APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur or APE: How to Self-Publish, by Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch. I received an e-copy of this book, probably more than a year ago, for some sort of promotion.

This book took me forever to read, for two reasons. First, it is an e-book, and I hardly ever pick up my e-reader. Two, it necessitated taking notes, so I only read it when I was in a place with a notebook, pen, and something to lean on. Plus, taking notes of course draws out the process.

But don’t think, therefore, that I was slogging through. I am fine with reading books for my trade, especially when they are good books. And this book easily falls under good-books-for-my-trade. If you are self-publishing or are thinking about self-publishing, this is one of the books that you want to buy and read and have in your library.

Now, it was not the most entertaining read. But it also was not the driest. Somewhere in between, it rests pretty safely in the “how-to” or instructional books category. But it covers a large breadth of material, from why we write to who to pitch to. At times, it glazed over some of the material, but if you want to shoot through and not linger, than this is a great introductory book for you. Also, Kawasaki and Welch keep all of the info up to date (at least so far), so you can be sure you are getting the most recent information in an ever-changing field.

I really don’t have anything else to say about this book. It is informational, accurate, and indispensable if you are looking for a book on how to self-publish. On the other hand, I found Mark Coker’s Secrets to E-Book Success to be a better read, even though it is aligned with Smashwords. And I still love Catherine Ryan Howard’s Self-Printed because it is not only entertaining, but it is super nitty-gritty. If you’re going to self-publish, I would definitely buy and read the newest versions of all three.

To check out the APE website, go HERE.

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RANDOM NOTES:

• Publishing is a parallel, not a serial process.
• Writing a book is lonely, difficult, and rewarding.
• Self-publishing is the best thing that has ever happened to writers.
• Self-pub bonuses include: control, longevity, quick revisions, higher royalties, direct connection with readers, price control, time to market, global distribution, foreign rights, analytics, and deal flexibility.
• The second thing to do when writing is come up with your 30 second pitch.
• Writing is a marathon without people handing you cold water or cheering you on.
• Write every day, five minutes even, come hell or high water.
• The key to a great book is editing.
• Sell 2,500 e-books to break even.
• Most authors pursue their dreams while every one else sleeps.
• The probability that you will find all errors is 0.
• You need your own ISBNs to that printer is not your official publisher.
• There is no get-rich-quick and self-publishing.
• Add a Reviewing Made East spot to you website.
• Underpromise and overdeliver.
• TLC: trustworthy, likeable, competent.
• Respond to commenters by taking the high ground, don’t argue, and be clear, complete, and concise. @ or mention them.