Publish Your Book
The Complete Self-Publishing Guide
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Three months of writing, and then two weeks of zero sales BUY FROM INGRAMSPARKAMAZONKOBOREAD THE INTRODUCTIONTABLE OF CONTENTS 198 pages · Paperback ISBN 978-1-946458-98-8 · ebook ISBN 978-1-946458-23-0 |
| 198Pages | 2016The first book | 100+Titles published since | 5Platforms compared |
Three months of writing, and then two weeks of zero sales
I still remember the sick feeling when I clicked Publish on my first book in 2016. Three months of writing. Hundreds of hours of research. A cover I was proud of. Then nothing.
I’d fallen into the trap every new author falls into. I thought writing the book was the hard part. The real problem was getting it in front of people who wanted to read it.
Back then self-publishing felt like throwing a bottle into the ocean. KDP was simpler and more mysterious. There were maybe five decent guides online, most written by somebody who had published exactly one book and decided that made them an expert.
I have since published over a hundred titles across multiple platforms, made every mistake available and several that seemed impossible until I found them, watched platforms change the rules overnight, and learned that what works today may not next quarter. In 2025 I tried KDP’s hardcover setup, found different sizes and requirements from the paperback, and never got through it. Few readers buy the hardcover anyway, because they’re expensive, so I’d save them for signed copies to hand special customers.
The author's publishing record, from a first book that sold nothing to over a hundred titles.
What is inside Publish Your Book?
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Fundamentals
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The platforms
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The alternatives
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Protecting yourself
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Who should read Publish Your Book?
| If you are | Read |
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| Committed to Amazon KDP | Chapter 1, Fundamentals, and Chapter 2, Amazon KDP |
| After wide distribution | Chapter 3, Draft2Digital |
| Evaluating IngramSpark for print | Chapter 5, before you commit |
| Weighing traditional publishing | Chapter 6, Traditional Publishing |
| Approached by a hybrid publisher | Chapter 7, Hybrid Publishing |
| Worried about scams aimed at new authors | Chapter 10, Publishing Scams and How to Avoid Them |
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Read it if
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Not for you if
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Why did I write Publish Your Book?
Richard Lowe, the Writing King
Over a hundred titles published across every major platform, starting with one in 2016 that sold nothing for two weeks. I’ve made the mistakes in this book and watched the rules change underneath me repeatedly. That’s the only qualification that matters here.
► Behind the Book: Publish Your Book
How this one got written, what went wrong, and what got cut.
► I Clicked Publish on My First Book and Sold Nothing for Two Weeks
One story from behind this book.
What do people ask about Publish Your Book?
Also in The Publishing Series
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Optimizing for AI Search |
How to Get Your Book Written for You |
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Marketing Without the Hype |
Make a Living as a Self-Published Author Build the Business Behind the Books |
Writing the book was not the hard part
Getting it in front of the right people is, and that part is learnable.
BUY FROM INGRAMSPARKAMAZONKOBOREAD THE INTRODUCTIONTABLE OF CONTENTS
Paperback and ebook.
Introduction
Publish Your Book
I still remember the sick feeling in my stomach when I clicked “Publish” on my first book in 2016.
Three months of writing. Hundreds of hours of research. A cover I was proud of. And then… nothing. Zero sales for two weeks straight.
I’d fallen into the classic trap every new author falls into: I thought writing the book was the hard part. Wrong. The real challenge was figuring out how to get my book in front of people who wanted to read it.
Today, I’ve published over one hundred titles across multiple platforms. I’ve made every possible mistake you can make in self-publishing, plus a few that seemed impossible until I stumbled into them. Authors are still making the same mistakes I made in 2016. They’re still throwing their books into the void and wondering why nobody’s buying them.
Every self-publishing guide starts the same way: “Anyone can publish a book!” True. Those guides conveniently skip the important part: anyone can publish a book, but most people publish it wrong. They choose the wrong platforms for their goals. They price their books to fail. They write descriptions that make their books sound boring. They pick categories where they have zero chance of being discovered. And then they wonder why their book isn’t selling.
The breakthrough came when I stopped thinking like a writer and started thinking like a reader. Instead of asking “How do I publish my book?” I asked “How do readers find and buy books online?” Everything changed.
After publishing over a hundred books, I know this much: publishing success comes down to better and worse decisions. The authors who succeed long-term aren’t necessarily the most talented writers. They’re the ones who understand how the business side works and make decisions based on their own goals.
My goal was to create a book that describes exactly, step-by-step, how to take a manuscript all the way through the process needed to publish on multiple platforms, without any diversions.
Table of contents
Publish Your Book
- Preface
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: Self-Publishing Fundamentals
- Chapter 2: Amazon KDP
- Chapter 3: Draft2Digital
- Chapter 4: Lulu Self-Publishing
- Chapter 5: IngramSpark Professional Publishing
- Chapter 6: Traditional Publishing
- Chapter 7: Hybrid Publishing
- Chapter 8: Alternative Publishing Platforms
- Chapter 10: Publishing Scams and How to Avoid Them
- Conclusion: Choose Your Path and Get Published