In the past, the only means to have your book published was the traditional way—this means by going through a professional publisher. Oftentimes, your book won’t even get noticed if it doesn’t go through an agent. This, in itself, can be a tough process. Many new and first-time authors might lose the will to carry on and have their book published, not because they don’t have the skill but because they might not have the right connections.
Nowadays, many people have turned to self-publishing their books. Luckily, it's a pretty simple and straightforward process. This article gives you the best tips to self-publish your own book:
1. Understand the Cost Involved in Self-Publishing
Self-publishing doesn’t mean that you’re not going to incur any costs. There will still be expenses, albeit than what it could’ve cost when you’re with a publisher. As a starting point, understanding these costs can help you prepare an appropriate amount of money and resources. That way, once you start actually publishing, you don’t have to worry about not being ready for the costs that it’ll entail. These are the common factors that can affect the cost to self-publish your book:
Promotional materials or ads for both digital marketing and traditional marketing;
The length of your book;
The book cover design.
2. Communicate with Your Editor
During the writing process, it’s very important that you communicate with your editor. Because you're going the self-publishing route, you’ll want to ensure that the copy you send out is already edited and ready to go. You’ll want to make it readable, comprehensible and easy on the eyes of your target readers—this you can achieve with your editor’s help. Rather than send the editor one copy of the entire manuscript, you may want to send it by chapter. That way, you’re working with each other every step of the way. Your editor will be able to tell you if the structure of your manuscript is feasible, or if it will need to be adjusted.
3. Focus on the WHY of Publishing Your Book
Publishing a book is no easy feat. Even when you’re dead serious about this goal, you’re sure to face some down days where you might not even want to carry on anymore. So, you need to be able to focus on the why—especially because you’re self-publishing your book. Come up with the ten best reasons why you want to write this book. On the days when it gets tough, go back to these ten reasons.
4. Publish an E-Book
One of the best ways to self-publish a book is to offer an e-book copy, especially when so many are reading books on their gadgets. There are software, sites and platforms like https://www.printshopcentral.com that enable you to post and publish your e-book with them. While you may have to learn quite a lot in terms of layout for e-books, there are so many resources for you to learn about this online.
5. Focus on Writing Your Book
No book will ever get published—on your own or with the help of a publisher—if you don’t put in the effort needed to make it happen.
Once you’ve got everything figured out as to how to go about with self-publishing your book, don’t burn daylight doing nothing. Rather, focus on doing everything that you can to finish it on time. However, if you make the mistake of resorting to cramming, your book won’t have readers because it’ll be of a lower quality.
Here’s how you can develop a good routine so that you can focus on writing and completing your book at a reasonable pace:
Stick to a writing environment you can focus in. This isn’t the time for you to just work whenever and wherever you can. Instead, you should build a writing environment that enables you to focus on writing.
Have a separate calendar for your writing goals. It's also a good idea for you to have a calendar with any dates pertaining to what you wish to achieve with your writing.
Have an accountability partner. This is that person in your life that can motivate you and help you achieve your writing goals and deadlines on time.
Conclusion
With these tips, you now have an idea of what it’ll take for you to publish your book, even when you’re currently struggling with your finances. All you need now is your manuscript—or at least a great idea for a book!
