出版与作家生涯2013news.ycombinator.com编辑精选
Ask HN：有人自费出版过书吗？有什么建议？
Ask HN: Has anyone here self-published a book? Any advice?
导读
这是一位即将完稿的作者在 Hacker News 上请教自出版经验，回帖者给出了从建读者群、邮件列表到推广策略的具体做法。对写作者来说，它把"写完之后怎么办"这件事讲得很实在：书的成败往往在动笔时就已经决定了一半。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
别闭门写作：写作过程中就把章节要点、想法每周发给潜在读者，能预售更好，让读者和你一起长出来。
- 02
推广单篇博文而不是书本身，文末用一句行动号召把读者引到邮件列表，再通过列表慢慢卖书。
- 03
长期高频更新博客（有人坚持每天一篇五年以上），公开自己的创作与思考过程，读者会跟着你一起"想通"。
- 04
该花钱的地方别省：请编辑、请插画师，成品质量是自出版者最容易被低估的一环。
HN 评论精选
先建读者群再卖书：用博文引流、邮件列表承接，而不是直接推销书本身。
我自出版过两本书（《Double Your Freelancing Rate》和《Sell Yourself Online》），合计带来十万多美元收入。经验：一，别闭门写作——先积累想买的读者，能预售更好，每周给他们发章节要点之类的干货；二，"这是本喜剧书"意味着你在卖给普通消费者，而面向消费者时很难讲清"为什么值得付费"；三，别推广书，推广那些呼应书中主题的博文，结尾加一句行动号召引导订阅邮件列表；四，我通常会建议做多种套餐，但对大众消费品不一定适用。
bdunn查看英文原文
I've self published two books now ("Double Your Freelancing Rate" and "Sell Yourself Online: The Blueprint") Together they've netted me a little over $100k in revenue. 1) Don't write in a vacuum. Build an audience of people who want to buy (double points if you presell to them), and deliver value to them once a week in the form of takeaways from chapters you've just written, thoughts you have on the subject, etc. 2) "It's a comedy book" means you're likely selling to consumers, and it's pretty hard to explain the value (e.g. why someone should pay you for your book) when you're selling to a consumer. 3) Don't promote the book, promote blog posts that reinforce what you're writing that end with a call-to-action to join a mailing list. 4) I'd usually say setup multiple packages, but again, I'm not sure if that'd work for a consumer product.
长期日更博客、公开创作过程，并花钱请编辑和插画师，是自出版者可行的路径。
朋友 Duncan McGeary 的经历：80年代出过三本书，后来忙生意停笔；等店铺稳定、还清债务后，他每周只上两天班，把其余时间用来写书，既出电子书也尝试过传统出版。可学之处：他坚持每天写一篇博文，已持续五年多；大量分享自己的写作与生意策略；还请了插画师和编辑。提醒一句：他的博客很多是"边写边想"的日志，读起来会觉得重复，但你能看着他慢慢想通，跟着获得那种"啊哈"时刻。
jfolkins查看英文原文
My friend Duncan McGeary is writing again. His timeline is. - Hermit, single guy, writes and gets three books published in the 80s - He Marries - Purchases a pop culture / comic book / store of awesomeness - Can't keep writing and keep up his business and his family, so he quits writing - The business expands (Sports Card Bubble, Pog Bubble, some other bubbles) opening 3 other locations - The business contracts (bubbles pop) - Focues on making one location super solid - Gets his business dialed in - Finally pays off all his debt, store is doing really well - Works two days a week at the store, hires solid employees - Devotes other remaing days to writing books - Has been publishing ebooks - Has tried to go the traditional publishing route Take aways - The dude has been around the block - He writes at least one blog post a day (he has been doing this for 5+ years) - He shares A LOT about what he is doing (store front business, book writing strategy, business strategy) - He has hired artists - He has hired an editor The one warning I'll give, is a lot of the time his blog is him processing. You really are reading the guy's journal. So it may feel he repeats himself. I personally enjoy existing in the guy's head. It is a different type of blog. One where you eventually see him work stuff out and you almost get that "AHAH!" moment with him. I really respect Duncan. I'd tell anyone interested in either business or writing to follow the guy. http://pegasus-dunc.blogspot.com/ https://twitter.com/PegasusBooks http://amzn.to/149vsQG
读一本讲自出版营销的书后立刻动手建邮件列表，先把推广渠道准备好再谈卖书。
（顺便打个广告）我今天刚公布了自己自出版电子书的发布日期。读了 Nathan Barry 的《Authority》之后，我立刻开始建邮件列表，已经攒了几百个邮箱可以用于推广。我没有具体建议可给（bdunn 的建议听起来很不错）。
zrail查看英文原文
<shameless plug> I actually just announced the launch date for my self-published ebook this morning: http://www.petekeen.net/announcing-mastering-modern-payments-using-stripe-with-rails </plug> I've been working on it for a few months after reading Nathan Barry's excellent book Authority. Based on that I started a mailing list right away and have collected a few hundred email addresses that I can market to. I can't say I have any concrete advice (bdunn's advice sounds great, though). Best of luck to you!
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