Why and how I got into eBooks

When I finished writing my engineering memoirs in summer 2010, my first thought was to go back to Prentice Hall. I had written four computer-engineering books for them in the mid-1980s, so they were my first call. That didn’t work out so well: when I talked with my former acquisition editor, his bad news was that PH only did textbooks. So, after shopping around awhile, I concluded that I’d not find a publisher to do my latest, especially because I’m not a nationally-known celebrity. Ah, well.

What would a computer engineer do? You’re right, I decided to publish it myself on Amazon as a Kindle eBook. First time was a hassle getting it right, but with proper formatting, I finally did get it on Amazon. Then I put it on Barnes & Noble. The marketing followup was a news release in my local paper, the Williamsport Sun-Gazette.

After a few months, I put the book on Smashwords, a dynamic up-and-coming eBook distributor. The Smashwords connection put the eBook out to all the remaining major outlets.

Knowing how to do it, I decided to help other folks get their manuscripts into “print.” That led to my next project: a Joomla site, Wilcox Publishing, offering my services and presenting my latest published eBooks. At the moment, there are 11 eBooks there, representing a somewhat eclectic collection of titles. I’m a “boutique publisher” now.  🙂

Now you know why and how I got into eBooks!

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