Should I Hire Someone to Upload My Ebook or Do it Myself

Should I Hire Someone to Upload My Ebook or Do it Myself When Hope saw my Fiverr gig on uploading ebooks to ebookstores for $5 each, she asked me how I could do it so easily and so cheaply. Actually, uploading is the easiest part of self-publishing, and you probably already have everything you need. Heres what you should know to upload your ebook (varies  ·          An account with the vendor (Amazon, iTunes Connect, Nook Press, Kobo, etc.)  ·          Book title and subtitle (optional)  ·          Series name and number (optional)  ·          Author name(s)  ·          Publisher (you can just use your name, e.g.: Amy Author Books)  ·          Description (back cover blurb)  ·          Book categories (you can find BISAC codes here; two to five categories, depending on the platform)  ·          Age range (for childrens books)  ·          Print length (optional)  ·          Language its written in  ·          ISBN-13 (optional) from Bowker in the U.S., plus the print ISBN-13 if there is a print version  ·          Base Currency (yours - USD, CAN, GBP, EUR, AU, etc.)  ·          Book price in your currency  ·          Book price for other countries (either use their default at the exchange rate or change to end in .99)  ·          Keywords (what the reader will search for to find your book)  ·          Whether you want Digital Rights Management (DRM)  ·          If its not in the public domain, verification that you have the rights to publish it  ·          An ebook file (most will take .doc files, but an .epub looks better)  ·          A cover (in .jpg or .png format) Once the client provides me with all of this information, its easy to just copy and paste. If a problem comes up, its usually in iBooks, related to the cover. The outside cover shown on the site needs to be a minimum of 1,400 pixels wide. However, the cover on the inside of the book must be smaller (no more than four million pixels). The same is true for all interior images. So, if its so easy to upload, why would anyone hire someone else to do it? Usually, its because they dont have access. For example, uploading to iBooks requires a Mac. If you dont have a Mac, you can use Mac in Cloud for a fee, go through an aggregator like Draft2Digital or Smashwords, or hire someone to do it for you. The learning curve for Mac in Cloud could be costly, and, if you go through an aggregator, you will be charged 10-15 percent of all sales you make. Thats why people will pay someone on Fiverr to upload to iBooks for them. It does require that you give a stranger your userid and password to your account, but if you find someone with good reviews, its not much of a risk, and you can always change your password immediately after they upload. Another reason people might hire someone else to upload their ebook is if they live outside the U.S. and want to publish their book on Nook Press. I understand its difficult, if not impossible. So, hiring someone to do it for a few bucks makes sense. I hope I took some of the mystery (and fear) out of uploading for you, and helped you make your decision whether to do it yourself or hire someone to do it for you. And, hey, if you need assistance, check out my Fiverr gig. Id be happy to help you.