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**********BECAUSE OF CHANGES AT AMAZON, READERS OF THIS BOOK SHOULD BE SURE TO VISIT THE AUTHOR'S WEB SITE FOR UPDATES**********

 

There has never been a self publishing manual like this. 

 

"Aiming at Amazon" is NOT about getting your book into bookstores. Instead, it lays out an innovative approach that targets sales on Amazon.com. It reveals how to make a book sell well online, with tips never before offered. And it doesn't stop there -- it gives you a way to publish your book with print on demand that can double your profit per copy. 

 

Avoid publishing plans that handicap you almost before you begin. Let "Aiming at Amazon" introduce you to the NEW business of self publishing. 

 

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Aaron Shepard is a foremost proponent of the new business of profitable self publishing through print on demand, which he has practiced and helped develop since 1998. Unlike most authorities on self publishing, he makes the bulk of his living from his self-published books -- not from consulting, speaking, freelance writing, or selling publishing services. In a parallel life, Aaron is an award-winning children's author with numerous books from publishers large and small.

 

 

SAMPLE #1

 

In recent years, self publishing has become big business. But not often for self publishers. 

 

Though self publishing has been around for as long as there have been authors and the printers they could pay to work with them, it got a big boost in the mid-1980s. That was when personal computers, desktop laser printers, and desktop publishing software first allowed authors to compose their own print-ready pages. 

 

But it was only in the late 1990s that self publishing really took off. In that period, the desktop publishing revolution was joined by the dual revolutions of print on demand and online bookselling. Together, these sparked a whole new industry of "self publishing companies" -- an industry that has now made self publishing accessible to almost anyone who can type. 

 

What has been largely lacking, though, is the know-how for making such publishing profitable. Though the classics on the business of self publishing -- books by Dan Poynter, Tom and Marilyn Ross, and John Kremer -- have all been revised in the decades since their first publications, they're still products of their time, focusing on the hard-to-crack world of bricks-and-mortar bookselling. They have little to say to those ready to exploit today's much more accessible opportunities online. 

 

What we've needed, then, is a new business of self publishing. 

 

That's exactly what I and a number of other self publishers have been working out over the past number of years. Many of us are earning a respectable profit from our work. Some, like myself, even make a reasonable living. Now I'd like to offer you the same possibilities. 

 

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SAMPLE #2

 

FORGET BOOKSTORES

 

Yes, I said it: Forget bookstores.

 

The first principle of the new business of self publishing is probably the hardest for aspiring publishers to accept. If you're like me, you love to visit your local bookstore -- whether chain or independent -- and wander the aisles, delighting in the sheer presence of so many enticing volumes. That love probably sprang up in your childhood, and will likely last you the rest of your life.

 

The trouble is, the feeling is not mutual.

 

In general, bookstores do not love self publishers. It's nothing personal. If the staff at that store sat down and read your book, they might like it very much. They might even make an effort to promote it. Perhaps you can convince two or three local stores to do just that.

 

But for most bookstores, your book simply isn't worth the effort. The book business is a well-oiled machine that runs in broad and well-worn channels. Bookstores deal with sales reps and suppliers that can deliver dozens of titles at a time to their doorstep. Unless you already have a runaway bestseller, it's simply not efficient for them to deal with someone hawking one or two books. And to tell the truth, it's usually not worth your time to try to get them to.

 

Luckily, you no longer need to. With only minor effort and cost, you can get your book carried by one bookseller that handles nearly 20% of trade retail bookselling in the U.S. -- about half of what's handled by all "real world" U.S. bookstores put together. You can get your book on Amazon.com.

 

Even better, on Amazon you'll compete on a much more level playing field with publishers of any size. By aiming at Amazon and exploiting its capabilities to the full, you can outmaneuver large publishers that may know less about its workings than you do and that have their main attention elsewhere.

 

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A CHANGE OF PLANS -- A NOTE FROM AARON

 

Most of "Aiming at Amazon" offers marketing advice that will benefit most self publishers, regardless of how your books are produced, or by which company. An important part of it, though, offers a specific publishing plan that in many cases could double your profit.

 

Due to changes at Amazon in 2011, that plan no longer works as described. To replace it, I've come up with a revised approach that I call Plan B. So, after reading my book, please visit my Publishing Page online for the modifications you'll need to achieve that kind of profitability.

 

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BOOKS ON SELF PUBLISHING BY AARON SHEPARD

 

AIMING AT AMAZON: The NEW Business of Self Publishing, or How to Publish Your Books with Print on Demand and Online Book Marketing on Amazon.com. There has never been a self publishing manual like this. "Aiming at Amazon" is NOT about getting your book into bookstores. Instead, it lays out an innovative approach that targets sales on Amazon.com. It reveals how to make a book sell well online, with tips never before offered. And it doesn't stop there -- it gives you a way to publish your book that can greatly increase your profit per copy. Avoid publishing plans that handicap you almost before you begin. Let "Aiming at Amazon" introduce you to the NEW business of self publishing. 

 

POD FOR PROFIT: More on the NEW Business of Self Publishing, or How to Publish Your Books With Online Book Marketing and Print on Demand by Lightning Source. CreateSpace uses it. Lulu.com uses it. So do AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Xlibris, and almost every other self publishing company in the US, Canada, and the UK. Lightning Source is the printer and distributor at the heart of the "print on demand" industry. So, why pay a middleman? In this follow-up to his groundbreaking book "Aiming at Amazon," Aaron Shepard explores how to greatly increase your profit by working directly with Lightning. If you're serious about making money with POD publishing, this book can show you the way.

 

PERFECT PAGES: Self Publishing with Microsoft Word, or How to Design Your Own Book for Desktop Publishing and Print on Demand (Word 97-2003 for Windows, Word 2004 for Mac). Nowadays, new technologies and services have made it easier than ever to publish your book, but there's one question you may still face: Do I need an expensive page layout program, or can I just use a word processor like Microsoft Word? With this book as guide, you'll soon be producing pages from Word that no reviewer will scoff at.