Publishing E-Books For Dummies^®

by Ali Luke

Publishing E-Books For Dummies^®

Published by
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
111 River Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774

www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.

For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012946056

ISBN 978-1-118-34290-9 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-35202-1 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-35203-8 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-37278-4 (ebk)

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the Author

As well as publishing e-books on behalf of clients, Ali Luke has published much of her own work in digital form — ranging from specialized non-fiction guides to a novel trilogy-in-progress. She has an MA (Cantab) in English Literature from Cambridge University, and an MA in Creative & Life Writing from Goldsmiths College, University of London. Her blog Aliventures.com covers writing, blogging, and self-publishing, and she can also be found writing for many large writing- and blogging-related sites. She lives in Oxford in the UK with her wonderfully supportive husband Paul.

Author’s Acknowledgments

My parents, Gill and Geoff Hale, have been a huge support to me throughout my life. My mother fostered my love of writing; my father showed me that you can do what you love and make a living at it — and neither of them have ever suggested that I should stop this writing lark and get a “real” job! I’m incredibly grateful to them.

Paul, my husband, has been eternally patient and understanding of deadlines and writerly mood swings. I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without him. His confidence in me helps me rise to new challenges — and he’s always there for me as a very practical support in so many ways (from cooking dinner to organizing my accounts).

Without my wonderful friends in the blogging world, this book wouldn’t have happened. Huge thanks to Rick Calvert, Dave Cynkin, and Deb Ng for accepting my speaking proposal for BlogWorld in November 2011 — and to Nathalie Lussier for invaluable proposal-writing tips. I had no idea that my one-hour session on e-books would lead to Wiley commissioning Publishing E-Books For Dummies . . . but I’m very glad that it did.

Of course, I didn’t simply get to speak at BlogWorld (now New Media Expo) without any prior experience. Four people, in particular, helped me get there: Srinivas Rao and Sid Savara, who founded BlogCast FM and interviewed me several times, and Pace and Kyeli Smith, who had me as a speaker on their online World-Changing Writing Workshop in 2011.

Many people have held a torch to light me on my journey through blogging into e-book-writing: some knowingly, many simply through their own blog posts, e-books, or books. Especially thanks to Rachel Abbott, Brian Clark, Naomi Dunford, David Gaughran, Kelly Kingman, Joe Konrath, Steven Lewis, Holly Lisle, Dave Navarro, Joanna Penn, Darren Rowse, Daniel Scocco, and Sonia Simone.

Through my blog, Aliventures, and my writing teaching site, Writers’ Huddle, I’ve been blessed with a wonderful community of up-and-coming writers. The warmth and support of so many people has encouraged me to write more blog posts, more e-books, and more e-courses. I’m particularly grateful to Bill Polm and Doogie Glassford for their support, both emotional and practical.

Last, but most certainly not least, I want to thank the fantastic people who’ve had a hand in taking this book from initial idea to finished product: Amy Fandrei, Kim Darosett, Becky Whitney, Christopher Speckman, and Sheree Montgomery. I’ve been hugely impressed by your ability to be professional and meticulous whilst also being friendly and fun to work with. Thank you!

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com . For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions and Editorial

Senior Project Editor: Kim Darosett

Acquisitions Editor: Amy Fandrei

Copy Editor: Rebecca Whitney

Technical Editor: Christopher Speckman

Editorial Manager: Leah Michael

Editorial Assistant: Leslie Saxman

Sr. Editorial Assistant: Cherie Case

Cover Photo: © Yunus Arakon/ iStockphoto.com

Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com )

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Sheree Montgomery

Layout and Graphics: Joyce Haughey, Corrie Niehaus

Proofreaders: Melissa Cossell, Kathy Simpson, Rob Springer

Indexer: Dakota Indexing

Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies

Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher

Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director

Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director

Publishing for Consumer Dummies

Kathleen Nebenhaus, Vice President and Executive Publisher

Composition Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services