When you self-publish you put everything into your own hands. Usually, the best way to handle this is hiring professionals. If you're unsure whether to traditional publish or self-publish, consider all that goes into self-publishing with this list. If you're set on self-publishing, use this as your checklist. While self-publishing can be challenging, I recommend it, as the reward is that much better. There is a lot more to publishing than most people think about, mostly because they're things that we look over every day. For example, do you know about the programming that goes into your ebook in order to make it look like a book? On top of programming, there's marketing, printing, formatting, art, and more to a self-published book. Start saving up money for the self-publishing process as soon as you can! Note: this list is not in a particular order and only covers the "must haves".
PRINTING COMPANY. You need a company to print and bind your manuscript, what exactly you're looking to have printed and the price of printing will determine which company is best for you. Your printing company may also distribute your work to stores that want to sell it (like Amazon), and you can order copies for yourself to sell. I use IngramSpark and would highly recommend them, but there are multiple companies. OTHER IMPORTANT TEXT. Besides just your writing, there's a lot more text that goes into a completed book.
FORMATTING. As a self-publisher, you will need a print-ready copy of your writing. This copy will include your other texts and your writing, in addition to some formatting items like page numbers and chapter headings. You can either purchase a program that enables you to format your writing into a manuscript (I used InDesign), or you can pay a professional to combine your texts and format them. ISBN. ISBNs are costly, but important as this is basically the code name for your book, and is how stores can easiest locate it. If you use a printer that offers free ISBN's, I advise against the option as it will limit where you can sell your work. BARCODE. The barcode is made from your ISBN (another good reason to purchase one), and without it, bookstores will not be able to sell your product, and therefore they will not house it. ARTISTS. Depending on what kind of book you're publishing, you may need several art pieces or artists.
EDITORS. No writer can read through their own work and catch all of their errors. While you should read through your work once or twice before sending it to editors, editors of all shapes and sizes are out there to help you with your work. Find out what kind of editor you need here and when it's best to contact them. KEYWORDS. When you've finished everything and you're practically ready for printing, you're going to need keywords to help you categorize your book. This is how your book will come up when others view similar items or often purchase similar items. MARKETING PLAN. If you want to make sales, plan for your day of release! You'll need to look into places where you can host a book launch, and where you could possibly market to have people pre-order your book from you. Most importantly, you'll want to find people who will leave you reviews (book bloggers, magazines, avid readers, etc). With good reviews, other readers will be more encouraged to purchase your work. Look into places where you can purchase ads, if you want, and how to best market your genre. While self-publishing is a long, arduous process, it's also a rewarding one! And while it can be very expensive, nothing beats the feeling of holding your own completed book in final, full, and beautiful form. Happy publishing! :)
2 Comments
Erin
9/26/2018 09:18:31 pm
Thank you so much!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Use the categories below to find a post about exactly what you need!
Categories
All
More InfoErin blogs because she wants to help other young adult writers and new writers. It's aimed to educate others on the writing and self-publishing process. If there is anything you'd like to know that she hasn't covered yet, please contact her! |