There are many free resources available that can help you with the burden of book production, promotion and selling. Most independent publishers are already aware of these sites and services, but if you’re just starting out, this list might come in handy.
1. Dan Poynter’s ParaPublising. Poynter is often referred to as the guru of self-publishing and he has been in the business for decades. His site offers articles, a free newsletter and PDF downloads that will explain many of the technical and promotional aspects of book publishing to the novice. Several of the PDF information packets are free.
http://www.parapublishing.com/sites/para/information/index.cfm
2. If you are creating your own book cover, you can make your barcode for free here:
http://www.tux.org/~milgram/bookland/
Just plug in your ISBN and follow the instructions. We’ve tested this service repeatedly and feel confident recommending it to others.
3. Books usually have subject headings on the back cover that help bookstores shelve them appropriately. To find the right subject heading for your book visit,
http://www.bisg.org/bisac/subjectcodes/index.html
4. For information on a variety of topics concerning small publishers, download a free copy of the PDF eZine, K is for Black, at http://www.bookcoverexpress.com/ (The download is on the upper right corner).
5. Need some old photos for your book? Check out http://www.flickr.com/photos/smithsonian/sets/ The Smithsonian has put hundreds of its images online and their usage agreement seems favorable for publishers.
6. NASA also has a great collection of images and most (not all, so read the conditions carefully) are free to use. http://www.nasaimages.org/ Some of these are the same space images you’ll find selling for hundreds of dollars on stock art sites.
7. Muddy River Media, http://www.muddyrivermedia.org/ offers a large collection of images, videos and other materials for non-profit, Christian projects.
8. There are a number of companies that will send out a press release for you, for free. If that’s something you’re interested in, check out http://www.i-newswire.com/submit.php
9. Need to receive faxes? We’ve been using eFax for many years (the free version) and love it. Faxes come right to your eMail. The free service (not to be confused with the free 30-day trial) does not allow you to send faxes, and you have to take any number they assign to you. http://www.efax.com/efax-free
10. Having trouble moving large files for book covers and interiors? We recommend You Send It. You can send files up to 100 MB in size, for free. https://www.yousendit.com/cms/liteaccount
Information provided by Cathi Stevenson, www.bookcoverexpress.com
