A Comprehensive Guide to Self Publishing Your Book

Publishing a book is every author’s dream, but the path there can be rocky and blocked by a huge wall of information that you need to know. Today, Deborah Dixon has written a comprehensive guide to self-publishing discussing editing printing, distribution, ISBNs, and marketing.

Publishing a book is a rewarding experience, but it can also be confusing or demanding as well. Here is a very brief look at the steps an author can take towards being published.

Traditional vs. Self-Publishing

First ask yourself if you would prefer to be traditionally published or self-published. Both routes are viable and respectable, but they are very different. Traditional publishing involves finding an agent through the process of querying. Authors submit documents like synopses, query letters, and first chapters in hopes that the agents they submit to are interested enough in their manuscript to represent them. Once accepted, the agent finds a suitable publishing house for the author, and all parties coordinate to publish the book from there.

Self-publishing involves much more direct author participation. The author will generally handle editing, marketing, printing, and distributing the book, often with assistance from third parties. There is no need to query agents, but an author should still be prepared to explain their book from a sales standpoint. In self-publishing, the author is their book’s best advocate.

Editing

Usually, the first step in self-publishing is having the manuscript professionally edited. This is a crucial step that should be taken even if the author is an excellent self-editor. Even the best editors can overlook common mistakes in their manuscripts! The Editorial Freelancers Association is a wonderful resource for finding an editor.

Printing & Distribution

If you’re planning to print your book, you’ll want to decide whether you want to print a run of books upfront or set up print-on-demand. Book printers like Gorham can print many copies of your book and ship them to you for placement in bookstores and the like. Alternatively, though, you can use print-on-demand (POD) services like IngramSpark or Lulu. KDP Print is a great option for authors who are mostly looking to sell print books on Amazon. POD is often considered the cheapest option because you don’t have to invest as much upfront. Rather, POD vendors will take a (pretty big) cut of every book you sell, but you get the added bonus of not dealing with printing, distributing, or shipping. 

If you elect to pursue distribution through your own means, you’ll have to purchase your own ISBNs. Think of an ISBN as the ID card of your book. Every book needs one, and they will need a different one in every format. If you want to publish your book as an ebook, hardcover, and paperback, you’ll need 3 ISBNs. Therefore, it might be more economical to buy them in bulk. If you’re in the US, you can buy your ISBNs from Bowker, and they never expire, so you can use them for future projects. If you go with KDP Print, Amazon will provide you with a free ISBN, but bear in mind that it’s not truly free. Since KDP “owns” your book, it will be difficult to get into brick and mortar bookstores, Barnes and Nobles, and other distributors that could get your book more reach. On the other hand, if you purchase your own ISBNs, you can distribute them anywhere.

Once you have your books in print, you’ll want to reach out to your local bookstores to place your books there as well. Many book stores will sell your books on a consignment arrangement with you, meaning that you receive your portion of the sale when the book is bought. Building relationships with your local booksellers is also a part of marketing, as booksellers make great advocates for books they like!

You may also want to consider distributing your work as an ebook. For this, you’ll want to create accounts at Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Amazon if you so choose. These all generally take a portion of your sales as payment, and so are free to set up initially.

Marketing

Another important step in self-publishing is marketing. It is a good idea to have a marketing plan set up in advance of selling the book. Marketing covers many facets, like book design, book promotion, and publicity. It is its own discipline, and many authors might not have the time or know-how to develop a solid marketing plan. For those authors, services like Reedsy, Scribe, and BooksGoSocial can be of great help.

Through all of these steps and going forward, you want to be marketing your book. Consider going to book fairs and other book events, whether in-person or virtual, and reach out to your local and national news outlets. It never hurts to tell people about your book—and the more who know about it, the more who will read it!

With this baseline information, I hope you feel ready to embark on  your self-publishing journey!

Deborah Dixon is a writer and author advocate with Shalamar. She is also an editor for Radon Journal and a student of George Washington University’s Publishing program. She lives with her partner and their dog, Spirit.

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