8 Steps For Self-Publishing A Book

Every author aspires to write a best-selling book, but for many years, doing so successfully without the aid of a traditional publishing house has been next to impossible.

It's difficult to get a large publishing company's attention. It entails submitting submissions, anxiously anticipating responses that might never arrive, and making an effort to maintain optimism in the face of rejection.

There are still months of negotiations over the creative direction of your work and your share of the revenues for the select few who are fortunate enough to advance past this stage.

Although working with publishers is far from a reality, what if you could completely avoid the procedure? What if you had complete control over the writing, editing, publishing, and sale of your book, free from the constraints imposed by gatekeepers?

You can in the creator economy of today. More resources than ever before are available to self-publishers. All you have to do is learn how to use them.

1. Produce a sellable book.

Market analysis is a tool used by business owners to verify product concepts. This procedure entails extensively researching rival products, assessing their advantages and disadvantages, locating untapped markets, and identifying their ideal client.

Even while an author would laugh at the thought of conducting market research, the "author-preneur" understands that doing so will help them sell more books in the future.

It's possible that you already have books written, that you have a few book suggestions, or that you're just getting started. In either case, employing these techniques to assess your book's marketability before you start the self-publishing process for the first time will help you create a marketing strategy.

 Decide on your genre: The term "genre" refers to more than simply a book's "category." Depending on the genre of your book, elements like story structure, language, writing style, and visual content can all vary. For instance, a rotten apple might be described as "squishy" or "slimey" in a children's novel but as "putrid" or "festering" in a murder mystery. You'll have a better knowledge of the readership you're writing for if you take the characteristics of your genre into account.

 Examine the language used to describe your genre: Visit discussion forums to find out more about how readers choose what to read, including aficionados of your genre and future customers. What about your genre do they find appealing? Exist any recurring issues with the genre?

 Consider your genre's best-selling titles: Analyze the competition by comparing the best-selling titles in your genre on online bookstores like Amazon and the New York Times Best Sellers list.

 Analyze the positioning of your rivals: Positioning refers to the messaging, core beliefs, and overarching business plan that are presented to audiences. Consider what makes the best-selling novels in your genre unique. What message do the synopsis, cover art, and titles convey? What is the hook that catches the reader's eye?

 Discover what is lacking: Marketing is all about distinctiveness in the high-volume book publishing sector. What's missing from these best-sellers, in your opinion as the audience for your genre? Are their tales kept a secret?

 Find a specialized area within your genre, if you can: The audience for your genre might be divided into niches. Niching is a terrific method to stand out in a crowded market and narrow the range of your rivals.

Before continuing, take into account the marketability of any written manuscripts you have in mind to self-publish. Your book's unique selling point might be obvious to you, or you might need to make some changes.

In any case, knowing who your book's target audience is can make it much simpler to plan your future marketing efforts.

2. Edit with a professional eye

Self-publishers will face off against traditional publishing houses in the same stores and markets, so your book must appear just as polished and well-refined as if it were from a major publishing house.

Even though you might not have access to a large publisher's pool of editors, you can still produce a product that is competitive.

Start by making your own edits to the text.

Read your first draft aloud to yourself first, from beginning to end, as if you were a member of the target audience. During the writing process, it's simple to get bogged down in the minutiae. A start-to-finish read-through will enable you to see how your book reads as a whole.

Put your business hat back on and begin soliciting input from potential readers as soon as your book is ready for a second pair of eyes.

Ask your intended audience for input.

Entrepreneurs refine their products during the development phase in order to increase usefulness by soliciting input from target markets. This is crucial for books that were self-published as well.

Provide copies of the book to others and ask them to provide input before sending it to a professional editor. It's crucial that the feedback you receive comes from your book's target market.

Get as much input as you can about your novel by reading message boards dedicated to your genre, sending your manuscript to friends and relatives (if they meet your target audience), and doing these things. The goal of this step is to assess the book's marketability as a whole, not to correct mechanical or typographical issues.

Hire a competent copy editor to review your document.

Copy editing is a very careful process that entails going over a manuscript line by line in order to make it more readable and ensure that it is free of grammatical and factual errors.

While you should conduct your own copy editing before distributing your manuscript, it's crucial to have a professional review it in order to get an objective opinion on the content. Sometimes it can be challenging for writers to identify problems with the readability of their own work.

3. Create a visually appealing book cover.

Though most people do so, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Users looking through online bookstores, marketplaces, your online store, and just about anywhere else your book will be offered will utilize your cover as their main point of reference.

Should I employ a qualified designer?

The role of graphic designer is one of many that author-preneurs frequently wear. Although it will take some time, creating your own cover can help you save a lot of money. Your level of task experience will determine the exact response to this question.

You must approach the evaluation of your cover design like a marketer, whether you design the cover yourself or employ a freelancer. The following points should be remembered:

 Make a decision using inspiration: Compile a few examples of successful book covers from your category, then analyze which ones work best for each one. Why does one cover appeal to you more than the other? What does the book's cover reveal about its subject matter?

 Consider thumbnails when thinking: Your cover graphics will be noticeably scaled down when visitors browse your online store, Amazon, or actual bookstores. Keep in mind that under this situation, minor features in your book cover design might be overlooked. Try to keep in mind to examine your cover as a thumbnail as it is being designed to make sure no important features are missing and that it doesn't appear overly cluttered.

 Make sure the title is clear: If readers can't quickly and readily connect your book title with the cover design, it may be for naught. Readers will be more likely to remember your book's name if the title is clearly displayed since they will be able to connect the image with it.

 Be mindful of the spine and back cover: The spine and back cover of your book will be visible when it is physically inscribed, even though they might not be seen in thumbnails. The spine's appearance on a book shelf is important to many readers. Be careful to keep the design cohesive and adhere to the same style as your cover.

4. Select the self-publishing platforms that you'll like to use.

A self-publishing platform is a tool used to create a tangible product out of all the components of your book and distribute it to readers and stores. It's critical to consider how you want to sell books online at this point because the self-publishing firm you choose will impact your distribution options.

Print on demand and self-publishing

Your books are printed and dispatched at the point of sale when you use the fulfillment method known as "print on demand." As a result, you are not required to print a large quantity of your book, keep them in stock, and transport them yourself.

Self-publishers love print-on-demand books because they are inexpensive, allow you to outsource your product's production and distribution, and save time.

Utilizing Kindle Direct Publishing to sell on Amazon

Amazon's self-publishing technology, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), enables users to print their books on demand at the point of sale. About 50% of the market for printed books is accounted for by Amazon. The user-friendly Amazon interface makes it simple for readers to search for and move through your book.

Additionally, Amazon will recommend your book to customers who its algorithm believes may be interested. Even though KDP will upload your book straight to Amazon, you are not required to use it to sell printed books.

How much does using KDP cost?

KDP uses print-on-demand fulfillment, thus fees are only applied once a book has been sold. You receive a 60% royalty on paperbacks sold on Amazon marketplaces utilizing KDP, which translates to an income of 60% of the list price.

Additionally subtracted from your total are printing expenses, which might vary depending on the kind of paper and the amount of pages. You may estimate the entire amount of royalties you can expect to receive using Amazon's helpful printing cost and royalty calculator.

The exclusivity restriction of KDP is a drawback because it prevents you from selling the same eBooks elsewhere if you utilize it to sell eBooks on Amazon. However, physical books that are sold through KDP can still be sold on other websites.

5. Creating a book's format

You'll be giving your work the final touches during the formatting phase of self-publishing, making sure it has all the components of a professionally produced book.

The formatting phase follows the finding a self-publisher step because self-publishing platforms frequently have layout and formatting tools built right into the platform. Depending on the platform you're using, the tools you utilize may change, but the result is always the same.

How books are formatted

Users of self-publishing websites like KDP must upload two different files. The first is the manuscript file, which contains every page of the book's interior, and the second is the cover file, which comprises the front cover, spine, and back cover of your book.

6. Introduce your book to the public as a brand-new product would

Planning a product launch will be your next responsibility if you want to position yourself for success. Even though you lack the expertise of a seasoned publishing business, you have prepared for marketing by writing a book for a readership that you are intimately familiar with. You may start off on the right foot by using our helpful e-commerce launch checklist.

There are many things to think about before a book launch. Let's review a few crucial actions:

 Ensure the Amazon sales channels are operational: For the sale of books, Amazon is an immensely significant platform. Make sure you can accept payments through Amazon whether you sell on Amazon using KDP or another self-publishing platform that is linked with Amazon. Make a test purchase and authorize the delivery of a copy of your book to you in the manner of a customer.

 Create a website for the author with an online store: All of your sales channels and social media content for your book should point to its "home base." Users will find it simpler to learn more about you, and it will make it simpler for people to approach you for interviews and other promotional possibilities.

 Get your website's standard pages ready: A homepage, an About Us page, a Contact page, and a page for your book's merchandise should all be included on your author website. You can add more blog posts and books after the site launches, but you should finish these pages before releasing your store.

 Create a system for gathering visitor email addresses: One of the most effective methods for growing an audience is email marketing. Send out alert emails to visitors and give them a way to stay up to speed on you and your books by using an email marketing tool like Systeme, Buiderall, or Klaviyo.

Install a tool for analytics: Website analytics can help you enhance your online store by providing you with useful information about visitor behavior. A third-party analytics platform like Google Analytics could be set up in addition to Systeme's built-in analytics reporting.

Users will be able to buy your book once it has been formatted and your sales channels have been established. Showing them how is now necessary.

7. Promote your own brand on social media

You did a great job writing and editing your book. All of your sales channels have been tested, and they all work perfectly. You have a gorgeous website and a gorgeous book, but how do you attract customers?

Small businesses have a ton of marketing opportunities through social media, and independent authors are no different. A strong social media marketing strategy will help you develop an engaged audience that can increase book sales and spread awareness of your book. Social media provides low-cost access to enormous audiences.

Along with creating, editing, and publishing your works, you should be consistently working on increasing your social media following. Here are some excellent suggestions for social media posts you may use to market your self-published book:

 Share snippets on various social networking websites: Give users a taste of your writing to pique their interest, then encourage them to buy your book so they may read more.

 Encourage Amazon customer testimonials: Reviews from customers might increase your visibility on Amazon. Encourage early buyers to post reviews to increase your book's prominence.

 Launch a Facebook advertising campaign: You may target your ideal clients using Facebook advertisements based on their preferences, interests, and actions. Set aside money for Facebook ads to help promote your book to users who are most likely to buy it.

 Work together with influencers on social media: Work with influencers whose audiences resemble yours to spread the word about your book to potential readers.

 Speak with magazines and podcasts: Online publications and podcasts that cover a variety of literary genres are abundant in the literary world. See if the magazines and podcasts you follow in your niche are open to conducting interviews.

 Share blog posts and articles on social media: Since you already have a website, why not start a blog and post articles to it? Readers who appreciate your work are much more inclined to buy your book.

It takes time to build a social media following, but as more people become familiar with your work, your online book sales will increase.

8. Get to work on your upcoming book.

Self-published authors must exercise both authorial and commercial judgment. Entrepreneurs frequently take on multiple roles in the early phases of a business when there are fewer staff and a smaller budget.

They occasionally have to serve as shipping coordinators, customer service agents, social media managers, site designers, product developers, and everything in between.

The process is the same for authors who self-publish.

If your first publication doesn't catapult you to the top of the New York Times bestseller list, don't give up. After releasing their first book, few authors, whether self-published or not, achieve their greatest success.

Keep expanding your audience and enhancing your social media presence. Each social media exchange will add a bit more to the development of your internet reputation. You'll have a better grasp of your readership and become more acclimated to the self-publishing process with each book you publish. Along the process, you'll also generate passive money.