Book Publishing: My Self-Publishing Experience

By April 2020, my editor had finished proofreading my manuscript. The next step was to publish my story. My editor recommended a self-publishing company that she previously worked with called BookBaby. I decided to self-publish because I didn’t want to wait for someone to give me an opportunity. I experienced enough of that during my employment searches over the years. For once I wanted to create my own opportunity. So what was my book publishing experience like?

Digital Proof & Book Cover

While going through the process of publishing, I submitted my manuscript in order for BookBaby to create a digital proof. BookBaby also saved me the trouble of finding a book cover designer by creating a cover for me. I informed the BookBaby team on how I wanted my book cover to appear and provided images I found on Google as references.

I had to wait 15-20 days for BookBaby to create my digital proof and book cover and received both on May 11, 2020. BookBaby has exceeded my expectations with the design of my book cover. I was immediately impressed by how beautiful their cover design was for my book.

Revisions & New Additions

My digital proof and cover underwent many revisions before being submitted for approval. Some of the revisions were due to noticeable errors, such as typos and odd formatting and spacing between texts. I also requested new additions to my proof, including an endorsement page, copyright page, and an author bio page.

I requested a few changes to my book cover as well. A BISAC category was added to the top left corner, and three endorsement excerpts were added beneath the book summary on the back cover. Although I received my digital proof and cover in May, I didn’t submit them for approval until July because of the revisions and additions I requested.

E-book      

After I approved my digital proof and cover, I received my eBook conversion files the next day. All of the revisions and additions I requested for my digital proof were included in the eBook files. Once the files were proofed, I submitted them for approval.

Proof Book 

After I approved my eBook files, all that was left for me to do was wait for BookBaby to print out a physical copy of my final proof. A week later, I received my proof in the mail. After almost ten years, I finally had the physical form of my novel in my hand. I was now a published author.

The hardest part of publishing my book was being patient throughout the entire process. I was getting so close to getting my book published that being patient was difficult. However, I knew it was best not to rush the process. I believe I have published the very best version of my book.

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