Publish It Yourself

About the Book

There is little to becoming a self-publisher: no exams, no qualification, no bureaucracy, no registration. Only will and application. Technology has advanced wonderfully. Everybody can be their own publisher now
- Peter Finch -

Self-publishing has been in existence for a long time and many famous authors started off through self-publishing. However, many people tend to misinterpret the term self-publishing and some even confuse it with vanity publishing, which is totally different. As writers find it more and more difficult to get their book published the conventional way, this book hopes to highlight to all these aspiring authors that there are alternative solutions, one of which is to be his or her own publisher.

The information in this book is based on collection of various people's opinion about self-publishing and how it might affect the publishing industry in general. For those of you who are considering the option to self-publish, this book will provide a good background understanding of the self-publishing activities, why writers self-publish and how it differs from vanity publishing. This book also talks briefly about Internet publishing, which is now gaining considerable popularity among self-publishers. It also provides a brief guide on getting started. As for those who have not decided or even never heard of this option, well, this is the book to help you make the decision as to whether self-publishing is a viable option for you. There are also some case studies included in the book.

Lastly but not least, this book hopes to enlighten the public on the self-publishing concept, and thus avoiding any further misinformation or misinterpretation of the industry. This book is a must for all aspiring authors, writers, publishers, booksellers, and anybody with interest in the publishing industry, directly or indirectly.

The book is published from a dissertation written as part fulfillment for M.Phil in Publishing Studies, University of Stirling, Scotland, UK.

About the Author

Shum FP graduated from University of Stirling, UK, with a Masters of Philosophy (M.Phil.) in Publishing Studies. Having worked for over 10 years in the corporate world, she has since acquired strong skills, knowledge and experiences in various areas including project & event/conference management, marketing & research, database management/direct marketing, business & product development, writing & publishing-related skills.

Shum has worked in different industries including Database Consulting, HR Training and Consulting, Network Marketing, Travel and Banking. In her own capacity as consultant, she was involved in many projects including managing a major project to develop a regional marketing database for a multinational company, business representation and market research for local and international clients, business proposal and concept paper writing, conference management, process documentation, book/newsletter publishing etc.

Shum has co-written a book titled Leveraging Time to Create Wealth, which is now published in Malaysia. Her new book, Publish it Yourself: Understanding self-publishing and its effects on the industry, has been published jointly with Trafford Publishing. It is her interest to assist writers, who are unable to get their work published the conventional way, to become their own publishers. She has also, to her credit, a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree in Economics (2nd Upper Honours) from the University of London, majoring in Management Studies. Shum currently lectures for a college in Beijing, China.