After finishing your history research you may want to publish your results in book form. Independent (self) publishing is very suitable for publishing specialised non-fiction work where there might not be a potential market large enough to interest a conventional publisher unless the author pays them a large fee.

This method allows you to make your book available with very little financial outlay. Books may be printed and made available for you to distribute yourself or through the conventional book trade to be sold on web sites or ordered by book shops. However it is very unlikely that the book will be in stock in book shops. This matters little as most books are now sold online.

The advantages of this method are: 1. You are certain your book will be published when you start writing. 2. You have complete control of the project. 3. The book can be published internationally and appear on web sites, particularly Amazon, within days of it being finished. 4. The book can be updated or otherwise modified for future sales after publication. 5. You can make the book available in both print and eBook form. 6. The book can be priced low, you decide the selling price as long as it covers the cost of print and distribution.

We have made a short guide to advise you how to go about it using three online portals which charge no upfront fees in two cases or just $50US in another.

Andrew Sadler