Here’s How To Easily Self Publish Your Book
Publishing my first book was one of my greatest achievements. I said I wanted to publish it no matter what; I said I was going to publish it no matter what and I actually published it no matter what the circumstance. On top of full time work, raising five school age children and running a household - I accomplished something I thought could never happen. Afterwards, I learned that I was not the only one that wanted to publish a book. I found out that there were many people who wanted to do the same.
I would often hear readers exclaim, "I always wanted to write my own book". Albeit they were happy for my success, they seemed to be left with a forlorn hope that one day - in the very far far future - they could possibly do the same. I would then tell them it is accomplishable sooner than you think! It was harder for me to sit down and write it than it was to get it it published.
Many years ago, authors would stress and laboriously heave-over getting their manuscript to a qualified literary agent. It was a thriving gamble to win the hearts of a well renowned agent or media outlet. J.K. Rowlings for example, author of the 7 successful 'Harry Potter' series was rejected 12 times before a publishing house accepted her offer. James Patterson, author of 'Along Came A Spider' another well renowned author was rejected from over 30 publishers for his first novel. There were countless other authors who too were rejected and due to the normal routine of these refusals, the stigma grew that traditional publishing was very hard and almost impossible to accomplish.
Step Into Social Media
Now with the onset of social media, satellite publishing houses and streaming apps; the opportunities for authors are limitless. To self publish is as simple as clicking your mouse tab and presto, you’ve got a full fledged paperback or hardcover book. Here are some tricks of the trade that I learned along the way to help get one started and possibly keep a steady income base.
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7 Easy Steps
1. Decide Your Goal
It may or may not be your desire to reach the mass population and become a New York Times Bestseller. You may simply want to prove to yourself that you can publish a book and share it with a few friends. Whatever you decide, certain initial steps should be taken, including the very important step of deciding your "why" and "where". Why do you want to write your book and where do you want this book to go?
2. Get an Editor, and a Graphic Designer for Future Use
Although, you may not have written anything down yet, it's always important to get a professional editor or a second human eye early on to check for misspellings and other mistakes. Start thinking of your schedule of when you may need your editor. Get one early on to prepare them for the task at hand. Do the same for a graphic designer - as they will be an integral part of your front cover and story punchline for marketing purposes. You will need both to help design that irresistible front cover that onlookers cannot ignore.
3. Start Writing Your Manuscript
Unfortunately, there are many who SAY they want to write a book and never take the time to actually write it. So, it is important to pull some time from your busy schedule to start writing the book. Even if you have written a portion of your book, it is IMPERATIVE that you designate adequate time to write it, research the subject of your book and complete it.
4. Cover Design Thoughts
Think of what type of cover design you would like to create or use. Whether you want to use your graphic designers' help or look at this alone, there are several online platforms that can offer experienced to professional help in creating your book cover. Canva is a good platform to create a book cover. If you need help in selecting and creating a book cover, fiverr is another good service platform to help you for an appropriate cover for your book.
5. Second Opinion Editing
When done or almost done, this is a good time to ask your editor to check your work. They always say ‘two eyes are better than one’. Where you misspelled a word or added the wrong syntax - that second eye may find it and correct it.
6. Market Your Book!
If you would like your book to reach beyond family & friends - it is crucial to market your book. You should start marketing your book when you’re about halfway thru writing your manuscript. You can market your book by utilizing your social media accounts. If you don’t have one, acquire one or more: a Facebook account, a Pinterest account or an Instagram account are good starts. These are good platforms to showcase a paragraph or two from your manuscript onto your social media pages. You can also post your book cover, back cover or any book reviews on your facebook, or Instagram pages. This can build your fan base before the book is published and will give you motivation to finish it.
7. Presenting Your Manuscript
Presenting your manuscript is easy. Amazon offers a tutorial and help guide on self publishing as well. Go to kdp.amazon.com, KDP Amazon is a sure way to give you detailed information about self publishing from start to finish. There are other self publishing options as well, but these are usually with a fee. Such places that will typically accept manuscripts for payment are Xlibris, 48hrbooks.com, The Dorrance Publishing Company, Outskirts Press, or Lulu.
There are both advantages and disadvantages to self publishing. I have found that self publishing allows the author to determine the cost, creative input and ultimate context to their work, whereas the challenge of it is marketing the book. The marketing is done solely by you or any hired help. Despite not having the traditional professional agency behind me guiding and coaching me, self publishing has been rewarding. I have self published three novels: I'll Do Whatever - a dark historical romance novel (short version). I, Jon Code - a mystery techno thriller and Blood Stained Waters - the fuller length historical romance novel (long version) I am presently working on the sequel to two of these novels and learned that these techniques have helped me self publish and maintain an online bookshelf status.
Susan Eaddy is the publisher of North Philadelphia Macaroni KID
