What Every Author Needs to Know on How to Self-Publish a Book

These days it’s hard to imagine a world where traditional publishing alone reigns supreme and unchallenged. Are you an author eager to learn how to self-publish a book? In this Information Age, the walls have crumbled and there is a new shift in power—authors are now gradually turning to self-publishing.

It is projected that by 2021, the self-publishing industry would amount to $121 billion dollars. This five-minute guide to self-publishing success is what every author should know on the self-publishing process.

Research!

Writing a book is a big deal. Self-publishing a book? Even bigger. You do not want to commit the literary equivalent of spontaneous trips and impulse buys. Do you know your story inside-out? What are the conventions in the genre it belongs to? Will you DIY your way through the entire publishing process, or are you financially secure enough to outsource?

Draft!

Stringing together words into sentences, to paragraphs, then to chapters into something sublime is ultimately what writing is all about. It goes without saying that this is the main event that will take the longest in this step-by-step guide on how to self-publish a book. Find the place and time of day when you are most productive, stick to a schedule, and just write.

Edit!

You aren’t wrong to wonder with some dreadful “How much does it cost to self-publish a book?” Because if there’s one thing you shouldn’t scrimp on by attempting to do yourself, it’s editing. Within this book production step are even more steps: manuscript assessment; an initial read-through of your work to get a general impression; developmental editing; an analysis of the plot, style, tone, and characters; copyediting (the technical correction of mistakes in grammar and spelling); and proofreading (the final review of the book before it is printed and sold).

Design!

A novel may only require front and back cover design; a children’s book will call for illustrations almost in every page (a poetry book is somewhere in between). Assess your artistic ability and technical skills. Not only must you ask if you can do it yourself, but can you do it well? There are graphic designers and illustrators for every price point, so comb through social media if you don’t have referrals from friends yet.

Format!

Planning to self-publish a book online as an e-book and then onto print? Format accordingly. Both of them have different specifications. Luckily, the biggest e-bookstores like Kobo and NOOK Press offer automatic manuscript conversion into e-pub files.

Self-publish!

E-book vs Print. Why not, e-book and print? They complement each other more than they compete. Taking the paper and paperless route accommodates different reading preferences. Self-publishing your book, you have the freedom to pursue both avenues.

Budget-conscious authors make their debuts on e-books first, as it is nearly free, depending on the service provider and package. E-books are also generally cheaper to buy than print books, which is why e-books tend to sell more. If you’re ready to get physical, the Print on Demand model is where you go next. With POD, you do not have to stress over paying upfront for printing costs or unsold copies gathering dust in a warehouse. A copy of your book is only printed when someone orders it.

An important addition to your self-publishing costs is the ISBN. These 13 digits codes are like IDs for books, cataloguing them in a worldwide network of published books. With an ISBN, your book can be sold in bookstores, and can be acquired by libraries and searched by publishers.

And that’s how to self-publish a book! Granted, the work of a self-publishing author doesn’t truly end. Marketing and promotions are a long-term commitment that you will always have to do even when you’ve decided to write a new book. That’s the crux of self-publishing, though. With great power comes great responsibility. So go on, self-publish a book and make money!