Self-Publishing: Some Things You Should Know

If you’ve published through the old classical channel, you know how much effort and time it takes, especially the latter. Self-publishing, on the other hand, takes some learning, but once past the learning curve, the time and effort is far more rewarding.

The following information provides some guidelines to facilitate your process:

1. Self-publishing is relatively easy

This is true whether you want to print your book or publish it electronically for the large number of e-readers now available. Once you choose which vendor and software you want to use, you:

• choose the size and paper stock you want for your book
• upload your project’s Word document (you may have to first do some formatting to fit your chosen book size)
• possibly save your Word document to pdf (for some vendors)
• create a book cover (using commercial software or on the vendor’s site)
• convert that to PDF (for some vendors)
• upload your files to the self-publisher you’ve selected
• make corrections so everything looks the way you want it.

If this seems daunting, you should know that some of the leading vendors provide relatively easy-to-follow instructions that will guide you through every step. If you did all the steps correctly (often not true the first time around), in a very short time (usually two weeks or less), you’ll get a proof copy of your book in the mail (if you’ve chose the print-book option). This is your last chance to make any changes before you hit the Publish button.

However, please note that, in most cases, you can upload revisions or new versions of your work any time after you publish (some companies may charge for this). For print books, that’s why it’s often wise to make the first run a small quantity.

2. e-book or p-book

This is a question often asked by first-time authors. There are good arguments on both sides. However, here are some guidelines. If you don’t care which, go with an electronic version (e-book) the first time around. One reason is that you don’t have any monetary outline to print. Second, you don’t have boxes of books to store. Third, an e-book is far easier to make changes to, and you won’t have obsolete inventory to deal with. Choosing which vendor to deal with can be challenging; it’s probably best to go with the one that gives you the most effective exposure to your target audience.

On the other hand, many books lend themselves to print. For example, many people using a book that requires entering information, like a journal or diary, prefer the act of writing. Then again, since so many people carry the latest cell phones with them all the time, publishing an e-book that allows easy data entry might be an effective option.

And then there’s your selling price. E-books usually sell for a lot less than p-books ($0.99-$9.99 versus $10.99 and up). It may be that you want to sell a lot of books for a lower price, or maybe sell a few books in a specialized market at a higher price.

Finally, there are authors who choose to go both ways, and a number of vendors make this easy to do.

3. What about your book cover

Remember, if your book is printed, the cover will be what people see first, and yes, sometimes people judge a book by its cover. A different problem arises with e-books. In all probability, your cover will be seen first as a small thumbnail image. Will your book stand out among the dozens or hundreds of competing images? So, it may take some ingenuity to make your cover effective at a small size (e.g., keep it simple).

4. How many books will you sell?

Most self-published books sell in the 10s or 100s. The goal of traditional publishers is to publish hundreds of thousands or millions of copies of a small number of books, especially by well-known authors, while self-publishing companies make their money by publishing a few to a few hundred copies of hundreds of thousands of books. So, don’t think that you can quit your day job when you publish your first book.

Niche books tend to sell best. This is especially true of non-fiction, with a well-defined subject, and having a different spin. If you have a solid target audience, this really helps sell books. In the world of fiction books, it’s a little chancier, with romance and science fiction perhaps doing best.

5. Picking a publishing service

The first thing is to have some clear goals for your book. Are you doing this for your own sake (including family and friends), or are you aiming at having a wide distribution? Your answer may help determine your choice of vendor. Shop around. Find out which companies offer what services and for what price. What will books cost you, the author, to buy?

6. Create your own publishing company

This is easy; just buy your own ISBNs (International Standard Book Numbers), which you can do singly (expensive) or in blocks (more effective, but only if you plan to publish more than one book).

This may even be true of you use one of the many publishing firms in the marketplace that “provides” ISBNs. Their fee for an ISBN may be more than what you can pay – if you’re willing to do the paperwork. And if they provide the number, they’re listed as the publisher, not you. Note: that you need a different ISBN for your e book and p-book.

7. Hire an editor

If your goal for writing a book is to be at least somewhat commercially successful, and you plan to self-publish it, then you need to have an outside source edit your work. There are any number of sources that provide this service. As with a publisher, shop around for the services they provide, the price and their reputation. If you can get a personal referral, all the better. It’s important to know what experience they have with your genre, and to know that they’ll provide you with an honest critique.

8. Ask a lot of questions

This is especially true if this is your first time self-publishing. There’s a lot to know and understand. Find out what kind of customer service the firm you plan to deal with has. Is it e-mail only? A chat room? Live telephone contact? Do they charge extra for this service?

Conclusion

Self-publishing is a rapidly-evolving business. The number of vendors, as well as their services and pricing, is ever-changing. So it’s important to make the most effective decisions for your situation, and to be a smart shopper. Once you have the experience of self-publishing for the first time, you may get hooked.

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