REVIEW – APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur – How to Publish a Book by Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch

Our world has changed – tremendously. For writers new ways have opened to realize the own book project. We read our books on mobile devices and carry our whole bookshelf with us. And we are able to not only write a book, but also to publish and market it ourselves. We are three persons in one: author, publisher and entrepreneur. Our technical progress offers us the possibilities to decide what suits best for us, to gain new insights and to be creative ourselves. If we decide not to go the normal way, not to follow the traditional way of publishing a book, we should admit that the alternative way is no “thing to shake out of the sleeves”.

Here the book “APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur – How to Publish a Book” written by Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch may help – to orientate us and to find our way through the maze of possibilities. Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch are two experts who have made their homework consistently: They know what they are talking about, they know the details and the tricks. And they are able to show what works and what works not.

“APE is a great guide – a necessity to read.”

Atif Rafiq, General Manager of Kindle Direct Publishing at Amazon.com, sums it up:

“Guy’s book is the perfect companion on the journey of independent publishing and great reading for the millions who aspire to become authors.”

The book discusses every question that could come up for an author, from “Should You Write a Book?” to “How to Finance Your Book”, every question for a publisher from “How to Edit Your Book” to “How to Navigate Amazon” and every question for an entrepreneur from “How to Guerilla-Market Your Book” to “How We APEd This Book”.

What the book is not

1.) The book is no plea for a special method or tool – no instruction to follow a certain plan. It is no universally applicable formula that one should follow. And it is also no euphemistic guide, no view through rose-coloured glasses. It is the contrary – it is full of neutral facts and details, statistics and surveys, and full of helpful hyperlinks. User experiences of the authors and interesting stories complete the book. The book gives recommendations but does not rate unjustifiably.

2.) The book is no novel that captivates – no thrilling story, despite it is inspiring to read. It bears the hallmarks of Guy Kawasaki, his special way to think about things, his humour and his reflectiveness. Together with Shawn Welch’s contribution the book shows wholeness, shows expertise and “ripeness like a splendid wine”. You only have to “drink” it.

What we may learn of the book

We may learn of the book that not only writing is an art and deserves passion, but also the process of publishing and marketing deserves commitment and passion. Self-publishers are “artisans” who must love what they do. The slogan on the APE website speaks of “Artisanal” Publishing.

ENJOY APE !

It will give you the knowledge you need, the optimism you need and the inspiration you need.

Book details

APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur – How to Publish a Book

Authors: Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch

Publisher: Nononina Press; 1.0 edition (December 10, 2012)

Official book website: http://apethebook.com/

Reviews to the book:  http://apethebook.com/#reviews

About the authors

Guy Kawasaki

… is the author of APE, What the Plus!, Enchantment, and nine other books. He is also the co-founder of Alltop.com, an “online magazine rack” of popular topics on the web. Previously, he was the chief evangelist of Apple. Kawasaki has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College.

Shawn Welch

… is the author of APE, From Idea to App, iOS 5 Core Frameworks, and iOS 6 for Developers as well as the developer of several iOS apps. Previously he worked as a senior media-editor for Pearson Education. He also helped pioneer many of Pearson’s earliest efforts in iPad solutions. Welch has a BS from Kansas State University.

(Sources: http://apethebook.com/)

Tags: APE, author, book, eBook, entrepreneur, Guy Kawasaki, publisher, review, self-publishing, Shawn Welch