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How to Publish Public Domain Books

Books in the public domain are ones that are no longer bound by copyright law, allowing publishers to sell them without owing royalties to the author. Public domain book publishing can be a very lucrative business, because the costs associated with selling the book can be much lower than publishing a new book. By following a few simple steps, you can start publishing your own public domain books and capitalize on a potentially profitable information business.

Instructions

    • 1

      Obtain a copy of a public domain book and read its use license. Visit websites such as Project Gutenberg to find books and download them in ".txt" format. Public domain books may have special licenses attached that dictate how many copies you can publish, or that specify acceptable modes and methods of publication. Be certain you are allowed to make copies of it.

    • 2

      Obtain an edition of the book from your local library or a bookstore and compare it to the public domain copy. Scan through the public domain copy to make sure that the copy is error free and acceptable to publish.

    • 3

      Make a title page for the book. Include the title, author, compiler of the book and information about copyright. Change the fonts to make them larger and bold to catch the reader's attention.

    • 4

      Open your ".txt" file. Copy and paste the public domain book into your word processor. Break the book into chapters. Make chapter headings larger and bold to stand out. Make a table of contents page, if applicable, with the name and page number of each chapter. Save your public domain book for publishing after you are satisfied with the layout. Save the file in Portable Document Format (.pdf).

    • 5

      Print copies of your book from your home, or visit a print-on-demand site such as Lulu to print professional-looking copies of the book. Be sure to follow the instructions on the site and read through the features and costs before entering into any publishing deal.

Book Publishing

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