Free of Charge Resources for Indie Authors and Publishers

As a self-publishing author, you have already put a lot of time and energy into creating your masterpiece, but you do not have to go bankrupt when it comes to marketing, promoting and advertising your work. You can use a combination of free and paid services. Try not to spend more than you can afford, and always evaluate each resource to make certain that the source will meet your objectives, but most of all, do not go into debt trying to get your book(s) into the public arena.

Many sites, offering free tools and resources, not only offer excellent marketing and promotional methods for the authors' work but also enable the reading public to discover the unknown talents of self-published authors. This is not to say that sometime in an author's life, he or she will never have to spend a dime getting their work noticed, but the idea is to recognize that free wherewithal can offer just as many great opportunities, especially if the author is on a fixed budget.

Following are free resources for independent authors and publishers.

About My Ebook, developed by Bookcatcher.com, provides authors and publishers of e-books to promote and distribute their press releases on ebook applications, ebook author news, e-book publishing news and new e-book releases. You can even have your content featured free.

2BHeard enables authors and artists to publish and sell their books, videos and other media content in their store to a global audience. Authors can upload files in various formats, and the site will automatically convert your file into a PDF, epub and mobi layout. You have the option of designing your own front and back book covers or you can use their book cover designs, and then set your own price and receive 50% royalties on each item sold.

Scribd is a digital only publisher. Authors can upload their manuscript in several formats, which will be converted to PDF, set their own price and receive 80% royalties on each book or item sold.

Top Book Reviewers will let authors list their books or e-books along with their ISBN, genre, synopsis, and book cover in their author's listing page. However, if you wish to have your book reviewed, there is a fee.

Indie Book Lounge is a new site. Authors can list their book(s), provide URLs to their Facebook and Twitter accounts and provide links as to where readers can purchase their books. There is a page for authors to provide their bio and to upload their book covers. Authors may also submit articles or essays on various topics, which is an added feature to market the authors and their works.

1ChapterFree.com allows authors to submit links to where readers can sample first chapters of their work and buy their book(s). Authors will also have the opportunity to set up a profile page and links to where readers can purchase their books.