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How I self-published my first eBook - in seven steps
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If I may ask, who copyedited your book? I am torn between several.
Hi Preston, no problem. I will ask permission from my copy editor to pass on her details and send you a message.
1. Wrote the book. This was the fun part, as it was done in some tranquil and inspiring locations around South America. After early drafts in manuscript and later drafts in Word, I finished up with the final draft as a Word document. A satisfying point to reach, but not time to relax yet...
2. Got the final draft copy edited. This was the only cost I incurred in publishing the book (I paid for 20 hours of work at an hourly rate). I found that having a professional set of eyes look over your work will unearth things that you have missed, no matter how many times you have gone over it yourself. The prose had a subtly but significantly more polished feel to it once the copy edit had been done and the changes applied. Well worth the expense!
3. Researched e-publishing channels. This took two weeks of investigation. I found that the information on this subject online is a complete quagmire. My hopes were raised when I came across the site https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/s..., which purports to give comparisons of different self-publishing channels, and will allow you to search for channels that meet your criteria. However, I was disappointed when, after following up on the suggestions it gave me, it transpired that they were all vanity presses (this was the case for my search, it may not be for others). Vanity presses are to be avoided like the plague, as any cursory amount of research online will reveal, so I abandoned that avenue and researched individual channels, paying special attention to the Terms and Conditions attached to publishing via each.
The outcome of this process was that I decided to publish via Kindle Direct and Smashwords. Kindle Direct for the sheer global reach that it provides, and Smashwords for its author-friendliness and very handy feature of distributing your ebook to a number of other outlets (Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Apple iBooks, Scribd, Oyster, txtr and so on...) in return for a minimal commission on each sale. Phew - that whole process was tougher than I expected :P
4. Converted book to .epub format. Once settled on my publishing strategy and outlets, it was time to submit the book. Both Kindle Direct and Smashwords accept submissions in .epub format, so my first task was to convert my Word document into a .epub file. For this task I used the outstanding free and open source tool Calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com). This will convert Word documents and many other file formats to .epub files, as well as being a good eBook reader and eBook library management tool. Tidy.
5. Created the cover art. This I did myself. Having initially created a prototype cover, with the intention of giving it to a graphic artist, I was happy enough with the result to use it without alteration, keeping in mind the ease of changing it at a later date if needed. I made the cover art using the free, open source tool paint.net (http://www.getpaint.net/). An artist would have done it in a fraction of the time, but it was satisfying to do it independently.
6. Verified the .epub file. Once my .epub file was generated from the Word document using Calibre, I prettified it and added the cover art using the editing features in that tool. I then ran it through the epubcheck tool (also free and open source - https://github.com/IDPF/epubcheck/rel...) to ensure that it contained no errors. All good to go.
7. Submitted the book. I submitted the final .epub file to Kindle Direct and Smashwords, using the easy-to-follow online process for each of those sites. Et voila!
8. Bonus step! Put my feet up and had a beer (and tried not to think about step 9 - promotion) :D