Self-Publishing 101
Self-publishing is a challenging but rewarding process. It allows you (the author) to move at your own pace and retain creative control, but it means that you have to become an expert on formatting, distribution, cover art, and much more. I’ve learned a lot since deciding to self-publish my first book. I’m happy to share that knowledge and give my readers a glimpse behind the curtain.
Step 1: Write the Book
An obvious but huge part of the publishing process. It can be fun, but it’s usually frustrating. I am a meticulous planner; I love to outline the book, then the chapter, and finally the scene. I wish I was kidding. When I start writing, it is fun. You have to let your ideas lead your fingers, and it can be surprising where they take you.
Step 2: Edit the Book
Editing can be satisfying. Like chiseling away a block of concrete to reveal the sculpture within. In most cases, the first draft is not exactly a work of art, and you’ll still do some writing as you edit. I did four full run-throughs of Secrets of the Super Moon before I felt ready to publish it. Shout out to my friend-turned-editor for lending his services on the last run-through.
You may want to distribute your book to “beta readers” during the editing process. Ideally, a beta reader will reflect the general audience that you expect to read your book, but many authors turn to friends and family. They can provide valuable insight and help you see your writing, plot, and characters with new eyes.(1)
Step 3: Distribution Planning
While you edit, you can start to think about how you want your book to be available to readers. This decision will depend on your book, audience, goals, and personal preferences. You need to decide 1) what form your book takes and 2) where your book is sold.
The most common format options are e-books, paperbacks, and hard covers. The format of your book may impact where you sell it. For example, Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) offers print-on-demand services for paperback and hard covers sold on their site. Draft2Digital (D2D) is a popular option that distributes your book to a variety of online marketplaces like Amazon, Apple Books, and Koba as well as brick-and-mortar bookstores. Many authors also use IngramSpark if they want to focus on selling paperbacks and hard covers in brick-and-mortar stores like Barnes & Nobles and Target and make their book available to libraries and schools.(2) You can use any combination of these services to distribute your book, and each option comes with different royalty and payment structures.
I released Secrets of the Super Moon as an ebook, paperback, and hard cover. The ebook and paperback is available on Amazon while the hard cover is available for purchase on this website. I worked with short-run printing company OnPress Book Printing to develop the hard cover, which means I have a box of books in my closet waiting to be sold.
Step 4: Illustrations
Once you are close to a final draft of your book, you can look for someone to develop your cover art and any in-book illustrations. Many authors create their own cover art, but I would only recommend that approach if you have some experience with graphic design and/or illustration. There are many websites where you can source an illustrator for your book, such as Reedsy and Fiverr. Many authors will reach out to artists they’ve found on social media sites like Instagram, Reddit, and DeviantArt.
I hired an illustrator who I already knew, and they developed 20 in-book illustrations as well as cover art for Secrets of the Super Moon. I needed a separate cover art file for the e-book, paperback, and hard cover due to the different image specifications of these formats. The cover art is fun to create, but it can still get complicated when you’re self-publishing.
Step 5: Formatting
You’re ready to put your work into the world! It’s time to transform your word processing document into an actual book. Thankfully, there are a variety of formatting software tools available to help you format the margins, page numbers, and table of contents we all associate with book text formatting. Mac users swear by Vellum. Atticus is a similar software available on both Macs and PCs. Adobe InDesign is a great tool, but it is more expensive and harder to use for beginners. There are also free tools like Reedsy Studio available online.
For Secrets of the Super Moon, I used Atticus (not a paid advertisement from not a Mac user) to create an e-pub file for the ebook and a properly formatted PDF file for the paperback and hard cover.
Step 5: Release the Book
Congratulations! After many hours of hard work and frustrating roadblocks, you are ready to publish your book. With a click of a button, your work of art will be available to the wide world of readers. Time to start writing the next one.
Source (1): https://reedsy.com/blog/beta-readers/
Source (2): https://reedsy.com/blog/ingramspark/
