This blog was featured on 05/22/2017
How to Self Publish a Book
Contributor

Congratulations! If you’re reading this article, you have taken the single most important step to making your publishing dreams a reality: you decided to self-publish. The differences between traditional publishing and self-publishing are vast, but one of the many perks about about the self-publishing process is that you have complete control over every creative decision and the overall success of your book. For type-A author’s, this is the best case scenario. With the self-publishing world more influential than ever, it’s important to first understand exactly how to self-publish your book — we’re here to give you that basics.

Prepare to Invest

Self-publishing is not a cheap process; in fact, the writer bears the entire costs of the process from start to finish. The reward? Profits and royalties for the rest of your life — if you book is success. Prepare your mind and pocketbook for the short-term and long-term investments you’ll need to make into your book’s future.

Realize It Won’t Be a One-Man Show

You are a writer, but chances are you aren’t a designer, editor, proofreader and person behind a printing press. Do your research and build your “literary cabinet” of publishing power players to help make your self-publishing process go as smoothly and flawlessly as possible. The people you hire to do these small but hugely important tasks will directly impact the success or failure of your publishing dreams. Perhaps you want to hire a hybrid publisher take care of that process for you — they usually have the best and most talented contacts in the publishing business for self-publishing authors like yourself.

Edit and Finalize the Manuscript

Finalize the title of your book and begin the lengthy editing and proofing process by either sending your manuscript to the editor you hired or to the hybrid publisher who will send it to the right person. Take your time in this process and have an open mind to edits and revisions — it’s important to develop a talented filter for brilliant advice and knowing when to take it.

Go Through the Design Process

This is the fun part — seeing your book come to life. Whether working with a designer or a hybrid publisher, we have one piece of advice here: be as picky as you want. This is your literary baby and you have complete creative control over every artistic aspect, including the cover design, font, colors and every word and image that appears with your book both online and in print. Comb through every detail and be sure the cover design and every artistic aspect conveys the soul of your book.

Get Manuscript Copyrighted and Purchase ISBN number

These are two tedious but incredibly vital aspects to your book being published. It’s always easier when you have an experienced hybrid publisher take care of these details for you, but copyrighting your book and purchasing and ISBN number is certainly doable who publishing completely solo and easily doable online.

Find a Printer and Online Platform to Publish

Chances are you want your book in both print and online formats — but the two are completely different processes.

When not working with a hybrid publisher, you’ll need to independently find a printer and decide on the amount of copies you want published, which you can either try to influence bookstores to buy or wait for an online customer to order a print copy. If you don’t want to invest in advance, you can go with the Print on Demand (POD) option which entails an author only printing the book when they receive an order for it.

When it comes to online publishing, you can upload your final manuscript, cover and metadata into Amazon’s CreateSpace and in a matter of a few days, you will be a published author.

If working with a hybrid publisher, they will be able to access the relevant markets and bookstores which may be interested in your book and actively advise the best means of selling your book — in both bookstores and online.

Be Your Own Publicist

This is the most important part to the publishing process: be loud about your book. You are officially your book’s publicist for the rest of your life and it’s in your hands to grow and maintain your platform. Many self-published authors choose to employ a PR or marketing agency to help with bringing their elf-published book to the mainstream spotlight — and it works.

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