How To Self Publish A Book In 8 Simple Steps
In this article we teach authors how to self publish a book in 8 simple steps. We take the mystery out of the industry and teach authors how to self publish today!
Step 1- Write A Draft
The first step in the journey to self-publishing is to write your first draft. Once you have a first draft, you can go through the draft yourself and make a few rounds of revisions to tighten up the work. Once you have a work you are starting to get confident in, move on to step two: editing and formatting. #ProTip – Stay Organized!
Step 2- Editing
Once you have a draft you are confident with, it is time to have a professional go through it with a red pen and get their feedback. You can expect to pay a professional editor anywhere from $500-$2,000 depending on the services needed and content length. You can find freelance editors through services such as Reedsy, Fiverr, or Upwork. #ProTip – Use A Professional Editor!
Step 3- Formatting
Once you have a final draft and are 100% confident in the state of your work, it is time to format your manuscript document into a print-ready layout. This step is what makes your manuscript document actually look like a book! You can hire a freelancer to do this for you during the editing process, or you can save some money and do it yourself. There are endless YouTube videos dedicated to teaching first time self-publishing authors how to format their own manuscript for print. #ProTip – Be Consistent!
Step 4- Pricing
It is very important to wait unit you have your book complete from head to toe before deciding on the price of your book. One major factor influencing the cost of your book is the page count, and you won’t know what that is until you are finished editing and formatting. Once you have a draft that is ready-to-print, you can use a free pricing tool on IngramSpark to calculate how much it will cost to print (and ship) your book AND your profit margin. #ProTip – Do The Math!
Step 5- ISBN, LCCN, Barcode & Copyright
Now that you have a ready-to-print draft of your book and have decided on a price, it is time to purchase and register your ISBN(s) and Barcode, LCCN and write the Copyright Page for your book. Note that you will need to have a set price for your book when you register your ISBN and Barcode.
There is only one place to buy your ISBN(s) in the United States and that is Bowker. Please note that some companies will offer you a free ISBN, but be warned that if you take advantage of their free ISBN you will not be able to use any other printing house but theirs. You will need 1 ISBN per version (paperback, hardcover, ebook, etc.) of your book, so for most authors it is best to buy the pack of 10 for $295. You can also buy your Barcode from Bowker, and you will need one if you are selling any physical copies of your book (i.e. hardcore or paperback).
Your LCCN, or Library of Congress Control Number, is only for getting your book into libraries. So if you want your book to be in libraries across the country, you will need to receive your LCCN. Please note that your LCCN is FREE from the Library of Congress!
Once you have your ISBN(s), Barcode, and LCCN registered you can insert these into your Copyright Page at the beginning of your book and now officially have a 100% ready-to-print draft. #ProTip – You Already Own The Copyright To Your Work!
Step 6- Cover Design
Now it is time to hire a professional graphic designer with experience making book covers for other authors in your genre. You can find an experienced professional graphic designer on Reedsy, Fiverr, and Upwork. Most cover designers will first create 3-5 ideas for you to choose from and once you pick your favorite idea they will finalize the chosen idea and incorporate any critiques you have. Remember, if you are publishing a physical version you will need to send your designer a copy of your Barcode so that they can insert the image of your barcode onto the back cover. Please note that if you are only publishing an ebook you will not need a barcode since barcodes are only for physical copies of books. #ProTip – Review Their Portfolio
Step 7- Print-On-Demand (POD)
Now that you have both the ready-to-print file for the cover and inners of the book, it is time to set up printing and distribution for your masterpiece with print-on-demand services. Similar to drop shipping, a print-on-demand service will handle the printing and fulfillment of all the orders of your book and will also list your book for sale through retailers such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The two larger print-on-demand services are KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) with Amazon and Ingram Spark. #ProTip – Know Your Profit Margins For Each POD Service!
Step 8- Market!
It is off to the races! Once your book is on the market and purchase ready it is now up to you or the marketing team you hire to drive sales and make your book a bestseller! #ProTip – Draw Organic Attention!
Learn From Authors With Success!
Owner of Scherr Publishing and Author Kenneth Scherr is spilling the industry beans by layout out exactly how to self-publish a book from scratch without the help of some fancy publisher who charges an arm and a leg. We are committed to our mission of helping struggling self-publishing authors accomplish their dream and vision to be the number one resource for self-publishing authors. If this has helped please share this with your author friends or leave a comment to help spread the knowledge!
To see how this process turned out for Mr. Scherr, check out his book “Behaving As US” on Amazon, and if you have any more questions about self-publishing please email us at info@scherrpublishing.com or leave a comment below!
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