Self Publishing a Book explained in one minute

[petcal2004]

Thank you... I like the funny way you said it. Thank you!!!

[BeerGogglesReviews]

Thanks for some cool, friendly and helpful info.

[mtgsean]

Since publishing, what have you done to get it sold?

[00Crazymonkey]

How do you make like the book cover an the spine of the book ?

[kadajshm]

@00Crazymonkey First you'd need to determine the format of your book (i.e. which size? pocket? standard? etc.).

Then basically just make one big gigantic picture that fits the proportions of the covers. Most print on demand sites have either a template for this or provide some sort of software that lets you use a picture.

[blackturtleshow]

Great video. My understanding is the Lulu provides both copyright and ISBN. Maybe that wasn't the case when you made this video.

[justacure]

You helped me so much! Thank you for making this video. :)

[lullmen]

@justacure Very kind of you to say. Also the reason I made the video.

[VeritasEstLibertas]

thank you! best of luck to you!  :)

[lullmengesha]

@VeritasEstLibertas Thank you for the kind words. I am not sure I understood the first question but I used both lulu and createspace. Createspace has allowed for both my printed version of the book and a kindle version if that is what you are asking. Is it? You can do the same with lulu. I would have done a few more edits before publishing, I hate grammatical mistakes :)

[meandmyself364]

Thank you, very helpful and you're easy oin the eyes too, especially when you smile!

Keep smilin'

[FunnyLittleRedHead]

soooo can you tell me 3 things please. im writing a book (of course) and i want to get it published. but i dont have alot of money. so

1. how much does it cost to get your book copyrighted?

2.how much does a ispn number and a barcode cost?

3. if i publish it on lulu do i pay them anything? or is it free and if people buy it i get payed?

PLEASE ANSWER MY QUSTIONS PLEASE I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW

[lullmengesha]

@FunnyLittleRedHead

I added the links for you and others to checkout the copyright and isbn websites. I don't know the exact price on hand but it should be easy to investigate with the information I provided.

3) If you publish it on Lulu or createspace you don't owe them anything unless you make a purchase. You get paid if somebody makes a purchase.

[FunnyLittleRedHead]

@lullmengesha thank you so much :)

[TheOakwater]

Hey Lull, thanks for breaking things down. I have a couple of questions. Is it best when self publishing to create a LLC business? I'm still confuse to what company to use for publishing and advertising my book because it looks like they get a big portion of the book sales. Now, I'm learning that illustrator who implement your ideas get a percentage of the book as well. Is that just the publishing business? Help! I need guidance here..

[lullmengesha]

@TheOakwater I am not sure if its best to start an LLC but I did. For speaking engagements, workshops and profits for my book. They are all under the same entity.

When working with an illustrator they get whatever deal and terms you set with them. You are the "customer" so you can do set the terms. I recommend looking on elance and reaching out to illustrators. You can set the terms,

[TheOakwater]

@lullmengesha Thank you for responding. One more question. How are you getting speaking gigs? Do you have an agent or manager? If so can you recommend one in my area.. Los Angeles..

[lullmengesha]

@TheOakwater I don't have an agent. Schools usually reach out to me to work with their students. Good luck finding an agent.

[mclane6553]

hey i have a question? im writing a book atm but it be finished within a few weeks do you recomend on using lulu.com and also do you have to pay when you put it on the market or does it go into the cost of someone buying it? i would like to talk using a phone but im in the uk and im not sure where you are lol please contact me i will be more than gratefull :) thank you

[lullmengesha]

@mclane6553 I recommend using createspace. Lulu is helping in ordering proofs and ordering copies of your book for wholesale but don't expect people to sign up for a lulu account to purchase your book. You don't pay for your book when it is ordered. You get a percentage and so does lulu.com.

[mclane6553]

@lullmengesha thank you for the reply i have just checked out the link createspace they seem willing to help you along, alot more then what a lot of the other publishers do. Thank you and no doubt i will have some more questions for you again soon lol. Take care.

[IceInMySnowCone]

Wow...When you said Mengesha....all I could think of was Araya Mengesha. :) Aw man. Lol. Thanks for helping us by the way! :D Very helpful information :)

[lullmengesha]

@IceInMySnowCone thank you!

[QuestionOfTheDay2]

THANKS.... I SEE ALL THE WRITERS COMING TOGETHER... I WROTE A BOOK FOR ALL NATIONS.... IM NOT WORRYING ABOUT BOOK SELLS... BUT I WANT THESE WORDS TO SEEN BY ALL.... ENCOURAGING THE WORLD TO STAND.... I WOULD SPEAK ON IT BUT NOT YET.... ALL WRITERS KEEP ON USING THIS GIFT GOD GAS GIVING YOU TO SPEAK TO THE WORLD..... REMAIN STAND

[coolysteph]

I got a question...i wrote a book last year i still keep getting rejections from agents....ive talked to other big authors and they told me that they do not recommend self publishing; to just be patient. if i do self publish, what do i do now? how do i get my book out there like regular authors

[lullmengesha]

@coolysteph I recommend googling The Domino Project by best selling author Seth Godin. He talks a lot about the direction of the publishing industry. For me personally, I approached literary agents and publishers who never got back to me, even after selling more than 5,000 copies of my first title. I use amazon and a local distributor in the Seattle area that gets my book out nationally called partners west. Marketing your project is the real challenge for independent or larger published authors

[coolysteph]

@lullmengesha how much did it cost ..about?

[dparquet26]

how did your book do?

[lullmengesha]

@dparquet26 Not too bad. My book is a best seller in multi-cultural education and has given me the opportunity to work with students across North America.

[unclearless]

Hope this does not sound too stupid, but I thought "Print on demand" meant that the company would print one single book if only one was ordered, and that you had to buy nothing, just send them the material to be printed. Is that incorrect? Is there a minimum? Thank you for a great video with great info! ~Kev~

[lullmengesha]

@unclearless Hey Kev! Great question and not stupid at all. There is no minimum when using a print on demand printer such as createspace. You don't have to do anything as far as shipping out your book all you have to do is market it, which is a big challenge in its own. I would also recommend making yourself a seller on Amazon and "competing" against yourself by selling the same book but only signed by the author. Keep asking more questions if you have any! Thanks Kev.

[TURB0N1NJA]

its always a race issue with blacks, the only black kid in class bah! lets keep it that way

[MarcusNWC]

Helpful and hilarious!

[JOEYSCOTTPEREZTUBE]

great, quick, to the point,  appreciate it. Writing my first eBook now, excited.

[lullmengesha]

@JOEYSCOTTPEREZTUBE Thank you! Give as much value as possible in as short of content as possible. Good luck on your ebook!

[cabbij]

Unmistakably of Ethiopian ancestry - slight Haile Selassie resemblance. All the best Lull.

[lullmengesha]

@cabbij no doubt Ethiopian :)

[crazygeo81]

How much did it cost to publish your own book ? and how many copies did you get ? Thank you sir

[lullmengesha]

@crazygeo81 Thanks for the questions. Publishing costs were roughly under $600 but that was back in 2009. You can do the entire process for under $400. However that is just Publishing the book.

As far as the number of copies I have gotten, I started out with a couple hundred since I was using print on demand publishers. I now try to keep a few copies on me in case I am doing a local area event but for the post part I can do bulk order directly from my printer to the customer.

[crazygeo81]

@lullmengesha Thanks for the feedback man ! So helpfull. Never thought it could be so easy ! Looked over all the websites yesterday. Just two more questions. So once I publish my book threw LuLu and it is on their site, i then have to buy at least the minimum number( 200) of copies so it can be sold, correct ?! So if my book were for say 10.00 at final print, I would need 2,000$ to get started? and do all the copies get sent to me , or stay at their warehouse and sent out from their ?

[anadolly2000]

you look animated!!!!

[lullmengesha]

@anadolly2000 No looks about it. I am the Jim Carrey of "Self-Publishing a book in one minute " videos.

[knightofcush]

whats good lull? I saw you in philly during the ESAI summit and i actually bought your book too. I have lot of written materila that I would like to turn in to a book, how is the process behind that? how much it costed you to print the 75 pages book? and was it profitable? do u plan to seel ur book in ethiopian and europe? all that detailed answered will be much appreciated......much love and respect

[lullmengesha]

@knightofcush Thanks for reaching out to me. It depends on my printer but it can range from $4-$6 bucks/ copy. Initially it wasnt profitable as it took time to cover all of my publishing costs. However it has recently become so. For my second book I am publishing soon I do plan on selling it in Ethiopia as well as Europe but this will be through online distribution, PDF's, ebooks and such. You can continue to ask questions through here. Thank you.

[AissataArt]

Thank you that was very helpful. And you're cute too ;)

All the best to you

[lullmengesha]

@AissataArt I love compliments so Thank you! Also, I am very glad the video was helpful, haha.

[ddsharper]

I like you and your presentation. You are like-able.

[lullmengesha]

@ddsharper Thank you! Nicest thing I have heard in a while.

[michaelkamauvideo]

thanks Bro for the info. i used createspace first for two poetry books. when i realized that customers don't like to pay shipping cost, (niether do i) i turned my attention to ebooks. i have two of them at lulu.com/spotlight/michaelkama­upoetry

p.s. leaving comments to these vids is a good way to advertise. i hope i'm doing anything unethical.

peace

[lullmengesha]

@michaelkamauvideo no worries Michael, Self-Promotion is a difficult challenge so feel free to post on my videos. I would recommend keeping the createspace option available. Survey 100 people and ask them if they have an amazon account and do the same with lulu. That should help give an idea of the potential barrier for just having one resource.

[khalifa0999]

am at the middle east...and everything is fuked up when it comes to self publishing and gettin an isbn...need help bro..like big time...i wud love to get my book published...am ready to send a draft copy of it to you...if u dont mind

[throughtheshoot]

Great info. Many thanks.

[changetheoscar]

Hello Lull, great video. I have both a script and a novel I want to get published, but i'm lacking resources to go self-publishing. I guess just a quick question then, is it very expensive to go self-publishing, and once done - do stores take in your books?

Cheers, Michael =)

[lullmengesha]

@changetheoscar I dont think it would be considered very expensive but it will be between $160-$300 for ISBN, barcode and to copyright. You can get your book carried by Amazon by using createspace as one of your self-publishing printers as well. It took a while for bookstores independent and more established to find value in carrying my book. They will take it on when they find that there is interest from people to purchase so focus on connecting with your audience. Helpful? Keep asking!

[waiting4smtin]

@lullmengesha want help in increasing u'r audience? Send me a coupla paragraphs from u'r book, and i'll prob. introduce it to the ethios livin in California. Liked u'r other vids btw

[TheKezira]

I'm a graduate student who got to US 2 years ago from Ethiopia and going pretty much white dominated prestigious graduate school. I just ordered the book and cant wait to get and read it.

Good Job Lull. Good start and keep it up !!

[homegirlsal]

Distribution, how do I do that?

[Konulaka]

This is soooo valuable! Thank you, I was almost going to give up on my book.

[abbys5896]

i'm taking this advice! thanks for all the info! But what about distribution ?

[11smithj]

THIS IS REALLY GOOD INFORMATION, THANKS.

Anita Smith

[11smithj]

THIS IS REALLY GOOD INFORMATION, THANKS.

[LoveMattersMost]

Wow! what an incredible video! Here's why: 1) You stated your goal. 2) You did exactly what you said you would, without any unwanted complications added in. 3) It was done simply for the benefit of others (like me). 4 You directed us to further resources and links to take the next step if we so wished. 5) You were mild-mannered and pleasant to watch. Wow! Just wow! Brian. : )

[lullmengesha]

@LoveMattersMost Thank you for the kind words! Let me know if there are any other questions you have that I can help out with. Lull

[yhoni]

I like it! This was very informative

[shuggy2002]

its about time they had this info in one place! Thanks Bro

[textanddate]

good stuff bro! making Seattle proud

[secretxxsmiles]

haha your soo funny! lol..thanks for the help!

[vimlopop]

Do u make profit

[lullmengesha]

thanks for asking Vimlopop. I do make a profit on the book. It is priced at $9.99/copy for the audiobook and $11.98 for the paparback. As long as it is less expesnive to produce and market your book than the price you sell it at, you will make a profit. Feel free to keep asking questions.

[4rozen]

@lullmengesha so I should looking into making a book myself. Thanks buddy.

[janetjacksonfeedback]

future husband........

[4rozen]

swaggerless has issues. ignore him...

Great info, bro!

[swaggerlessmonkee]

If I did I'd be sure to sell them at all the local ghetto swap meets, and chicken & waffle joints.

[philthy650]

Whats good BIG Big Brother! Yo the book was on point man. Good luck getting it out to the public man. It's a really good guide for the up and coming youth to look to... And as you know there will always be haters like this swaggerlessmonkey clown below me. lol. Do your thing bro.

[swaggerlessmonkee]

You should tell people where to get your book spell checked before you published it? Because judging from your looks I would guess it's full of ebonics slanguage... "Holla at your boy"... Typical

[lullmengesha]

The hate is strong in this one! If you are interested in writing a book on the Art of Hate please let me know if you need a publisher. I imagine you could have several editions out.

[Tommygboy]

@lullmengesha hahaha....i love the way u answer that idiot. Good bless....

[lullmengesha]

@Tommygboy Thanks bro! When you have people saying negative things you know you are on the right path.

[flfoster1]

u give private lessons ;)

[Visionary21]

yo, that's dope! Man, I always thought it was harder than this... Looks like you got the Master P Plan on this one.

[swaggerlessmonkee]

"The Only Black Student"??? Really? Why does everything have to be about race with you people? Get over it

[altast02]

thanks for this very enlightening information Dr. Mengesha!!

[altast02]

thanks to this video i will own be able to publish my own book...thanks Dr Mengesha!!!!

[downtowntb34]

Lull, what a great resource!!! Writing a book is on my bucket list. I'll be sure to youtube this when I'm ready. :) Thanks for saving me the researching time! You rock my world!

[kusakl]

You have officially stolen all of my excuses not to write a book now!

[ownsshnnn]

That is great information and good to know. You make it seem a lot less complicated than I thought it would be

[jaden22441]

and u def went from sneaking into the GC at FIU and getting caught stealing cantelopes by the old cuban lady .."everry two secondds!! soone try take advanige" ..hahaha- to the only black student.. keep it up man

[biniyb]

I never thought about writing a book before, thanks for the help

[jaden22441]

appsap.. keep it up bro. my sister was just asking me these same questions about your book, so I'll give her this link.

[Roycesraphim1]

man you went from acting on TGIF to writting books? Urkel, you are one talented man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ajm127]

Yo man, thanks for the info. Well explained and quick to the point!!

[swaggerlessmonkee]

You speak so well for a negro...

[love7777able]

Thanks that was helpful but how do I get my book in stores?

[JayDaytona1]

OK, sooo when are you going to make a video on how to WRITE a book? lol

[nasir206]

Nice video! Had a lil fun with the pop-up links I see.

Clear and to the point

[mishellfish89]

Thanks Lull, straight to the point.

[LVJ19]

thanks, this makes the publishing process not seem so complicated. Cant wait to get my first book published! =)