publishing is a must-read for new authors who want to get it right when self-publishing their books.  Self-publishing is a perplexing and ever-shifting landscape; it's easy for new authors to get taken in by self-publishing companies that promise the moon but don't deliver.  In just 88 pages, Publish Like the Pros takes the confusion out of self-publishing and gives authors the six steps to publishing quality professional books that don't scream "I'm self-published!"  The self-publishing author will find everything he or she needs to get started, including cover design, book titles, typesetting, editing and proofreading, and a special chapter on book distribution, pricing and marketing.  (Summary from of the book and image from http://anglophilereads.blogspot.com/  )

My Review:  I'd never read anything on self-publishing before this book, so my audience must realize that I'm a complete novice to this world.  I've also never tried to publish anything from a publishing company.  I do have friends who've published, but everything I've seen has been second hand.

This book is just what it says it is--a quick guide.  The project oriented person that I am wanted more details, specifically names, companies, details on proofreaders, editors, designers, cover artists, etc.  But, I do realize that this is supposed to be a quick reference guide, not a reference book for contacts.  I liked the emphasis it gives on how a novice would assume certain things about publishing (I think I would have easily fallen into these assumptions) and what you can do to prevent these missteps.  As a teacher I can also see why she put emphasis on the editing and proofreading.  It's amazing how many tiny details your eye doesn't see because your mind will fix it since you know what you meant to say even if it doesn't show up on the page.  Her caution that there are a lot of up front costs, but that you end up with a better deal if you pay for it to be done the right way the first time, was also very helpful.  The frugal side of me probably would want to cut corners with these costs.  It's good to see the reasons why not to.  I also really liked the chapter on distribution, pricing, and marketing.  While, again, I think there could be more information on marketing, this gets the readers feet wet in what to expect and why prices, etc. are set the way they are.

For someone wanting to know more, wanting to understand if the self-publishing route is the right one for them, I would highly recommend this guide.

Rating: 4 stars

Sum it up:  A quick reference for self-publishing.