Paperclip Press offers a full service setup solution for authors. See this page for more informaiton. However, if you want to pursue it yourself here are your options.

READ THIS FIRST: This is a general guide, not a step-by-step tutorial. You are essentially setting up your own business and it will take some time. However, the account set ups are all within the scope of the average computer users. One tip: Create a master document and keep careful notes on all the URL's Logins, and Passwords for your various accounts.

Great General Resource: we redirect you to a helpful publication: "Mundane and Boring Subjects that will Change Your Digital Life." Download it at http://www.enktesis.com.  

Here are Your Options:

You plan to publish other books and/or you would like to have your book widely distributed and you want to manage your publications.

Work with a Self-Publishing Company Like Paperclip Press.

Become Your Own Self-Publisher

• Setup an ISBN Account at Bowker: Visit http://www.bowker.com and setup your account. Bowker is the international registrar for ISBN numbers. You can one or a block of numbers. From the site you can assign ISBN numbers, create bar codes, and enter the numerous bibliographic data points that will be seen by the publishing world. The also have a number of marketing options and very helpful staff. However, see the note on CreateSpace below.
  
  
• Setup a PayPal Account: You will need this for various payment and services. If you don't need to take credit cards directly, the free PayPal account is adequate. Be sure to certify your PayPal account (it is all very clear). Visit http://www.paypal.com.
  
  
• Setup a SquareUp Account: SquareUp is a totally free service that lets you use your smartphone to take credit card payments anywhere. The rates are competitive and it flows right into your bank account each day. Perfect for fairs and public events. (https://squareup.com)
  
  
• Setup a book production/seller account: We suggest starting with CreateSpace (http://www.createspace.com). This is Amazon's print-on-demand and distribution system. They have a complete book production system that requires no inventory (though you can buy books from them at wholesale). You set your price, your distribution network, including the world. The site as complete instructions on setting up your book including templates for Word, Quark, InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. This will place your book on CreateSpace, Amazon, and make it available to major distributors. In addition, they will facilitate conversion to Kindle (of course!). There is not cost to setup the account and minimal costs for setup of your publication. Note that CreateSpace can provide and ISBN and there are advantages to using them for this service. Read their description. After you've completed this work then setup an account at LightningSource (www.lightningsource.com). This is Ingram's Print On Demand distribution company.
  
  
• Setup an Amazon Advantage Account: This program allows you to provide books and other goods to Amazon on consignment. You setup the account and you can send them copies of your books for sale on Amazon. (https://advantage.amazon.com). They will contact you to request books and let you know when the need more.
  
  
• Prepare your files: If you are so inclined, both CreateSpace and LightningSource offer extensive templates and design files and services. However, it is often easier to work with a local designer. In any case, the safest way to submit your documents is in the PDF format. Why? The PDF format give you an absolute preview of exactly how the document will look. The technical intricacies of document design, preparation, and PDF conversion are beyond the scope of this discussion.
  
  
• Submit/Publish: Both CS ad LS conclude the book submission with a publishing phase. It's all very clear on the sites.
  
  

Third: Marketing Options

There are number of ways to sell your book online (beyond the Amazon Advantage account)

Ebay: Yes, Ebay. Ebay has become the clearing house of the world. You can sell fixed-price items. (www.ebay.com)

Create Your Own Store: This is much easier than you think. One of the most highly rated is Shopify (http://www.shopify.com). It is free to setup your store and literally take minutes (sort of). There are others.

Social Media: If you have a Facebook and Twitter account broadcast your book widely.

Pay Per Click Advertising: Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google all offer online ads at varying rates.

Local Papers and Controlled Circulation Pubs:  Every community has subscription and free papers. The rates for small ads are often very low.

Craigs List:  OK. It has gotten a lot of bad raps. But it is still the ugliest, fastest, most bizarre collection of goods and services and people all over the country use it shop for almost everything. (http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites)

Create a Custom Website:  There are many tools to do so. Again, the process of creating a site is out the scope of this article. Talk to friends, get local referalls.

Fourth: You Need a Publisher

Publishers offer a wide range of services. Do your research carefully. There are hundreds listed online. Read widely. Get referrals from people you trust.

We suggest you start by contacting Terry Whalin. He is literary agent with Morgan James and has broad range of experience learned through the more than 400 titles he's helped to publish. Email Terry at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and will contact you immediately.

Straight Talk from the Editor (FREE Ebook):
http://straighttalkeditor.com

Follow Me On Twitter:
http://twitter.com/terrywhalin

My blog, The Writing Life (over 1,000 entries):
http://www.thewritinglife.ws

Terry Whalin's Main Site
http://terrywhalin.com

Many authors have asked about the how to change the status of the ISBN numbers and domains.

REGARDING ISBN NUMBERS: The ISBN numbers represent a unique, global, and unchangeable record of a book to all global markets. These numbers cannot be transferred or otherwise moved from one account to another. They remain from conception, associated with the creating-account at Bowker, Inc. (www.bowker.com). Though an author can create a new ISBN for a book, the resultant multiple-ISBN scenario can cause sales and copyright ambiguity. An ISBN can be deactivated.

How is this property defined? The owner would have access to the BOWKER accounts (or other related accounts) controlling all ISBN registrations for all publications and imprints. This would enable control over the name of the publisher and active status of any ISBN and assignment of ownership to such accounts.

Why is this a concern? Authors who cannot control their ISBN data will be forced to create new ones, but will then always have this mis-association with the original registrant (or its imprints) which is usually the named publisher.

Bottom Line: Make careful decisions about who registers your ISBN records. This is why Paperclip Press offers the complete author registration service that puts you in control of all your assets.

REGARDING DOMAIN NAMES: Domain names are globally unique identifiers for a website. Unlike ISBN numbers they can be transferred and acquired. If the current administrative contact for a domain is cooperative the transfer can be accomplished in under 48 hours. If the administrative contact is adversarial or cannot be contacted, the only process is arbitration which is time-consuming and expensive.

How is this property defined? The property discussed her is administrative access to the all the registrar and hosting accounts controlling all domains name and related registrations for all publications and imprints. This would enable control over the domains and assignment of ownership to authors.

Why is this a concern? Authors who cannot control their domain names will be forced to create new ones, but will then always have this mis-association old domains and sites. Nor can they move the websites and related tools (email, listservs) without access to the servers and name servers. In addition, domains are often a specific name or title of the book, so any substitutions will create ambiguity.

Bottom Line: Make sure any domains registered on your behalf are registered in your name or your company's name. Many web companies register clients domains in the developer's name making it hard to recover them if the developer is uncooperative or cannot be communicated with (which happens more than you think).

Last Possible Action: If the domain registrant is cooperative it is easy to move and transfer domains. If not, see our article on domain mediation. Click here for the article.

REGARDING SOURCE FILES: Source files are  critical asset over which you should have control and to which you should have access.

How is this property defined? The assets, commonly designated as ‘source files,’ are typically digital files produced in Microsoft Word, Adobe’s InDesign, Quark Express, or similar text design programs. Cover art and related design pieces are typically created in Adobe Photoshop. There also may be logos and other elements created Adobe Illustrator or similar vector-based programs. In all cases (interior design and cover art/marketing) there are typically a number of associated files that are required to re-create the source publication. In some cases there may be physical art either or created or submitted as custom illustrations or photographs used in the design process. An author must retain these files or have guaranteed acccess to them when needed.

Why is this a concern? Without a digital source file many authors will be forced to re-create their publications. If they have a final PDF file, they may be able to extract the text for additional editing and design. It is important to have the source files for the book content and art which would include the source files with layers and related elements.

We have had many requests from authors asking how they can get control of the their book since they don't have the source files or the book required extensive edits during the publishing process.

If you have a PDF file of your final book (or near final book) you may be able to convert your PDF into an MS Word Document that you can edit.

Here are the details for interior text

You will need Adobe Acrobat Professional or a similar product.

After you've opened your PDF, there is a 'Save As...' option to save to Microsoft Word (and other formats).

This will generate a DOC or DOCX file you can edit in MS Word.

Some issues

The quality of the Word export depends largely on the quality of the original text from which the PDF was created.

You may need to change the page size, margins, etc. for editing.

You can use Find and Replace to remove extra spaces, carriage returns, etc. Click here for  a quick guide to find and replacing special characters.

Graphics may convert but will basically be of no use.

 You will need to redesign the book

The exported files will not be publication ready.

You will need to have the manuscript re-typeset and new images/graphics created.

For Cover Art

If you have a PDF of your cover art you may be able to work with it in Photoshop.

Again, you will need the professional version of Photoshop to do this.