Nearly every writer dreams of having a book that tops the bestseller list, but for decades, achieving that successfully has been difficult without help from a traditional publishing house.
Finding an Idea
Getting the attention of a major publishing house is not easy. It means sending out manuscripts and waiting anxiously for a response that may never come, while trying to stay positive in the face of rejection.
For the very few who are lucky enough to get past this stage, there are still months of negotiations over the creative direction of your work and your share of the profits.
Working with publishers isn’t a dream come true, but what if you could skip the whole process? What if you could write, edit, publish, and sell your own book – all without having to answer to the whims of gatekeepers?
In today’s creator economy, you can. Self-publishing tools are now more widely available than ever. You just need to know how to use them.
How to Self-Publish a Book
1. Write a Marketable Book
Entrepreneurs use market research to come up with a product idea. This process involves examining competitors’ products, assessing their strengths and weaknesses, discovering unexploited gaps, and identifying their ideal customers.
A writer might scoff at the idea of doing market research, but the “entrepreneur-writer” knows that understanding the audience early on will make selling their book much easier in the future.
You may already have written books, or you might have some book ideas, or you may be starting from scratch. Either way, using these methods to gauge the marketability of your book before you embark on the self-publishing process for the first time will help you create an action plan for marketing your book.
2. Edit Like a Professional
Self-publishers have to compete in the same stores and markets where traditional publishing companies reside, which means your book must look polished and fully completed as if it came from a big publishing house.
You may not have as many specialized editors as a large publisher, but that doesn’t mean you can’t create a competitive product.
Begin by editing the manuscript yourself
Before handing off the first draft to anyone else, read it yourself from start to finish, as if you were a member of the target audience. It’s easy to get lost in the details during the writing process, and reading the text from beginning to end will help you understand how your book translates as a whole.
Once you have a manuscript ready for a second eye, put your entrepreneur hat back on and start getting feedback from potential fans.
Get feedback from your target audience
During the product development process, entrepreneurs improve their product by gathering feedback from their target audience, aiming to enhance the usability of the product. This is also important for self-published books.
Before sending the book to a professional editor, provide copies to people and ask them to give you feedback. It’s important that the feedback you receive comes from your book’s target audience.
Browse message boards related to your book’s genre, and send your manuscript to friends and family (if they belong to the target audience), and gather as much feedback as possible about your manuscript. The goal of this stage is not to fix mechanical errors or typos, but to gain a general understanding of your book’s marketability as a whole.
Edit your manuscript with a professional editor
Copy editing is a very meticulous process that involves reviewing the manuscript line by line with the aim of improving readability and ensuring that the text is free of grammatical and factual errors.
While you should edit your own copy before passing it to anyone else, it’s important for a professional editor to take a look at it and provide an outside perspective on the content of your book. It can sometimes be difficult for writers to notice readability issues in their own work.
Where
You can hire a freelance editor
Hiring a freelance editor allows you to work with a professional editor within your budget. There are many places where you can hire freelancers to help you edit your work. Freelance job sites have a variety of freelancers, with varying costs and levels of experience:
– Reedsy. Reedsy is a freelance platform dedicated to connecting independent writers with freelance editors. What makes Reedsy unique is the ability to hire editors specialized in your book genre.
– Upwork. Upwork specializes in connecting businesses with a variety of freelance talent, including editors and proofreaders. Upwork has search filters that allow you to view freelancers by hourly rates, making it easy to work within your budget.
– Fiverr. Fiverr is the largest marketplace for digital services in the world. Users are divided into “buyers” and “sellers.” Sellers offer a wide range of services, including proofreading and editing text.
– Guru. Guru allows business owners to create jobs for freelancers to explore. Freelancers respond to postings and quote their fees, and business owners can evaluate applicants and choose the best fit for their needs.
Developing an Attractive Cover Design
Books should not be judged by their cover, but most people will do so. Your cover serves as a primary visual medium for your book to users browsing online stores, marketplaces, your online shop, and anywhere else your book is sold.
Should I hire a professional designer?
Entrepreneurial writers take on a multifaceted role, one of which is being a graphic designer. The process of designing your cover will take some time, but it can save you a lot of money. The answer to this question depends entirely on your level of expertise with the task.
Whether you design the cover yourself or hire a freelancer, you’ll need to think like a marketer when evaluating your cover design. Here are some things to keep in mind:
– Use inspiration to guide your decision. Gather some cover designs from successful books in your genre and evaluate what works best for them. Why is one cover more appealing than another? What does the cover content say about your book?
– Consider the thumbnail. When customers browse your online shop, Amazon, or physical bookstores – the cover image will be greatly minimized. Remember that small details in your cover design may be ignored in this context. During the design process, try to remember to view the cover in its thumbnail size to ensure prominent details are not overlooked and that the cover does not look cluttered.
– Make your title readable. An attractive cover design can go to waste if readers cannot quickly and easily connect it to your book title. Having the title prominently displayed will help readers associate the image with the name of the book and make it more likely for them to remember it.
– Consider the back and spine. Even though the back and spine may not be visible in thumbnails, they will be visible in the physical copy of your book. Many readers care about how the back looks on their bookshelves. Follow the same aesthetics present in the cover and ensure that the design is consistent.
If you are looking to hire a designer, you can use the freelance services you used to hire an editor to hire a designer:
– Reedsy
– Upwork
– Fiverr
– Guru
There are also free tools to design your cover if you have design experience:
– Canva
– Fotor
– Edit.org
– Visme
Identifying Platforms You Will Use for Self-Publishing
A self-publishing platform is a tool used to turn all elements of your book into a tangible product and distribute it to buyers and sellers. The company you use for self-publishing will impact your distribution channels, so at this stage, it’s important to start thinking about how to sell books online.
Publishing
Self-publishing using print on demand
Print on demand is a method of fulfilling orders where books are printed and shipped at the point of sale. This means there is no need to print many copies of the book and hold them as inventory and ship them yourself.
Print-on-demand books are ideal for self-publishers, as they offer low costs and save time by allowing you to delegate the manufacturing and distribution of your products.
Selling on Amazon using Kindle Direct Publishing
Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is Amazon’s self-publishing platform that allows users to print their books on demand at the point of sale. Amazon accounts for about 50% of the printed book market. Readers are familiar with Amazon’s interface, making it easy for them to browse and find your book.
Additionally, Amazon will recommend your book to readers whom its algorithms think may be interested. Although KDP will upload your book directly to Amazon, you are not necessarily required to use it to sell printed books.
How much does it cost to use KDP?
Since KDP uses print on demand, the costs associated with using KDP are incurred only after selling the book. Printed books sold on Amazon using KDP are subject to a 60% royalty rate, meaning you earn 60% of the listed price.
However, printing costs (which can vary based on paper type and number of pages) are also deducted from your total revenues. Fortunately, Amazon has a useful calculator for printing costs and the royalties you can expect.
One drawback to note about KDP is the exclusivity requirement: if you sell eBooks on Amazon using KDP, you cannot sell the same eBooks elsewhere. However, paperback books sold through KDP can be sold on other platforms.
Selling in stores using Lulu and Shopify
Lulu is a self-publishing platform that provides tools for printing and distributing your own books and eBooks. Lulu offers a wide variety of sizes, bindings, and page types that give you many options to develop and design your manuscript into a physical product.
What makes Lulu useful is the Lulu Direct Shopify app, which integrates easily with your Shopify store. By using the Lulu app on your Shopify store, you can print and ship books at the point of purchase, saving time and effort in the logistics process.
Other self-publishing platforms
There are many self-publishing companies that allow users to create physical copies of their books and sell them through major retailers. Most of them have a print-on-demand option for selling on Amazon, but this may not be available for in-store sales.
If you decide to use another self-publishing platform besides Lulu, you will need to print copies of your book and store and ship them the traditional way, meaning there may be additional costs compared to using a print-on-demand service.
– Reedsy. In addition to being a platform for finding freelancers, Reedsy also offers self-publishing services. Its book formatting tool helps independent authors create professionally designed eBook and print book files for free.
– IngramSpark. IngramSpark provides tools for designing your print books and integrated distribution features to over 40,000 retailers and libraries.
– Blurb. Blurb is a platform that offers various digital tools for creating your book layout and selling it through major retailers like Amazon. Blurb’s tools are particularly useful for large photo books with unique designs from page to page.
Formatting your book
In the self-publishing formatting stage, you will be putting the finishing touches on your product, ensuring that all elements are present to make it look like a professionally printed book.
The reason
The formatting stage comes after finding a self-publishing platform, as self-publishing platforms typically come with built-in formatting and layout features. The tools you use may vary depending on the platform you’re using, but the final product is the same.
How Book Formatting Works
Self-publishing platforms like KDP require users to upload two distinct files. The first is the manuscript file, which contains all the internal pages of the book, and the second is the cover file, which contains the exterior of your book: the front cover, back cover, and spine.
Formatting Your Manuscript File
Even though your manuscript may be perfectly written and edited, there are some formatting options that need to be taken when preparing for publication.
Setting the Size and Margins. The size and margins are the height and width of your pages. Self-publishing platforms typically have a number of page sizes to choose from, but you still need to adjust the margin sizes.
The Front Matter
The front matter of the book includes all the pages that come before your manuscript begins. Books typically contain five types of front matter pages:
– Half-title page: Often the first page in the published book, it is a page facing the right that contains the book title only – so it does not include page numbers.
– Title page: The title page does not include page numbers either, but usually contains the author’s name and a subtitle. Publishing companies often include their logo here, but for self-publishers, the logo is optional.
– Copyright page: Your copyright page should be on the first left page opposite the title page and contains all the copyright information for the book. If you’re unsure what to include, here’s a helpful template from the publisher Scribe.
– Dedication page: This page appears on the following right-hand page and usually does not contain page numbers or headers. Dedication pages should be short, typically containing one or two sentences.
– Table of contents pages: Table of contents pages typically display the chapter and section titles in your book, along with the page numbers where they appear.
The Main Body
The main body of the book contains all the text of the chapters. The pages of the main body start with the first chapter on a right-hand page.
– Chapter title page: The chapter title page appears at the beginning of each chapter in your book. Chapter title pages do not include headers but do contain page numbers.
– Main text pages: Every page in your book that does not start a chapter will be a main text page. Main text pages typically have a header: usually the author’s name if the pages are on the left, and the book’s title if the pages are on the right.
The Back Matter
The back matter of your book will include all the pages that come after the chapters. Here are the back matter pages that should be included:
– Index and references pages: These pages may not be required for fiction books, but non-fiction books typically require reference source pages.
– Author bio page: Contains a picture of you, the author, along with a brief biography.
– Index pages: Non-fiction books that cover a wide range of topics usually have an index page that lists the topics in alphabetical order alongside the page numbers where these topics are discussed. If you include index pages, they will be the last thing in the book.
The last item your book needs is the International Standard Book Number (ISBN).
What is an ISBN Number?
An ISBN
ISBN is a 13-digit code that uniquely identifies each edition of your published book, along with its publisher and physical characteristics.
It is useful because it provides a universal reference number for your book that works across many platforms, libraries, and different markets. It also serves as proof of your ownership of your book’s content, so it is important for self-publishers.
How can I get an ISBN number?
Most self-publishing platforms, including Kindle Direct Publishing, will provide you with a free ISBN number for your book when you use their platform for publishing. If your self-publishing platform does not offer one, you can obtain a global ISBN number through myidentifiers.com.
Launching Your Book Like Launching a Product in a Store
If you want to achieve success, your next task will be planning the product launch. You may not have the experience of a professional publishing house, but you have prepared for marketing by creating a book that has an audience you know well. Our e-commerce launch checklist can help keep you on track.
There is a lot to consider before launching the book. Let’s go over some important steps:
– Make sure your Amazon sales channels are working. Amazon is a very important platform for selling books. Whether you are selling on Amazon via KDP or using a different self-publishing platform synced with Amazon, you will want to ensure that you can accept payments through Amazon. Conduct a test purchase and allow a copy of your book to be sent to you as if you were a customer.
– Set up your website with online checkout. Your book should have a “hub” for all your sales channels and social media content to refer to. This will make it easy for users to find more information about you and help them contact you for interviews and other promotional opportunities.
– Set up a way to capture visitor email addresses. Email marketing is a very powerful tool for building an audience. Use an email marketing app like Shopify Email, Seguno, or Klaviyo to send notification messages and provide a way for visitors to receive updates about you and your books.
– Install an analytics tool. Website analytics tools can provide valuable insights into visitor behavior and help optimize your online store. Shopify has built-in analytics reports, but you can also set up a third-party analytics tool like Google Analytics.
Once your book is formatted and your sales channels are set up, users will be able to purchase your book. Now it’s time to show them how.
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