before the introduction of technology, especially the internet, aspiring authors had to navigate a complicated and bureaucratic traditional publishing houses to bring their literary work to life.
However, the digital age coupled with the overwhelming use of the internet has revolutionized the world of publishing. Technology has empowered writers to take matters into their own hands and publish their own works without relying on publishing companies. This is referred to as self publishing.
Self-publishing has emerged as a viable and increasingly popular option, offering writers more control over their work, creative freedom, and the potential to reach a global audience. In this blog post, we'll explore the general procedure of self-publishing a book, step-by-step.
This is a no brainer, either you are self publishing or publishing with a publishing company, this is un avoidable. For your work to stand out, it's critical that you ensure your manuscript is in good standard and ready for publishing.
A great place to start is seeking feedback from writing groups or professional editors to identify and address any weaknesses in your work. Revisions and proofreading are essential to create a captivating and error-free final product.
There are hundreds of publishing platforms, each suitable for a different purpose. Therefore, choice of the right publishing platform is very important.
Some of the major publishing platforms includes Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Apple Books, Barnes & Noble Press, and many others. To choose the right platform research and compare them to find the best fit for your book and that is suitable for your publishing goals
"Don't judge a book by its cover" may be a common saying, but in the world of publishing, cover design matters. So much so that publishing companies invest a lot of money into cover design.
Invest in a professional book cover that visually represents your story and captures potential readers' attention. Many self-publishing platforms offer cover design services or connect you with skilled designers.
Alternatively, you can search for a designer in freelancing websites such as Upwork or Fiverr.
One of the downside of self publishing is that most of the work are poorly edited. And formatting is subpar, investing in professional formatting is important for your work to appear professional and is easy to read on various electronic devices (if you choose to have an electronic version).
Each self-publishing platform has specific formatting guidelines, so make sure to adhere to them. If formatting feels daunting, hiring a professional formatter can save you time and stress.
Get an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) for your book. An ISBN is a unique identifier that helps booksellers and readers find your book in databases and libraries.
This number will be unique to your book. Additionally, consider registering your book's copyright to protect your intellectual property rights and all the hard work that went in publishing your book
Pricing your book is a delicate balance between the value the book provides as in the materials and knowledge contained, the amount of time and resources that went in publishing the book as well as the nature of audience.
Research the market and consider several factors like book length, genre, and your target audience. In general, a lower price might bring you a huge number of buyers as many people will be able to afford the book, a higher price might be good for loyalty
Once you have all sorted out, you have done your market research and identified your key reader group. It is time to publish your book, it is a great idea to have someone have a look at the book for the very last time before you hit the publish button. Otherwise, if you have done enough editing and proof reading then go ahead and publish your work.
Unfortunately, this is likely the tough part. for a self published author marketing is your responsibility. This can be daunting but it should not be.
There are several tools at your disposal to spreed the word about your book and reach many people. Utilize the power of social media, email marketing and Tv shows. These will be very important for increasing sales of your book.
The self punishing journey does not end when you hit the publish button. There is a lot of marketing and monitoring that goes on after the book has been published.
For instance, you will need to collect reviews from readers for your marketing strategy, figure out what marketing company is working and which one is not working, optimize for maximum sales.