Sunday Mailbag- Monday Edition

Q: Now that you’ve self-published a book, can you share with us how to do it?

A: Wow, that would be a LOOOOONG blog post. I did a lot of research for this, including picking the brain of my friend and very successful self-publisher Steve Silver about printers, the process, etc. Much of it was a learn-as-I-went process, especially with the book designing. I had never used Adobe Indesign before, and by the end of the book’s assembly I had become an Indesign Jedi.

I could spend an hour or three on a long-winded post, but honestly Steve gave me one piece of advice that provided 95% of the knowledge and direction to accomplish my goals:

This book, Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual, was my Bible throughout this process. I got it too late to help with the writing part, but when it came to registering the book with the Library of Congress, getting an ISBN number, getting through the printing process, preparing for the book’s release, promotion, etc., this book has invaluable advice and direction.

I heartily recommend it for anyone considering a self-publishing project.

Thanks to Grant Jonen for the question. If you have a question you want answered for the mailbag about cartooning, illustration, MAD Magazine, caricature or similar, e-mail me and I’ll try and answer it here!