The Well-Fed Self-Publisher by Peter Bowerman - Book Review
Want to get published? Do it yourself – and make a living from it!
Here’s the proven blueprint that built a full-time income from one book!
Novice or Seasoned… New to the publishing game? TWFSP takes you step-by-step through every stage of your publishing success story. Been around the block a few times? You’ll walk away with a whole host of new tools and insights. Far from theoretical, TWFSP is one big case study: the author’s own “real-world� success chronicle.
In this how-to book from Peter Bowerman, nothing is hidden and no resources are withheld. Bowerman lays it all out for you so you have a true step-by-step guide instead of only the bits and pieces of what he wants to share.
TWFSP is an excellent book if you’re looking for a resource book in pursuing self-publishing. It’s easy to read and can probably answer any questions you have. Bowerman has a way of talking to you rather than at you about things so you can’t help but start feeling excited about the future possibilities for your book(s).
You have to be careful with charisma, though, because it’s easy to get caught up in an idea. While he does mention it in the first chapter, Bowerman could have spent more time emphasizing that it takes a lot of hard work to sell a book on your own and it also takes your own money to make things start happening.
Overall, this book is a great resource. It’s full of websites, examples, to-do lists, and much much more that any author or would-be author would benefit from having around.
June 20th, 2008 at 10:54 am
I’ve also read this book and feel the same way you do. It’s a great resource for writers.
Cheryl
June 20th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Thanks Cheryl,
Appreciate the kind words!
Hello everybody,
Delighted to be here on The Book Stacks. Hope to generate a lively discussion on the subject of self-publishing. The subject is a hot one these days as more and more authors are starting to realize, 1) how hard it is to land a publisher, 2) how much easier the Internet has made the process of self-publishing, 3) how lame the conventional publishing model actually is in most cases: anemic royalties, 18-24 months to publication, loss of creative control, and loss of book rights.
And even after giving up all that, authors who HAVE been given the keys to “The Publishing Kingdom� then discover, to their dismay, how much of their own book marketing they have to do themselves - and usually for a buck a book or less!
With that paradigm, many are understandably saying, hey, if I’m going to have to do most of the work myself anyway, I might as well be making most of the money!
I wish you all the best on your own self-publishing journeys. Know that there are plenty of tools out there (including a few of my own at http://www.wellfedsp.com).
Peter