This is a video by author Conrad Zero of a talk that our publisher, Catherine Lundoff, gave in November at DreamHaven Books in Minneapolis on the nuts and bolts of starting a small press.
Resource List
The Loft Literary Center (Minneapolis/St. Paul) – Offers classes on writing ad copy, evaluating cover art, marketing, etc.
Vellum – Software for formatting ebooks. New print option now also available. I use this to format my ebooks, but haven’t used the print option yet. Mac only, simple interface, short ramp-up time. Can be purchased for individual titles as well as lifetime option.
Jutoh – Software for ebook formatting. I haven’t used it but have seen it recommended by other publishers and indie authors.
Scrivener – Software primarily used for helping authors organize and write their work but can also be used to create formatted ebooks (but not by me so I recommend looking at reviews to see if it will work for you).
Bowker – The site for generating ISBNs for your books. Essential for print books if you want to sell them in stores and a good idea for ebooks as well. Use different ISBNs for the ebook vs. print editions of the same title.
Smashwords – Platform for selling and distributing ebooks. I use it for Kobo,iBooks, B&N, everything except Amazon, which I load to directly.
IngramSpark – I use IngramSpark to print and distribute the print editions of my books. They produce good quality books at a reasonable price and have good distribution. I use them instead of CreateSpace or Lulu due to reports of quality issues with these two platforms, as well as for their finer points.
Canva – Software for creating advertising and other promotional documentation. There is a free version and a tier of paid versions.
Overdrive – Platform for ebook distribution to libraries. Smashwords includes Overdrive with its standard distribution.
Indie Author/Publisher links
Here are several sites that had a nice selection of reputable options. All of them include advice on various aspects of the indie publishing business, marketing tips, software recommendations and other useful things.